Warning: SPOILERS for the Only Murders in the Building episode “Dirty Birds” are ahead!
Paul Rudd probably isn’t the first name who comes to mind when thinking about Only Murders in the Building, but the Hulu subscription-exclusive series has certainly gone out of its way to keep him included. First he played Ben Glenroy in the Season 2 finale and throughout Season 3, then he returned in Season 4 to play Glen Stubbins, Ben’s stunt double. While we haven’t seen Rudd’s face yet during Only Murders Season 5, not to worry, as this amazing gag continues on thanks to the latest episode to premiere on the 2025 TV schedule.
Although Randall is staying on to succeed the late Lester Coluca as the Arconia, “Dirty Birds” brought in some help in the form of the Logic-Engineered Secure Tenant Robot, or L.E.S.T.R. The robot is voiced by none other than Paul Rudd, as showrunner John Hoffman confirmed to TVLine. He went on to explain how it wasn’t the “original intention” to have Rudd voice L.E.S.T.R., but it eventually became clear that they wouldn’t be able to effectively squeeze an on-camera role for the him in Season 5 of one of the funniest shows on Hulu. Hoffman continued:
It was only after we had a couple of different versions of that robot voice, and we ran with [one of them] for most of the shooting season. 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?'
As the self-described “keeper of the building’s secrets,” Howard Morris was tasked by the Arcadia’s board with training L.E.S.T.R. to handle duties like deliveries or reminders. Randall’s job was thankfully protected by his union, but the robot’s presence is already bothering our main trio of characters. Later on in “Dirty Birds” L.E.S.T.R. spouts off impressive statistics about Althea/“Thē” and not-so-impressive statistics about the Only Murders podcast, much to Mabel and Oliver’s dismay.
Yet what’s an annoyance to them is a delight to Only Murders in the Building viewers. John Hoffman added that we’ll continue to hear Paul Rudd voicing L.E.S.T.R. for the rest of Season 5, and he got a kick out of the way the Ant-Man actor delivered his lines:
I thought he was just brilliant in it. He gives reads that—He gives reads that don’t make sense for a human being.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that L.E.S.T.R. will somehow factor into Mabel, Oliver and Charles solving the murders of both Lester and Nicky Caccimelio, for better or worse. I’m just glad the Only Murders team found a way to once again fit Paul Rudd into these mystery-solving antics, as unorthodox as it may be. As far as on-camera talent goes, the lineup of new guest stars this season has included Bobby Cannavale, Jermaine Fowler, Beanie Feldstein, Renée Zellweger, Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Téa Leoni, Keegan Michael-Key and even Tony Plana from The Three Amigos.
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building premiere Tuesdays on Hulu. It remains to be seen if Season 6 will happen, but assuming it does, I look forward to seeing how the show makes use of Paul Rudd again… because this gag must continue.
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