‘Only Murders in the Building’ Boss on Why the Stakes ‘Have Never Been Higher’ in Season 3

This is what they call a showstopper: At the end of Only Murders In the Building‘s second season, podcasting crime-solvers Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) stumbled upon a new case when theater director Oliver’s play featuring former TV icon Charles was very dramatically halted by the onstage death of his costar Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd).

“As a powerful film actor with an enormous and acidic ego, it’s fair to say he’d created a long list of individuals who’d like to see him dead,” offers executive producer Jess Rosenthal. (Rudd will appear frequently in flashbacks.) “We hope, by the end of the season, when all of Ben’s nuances and history have been revealed, our audience will have fallen in love with him too.”

Among those who may have wanted to bring down the curtain permanently on A-lister Glenroy is a national treasure: Meryl Streep, who joins the comedy’s Season 3 (premiering August 8 on Hulu) as “an undiscovered Broadway actor,” says Rosenthal, laughing at “the cheeky idea of [this character] being played by a 21-time Oscar nominee.” More newbies: Grey’s Anatomy alum Jesse Williams portrays a documentarian and Emily in Paris’ Ashley Park is a Broadway ingenue.

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Given that Mabel and Co.’s true-crime podcast was created to break down only murders in their Manhattan apartment complex, the Arconia, is a name change called for?

“You’ve hit upon an important distinction that comes up again and again,” says Rosenthal, who reveals that the United Palace in New York City’s Washington Heights—which hosted June’s Tony Awards—serves as the show’s fictional theater and “a central hub” for the mystery. “But have no fear, the Arconia is very much alive and well.”

As for the crew’s survival rate, that remains to be seen.

“There are physical attempts on their lives, paths crossed with ghosts. Their love lives are threatened at every turn, and by the way, Oliver has a tenuous Broadway musical to get on its feet,” says Rosenthal. “The stakes for our trio have never been higher.” Sort of like the cost of theater tickets!

Only Murders in the Building, Season 3 Premiere, Tuesday, August 8, Hulu