The world was a different place when Only Murders in the Building first came on the scene in 2021. Back then, true-crime podcasts were all the rage, Steve Martin was much more of a household name than Martin Short, and Selena Gomez was still mostly known for being a pop star. But in the five years since the beloved Hulu murder-mystery series became a cozy fixture of our fall TV slates, the pop culture landscape has changed a lot. The true-crime genre is no longer as ubiquitous as it once was, now relegated to streaming B-movies or miniseries that are destined to be forgotten as soon as they drop. Podcasts are now the launchpads for influencers and provocateurs who occasionally interview a prominent political figure. And the murder-mystery genre has gone through a bit of a rehaul, with Agatha Christie-inspired whodunits becoming all the rage.
So it’s no wonder that with its fifth season, Only Murders in the Building is going back to basics. After last season’s glossy, cameo-filled meta marvel, Season 5 (for which critics received 9 of the 10 episodes) feels pleasantly low-stakes — a return to good old-fashioned investigating. It’s the closest the show has felt to being a noir, though, for once, Only Murders doesn’t feel the need to prove that it can take wild, experimental swings. The show is now comfortable resting on its laurels, and that makes for a wonderfully entertaining, if slightly laidback, season.
