‘Only Murders in the Building’ Star Not Returning for Season 3

When Only Murders in the Building returns to Hulu for Season 3, viewers won’t be seeing one of the show’s stars. Deadline reports that Nathan Lane — who portrays Teddy Dimas in the series — will not be back in the new season. The actor has a previous commitment to the Broadway show Pictures From Home during the same time as filming for Only Murders in the Building.

Notably, this week Lane landed an Outstanding Guest Actor nomination at the Emmy Awards for his role in the comedy series, marking just one of 11 Emmy nominations. Only Murders in the Building co-creator John Hoffman spoke to Deadline about the honors, saying, “I just got a text from Nathan and I told him how much it feels like he’s a staple now and indefatigable. He was very sweet, his text said, ‘Thank you for the gift of Teddy Dimas.’”

He continued, “We’ve had such an incredible guest cast like Shirley MacLaine from Season 2 coming in and widening up that part in a way nobody else could. And Nathan doing the same with Teddy. There’s no way to predict the elevation that happens with the incredible cast and the magic of this trio pulling it all together. As sweet as these awards are, there’s nothing quite like the reward that we get every day making the show.”

While Lane won’t be around in Only Murders in the Building Season 3, he could return if there’s a Season 4, and fans will have a new star to look forward to. According to Variety, Paul Rudd will be part of the Season 3 cast, following his Season 2 finale cameo. The Ant-Man actor played Broadway star Ben Glenroy in the last episode of the most recent season and will reprise the role in the show’s third season. It is unclear if he will be a main cast member or if it will be a recurring part.

Speaking to Variety about the news, Hoffman previously said, “Paul Rudd, after making an auspicious entrance into the world of our show at the end of Season 2 as Ben Glenroy, is someone we clearly want to know more about and see in our upcoming Season 3 – as he is a clear source of many upcoming questions and, as ever with our show, many twists yet to come!” Other big names to turn up in smaller roles on the show include music legend Sting (Season 1) and comedian Amy Schumer (Season 2). Notably, both stars played fictionalized versions of themselves.