Renée Zellweger Joins ‘Only Murders in the Building’

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(Left) Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Jay Maidment / Universal Pictures. (Right) Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver (Martin Short) on Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.

Preview:

Renée Zellweger will appear in ‘Only Murders in the Building’s fifth season.
She joins stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez.
The season has just started shooting.

‘Only Murders in the Building’ has long been a witty blend of compelling murder mystery and old-school comedy chaos, anchored by stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez.

“They’re ready for their close call.”

TV-MA5 SeasonsAugust 31st, 2021

And as it has grown in popularity, the star wattage of its guest cast has grown exponentially.

In its most recent season –– the fourth –– alone, the show included appearances from Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Kind, Scott Bakula, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Desmin Borges, Amy Ryan, Griffin Dunne and Jin Ha.

And that’s without mentioning returning guest stars such as Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep.

Meryl Streep as Loretta in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building.’ Photo by: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.

So it should be little surprise that the fifth season of the show will boast some suitably big names –– with Renée Zellweger the latest addition, according to Deadline.

The new season recently started rolling its cameras in New York, following the show’s success at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where it won Comedy Series Ensemble and a Male Actor in a Comedy Series gong for Short.

What’s the story of ‘Only Murders in the Building’?

(L to R) Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’ season 2. Photo: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.

‘Only Murders in the Building,’ which started in August 2021, focuses on a trio of strangers –– Charles-Haden Savage (Martin), a misanthropic semi-retired actor who was the star of the popular 1990s crime drama, Oliver Putnam, (Short) an ambitious but financially struggling Broadway director and Mabel Mora, (Gomez) a young artist and apartment renovator living alone in her aunt’s unit, who was part of a quartet that solved pretend mysteries throughout her childhood and teenage years –– with a shared interest in true crime podcasts.

The three become unlikely friends while investigating a succession of suspicious murders in the Arconia, their upscale apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and producing their own podcast about the cases, titled ‘Only Murders in the Building.’

Through the previous four seasons, they’ve investigated several mysterious slayings, including an old friend of Mabel’s in the first, another building resident in the second, an egotistical actor in the third and Charles’ good friend and colleague, stuntwoman Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch).

As is usual for the show, the end of Season 4 set up the new mystery for the fifth –– and it’s really the only solid information we have on the season.

In the final episode of the season, Charles, Mabel and Oliver discover the body of Lester, (Teddy Coluca) the Arconia doorman, dead in the building’s fountain.

This is what ‘Only Murders’ showrunner Jordan Hoffman told The Wrap about Season 5:

“We’re trying to tell a particular kind of take from a New York angle. Season Five will hit on some very current things going on within New York, specifically very relevant things that are happening in the city right now, in ways that honestly we couldn’t have even predicted. We built our story and then certain things revealed themselves, and vice versa. It’s a little bit more reflective, deeply New York, both historically and the modern New York right now too. The show has always been classic meets modern.”

Who else will show up on ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5?

(L to R) Cooper Hoffman and Christoph Waltz in the Action/Comedy film ‘Old Guy’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

Zellweger isn’t the only Oscar winner who will appear on the show next season –– Christoph Waltz is aboard, alongside comedy veterans Tea Leoni and Keegan-Michael Key.

But the creative team is staying quiet about who the new arrivals will be playing, looking to maintain the surprise.

In the past, some of the guests have played themselves, while others added to the quirky ensemble of characters who make up the world of ‘Only Murders.’

Where else will we see Renée Zellweger?

(L to R) Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones and Leo Woodall as Roxster in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Alex Bailey/Universal Pictures.

Zellweger was recently back on our screens in possibly her most well-known role, that of Bridget Jones in fourth franchise entry ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.’

And while ‘Only Murders’ is the only confirmed next job for her, she does have several movies and shows in development including ‘The Back Nine,’ about a golfer getting back to her career and ‘Heft,’ about a mother reaching to her former writing professor to help with her son.

When will Season 5 of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ hit Hulu?

Hulu has yet to officially announce the launch date for the new season, but a March production start offers a clue.

Season 4 started filming the same time last year, and was on screens the following August. So if we were to guess, we’d say to expect more murder, mayhem and comedy in late August.

(L to R) Oliver (Martin Short), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Charles (Steve Martin) on Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.