Only Murders in the Building co-creator and executive producer John Hoffman reveals that season 3 was planned with Paul Rudd’s availability and interest in mind.
The Hulu series boasts a star-studded ensemble lead by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, but each season also has A-List Hollywood stars. Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep takes the center stage in the third season. The second season conclusion set up the dramatic murder mystery in the third season, which included Rudd’s debut as Ben Glenroy.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Hoffman talks about Rudd joining the cast of Only Murders in the Building. Hoffman expressed his excitement and astonishment when Rudd decided to take a bigger role in season 3.
“We certainly knew we wanted to lean into Oliver in season 3 and his world at the theater, so we knew that. But, no, there were elements about season 3 and the first episode and the twists that would come there that we had to have in our back pockets a little bit, and then really pull them out once we knew particular things. Like the nature of availability that Paul Rudd [had] and his interest in wanting to do more with us in season 3, which was a big ask.”
He continued, “We asked him to come for one day at the end of season 2 and said, ‘Now take a good eight months to do whatever else you need to do. Then come back to us. Did you want to come back for us?’ Again, this is the dream of this show; having the most extraordinary people say, ‘Let’s play, and I’d like to do not a small amount,’ sometimes. And that was the case here – and is with Meryl, as well.”
In only the first two episodes, Streep and Rudd have shown their abilities in both serious and lighthearted parts and taken on a totally different type of wit.
OMITB Season 3 is streaming on Hulu.
