‘Only Murders in the Building’ drops a ‘Father of the Bride’ reference and fans are here for it

The penultimate episode of Only Murders in the Building’s third season included a partial reveal of the mysterious killer of the season, but it’s a reference to one of the most famous movies for series stars Steve Martin and Martin Short that had viewers buzzing.

After two critically acclaimed seasons, the third installment of the hit Hulu show centers around what happened to a theater performer played by Paul Rudd, with Meryl Streep also serving as a guest star for the season and definitely making an impact with her presence.

Tuesday’s episode found the main three — Martin Short’s Oliver, Selena Gomez’s Mabel and Steve Martin’s Charles — finally piecing together what they believe is the answer to the big question of the season: who killed Ben (Rudd)?

Only problem: Streep’s Loretta was about to confess to the murder in order to save her son who was a prime suspect. And in order to make it from the Upper West Side to the downtown courthouse in New York City in 20 minutes, Mabel decides to put on a wedding dress that was for Charles’ girlfriend, Joy, because, “Nobody stops a bride.”

So the trio makes it to the courthouse but, despite their wedding dress plan, get stopped by a bailiff who questions their attire.

“We’re the fathers of the bride,” Charles said. And Oliver reacted with, “Oh, that’s fun.”

The line was a clear reference to the 1991 classic family rom-com, Father of the Bride — and its 1995 sequel, Father of the Bride Part II — in which Martin starred as the titular character and Short played an eccentric wedding planner.

Viewers of the show loved the reference, which brought out tears, laughter and everything in between.

The episode ultimately left viewers with a bit of a cliffhanger ending ahead of next week’s finale, which may or may not contain a reference to SNL, on which Martin and Short also previously appeared together.

Only Murders in the Building streams new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu.