Only Murders in the Building, as evidenced by its offbeat title, is a kooky acid trip of a Nancy Drew novel. The show follows Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez), three podcasters who are bound together by their lust for true crime and their penchant to accidentally end up at the center of real-life murder mysteries by living in the infamous Arconia building. Season 2 has seen the show really hit its stride, upping the ante of its premiere season’s goofiness and meta self-awareness. And now, there’s another character to join the fun: Paul Rudd, who will star as Ben Glenroy in the already greenlit Season 3.
Rudd made his dramatic entrance in today’s season 2 finale and is promised to return next year, even though (spoiler alert, if you want to stop here) his character may or may not be dead. It’s a true OMITB way to bring in a new character — with a potential murder. Series co-creator John Hoffman said in a statement to Variety, “Paul Rudd, after making an auspicious entrance into the world of our show at the end of Season 2 as Ben Glenroy, is someone we clearly want to know more about and see in our upcoming Season 3 — as he is a clear source of many upcoming questions and, as ever with our show, many twists yet to come!”
Rudd seems perfectly suited to join the OMITB misfits as a part of the ensemble cast. It’s unclear if he will be a series regular or guest star, but his abilities as a comedic actor matched with his star power are certain to bring a special pizzaz to the Arconia’s halls and secret passageways. Rudd has a magical talent to be silly and serious at the same time — a quality Martin, Short, and Gomez bring to their roles as well. Rudd joins an already illustrious roster of guest stars that includes Tina Fey, Nathan Lane, Amy Schumer, Shirley MacLaine, and even Sting. Now we all just have to find something to fill the murderous void until OMITB makes its Season 3 return.
