‘Only Murders in the Building’: Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy’s Hilarious Responses to Their Fight Scene

'There's going to be a catfight,' John Hoffman recalled telling Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy of what became the actors' fight scene in the Oct. 8 episode of 'Only Murders in the Building.'

Their characters came to blows in the Oct. 8 episode of Only Murders in the Building, but Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy both had enthusiastic reactions to their fight scene. The actors had funny words for series co-creator and executive producer, John Hoffman, upon learning of his plans for Lorretta (Streep) and Doreen (McCarthy).

Streep and McCarthy were eager to film the fight scene

Only Murders in the Building co-creator and executive producer John Hoffman revealed to TV Line how McCarthy and Streep were immediately on board with their characters’ “catfight.”

For those who haven’t had the scene on repeat since the “Valley of the Dolls” episode dropped, it involves Oliver (Martin Short), Mabel (Selena Gomez), and Charles (Steve Martin) going to Long Island, New York, to stay with the latter’s sister, Doreen, only to have Loretta, Oliver’s long-distance girlfriend, make a surprise appearance.

“There’s going to be a catfight, basically over Oliver, between you and Melissa McCarthy,” Hoffman recalled telling Streep over dinner before filming for season 4 began. “I watched her raise her hands over her head, and she went, ‘I bet on me.’”

As for McCarthy, the Unfrosted star was excited when Hoffman told her the idea in a phone call. “I’m going to hang up because I’m going to pass out. I’m so in love with everything you’re telling me,” he recalled the Emmy winner telling him.

The actors did their own stunts on ‘Only Murders in the Building’

Although stunt people, who are a major part of the season’s storyline, were ready to film the fight scene, Streep and McCarthy wanted to play a more active role, showing Hoffman what they had in mind.

“So we’re there, and we cleared the room with our stunt person, Chris Barnes, and his team had mapped out a plan for what they were going to do,” Hoffman told Variety. “It was in great detail, and looked good to us.”

“Meryl and Melissa stood and said, ‘Watch this, and let’s see if it’s too much,’” he recalled. “They looked at each other after, and they said, ‘It’s very good. We have some different ideas.’ They didn’t think it went anywhere near far enough!”

“They got to choreographing this themselves, and when I saw what they were doing, I was like, ‘This is not mapped out with the stunt people,’” Hoffman continued. “They’re like, ‘No, no, we don’t need stunt people.’”

The producer wasn’t so sure about it. “I’m like, ‘Meryl, you’re being thrown over that couch on your neck! I can’t!’ She says, ‘I’m fine. I’m fine. I love it. It’s a blast. Can I hop on her back like this? And [to Melissa], ‘Grab me harder!’”

“They went at it so viscerally in a way that none of us were prepared for,” Hoffman added. “And each time they did it, I couldn’t look.”

He also noted stunt people were used briefly in Streep and McCarthy’s fight scene. “There’s one shot of a stunt person for one quick second because it was just a shot that we needed. But otherwise, it is all them, all the time. That was a night for the ages on set.”

How Streep and McCarthy’s ‘Only Murders in the Building’ co-stars reacted to the fight scene

As for what Martin, Short, and Gomez thought of Streep and McCarthy’s fight scene, their reactions were a mix of shock and admiration. “I was stunned! I have to say my mouth was agog!” Martin told USA Today. “They just really went for it, and I thought, this is going to be one of the funniest scenes of all time.”

Gomez chimed in with, “They didn’t need the stunt doubles! They were great!” Meanwhile, Short was surprised to see the fight scene “all cut together” in the episode. “I was still startled that it was clearly Meryl and Melissa doing this,” he said, calling it “very aggressive” and “very funny.”

McCarthy reflected on the fight scene, telling Variety: “I was not going to miss the opportunity to hurl Streep over the back of a couch.” The Gilmore Girls alum had kind words for Streep after going toe to toe with the Oscar winner. “For the record, I wouldn’t want to meet Meryl in a dark alley, she moves like an 18-year-old bobcat.”

A new episode of Only Murders in the Building Season 4 drops weekly with the finale on Oct. 28. 2024. Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Hulu.