Over the years, there were many incredible and unexpected celebrity cameo appearances in Parks and Recreation. Created by The Office’s Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, beloved political satire mockumentary Parks and Recreation ran for seven seasons between 2009 and 2015, and became one of the most popular sitcoms in TV history. The series explored the lives and work of the staff at the Parks and Recreation Department of the local government in Pawnee, Indiana, focusing primarily on Deputy Director Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), who was joined by a strong ensemble cast and, sometimes, exciting celebrity cameos.

Many of the celebrity cameo appearances in Parks and Recreation contributed to some of the show’s most memorable and exhilarating moments. Honorable mentions go to the likes of Fred Armisen, Kristen Bell and her husband, Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, Bo Burnham, Heidi Klum, Bradley Whitford, and more. However, some of the appearances of actors, musicians, comedians, and politicians helped establish Parks and Recreation as a legitimate and fully-formed series that everybody wanted to be in.

Throughout Parks and Recreation, Mayor Walter Gunderson was mentioned many times, but he wasn’t seen until season 7, episode 11, “Two Funerals,” in which Gunderson was portrayed by Bill Murray. He appeared only in a non-committal and apathetic video message to the Pawnee people following his death, while it was also revealed he had a long-running extramarital relationship with Ethel Beavers (Helen Slayton-Hughes). Murray is a comedy legend, so it was brilliant see him appear for this short sequence in Parks and Recreation. Poehler had previously joked about having Murray play the role, and paying him $250 if he agreed.

Known for roles in Mad Men, Bad Times at the El Royale, The Morning Show, and more, it was great to see Jon Hamm appear in Parks and Recreation, albeit briefly. He debuted as Ed, an ineffectual employee of Leslie Knope after her promotion to the role of Regional Director of the National Park Service’s Midwest Region, in season 6’s finale, “Moving Up,” in which he’s also fired by Knope. He reappeared in season 7’s premiere, “2017,” which cemented his role as a funny bit, though it would have been great to see more of Hamm in Parks and Recreation.

Parker Posey has recently gained new recognition for her portrayal of Victoria Ratliff in The White Lotus season 3, but, back in 2011, she made an appearance in Parks and Recreation season 3, episode 12, “Eagleton,” as Lindsay Carlisle Shay. Shay was the Deputy Director of the Parks Department of neighboring Eagleton who had formerly worked for the Pawnee government. She came into opposition with Knope after the Eagletonians erect a fence in Lafayette Park on the border between towns, which brings the old friends at odds yet again in hilarious fashion. Posey excelled in this brief role.

Season 7’s premiere set a high standard for the rest of the show’s final season. One of the core threads in this episode involved Andy (Chris Pratt) and April (Aubrey Plaza) spontaneously purchasing a new house fitted with three bomb shelters, five dumbwaiters, and even a staircase to nowhere. The house’s current owner is the creepy Ken Jeggings, played by writer, actor, and director Werner Herzog. He’s considered one of the most influential and innovative filmmakers of his generation, yet he was also hilarious as Jeggings, who wanted to move to Orlando to be closer to Disney World.

Adam Scott debuted in Parks and Recreation season 2’s finale as Ben Wyatt, an Indiana State Auditor and former teenage Mayor of Partridge, Minnesota. We visited Partridge in season 3’s self-titled episode, which introduced legendary actor J.K. Simmons as the town’s current mayor, Mayor Stice. Stice intended to trick Wyatt to humiliate him in front of the town by giving him a key to the city formed of ice, referencing the young Wyatt’s failed attempt to create revenue by establishing a winter sports complex named Ice Town, which bankrupted Partridge. Simmons was perfect for delivering the stone-cold and quietly-funny Stice.

A veteran of Saturday Night Live, Rachel Dratch has worked with Amy Poehler for many years, so it’s a surprise it took so long for her to finally appear in Parks and Recreation. Dratch debuted as babysitter Roz Pinwheel in season 7’s “Donna & Joe,” where she appears to watch over Leslie and Ben’s triplets while they attend the wedding of Donna (Retta) and Joe (Keegan Michael-Key). Roz is immediately rushed off her feet, as the Knope-Wyatt kids are a whirlwind, which creates a hilarious moment between Roz, Knope, Wyatt, and political campaigner Jennifer Barkley (Kathryn Hahn).

Another Saturday Night Live alum, Andy Samberg’s appearance in Parks and Recreation is one of the most memorable cameos. Samberg appeared in season 2, episode 19, “Park Safety,” as Carl Lorthner, a ranger in Pawnee’s Park Security who was notable for his very loud speaking voice. Lorthner joined the Parks team to investigate the mugging of Jerry (Jim O’Heir), though he finds out that Jerry actually injured himself while trying to retrieve his dropped burrito. While Samberg’s guest appearance actually received a mostly-negative response, this shows just how annoying loud-mouth Carl truly was, so Samberg achieved his mission.

Donna was one of Parks and Recreation’s fan-favorite characters, primarily because of her luxurious and mysterious personality. Not much was known about Donna’s private life, which made the reveal that 1990s R&B star Ginuwine is her cousin even more hilarious. Donna’s relation to Ginuwine became a long-running joke, leading to his appearance alongside The Decemberists, Letters to Cleo, Yo La Tengo, and Wilco performing at the Pawnee-Eagleton Unity Concert in “Moving Up.” Ginuwine returned as Donna and Joe’s wedding in season 7, where he was hilariously reprimanded for his bad behavior by April.

As a political mockumentary, Parks and Recreation was the perfect TV show to feature a huge number of real-world politicians, who Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt become increasingly involved with as they progress in their respective careers. One of these politicians was then-Vice President and future President of the United States, Joe Biden, whom Knope routinely admitted to having a major crush on. Biden made cameo appearances in season 5 and again in the series finale, where it was revealed he and Janet Yellen were revealed to be Knope and Wyatt’s friends in Washington DC.

Throughout the series, Leslie Knope’s admiration for Joe Biden was often referenced. When Ann (Rashida Jones) is looking for someone to set Knope up on a date with, Knope describes her perfect man as having “the brains of George Clooney and the body of Joe Biden,” while Knope also photoshops a picture of Biden shirtless riding a horse. His appearance in season 5’s “Leslie vs. April” was brilliant, especially since Knope commanded his team to take care of him as he is “precious cargo,” while his return, where he confirmed having played charades with Knope, also received high praise.

While Joe Biden’s appearance in Parks and Recreation was celebrated, it was First Lady Michelle Obama’s cameo in season 6’s “Moving Up,” whose appearance came as even more of a shock. Michelle Obama was introduced to Knope by Grant Larson, much to Knope’s surprise, while he is trying to recruit Knope. Obama and Knope bond over the former’s love for Chicago, her hometown, while Obama also mentions her Let’s Move campaign. At the time, Obama was the current First Lady, the wife of President Barack Obama, so her cameo in Parks and Recreation gave the series legitimacy and gravitas.

Michelle Obama and Joe Biden were only two of many real-world politicians who made cameo appearances in Parks and Recreation. These appearances increased in later years as Knope and Wyatt became more involved in the political world, opening the door for the likes of John McCain, Barbara Boxer, Olympia Snowe, Kristen Gillibrand, Orrin Hatch, Cory Booker, Newt Gingrich, and Knope’s own icon, Madeline Albright, to show up in the series. These figures elevated Parks and Recreation and made the political jokes even funnier, and gave the series some of its best cameo appearances.

Who was your favorite celebrity cameo in Parks and Recreation? Let us know in the comments!