Only Murders in the Building Official Podcast

S3 E10: Opening Night (Part 4)

Date: October 13, 2023
Host: Maggie Bowles and Ryan Tillotson
Featured Guests: Writers of Season 3 (Ben Smith, Pete Swanson, Mateo, Rob Chabolski, JJ Philbin, Jake Schnessel, Brian Rosen, Joshua Alan Griffith)

Overview

This episode closes out Season 3 with a roundtable conversation featuring the writers of Only Murders in the Building. Maggie Bowles and Ryan Tillotson bring together the creative minds behind the season to discuss their experience writing during the writers’ and actors’ strikes, the challenges of crafting a murder mystery, their favorite behind-the-scenes moments and jokes, and the creative chaos behind season 3’s biggest mysteries—including the infamous “hankies.” The tone is lively and candid, showcasing the camaraderie and humor that shape the show.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Season 3’s Production During the Strikes

• The writers’ and actors’ strikes forced the podcast hosts and showrunners to get creative, bringing in members of the crew and emphasizing behind-the-scenes perspectives.
• Maggie: “Because of the writers strike and the actors strike, we did things differently…We hosted. And we spoke to all kinds of people who work behind the scenes to make a show like Only Murders true magic.” (00:24)

2. Meet the Writers & Roles

• Each writer introduces themselves, stating their role and episode contributions.
• Notable mention: Pete Swanson (script coordinator, co-writer ep. 308), JJ Philbin (wrote “The White Room”), and Brian Rosen (John Hoffman’s assistant, penned Maxine’s peer review). (02:08–03:04)

3. Working Through the Strike

• Ben Smith served as strike captain; the writers kept in touch through texting and organized Only Murders room pickets with ping-pong and watching cuts. (03:30–03:56)

4. Creating "Death Rattle Dazzle": The Meta-Musical

• An ad-hoc “bible” was developed for the fictional play, with much improvisation and humor providing its surreal logic.

• Details like “Lighthouse triplets” and “Constable Nova Scotia” were brainstormed in a session with Pasek & Paul, who appeared unfazed by the chaos.

  • JJ Philbin: “…It wasn’t quite making sense. But I think it was making us laugh how it almost made sense but didn’t quite.” (04:38)

• The musical was originally imagined to have more songs and narrative complexity; much of it was cut for clarity and feasibility. (10:15–11:46)

5. Abandoned Plotlines & Writers’ Room “What-Ifs”

• Writers reflected on wild ideas that didn’t make the cut:

  • Rehearsals in a drained swimming pool or defunct sex club in the Arconia basement (09:13)
  • A chicken chase rom-com sequence for Mabel and Tobert (13:09–14:32)
  • An entire episode conceived as almost entirely music from Loretta’s (Meryl Streep's) POV, scrapped due to production constraints (11:08–11:46)

• Rob Chabolski: “You try all the wrong things and then the only thing that’s left has to be the right one—or you’re out of time.” (08:39)

6. Keeping Secrets: The Mystery of Spoilers

• Writers discussed the power and difficulty of holding onto the killer's identity, both in personal life and on the picket line.
  • Mateo: “It does make me feel incredibly powerful because everybody is asking and I just get to sit there and be like, maybe, could be.” (06:42)
  • Ben Smith: “The story is kind of evolving constantly…even if I were to tell what felt like a secret in the moment, it might be outdated by the time it airs.” (07:20)

7. Crafting Jokes & Favorite Gags

• The comedic premise is always built in the room before anyone writes a scene. Jokes evolve as group riffs, with some emerging as personal favorites.
  • Ben Smith: “We want almost all the scenes to have a comedic premise at their core, and that’s conceived as a group...” (15:19)
  • JJ Philbin: “Normally the one that the writer goes off with is the one that, you know, made everybody laugh.” (16:20)

Favorite Moments:

• Ben talking to a cookie:
  • “Ben was talking to a cookie. Probably the day that had the hardest laughter.” — Rob Chabolski (17:18)
  • Ben Smith: “Mateo and I just went into a different headspace and we just kept pitching lines that you might say to a lover that you would also say to a cookie…” (17:50)
• Matthew Broderick gags: e.g., “Ferris Bueller may take a day off, but Matthew Broderick does not.” (19:12)
• Steve Martin’s “Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever hit a deer…” line delivery in Sits Probe (19:56)
• “Jerry Blouse hibachi” scene: “Him cooking the rat on the hibachi…even watching it just killed me.” — Jake Schnessel (20:39)
• Season 2 callback: “Howard says he’s a child’s librarian…‘Shut up.’ ‘That’s our motto.’” — Mateo (21:12)

8. Building Oliver Putnam’s Character Arc

• The writers loved writing for Martin Short, expanding Oliver’s romance, “sharper edges,” and emotional range.
  • JJ Philbin: “When we were all watching on the monitors when he was with Loretta at the piano…it’s just, oh, this is really something. Got us fired up to write those romantic scenes.” (23:33)

9. The Hankies: A Writers’ Puzzle & Collective Trauma

• The running joke—and frustration—of this season was the “hankies” as a narrative device.

  • Rob Chabolski: “That’s what we were saying all year.” (26:00)
  • Brian Rosen: “The only person who understood the hankies was Joshua. Maybe he can explain it to us right now…I don’t know. I’m probably responsible in some way for them, but I’m not taking full responsibility.” (26:03–26:14)
  • JJ Philbin: “There were…the biggest debate we had all year. Should the hankies have been monogrammed? Or generic?” (27:07)
  • Brian Rosen: “The reason there was a monogram was so we wouldn’t have to prove the absence of a hanky. In the end, there wasn’t a monogram, and that’s okay.” (27:41)

• Other hard-to-thread clues involved Ben’s notoriously “20-minutes-early” watch (29:17), and the timing of significant reveals—often revised for clarity.

10. Solving the Mystery & The Double Ben Kill

• Creative debate over when and how to kill Ben Glenroy and whether the sequence would “stutter step” or throw off viewers, but ultimately it made the narrative different and fresh. (32:10–33:39)

• The “her” referenced in season two’s finale remained an open question until the room determined Loretta’s role in season three. (34:22)

11. Writing for Meryl Streep & Cast Feedback

• Joy and disbelief at getting to write for Meryl Streep:
  • Rob Chabolski: “I can’t believe that we get to make Meryl Streep say, ‘Grey's New Orleans Family Burn Unit.’ Like, we’re just, like, writing gibberish that Meryl Streep is going to turn into art.” (35:40)
• Streep provided detailed notes, especially on pivotal emotional scenes, making the writing sharper. (36:17–37:03)
• Showrunner John Hoffman encouraged the writers: “We should take advantage of—she’s the queen of accents, so let her go nuts in this audition.” (37:07)
• Paul Rudd’s “Stinkerooni” line was a John Hoffman favorite. (37:38–37:59)

12. Writers’ Room Dynamics

• A hybrid (in-person and Zoom) writers’ room led to jokes about “overlord” voices on the screen. (38:20–38:51)
• The creative process: “A free exchange of screaming over each other, repeating other people’s pitches, but louder so we get credit for them.” — Rob Chabolski (39:22)

13. Saz Pataki’s Death & Inspiration

• The name “Saz” comes from Mateo’s mother.
• Jane Lynch’s Saz was a writers’ favorite to watch on set, especially her stunt double’s somersault. (40:51)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You try all the wrong things and then the only thing left has to be the right one—or you’re out of time.” — Rob Chabolski (08:39)
• “It does make me feel incredibly powerful…everybody is asking and I just get to sit there and be like, maybe, could be.” — Mateo (06:42)
• “Mateo and I just went into a different headspace…and we just kept pitching lines you might say to a lover that you would also say to a cookie.” — Ben Smith (17:50)
• “The only person who understood the hankies was Joshua. Maybe he can explain it to us…” — JJ Philbin (26:03)
• “I’m not taking full responsibility [for the hankies]. Never.” — Brian Rosen (26:14)
• “We’re just, like, writing gibberish that Meryl Streep is going to turn into, like, art.” — Rob Chabolski (35:40)
• “We want almost all the scenes to have a comedic premise at their core, and that’s conceived as a group.” — Ben Smith (15:19)
• “Howard says he’s a child’s librarian, Jonathan says ‘shut up,’ and Howard says, ‘that’s our motto.’” — Mateo (21:12)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Writers’ Introductions: 02:08–03:04
• Strike Stories & Room Dynamics: 03:30–03:56
• Death Rattle Dazzle Creation: 04:10–06:18
• Keeping Secrets & Spoilers: 06:18–07:53
• Abandoned Plotlines & Musical Evolution: 08:15–13:08
• Chicken Gag for Mabel & Tobert: 13:09–14:32
• How Jokes Are Built: 15:12–16:20
• Favorite Writers’ Room Jokes: 17:18–22:03
• Expanding Oliver Putnam’s Arc: 23:29–24:58
• The “Hankies” Trauma Explained: 25:58–28:19
• Solving Narrative Puzzles (Watches, Timings): 29:12–29:54
• Adapting Season 2’s Finale: 31:36–34:22
• Writing for Meryl Streep: 35:08–37:59
• Writers’ Room Structure & Creative Process: 38:20–40:15
• The Origin of “Saz” and Jane Lynch Moments: 40:20–41:11

Tone & Style

The episode is unfiltered, behind-the-scenes, and often very funny. The writers riff openly and recall moments of confusion, joy, and collective pain, especially around tricky plotting moments or hilarious creative dead-ends. The storytelling is breezy but peppered with professional insight. Fans get a strong sense of both the writers’ camaraderie and the near-chaos of building a show as elaborate (and witty) as Only Murders.

For New Listeners

This episode is a must-listen for superfans and aspiring writers, revealing the chaotic, hilarious, and sometimes painful process behind one of TV’s cleverest mysteries. The genuine affection between the writers and their giddy disbelief at collaborating with megastars like Meryl Streep make the dialogue both insightful and endearing.