Only Murders in the Building production designer Patrick Howe has revealed what happened to those bespoke Paul Rudd artworks from season three.
The new instalment of the murder mystery series stars the Ant-Man actor as narcissistic actor and designated murder victim Ben Glenroy. An insufferable character with a soft side, Ben is the new occupant of the Arconia penthouse, which he filled with self-referential pieces.
Throughout the season, fans have been given a glimpse of these invaluable objects, including an array of snake-themed items from Ben's CoBro days and a poster of his face with 'Talent' written across the bottom, a spoof of Barack Obama's 'Hope' 2008 campaign imagery.
Related: Only Murders production designer shares "layered" killer clues in Arconia sets
Ahead of the whodunit's final showdown next week, Digital Spy sat with Howe to discuss where all of Ben's memorabilia ended up after production wrapped.
"We didn't know at the time we were doing it, but it turned out that Paul Rudd was never going to be in any scenes in his apartment, as he was already dead and they really weren't writing any flashbacks of when he was still alive," Howe explained.
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"So, we had to just physically bring him over there to say, 'Hey, come look at the apartment that you're never going to do a scene in'.
"And he really loved everything and there were several things that he wanted for himself, if it was alright to have."
Related: Only Murders in the Building season 3 fails to fix its big Mabel issue
While Rudd was fond of some of Ben's personalised possessions, some other objects were left on set, with Howe suggesting they should be auctioned.
"I suggested that with all these other things [...] you could take them all and auction them off for a charity because, we can't reuse portraits of you in future stories," the production designer said.
"We could re-upholster a chair, but [we can't re-upholster] all this artwork and all these personalised things."
Only Murders in the Building season 3 streams on Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US, with new episodes on Tuesdays.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
