“Hey, we just got an email. Meryl Streep wants to Zoom with us about working together. Should we tell her, ‘Well, you know, we do have this TV show’?”
This was the exchange between Steve Martin, Martin Short, and me. A few days later, another text arrived: “Hey, we just Zoomed with Meryl. She’s in. Do you have something good for her?”
When Meryl Streep wants to join your project, it’s both thrilling and terrifying. The pressure to deliver something worthy of her talent is immense. Just days before she reached out, I brainstormed big ideas for Only Murders in the Building Season 3 with executive producers Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.
We envisioned a new character, a potential love interest for Oliver Putnam, embodying a talented New York actress waiting for a career-defining break. I joked, “The perfect person for this part? The most celebrated actress of our time.” Dan and Jess responded, “Yeah, John, let me know how that works out.”
My career, like many in this business, is filled with near-misses and disappointments. Yet, sometimes, fate intervenes. For this season of our half-hour comedy, it felt like fate kept nudging us in the right direction.
With a dream cast, including Oliver Putnam at the helm, we decided to go big. Oliver’s return to Broadway had to be a musical. “Yes, Meryl, you’re going to sing. And Steve, Marty, and Selena. Even Paul Rudd, despite his character being dead, will have a duet with Meryl.”
Paul’s reaction? Pure joy. “I’m going to sing with Meryl Streep? That may be the best sentence I’ve ever said out loud.”
By another stroke of luck, Sas Goldberg, my co-writer for the season’s first episode, knew Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. They agreed to compose our musical, bringing along Broadway heavyweights like Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Michael R. Jackson, and Sara Bareilles.
One day, filming at the United Palace theater in Washington Heights, Meryl, in her whimsical nanny costume, sat beside me. “Boy, you really like a big swing, don’t you?” she remarked. I laughed and said, “With this group, why aim for a base hit?”
Guided by fate and a talented ensemble, we swung for the fences. And that “something good for her” turned into something unforgettable for all of us.
