Directed by: Chris Koch  |  Written by: Tess Morris, Noah Levine

Official synopsis: While Oliver goes on a date with Loretta, Mabel meets with Tobert at a restaurant to observe Jonathan, Ben’s understudy and Howard’s boyfriend. They see him exchanging something with a man, whom Tobert identifies as Ben’s doctor. Meanwhile, following a fight between Charles and Joy about the lipstick, Charles is visited by Sazz, who gives him an impromptu therapy session about his relationship problems. Oliver and Loretta take a ferry cruise, but Oliver is surprised when Loretta calls Ben a “fucking pig” and confesses to him that she had a scuffle with Ben on opening night. Joy explains to Charles that she simply left her lipstick at Ben’s dressing room after she fixed a mark on his face, which Charles reveals was because he punched Ben for his scuffle with Loretta. Charles also reveals that his proposal was accidental, causing Joy to break up with him. Mabel takes Tobert back to her apartment to show him her board of clues, and they kiss. Oliver and Loretta sleep together in her apartment, where he later finds a scrapbook full of news clippings about Ben.

“Is it possible you’re sleeping next to a lunatic or a liar? Sure it is!” After all, Joy’s lipstick was found in Ben’s dressing room and was used to write “fucking pig” on the mirror, like the “WHORE” scrawled in Black Swan. But Charles is procrastinating broaching the subject, struggling to find the right time to ask his fiancée if she’s a murderer. While Charles might well be single soon (to quote Selena’s latest bop), Mabel and Oliver are embarking on their own first dates. Well, technically, Mabel insists that her meeting with Tobert is a platonic stakeout to investigate a suspect, but Charles and Oliver aren’t convinced. For his part, Oliver is finally going out on his date with Loretta — well, not exactly out. The pair is having dinner at Loretta’s apartment, which is a far cry from the spacious (albeit deadly) Arconia. On account of her broken microwave, a frazzled Loretta has to cook her pork chops in the oven that she never uses. It’s as if Carrie Bradshaw lived on the Upper West Side instead of the Upper East Side.

Speaking of Sex and the City, Joy and Charles are heading to Magnolia Bakery to sample wedding cakes when Charles finally asks her about the lipstick. “Do you honestly think I had something to do with Ben’s death?” an insulted Joy asks, just as their conversation is interrupted by their old friend and Charles’s Brazzos stunt double, Sazz (Jane Lynch). When Joy decides to taste-test the cakes alone, the doppelgängers catch up. Sazz tells him that he’s suffering from MGDS (murderous girlfriend derangement syndrome), saying that Jan scarred him into ridiculously thinking that Joy is a killer, too. She tries to cure Charles in a game of “commit” or “be committed,” where she pretends to be Joy (delivering a stellar Andrea Martin impression). By the end of the exercise, Charles realizes that he’s afraid of joy — not uppercase Joy, but lowercase joy, which he fears he doesn’t deserve. The breakthrough assuages his suspicions (despite their still being valid on account of the lipstick). At Mabel’s “stakeout,” she discovers that the performer at the swanky piano bar Tobert summoned her to is none other than Jonathan — Howard’s boyfriend and Ben’s understudy. Tobert initially suspected him, but after a week of digging found little more than this weekly cabaret show, which he thought would make for a good date with Mabel. The scheme to get her there under false pretenses pays off, though, and Mabel decides to stay for the date. He asks her about her connection to Oliver and Charles, and she clarifies that they’re not her dads but rather her best buds, whom she mostly talks to about murder and connecting to Bluetooth. (Isn’t that technically what a dad is?)

Oliver’s date isn’t going as well. Since he’s used to dips over solid foods, Loretta’s overdone pork chop proves to be a struggle for Oliver, and he knocks out a tooth trying to bite into it. After the initial shock, the pair laughs, and Oliver’s snort reminds Loretta of all the different pigs she’s played onstage, like in Charlotte’s Web and Animal Farm. Those credits then remind her of another “fucking pig” they know: Ben Glenroy. The mention of Ben, and particularly her specific phrasing, gives Oliver pause and raises a brand-new bright-red flag. It creates an awkward moment, which Loretta remedies with an idea of what they can do about that tooth. The pair ditch the apartment, and with his tooth in tow, she takes him onto the ferry around Manhattan. Onboard, Loretta pulls out a joint that her old roommate, Babette Claus, gave her in 1978. Does weed have an expiration date? Is there any potency left in that 45-year-old joint? I have questions. This information shocks Oliver, who says he knew Babette and rolled her ten joints that year with a streamer from Grace Jones’s birthday party at Studio 54, which Loretta says she attended. This serendipity is giving “Invisible String,” by Taylor Swift, quite frankly. “I think I rolled that joint!” he says, amazed at how long they’ve been running in the same circles without crossing paths. She wasn’t on his radar, but he was on hers, Loretta says, having always been a fan but never having luck getting cast in his work.

That lack of luck all those years makes her wonder if she was cursed or if it’s just what she deserved. But before Oliver can probe what she did to deserve it, Loretta shotguns a hit of her ancient weed into his mouth. Jonathan finishes his set at the piano bar, and Mabel spots him hugging a mysterious man in a cap and red coat. Never a good thing unless it’s Christmas. She watches as Jonathan hands him an envelope, and the man gives Jonathan a slip of paper. Tobert turns to see for himself and accidentally knocks over a tray, forcing them to hide under the table to avoid being seen. Mabel peers over, thinking the coast is clear, but is met with Jonathan and the mysterious man staring right at her. She awkwardly waves, and they both quickly and suspiciously hightail it out of there. Luckily, Tobert is able to catch a glance before they leave and recognizes the man to be Ben’s private doctor, a “get whatever you need”–type who was simply referred to as Dr. C.

Despite my belief that their geriatric joint must have the effectiveness of a clove cigarette, Loretta and Oliver are now high on the ferry, and their conversation turns back to Ben. Loretta admits that she did call him a “fucking pig,” telling Oliver that they had fought half an hour before he took the stage. He’d accused her of being obsessed with him, adding that he didn’t want to share the stage with a no-name, and she snapped. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Meryl pulling off playing a “no-name” actor is a bigger testament to her chops (acting, not pork) than any of her Oscars. Loretta then announces that they’ve reached their destination, which is not a dentist’s office like I’d imagined but rather the underside of a bridge. She explains that she had a family tradition where anytime they’d lose a tooth as kids, they’d go out on the riverboat in the Mississippi River and throw the tooth overboard under a bridge and make a wish. The “tooth ferry,” get it? Oliver does the same, apparently not interested in a dentist putting it back in, and they kiss.

Having less luck in love than Mabel or Oliver is Charles. Joy returns from Magnolia Bakery and says that she was, in fact, backstage on opening night, summoned by Howard to cover up the red mark on Ben, but she did not write on his mirror or kill him. Well, hello, let’s celebrate that! That red mark, Charles confesses, is likely the result of his hitting Ben that night. We see the encounter in a flashback, following Ben’s aforementioned fisticuffs with Loretta. Joy can’t believe that she was a suspect when Charles was the one in the couple who actually put his hands on Ben. As he tries to explain himself and make things right, he trips over his words, accidentally admitting that he hadn’t actually meant to propose. Even though he’s since come around to the idea, it’s too late. She can see that he’s not really ready to be open, so she smashes the cake on him and calls off the engagement.

Back in her apartment, Mabel reveals her murder board to Tobert, and the pair add Dr. C to the mix before kissing. It’s a big episode for smooching because Loretta and Oliver are doing the same in her Murphy bed. Loretta goes to shower, but the moment is ruined when Oliver gets up and pokes around her place, discovering a book overflowing with newspaper clippings of Ben Glenroy through the years. Maybe someone actually was sleeping with a lunatic, and it just wasn’t Charles this time.

On the latest episode, Meryl Streep teamed up on “Look for the Light,” written by Sara Bareilles in collaboration with “Dear Evan Hansen” powerhouses Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Bareilles told The New York Times last week that she relished the chance to “tailor” the song to Streep’s “strengths. There was so much tenderness in Meryl’s vulnerability. She let that speak through her singing.” Pasek and Paul agree. “Her performance in this number is equal parts emotional, tender, vulnerable and filled with her signature quiet strength,” they tell PEOPLE Magazine. “It’s incredibly unoriginal but nonetheless very true to say that when the opportunity to work with Meryl comes along, you just jump.” Her performance with Ashley Park can be found in the video archive. Screencaptures from the episode have been added to the photo gallery, with many thanks to M for the contribution. Enjoy your weekend.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Meryl Streep and Ashley Park’s breathtaking rendition of “Look for the Light” from season three of Only Murders in the Building has been released on all streaming platforms. The new, original song featured in episode three, “Grab Your Hankies,” was written for the show by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles alongside Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriter-producers behind La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen. The single, which is currently available on Spotify and Apple Music, is among a season three soundtrack that features new music from a number of notable Broadway names, including Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman and Michael R. Jackson, alongside an original score by Siddhartha Khosla. “It was so easy to say yes to this invitation,” Bareilles said in a statement about her decision to co-write the song for the Hulu series. “I love the delicious unpredictability of collaboration, and this was as joyful and undeniable as they come.” “Meryl was gentle and focused, and I loved her musicality and her willingness to share her process,” Bareilles added. “Ashley Park’s glorious counter melody was added later, and I got goosebumps the first time I heard it.” Pasek and Paul also called Bareilles a dream collaborator, as they crafted the “song for the legendary Meryl Streep” alongside her. “Getting to shape this song around Meryl’s voice, and working together in the studio and on set, was a dream and we are three very lucky songwriters. Meryl not only amazed us with her usual brilliance and mastery of the craft, but also inspired us with her humility and tireless work ethic. While it is unfair for someone to be so wonderful at everything, it’s a basic human truth that we all must reckon with!”

Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Michael B. Jordan, and Sofia Coppola have been named this year’s honorees for the Academy Museum Gala to be held on October 14. As a fundraiser, the event has been greenlit to move forward by WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The evening will help raise vital funds to support the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programming, including screenings, K-12 programs, and access initiatives in service of the general public and the local community of Los Angeles. Supported by Rolex, the official watch partner and founding supporter of the Academy Museum, the Gala is being co-chaired by Academy Award-nominated director Ava DuVernay, Academy Museum Trustee, physician, producer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Dr. Eric Esrailian, Academy Award-winning actor and Academy Museum supporter Halle Berry, and Academy Museum Trustee and screenwriter, director, producer Ryan Murphy.

We are excited to gather again at our third annual Academy Museum Gala to celebrate the power, global impact, and indelible importance of cinema. I am truly honored to recognize four artists, Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola, whose creativity and passion have inspired and shaped our culture in such powerful ways,” said Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum. “We are truly grateful to our co-chairs Ava DuVernay, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Halle Berry and Ryan Murphy, for hosting this special evening and to Rolex for their continued support of the Museum and cinema worldwide.

The Icon Award, presented to Streep, is celebrating an artist whose career has had a significant global cultural impact. The Vantage Award, presented to Jordan, is honoring an emerging artist or scholar who is helping to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.The Pillar Award, presented to Winfrey acknowledges exemplary leadership and support for the Academy Museum. The Visionary Award, presented to Coppola, honors an artist or scholar whose innovations have advanced the art of cinema. This year’s glamorous event will mark the two year anniversary of the Academy’s Museum Of Motion Pictures.

Directed by: Adam Shankman  |  Written by: Matteo Borghese, Rob Turbovsky

Official synopsis: Charles attempts to find out which cast member lost their handkerchief, believing the one could be the killer. Concurrently, Mabel goes to Ben’s apartment looking for more clues and meets Tobert, Ben’s documentarian. They are forced to hide when Dickie, Ben’s brother and manager, enters the apartment, during which Tobert reveals he intends to make a documentary about Ben’s murder and that he has footage of Ben before he collapsed on stage. Meanwhile, Loretta tells Oliver that she has got a television series role in Los Angeles that begins shooting next week. Not wanting to lose her, Oliver reminds her that she is under contract, but later agrees to let her go if she performs her character’s lullaby to the producers, Donna and Cliff. Her performance convinces them to fund the musical, so Loretta decides to stay in the play, and she and Oliver kiss. Tobert shows Mabel the footage displaying Ben talking to someone off-camera in his dressing room. At the same time, Charles discovers that Kimber, the actress who plays Ben’s love interest, lost her handkerchief.

“Where does a great idea come from?” For Oliver’s part, his great idea is turning Death Rattle into a musical in hopes of saving both it and his career. Because of his laser focus on this mission, we’re seeing somewhat of a split happening with our trio. A conscious untripling, if you will. With Oliver’s attention on the play, Charles and Mabel are left to solve Ben’s murder as a duo. The absence of Oliver’s signature snark is felt, but Mabel tries her best to fill the void, giving Selena Gomez a chance to do a quick Martin Short impression (do Frank next!). While thus far these two missions have been able to coexist, the fact that Oliver’s cast list and Mabel’s suspect list are identical doesn’t bode well.

After attempting to write the entire musical in one night (which I suspect is how Cats happened), Oliver presents his grand idea for Death Rattle Dazzle to his producers, Donna and Cliff, who have differing reactions. While Cliff (gay) is instantly sold on the idea of a musical, his mother and kissing partner Donna isn’t so convinced. A musical is expensive, she says, and for it to work, it needs a showstopper that can hook “Debbie from Duluth.” Without that showstopper, the production is as dead as its lead, and Donna gives Oliver three days to come up with one. Back at Mabel’s apartment, she and Charles look at their wall of suspects pondering who could be their killer. Maybe the understudy? The producers? Perhaps the “TikTok-addicted starlet” Kimber? (An archetype that’s become a staple for the Great White Way). Remembering Ben’s apology to Kimber on the night of his death, they wonder if the pair were romantically involved. “Another female killer? That’s so done,” Charles says, offering some meta-commentary that beats us to the same thought. Finally, Mabel connects the dots and realizes that whoever in the cast doesn’t have their handkerchief is their prime suspect, so Charles sets out to awkwardly attempt to get everyone to show their hankies.

Oliver shares his plan to turn the play into a musical at rehearsal, befuddling the cast, apart from the supportive Loretta. She’s riding a high after her new manager Dicky got her an audition for an “offshoot of an offshoot of a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff.” As for the musical, she tells Oliver that she was in the original workshop of Little Shop of Horrors (which she initially refers to as Eat Me Seymour) and says that people didn’t understand that show at first either. “It didn’t matter how big and loud and crazy it was,” she says, adding that it worked because it rang true and had heart. It’s a good pep talk, but the rehearsal still falls flat. However, with the cast united against Oliver, Charles sees an opening to get closer to his suspects and do some investigating. As they complain about this new direction Oliver’s taking the play in, Charles casually suggests they protest by throwing their handkerchiefs at his feet. The cast all agrees to bring in their hankies — though we notably didn’t get a verbal affirmative from Bobo. But in addition to this fabric-based protest, they also plan on refusing to do the musical, assigning Charles the responsibility of breaking the news to Oliver.

While that’s happening, Mabel runs into Ben’s documentarian Tobert (Jesse Williams), a character named specifically to frustrate my autocorrect, while trying to raid the late actor’s penthouse for clues. It’s clear that Tobert is doing some digging of his own, but just as they’re about to agree to let one another do their respective sleuthing unbothered, an unexpected visit from Ben’s brother Dicky sends them both running to hide in an armoire. While trapped, the pair go from butting heads to bonding as Tobert tells Mabel about his last project filming elephants in Botswana. He tells her about a crossroads he found himself at as a documentarian when he saw a baby elephant get stuck in the mud: Does he interfere to stop it from drowning? Or remain an impartial, uninvolved observer of what he’s documenting? Mabel cuts the story short to ask why he’s still here if Ben’s dead, and Tobert tells her that there’s an incredible story to tell that he has unique access to. His camera was left recording in Ben’s dressing room the night of his death, and now he’s there to find the footage.

Dicky finally leaves, but before Tobert and Mabel part ways, she asks him to finish the story about the elephant, and he tells her that he left his post to save it. Whether or not she actually cared, the question was a great way for her to swipe the hard drive with the footage off of Tobert while he was distracted. After his dud of a rehearsal, Oliver sits at the piano with Loretta, where he wonders what he has to do to get people to see what he sees. Loretta pulls the nanny’s lullaby from the pile of music, which she loves but Oliver doesn’t think is big and loud enough. But, Loretta says, what she loves about Oliver Putnam(’s shows) is that underneath the “big and loud” is a vulnerability. This sweet moment is interrupted by Dicky, as many sweet moments are, who announces that Loretta booked the part on Grey’s New Orleans Family Burn Unit. Oliver is thrilled for her until he finds out that the shooting schedule conflicts with Death Rattle, and when Loretta opts for the series over the play, he snaps and angrily tells her that she’s under contract, preventing her from taking the job in Shondaland.

Speaking of Shondaland, though Mabel has the hard drive, she needs Tobert’s password to access the footage. She tracks him down and explains that she thinks Ben’s killer is still out there. Tobert confesses that he actually didn’t help the struggling elephant, and now presented with a similar dilemma, he doesn’t want to sit by and make that same mistake again — so he agrees to help her. But could this “elephant” actually have been Ben? Is it possible that Tobert had the opportunity to intervene and save Ben but chose cinéma vérité instead? Minutes away from his showcase for the producers, Charles breaks the news to Oliver that nobody wants to do the musical. But luckily, before he has the chance to gauge his eyes out with a cream-cheese spoon, Loretta walks in. Oliver apologizes to her, telling her that he’ll release her from her contract after all, but asks for one favor first. He wants her to sing the nanny’s lullaby (titled “Look for the Light”) for the showcase, opting to go for the vulnerable rather than the bombastic.

The song, co-written by Sara Bareilles, is a complete knockout (as all Sara Bareilles songs are) and, as Oliver says, holds the heart of the show. Bareilles’s songwriting manages to do some remarkable heavy lifting with ease, taking a musical depicted as a hacky joke of a garbage fire and instantly turning it into something emotionally beautiful with artistic merit. As the song plays, we see Tobert and Mabel watch the footage recorded in Ben’s dressing room, in which he appears to speak to another person in the room. “You’re not supposed to be here. Go! No, you’re not gonna go, are you? You’re just gonna sit there, acting all sweet. We both know you’re bad. I want you. I want you so fucking bad. But you’re gonna ruin my career. And I’m gonna like it.” Though Mabel and Tobert think he’s talking to a person, this feels like it could be a misdirect, and the language Ben’s using makes me wonder if he’s talking to a plate of cookies. After all, remember in the premiere when he struggled to resist the plate of Schmackary’s cookies that were strictly prohibited by his movie-star diet? They could have made for an irresistible vehicle for poison …

Back at Oliver’s, Cliff overrides his mother’s word and gives the musical a green light. And in more good news for Oliver, Loretta decides to stay with the show rather than take the TV series, and the two kiss. Even Kimber has come around to the idea of a musical, but when Charles asks for her hanky, she says she must have thrown it away or donated it to a good cause. Suspect alert! As the episode ends with Kimber in our crosshairs, her voice-over returns — continuing her monologue about the spark of a great idea. “When a spark finally catches fire and everyone can see it, then the only place you wanna be is at the center of that fire. But if one person is shining a little brighter than the others, sometimes you can’t help it … it’s a competitive business; you may need to snuff them out,” she says, as we see her glaring directly at Loretta’s showstopping performance.