20 Guest Appearances That Ruined a Famous TV Show
Hiring a wildly famous guest star is a tried-and-true method of reviving a floundering TV show. They’ve got a built-in fandom to draw into your audience, they lend an air of legitimacy to what might otherwise be a (let’s be honest here) pretty stupid show, and provided they’re a famous actor, they’re probably pretty good at acting. Aside from the price tag that often comes with such a purchase, there’s really no downside.
Sometimes, though, a famous guest star can backfire spectacularly. Maybe it turns out you hired someone most of your audience hates. Maybe they just didn’t mesh well with the rest of the cast or the premise of the show. Maybe they’re a violent criminal whose presence incited everyone else to revolt. Whatever the case, when user Tenchi2020 asked r/AskReddit, “What guest star appearance hurt or ruined a TV show?” Reddit clearly had some stunt casting grudges to get off their collective chest.
Kim Kardashian on ‘American Horror Story’
Will Ferrell on ‘The Office’
Jonathan Frakes on ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’
Elon Musk on ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Chris Brown on ‘Saturday Night Live’
Amy Schumer on ‘Only Murders in the Building’
RuPaul on ‘Grace and Frankie’
Martin Short on ‘Arrested Development’
Brad Pitt on ‘Friends’
Artie Lange on ‘Joe Buck Live’
Snoop Dogg on ‘Trailer Park Boys’
Quentin Tarantino on ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’
Andy Dick on ‘Community’
Jimmy Fallon on ‘Band of Brothers’
John Cena on ‘The Bear’
Alec Baldwin on ‘The Simpsons’
Megan Fox on ‘New Girl’
Dakota Johnson on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’
The Shark on ‘Happy Days’
The Showrunners of ‘Game of Thrones’
