Attention Arconiacs! Your favourite detectives are back in business. Only Murders in the Building returns for a third season—so grab a notepad and get ready for another round of mischief and mystery.
Season Two left us with a massive cliffhanger. After Mable (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short) rightfully accuse Poppy (Cara Delevingne) of killing their neighbour, she's arrested. They promptly return to their regular lives—you know, before their multiyear detective work began. Then, the show flashes forward a year to a time where everyone is prospering. Oliver is even working on a Broadway show. But on opening night, his lead actor, Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), drops dead on stage, sparking yet another murder mystery.
Cut to the Season Three trailer, where we meet the cast of Oliver's show. Everyone was present for Ben's murder... which means everyone is a suspect. So, who did it? Was it Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), Ben's co-star with a hunger for fame? Or Kimber (Ashley Park), an influencer-turned-actor with questionable intentions? Perhaps Jesse Williams's character, a documentarian who becomes investigated in the case, is more conniving than he appears. Maybe it's someone else entirely.
In the world of podcasting, anything is possible. Esquire's entertainment team conducted some research prior to the Season Three premiere and made some predictions about what might occur next.
Maybe I’m being presumptuous, but I blame Meryl Streep! Why else would OMITB add such an iconic actor to the cast? I simply have to assume that her character, Loretta, is the killer. The way I see it, Loretta was desperate for fame—and Ben got in her way. In the Season Three trailer, we catch a glimpse of Loretta’s struggles as an actress. She practically begs for a role in the play. Then, after seeing her less-than-stellar performance, Ben asks for her to be kicked out of the show. What if Loretta found out? Sounds like a motive to me.—Bria McNeal, Associate Staff Writer
It would be really exciting if one of the core three podcasters was the murderer. Hulu could still figure out how to keep them on the show. Maybe they just get away with it? Even better, maybe it's OK because the murder was done in self-defence. However OMITB works it out—I'd love to see either Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, or Martin Short pretend like they didn’t know who killed Paul Rudd because they did it themselves. As the other two try to solve which one in the trio did the crime, we would also have the second mystery of why Rudd even wanted to kill them in the first place. Up the ante, folks! You have to go big for Meryl Streep.—Josh Rosenberg, Assistant Editor
Paul Rudd is dead! Another murder has taken place, people. This time, decidedly not in the building, but we’ll give them a pass—three murders is a bit of a stretch. Anyway, Broadway is close enough. Oliver’s show is ruined when his star drops dead on opening night, and it sure seems like Meryl Streep is being set up as the murderer in the trailer, which means she isn’t, because OMITB never picks the obvious choice. (But damn, does Hulu have a talent budget for this show.) So, who do I think did it? Some disgruntled theater employee who was going to be the next big thing two decades ago, but then Paul Rudd got the part instead—and he’s held a grudge ever since. I just want to know how Bunny’s bird is doing.—Lauren Kranc, Content Strategy Editor
C'mon, people! Have none of you ever seen Election? Or "Misery Date," from Season Four of Modern Family? Ferris Bueller, damn it! Matthew Broderick always has some sort of ulterior motive. My colleagues are all too focused on the Meryl Streep of it all to pay attention to the trailer's quick shot of Broderick's mystery character. Streep is OMITB's Celebrity Cameo Red Herring, meant to make you obsess over her role, when it's actually the other famous person you should care about. I don't need to see a single minute of Season Three to write the following five words: Matthew Broderick is the killer.—Brady Langmann, Entertainment Editor
