Meryl Streep, Melissa McCarthy shock 'Only Murders' co-stars, ditch stunt doubles for brawl

Tuesday’s “Only Murders in the Building” saw its podcasting protagonists on the move, a fight between Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy's characters, for which the actresses ditched their stunt doubles, and a even a marriage proposal. With so much going on, we'll dive right in like Oliver (Martin Short) when he sees a dip!

To escape this season’s killer and their prying hidden cameras, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver and Mabel (Selena Gomez) flee the Upper West Side’s Arconia apartment building in the seventh episode (now streaming on Hulu) and head for Charles’ estranged sister’s house on Long Island.

Doreen (McCarthy) is an absolute treasure with her frosted pixie hairstyle, hoop earrings and shimmering mauve lip gloss. She also gives new meaning to the phrase "all dolled up": Her house resembles a life-sized home for her sprawling collection of dolls of all sizes − on the bookshelves, fireplace mantel and even seated on the sofa beside her guests.

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One in particular might catch the eye of Swifties whom Taylor Swift has trained to hunt for Easter eggs. In one scene, Mabel shares a sofa with a blond, life-size doll resembling Swift who sports a shirt bearing 87, the number Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, wears when setting records for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

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“That's a complete coincidence,” Gomez says in an interview, adding that she didn't detect the resemblance.

“I think the crew does supply little surprises every once in a while,” Martin says. (USA TODAY has reached out to Hulu for comment.)

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The series’ stars were also surprised by another bit from the episode: the all-out brawl between Doreen and Oliver’s girlfriend Loretta (Streep). Loretta, who thinks Oliver broke up with her in a text message, flies in from Los Angeles. Her presence enrages Doreen, who’s developed a bit of a crush on Oliver.

Doreen’s jealousy erupts into a squabble.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. Why don’t you go back to Beverly Hills?” Doreen demands, shoving Loretta.

“You need to get out of my house, you Hollywood hussy,” she adds with another push that sends Loretta over the back of a sofa. Doreen then hops onto the couch and grabs Loretta, forcing one of her signature pigtails into her mouth.

“Why are you eating your braids?” Doreen asks as Loretta wrestles to get free. Loretta voices concern for her pacemaker, a ruse to escape Doreen’s hold.

“I was acting,” Loretta boasts and sends Doreen sailing with a kick.

Loretta then climbs on top of her victim and begins whipping Doreen with a fake braid that Doreen sported to win Oliver’s attention.

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When Martin read the script for the episode, he predicted it would be “a hilariously funny scene to see Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy go at each other.” But he didn’t realize how game the actresses would be.

“We said, ‘Let's rehearse it,’ and these two, Melissa and Meryl, went at it on their own, over the sofas, and did everything themselves,” Martin says. “I was stunned! I have to say my mouth was agog!”

“They didn't need the stunt doubles!” Gomez says. “They were great!”

“They just really went for it,” Martin adds, “and I thought this is going to be one of the funniest scenes of all time.”

“I was there,” Short says. “But when I saw it all cut together, I was still startled that it was clearly Meryl and Melissa doing this. It's very aggressive. Very funny.”

Tuesday’s episode also has heart. Loretta ends up proposing to Oliver after learning he thought about getting engaged. “Despite your obvious pathologies, I’m here still,” Loretta tells her love. “And I’m not going anywhere, and I sign on to your crazy for a lifetime.”

Then she extends her hand, holding a pearl doll’s bracelet. “I’m proposing to you Oliver,” she explains. “I want to marry you.”

“Well, before I accept, just out of curiosity, is there any family money?” he jokes before agreeing and planting a smooch on his bride-to-be.

Martin jests that at first Short thought the engagement to Streep “was real.”

“I kept saying, ‘No, guys. I know real,’” Short says, playing along. He describes the scripted engagement as “delightful.”

“It made sense, because you kind of felt at the end of Season 3 that this couple wasn't finished, and that they were going to continue,” Short says, “and the obvious next step was marriage.”