Paul Ruddis the victim andMeryl Streepis a suspect in Hulu’s comedy-mystery series“Only Murders in the Building”,这是另一个有趣的季节。

The series starsSteve Martinas washed-up actor Charles-Haden Savage, Martin Short as has-been producer Oliver Putnam and Selena Gomez as artist Mabel Mora. All three live in the same New York apartment building, which has been the site of several unrelated killings. The three try to solve those crimes through their podcast, “Only Murders in the Building.”

在季节的一个受害者是一个儿时的朋友f Mabel’s. Season two had the trio as the prime suspects of the killing of the apartment’s board president. At the end of that season, Oliver had realized his dream of staging a comeback Broadway play, with opening night in progress when the lead, played by Rudd, collapses and apparently dies onstage.

Season three opens with that death and we soon get the backstory of Rudd’s character, Ben Glenroy. A jerk of a movie star best known for playing a comic book character named CoBro, a zoologist by day who transforms into a 20-foot cobra to fight crime, Rudd is the perfect comic foil (he, of course, isMarvel’s Ant-Man).

Not all of the 10-episode season three has been made available to critics, and Hulu has asked that no spoilers be revealed beyond the first two episodes, which debuted on the streaming service on Tuesday, Aug. 8. But what I can tell you is that the season switches back and forth between flashbacks during the casting and rehearsing of Oliver’s play and the ensuing investigation. Naturally, all of the cast members are suspects, including Streep’s Loretta Durkin and newcomer Kimber, “the TikTok starlet” played by “Joy Ride” starAshley Park.

In an amusing bit of casting, Streep — one of the most famous and award-winning actresses of all-time — plays a woman who has been trying to get a big break for decades. In a nice moment, Streep and Park even belt out a moving duet.

The scripts for season three are just as strong and funny as the first two seasons, and the chemistry between Martin, Short and Gomez never flags. Many questioned whether Gomez, thesinger-actresswho was in her 20s when the show started, could keep up with old pros Martin and Short. Well, Martin’s Charles has his own assessment: “Without you, we’re just two pieces of stale white bread,” he tells Mabel.

(Gomez, it should be said, has been in show business for more than 20 years; she’s an old pro herself.)

As always, many of the funniest lines are uttered by the operatically self-centered Oliver. In the aftermath of Ben’s death, he says, “The lead of my play left the stage without a pulse, and all I can think about is my career. Narcissism should be more fun than this.”

Or this bit of wisdom, which is so true: “Nothing brings people together like a common enemy. Or a good cheese plate.”

Add to that a delightful comedy mystery called “Only Murders in the Building.”

Reach G. Allen Johnson:ajohnson@sfchronicle.com