For the most part, sitcoms are about every day average families. Some are wealthier than others (the Banks' on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, for example) while others are barely making ends meet (think The Conners from Roseanne and The Conners). But by and large, they are regular people with regular jobs, from lawyers to grocery store clerks. Sometimes, however, the protagonist is supposed to be a celebrity of some kind, like Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld or Kevin Pearson on This Is Us.
While many celebrities have guest-starred on sitcoms like Friends as a variety of characters, a really funny way that celebrities integrate into sitcoms is when they play themselves as friends of the show's characters. How does that work? It actually has, many times, in a variety of unique ways.
Sheldon Cooper On The Big Bang Theory (Wil Wheaton)
Wil Wheaton played an exaggerated version of himself on The Big Bang Theory as someone who met Sheldon at one point and became friends, then later frenemies. He and Sheldon are often at odds with one another with Wil doing what he can to annoy Sheldon and Sheldon being himself and constantly irritating Wil. But it's mostly about competing with one another, Sheldon using his intellect and Wil his celebrity status.
By the fifth season, he and Sheldon finally seemingly buried the hatchet. And while they were always competing with one another, they were, deep down, friends too in a weird way.
Barney Stinson On How I Met Your Mother (William Zabka)
Many believe that How I Met Your Mother deserves some credit for the creation of Cobra Kai. It was on this sitcom that the idea of Johnny Lawrence as the hero and not the villain of Karate Kid was first proposed.
William Zabka, who plays Lawrence in both Cobra Kai and the original Karate Kid movie, made several cameos on HIMYM as himself, a supposed friend of Barney Stinson thanks to Barney's loyalty to the Lawrence character as being the good guy. Zabka even became Barney's best man for a short period of time while Barney was fighting with Ted.
Chloe On Don't Trust The B--- In Apartment 23 (James Van Der Beek)
One of the most under-rated sitcoms from the 2010s, this one was about a party girl named Chloe who would seek out roommates, take their deposits, then drive them crazy until they moved out, leaving her the seemingly easy money. But when she meets sweet June, she realizes the girl won't leave that easily.
Van Der Beek stars as a fictional version of himself and a friend of Chloe's. In the series, he is desperate to revive his acting career. In reality, Van Der Beek has had no trouble getting acting gigs.
BoJack Horseman On Bojack Horseman (Felicity Huffman)
She was more his neighbor than a friend. Nonetheless, on this animated sitcom about a world where anthropomorphic animals walk among us and Horseman is a has-been actor trying to get his groove back, Huffman had a guest-starring role.
She voiced a character in an episode of Bojack Horseman where she invited Horseman to appear on her show FHBA. While he mistakenly thought it was a police procedural drama like N.C.I.S. or SVU, it actually stood for "Felicity Huffman's Booty Academy."
Family Guy Cast (Adam West)
For many years, Adam West played the Mayor of Quahog, the town in Rhode Island that serves as the setting for the animated sitcom. While he wasn't technically friends with the residents of the town, he did interact with everyone, given his position as working for the people.
Interestingly, he shared the name and voice of the actor but was he actually playing himself as the true Adam West who left acting to take on a mayoral position? It isn't really ever explicitly stated on Family Guy. Nonetheless, when West passed away in real life in 2017, the character died offscreen as well.
Tobias Funke On Arrested Development (Carl Weathers)
Maybe it's a stretch to call them friends, but when the often inappropriate (though never intentionally so) Funke ran into Carl Weathers – yes, the actor who played Apollo Creed - on an airport shuttle, he handed over the last few dollars in hopes that the veteran actor would give him acting lessons.
Weathers, who played a fictional version of himself on Arrested Development, was apparently a cheapskate and integrated this quality into his teachings. That included teaching Funke to try and buy a car at a police auction and score some free food – anything to save a buck.
Larry David On Curb Your Enthusiasm (Various)
It comes as no surprise that David would have plenty of real-life celebrity friends on this sitcom, seeing as he plays an exaggerated version of himself. And while some of the actors aren't playing themselves, like Cheryl Hines who takes on the role of David's wife, others appear as themselves.
Among the list of celebrities who appear on Curb You Enthusiasm is Richard Lewis, who is real-life friends with David and plays himself on the series.
Warwick Davis On Life's Too Short (Various)
Davis is best known for his roles in Willow and Leprechaun, as well as an Ewok named Wicket in Return of the Jedi and Flitwick in the Harry Potter movies. But in this British mockumentary series, he plays a fictionalized version of himself.
While the real Davis has had no trouble booking roles in huge movies, in this series, he is desperate to remain a star and come off as though he thinks he's a much bigger deal in Hollywood than he really is. Interestingly, he tries to get the attention of various celebrity "friends" on this show, like Ricky Gervais (who co-created the series), but they are often more annoyed with him than anything else.
Uncle Jesse On Full House (The Beach Boys)
Uncle Jesse was a musician himself with a band, awesome hair, and a talent for singing. But he had also become friends with the members of The Beach Boys, who appeared on Full House more than once.
This was drawn from actor John Stamos's real-life friendship with the members of the band. He performed with them in concerts on a number of occasions and was even in the video for the song "Kokomo." Not surprisingly, then, they were in the episode with Jesse and Rebecca's wedding, performing at the event.
Alexis Rose On Schitt's Creek (Various)
None of them were ever seen, but wow, did Alexis ever name drop a ton of celebrities, most of whom she claimed to have dated at some point in time while she was living her best life. The exhaustive list of names Alexis mentions in various episodes of Schitt's Creek includes A-list actors, musicians, and even a prince. She named everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Jared Leto (supposedly her first kiss), Prince Harry, all three Hanson brothers (only to get backstage passes to the Teen Choice Awards), Adam Levine, and Josh Groban.
There are even cryptic, unnamed celebrities, like a soccer player she partied with on a yacht and half the cast of White Squall.