Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Only Murders in the Building Season 4, episode 1 “Once Upon a Time in the West.”
The premiere episode of Only Murders in the Building Season 4 solved the first mystery of the season, following the shock that occurred in the third season. The episode solves the mystery of Charles Haden-Savage’s stunt double, Sazz Pataki’s (Jane Lynch) body, disappearing after her death by sniper. Throughout the episode, Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez), and Oliver (Martin Short) are given hints about Sazz’s murder and, in the final minutes of the episode, they discover that Sazz’s body was brought down to the basement of the Arconia and thrown in an incinerator where one of her metal joints from Bulgaria was left behind.
Following the episode’s debut showrunner John Hoffman declared to TheWrap that the final minutes were “about as dark as we’ve ever gone on the show, and it needed to be.” He explains that the audience had an idea that something was off, but the characters didn’t, which was ultimately the goal.
“We needed to give the trio, and mainly Charles, a sense that something’s not right… And finally confirmed by our surprise bit of casting at the Hollywood party, who says Sazz didn’t show up on set last week when she should have. And that for Charles is like a gut punch.”
Hoffman adds that this season will explore the reflections of the trio, who are sent to Los Angeles, where their podcast is now being transformed into a movie starring Eugene Levy, Zach Galifiankis and Eva Longoria as Charles, Oliver and Mabel, respectively.
“It felt like a perfect marriage of the podcast being pursued as IP for a Hollywood treatment, matched with our Hollywood stunt double in a whole season that really points to these reflections for our central trio of themselves,” Hoffman explained. “Right off the top of the season, you’re getting these home movie reflections of our trio, and they’re talking about, ‘is that who I want to be, is that who I was?’
It felt like great fodder for exploration spawned from the central heart of the season, which is all about this relationship between a doppelganger double, who has been your stunt double and worked with you and you’re only now realizing all the ways in which they were profoundly affecting your lives and how deep the friendship was.”
Hollywood Parallels in Only Murders in the Building Season 4, Episode 1
Hoffman was excited to play into Hollywood tropes throughout the first episode, including the negotiation scene with Steve Martin and the home movies of Gomez, Short and Martin. He recalled Martin’s scene in the episode, during which he slides a piece of paper with the number “4” across the table to Molly Shannon’s character Bev Melon when asked how many zeroes she’s willing to add. He says the scene is “one of my favorite things we’ve ever done.”
“When you have an idea on something, you share it with Steve and watch him on the day just so perfectly, gracefully do that ridiculously funny bit of physical comedy. And nothing was more important to me than finding the exact right scale of table you could deliver that number four over to Molly Shannon.”
The episode, titled “Once Upon a Time in the West,” is a callback to the 1986 western of the same name, with footage from the film being featured in the episode as well. Hoffman describes the film as “influential” in his life and loved being able to use the cinematic classic to parallel the episode and build to the climax.
“That was an influential movie for me… I was fascinated by the choices that Sergio Leone made. Being able to use that and intercut and build a climax that felt earned over the course of the episode, but twists it in a way that I think the audience might not expect but makes perfect sense for a stunt double who’s seen a lot of wear and tear, all of that felt kind of awful and right for the show.”
Season 4 follows the trio’s investigation into the murder of Sazz, taking them all the way to Los Angeles, where a Hollywood studio wants to adapt the podcast. The returning cast includes Martin, Short, Gomez, Lynch as well as Da’Vine Rudolph and Meryl Streep. Newcomers include Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani, Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis, and more.
Only Murders in the Building S
eason 4 releases new episodes every Tuesday on
Hulu
until October 29, with nine more episodes to premiere. The first episode as well as three previous seasons are now available to stream.