Meryl Streep and Martin Short‘s chemistry was off the charts while filming a passionate kiss scene for season 5 of Only Murders in the Building.
The pair were spotted filming the Hulu series in New York City on Wednesday, May 7. During one scene, Short’s character, Oliver, is running beside his new wife, Loretta (Streep). The fictional couple stop to share a heated kiss.
Streep, 75, and Short’s sweet scripted moment comes amid rumors of a romance between the costars. After making multiple public appearances together, a rep for Short, 75, denied in a January 2024 statement that they are dating. That hasn’t stopped Hollywood from poking fun at the close connection between them.
After Streep and Short sat next to Amy Schumer at the SNL50: The Homecoming Concert in February, the comedian, 43, spoke about the experience to People, saying, “There’s really no one funnier to sit next to than Marty Short, who I got to sit next to at the homecoming concert the other night.”
Schumer continued, “I think that the tea is, I think Marty might be off the market. That’s what I’m seeing. I don’t know. … Maybe by just, like, the greatest actor of our time, I don’t know.”
Only Murders in the Building originally brought Short and Streep together during season 3. Loretta’s connection with Oliver allowed Streep to reprise the role in season 4, which led to a long distance relationship and a subsequent onscreen wedding.
“There are a lot of reasons [for that decision]. I’ll cop to that for sure. But I think, ultimately, I delighted in it, and we said yes to it because it felt like a funny, believable thing now. If you’re working in TV and film, again, it’s a little bit of a tweaking joke to the industry that overseas is cheaper, or overseas makes sense, or overseas is fresher,” creator John Hoffman told The Hollywood Reporter in October 2024. “Things are happening like that all the time around productions that are either just getting going or are making a move, or whatever they can do to hold on to things and keep the costs down. So a little bit of that wink was a part of that decision.”
Hoffman praised Short and Streep for bringing Oliver and Loretta’s love story to life.
“I just love the two of them together. Marty and Meryl and Oliver and Loretta dancing and talking and Loretta realizing, ‘I don’t know how I do this. I don’t know how I take you away from this.’ All that felt really sweet,” he continued. “And the whole idea of an unconventional relationship, and her sensing, ‘You’re going to come to New Zealand and this could very well be the end of this beautiful marriage.’ Her knowing that about him and saying, ‘Let’s roll with this.’ It’s a beautifully sweet and heartbreaking scene. It is very adult to make a call like that.”
Hoffman went on to discuss how much Oliver and Loretta’s romance meant to him, tellingDecider, “I remember one night we were shooting on the ferry in episode 5 of season 3. We shot until about two in the morning on the most gorgeous night in Manhattan. I got off to gangplank there and Meryl was waiting, and she had tears in her eyes, and she said, ‘I just had to wait here for you to get off the boat to say thank you.’”
He added: “I was like, ‘What?’ and she said, ‘I just got to play a scene I really thought that the likes of which I wouldn’t have a chance to do. To play romantic scenes at this age with this band in this way, it’s just the greatest thing ever.’”
Only Murders in the Building is currently streaming on Hulu.
