Ever since it premiered on Hulu in August 2021, Only Murders in the Building has been a runaway hit with critics and audiences. The series follows an unlikely trio who all live in the same building in New York City and has a fascination with murder podcast and decide to start their own once actual murders happen in their apartment complex. The series’ first season was a hit, nominated for multiple awards, and season two was quickly greenlit, premiering in June 2022.

Only Murders in the Building was confirmed for season three shortly after the fourth episode of season two aired and filming is already underway, with many hoping the series will return in the summer of 2023. While no release date is currently set, for anyone looking to catch up on the series here is a quick breakdown of the major players in the ensemble and some interesting hints at what will come in season three.

Charles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin)

     Hulu

Charles Haden-Savage is a semi-retired actor who was most famous for starring in a 1990s television detective series named Brazzos. Charles recently reconnected with Lucy, the daughter of one of Charles’ ex-girlfriends. He lives in apartment 14C of the Arcadia.

Charles is played by legendary comedic actor Steve Martin. Martin is a famous stand-up comedian and is known for films like The Jerk, Parenthood, and The Father of the Bride films. He has a long-time working relationship with fellow co-star Martin Short. Martin also serves as one of the co-creators of Only Murders in the Building alongside John Hoffman.

Oliver Putman (Martin Short)

Oliver Putman is an ambitious theater producer, although he has recently had a string of bad luck in terms of productions. Starting the podcast is his idea and is often directing both Charles and Mabel. Oliver resides in apartment 10D and has a real passion for dips.

Martin Short plays Oliver Putman. Short is an iconic comedic actor most famous for his character Jiminy Glick. He has starred in films like Clifford, Mars Attacks, and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. He also starred with co-star Steve Martin in films like Three Amigos, Prince of Egypt, and Father of the Bride, along with their comedy special An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life on Netflix.

Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez)

Mabel Mora is the younger member of the trio and is staying in apartment 12E renovating it for her aunt. Mabel is defined by her mysterious past and was friends with season one murder victim Tim Kono. Mabel’s father died of cancer when she was younger, which has helped shape her closed-off nature, although her friendship with Charles and Oliver has allowed her to open up more.

Mabel is played by Selena Gomez. Gomez got her start on the television series Barney and Friends as a young kid before her breakout role on the Disney Channel hit series The Wizards of Waverly Place. She is a successful recording artist and producer and has been involved with projects like the Hotel Transylvania films and the HBO Max original Cooking with Selena, and is the subject of the recent documentary on Apple TV+, My Mind & Me.

Cindy Canning (Tina Fey)

Cindy Canning is a successful podcast host known for her true-crime series. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are all fans of hers until they approach her in season one, and she dismisses them. She takes on a bigger role in season two as she begins a rival podcast about the main trio being the murderers.

Cindy Canning is played by award-winning comedian Tina Fey. Fey broke out on Saturday Night Live and created and starred in the series 30 Rock. Fey has been featured in a number of high-profile films including Mean Girls (which she wrote), Sisters, Megamind, and Muppets Most Wanted. Like Steve Martin and Martin Short, Fey also has a long history of hosting various awards shows including the Golden Globes and the Emmys.

Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph)

Detective Williams is assigned to the murder of Tim Kono in season one. While she is originally dismissive of the podcast Only Murders in the Building, she begins to take notice when her wife starts to listen to it and begins taking an active part in helping the trio solve the case. In season 2 she becomes a key ally in getting the trio released when they are first accused of murder.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph plays Detective Williams. Randolph has been featured in films like Office Christmas Party and Dolemite is My Name. She is also famously a renowned singer and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in Ghost: The Musical. This musical background was used to great comedic effect in season two, when she sings A Chorus Line after Oliver assumes she has not seen it.

Teddy Dimas (Nathan Lane)

Teddy Dimas is the owner of a chain of delis that Oliver frequents and becomes the podcast’s key sponsor, only for things to turn when the trio suspect Teddy is the murderer. They falsely accuse him of murder but expose other crimes he has committed resulting in him vowing vengeance on Oliver. Teddy and Oliver have a long history together and in season two it is revealed Teddy is the actual biological father of Oliver’s son Will Putman.

Teddy is played by legendary stage and screen actor Nathan Lane. Lane is famous for many roles including voicing Timone in The Lion King, starring in The Birdcage alongside Robin Williams, and playing the role of Max Bialystock in both The Producers stage show and the 2005 film adaptation.

Theo Dimas (James Caverly)

Theo Dimas is Teddy Dimas’ son. Theo is deaf which forced him to feel isolated from everyone except his father. He partakes in his father’s theft schemes, and while he is arrested in season one, by season two he has tried to turn over a new leaf and helps Mabel with some clues regarding the main mystery of the season.

Theo is played by James Caverly who, like his character, is also deaf. Caverly has been an outspoken advocate for portrayals of deafness in Hollywood and was heavily involved with crafting the narrative and sign language for Only Murders in the Building. In season two, when his character tries to converse with Mabel, it shows the struggles of communicating when one person doesn’t know sign language, and he can only make out a third of what she is saying.

Lucy (Zoe Colletti)

Added in season 2, Lucy is the daughter of one of Charles’s ex-girlfriends. She was first mentioned in season 1 as someone that Charles grew close with only to lose contact with when her mother broke up with him. She re-enters his life in season 2 and becomes a major character and shows to have liked Charles more than any of her mother’s other boyfriends and even more so than her own mother at times.

Zoe Colletti stars as Lucy. Colletti’s first big screen role was in the 2014 film Annie and has since appeared in films like Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark and A Boy Called Christmas. On television, she is most famous for the role of Dakota on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead and a starring role on the Netflix series Boo, Bitch.

Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd)

The season two finale of Only Murders in the Building featured a time jump, showcasing a play directed by Oliver and starring Charles. One of the co-stars is Ben, who Charles threatens regarding something involving Mabel, yet the audience is not privy to exactly why. Ben then dies for real on stage setting up the main murder investigation of season three. Ben is played by none other than Paul Rudd, who was confirmed to have a major role in season 3 likely to fill in the details around his murder.

Paul Rudd is one of the most prolific comedic actors working today. He has been in numerous Judd Apatow-produced comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Knocked Up, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He is now most famous for his role as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the next film, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, set for release on February 17, 2023, before the premiere of Only Murders in the Building season three.

Unknown Name (Jesse Williams)

     ABC

Joining the cast in season three of Only Murders in the Building is Jesse Williams in a currently unnamed role, though Deadline reveals that he will play a “documentarian with a particular interest in the case that Selena Gomez’s Mabel Mora, Steve Martin’s Charles Haden-Savage and Martin Short’s Oliver Putnam are working on.”

Williams is most famous for his role as Jackson Avery on the hit series Grey’s Anatomy. Williams also has appeared in films like The Cabin in the Woods, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and most recently the Paramount+ streaming original film Secret Headquarters. Williams will make a strong addition to the cast and now is a potential suspect.