It's Officially The End Of An Era For Only Murders In The Building

Published Aug 26, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Liz Hersey is an Editor and Critic for ScreenRant's TV team, editing, reviewing, writing, and creating content about the iconic shows you love to watch. She began her editing career at ScreenRant in 2019, shortly after joining the site as a Writer that same year.

With a passion for all things books, Liz frequently attends Toronto literary events and conferences, and loves interacting with her book lover community. In addition to being an avid reader of the romance and thriller genres, Liz is a writer of several short stories, and is currently at work on a young adult witch novel.

When she's not working, reading, or writing, Liz can be found seeing movies at her local cinema, attending live jazz events, or curling up on the couch to binge her favorite TV shows.

You can reach her at liz.h@screenrant.com.

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

Only Murders in the Building, as we know it, is over. To be clear, Hulu's hit mystery-comedy series isn't going anywhere and is, in fact, approaching its sixth season — a major accomplishment in our current era of short-running, prematurely canceled streaming shows. However, Charles, Oliver, and Mabel will not only be leaving their iconic Arconia apartment complex for Only Murders in the Building season 6, but also leaving New York City entirely.

The new season will pick up right where Only Murders in the Building season 5 ended, with the main trio investigating the murder of podcaster Cinda Canning, who died at the doorstep of the Arconia, and their sleuthing takes them across the pond to London, England. Though the intrepid amateur detectives have pursued suspects and clues outside their building before, whether on Broadway or in Hollywood, the sixth installment of Only Murders in the Building marks the first time an entire season has taken place away from the Arconia. Hulu has even officially dubbed the new season "Only Murders in London".

However, that's not the only major departure for the series. It was recently announced that Only Murders in the Building season 6 would premiere on December 8, 2026, rather than the show's usual late-summer release date. These changes are a lot to process, but some may be better than others.

OMITB Season 6's London Move Is A Gamble, But Its December Release Date Could Be Its Saving Grace

As charming a concept as "only murders in the building" is, the show wrote itself into a corner early on, and its attempts to work around its challenging, self-imposed rule seem to worsen the farther away Charles, Oliver, and Mabel travel from the Arconia. While season 3's Broadway theatre-set mystery at least kept the show in New York, season 4's extended trip to Los Angeles stripped the series of its warm coziness, and it never recovered, even when the Only Murders in the Building main characters were back on the East Coast.

This doesn't bode well for Only Murders in the Building season 6, with the true-crime podcasters putting an entire ocean between them and the Arconia, which is essentially a character in and of itself. However, the new season's release date might actually be the perfect complement for the show's new setting.

Tried-and-true Only Murders audiences have become used to the show's summer season premieres. Had season 6 honored that trend, its major differences from the previous installments would have been all the more stark. However, by premiering in December, "Only Murders in London" is coming at a cozier time of year, giving its viewers the opportunity to lean further into the comforting tropes of the genre.

England is, after all, widely considered to be the birthplace of the cozy mystery subgenre, with British writer Agatha Christie one of its pioneering figureheads. This certainly softens the blow of Only Murders in the Building season 6's big change. Furthermore, it's likely that the Venn diagram overlap between Only Murders fans and lovers of British murder mysteries is quite large. Curling up to watch the new season during the holidays is all but guaranteed to enhance those wonderful cozy vibes.

Season 6 Is Doubling Down On Only Murders In The Building's Bloated Guest Star Problem

Only Murders in the Building season 6's move to London means the show has an entire new pool of top-tier talent to tap for guest-starring roles, and they've certainly taken advantage of it. Only Murders in London will feature not one, not two, but three previous Doctor Who leads: David Tennant, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker. The new Only Murders season will also serve as a Broadchurch reunion for Tennant, Whittaker, and Olivia Colman.

Several of these actors will play characters involved in a UK Brazzos reboot, with Martin Freeman rumored to play Charles' British rival. Colman is confirmed to play a writer, while Absolutely Fabulous icon Jennifer Saunders' character is a costume designer inspired by Vivienne Westwood.

Only Murders in the Building New Season 6 Cast Members
Actor	Notable Credits
David Tennant	Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Jessica Jones
Peter Capaldi	Doctor Who, The Thick of It, the Paddington movies
Jodie Whittaker	Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Toxic Town
Olivia Colman	Broadchurch, The Favorite, The Crown
Martin Freeman	Sherlock, the Hobbit trilogy, Fargo
Jennifer Saunders	Absolutely Fabulous, Shrek 2
Nicola Coughlan	Bridgerton, Derry Girls
Jim Broadbent	Moulin Rouge!, Iris, the Harry Potter movies
Richard Ayoade	The IT Crowd, The Watch
Adrian Lukis	Pride and Prejudice, Peak Practice
Kathryn Hunter	Poor Things, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Sean Teale	The Gifted, Skins
Simone Ashley	Bridgerton, The Devil Wears Prada 2
Amar Chadha-Patel	Willow, The Decameron
Rhea Norwood	Heartstopper, Your Christmas or Mine 2
Matthew Beard	The Imitation Game, Vienna Blood
Sharon Horgan	Bad Sisters, Catastrophe
Geri Halliwell-Horner	Spice World, Gran Turismo
Jamie Demetriou	Stath Lets Flats, Fleabag
Anjana Vasan	We Are Lady Parts, Black Mirror
Jane Horrocks	Absolutely Fabulous, Little Voice
Derek Jacobi	I, Claudius, Gladiator
Lesley Nicol	Downton Abbey, East Is East

The problem with Only Murders in the Building season 6's guest star roster certainly isn't quality — you couldn't ask for a better lineup. It's quantity. There are simply too many famous faces. As past seasons have demonstrated, such a sheer volume of celebrities is not only distracting, but it makes for a scattered, unsatisfactory viewing experience.

Worst of all, it pulls focus from Charles, Oliver, and Mabel. As great as it is to see A-listers pop up and make us laugh, we're not here for them; we're here for the trio. Without the fourth member of their group, the Arconia, the main characters' dynamic is more important in Only Murders in the Building season 6 than ever before — certainly more than completing a British guest star bingo card.

• 

  Charles-Haden Savage

• 

  Oliver Putnam