Should You Watch.TV

Hi, I’m Josh. I wrote this.

Since the summer of 2021 and for every season since then, Only Murders In The Building has been part of our TV lives. Starring the unusually paired trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, I couldn’t tell you how I heard of it but here we are.

Should you watch Only Murders In the Building? Let’s get to the tale of the non-existent videotape.

How many seasons?

Five (renewed for s6 in October 2025)

How many episodes?

50

What type of show is it?

A comedy mystery (a comstery? a mysterdy? Let’s workshop this.)

What year(s)?

2021 – 2025

Where to currently find it (as of January 2026)

Hulu

Who is it for?

In terms of demos, I’d reckon 35-54 and especially couples.

What’s the commit level?

According to BingeClock.com, you’re looking at 29 hours, 17 minutes. If you take out the intro and credits, you shave off about 1:44 per episode which works out to about 87 minutes. And yes, that’s TV math.

Is there a bail out episode?

I wouldn’t say a specific episode, but if you’re not feeling OMITB through the first two-three episodes, you can bail out. If you really enjoy the first few, it’s a consistent ride all the way through.

Any interesting background in the show’s creation?

Steve Martin and John Hoffman created the show with Martin saying he conceptualized it in 2011 as three elderly men wanting to solve crimes but are too lazy to leave their apartment building so they keep it to whatever happens in the building. TV everything Dan Fogelman (several Disney movies, This Is Us, Paradise) is an executive producer and a driving force behind it as well.

What’s the reaction been?

It’s consistently rated highly on Rotten Tomatoes (less so on Metacritic), but has ticked down every season.

Awards-wise, it’s a hit with 49 Emmy nominations and seven wins (as of this writing anyway).

When it was first released, the debut was the most-watched comedy show in Hulu’s history. So, the tl;dr is people really like it.

Are there actors the average TV watcher would recognize?

Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez (I think?), Paul Rudd, Nathan Lane, Melissa McCarthy, Meryl Streep and lots more.

What’s the main plot in a sentence?

Three neighbors in a New York City apartment building come together to solve a murder and start a podcast…that leads to more murders and more podcasts.

How about another sentence?

It’s a fun watch that is ideal to check out between seasons of more serious shows that are on your TV menu.

What’s the rewatchability factor?

Low

If you like these shows, you’ll like this one:

Ted Lasso, The Office, Modern Family, Shrinking, most 90s sitcoms

Is this a first or second screen show?

Second screen.

Should you watch Only Murders In The Building?

The best way I can describe OMITB (like NKOTB but only older) is that it’s a comfort food show: consistently good and worth going back to.

It’s a bit of a phenomenon in that it comes out consistently every year like clockwork which doesn’t happen in TV these days. It never strays from its center line which is a positive and a slight negative.

It’s not a socially buzzy show that you’re going to get spoiled by scrolling through social media. That also makes it easy to forget months after it comes out. Still, it’s a nice bottle to pull off the shelf when you need a palate cleanse.

Yes, you definitely have to suspend belief at times (especially in s5), but the trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are incredibly charming and every season features unexpected guest stars who fit right in.

Having said all this, this doesn’t feel like a show that will run ten seasons. While not announced as the final season, the sixth go-round feels like it would be a good time to end it.