Only Murders in the Building is known not only for its star-studded main cast but also a rotating selection of A-listers from one season to the next. The list has ranged from Meryl Streep in Seasons 3 and 4 to Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani, Melissa McCarthy, and Richard Kind in Season 4.
One actor in particular was the subject of an entire season: Paul Rudd’s character Ben Glenroy was killed in Season 3, his death introduced in the finale of Season 2. Yet the show managed to bring him back for Season 4 in the most puzzling way. Some call it genius, others feel it marks a “jump the shark” moment for the popular and endearing series.
How Did Only Murders in the Building Bring Back Paul Rudd?
Ben Glenroy was tragically killed before Season 3 even began. Or so everyone thought. He was brought back once, having miraculously survived after having his stomach pumped. But then he was killed for real, fittingly in the Arconia because, of course, the murders have to take place “in the building” for the show’s title to make sense.
His death was the central plot of Season 3, and Rudd was featured heavily in flashbacks to show the events that led up to his murder. Once the murder was solved, everyone was able to celebrate not only finding the killer but also having a successful opening night for Oliver’s (Martin Short) play Death Rattle Dazzle.
So, when Rudd showed up again in a bar that Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) enter to investigate the fourth season’s death of Sazz Patecki (Jane Lynch), fans were trying to make sense of it. Once he opened his mouth, however, the truth was revealed.
This wasn’t Ben but rather his long-time stunt double Glen Stubbins. Apparently, casting for Ben’s many movies was so fantastic that they found a stunt double who was the spitting image of Ben himself. Thus, Rudd gets to play another character with a thick Irish accent and a much more manic attitude.
The character may look the same, but he’s very different. Traumatized by the death of his long-time friend and out of work, he also becomes part of the new story. As a stunt double, he is a member of a larger community of stunt doubles grieving the death of one of their own: Sazz. Angered that the killer has not been found and that they were not able to give Sazz a proper burial, Glenn seems more unhinged than he might normally be. But it’s clear he’s also typically an eccentric character.
Is This a Jump the Shark Moment?
The term “jump the shark” references a moment in a show when something completely out of left field happens in the plot that doesn’t add up. It’s so far from the usual direction of the show and so ridiculous that fans dub this the pivotal moment when the show lost its way. Is that the case with the introduction of Glenn?
Not necessarily. Only Murders in the Building is a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are so many aspects that are embellished. The entire premise of the show, after all, is that murders continue to happen in the same building. This conveniently allows Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, true-crime podcast enthusiasts and now hosts of their own, to run their own investigations. Not to mention that they’re repeatedly caught up in the plots as suspects, potential victims, or people tied to the person who died in some way.
The show is known for its over-the-top comedy and scenarios, so having Rudd return to play a doppelganger stunt double fits perfectly with other ridiculous storylines that have been explored. There was a man living in the attic of a theater in Season 3, a murderous bassoonist, and, well, everything about Oliver’s play, after all.
It makes sense that the show would want to keep Rudd on the cast list if he was up for it, bringing his sense of humor and electric personality to yet another role. Is it far-fetched? Yes. But is it darn funny? Absolutely.
What’s more, showrunner John Hoffman told The Wrap that Glenn isn’t the only stunt double that will appear in the season. Since other characters who died weren’t actors that would logically have stunt doubles, this could mean dual roles for new characters like Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria, who are already playing exaggerated versions of themselves (as actors playing the trio in a Hollywood movie about their lives). It would be downright hilarious to see Levy, for example, play his own stunt double.
Still, some believe the presence of actors like Rudd detracts from the main story and the focus on the trio, who hold their own just fine without other celebrity interference. But as a much-loved actor, Rudd fits perfectly in the cast. His presence strengthens the season, though some believe the outlandish personality of his new character, Glenn, is too much.
How Does Glenn Fit Into the Only Murders Plot So Far?
When Oliver, Mabel, and Charles learn that Sazz went to a bar for stunt performers she frequented on the same night of her murder, they decide to visit to see if they can find out why she was there and what happened. It’s there they meet Glenn, who is, like the others, at first angered at them coming into the bar where they don’t belong. But he later agrees to help them by introducing them to Dr. Maggie (Veanne Cox), a chiropractor Sazz would see from time to time who works at the back of the bar.
Glenn agrees to help because Charles has offered to stand in for Sazz so her friends can perform their usual ritualistic ceremony for those they have lost. Charles lies on a pool tool while each friend pays their respects and cracks a fake bottle on his forehead, a perfectly logical send-off for a stunt double. A real bottle is accidentally used one time, and Charles is knocked unconscious, cutting the festivities short.
Later, the trio reluctantly agrees to help Glenn get work on their movie, and he’s grateful. He shows off his skills in the weirdest, most wonderful, chaotic, slapstick ways to prove he has the chops to handle anything. Think tossing himself into a garbage bin to show, banging things on his head, and even biting into an apple right from the garbage. Given this promise, fans expect Glenn to return in more episodes as he expects the trio to make good on their commitment to helping his now-flailing career.
For his part, Rudd told Entertainment Weekly last year before the premiere of Season 3 that starring in the show is “surreal” for him. “For a comedy fan like myself, Martin Short and Steve Martin, that’s Mount Rushmore. I mean, truly hero worship. To get to work with them, I still kind of can’t believe it.”
Clearly, Rudd will get to continue that work with a character who is even more ridiculous than Ben but with a reinvigorated tie to the new plot. It’s not a jump-the-shark moment because a show like Only Murders in the Building is all silly all the time. And that’s why fans love it so much. Stream Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.
