Only Murders in the Building returned for its third season on August 8 on Hulu and wrapped up its run on October 2 by finally bringing to light Ben Glenroy’s (Paul Rudd) killer. 

It’s not the most riveting twist we’ve seen—that honor goes to the second season finale—however, the musical theater backdrop was a fun new setting to explore to prevent the season from becoming stale, and it delivered a cliffhanger that was nothing short of jaw-dropping. 

After hitting some rough patches, Mabel (Selena Gomez) Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short) finally got their podcast back on track, thankfully, and their episode revealing the murderer was timed perfectly to opening night of the Broadway show. 

And fittingly, life imitated art, with the love of a mother willing to do anything, anything to protect her boy. 

When the trio confronted Donna, she confessed fully to poisoning Ben with a cookie doused with rat poison, though she made it clear that she wasn’t trying to kill him but it was hard to figure out how “many rats make up Ben.” Truly an iconic line. 

Of course, there was Ben’s actual death at the Arconia later that night, mere hours after coming back to life. When presented with the evidence—a handkerchief with a lipstick stain matching Donna’s that Ben was found holding when he plunged to his death—she also confessed to pushing him down the elevator shaft because she couldn’t “risk him performing the next night and ruining the show.”

It was almost too easy, and Mabel knew it; she was not convinced. She spent the rest of the play keeping her eyes open watching Donna, who they allowed to finish out the show as she had “stage 4 lung cancer and wasn’t a flight risk,” and eventually seeing an intense moment between Donna and her boy, Cliff. 

Hulu

Mabel followed Cliff up to the little room above the stage where she finally pieced it all together, with Cliff owning up to his part in Ben’s death. 

Turns out, Ben got a call with his lab results after coming back to life during which he was informed that he ingested rat poison. 

Since he was fasting the night of the play, he didn’t think it was possible until he realized that Donna gave him a cookie right before the show knowing he couldn’t refuse it and basically encouraged him to eat it. 

As Ben solves his own attempted murder, Cliff panics because he doesn’t want to see his mom go to jail. 

Things get heated between Ben and Cliff, the latter of whom pushes the former in a moment of anger. 

As for the handkerchief, Donna would always kiss her son Cliff on the “lips” and on “the heart” before every show, meaning she’d kiss a handkerchief and tuck it into his chest pocket. And it’s how Ben ended up clutching one with her lipstick print. 

Cliff panics as the realization that he murdered Ben sets in, so he threatens to jump to his death. No one is able to stop him until Donna arrives, placing her hand in her baby boy’s to tell him everything’s going to be just fine. If they go down, they go down together—the mother-son duo is arrested for their respective roles in the death of Ben Glenroy, bringing to end another season of Only Murders in the Building. 

At the celebratory party shortly after, everyone is chatting about what’s next for them, with all three planning to make a trip out to Los Angeles.

Charles announces that he’s going to grab a 1966 Malbec so that they can all drink in celebration of opening night getting such rave reviews. 

But once he enters his apartment, a gunshot flies through the window and hits him… or what looks to be him. It’s soon revealed that the victim is Sazz, Charles’ double who was dressed just like him. She lays bleeding out on his kitchen floor, whimpering in pain.

Charles was likely the intended target… and it looks like this core trio won’t have to look too far to find their next case. The series always finds a way to keep it interesting. 

The Bear returned to Hulu with a second season—and right off the bat, you can tell they’re going to have a little more fun with it. 

There’s still plenty of grit and dark humor to go around, but there’s also an air of lightheartedness that often comes with a second chance—and in this case, this is the second chance for Carmy and his team of chefs to turn things around and make an establishment they believe in and are proud of. 

The second chance seems like a good idea until they start hitting roadblock after roadblock with their new plans to revamp the beef sandwich shop into a world-class restaurant (Sydeny makes it clear she plans to earn a Michelin star!).

They thought they found the jackpot when they located Mikey’s stashed money, but they quickly learn just how much everything costs when you want to “let it rip” and start over. Not to mention there are plenty of legal pushbacks that they have to deal with, which is where Natalie, Carmy’s sister, who I’m assuming is pregnant—hence the “I wanted to throw up” and “timing is off” comments— comes into play. Carmy has the vision and the background, but he’s absolutely terrible at the money and time management side of things, and Natalie’s project management skills prove to be useful to keep them on track despite an ambitious re-opening timeline. 

Carmy also strikes a deal with Jimmy Cicero, much like his brother, managing to get an additional 500k out of him on top of the 300k that they found in sauce cans with the caveat that if they don’t turn a profit in 18 months, he gets the whole business. It’s a big risk to go all in, but Carmy sees no other way—plus if you have to, always bet on yourself. 

The first season showed us how difficult change can be, but this season is already plating the experiences of owning a restaurant as tougher than anyone could ever imagine. In addition to the ins and outs, you also have to compete with all the incredible places already out there at every corner. 

None of this deters Carmy, Sydney, or even Natalie, however, as they all find themselves back at the restaurant a few hours after leaving early for the day, and more motivated than ever. They know that in order to make this work, they have to kick it into high gear, or, as the writing on the calendar notes, “every second counts.”

We’re past the mourning Mikey phase, and now, The Bear is aiming to make him proud and give everyone a renowned sense of purpose and meaning, even if that entails pouring every inch of energy into making Chicago a must-dining destination. 

And with that comes a lot of heart, uneasiness, tender moments (like Sydney asking Tina to be her sous and Richie having an existential life crisis), and plenty of laughs that also cement The Bear as much-watch television. 

Alright, I admit it—I’m really excited about ABC’s Not Dead Yet premiering tonight, Feb 8.

I wasn’t able to secure a screener, so I haven’t watched it yet—this is not an official review.

The network is putting a lot of faith in the series, hoping to hook audiences with two back-to-back episodes of the new Gina Rodriguez-led comedy that toes the line between reality and the afterlife. 

The most obvious reason for my excitement? I’m a huge Gina Rodriguez fan, and while she’s starred in plenty of movies as of late, this marks her official return to the small screen as a leading lady since Jane the Virgin. And we all know that too many people snoozed on JTV. 

Not Dead Yet also promises to add to ABC’s impressive comedy slate—with hits like Abbott Elementary, Home Economics, The Conners, and The Goldbergs—the network knows what it’s doing, so I don’t think they’d add the sitcom unless they were confident it was going to be a bonafide hit. It’s also getting an Abbott Elementary lead, hoping to hook all those fans to stick around for a bit longer. 

The premise of a woman seeing dead people isn’t exactly new—see: Ghosts—but it is a successful one, nonetheless, and provides plenty of opportunity for witty, wacky, emotional, and unique storytelling, while also remaining grounded through a relatable protagonist that’s dealing with worldly issues like breakups and trying to solidify a career in journalism. 

Ghosts’ success bodes well for Not Dead Yet, but the shows also have another thing going for them/in common—The CW. Much like Rose McIver, Rodriguez comes from a series with a quirky premise and has the subtle comedy acting chops to sell it. We believed her when she was a pregnant virgin, so you’re damn right I’ll believe her when she claims to be talking to dead people. She can sell drama, she can sell comedy, she can sell dramedy. I’m in. 

The current TV landscape is perfectly positioned for Not Dead Yet to become a bonafide hit that sweeps the awards circuit next fall. And even if it doesn’t, all it needs to do is make you laugh like no one’s watching. 

Here’s the official Not Dead Yet synopsis: