Only Murders in the Building creator John Hoffman shared the hilariously bizarre details of how Meryl Streep joined the cast of Hulu’s hit crime comedy. Hoffman initially pitched Streep as “the perfect person to play” the part of Loretta Durkin, an actress who could enter an audition and leave the casting directors “thunderstruck” by her talent and her very presence. Not unlike Streep herself.
Only Murders in the Building EP’s Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal didn’t believe that Hoffman could pull off such a coup, especially considering Streep is incredibly in demand and has more awards than pretty much any other living actor or actress. In fact, their response when Hoffman shared his belief that she’d be perfect for the role was, “Good luck with that, John.” Hoffman explained everything in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
“It’s crazy. I was with [EPs] Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal going through the opening scene for season three potentially being this actress walking onto a stage, auditioning for a part, and Oliver being thunderstruck by both the talent and the woman standing before him, and I said to Dan and Jess, ‘Well, the perfect person to play this part — you know who that is?’ They’re like, ‘Who?’ And I was like, ‘Well, Meryl Streep.’ And they were like, ‘Good luck with that, John.’ Then, literally two weeks later, I get a text from Steve and Marty saying, ‘Hey, Meryl Streep just reached out and said she’d like to talk about doing something together. Should we bring up the show?’ I said, ‘Yeah!’ And a week later, they called and said, ‘Hey, Meryl just said she’s in if you think we have something for her to do. Do we have anything good?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, f*ck.'”
Hoffman and Streep connecting over her Only Murders in the Building role was kismet. He pitched her the role of Loretta Durkin by starting with the character’s backstory, only to find that it mirrored Streep’s real-life experience of watching No Strings on Broadway as a child.
At the same time, though, Hoffman had wanted Streep to play Putnam’s (Short) love interest long before he brought her name into the casting conversation. According to reports, behind-the-scenes rumors of a real-life love affair between Streep and Short were merely “coincidental” in Hoffman’s desire to hire her for the part of Putnam’s love interest.
Only Murders in the Building Has Been a Staggering Success Story
Only Murders in the Building follows true-crime enthusiasts Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) as they try to solve a murder mystery within their apartment complex. They’re soon entangled in a thrilling web of lies that has continued to enthrall audiences across three seasons.
Only a show as acclaimed as Only Murders in the Building could attract an A-list actress like Streep. Then again, the Hulu series has entertained a revolving door of talented actors from stars including Sting, Nathan Lane, Melissa McCarthy and Kumail Nanjiani.
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Streep brought her A-game as Loretta Durkin in Season 3, and will be joining the Only Murders in the Building cast in whatever delightful plot twists the newest season has to offer. The new season also brings a host of guest stars, including Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, and Zach Galifianakis among others, ensuring that the star count remains as high as ever as Season 4 prepares to roll out.
Only Murders in the Building
Season 4 starts August 27 on Hulu, with new episodes released weekly.
