Starring: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Aaron Dominguez, Amy Ryan, and Cara Delevingne

Rating: ★★★★½

The murder-mystery TV show, Only Murders in the Building is back with season two, and it’s just as excellent as their first outing. The first season was one of the best TV offerings of last year, and after that cliff-hanger ending it was a long wait for season two. Thankfully the season lives up to that ending and delivers another funny and captivating mystery.

This season picks up directly where the tease of season one ends, with the death of Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell), and it is looking like Mabel (Selena Gomez) is the one who did it. Anyone who’s watched the first season knows that nothing is what it seems on this series, so over the course of ten episodes, with an abundance of twists and red herrings, we get to the bottom of the case. This time it seems personal with the murderer leaving clues that point towards our main characters, trying to frame them. Each episode adds a little more to the puzzle, giving you just enough so you think you can figure it out, but it’s always just out of reach.

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are all brilliant in this show, bouncing off each other as they solve their second murder. After Mabel is suspected of the murder, the gang reunites to record a second season of their now popular podcast as they solve the case. This leads to a lot of self-referential humour as fans of the podcast’s first season appear throughout the season, mentioning things like the slow progress on the case.

The murderer always seems to be one stop ahead of them, with the actual pieces of the puzzle falling into place very slowly, with a lot of this season made up with a lot of twists and turns that’ll keep you guessing right through to the reveal in the final episode. It’s not only about the mystery though, since this season dives further into the backstory of the main characters, and we get more of an understanding of who our heroes are. There’s some great backstory for all of the main trio and some great relationships and dynamics between them and their families and friends. There are a few flashbacks, with the characters pasts coming back to haunt them in different ways, which is always interesting. The main trio are just such great characters, that it’s entertaining to watch them together. If they actually made the podcast from the show, it would definitely be worth listening to.

There are some surprisingly heartfelt moments mixed in the comedy, especially between Charles (Steven Martin) and his step-daughter, as well as Oliver (Martin Short) and his son. Overall, if you liked the first season, then the same tone and comedy is kept up in this season. It’s easy-watching fun, where the stakes never feel that high and the jokes are plenty. On top of that there’s a fair few cameos, although none quite as funny as Sting’s appearance in the first season.

Out of this season one of the better episodes is an episode that follows Bunny around on her final day alive. It does a great job at building her character, and making you feel sorry for her, instead of her just being the victim. It really adds another element to the series. On the other-hand the worst episode is the one in the blackout, where the gang spends a lot of time walking up stairs while thinking that Charles’s step-daughter is in danger, but they don’t ever act like it’s urgent. It’s a frustrating half hour, and an odd blip compared to the rest of the excellent series.

With a fantastic cast and an engrossing mystery, not to mention the comedy, Only Murders in the Building continues to be on of the best shows around. If you haven’t already jumped on this show, catch up now. It works perfectly as a comedy and as a thriller. There’s also the tantalising final tease for the already renewed season three that will keep us guessing for another year.

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