'Only Murders in the Building' season 5: witty, warm and delightfully twisted beyond its star power

While Selena Gomez is in her blissful honeymoon bubble with Benny Blanco, the fifth season of “Only Murders in the Building” is keeping fans glued to their screens every week. 

As someone who is a huge whodunit fan, I don’t know how I missed this series. 

However, before I got into the latest season, I did a serious binge-watch of the first four seasons. Unsurprisingly, I absolutely loved it. 

Firstly, I have to say, the guest appearance on the show is enough to make any fan giddy with excitement. I mean, we are talking about Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy and Eva Longoria. 

Don’t even get me started on the casting of Nathan Lane, Tina Fey and Jane Lynch.

The series centres on an oddball pairing of Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage, Martin Short as Oliver Putnam, and Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora.

As residents at the Arconia, an iconic apartment complex in Manhattan, they have a shared fascination with true-crime podcasts that brings them together. 

When Tim Kono is murdered, they decide to start their own investigation, running parallel to that of the police.

Each of the protagonists has their own struggles. Charles is a disillusioned actor still living on the hype of his 1990s crime drama TV series “Brazzos” to bag new roles. Oliver is a has-been theatre director on the brink of being homeless.

Known for her love of "The Hardy Boys, has always been an amateur detective, Mabel is wracked with guilt for being unable to solve her best friend’s murder years back. And it links to Tim, so she has a personal interest in the case. 

By joining forces, they form an unconventional friendship and, in so doing, are saved from succumbing to their respective struggles. 

Of course, the age gap between Mabel and her much-older, technologically-challenged partners in crime provides plenty of humour. 

As much as she brings them up-to-date with the modern lingo and using smartphones, they, in turn, impart wholesome values and wisdom. 

Their ability to get useful clues in solving the case, combined with the theatrical delivery of their own podcast, named after the show’s title, makes them popular with true-crime fans.

Each season focuses on a different murder. Amid the trio taking a closer look at their list of suspects, they juggle romantic and family dilemmas. 

In the latest series, they look into the death of Lester, the Arconia’s doorman. Their investigation leads to three affluent suspects and a secret casino in the building. 

Their paths also cross with the mafia. 

As always, chaos unfolds as they go about eliminating suspects while also secretly helping their insider in the police force. 

The script is an ingenious blend of character-driven drama and investigative elements, expertly interwoven. The suspense is heightened by their close calls with dodgy characters.

It’s impossible not to fall in love with the nuanced characters on the show: a potent combination of bolshie, comedic and enigmatic.

 “Only Murders in the Building” is a modern-day whodunit that harks back to classic murder mysteries à la“Murder She Wrote”, “Matlock” and “Colombo”.

Rating: *** solid and enjoyable, though not groundbreaking.