‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5: Paul Rudd Returns as [SPOILER]

Paul Rudd, is that you in Only Murders in the Building Season 5?

**Spoilers ahead for Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Episode 4**

If you have been watching the Hulu mystery comedy series for the better part of the last five years, you know that Rudd appeared in Seasons 2 and 3 as Ben Glenroy, a Hollywood actor and murder victim, and then as Glen Stubbins, an Irish stunt actor and body double for Ben Glenroy, who also ends up murdered by the end of Season 4. While fans surely thought that would be the end of Rudd’s tenure on the series (how many times can one person die on a show, right?!), they may want to think again.

In the latest episode of Season 5, “Dirty Birds,” as Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short), are adjusting to life in The Arconia without Lester (Teddy Coluca), the building’s new doorman (Jermaine Fowler) and Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) introduce Charles and Mabel to the new assistant: Logic Engineered Secured Tenant Robot, a.k.a. LESTR, voiced by none other than the Clueless actor.

“They’re trying to trick us into thinking it’s a tribute rather than the rise of the machine,” says Uma (Jackie Hoffman) as she takes in The Arconia’s new automated doorman. “That’s true, my greatest challenge is my unsettling effect on humans,” LESTR responds.

Later in the episode, LESTR also reappears as Mabel tries desperately to avoid Thé (Beanie Feldstein) in the hallways of the building. As Mabel tries to impress her childhood friend turned frenemy, LESTR undercuts her by rattling off the podcast’s chart position and listenership stats.

According to series co-creator John Hoffman, bringing in Rudd to voice the robot was not the original plan. In fact, in an interview with TVLine, Hoffman shared that the series used a completely different voice — a few different versions, rather — before getting near the end of the season and bringing Rudd in on the bit.

“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?’” Hoffman told the outlet, adding that Rudd’s voice will continue to appear in future episodes of Season 5.

“I thought he was just brilliant in it,” the showrunner told TVLine, “He gives reads that don’t make sense for a human being.” We can’t wait to hear more of his inhuman line reads as Season 5 continues to air on Hulu.

The first four episodes of Only Murders in the Building Season 5 are now streaming on Hulu. New episodes premiere on Tuesdays at 12 a.m. EST.

If you’re new to Hulu, you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $9.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.

If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $10.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $29.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.