“Only Murders” is back and better

The streaming world is full of brief pleasures — movies … six-episode series … epics that take two years between seasons.
But then there’s “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here). Each summer, it brings a fresh, 10-episode season; each seems even better than the previous ones.
That’s especially true of this fourth season, which arrives Tuesday (Aug. 27) on Hulu. It’s fresh and different, yet richly mines its past. Many actors return from previous seasons … even some whose characters were killed or jailed.
At the core is Steve Martin, known to one generation as a comic genius and another as the star of bland reboots (“Pink Panther,” “Father of the Bride,” “Cheaper By the Dozen”) and their sequels.
Martin linked with writer John Hoffman for the story: He plays Charles, a former TV star; Martin Short is Oliver, a failed theater director. After finding a murder in their apartment building, they did a true-crime podcast.
These oldsters, now 79 and 74, linked with Selena Gomez, 32, as Mabel, their opposite in ever way – young, dry, understated and sort of homeless, crashing at a relative’s empty place. The contrasts work wonderfully.
Each of the first three seasons has drawn a ton of Emmy nominations, including best comedy series. Still, the show keeps improving.
In the second season, these three people suddenly had their own podcast fans. In the third, they added a Broadway musical (and Meryl Streep). In the fourth, Hollywood is ready to make a movie about them.
Meanwhile, guest stars keep arriving. In some cases, their characters were killed (Paul Rudd as an actor, Jane Lynch as Sazz, Charles’ stunt double) or arrested (Amy Ryan as Charles’ lover, Nathan Lane as Teddy, a neighbor).
But Streep has stayed around. Her character (Loretta, a struggling actress) found romance with Oliver and a role in a movie.
Now she’s a regular … and “Murder” has two Oscar-winners. Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays a cop, won an Oscar for “The Holdovers.”
Randolph has a bigger role now, as the team probes the death of Sazz (possibly with Charles as the real target). Other actors make surprise returns. Reflecting its past while leaping ahead, “Only Murders” keeps delighting us.