Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building Season 4, Episode 1.

The Big Picture

Season 4 of
Only Murders in the Building
picks up right after the Season 3 finale with a missing Sazz.
The trio heads to Hollywood to see their podcast turned into a movie but struggle with their character portrayals.
Gravey the dog helps reveal the dark truth about Sazz’s disappearance, leading to a chilling message at the end.

Everyone rejoice, because Only Murders in the Building is back! After pulling off a bloody Broadway show and solving the murder of Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), the trio is riding high at the end of Season 3. Season 4 promises just as much excitement as it ships the trio off to Hollywood, where their podcast is being made into a movie. It’s totally meta and brilliant, unlocking the sunny new location of Los Angeles and bringing in a brand-new star-studded cast. But after the shocking final moments of Season 3, which killed off Sazz (Jane Lynch) – in Charles’s (Steve Martin) apartment, no less – what awaits the trio heading into Season 4?

Sazz Is Missing in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4
Season 4 picks up just hours after the Season 3 finale. Everyone has left the after-party, and Charles, Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) are sitting down to record their podcast episode about finding Ben’s killer. Charles is just signing off when a power surge cuts him off mid-name. Oliver shrugs, finding it odd and saying that there hasn’t been a power surge since they banned the old incinerator. None of them think much more of it; after all, it’s been a long night. Charles suggests a celebratory nightcap back in his apartment, since Sazz never returned with the vintage wine he had been holding on to for a special occasion.

As the trio heads to Charles’ apartment, they discuss what the next topic will be for their podcast, and Mabel asks Oliver if he’d still like to go with a cold case. He immediately turns the idea down, saying they need a fresh murder. All the while they’re heading into Charles’ apartment – the very scene of Sazz’s murder. Only when they walk inside, her body isn’t there. We think it is, at first, when Charles exclaims “I found her!” only to reveal he was talking about the wine bottle. And a few moments later Mabel gasps as she rounds the counter, only for her to complain about a stain on the ground, right where Sazz’s body was lying. She also notices some splatters, but her attention is drawn away before she can really look too closely.

The next morning, Charles wakes up to a strange whistling in his apartment. He also hasn’t received any texts from Sazz, which has him concerned, since that’s very unlike her. His concern is set aside for a moment, though, as a frazzled Oliver shows up at his door with Mabel in tow. Death Rattle Dazzle has been canceled, and Oliver is a wreck. To make matters worse, Loretta (Meryl Streep) is already on her way to Los Angeles to take the role in the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off series she was offered last season. Charles interrupts this to tell Oliver and Mabel his concerns about Sazz, also informing them about the whistling he keeps hearing, claiming he believes it might be a tumor, in true dramatic fashion. He says that when Sazz arrived she told him she had something sensitive to talk to him about, and now she’s just disappeared and isn’t answering. But almost as soon as he says this, he gets a text from Sazz saying that she had to go back to LA to cover Scott Bakula on set. This eases Charles’ mind, but it still feels a little fishy.

Only Murders in… Hollywood?
Image via Hulu

Earlier in the episode, Mabel makes an off-handed comment about an email from someone named Bev Melon (Molly Shannon), who is reaching out about their podcast. It’s reportedly not the first time Mabel’s received an email from Bev, but she hasn’t been paying the emails much mind, thinking they’re a scam. On the day Death Rattle gets canceled, however, she receives another email. This time Bev mentions she’s with Paramount Studios, and they want to make a movie about the podcast. This immediately puts a pep back in Oliver’s step, and he tells everyone to pack their bags, because they’re going to Hollywood!

When the trio arrives, Bev brings them into a boardroom and starts going over the pitch of the project, announcing that a script has already been written, and they have a soft greenlight; all they need is for Mabel, Charles, and Oliver to sign away their life rights. Oliver and Charles are game to do it, but Mabel is a lot more apprehensive, especially when Bev goes over the script and reveals how the three of them have been written. Oliver is described as “someone we all want to strangle, but want to cuddle at the same time.” Charles is “the un-fun uncle with a grouchy turtle face.” And, in what is surely the most offensive description, Mabel has “traumatized, homeless, jobless, mumbling, millennial charm.” It’s no wonder Mabel gets upset. She ultimately asks to take a moment to think about it and is given a pep talk by Charles and Oliver, where she says that it bothered her that that is how they see her, and she doesn’t want to be that person forever, so she doesn’t want to sign away her life rights for a movie that will immortalize this specific and inaccurate side of her personality.

A Star-Studded Cast Joins ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4
Image via Hulu

In what is arguably the highlight of the episode, the studio throws a party, and we finally get to meet the actors who will be playing our main trio in the upcoming movie: Zach Galifianakis as Oliver, Eugene Levy as Charles, and Eva Longoria as Mabel. Charles is honored to be played by such a great comedic actor, while Mabel is flattered that the writers have cast someone as beautiful as Longoria to play her (duh, Mabel, look at you!) But Oliver? He doesn’t exactly see eye to eye with Galifianakis. He’s not even sure who he is when he meets him, and when Galifianakis says that he was a part of one of the highest-grossing comedy films, Oliver quips “You’re the little boy from Home Alone? What have they done to you?” It’s safe to say they don’t get off on the right foot. Even less so when Galifianakis tells Oliver he has a controversial approach to playing him in the movie, as he wants to play him as someone with actual talent, leaving Oliver agape.

We also get to see how the other actors approach their roles. Levy tries to get into his role by copying everything Charles says; meanwhile, Charles is trying to subvert his new role of “un-fun turtle.” But the best moment happens between Eva Longoria and Mabel. Mabel tells Longoria that she’s apprehensive about signing over her life rights, and Longoria says she understands as the script makes her sound like a sad sack. But then she gives Mabel some truly golden advice:

“I’m not telling you to sell your life rights, but if you do, ask them for a shit ton of money and then build something with it.”

So Mabel walks right up to Bev and tells her that although she tried to wow her with a fancy script and a star-studded cast, that’s not how Mabel does things. She then silently passes Bev a piece of paper, and the next time we see her she’s smiling from ear to ear and waving a bottle of champagne at Oliver, signifying she’s taking the deal.

Gravey Is On the Case in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4
Image via Hulu

While Oliver is having his meltdown over Death Rattle’s cancelation, Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) waltzes in with some good news: He’s adopted a dog! He announces that her name is Gravey, and that she is a working girl and used to have a job, but he’s not sure what it was. Gravey doesn’t seem to like Oliver, though, and continuously barks at him as he sits on the floor of Charles’ kitchen. He then pitches Mabel on a podcast idea about animals with jobs, which she says she’ll get back to him on. She doesn’t, of course, because Howard has been trying to get on the podcast for four seasons now, and it just never works, but this time Mabel has an excuse for not getting back to him as she, Oliver, and Charles jet off to Hollywood.

Amid negotiations for the movie, Charles has gone back to worrying about Sazz, as she’s suddenly stopped replying again. He’s even invited her to the studio party, which should’ve been an immediate yes, considering she already lives in Los Angeles. The three decide to go to Sazz’s house just to ease Charles’ mind, but it ends up doing the opposite as it seems as though Sazz hasn’t been home in a while, judging by the amount of mail left on her front step. Charles decides to stop worrying, as he doesn’t want to be an “un-fun turtle,” and carries on with the night as planned.

However, his plan to not worry anymore is quickly thwarted, when he thinks he sees Sazz at the party. He begins to follow the person and even shouts out Sazz’s name, only for them to turn and reveal that it’s not Sazz, but actually Scott Bakula. This disappoints Charles for multiple reasons, but considering Sazz said she was going back to LA to double for Bakula, he figures the actor might know where she is. Only, Bakula says he was going to ask Charles the same thing — because Sazz never showed up like she was supposed to. This puts Charles on high alert, and so he, Oliver, and Mabel break into Sazz’s apartment to find some clue as to where she is.

The first thing Mabel notices is a series of X-Rays hung up on the wall. Charles explains that they are all the bones Sazz has broken on the job and that they are her pride and joy. He goes on to say that she has had multiple joints replaced by metal, but that she always claimed the best ones were made in Bulgaria. They continue looking around but are interrupted by Charles’ phone ringing. It’s Lester (Teddy Coluca), who says he just got Charles’ note about needing his kitchen window replaced; suddenly, it all begins to click. He asks Lester how big the hole is in the window — if it’s the size of a bullet — to which a bewildered Lester says it just might be.

While Charles is on the phone, Mabel gets a text from Howard asking if she’s given any more thought to his podcast idea. She says she’ll let him know when she returns to New York — and then corrects his spelling of Gravy, as he’s been spelling it “Gravey.” Turns out the spelling is intentional, as he learned that Gravey’s job was being a cadaver dog, hence the name. Suddenly, the reason why she was barking so much at Oliver in Charles’ kitchen makes sense — because she knew someone had died there. The three decide they need to get back to New York pronto and enlist the help of Gravey to track down where Sazz’s body is. Gravey walks around Charles’ apartment, eventually leading them down to the old incinerator. When Charles opens it and reaches inside, he finds metal joint pieces that say “Made in Bulgaria,” leaving no doubt that they once belonged to Sazz. Charles’ phone buzzes one final time for the episode, as a text comes through from Sazz. After discovering that Sazz is missing, Charles texts her number, saying, “You’re not Sazz. Who are you?” The response from “Sazz” chillingly reads: “Not your fucking friend.”

Only Murders In The Building airs every Tuesday on Hulu.

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