Earlier this summer, Jane Lynch was a guest star on Jimmy Kimmel Live! when Martin Short filled in as host. He asked how she felt about her character being killed off at the end of the last season of Only Murders in the Building, and she responded, “I celebrated it.” In her role as Sazz Pataki, Charles Haden Savage’s stunt double, Jane Lynch appeared in just 4 episodes of the hit Hulu comedy mystery’s first three seasons. But now, in Season 4, viewers will get to see her weekly as the podcasting trio tries to solve the mystery of her death. Who killed Sazz Pataki?
(Disney/Eric McCandless)
The Arconia has a new unsolved mystery, and this time, it’s personal for Charles Haden Savage (Steve Martin) – the death of his stunt double and best friend, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch). With Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) by his side, the trio sets out to crack the case, just as Hollywood comes calling. With a big screen adaptation of the first season of their podcast, Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are working on a new podcast case as a trio of actors shadow their every move – Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria.
Some splashy guest star announcements drove a lot of the hype around Season 4, but a misconception was that this entire season was set in Hollywood, which is not the case at all. In fact, beyond the premiere episode, this season stays more rooted in the Arconia than perhaps any thus far. And it also introduces a new element to the prestigious New York City abode, and I’m not just talking about its secret passageways. New this season is the West Tower and its residents (known as “The Westies”), which folds in even more recurring guest stars, including Richard Kind and Kumail Nanjiani.
Thirty episodes in, Only Murders in the Building has firmly cemented its tone. The humor is the same as always, but the series also gets to poke fun at itself through the lens of a Hollywood film adaptation of the show-within-a-show. For example, as Zach Galifianakis works to tap into Oliver Putnam’s essence, he distills down the theater director’s typical quips to a Mad Libs-style fill-in-the-blank that ends with anyone famous between 1960 and 1989, for example.
(Disney/Patrick Harbron)
But what really sets Season 4 apart from those that came before is the killer. With past mysteries, the trio have received messages or warnings from the person they were trying to unmask, but this time around, it feels much more psychological. That’s all I can comfortably say without getting too far into spoiler territory, but the murderer this season seems to “hit different,” as the kids say.
As with past seasons of Only Murders in the Building, viewers will return for the lovable characters, the laugh-out-loud comedy, and the gasp-worthy mystery. Having seen seven of this season’s ten episodes, it’s still the show we’ve fallen in love with, with plenty of fun surprises that will keep you tuning in week after week. This season also offers up a lot of fan service as the trio relives elements of their Season 1 era.
I give Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building 5 out of 5 bloody letters.
Only Murders in the Building returns Tuesday, August 27th, with weekly episodes exclusively on Hulu (and Disney+ for bundle subscribers).