Only Murders in the Building season 5 is in full swing on Hulu, with the new season releasing its fourth episode on Sept. 16 and getting right into the thick of the new mystery. After discovering in the three-episode season premiere that a trio of billionaires might have something to do with the deaths of doorman Lester and mobster Nicky Caccimelio, our fave podcasters got to work!
In the latest episode, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver come face to face with Camila, Bash, and Jay, who are played by Renée Zellweger, Christoph Waltz, and Logan Lerman. But they weren't they only new characters making their official debut on Only Murders in the Building. As Howard unveiled to the Arconia residents, there's another new doorman joining to assist Randall.
But there's a twist! The new doorman is a robot named L.E.S.T.R., which stands for Logic-Engineered Secure Tenant Robot. Even though no one's particularly ecstatic about a robot roving around the building (especially not Randall), Howard's excited to introduce him to the residents. L.E.S.T.R. might even sound familiar to Only Murders fans because he's voiced by a former guest star.
Paul Rudd guest starred as L.E.S.T.R. the robot in Only Murders in the Building season 5 and you definitely missed it
As exclusively revealed by TV Line in an interview with Only Murders in the Building co-creator and showrunner John Hoffman, former recurring guest star Paul Rudd provided the voice for L.E.S.T.R. the robot. Hoffman shared with the outlet that Rudd's guest appearance was planned to be revealed in the season finale with a special card that would give it away.
The showrunner also shared that the creative team had been trying to think of new ways to bring Rudd back to the show after he made appearances in every season since the season 2 finale. Rudd's full role began after his finale tease, and he played Ben Glenroy throughout season 3 and returned as Ben's Irish stunt double Glen Stubbins in season 4. His characters die in both seasons.
The Only Murders team weren't originally intending to ask Rudd to voice the robot, and Hoffman even admitted that he thought it was a "bad idea." But after trying different voices and using a stand-in voice for filming much of the season, the team finally decided to reach out to Rudd before wrapping production.
Hoffman explained to TV Line, "Thankfully, you don’t ever see the person, so you can change the voice — and we did at the very, very end. When we were shooting episode 9, I called Paul up and I said, ‘OK, so we discussed, and there’s no way we can give you anything else, but we have a thought...’ And the best man in the world said, ‘When do I come and when do I do that?'"
If you're worried that Rudd's appearances as L.E.S.T.R. will be limited, Hoffman confirmed that the actor continues to voice the robot throughout season 5. There will be much more to come with the Arconia's robot doorman to come this season it seems, which is a very intriguing thought. Could the robot come through and play an important role in helping Mabel, Charles, and Oliver with the case?
They're going to need all the help they can get, especially after the billionaires tricked them into a sticky situation (no spoilers!). It's going to be interesting to see if L.E.S.T.R. will continue to be a side story for Howard or if he will interconnect with the season's larger storyline. Hoffman praised Rudd's voice role as "brilliant" and said his line readings "don't make sense for a human being." That checks for the very talented actor, and we can't wait hear more of his new robotic role!
Only Murders in the Building season 5 releases new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu.