Only Murders in the Building’ Season 3: Who killed Ben? A suspect rundown

The new season of Only Murders in the Building is finally here, and we’re hooked.

Season 2 of Hulu’s hit whodunnit ended with the gang wrapping up one murdery mystery and launching directly into another before its final curtain. In the season finale, Oliver (Martin Short) was on the cusp of Broadway greatness with a new play, Death Rattle — but then lead actor Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) collapsed on stage and presumably died on opening night.

In Season 3, Only Murders in the Building picks up there, investigating this curious could-be murder. But also, the series looks back at the tumultuous months leading up to a doubly deadly opening night.

Episode 1, “The Show Must…” establishes that Ben is a movie star who’s famous for playing CoBro, a superhero zoologist that can turn into a giant cobra. (Yes, it’s giving Ant-Man,) Turns out that behind the scenes, Ben is a giant jerk who’s upset all of his castmates. More surprisingly, however, is the revelation that Ben didn’t actually die on stage as Season 2’s finale suggested. Alive and well, Ben shows up to Death Rattle‘s after-party, where his near-death experience spurs him to pour out apologies to the show’s cast and crew — along the way spelling out some possible motives for murder.

After giving a bunch of backhanded apologies to his colleagues, Ben returns to his apartment, which just so happens to be the Arconia penthouse formerly home to Sting in Season 1 and Amy Schumer in Season 2. Shortly after, Mabel (Selena Gomez), Oliver, and Charles (Steve Martin) leave the party as well. In their building’s elevator, the trio ponders Ben’s curious brush with death. Then his corpse comes clattering through the elevator car’s ceiling.

And just like that, there’s officially another murder in the building. There’s a killer on the loose, and the suspect is hiding amongst the Death Rattle production — so says a pivotal clue in the second episode.

In “The Beat Goes On,” Mabel notices that clutched in Ben’s hand is one of the Death Rattle-themed handkerchiefs he’d greatestowed on the cast and crew as opening night presents. She and Charles imagine Ben grabbed the hanky from his attacker when he was pushed into the elevator shaft. To catch the killer, they must determine who doesn’t have their hanky.

So, who killed Ben? Let’s look at this season’s suspects. 

Loretta Durkin

Who: Loretta (Meryl Streep) is an actress in Oliver’s play, cast in the role of the nanny. She’s been dreaming of being on Broadway since she was a little girl, fawning at the footlights. However, her acting career’s been decades of never scoring her big break. Death Rattle is finally the shot she’s been training for her entire life — if Ben doesn’t mess it up.

Why: Loretta and Ben do not like each other. We don’t know why. But we can assume that Loretta is the woman Charles was referring to in the Season 2 finale when he scolds Ben ahead of the show, “Be smart. Stay away from her.”

In the Season 3 premiere, Ben pointedly leaves Loretta out of his apology parade, calling her a snake instead.

Why do Ben and Loretta hate each other so much? Did that hatred drive Loretta to kill Ben not once but twice? She’s a prime suspect, but she’s also an obvious suspect. I mean, she’s played by Meryl Streep! So, Loretta might just be a red herring.

Donna and Cliff

Who: Donna (Linda Emond) and Cliff (Wesley Taylor) are the play’s eccentric producers. They’re mother and son with a very, very strange relationship — a Freudian case study, dare I say. Death Rattle is Cliff’s first attempt at producing a play, but his overbearing mom is really the one calling all the shots. 

Why: Donna and Cliff could have tried to kill Ben out of anger. Ben doesn’t know Cliff’s name and so dismissively calls him “boy” (harsh but hilarious). Plus, Ben has been a bit of a diva about his dressing room, as he notes at the after-party.

It’s also possible that Donna and Cliff killed Ben to drive up the play’s ticket sales. What could be better advertising for a murder mystery than a lead actor who’s part of a real murder mystery himself? It’s incredibly twisted but entirely plausible. 

Dickie Glenroy 

Who: Dickie (Jeremy Shamos) is Ben’s brother and manager, and according to Ben, he’s a bit touchy around the topic of nepotism. It’s clear from their interactions that the pair have a strained relationship.

Why: Dickie is basically Ben’s punching bag. Working on Death Rattle paired with Ben’s general brattiness may have pushed him over the edge — pun intended. Murders are often committed by people the victims are close to, which makes Dickie a prime suspect.

Kimber 

Who: Kimber (Joy Ride‘s Ashley Park) is the ingenue in Oliver’s play. From their first table read, there’s sparks — or at least flirtations from Ben. Was their relationship romantic? Were they just friends with benefits? Or was it a case of unrequited love? 

Why: The mystery shrouding the nature of Ben and Kimber’s relationship poses an abundance of questions and hints at a possible scornful scandal. Did a lover’s quarrel go too far? Ben apologized to Kimber for making everything “messy” between them, so it’s possible that Kimber may have had a few troubling tricks up her sleeves. 

Ty 

Who: Another actor from Death Rattle, Ty (Gerald Caesar) got on Ben’s bad side by asking for the contact info of his personal trainer (the CoBro secret weapon). 

Why: Ben not only got angry at Ty for asking for his trainer’s info, but he also insinuated that Ty didn’t even have enough money to afford his trainer — a low blow from the CoBro. Was Ty envious of Ben? Was he over being bullied by him? Questions, questions, and not enough answers. 

Bobo 

Who: We don’t know much about Bobo (Don Darryl Rivera) beyond his being another Death Rattle cast member. That and — as the arrogant movie star makes clear at the after-party — Ben said a lot of “no-no’s to Bobo,” presumably rejecting his every idea or request. 

Why: The underdog is always a suspect. Bobo, like many suspects on this list, could have similarly been driven over the edge by Ben’s behavior and murdered him as a relief for everyone in the cast and himself. 

Jonathan 

Who: Jonathan (Jason Veasey) is Ben’s understudy, a resident of the Arconia, and the partner of Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton). In Season 2, we got to see Jonathan and Howard falling in love. But in Season 3, this studly songbird is a top suspect in Ben’s murder.

Why: As Ben’s understudy, Jonathan’s motives could be that he had wanted the spotlight, and Ben was pretty clear at the after-party he had no intention of letting his understudy take his place. Although the revitalized Ben expressed that he’d “consider” giving Ben a shot in the future, it’s possible that Jonathan recognized that the only way he’d get his Broadway debut was by murder. 

It’s also possible that Howard could have helped him achieve that dream. And as they’re both residents of the Arconia, it would be very easy for Jonathan — with or without Howard — to sneak around the building without being seen, as those secret passages from Season 2 made clear.

Howard 

Who: We all know and love Howard, the friendly neighbor and avid lover of cats and cashmere. In Oliver’s play, Howard’s helping out as an assistant. Not an assistant director, just an assistant. Period. 

Why: Howard clearly wants to be more involved with the play, and Ben’s selfishness may have been an obstacle getting in his way. We also know that Howard initially auditioned for Death Rattle, so maybe he thought killing Ben would give him a chance in the spotlight? 

Howard could have also killed Ben to help his beloved beau, Jonathan, get the lead role. Are they partners in both crime and love?

K.T. 

Who: K.T. (Allison Guinn) is Death Rattle‘s stage manager. So far, she seems to be the queen of being unbothered and staying in her lane. We also know that Ben accused her of stealing his mangoes, the only sweet treat he can have on the CoBro diet. But at the party, K.T. reassured him that she knew the accusations were coming out of love — and Ben, well, Ben reminded her that they weren’t. 

Why: As a stage manager, K.T. has access to all of the theater’s ins and outs. Secret hallways, hidden backdoors, and so on. And such secrets proved crucial to the case in Season 2!

It’s possible that she knew the perfect route to sleuth her way into Ben’s dressing room and back again, making the first attempt on Ben’s life quick and easy, before sneaking into the Arconia later and finishing the job. It’s also strange that we don’t know what her initials stand for. What are you hiding, K.T.? Did the mango accusations push you to kill? 

Tobert 

Who: A proud Robert with a T, Tobert (Jesse Williams) is a documentarian filmmaker working on a movie about Ben’s Broadway debut. We don’t know much about Tobert yet, but he did mention in episode 1 that we won’t be hearing from him again; instead, he’ll be silently waiting in the wings, shooting his film. It’s strange for Only Murders in the Building to cast a big name in a silent role, which leads us to believe that we will be hearing more from Tobert soon.

Why: Considering that Tobert needs to capture all the footage leading up to Ben’s debut, it’s safe to assume that he was spending a lot of quality time with Ben, in close proximity, for several months. Ben’s attitude, or more pressingly, what Tobert could have found out about Ben in those months, may have pushed the documentarian out from behind the camera and into action.

If we want to let the theory run wilder, maybe Tobert thought a documentary about the death of the CoBro star would be way bigger than the behind-the-scenes Broadway angle. Greed and a thirst for fame might have urged Tobert to plant some poisonous seeds.

Gregg

Who: While attending Ben’s funeral, Mabel and co. meet Gregg (Adrian Martinez), a crazed fan masquerading as Ben’s security guard in hopes of finding Ben’s killer.

When Mabel and Charles go to Gregg’s home under the pretense of sharing information about the case, they quickly realize that they’re dealing with a stalker whose top talents include: photoshopping pictures of himself with Ben, stealing memorabilia from Ben’s sets, and breaking into Ben’s home to steal even more memorabilia —including Ben’s Death Rattle handkerchief.

Why: Sure, he held Mabel and Charles hostage. And, sure, he was seen leaving the Arconia minutes after Ben’s death. But as Mabel astutely pointed out, Gregg was looking for Ben’s killer, so much so that he was willing to commit multiple felonies to find them. Gregg loves Ben, albeit a little too much, but he clearly didn’t kill him if he was so hellbent on finding out who did. Although the cops arrested Gregg and suspect he’s Ben’s killer, that feels like a cop-out (pun intended).

While this suspect list is full of questions, there’s one thing for sure. The killer is hiding amongst them, and our golden trio will be on their tail!

Maybe everyone in the play was in on it? Maybe it was a one-woman show? Or maybe it was a sibling squabble gone horribly wrong? A murder in the building. An attempted murder in the theater. What will happen next? 

How to watch: Season 3 of Only Murders in the Building is now streaming on Hulu.