Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short are back on Disney+ Hotstar with Season 3 of the Hulu comedy mystery series Only Murders in the Building and it’s only getting better.
Charles (Martin), Mabel (Gomez) and Oliver (Short) — all residents of Arconia in New York City — find themselves at crucial junctures in their lives, where the podcast they had started has taken a backseat. But all it takes them to get back to sleuthing and podcasting on true crime is yet another murder in the building.
Like the previous seasons of the Emmy-nominated series, Season 3 offers an ample supply of potential suspects, humour and clever writing, coupled with Siddhartha Khosla’s music and old-school jazzy aesthetics.
Where Season 2 left off
Season 2 had ended with the highly successful yet obnoxious Hollywood star Ben Glenroy (played by Paul Rudd) collapsing on stage during the premiere of Death Rattle, which would have marked Oliver’s triumphant return to Broadway as a director after a disastrous flop that landed him “15 years in Broadway jail”. Glenroy’s death ended the play as well as Oliver’s rebooted career.
Martin Short, Selena Gomez and Steve Martin from the show
What Charles, Oliver and Mabel are up to in Season 3
Our podcasters' lives have undergone massive changes by the start of Season 3. Charles has been cast in the reboot of his ’90s crime drama, Brazzos, where he had played the eponymous detective. He has also triumphed over his fears and asked his lifelong makeup artist Joy (Andrea Martin) out.
Oliver has gone back to theatre, directing a Broadway play. After a mild heart attack, he is advised by his doctor to stay away from stress, a recommendation that proves challenging for him. Oliver is tirelessly working to rescue his production and his newfound career from absolute termination.
As Oliver and Charles remain preoccupied by their Broadway show, Mabel emerges as the sole enthusiast for their podcast's pursuit of Ben's killer and tries to get the team back together. Her own future is somewhat uncertain as she would have to vacate the apartment belonging to her aunt, who has decided to sell it.
Ben Glenroy is not dead, or is he?
Season 3 begins a year after the trio’s podcast finale in the last season. The first episode takes us four months back, on the opening night of Oliver’s new show where the lead actor, Ben Glenroy (Rudd), collapses on stage, resulting in the play’s untimely end.
However, Glenroy comes back to life a few hours later and shocks everyone including the trio by turning up at Oliver’s apartment. Although Glenroy has found a new enthusiasm for life, it lasts only for a short while as he is soon discovered dead in one of the elevators in Arconia. The crime-solving group dives straight into investigating Glenroy’s death.
Meryl Streep is Season 3’s show-stealer
The multiple Oscar-winning actress is the star attraction of Season 3 and trust Meryl Streep to steal the spotlight from everyone.
Streep plays Loretta, a talented ageing actress who is still struggling to make a mark and hankers for fame. Oliver casts Loretta in his play, having been very impressed by her acting prowess. What’s interesting about Loretta is that she tries out different accents while playing a role even when the script doesn't ask for it, and Streep lends a touch of self-mockery to her portrayal.
