Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 1 recap: 'who are we without a homicide?'
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NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 1, "The Show Must…"
Fresh off receiving 11 Emmy nominations for its second season, Only Murders in the Building is back with a star-studded cast and a brand new mystery for Oliver (Martin Short), Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) to solve.
A one-year time jump at the end of the Only Murders in the Building season 2 finale revealed Oliver was back directing a Broadway play and that the star of the show, Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), died on stage. The mystery comedy returns with a two-episode premiere, and we're recapping each episode.
Let’s meet the new players, suspects and early clues.
The audition
The year is 1962, and a young girl is transfixed by the musical No Strings that she is watching at the Goosebury Theater. In a voiceover, Charles explains how some fall in love with the stage at an early age. Soon the young girl is a woman pounding the pavement auditioning for different plays in New York City, but instead of hearing the magic words, "Where have you been?," she faces rejection and near misses. That is until the present day, when the woman steps onto the Goosebury Theater stage to read for the role of the Nanny in Oliver's new production.
Loretta's (Meryl Streep) nerves are evident as she steps forward, as a somewhat disinterested Oliver agrees to see the actress read a scene before he goes to lunch. Thanks to Loretta's impassioned and rather brilliant audition, his boredom shifts to intrigue.
Oliver rises from his seat and steps toward the stage, and when Loretta finishes, he asks her, "Where have you been?" It takes Loretta a moment to realize her wish has finally come true, and it is impossible to ignore their instant connection.
The dream turns into a nightmare as the scene cuts to the aftermath of Ben's opening night demise. Mabel has already got her investigation mind switched on and suspects poisoning. Meanwhile, Oliver is fretting about the state of his big comeback, asking, "How did I get here?" Thankfully, we're about to find out.
Table read
Cut to four months earlier, an excited Oliver readies for the first table read. Mabel is tagging along, though it's clear she has been spending little time with Oliver and Charles since the end of their last podcast series. "Who are we without homicide?" she asks aloud. Mabel is also nervous about meeting Ben; this giggly side is unexpected. A Mabel voiceover reveals she thinks "theater is kinda lame," but at least this play is a murder mystery.
The table read introduces the rest of the play's cast — and potential suspects — including Kimber (Ashley Park), Ty (Gerald Caesar) and Bobo (Don Darryl Rivera). Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) auditioned but got cast as Oliver's new assistant instead, and his boyfriend Jonathan (Jason Veasey) is Ben's understudy.
Producers Donna (Linda Emond) and her son Cliff (Wesley Taylor) join the festivities and are overly and uncomfortably affectionate with each other — Donna claims she can kiss Cliff on the lips because he's gay.
Finally, Ben arrives and blames his lateness on his manager (who is also his brother), Dickie (Jeremy Shamos), took them to the wrong venue. He immediately asks everyone to sign an NDA as Tobert (Jesse Williams) is filming a documentary about Ben's Broadway debut. It's notable that Ben ignores Charles but charms everyone else in the room while ensuring his movie credits (like the Cobro franchise) come up. Ben he also mentions he has moved into Amy Schumer's penthouse apartment in the Arconia.
After all that excitement, it is time for the first table read. Loretta's Nanny is the second character to speak. Unlike her brilliant audition, Loretta chooses to read her lines in various accents, including Scottish and French Canadian, prompting Ben to tell Oliver to fire her. But when Oliver talks to Loretta about her terrible table read, he reassures her: "You go, I go." In this battle, Oliver is Team Loretta.
The afterparty
The scene cuts back to the present day, as everyone heads to Oliver's apartment for the afterparty he refuses to cancel. One elevator is currently under maintenance repairs at the Arconia, so the lobby is rather busy.
At the somber bash, stage manager K.T. (Allison Guinn) uses the opening night handkerchief gift from Ben to dab her eyes, but not everyone is upset by his passing. Mabel brings up the podcast again, while Loretta is hopeful she can embark on a romance with Oliver now the show is over — he wouldn't date someone in the cast. However, the partygoers are shocked when Ben walks through the door alive. He was medically dead, they pumped his stomach, and now he lives to tell the tale.
Ben then goes around the room apologizing to various cast members, the producers and even Charles. When he gets to Loretta, he calls her a snake, revealing at least one deep rift. A phone call interrupts Ben's big comeback, and he heads up to his apartment to chat with the mystery person on the line. Whoever this person is caused Ben to look concerned.
Another murder in the building
Post-party, Mabel texts Oliver and Charles to see if they want to meet at the Pickle Diner. She can't get the odd series of events out of her head. It also turns out she has to be out of her aunt's apartment in four weeks as the place has been sold. She mentions the podcast message board comments have been saying how much they miss the trio, but with Ben alive there is no crime — and Charles mention it didn’t happen in their building, so they couldn't do it anyway.
The broken elevator is now running, but blood drips on Charles while inside. The trio rushes out of the elevator just before Ben's now definitively dead body crashes through. Another murder in the building has occurred after all. Who successfully killed Ben Glenroy?
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building season 3 release Tuesdays on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
