Contains spoilers for "Only Murderers in the Building" Season 2. In a television landscape filled with true crime documentaries (open in new tab) and scripted series, "Only Murder in the Building" stands out as a humorous whodunit not to be missed. The Emmy Award-winning series has built a devoted fan base thanks to its stellar cast led by Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin, unexpected guest stars, and a twisted plot that thoroughly examines the true culprit fandom. Last August, the Season 2 finale of "Only Murders" ended with a giant cliffhanger, but now that the New Year is upon us, it's time to gather clues and hints for the show's Season 3 mystery.

That's right. The renewal announcement came on July 11, 2022, shortly after Season 2 premiered and received a great response from fans, solidifying its status as "the true crown jewel of our slate," according to Hulu Originals President Craig Erwich. The early renewal also gave fans a hint that the show would continue with another shocking finale cliffhanger, and the show definitely delivered.

Hulu has yet to announce when the new season will be available. However, Hulu's parent company, Disney, has confirmed that Season 3 will be released this year (opens in new tab).

The Season 2 finale finally revealed who killed Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell) after a season of red herrings, Arconia lore, and podcasting conflict. Through a convoluted set-up involving a killer reveal party and the staging of Charles' death, the trio forced Becky Butler, Cinda Canning's (Tina Fey) assistant Poppy (Adina Verson), to confess to the murder. Poppy, with the help of her romantic partner, Detective Krebs (Michael Rapaport), killed Bunny as a first step in planning an art heist worthy of her boss' attention.

After the Charles (Martin), Oliver (Short), and Mabel (Gomez) arcs have run their course (and we learn that the success of the show's in-show podcast has revived Charles' acting career), the show jumps forward a year and Oliver is Charles and Paul Rudd Ben Glenroy, who plays (...) We learn that he was directing a Broadway play starring them. When the opening night begins, Ben collapses and dies during the monologue. It was shortly after a menacing conversation with Charles backstage. Charles' mysterious last words to Ben were, "Be smart. Stay away from her." and "I know what you did."

After the big reveal in the finale, Variety (open in new tab) confirmed that Paul Rudd had joined the show as actor Ben Glenroy in season 3, speculating that his death would be the kicker for the show's next mystery.

"Paul Rudd, after his fortunate entrance into our show's world as Ben Glenroy at the end of Season 2, is clearly someone we want to know and see more of in the upcoming Season 3.

Also this week, there was a surprise casting announcement for Selena Gomez. The actress and Rare Beauty took to her social media to post scenes from the shoot, where she was joined by herself, Martin, Short, Ladd, Andrea Martin, and . Meryl Streep. The role of Meryl Streep, a multiple Oscar winner and acting icon, has not yet been revealed.

Rounding out Season 3 is former "Grey's Anatomy" star Jesse Williams, whose casting was announced in October; according to Deadline (opens in new tab), Williams is working on the same case that Mabel, Charles, and Oliver are working on ( He plays a documentarian with a special interest in Glenroy's supposed sudden death.

Gomez's update indicates that the show's main trio of her, Steve Martin, and Martin Short will return (though there was little question in the first place). Comedy legend Andrea Martin will also return as Charles' love interest Joy.

The rest of the cast is still unconfirmed, but includes Davine Joy Randolph as Detective Williams, Ryan Broussard as Will Putnam, Zoe Colletti as Lucy, Tina Fey as Cinda Canning, and Michael Cyril Crichton as Howard, Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas, and James Cavalry as Theo Dimas, are among the cast members who may return.

As you can tell from the word "supposedly," we have no clue where season 3 will go beyond Paul Rudd's cliffhanger. While Hoffman has given vague hints about new episodes, the cast and crew have been tight-lipped about the new mystery. in a post-finale interview with The Hollywood Reporter (open in new tab), the series co-creator said that season 3 will go deeper into "a very specific New York City. The series' co-creators hinted that Season 3 will delve deeper into "a very specific New York City.

"I can only say that the show has always had a theatrical touch in the way it tells stories," he told the outlet. "If season one was a little more focused on the emotional story of Mabel and Tim Cono, and season two was a little more emotionally tied to Charles and his relationship with his father and himself, then I'm very excited to lean into both the theatrical side of New York and Oliver and his world. I'm very excited about it."

Hoffman also confirmed that the world of OMITB will expand into the theater with the addition of several new cast members in season three. The showrunner told Vanity Fair, "What I found most exciting is that it's also hinted at at the end of Season 2: There's a certain fresh start and a whole clean slate that occurs because of the time jump we take," the showrunner (opens in new tab)." It will also introduce a whole new collection of theater-centric characters."

the showrunner told Vanity Fair.

Given that the show's world extends to the theater (and the central murders don't even take place inside Arconia), one wonders whether "Only Murder in the Building" will leave, well, the building behind. But it seems certain that everything will remain connected to the Upper West Side apartment complex, and when Vanity Fair asked Hoffman about that change, the co-creator replied, "I'm not sure. I can't say any more. I can't say any more."

As the world of OMITB expands and Mabel, Charles, and Oliver continue to be New York's unluckiest podcasters, one wonders how long the show would last if given an unlimited slot. Thankfully, Hoffman told "The Hollywood Reporter" (open in new tab) that he is excited about the show's long future.

"When this idea was first brought to me by Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal and Steve's idea, I said to Steve [Martin], 'You know what?" This little idea just kept coming and coming, and it's been going on and on.

"So I'm in a bullish mood, saying, 'So, if we're lucky, I think there's going to be great variety [in terms of stories told] for many seasons to come, and as long as they keep us on, and as long as we can keep this thing going.'"

"I know there's a funny debate about how many murders you can have in one building, but I think that's a fun challenge too. So I'm very excited. I think these characters are endlessly fascinating. I love the New York world we've created," he continued.