Only Murders in the Building Is Gleefully Kooky in a Showstopping Third Season

Successfully creating a good show is one thing, but making sure that it maintains its status as quality television every time a new season comes around is a completely different challenge.

Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building was a huge hit, premiering in 2021 after TV made its return while navigating the pandemic. The series continued its wonderful blend of fun and mystery without facing a sophomore slump like so many shows do in their second seasons. While the third season takes a decent-sized step away from the original tone of the show, the heart of the Only Murders we love is still beating at the center of everything.

One of the most fun things to see as a show progresses from season to season is the writing staff letting loose and allowing some of their wackier ideas to grace the screen. The core character dynamics are rock solid, as are their relationships with the returning secondary cast, and while Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short shine as much as they usually do, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jason Veasey, and Jackie Hoffman get their time in the spotlight as well. The new members of the supporting cast are a treat as well, especially when they come in the form of Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd. 

While taking notes on the eight episodes given for review, I wrote something along the lines of “Meryl Streep, You Will Always Be Famous” about 20 times, and she immediately cemented her place on OMITB. Streep’s portrayal of Loretta Durkin—a down-on-her-luck actress who is set to get her big break in Oliver’s play—ranges from nutty to somber to gleeful and it’s such a joy to just watch her be there, let alone have a complex storyline that ties into the murder mystery at hand. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Rudd’s Ben Glenroy—this season’s murder victim—is exactly what you would expect from a B-list actor who peaked in the ‘90s but somehow managed to hang onto their relevance long enough to make it to Broadway. He’s arrogant in the funniest way possible, and it’s something that Rudd was built to portray on screen. Ben might be dead, but all of the scenes he appears in are great fun and sometimes even a bit campy, which is never something to turn down when it’s done so well.

Really, the whole show seems like it’s a little less hinged than usual. There’s an air of silliness that has blown over this season, and even the smallest bits of ridiculousness are a great time. Unfortunately, quite a few of them are too spoiler-y to reveal here, but there are a few examples that we can mention. Linda Emond and Wesley Taylor’s mother/son producer team of Donna and Cliff DeMayo is somehow endlessly hilarious and cringeworthy in the best way possible. The entire concept of Oliver’s play is something that someone could only come up with in a fever dream, or by filling out a MadLib with a true crime-obsessed kindergartener. Most straightforward of all, Jesse Williams plays a character named Tobert (pronounced like Robert with a T), and the running joke of that simply being his name is consistently a delight. 

Of course, Only Murders in the Building cannot all be fun and games. The core dynamic that we know and love wouldn’t be any fun to watch if it was never shaken up, and Charles, Oliver, and Mabel start to feel some friction pretty early in the season that carries on throughout. After a year without a murder at the Arconia, the trio isn’t as close as they used to be. Charles has his new relationship, Oliver has his reentry to the Broadway scene, and with them busy, Mabel regresses to the lonelier woman she was at the beginning of Season 1. Not only does their drifting sow another layer of discord when it comes to solving the case of Ben’s death, but it also allows all three characters to get some screen time that is solely focused on them. Mabel benefits from this the most, with the sort of aimlessness she experiences leading to her making some rash decisions that she definitely would not make were Charles and Oliver around to sleuth with her the way they had in the past. 

Our favorite Olds aren’t out of the woods either. Charles’ self-sabotaging streak becomes more vibrant—consciously and subconsciously—and though he’s working with Oliver on his play, the two could not be in more different places. Oliver’s need for success in the face of flop after Broadway flop gets in the way of everyone, including himself, and puts even more tension on the strain the trio is facing.

To put it simply, this season of Only Murders in the Building manages to keep the parts of the show we love locked down without being a carbon copy of the seasons that came before it. This is the most time we have ever spent outside of the Arconia, and while the building is certainly an intriguing landscape for a murder mystery, Only Murders is only better for truly taking the chance to stretch its blood-soaked hands beyond its beautiful residencies. There are some truly unhinged comedic moments this time around, but we continue to live in a pretty unhinged world, so I think it’s safe to say that we are well overdue for a show that isn’t afraid to match that energy. I can also honestly say that I have not been able to make a solid guess at who took Ben Glenroy out, and if the first 80% of the season is any indication, we will be as pleasantly surprised as this show always leaves us when we finally catch our killer.

Only Murders in the Building premieres with two episodes on Tuesday, August 8th, with subsequent episodes airing weekly. 

Kathryn Porter is a freelance writer who will talk endlessly about anything entertainment given the chance. You can find her @kaechops on Twitter.

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