Why Is Rosie O’Donnell Credited in ‘Russian Doll’ Season 2?

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 2 of Russian Doll.]

Russian Doll Season 2 is officially streaming on Netflix and if you’ve already tuned into the show’s newest episodes, you may have noticed a familiar name among the credits.

Rosie O’Donnell is credited as having a role in the series for Season 2, but she doesn’t make any appearances. So, how is that possible? Star and series co-creator Natasha Lyonne cleared things up in an interview with EW.

(Credit: Courtesy of Netflix)

“She’s the subway announcer,” Lyonne revealed. “She’s the, ‘Next stop, this is Astor Place. Next stop, 14th Street.’” In other words, while fans might not see O’Donnell on-camera, they’ll definitely hear her voice s as Lyonne’s character Nadia travels via New York City public transportation.

In Season 2, much of the action takes place within the city’s subway system as Nadia and Alan (Charlie Barnett) use the trains to travel through time. And O’Donnell’s authentic vocals adds to the New Yorker tone of the series.

“It was very generous of [O’Donnell]. I just texted her, because we knew we wanted a real New York accent,” Lyonne further explained. “We were sort of running down the line, we’re like, ‘Rosie Perez, Rosie… Mike Rapaport. Who’s doing this part?’ And so I texted Rosie, and she just would start sending me these little voice memos.”

The voice memos certainly paid off as O’Donnell announces stops on the subway lines. Along with Lyonne, Barnett, and O’Donnell, Season 2 of the Netflix series features Annie Murphy, Sharlto Copley, Carolyn Michelle Smith, Greta Lee, and Chloë Sevigny.

Hear O’Donnell and see the other stars in Russian Doll Season 2 by streaming the title anytime on Netflix.

Russian Doll, Seasons 1-2, Streaming now, Netflix