The celebs seem to be lining up to get in on Liz Lemon’s action — and who can blame them? This week, the media queen herself, Oprah Winfrey, confirmed that she, too, will guest star on 30 Rock this season. Gossip Girl‘s Blake Lively and Leighton Meester will follow suit.
Oprah is slated to play her very famous self, and is no stranger to guest stardom. In 1997, she played therapist to Ellen’s character, Ellen Morgan, on quite possibly the most famous Ellen episode ever, urging her to come out to friends and family. Leave it to Oprah to be on board for such a historical event: Ellen’s coming out was the first time a gay character ever came out to audiences on primetime television.
You go, O.
Oprah’s episode is tentatively scheduled to air Nov. 6, and she reportedly will share a lot of screen time with Tina Fey.
We would expect nothing less from Lively and Meester than to help reveal a secret about Liz Lemon: She was a “mean girl” in high school.
Sources told Entertainment Weekly that the ladies play Lemon’s classmates in a sure-to-be-hilarious flashback sequence. The episode will also take Lemon to her 20-year high school reunion, where Blake’s sister, Robyn Lively, will play the grown-up Blake.
All the guest appearances on 30 Rock have critics talking, claiming their “stunt casting” has entered a dangerous territory. 30 Rock obviously doesn’t need guest stars to be funny; we just hope some big executive isn’t requiring extra celeb action to keep the show on the air.
We’ll happily take Oprah, Blake, Leighton and Jennifer Aniston — but let’s not let another great show bite the dust due to a lack of watchers. (Seriously, the sudden end of Veronica Mars will forever make my heart ache.)
