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.