‘Only Murders in the Building's' Martin Short and John Hoffman Preview ‘Ripped from the Headlines' Season 5

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There's another murder brewing for 'Only Murders in the Building,' which will return September 9 with Season 5 on Hulu. The mystery will surround (spoiler for those not through Season 4) the Arconia's beloved doorman, Lester, who was found dead in the courtyard fountain in the waning moments of last October's season finale.
When we last left the terrific trio — which includes Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage, Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora, and the once again Emmy-nominated Martin Short as Oliver Putnam — Oliver had just married the love of his life (in the previously mentioned courtyard), the actress Loretta (Meryl Streep). As for what's to come now or how Short might be approaching Oliver in the fifth go around, the 'Three Amigos' star insisted in an interview with Deadline that he doesn't 'analyze [himself] that way.'
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'I don't sit back and say, 'You know what I've done with Oliver this season…?' I look at the script and I think, 'How do I make this real and funny?' That's what I think,' Short said. 'And know that I'm in such good hands. That's the other huge liberating thing about doing a show like this. Especially into a Season 5, you feel like you're in such safe hands that no one's going to make you look like an idiot. No one's going to make the wrong choice. And so, it loosens you up. It makes you feel very free. But I don't really go in with endlessly preconceived notions of what might come across. I certainly prepare thoughts, but you want to be open to the moment and what the other actor is giving you, and maybe that's going to change your mind.'
Producer and head writer John Hoffman also spoke with Deadline, declaring that the fifth season — which will add Renée Zellweger, Christoph Waltz, and Keegan Michael Key to the cast — will be a 'New York story' concerning something that's 'happening across the country,' though specifically to 'the city itself.' From his explanation, Hoffman seemed to indicate that this go around might draw more from the tumultuous state of affairs that is the United States.
'We're pulling from the headlines to ask very specific questions about the balance of power in New York and who has that power,' Hoffman said. 'That's what we're really looking at — the shifting power dynamics of the country. And what's really fun about it, the comedic side of it, is that the history of power in New York is pretty colorful, with the old mob and the new mob mixing in. What do those two look like, and how do they sit on either side, with our trio in the center of it?'
In May, Short spoke with IndieWire about leading the series both as one of its executive producers and its stars. While he said that 'you can't control the outcome' of the material, the experience itself can be controlled.
'So I do think the behavior of the leads sets a tone, but most people's reputations are pretty good,' he said. 'I've done this a long time, and I've never worked with a monster. It just doesn't happen. I mean, I have made movies where you kind of go, 'Oh, this director, I don't know,' but I'll still weasel as many takes [as I can], and I'll go home and pour a glass of champagne and toast myself saying, 'I did everything I could do. He/she are morons and they will destroy [the movie,] I'm sure it's not going to be any good, but it's not my fault.''
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