The Pitch: When we last saw Charles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), things weren’t looking great for the trio.
Season 1 of Hulu’s Only Murders In the Building was a 2021 hit following the journey of the aforementioned crew as the grew from strangers and neighbors in glamorous New York apartment The Arconia to something of a chaotic family. After setting out to solve the murder of fellow Arconia resident Tim Kono by way of true crime podcast — and somehow succeeding in the matter — Charles, Oliver, and Mabel think all that’s left to do is pop some champagne and celebrate.
When a mysterious text urges them to get out of the building while they can, things take a turn for the worse — Charles and Oliver stumble into yet another murder scene, this time with Mabel, covered in blood, standing over the body of building board president Bunny (a wonderfully believable Jayne Houdyshell). The screen cut to black, and we were all left on a cliffhanger finale.
Season 2 picks up almost immediately where audiences left off in the fall, this time with everyone’s favorite true crime podcasters trying to clear their name, and doing so by solving another murder along the way.
Persons of Interest: The second installment of the mystery-comedy offers a fairly even balance between returning characters and new figures to worry about. In addition to our core three, Season 2 digs into Bunny’s final moments through flashback, sees the return of OMITB super fans like the always welcome Jaboukie Young-White, and offers a slightly expanded role for Michael Cyril Creighton as Howard, an over-involved but sweet Arconia resident.
In the realm of newcomers, the appearance of Lucy, Charles’ estranged, former and never officially adopted daughter, is a treat — some sharp writing pokes both at the quirks of Gen-Z (intentionally clashing clothing, “mental health TikTok,” baby witches trying to hex the moon) and the fact that while Charles and and Oliver might not have any earthly clue what she’s talking about, neither does the millennial Mabel. Season 2 is solid, but even if it weren’t so enjoyable, it would’ve been worth it alone to hear Martin Short say the words “hoe phase.”
Cara Delevigne plays a new figure who pulls their own weight in Season 2, materializing seemingly out of nowhere into Mabel’s life as Alice, a striking and sophisticated artist who, of course, might be hiding some secrets of her own. Delevigne and Gomez’s chemistry is instantly believable, perhaps due to an existing friendship in the real world, or maybe just Delevigne’s incredibly expressive eyebrows.
Amy Schumer also appears as a heightened version of her own public persona. Sadly absent (at least in the eight episodes granted to critics) is Aaron Dominguez, a Season 1 gem as the wrongly convicted Oscar.
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
