The season-three premiere of “Only Murders in the Building” begins by smartly broadening the world of the show beyond the walls of its titular structure to the Broadway stage, where Oliver (Martin Short) is directing a new play. For this reason, we’re introduced to Streep’s character, actress Loretta Durkin, by way of a voice-over from Charles (Steve Martin) that clues us in on her backstory. We see how she fell in love with theater as a young child, leading her to a life as a struggling actress trudging through endless rejection with the hopes of one day finally being seen and hearing the magic words “Where have you been?” Screencaptures from the premiere episode have been added to the photo gallery. Many thanks to M for sending them in.

We’re two episodes into the highly anticipated third season of “Only Murders in the Building”, and while promotion for the show has been cancelled due to the strike, at least there have been plenty of reviews in print, most of them very positive towards the series and Meryl’s appearance. A great batch of international articles has been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to my friend Alvaro. Enjoy reading.

The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a nice summary of the events leading up to the third season of “Only Murders in the Building” – and how Meryl Streep’s character, Loretta Durkin, fits in: There’s a new murder to solve in Only Murders in the Building season three — and Selena Gomez’s Mabel, Steve Martin‘s Charles and Martin Short’s Oliver are on the case. In the final moments of season two, Charles stars in Oliver’s play alongside none other than Paul Rudd as series newcomer Ben Glenroy. Right before the curtain rises, Ben and Charles are seen bickering and Charles utters, “I know what you did.” As soon as Ben steps onto the stage and recites his first line, he collapses and dies. Rudd isn’t the only new castmember welcomed into the orbit of the murder-mystery-solving trio in season three. Meryl Streep joins Only Murders as struggling actress Loretta Durkin, who has a role in Oliver’s Broadway play and begs him not to give up on her. The season three trailer shows Ben isn’t a fan of Loretta, even going as far as to call her a “stinkarooni.” Could she be his killer? But, according to Hulu’s season three synopsis, Loretta actually helps the trio as they embark on their toughest case yet — one that sees them leave the comfort of the Arconia, much to the tenants’ joy. “At least you had the consideration to keep the body out of the building this time,” Mia Hoffman’s Uma tells Charles in the two-and-a-half-minute look at the upcoming season. The complete article can be read at The Hollywood Reporter.

In a previous conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, co-creator John Hoffman admitted that Streep “was the dream” casting choice for Loretta, and then she “reached out to her friends Steve and Marty” about wanting to be a part of the show. “It’s this domino effect of wonderful experiences, and she is everything anyone has ever said about working with her. It [was] really a hell of a time on our set.” Gomez echoed Hoffman’s sentiment about Streep when she shared a photo in April with the three-time Oscar winner to announce production on season three had wrapped. “I’m not sure I have enough words to explain just how beautiful this season has been,” she wrote in the caption. “It has been deliriously hilarious, challenging and for me, an absolute dream. I’ll post more soon. But I’ll I leave it with the woman I adore, look up to and love.”

Fans of Meryl Streep’s genius narration voice are in for a treat: For Harper Audio, Streep has read Ann Patchett’s new novel “Tom Lake” in an unabridged 11 1/2 hour version, which will be available August 01, 2023. You can pre-order the audiobook on Amazon and all other retailers. The book’s synopsis can be found below.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Only Murders in the Building has just lifted the veil on the season 3 trailer, showing us the impressive cast joining Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin for another round of mystery. The season 3 trailer shows us that we’ll be treated to the before and after of Paul Rudd’s character’s death, also revealing that there’s a lot of animosity between the cast of Oliver’s play. Specifically between Ben and Loretta Durkin we might add, played by none other than the legendary Meryl Streep. We’re going to have to wait and find out to see if the show has cast Meryl Streep as the killer, but it turns out that the iconic actress herself didn’t even know if she was the one to bump off Paul Rudd or not. The show’s boss John Hoffman told Deadline: “Throughout out the season, we keep the scripts pretty tight, even with our main cast. I loved watching Meryl be attuned to that and come to that in some way throughout season 3. “She kept on wondering, ‘Am I going to die? Am I going to be the murderer?’ She had to know what was coming up next, it was funny.”

We’re only three weeks away from the season premiere of “Only Murders in the Building”. As Hollywood is on strike and actors will not participate in any kind of promotion for their recent work, it will be interesting to see how the studios will generate buzz for their recent shows without star power. For “Only Murders”, the official poster for season 3 has been revealed by Hulu, alongside a first production still of Meryl and Martin Short. Details have been kept tight on Meryl’s character or the duration of her performance throughout the season. Edit: Additional stills and character posters have been released, alongside the season’s official synopsis:

Season 3 of “Only Murders in the Building” follows Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) as they dig deeper into a murder that takes place behind the scenes of a Broadway show. Ben Glenroy’s (Paul Rudd) Broadway debut is shortened after his sudden death, in which Charles, Oliver and Mabel band together to investigate. With the help of Ben’s co-star Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), the trio embarks on their toughest case yet as Oliver battles to keep this show on the road.

Remember “Extrapolations”? Scott Z. Burns’ highly anticipated anthology series for Apple TV+ on climate change with a galaxy of famous faces sat on the shelves for two years until it was released in March this year with zero promotion and just as much public interest. Meryl Streep’s top billing for the series turned out to be a two-scene cameo in the show’s second episode. It was a very disappointing affair for a show that tackles most of the most important issues of our time. It would have been great to learn more on why exactly this prestige project went so under the radar and why its topped billed stars chose not to speak about it ahead of its release. Maybe we have to wait a couple of years for this. In the meantime – better late than never – enjoy screencaptures of Meryl’s appearance, with many thanks to David for sending them in. Much appreciated.

Here’s some positive news (in its very early stages) for all “Mamma Mia!” fans out there, according to Entertainment Weekly: Judy Craymer , the producer of Mamma Mia!, both the original stage production and two subsequent films, is committed to making a third movie and even has an idea for how to do it. “It’s in its earliest stages,” Craymer told Deadline of a potential three-quel. “There is a story there, and I do think Meryl should come back – and if the script is right, she would, I think, because she really loved playing Donna.” Craymer also told Deadline that her ideas for a third film include ways to bring back all of the fan favorite characters, including Streep’s Donna, who was deceased in the second film, and Cher’s Ruby. Craymer did, however, also note that there’s nothing “official” yet. A representative for Universal, which produced the previous two films, also told EW that there’s nothing to share at this moment. Part of this is because anything involving more Mamma Mia! must come with the blessing of Andersson and Ulvaeus. “We want to do another movie, and they’re [being cautious],” Craymer added. “But that’s the story of the last 25 years – there’s always a sense of caution from them, and we’re all getting older now. Obviously, anything to do with the music, they have to be okay with.” The first two films, 2008’s Mamma Mia! and 2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, were released ten years apart, so it could take a minute to pull all the pieces together.

According to Variety, Steve Martin casually dropped the release date for the third season of “Only Murders in the Building” during his “You Won’t Believe What They Look Like Today!” touring show alongside Martin Short. At Saturday’s show at the Walt Disney Theater. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., which also included Jeff Babko and The Steep Canyon Rangers, the comedic duo unveiled the news while warming up the audience at the start of the show. According to two patrons who were in attendance, Martin and Short were delivering updates on what they were up to recently, showing a picture of them alongside their co-star Selena Gomez and two new cast members for Season 3, Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd. At one point, Martin stated, “Catch the new season August 8,” which was followed by Short responding, “Our show is like Steve trying to pee – it streams for 33 minutes.” The complete article can be read Variety with many thanks to Joan for the heads-up.

Disney has revealed that filming on the third season of “Only Murders In The Building” has wrapped. A couple of pictures have been posted on social media, including one by Selena Gomez, who took to Instagram to profess her love for her famous co-star:

Well we wrapped season 3 of @onlymurdershulu -I’m not sure I have enough words to explain just how beautiful this season has been. It has been deliriously hilarious, challenging and for me, an absolute dream. I’ll post more soon. But I’ll I leave it with the woman I adore, look up to and love.