Surprise cameos on popular television shows, as The Mandalorian stun fans with TWO superstar appearances

For those who have yet to watch the latest episode of Disney+’s popular Star Wars based series The Mandalorian, a fair warning right now - there will be spoilers. If the excitement and posts around social media haven’t ruined the episode for you already. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Episode six of the third season of The Mandalorian is now in the bag, with director credits attributed to Bryce Dallas Howard once more having directed a number of episodes through the franchise’s lifespan. But it was the inclusion of not one, not two but three cameo appearances that have left the internet reeling, and slightly confused about the matter.

Din Djarin, Bo-Katan Kryze, and Grogu (Baby Yoda) journey to Plazir-15, an independent planet to reconnect with past mercenary allies. Upon arrival, they encounter The Duchess and Captain Bombardier, the planet's rulers. While Bombardier's tale of being a former Imperial turned New Republic soldier and falling in love with The Duchess is compelling, the cast members portraying the two was stunning to say the least.

The reveal that the Duchess and Bombardier being pop star Lizzo and Hollywood A-lister Jack Black stunned viewers, becoming one of the few times a television show remained so tight-lipped about an appearance that there wasn’t as much conjecture surrounding who could end up guesting on the show. Quite clearly, in PeopleWorld’s view, a testament to just how rock solid a performance Pedro Pascal continues to deliver in his purple patch of 2023 so far.

It’s not the first surprising cameo in a television show, not by a long shot. But the carefully planned execution of the reveal and the relative “hush hush” from the Star Wars community was a pleasant surprise in an age where everything, including nice surprises in films and television, are continually spoiled by the ever eager public. Here’s a few more cameos that caught us off guard from some other television shows.

Sarah Ferguson - Friends

Who could forget the two part episode where the Friends gang travel to London to attend the wedding of Ross and Rachel. Sorry, we meant Ross and Emily. Emily. But while killing time in the capital, Joey and Chandler argue about a hat that he bought from a street vendor. To prove his point, Joey caught someone on camera proclaiming to Chandler that she thought the hat was great when he returned to their hotel room. That person? To quote Joey, “Fergie, Baby!”

Oh, and the street vendor who sold Joey souvenirs while in London? None other than Sir Richard Branson, we’ll have you know.

Charlize Theron - The Boys

Ever one to meta-reference real life pop culture and satirise it in a bleakly dark, yet comical way, Amazon Video’s popular series The Boys has constantly roped in celebrities in cameo roles, including Ashton Kutcher and Mia Kunis in a cameo mocking the ill-advised “Imagine” social media post Gal Gadot that did the rounds during the pandemic.

But this cameo involved an Oscar winning actress, and one that has worked with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg before. The in-universe filming of a movie based around The Seven boasted the acting talents of one Charlize Theron, portraying the character Stormfront from the television series in the film based on the real life exploits of the not-quite-so-heroic superheroes. We got a nose bleed regarding how meta it all got.

Ed Sheeran - Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones has had a legion of celebrity fans since the hit HBO series first debuted, either behind the camera or in front of it. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fans will fondly remember one of its creators, Rob McElhenny, being killed off in season eight premiere. But it was a popular pop star that grabbed everyone’s attention in the first episode of season seven.

Ed Sheeran appeared as a Lannister soldier, singing a song and sharing some food with Arya Stark, played by Maisie Williams, and a group of soldiers. Sheeran's appearance sparked a lot of conversation and controversy among fans, with some criticising it as a celebrity cameo that took them out of the show's world, while others appreciated the surprise appearance.

Joe Biden - Parks and Recreation

Leslie Knope is passionate about all things bureaucratic, in the popular NBC series Parks and Recreation. So much that she has a self-confessed crush on then vice president Joe Biden. So when the usually unflappable Knope, played by Amy Poehler, was caught completely off-guard when then boyfriend Ben Wyatt (played by Adam Scott) had a surprise for her during the show’s fifth season.

Biden played himself and appeared in a brief scene where he was attending a meeting in Washington, D.C. and met Leslie Knope by virtue of Ben’s connections in Washington after a successful local government campaign in Pawnee, Indiana. To say Leslie Knope was star struck doesn't quite sell the absolute joy and bashfulness meeting we have all had meeting a celebrity we admire. 

Prince - New Girl

We end with an absolute wildcard cameo appearance from one of the world's most enigmatic, and sorely missed musicians. Prince made a guest appearance on the TV show New Girl in a 2014 episode titled "Prince." In the episode, the main character Jess, played by Zooey Deschanel, and her friends attend a party at Prince's mansion in the hopes of meeting him. Prince appeared as himself and had several scenes, including performing a new song for the characters and giving them advice on their relationships. 

What made the cameo even more special is that, according to the show's creator, Liz Meriwether, Prince was a fan of the show and reached out to them about making an appearance. His cameo was highly praised by fans and critics alike, and it has since become a memorable moment in not just the show’s history, but a legendary, out of left-field appearance by the normally quite secretive musician.