What do late-night hosts do when they’re not sitting behind their desks interviewing stars and cracking jokes? Every now and then, they take a much-needed break from their TV duties to … well, be on even more TV!
Over the years, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, Seth Meyers, and a host of other late-night hosts have played themselves on TV shows across all genres. As an added bonus, sometimes they’re even fans of the show themselves (see: Jimmy Kimmel on Scandal).
We’ve covered late night at the movies—now it’s time for the TV edition. From cameos on favorites like Seinfeld and The Office to quick stints on modern streaming hits like Only Murders and the Building and The Boys, here are 18 times late-night hosts have played themselves on other TV shows.
Seinfeld
In the Season 7 episode “The Shower Head,” Jerry stops by The Tonight Show, where he tells then-host Jay Leno a story about his Uncle Leo (Len Lesser). The two comedians have remained close friends over the years, with Jerry Seinfeld crediting Leno with helping him hone his act. “A lot of guys like me that wanted to be stand-up comedians in the ’70s would see Jay at the Improv, and he was just this full step ahead of everyone else: his stage presence, his material, his energy,” Seinfeld told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014. “He was my mentor all those years.”
The Larry Sanders Show
For a show about late night that featured real-life celebrities playing versions of themsleves, it only makes sense that some actual late-night personalities would be in the mix. Among those who appeared on the show are Jon Stewart, Dana Carvey, Adam Sandler, Norm Macdonald, Ed McMahon, Doc Severinsen, Tom Snyder, Bob Costas, and Jay Leno. But it was a pair of cameos from a height-of-his-powers David Letterman that may have been the show’s bigest coup. Letterman appears in two episodes: Season 2’s “Life With Larry” (in which he Larry loses an American Comedy Award to Dave), and Season 4’s “Larry’s Big Idea.”
30 Rock
Conan O’Brien holds a special place in the 30 Rock universe—which seems fitting, considering the Tina Fey sitcom and O’Brien’s Late Night were both Lorne Michaels productions. A Season 1 flashback reveals that Tracy (Tracy Morgan) worked on O’Brien’s late-night show prior to starring on TGS with Tracy Jordan; later, Tracy appears on Late Night and falls asleep during the interview. Plus, O’Brien is canonically one of Liz Lemon’s ex-boyfriends.
True Blood
You can spot Bill Maher in the pilot of HBO’s True Blood. During his quick cameo, the Real Time Host is seen TV chatting about the tension between humans and vampires. Maher’s history of guesting on sitcoms probably helped prepare him.
Family Guy
A whole host of late-night stars cameo as themselves in the Season 7 episode “We Love You, Conrad,” including Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, and The Late Late Show’s Craig Ferguson. Conan O’Brien, meanwhile, shows up in Season 12’s “Into Harmony’s Way,” which sees Peter and Quagmire (both voiced by Seth MacFarlane) make a disastrous appearance on Conan.
Hannah Montana
Disney Channel and late-night fans got the best of both worlds when Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in Season 4’s “I’ll Always Remember You.” The hour-long episode is one that Hannah Montana fans will never forget, from Hannah and Jesse’s (Drew Roy) on-air kiss to Hannah/Miley telling Leno—and the world—the truth about her double identity at long last.
Scandal
Jimmy Kimmel appears in three episodes of Scandal: “White Hat’s Off” in Season 2, “The Testimony of Diego Muñoz” in Season 4, and “The Miseducation of Susan Ross” in Season 5. As a superfan of the ABC political thriller, Kimmel interviewed Kerry Washington and the rest of the cast numerous times. Jimmy Kimmel Live! even parodied the show with its own creation, “Scandal High.”
iCarly
In the very-special, hourlong Season 6 episode iShockAmerica, Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) and the gang travel to The Big Apple to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. However, things take an unexpected turn when Gibby’s (Noah Munck) pants fall down on air, prompting NCC to swoop in with a hefty fine. The episode also features appearances by SNL alums Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch, plus Questlove and Steve Higgins.
Big Time Rush
Fallon isn’t the only late-night host to guest on a Nickelodeon show—Jon Stewart also has a brief, but memorable appearance on Big Time Rush. The band gets an opportunity to appear on The Daily Show in the Season 4 premiere “Big Time Invasion,” but things don’t quite go according to plan.
The Office
Then-SNL cast members Seth Meyers and Bill Hader make a quick cameo in The Office’s series finale to poke fun at Andy’s (Ed Helms) viral America’s Next A Cappella Sensation sensation. Fun fact: Dakota Johnson also guests in the episode (and later told Meyers it was “the worst”).
This Is Us
In what may be the most iconic instance of Meyers cameoing as himself, the Season 1 episode of This Is Us, “The Best Washing Machine in the Whole World,” sees the Late Night host witness a brawl on the street between Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown). Meyers, who knows Kevin for his sitcom career, runs up to intervene, only to find out that the two are actually brothers. In a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, creator Dan Fogelman explained, “We wanted a little comedic punch to the end of a very, very heavy scene, and he was willing to do it. Sterling and Justin flew out to New York, and we shot it with Seth. It was great.” Earlier this year, Meyers stopped by the This Is Us podcast to reminisce about his guest appearance.
The Boys
He may only make a quick cameo in the series premiere, but Jimmy Fallon’s guest appearance plays a key role in The Boys. Fallon interviews Translucent (Alex Hassell) on The Tonight Show and asks him questions about the supe’s powers—Hughie (Jack Quaid) watches the whole exchange, thereby learning of Translucent’s weakness towards electricity.
Madam Secretary
Stephen Colbert memorably pops up in the Season 6 premiere “Hail to the Chief.” The episode sees Henry (Tim Daly) make a poorly-received appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which leads to increased scrutiny falling on his and Elizabeth’s (Téa Leoni) high-profile marriage.
BoJack Horseman
Of all the cameos on this list, Samantha Bee’s BoJack Horseman cameo just might take the cake. The former Full Frontal host guests on the Season 6 episode “The Horny Unicorn” as herself—only here, she’s a literal bee. As a bonus, she even hosts her very own show on T-Bee-S.
Only Murders in the Building
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building loves having comedians guest star, so it seems only fitting that a late-night host would make a cameo. Fallon can be seen in the Season 1 episode “To Protect and Serve,” when Teddy (Nathan Lane) shows Oliver (Martin Short) and Charles (Steve Martin) a clip of him being interviewed on The Tonight Show. Of course, the real-life Fallon has also interviewed the Only Murders cast plenty of times.
American Horror Story: Delicate
Late-night host and Bravo legend Andy Cohen makes a quick cameo in the premiere episode of American Horror Story: Delicate when he interviews rising Hollywood actress Anna Victoria Alcott (Emma Roberts) on Watch What Happens Live. Over the years, Cohen has also guest starred as himself on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Riverdale, and Gossip Girl (2021).
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Conan O’Brien scored a cameo on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm earlier this year, appearing in the Season 12 episode “The Colostomy Bag.” While he plays himself, there’s a bit of a twist—in the Curb universe, he’s a total jerk. “We finally got Conan on the show, we’d always wanted to have him on,” EP Jeff Schaffer told The Hollywood Reporter. “Conan and Larry are friends and really crack each other up, that’s why Conan was perfect to play this role and really crap all over Larry about his conversational skills.”
The Simpsons
Last but not least, this list wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging Conan O’Brien’s guest appearances on The Simpsons. Before his late-night career completely took off, O’Brien was, of course, a writer on the Fox show—he even wrote some of its most famous episodes, like Marge vs. The Monorail. He’s since come back to play himself on The Simpsons twice: first, in Season 12’s “Bart Gets Famous” and just this September in the “series finale” (not actually the finale) episode “Bart’s Birthday.”
