Following a critically acclaimed third season, Hulu's Only Murders in the Building has been confirmed to return for Season 4.
The star-studded comedy series has proven to be one of Hulu's biggest hits in recent years, averaging 97% across its three seasons on Rotten Tomatoes.
The show follows Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short), three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and get wrapped up in a criminal conspiracy.
When Is Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Releasing?
Only Murders in the Building Season 4 has been officially confirmed.
The news came by way of a post on the series' official Instagram page on the same day as the Season 3 finale, simply announcing, "Only Murders in the Building is coming back for Season 4:"
"'Only Murders in the Building' is coming back for Season 4! Let the investigating begin.."
Mere days later on October 9, 2023, it was reported a writers' room for the show had been assembled to work on Season 4 (via TVLine), meaning this next batch of episodes should be ready to film sometime this year.
If development takes a similar amount of time that Season 3 did (with a renewal coming in July 2022 and filming starting six months later), then Season 4 could get in front of cameras as soon as April 2024.
Previously, Only Murders premiered roughly seven months after that initial filming start date.
Season 2 was filmed between December 2021 and March 2022, then debuted on Hulu on June 28, 2022. Season 3 followed a similar timeline, filming from January to April 2023 and being released on August 8, 2023.
If Season 4 takes a similar amount of time, the show could premiere in late 2024, potentially popping up on Hulu around November or December.
Who’s Cast In Only Murders in the Building Season 4?
Fans can expect much of the cast of Only Muders in the Building Seasons 1-3 to return for the forthcoming Season 4.
Of course, this will be headlined by series leads Selena Gomez (Mabel Mora), Steve Martin (Charles-Haden Savage), and Martin Short (Oliver Putnam).
This beloved trio has been at the center of Only Murders since the beginning, and it does not look like Hulu will upset the apple cart heading into Season 4.
Other characters expected to pop back up include fellow Arconia resident Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton), Oliver's son, Will (Ryan Broussard), and the elderly and biting Uma (Jackie Hoffman) among others.
The biggest question marks surrounding the Only Murders Season 4 cast are Season 3 stars Meryl Streep and Jesse Williams.
The pair of A-listers debuted in the series' third season, romantically involved with Short's Oliver and Gomez's Mabel respectively. But there has been some uncertainty with their return.
On the idea of Streep and Williams coming back, Only Murders in the Building co-creator John Hoffman pointed TVLine to an Instagram post he shared where Streep says she "can’t wait for Season 4:"
"I have to share my Instagram post that I typically post to tee up the week’s episode. It became a thing I started doing, and there’s a photo that we have of Meryl at her wrap for Season 3. She’s saying the most lovely things to our beautiful crew about the time she had, and she has her arms up and says, “I can’t wait for Season 4!"
He added, "Nothing would make [him] happier" than having the pair back:
"It was this very delightful gesture, and we were like, “What?!” I mean, we would love it. Both Meryl and Jesse, and everyone we have on the show, have very fruitful work lives. Nothing would make me happier, so yes, that is a wish I have for them because of what they created."
Here is a list of every cast member expected to return for Season 4:
- Steve Martin - Charles-Haden Savage
- Martin Short - Oliver Putnam
- Selena Gomez - Mabel Mora
- Michael Cyril Creighton - Howard
- Ryan Broussard - Will
- Jackie Hoffman - Uma
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph
- Detective Dee Williams
- Jason Veasey - Jonathan
- James Caverly - Theo
- Jane Lynch - Sazz Pataki
What Will Happen in Only Murders in the Building Season 4?
While Season 3 seemed to wrap its central case up in a fairly tight bow, Only Murders in the Building did not leave fans without a tease of what is to come.
Following Mabel, Oliver, and Charles solving the murder of Paul Rudd's Ben Gilroy, with the perpetrator locked up in cuffs, the trio partake in a bit of a celebration.
However, things go awry as Season 3 closes on the murder of Jane Lynch's series regular Sazz.
Given Sazz's close relationship with Short's Oliver (having served as his stunt double on the in-universe series Brazzos), one can expect Season 4 to have Sazz's murder as its narrative core.
According to series co-creator John Hoffman, Season 4 will center on the "repercussions" of Mabel, Oliver, and Charles' Only Murders podcast, which could easily tie into the death of Sazz (per The Hollywood Reporter):
“I think the idea of what you create is a thing you put out to the world, and sometimes you can’t be prepared for the repercussions of what potentially the world does with your thing, and how they feel about it.”
Season 4 will be a "challenging line to walk" for the main characters, he continued, as they deal with "what [everything they have done] could have been meaning all along:"
“That’s a challenging line to walk, and sometimes you have to face it in that way. So, the podcast and everything else that’s happened, and what it all means, and what it could have been meaning all along. That’s a really interesting world to look at for these three who stepped in that way.”
As for whether the series will venture outside of its familiar surroundings of New York City, Hoffman remarked (via TVLine), "I love New York," but "I don’t want to be afraid of things that make you go, 'What?' 'Where are we?' 'Where are they now?':"
"I love New York — the characters, the richness, the depth is endless — and it’s a New York show. But I don’t want to be afraid of things that make you go, 'What?' 'Where are we?' 'Where are they now?' I think you have to do that so it doesn’t feel too insular. There is our apartment building, and much like how we want to get out and be in New York as much as possible, I think you also have to remember this trio and the potential for whatever would be happening in their lives that might lead them to go away for some reason."
While not confirming if this means Season 4 will take place somewhere else outside the Big Apple, Hoffman emphasized that whatever they may do to "shake up the look [of the show]," it has to be "driven by story:"
"Let’s see! I’ve got big hopes in that way, to shake up the look, but it has to be driven by the story. You’re right in that there are a lot of tee-ups at the end of Season 3, and a lot of connections and relationships that have extended. And Scott Bakula, I mean… how many more seasons can we bring up Scott Bakula without somehow getting him in there?"
Only Murders in the Building Seasons 1-3 are streaming now on Hulu.
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