Thinking ahead to 76th Emmys: Is Meryl Streep (‘Only Murders in the Building’) a shoo-in?
Although the 75th Primetime Emmys ceremony is set to occur at a much later date than usual (January 15, 2024), this year remains typical in that the eligibility window for the 76th edition of the TV academy’s annual honors has been open since June 1. Among the programs that have made positive early impressions is Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” the third season of which premiered on August 8 with special guest star Meryl Streep in tow. Unsurprisingly, the three-time Oscar winner’s layered performance has attracted unanimous praise, and she appears to be well on her way to at least landing her first comedic acting Emmy nomination, if not her fourth career TV victory.
After months of knowing very little about Streep’s new “Only Murders” character, fans of the mystery series were introduced to her Loretta Durkin during the latest season’s opening montage. While casting his original Broadway play, “Death Rattle,” theatre director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) finds himself entranced by Loretta’s last minute audition and enthusiastically gives her her long-awaited big break. As time passes, she displays the personal shortcomings that have kept her out of the spotlight for six decades while contradictorily demonstrating the kind of talent that should have already made her an undeniable star. It’s this off-kilter duality that makes the character so intriguing and her possible involvement in the season’s central murder so plausible.
As Oliver’s dramatic play has morphed into the musical “Death Rattle Dazzle,” Streep has been given several chances to show off her singing voice. In the premiere installment, she and Short engage in a duet of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sweetest Sounds,” and she then closes the third episode by performing the poignant original number “Look for the Light.” While composed by Oliver in the context of the show, the latter song and several others from this season are actually the creations of Oscar, Grammy and Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
Practically every review backing up the newest “Only Murders” season’s Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 99% singles out Streep in some positive way, with Shubhra Gupta (The Indian Express) calling her “the highlight of the show” and LaToya Ferguson (The Wrap) referring to her as “a welcome addition” who “only enhances the [series’] quirky, charming nature.” Judy Berman (Time) notes how great the legendary actress is at “building layers of ambiguity into a self-consciously stylized performance,” while Olly Richards (Empire) says she “seems to be having the time of her life with scenes that require her dramatic brilliance as well as many that let her be playful in a way that’s rarely asked of her.”
Streep’s potential Emmy victory for this plum comedic role would come nearly half a century after she first won for her lead performance on the four-part limited series “Holocaust” (1978). In the time since, she has picked up two additional Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress nominations for “First Do No Harm” (1997) and “Angels in America” (2004), the latter of which resulted in her second victory. Then, after winning the 2017 Best Narrator prize for “Five Came Back,” her third Emmy overall, she earned a dramatic supporting nomination for her debut continuing series performance on “Big Little Lies” (2020).
“Only Murders in the Building” received 11 Emmy nominations (including one for Best Comedy Series) for its second season after having achieved three creative arts wins for its first. New Season 3 episodes will stream each Tuesday on Hulu until October 3.
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