Spoilers for Only Murders in the Building Season 5, Episode 8 are ahead! If you aren’t caught up, you can stream it with a Hulu subscription.
It was ladies’ night on the latest episode of Only Murders in the Building’s fifth season, and the cast in attendance was full of A-listers. From Selena Gomez to Meryl Streep to Renée Zellweger to Da’Vine Joy Randolph to Dianne Wiest, it was an absolutely stacked. However, the iconic names attached to this episode don’t end there. Jennifer Aniston’s name was also dropped twice by Streep’s character, Loretta, and I had to ask the co-creator about those jokes and the chance that the Friends icon could be on OMITB someday.
How Jennifer Aniston Was Name Dropped In Only Murders In The Building
So, here’s what went down in the episode that just aired on the 2025 TV schedule: before Meryl Streep’s Loretta put on her fake accent and attempted to get a confession out of Renée Zellweger’s billionaire, Camila, she had to talk to Jennifer Aniston about doing her show first. It was for an important role too, as Loretta squealed the following right as she walked into the event:
Oh my god! There’s Jen Aniston. I’m gonna go, quick, and go see if she wants to be on Burn Unit as a sexy arsonist.
Later in the episode, Loretta is the one to get a major crack in the case, as she learned the history between Nicky and Camila as well as their plans for the casino at the Arconia. Oh, and she found what looks like the murder weapon.
However, despite all that, when Oliver complimented her crime-solving skills and said he had “no notes” about what she’d figured out and learned, Loretta quipped back:
Tell that to Jen Aniston. Do you know that she passed on being an arsonist in our show? Is she a little bit crazy, you think?
It was a hilarious callback to a joke from earlier in the episode, and it got me thinking: Could Jennifer Aniston ever be on this great Hulu show?
What The Co-Creator Of Only Murders In The Building Said About The Jennifer Aniston Joke And The Potential For Her To Be On The Show
When I interviewed Only Murders’ co-creator John Hoffman, I made sure to talk to him about this funny scene, and I asked if we should read into it and if it’d ever be possible to have Aniston on the comedy. In response, he started laughing and joked about the potential for his series to crossover with The Morning Show before breaking down the actual bit in OMITB. He explained:
I know, a little Morning Show, Only Murders crossover, maybe. I know that’d be a dream. I love that [joke], and Loretta, after the day she’s had as Celery Whisp is sitting there and saying, like, ‘Can you believe that Jennifer Aniston isn’t going to take the job, that she passed on it?’ She said ‘Is she a little crazy, or what?’ And like, that whole [thing], and I remember Meryl going ‘Oh, for God’s sakes, what am I doing here?’
Truly, it’s an A+ joke, because it’s wild to think about Loretta trying to cast an A-lister in her medical procedural that shoots in New Zealand.
Now, I really hope it inspires the series and Aniston to work together. It sounds like Hoffman isn’t opposed to the idea either, as he told me:
But I hope so. I’m a huge Jen Aniston fan. And, well, I’m not going to say no about anybody. That would be a dream as well.
Since she was name-dropped in the episode, maybe she could play herself like Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria did last season. Or maybe, in the same vein as Paul Rudd’s ongoing gag of returning as a new character every season, this whole ordeal of Loretta trying to recruit her for her show could continue as a running inside joke. Then, maybe, someday, Jennifer Aniston could actually show up to interact with Meryl Streep’s character.
For now, that’s just a dream. However, considering Hoffman’s enthusiasm about the joke and the absolutely stacked list of guest stars Only Murders has had, I don’t actually think it’s that far-fetched. So, as we continue watching the lovely Hulu comedy on Tuesdays, let’s hope that someday Jennifer Aniston really does show up to talk to Loretta about a role in Burn Unit.