If you haven’t witnessed Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy engaging in a fierce battle on ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ then, borrowing a phrase from Aaron Sorkin, you haven’t seen Shakespeare performed as it should be. The Hollywood titans clashed in the seventh episode of ‘OMITB’ Season 4, ‘Valley of the Dolls,’ and I can’t recall the last time I laughed so intensely.

In this episode, the ‘Only Murders’ podcasters – Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) – decide to escape the city and hide out on Long Island at Charles’ sister, Doreen’s (Melissa McCarthy) house, as they attempt to evade the season’s mysterious killer. Shortly after their arrival at Doreen’s doll-filled home, Oliver’s girlfriend, Loretta (Meryl Streep), appears, demanding to know why he ended their relationship via text and then turned off his phone. Oliver and Loretta, who are rumored to be dating in real life, quickly reconcile, much to Doreen’s chagrin. The Long Islander, who loves Crystal Light, has developed a crush on Oliver and has even tried to make a move on him. This love triangle sets the stage for Streep and McCarthy’s epic showdown.

‘There’s going to be a catfight, basically over Oliver, between you and Melissa McCarthy,’ co-creator and executive producer John Hoffman revealed to Streep before Season 4 began filming. Streep’s reaction, as told by Hoffman to TV Line, was, ‘I watched her raise her hands over her head, and she went, ‘I bet on me.’’ McCarthy was thrilled when Hoffman pitched her the idea, saying, ‘I’m going to hang up because I’m going to pass out. I’m so in love with everything you’re telling me.’

When it came time to film the scene, Hoffman and the ‘Only Murders’ team had stunt people on set and a detailed plan. Streep and McCarthy, however, were unimpressed. ‘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.’ Streep and McCarthy decided to take matters into their own hands, saying, ‘Watch this, and let’s see if it’s too much.’ They looked at each other and 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.’ 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,’ the producer explained. ‘And each time they did it, I couldn’t look.’ ‘I will say 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.’

Streep and McCarthy’s castmates were equally astonished by what they saw unfold. ‘I was stunned! I have to say my mouth was agog!’ Steve Martin told USA Today. Selena Gomez added, ‘They didn’t need the stunt doubles! They were great!’ ‘They just really went for it, and I thought this is going to be one of the funniest scenes of all time,’ Martin continued. Though he was there on the day the scene was shot, Martin Short was taken aback when he saw the fight ‘all cut together’ in the finished episode. ‘I was still startled that it was clearly Meryl and Melissa doing this,’ he said. ‘It’s very aggressive. Very funny.’

For McCarthy, there was never any doubt that she would go all out. ‘I was not going to miss the opportunity to hurl Streep over the back of a couch,’ she told Variety. The ‘Spy’ actress also spoke highly of her scene partner’s athleticism, saying, ‘For the record, I wouldn’t want to meet Meryl in a dark alley, she moves like an 18-year-old bobcat.’ Social media lit up after the episode aired, with fans of the show praising the actresses for their comedy (and physical) prowess.

‘[I] just need everyone to be aware that i think this scene of only murders in the building deserves like 3 different emmy at LEAST,’ one person posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). ‘[M]eryl streep and melissa mccarthy are fantastic but every single actor in this room is just phenomenal. THIS!!! is such good tv right now.’ Echoing the sentiment, someone else commented, ‘I’m sorry but if this episode don’t win something for comedy I don’t know what we’re doing.’ They added, ‘this episode was pure genius.’ One viewer, who describes themselves as a ‘meryl streep supremacist,’ summed it up best: ‘[M]eryl streep beating the s[–]t out of melissa mccarthy, absolute masterpiece.’ The first seven episodes of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4 are available to stream now on Hulu. Seasons 1-3 are available on both Hulu and Disney+.