‘Only Murders in the Building’ Creator Talks Major Death Twist for Celebrity Guest Star

The highly-anticipated third season of  has finally premiered on Hulu, with the first two episodes including quite the shocker. It’s been known since the Season 2 finale that Season 3 would center on the murder of Paul Rudd’s Ben Glenroy, who died on stage during opening night of Oliver’s new Broadway play. That was very much the case for the premiere, as Oliver was freaking out, and everyone was trying to figure out what happened. However, during Oliver’s party, which was supposed to be an after-party for opening night, Ben shocked everyone by coming back alive.

Ben admitted that they pumped his stomach at the hospital, and while he was dead, he was resuscitated. He then began to individually apologize to everyone at the party for being such a jerk. Unfortunately, that didn’t help him, as he died in the elevator shaft, and who to find him but Charles, Oliver, and Mabel. Co-creator and showrunner John Hoffman talked about the double death twist with TVLine and how Paul Rudd reacted to the news that he’d be dying not once but twice.

“Paul was delighted,” Hoffman shared. “We didn’t have it when we first pitched him on his demise at the end of Season 2. I’ll never forget Zooming with him when I was telling him what this season would entail for Ben Glenroy, and he was both shocked and delighted.”

Hoffman also said that they knew a few weeks into Season 3 that there would be a big twist as they’re “always looking for some new twist.” They also did their research on poisons, and what made sense, so they knew that if they were to poison Ben first, what types he would be able to survive. As for reviving Ben, this is a first for the Hulu hit, as the previous two victims didn’t come back to life after their initial deaths, but it made the series all the more interesting.

“The part I liked the most is this twist on the classic murder-mystery thing,” Hoffman explained. “Where you have a room full of people — suspects, potentially — and here we have the victim himself going around the room and picking out potential suspects for our audience at home. And then it’s a double twist [once Ben dies in the Arconia] that sets up our trio.”

While it was obvious that the series would focus on Ben’s murder, no one saw him coming back to life, and it was as unexpected as ever. That second death, meanwhile, was pretty surprising as well, but it was in true Only Murders fashion to have the trio witness it and have it be in the Arconia. The stakes are even higher, and now they have something for their podcast, at least. It already looks like it’s going to be a roller coaster of a season, and fans can watch it all go down on Tuesdays on Hulu.