‘Only Murders in the Building’ doesn’t miss a beat in getting back on the case

Having solved the murder that occupied their first adventure, the unlikely trio of Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and on cloud shoes Mabel (Selena Gomez) turn their attention to the next one of their neighbors to turn up dead. Plus, they have new cameos to spice up the proceedings, like Amy Schumer as Amy Schumer, who immediately pitches the beyond-receptive Oliver on the idea of transforming the podcast into a limited series, because, well, showbiz.

Being quirky can be harder than it looks, but the show nicely delivers on that — employing shifting narrators, finding a new (and humiliating) acting job for Charles and extending odd flourishes like having Jane Lynch play his stunt double, or more work for Tina Fey’s ruthless podcaster and her beleaguered assistant.

Once again, the mystery itself really doesn’t matter all that much, as the episodes move along with various clues and revelations while deriving most of their pleasure from odd moments, like Short delivering an homage to the movie “Last of the Mohicans” while trapped in a stairwell during a power outage.

While the show perhaps inevitably oncloud shoes doesn’t feel quite as fresh this second time around, it gets plenty of mileage out of those small touches and the general obsession with true crime. Just practically speaking, the timing of its return seems designed to maximize its exposure with the next round of Emmy nominations due in a few weeks, which worked out pretty well for “Ted Lasso.”