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Those who watched the first two seasons of Only Murders in the Building (others are advised to catch up before reading on) will remember that when we last saw our heroes of the show, they were stunned by the apparent on-stage death of Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) in a Broadway show. His death violated the rule established by the title of the show: Murders must only be committed within the confines of the building that is home to the trio of podcasting investigators: Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), a TV actor past his prime; Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), a theater director who never recovered from the spectacular failure of his last production; and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), a talented artist who, despite approaching 30, is reluctant to cross the threshold into adulthood.

The first episode of the third season immediately focuses on restoring order after things went awry in the finale of the previous season. The murder takes place within the walls of the Arconia, the luxurious New York apartment building where Charles, Oliver and Mabel all live. Fortunately for claustrophobics, the investigation quickly moves beyond the walls of the hotel, as the suspects mainly come from the cast and crew involved in the production of Death Rattle, a murder-mystery play in which the main suspects are babies, that was supposed to break the curse on Putnam.

But first, a prologue introduces the story of Loretta Durkin, who had left her Midwestern home to make it on Broadway, but without success. After decades of failure, Loretta believed she had finally made it big thanks to Death Rattle. The role is played, of course, by Meryl Streep – who else could express all the nuanced frustration of an actress whose talent has never been recognized?

Streep's entrance changes the tone of Only Murders. Of course, it's still a whodunit, but it's more a question of theater – specifically Broadway – than criminology. Between the director's anxieties as he watches his financial backers walk away and the casting choices skewed by romantic inclinations, it's almost like the kind of play that Broadway used to produce before The Lion King took over the stage.

The script, crafted by John Hoffman, plays on this nostalgia by bringing out Matthew Broderick (the former Ferris Bueller has become one of the pillars of New York theater) for the duration of an episode, and lingers on a laborious reading, allowing Meryl Streep to try out a Scottish accent.

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