If you haven't seen Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy give each other hell in “Only Murders in the Building,” then, to borrow a beloved phrase from Aaron Sorkin, you haven't seen Shakespeare the way it was meant to be done become.

The Hollywood heavyweights battled it out in the seventh episode of OMITB's fourth season, “Valley of the Dolls,” and I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

In the episode, the “Only Murders” podcasters – Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) – decide to leave town and hide out on Long Island at the home of Charles' sister, Doreen (Melissa McCarthy) as they try to escape this season's unnamed killer.

Not long after arriving at Doreen's dollhouse (there are dolls everywhere – even a Taylor Swift doll), Oliver's girlfriend Loretta (Meryl Streep) shows up and demands to know why he broke up with her (and then broke up) over a text message separated her). phone off).

Oliver and Loretta – widely rumored to be dating in real life – quickly kiss and make up, much to Doreen's dismay. The Long Islander, who loves the crystal light, has a crush on Oliver and has even tried to lure him. It's this love triangle that causes Streep and McCarthy to fail.

“There's going to be a cat fight between you and Melissa McCarthy, essentially over Oliver,” co-creator and executive producer John Hoffman revealed to Streep over dinner before Season 4 began filming. Streep's reaction, as Hoffman told TV Line, “I saw her raise her hands above her head and she said, 'I bet you.'”

McCarthy was excited when Hoffman presented the idea to her. “I'm going to hang up because I'm going to pass out. “I’m so in love with everything you tell me,” he remembered her telling him.

When it came time to film the scene, Hoffman and the Only Murders team had stunt people on set and a plan for how everything would happen. Streep and McCarthy were disappointed.

“So we got there and cleared the room with our stunt guy, Chris Barnes, and his team had come up with a plan of what they were going to do,” Hoffman told Variety. “It was very detailed and looked good to us.”

“Meryl and Melissa stood up and said, 'Look at this and let's see if it's too much,'” he recalls. “They looked at each other afterwards and said, 'It's very good.' “We have different ideas.” They didn’t think it went nearly far enough!”

“They started doing the choreography themselves, and when I saw what they were doing, I thought, 'This isn't planned with the stunt people,'” Hoffman continued. “They say, 'No, no, we don't need stunt people.' I say, 'Meryl, you're going to be thrown over the couch on your neck!' I can't!' She says, “I’m fine.” I’m fine. I love it. It's a great time. Can I jump on her back like this? And (to Melissa): 'Grab me tighter!'”

“They were so emotional about it, in a way that none of us were prepared for,” the producer explained. “And every time they did it, I couldn’t look.”

“I would say there's only one shot of a stunt person for a brief second because it was only one shot we needed, but other than that they're all there, the whole time.” It was a night for the ages on set .”

Streep and McCarthy's castmates were equally amazed at what they saw.

“I was stunned! I have to say, my mouth was full of tension!” 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 it was going to be one of the funniest scenes ever,” Martin continued.

Despite being there the day the scene was filmed, Martin Short was stunned to see that the fight had been “cut together” in the finished episode.

“I was still surprised that it was clearly Meryl and Melissa who did this,” he said. “It’s very aggressive. Very funny.”

There was never any doubt in McCarthy's mind that she would give it her all. “I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to throw Streep over the back of the sofa,” she told Variety.

The “Spy” actress also praised her scene partner's athleticism, saying, “For the record, I don't want to meet Meryl in a dark alley, she moves like an 18-year-old bobcat.”

After the episode aired, social media lit up with fans of the series praising the actresses for their comedic (and physical) skills.

“(I) just need to make it clear to everyone that I think this scene where there are only murders in the building deserves AT LEAST three different Emmys,” one person posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “(M)eryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy are amazing, but every single actor in this room is phenomenal. THE!!! is such good television right now.”

Echoing this sentiment, someone else commented, “I'm sorry, but if this episode doesn't make room for comedy then I don't know what we're doing.” They added, “This episode was pure genius.”

A viewer who describes himself as a “Meryl Streep supremacist” said it best: “(M)eryl Streep beats the crap out of Melissa McCarthy, absolute masterpiece.”

The first seven episodes of Only Murders in the Building's fourth season are now available to stream on Hulu. Seasons 1-3 are available on both Hulu and Disney+.