‘Only Murders’ Director John Hoffman Unpacks Season 3 Premiere and Meryl Streep’s Unexpected Connection to Loretta

variety.com:

Katcy Stephan SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers from the first two episodes of “Only Murders in the Building” Season 3, “The Show Must…” and “The Beat Goes On,” now streaming on Hulu. When “Only Murders in the Building” picks up at the start of Season 3, fans aren’t greeted with the familiar faces of crime-solving trio Mabel (Selena Gomez), Oliver (Martin Short) and Charles (Steve Martin).

Instead, they’re dropped into a 1962 production of “No Strings” on Broadway, seen through the eyes of a pigtailed 10-year-old later revealed to be actor (and murder suspect) Loretta Durkin, portrayed as an adult by Meryl Streep.

For series co-creator and writer John Hoffman, who also directed the first two episodes of the new season, meeting Streep for the first time was daunting — until she revealed a surprising connection to her character that put him immediately at ease. “My nerves were off the charts,” Hoffman recalls during a Zoom with Variety ahead of the season premiere. “In the first moment, I’m walking her through the opening of the season, and I say, ‘We start on your character, and you’re 10 years old, and you’re seeing your first Broadway show coming from St.

Louis with your mother. You’re watching “No Strings,” which is a Richard Rogers musical.’ Before I go any further, she cuts me off.