The visually rich and lore-filled Upper West Side abode referenced in the title of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” is called the Arconia, home to amateur investigators Mabel, Charles and Oliver. In Season 5, the death of their longtime doorman is the trio’s latest preoccupation. But let me introduce an even more significant turn of events that emerges over the course of the season: The future of The Arconia itself may be at stake.

Does that mean the series itself is finally winding down?

It’s been a satisfying run thus far. And there’s nothing wrong with a show coming to an end, if that’s indeed the case here. (Someone tell that to Michael Patrick King, who is threatening to resurrect Carrie Bradshaw yet again despite the recent end of the “Sex and the City” sequel “And Just Like That …”)

With the Arconia’s future in doubt, perhaps this is an elegant way to wrap things up.

Or not.

Hulu hasn’t shared the season’s final episode with critics, so I can’t say either way. Hollywood loves nothing better than milking a hit past any reasonable endpoint, so it’s possible more installments of the series are on the way.

If so, I’d like the show — starring Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short — to refocus on the bond that keeps the central characters in each others lives beyond the whodunit of it all. That’s been given short shrift in recent seasons and you feel its absence.

But first, the story at hand. The Arconia’s doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca) is no longer of this world and the three podcasting friends are back at it again, furrowing their brows to find out what happened. When the corpse of a mobster (Bobby Cannavale) turns up on the building’s premises as well, they become convinced the two fatalities are connected.

Lester’s untimely death is an opportunity for “Only Murders in the Building” to do what it does best: Pausing for lovely little portraits of New York that may not be essential to the plot, but are some of the most fulfilling storytelling moments on the show. This one is an ode to the profession of doorman itself, which is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Thirty-two years ago, Lester was a struggling actor who took the job as a way to earn a living until he landed his big break. Along the way, his acting dreams fell away and “doorman” became his defining role in life. He was invested in the lives of the residents, some of whom were more appreciative than others, but what are ya’ gonna do? Such is the fate of a uniformed doorman, who is forever there and yet largely unseen.

In the course of their investigation, Mabel, Charles and Oliver uncover a ritzy secret casino that has been operating out the basement of the Arconia. The world’s richest people have a stake in it, as played by Renee Zellweger (as a vaguely Martha Stewart-esque lifestyle queen and hotel magnet), Christoph Waltz (whose riches are derived from AI and who is, perhaps not surprisingly, weirdly robotic himself) and Logan Lerman (a fake-laid-back heir to a family fortune derived from unethical business practices). They want the podcasters to keep their noses out of their business. That’s not going to happen. There wouldn’t be a show, otherwise.

Even so, something about this season feels like a step down. I’ve always been drawn to the heartfelt human connections that exist amid the droll wordplay and zanier murder mystery shenanigans. And yet as the seasons have progressed, there have been fewer opportunities to see the central threesome interact just as friends, even when they aren’t “on a job.” Their dynamic doesn’t feel like it’s being further developed.

That’s not unusual with whodunits. Jessica Fletcher was fully formed from the first episode of “Murder, She Wrote,” never becoming more complex over time, and it worked beautifully. But a big part of the appeal of “Only Murders in the Building” are the relationships. And the sense of wistful regret and melancholy that these relationships generate. Also, Mabel still appears to have no job. She’s not independently wealthy, so what is her source of income? That’s a big thing to hand-wave away!

Well, details-schmeetails. The jokes always land. “One of the reasons I play cards here is because it’s the murder building, and that is all because of you,” one of the rich casino jerks says. “Well, we give a lot of credit to the murderers,” Charles humbly sarcastically replies. Later, when his friends grab a utensil from his kitchen to better examine a corpse, he exclaims: “Not the Sur La Table tongs!”

The show also has some fun with hammy mafia cliches. The team tracks down the mobster’s widow, who is mother to several grown sons who say “Nice to meet yous” and want to do a podcast called “Aye, I’m Tawking Here!” Oliver takes one look at the siblings and deems them ready for a community theater audition for “Grease.”

Musical theater is always on the mind for Oliver, who recalls that in 1982 he wrote a musical riffing on “New York, New York” called “Newark, Newark” with the tagline: “If you can make it there, turns out it has no bearing on whether or not you can make it anywhere.”

But the more pressing question is whether or not the Arconia will make it. “What’s happening to our sweet little murder building?” A ridiculous but heartfelt sentiment.

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'ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING' SEASON 5

2.5 stars (out of 4)

Rating: TV-MA

How to watch: Hulu

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