Only Murders in the Building wound up being much more than a star vehicle for its three leads

Vulture

"Basically, Only Murders in the Building did all the things in its finale that most viewers could have wanted," says Jen Chaney. "But the finale and the first season overall weren’t satisfying simply because they met expectations. What made Only Murders such a standout was its capacity to surprise..." Chaney adds: "Only Murders in the Building also seems, at first, like it’s going to be a satire of podcasts and podcast culture. Certainly there is some of that going on here. The mere fact that Mabel, Oliver, and Charles are able to get one up and running so quickly and eventually capture an audience suggests that any rando could start a successful podcast. And per episode eight, the show doesn’t exactly make podcast superfans seem like well-adjusted, normal people. It acknowledges, too, the exploitative nature of true crime, though it never gets dark or gritty enough to dig really deeply into that thicket of issues. But ultimately, Only Murders expresses an appreciation of podcasts and what they can achieve, leaning in a more earnest direction than a truly critical one."