18 TV Characters Who Stole the Show in Just One Episode

One of the markers of great television is the capacity to build insanely well-rounded, deep characters that evolve over the course of many seasons. There are characters we feel like we know as if they’re our own friends, characters we memorize, characters we cherish. Then there are the one-time characters who come into an established dynamic and leave a major mark on viewership, often played by similarly iconic actors. These are 18 of the most memorable television characters who only appeared in a single episode.

Taylor Swift on New Girl

I mean, it’s Taylor Swift. She played a sweet, if not a bit quirky woman named Elaine in the season 2 finale, “Elaine’s Big Day”, which focused on Cece’s wedding to Shivrang. Elaine turned out to be secretly in love with Shivrang, which worked out for the best since Cece was secretly in love with Schmidt. Elaine yells, “You’re not too short for me. I don’t care what your mother says!” as Shivrang picks her up and carries her off into the sunset. Incredible.

Andy Samberg on Parks and Recreation

Andy Samberg plays the obnoxiously loud park ranger Carl Lorthner, who works with the park department in season 2 to bolster community safety measures. This is after Jerry is mugged in the park (which turns out to have been a lie). Andy Samberg’s character in the show is hilarious and unbearable, a perfect role for the actor.

Britney Spears on Glee

In season 2 episode 2, Britney Spears appeared in her very own tribute episode as a figment of the Glee Club kids’ hallucinations while they were under anesthesia. She played herself in an episode where they only performed Britney Spears songs, and it was one of the most memorable episodes of the show.

Katy Perry on How I Met Your Mother

Honey, whose real name is actually irrelevant because everyone only calls her Honey, is played by Katy Perry. She’s a beautiful yet gullible airhead who meets the crew because she’s cousins with Zoey, a recently separated woman Ted is secretly in love with. Zoey tries to set Honey up with Ted, but of course, Honey ends up sleeping with Barney. The reason they call her Honey is because anytime she speaks, you just want to say, “Oh, honey…”

Kesha on Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin had a number of pop stars appear (Gloria Estefan, Britney Spears, and Bruno Mars, to name a few), but Kesha’s was one of the most delightfully surprising. In the show, she plays an annoying neighbor who moves next door to Jane. She is loud and rude, an aspiring rockstar who plays her music late into the night. Jane eventually steals her amp.

Matthew Broderick on Modern Family

This episode has the classic Modern Family miscommunication schtick that makes the show so funny. Cam is encouraging his gay friend, played by Matthew Broderick, to go after a cute guy at the gym. The cute guy at the gym? Phil. Being adorably oblivious, Phil thinks the gay guy just wants to be friends. Matthew Broderick’s character is sweet and nervous, and the dynamic between him and Phil is just fantastic.

Brad Pitt on Friends

Friends had a massive cultural presence and naturally a ton of guest stars, but Brad Pitt played one of the most iconic. His character was one of Ross’s friends from high school who grew up to be very attractive but carried some of his jealousy of Rachel’s popularity with him. This leads to a Thanksgiving dinner scene where he is brutally salty towards Rachel, and she has no idea why. Plus, the two were actually husband and wife at the time!

Courtney Cox on Seinfeld

Before her career took off from Friends, Courtney Cox was on Seinfeld season 5 episode 8, “The Wife.” She played Meryl, a woman who briefly dated Jerry. They pretended to be married in order to receive a family discount at the dry cleaners, but she ends up finding unfamiliar lingerie in their laundry and confronts Jerry, who tells her he wants a divorce so that a different woman can pretend to be his wife and get the discount. Pure nonsense that we love to see.

Evan Peters in The Office

The episode to kick off season 7 of The Office guest stars Evan Peters, who plays Michael Scott’s nephew Luke. In “Nepotism”, nobody knows the new office assistant is Michael’s nephew, and they can’t understand why he won’t fire him. Long story short, Michael ends up getting fed up with Luke’s attitude and spanking him in front of everyone.

Ed Helms on Brooklyn 99

The Office’s Ed Helms plays Agent Jack Danger, a USPIS worker whose complete and total incompetence makes for a hilarious back-and-forth between him and Jake Peralta while they’re trying to solve a case. Side note: Ed Helms is not the only actor from The Office to appear on Brooklyn 99. Craig Robinson, Oscar Nuñez, and Kate Flannery also make appearances.

Hillary Duff on Community

In Community, Duff plays a stark counterpart to most of her notoriously endearing and non-threatening Y2K roles. She takes on the character of Meghan, a mean girl who bullies Annie, Britta, and Shirley into changing seats in “Aerodynamics of Gender.” Seeking revenge, the trio sicks Abed on her because he has a knack for uncovering people’s insecurities and using them against them. When this goes too far, the only way to restore proper social hierarchy is by Hillary Duff’s character putting Abed in his place.

Lindsay Lohan on That 70’s Show

The same year that Mean Girls premiered, Lindsay Lohan rode that wave of fame all the way to Wisconsin to play the sexy Danielle, one of Fez’s salon clients. She ends up ditching Kelso, the overly confident himbo, to date Fez instead, causing Kelso to be in a state of complete and utter confusion, one which is not unfamiliar to him.

Seann William Scott on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

A show overflowing with deeply hateable characters (which, for the record, is part of its charm), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia hosts Seann William Scott for one episode titled “Mac Day.” The actor plays Country Mac, who is wise, rugged, and comfortable with his sexuality: everything Mac longs to be.

Larry Thomas on Seinfeld

Larry Thomas was not a particularly well-known actor, but his performance as the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld was so iconic he was nominated for an Emmy for it. The character was inspired by a real person who ran a soup kitchen in New York and was apparently displeased with his portrayal on the show. Larry Thomas’s performance made this character and episode an instant hit.

Keegan-Michael Key on How I Met Your Mother

Key plays a pretentious, obnoxious man on a date with his wife, whom Barney and Robin, a week away from getting married, decide to become archnemeses with. The pair plot to break Key’s character and his wife, Krirsten, up by putting an engagement ring in her champagne glass, but the stuck-up couple ends up getting engaged anyway.

Prince on New Girl

How New Girl managed to land Prince is a pretty funny story. Prince actually loved the show and wanted to be on it, so naturally, the showrunners planned an entire, unforgettable episode around the artist, who wanted to really be immersed in the reality of the show. According to Zooey Deschanel, Prince was adamant about Nick and Jess being together, which is likely why this is the first episode in which the two say, “I love you.”

Millie Bobbie Brown on Grey’s Anatomy

Before Stranger Things skyrocketed her to stardom, Millie Bobbie Brown played Ruby on Grey’s Anatomy, a young girl who saved her mother’s life. In the episode, Ruby’s mom is severely injured, but help is too far away, so the doctors walk her through a life-saving procedure over the phone. A helicopter eventually arrives and rescues them both.

Madeline Albright on Gilmore Girls

The late former Secretary of State made her appearance on Gilmore Girls in 2005. She played herself in a dream that Rory Gilmore had on her 21st birthday. The scene is super weird and, for the show, surreal in an out-of-place way, which, for better or worse, makes it hard to forget.

These one-off star appearances ranged from hilarious to bizarre to unforgettable, but it can be said with certainty that they each brought something unique and special to the shows they appeared in. Plus, who doesn’t love seeing their favorite actor, singer, or Secretary of State in a cozy comedy?