Only Murders in the Building season 6 long-awaited release date confirmed — but I already think one drastic change is going to wear thin very quickly

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Armchair detectives, assume the position: Only Murders in the Building season 6 will arrive on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (international) on December 8. We don't yet know the full schedule on which episodes will be released — my best guess is a three-episode premiere followed by weekly releases — but we do have some first-look images, alongside confirmation of what the new season's plot is going to focus on.As the official synopsis explains: "After successfully bringing the guilty to justice once again, Charles, Oliver and Mabel embark on their hardest case yet when the next victim — Cinda Canning — arrives at their doorstep, summoning them to London to catch her killer. "Our beloved trio of true crime-solving podcasters must now navigate their way through the home of the cozy murder mystery, replete with a whole new collection of suspicious and particularly English-eccentric characters. But can they follow in the footsteps of the woman whose podcast started it all for them… without having their story end the same as hers?"With a roster of upcoming guest stars ranging from Olivia Colman to Nicola Coughlan, season 6 could easily be the jewel in the Only Murders in the Building crown. However, there's one new change that suggests that the show is starting to run out of ideas: the new season is, in fact, called Only Murders in London. Only Murders in the Building season 6 changes name to Only Murders in London — and I hate it(Image credit: Disney/Hulu)Remember how Emily in Paris season 5 was changed to Emily in Rome during its marketing campaign because... well, Emily (Lily Collins) spent the first half living in Rome? At the time, this annoyed me a lot. Not only did Netflix's decision to suddenly revert to the Emily in Paris title halfway through season 5 irk me, but the act of relying on a gimmick to get people watching in the first place sent alarm bells ringing. Clearly, this is an IP that Netflix wanted to drag on for a long as possible because it's successful and highly-watched — but realistically ran out of steam around the season 3 mark. Sure enough, the streamer announced that season 6 would be its last shortly after Emily in Rome aired.This is all to say that Only Murders in the Building season 6 changing its name to Only Murders in London gives off exactly the same energy. Of course the series had to relocate in order to be sustained (how many people can actually die in one building before it's shut down?), but this in itself is telling. Should season 6 of Only Murders in the Building actually exist? As much as I hate to admit it, probably not. Crime dramas can work when they suddenly choose to cross the pond — just look at Murder, She Wrote — but again, it's a signal that desperation for storyline ideas has kicked in.I think that the name change is designed to distract us from this, though it will actually have the opposite effect. I know I'm going to enjoy Only Murders in the Building being in my hometown immensely... but don't be surprised if it's announced that season 7 will be the last.