The best sitcoms are well-known for their fleshed-out characters, personality-driven comedy, and interactions between likable actors. As such, it’s important for them to be careful when deploying huge cameos like Joe Biden and The Rock—but these shows knew the perfect way to incorporate these big names.
Brad Pitt on Friends
When Friends was on the air, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were married. That’s part of what made his cameo in “The One with the Rumor” so hilarious. In it, he plays Rachel’s high school friend Will, who secretly hates Rachel and is the president of the “I Hate Rachel Green Club.”
The Vampire Council on What We Do in the Shadows
Few shows manage to be quite as consistently hilarious as What We Do in the Shadows. In one of the show’s best gags, when the group is accused of murder, they go on trial in front of a council including Wesley Snipes, Paul Reubens, Tilda Swinton, Danny Trejo, Evan Rachel Wood, and all of the vampires who appeared in the film the show is based on.
Burt Reynolds on The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls was one of the best shows to ever grace the airwaves, and, for one shining moment, it also had Burt Reynolds. Reynolds appeared in an episode titled “Ladies of the Evening,” in which Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose win a chance to go with him a movie premier.
Prince on New Girl
One of the best episodes of New Girl is simply titled “Prince,” and that’s an accurate name. Prince himself cameos when the action takes protagonist Jess to a party at his house. Her boyfriend, Nick, shows up and the two talk to the legendary rock star, who helps them through a rough point in their relationship.
The Rock on That 70s Show
The Rock famously comes from a wrestling family, and in a fun, meta moment he plays his own father, Rocky Johnson, in an episode of That 70s Show. Rocky tells the gang that he thinks his son is going to be huge star one day, hilariously “predicting” The Rock’s own career.
Katy Perry on How I Met Your Mother
Katy Perry’s brief and hilarious turn on How I Met Your Mother sees her playing a character who’s name none of the core crew can remember. They just call her “Honey,” because everyone responds to her questionable grasp on reality with the phrase “oh, honey…”
Carrie Fisher on The Big Bang Theory
When Sheldon and his friends don’t manage to get into Comic Con, they go on a mission to start their own convention. They meet up with James Earl Jones, who’d cameoed on the show before, and the gang ding-dong ditches Carrie Fisher’s house. Who doesn’t love a Star Wars reunion?
Joe Biden on Parks and Rec
Joe Biden actually appeared on Parks and Rec twice during its run, both times back when he was still vice president under Barrack Obama. The affable politician is Leslie Knope’s celebrity crush, and, during the season finale, invites her and her husband Ben to his house for a party.
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Kesha on Jane the Virgin
Jane is displeased in the second season of Jane the Virgin when an obnoxious rock star moves in next door. Annabelle, played by Kesha of all people, is an egomaniac who plays loud music at all hours and keeps new mom Jane from getting any sleep. How rude!
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Sinbad and Rob Thomas on It’s Always Sunny
Some of the best cameos in TV history are on It’s Always Sunny. Among them are some phenomenal appearances by Sinbad and Rob Thomas in the unhinged episode “Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life,” when Dennis gets himself thrown into rehab. He imagines Sinbad and Rob Thomas, who portray themselves in the bizarre fantasy sequence.
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