Upamanyu Biswas
‘Only Murders in the Building,’ developed by John Hoffman and Steve Martin, revolves around three strangers living in the same Upper West Side apartment building: Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora. The three have a shared fascination with the macabre through their true-crime podcast obsession. After a murder transpires in their building, the trio pools their knowledge about true crime scenarios and decides to start their own podcast while investigating the crime. However, things do not turn out to be as neat and tidy as they expect when they begin learning that the murder has something to do with all of them.
The fourth season of the mystery comedy show brings a new challenge to the amateur detectives’ doorstep—a Hollywood adaptation of their true crime podcast. As they race off to meet their Tinseltown dreams, a murder back home sends them packing, and they once again find themselves engulfed in a murder plot involving a resident of the Arconia. Given the ground traversed in season 4, the locations and backdrops utilized for the trio’s journey across the country have intrigued many fans who desire to learn whether the same scenic sights from previous seasons are back for another outing or there are some new additions.
Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Filming Locations
Season 4 of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ was filmed primarily in New York City, New York. However, for the first time in the show’s run, a location outside New York, specifically Los Angeles, California, makes a prominent impression as a backdrop. Principal photography for the fourth season began in March 2024 and was wrapped up by June 2024. Several iconic landmark locations are brought back to instill the same sense of coziness and continuity to the murder mystery narrative, while a small detour to new pastures also freshens the show’s atmosphere.
New York City, New York
Filming for ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 4 took place in New York City, with the luxurious Arconia once again playing a front-and-center role in the amateur sleuth show. The fictional apartment building is, in reality, the Belnord Apartments building at 225 West 86th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is a much revered, majestic 13-story establishment that is elegant to the eyes, both on the inside and outside. As such, it continues to be the home of the leading trio in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 4, lending the same gravitas and aura it is known for.
While discussing the building’s role in the show, co-creator John Hoffman told House Beautiful that the building “basically wrote itself into our show as its own central compelling character.” The interior scenes of the Arconia were filmed in Silvercup Studios at 4222 22nd Street in Long Island City, Queens, where sets were constructed to capture the show’s furnished look. Other NYC landmarks also make an appearance as the cast and crew were spotted in and around the city, taping scenes for the season. The Big Apple is one of the busiest and most extravagant locales available for any production crew owing to its storied past and striking visuals.
It casts a gleaming appeal that is very unique to the city and is likely not found anywhere else on the globe. As such, season 4 takes the show back to its primary hotspot location, the main being the Arconia co-op, where most of the murder investigation led by the trio unfolds. The city lends the perfect tone to the show’s overarching themes and atmosphere. In the past, NYC has also hosted production on shows like ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,’ ‘White Collar,‘ ‘Monk,‘ and ‘The Blacklist.‘
Los Angeles, California
One of the significant entries, in terms of filming locations in season 4, is the addition of Los Angeles. With the murder victim being a Hollywood stunt double and the plot involving a movie adaptation of the main characters’ true crime podcast, it was logical for the show to travel across the country to the heartland of the entertainment industry. The production team taped some pivotal scenes in Tinseltown, although it was only a short break from the bulk of filming, which took place in New York City. Talking about filming in Los Angeles, Selena Gomez, who plays Mabel Mora, said, “Obviously, we have a great cast and we are going to Hollywood. It was fun to shoot here for a blink of a second.”
Steve Martin, who plays Charles-Haden Savage, added to that same sentiment by saying, “It was so much fun coming out here to shoot … where I grew up and [Short] lived here for so many years.“ Ultimately, the Los Angeles scenes are a small diversion from the central murder mystery lives of the characters as they get to acclimatize with a new environment. Co-creator John Hoffman said, “We have a victim this season that is a Hollywood stunt double, and marrying that with the success of this podcast our trio has done, it didn’t feel like too far a leap to think that Hollywood might be tapping at their door to make an adaptation. So all of that felt like a good reason to come to Hollywood for a moment, but take it right back to New York because we are a definite New York show, and it will always be that.”
