After a successful first run, Hulu’s comedy-mystery series Only Murders in the Building is back with another season — and it only gets better. Starring Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin as Mabel, Charles, and Oliver, it brings back our three favourite crime enthusiasts, only this time they are the ones being accused of murder. The show is streaming exclusively on Disney+Hotstar in India.
Apart from introducing several new characters, the writers take us further into the lives and histories of existing characters like Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell) and the very building where this story unfolds — the Arconia.
While we now know who killed businessman Tim Kono (Julian Cihi), the first season left viewers with some loose ends. This season pulls at them, unravelling new mysteries. As the trio celebrated solving not just one but two murders, Mabel is found covered in blood and holding a knitting needle over Bunny Folger, board president of the Arconia. Needless to say, the police have their suspicions about Mabel despite being unable to find the actual murder weapon. Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who’s back on the case, strictly warns the trio not to reboot their podcast, but they have a taste for true crime.
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New surprises
Only Murders in the Building Season 2 plays to its strengths and continues with the show’s original style of storytelling. Although initially hesitant, Mabel et al eventually return to their usual, clumsy, yet intriguing style of investigation. While the first season focused on Mabel’s history and her links with the Tim Kono, this season focuses on Charles and his history with the Arconia.
The new season is already living up to expectations with the first two episodes filled with several new characters, cameos, and subplots. Amy Schumer plays a fictional version of herself and a crime enthusiast, taking on British musician Sting’s old apartment in the Arconia. Within minutes of her appearing on screen as she bumps into Oliver in the elevator, viewers fall in love with her character. “I was never that into murder before. Podcasts, I mean murder podcasts. But you guys make it so…cozy. Just cozy murder,” says Schumer, leaving Oliver perplexed.
Other characters to join this star-studded cast include Academy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine, playing Leonara Folger, Bunny’s mother. She visits the building not to grieve her daughter’s death but rather to retrieve a valuable heirloom and Alice Banks (Cara Delevingne), a local artist and Mabel’s love interest in this season. The most surprising and hilarious addition in this season is Bunny’s foul-mouthed bird Mrs Gambolini, which leaves the audience on the edge with a cliffhanger at the end of the second episode.
What made Only Murders in the Building so unique in its first season was its meta storytelling style and ability to make fun of itself. This continues in its second season, with Tina Fey returning as Cinda Canning, only this time she’s making a podcast on the trio of podcasters called ‘Only Murderers in the Building’. “You can tell it’s our second season,” says Oliver, referring to both their podcast as well as the show. And indeed, from the first two episodes, viewers can definitely see Mabel, Charles, and Oliver becoming better crime solvers and retaining their quirkiness.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)