Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building finished another remarkable season and left fans with a strong hint of what is to come. The show stars the Emmy-nominated trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez and follows three amateur sleuths — former procedural star and notorious hermit Charles Haden-Savage, flamboyant and down-on-his-luck theater producer Oliver Putnam, and stoic and elusive artist Mabel Mora. The three bond over their shared love of true crime, and when an unexpected crime shakes their Upper West Side building, they start a podcast chronicling their investigation into the apparent suicide.
Critically acclaimed and widely embraced by audiences, Only Murders in the Building has become one of Hulu’s crown jewels and among the most beloved comedies on television. The show features a near-perfect blend of black humor and thrilling mystery, never afraid of tackling darker subjects yet always livening the mood with clever comedy. The show has featured four brilliant cliffhangers at the end of each season, each focusing on a different murder that will be the focus of the next chapter. All of these cliffhangers are certainly intriguing, but some are far more compelling. This list will rank all four Only Murders in the Building cliffhangers based on how shocking, unexpected, and exciting they are.
- Release Date
- August 31, 2021
- Creator
- Seasons
- 4
4 Season 4
Lester’s (Teddy Coluca) Murder
Unfortunately, Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building ends with a death that just isn’t as impactful as the ones that came before. Lester (Teddy Coluca) is a fan-favorite and endearing character who has been around since the start. He is a reliable character whose curious stories are a welcome and funny addition to the show’s overall formula. Lester is also an important part of the Arconia’s environment, and his presence goes a long way to make the building more alive and lived in — well, went a long way.
Lester’s death was surprising but not necessarily painful or exciting, especially because it seems like he might’ve not been the target and was actually just collateral damage. Téa Leoni‘s mysterious femme fatale-type hinted that something was going on with the Arconia itself — the mob, maybe? — so Lester’s murder seems less personal than the three previous crimes in the building. This is all speculation, of course, but the show certainly hinted at a more elaborate scheme for Season 5 than just a crime of passion. It will be sad to see Lester gone, but his murder lacked the same tragic and truly impactful element of previous cliffhangers on the show.
3 Season 1
Bunny Folger’s (Jayne Houdyshell) Murder
Season 1 of Only Murders in the Building ended with a true bang. As the trio celebrated the ending of a surprisingly successful first season, they unexpectedly stepped into another mystery as the building’s notoriously cantankerous head of the board, Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell), stumbled upon Mabel stabbed in the chest with her sowing needles. Bunny had been a constant and hilarious presence throughout the season, so to see her dying in such a bloody way was truly surprising and almost harrowing.
Bunny was a large enough character for her murder to be impactful yet not important enough for it to be painful. Her interactions with the trio, especially Oliver, were riotous, and her partnership with Uma (Jackie Hoffman) was a highlight of the show’s first season. However, the cliffhanger was less about her death than it was about what it meant for the main trio; indeed, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver end up getting arrested and escorted out of the Arconia to the tune of The Supremes’ 1967 cover of “Manhattan.” Still, as a way to set up Season 2, Bunny’s death was perfect, hinting at a darker Season 2 and making it clear that no one is ever safe at the Arconia.
2 Season 3
Sazz Pataki’s (Jane Lynch) Murder
Who doesn’t love Jane Lynch? The five-time Emmy winner and television icon was a genius addition to Only Murders in the Building as Sazz Pataki, Charles’ long-time stunt double. She appeared consistently throughout the first three seasons, even developing an unexpected romance with Charles’ ex and the main villain of Season 2, Jan (Amy Ryan). Thus, when the show revealed that Sazz was murdered at the end of Season 3, it really hit hard.
Sazz’s murder at the end of Season 3 was the perfect ending to an already spectacular season, arguably the best in the show. By the end of Season 3, audiences had developed a strong bond with Sazz, thanks to her undeniably sweet dynamic with Charles and her energetic, wholesome persona; it, of course, also helped that the wonderful Jane Lynch was at the top of her game playing the character, easily turning Sazz into one of the show’s best guest stars. The cliffhanger was also truly out of the blue; everyone expected the season to end with another death — the show is a murder mystery, after all — but hardly anyone thought it would be Sazz. Her demise was tragic and genuinely shocking, living up to the already high standards set by the previous season’s ending.
1 Season 2
Ben Glenroy’s (Paull Rudd) Murder
And speaking of fan favorites, Paul Rudd is in a league of his own. A major movie star comfortable leading superhero movies and quirky comedies alike, Rudd has been in the game for almost three decades and is still at the peak of his career. In hindsight, the fact that Only Murders in the Building actually managed to secure him for a recurring role throughout the season is such a flex on the show’s part. Rudd debuted during the final episode of Season 2 as Ben Glenroy, the star of Oliver’s long-awaited return to the Broadway stage.
Ben was such a breath of fresh air both in the show and in the larger context of Rudd’s career. The show really took advantage of the beloved actor’s comedic abilities by giving him a larger-than-life role that not only showcased his well-known humor but also his darker and self-destructive side. It was truly unexpected to see Paul Rudd popping by during the last minutes of Only Murders Season 2, and when he proceeded to drop dead on the stage, everyone in the audience let out a gasp and started counting the days until Season 3. Ben’s apparent death on stage is the best cliffhanger in Only Murders in the Building by far, and it’s unlikely that the show will pull it off again.