Only Murders In The Building Boss Breaks Down Season 3 Premiere's 'Double Twist' — Did Meryl Streep's Loretta Kill Ben?
We are here today to pay our final respects to the late Ben Glenroy, who died for a second time during Only Murders in the Building's Season 3 premiere.
That's right! Paul Rudd's alter ego survived being poisoned on opening night of Death Rattle. However, shortly thereafter, CoBro made like Rosalind Shays and plummeted to his death in the Arconia's elevator shaft.
By the end of Episode 2, we still don't know who poisoned Ben, or who was responsible for his ultimate demise. The police have a suspect in custody — a stalker named Gregg who was in possession of a handkerchief Ben gave out to cast and crew on opening night. But if Gregg had Ben's handkerchief, then whose handkerchief was Ben holding when he died? Could it belong to Meryl Streep's Loretta Durkin?
Below, OMITB co-creator/showrunner John Hoffman, who directed the first two episodes of Season 3, weighs in on Loretta's introduction, Ben's revival and a worrisome development for Oliver.
TVLINE | What was Paul Rudd's reaction when he found out that Ben was going to die not once, but twice?
Paul was delighted. We didn't have it when we first pitched him on his demise at the end of Season 2. I'll never forget Zooming with him, when I was telling him what this season would entail for Ben Glenroy, and he was both shocked and delighted.
TVLINE | Last we spoke, you were five or six weeks into the writers' room for Season 3. Safe to assume you knew by then that Ben would survive the initial attempt on his life?
Certainly by that time, yes, we knew very clearly what the big twist would be. You're always looking for some new twist, but it only gets employed once you have a justification for how in hell's name it could happen. We have tremendously smart writers and researchers who looked at poisons to find out what made sense [and how Ben would survive being poisoned]. It all will make sense at the end of the season.
TVLINE | I don't think it's much of a spoiler, given how Episode 1 ends, to say that most of Rudd's scenes this year take place in the past. What appealed to you about reviving Ben, if only for a short time, in the season opener?
The part I liked the most is this twist on the classic murder-mystery thing, where you have a room full of people — suspects, potentially — and here we have the victim himself going around the room and picking out potential suspects for our audience at home. And then it's a double twist [once Ben dies in the Arconia] that sets up our trio.
TVLINE | Once Ben reveals himself to be alive, he goes around the room and apologizes to everyone for being such a gigantic a—hole... while still coming across as a gigantic a—hole. As director, did you have a conversation with Paul about how big you wanted him to play that scene?
It was a really delicate dance, that one. It was a discussion about the progression of that speech and acknowledging [in his performance] the shock to his system and what Ben had been through that night. He's had tubes down his throat, so there's the clearing of his throat, and then the emotion hits. We talked a lot about that trajectory, and that turn that happens as he's making his way around the circle and you realize that he's going to nail whoever did this to him — letting that get ominous, specifically with Loretta, then lightening it up again when he turns to Charles.
TVLINE | Let's talk a bit about Loretta. We open on this mesmerizing audition that only someone of Meryl Streep's caliber can give. Then we cut to the table read for Death Rattle, and Loretta gives one of the worst reads imaginable. Are viewers supposed to walk away from the premiere thinking that Loretta is indeed this undiscovered talent who's really bad at table reads? Or is she a mostly terrible actress who gave one great audition?
[Laughs] Loretta is a truly miraculous actress who needs to be in the right part to give the performance she's capable of giving.... I come from the theater and, you know, a process is a process. At a table read, I have seen many a brilliant actor really make everyone tremble with nerves. Like, "What are they doing?" Their process is out of left field — and for Loretta, she needs to find the voice. Some people need a costume, some people need a voice, and what was really important to me is that it puts it on Oliver to defend her. He's the one championing her, and he's not going to walk away from her, and it sparks a romance between them.
TVLINE | In Episode 2, Oliver suffers a very real (albeit minor) heart attack. His doctor urges him to slow down, but that seems unlikely. He also doesn't tell Charles or Mabel about it. Can you speak to this development, and where Oliver's head is at right now?
[That development] was something we really debated. This show is filled with the youngest people of a certain age, so I'm always very reticent to point out that there are certain truths [that come with age]. In this situation, with everything that has been building up — both the sparking of this relationship possibility with Loretta, and this dream [of having a successful Broadway show] that he's so close to having — it almost felt like we'd be lying if there wasn't some physical [toll]. But because of all that is on the line for Oliver this season, I think doubling down makes sense for his character. And if he's going to double down in this way, he knows well enough that it's better to leave it hidden from Charles and Mabel.
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