Spoilers ahead for the Season 5 premiere of Only Murders in the Building, “Nail in the Coffin.”
The first three episodes of Only Murders in the Building Season 5 are available now with a Hulu subscription, meaning it’s time for Charles, Oliver and Mabel to solve another murder. It also means that more guests will be gracing the Aronia. The Only Murders cast is famous for being stacked each season, whether an actor is recurring or just briefly appearing. Keegan-Michael Key is one of the newbies for the fifth season, and he’s gushing about joining the show.
The Key and Peelealum’s recurring status in the show was announced earlier this year, but details about his character were being kept under wraps. However, the Season 5 premiere, which dropped on Tuesday, revealed that Key is playing Mayor Tillman, who only shows up to Lester the doorman’s funeral to lock in more voters. Tillman even goes on the main trio’s podcast because of their wide fanbase. Key opened up to People about being on the Hulu hit and could not praise it enough:
It’s a lovely thing in our business when you can walk onto a set where everything is run really smoothly, and everybody is warm and welcoming. It was a wonderful project to work on.
Only Murders is arguably one of the funniest shows on Hulu right now, and fans have also seen the humorous antics that occur off camera, thanks to BTS content from the stars. Still, everyone is also professional, and it’s great to hear from a newcomer just how smoothly things run. This is far from the first time the show has been lauded for its on-set environment, as Steve Martin praised the show for the same reason.
It’s unclear how many episodes Keegan-Michael Key filmed for Only Murders, but it sounds like his experience was memorable. Considering the good reputation the show has, it’s not surprising that it locks down so many guest stars each season.
Key’s turn as the mayor has already proven to be funny, and I’m excited to see what else we learn about Tillman in the episodes to come. And, as previously alluded to, Key is just one of many guest stars for Season 5, as Christoph Waltz, Beanie Feldstein, Logan Lerman, Renée Zellweger are more are also set to drop in. Most of their roles have been kept under wraps, but now that the new season has premiered, it won’t be long until fans find out which characters they’re playing.
As for the premise of Season 5, the new episodes pick up in the aftermath of the Season 4 finale, which saw Lester, the building’s doorman, get killed. At the same time, Téa Leoni’s Sofia Caccimelio asked Charles and Mabel to look into the disappearance of her husband, mob boss Nicky Caccimelio. So this new season has a lot going on, and there’s sure to generate plenty of comedy and drama.
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building premiere on Tuesdays on Hulu. Be sure to check out the first three episodes of Season 5, as Keegan-Michael Key’s excellent performance alone makes the show worth a watch.
