Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life guide to guest stars and cameos

One of the joys of binging Gilmore Girls before watching the Netflix revival is the treasure trove of familiar faces that make appearances in those early episodes. From Mad Men's Jon Hamm to Mr. Robot's Rami Malek, many soon-to-be stars showed up on the beloved series in those early seasons.

Of course, with the revival featuring four 90-minute episodes, each taking place in a different season over the course of a year, fans see more than just their favorite inhabitants of Stars Hollow and its neighboring areas. They can also see at least a few new ones—including Bunheads lead, Sutton Foster, and Lauren Graham's Parenthood daughter, Mae Whitman—courtesy of the wide-reaching fan following the series has developed since it went off the air.

In order not to distract you from your binge session as you potentially pause episodes to look up the series' guest stars and cameos, EW has put together a handy-dandy list of just some of the people who graceyour screens during Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life:

Winter

Roy Choi (as himself): One of the chefs leading the food truck movement, Choi opens the congee-inspired pop-up kitchen at the Dragonfly Inn.

Chris Eigemen (Jason Stiles): Lorelai's ex and Richard's old business partner attends the funeral and leaves a "living room"-sized space between himself and Emily.

Jack Carpenter (Paul): This is Rory's current boyfriend whom she keeps forgetting. Fun fact: Carpenter was Patric Edelstein on The Good Wife, which also starred Matt Czuchry (a.k.a. Logan, one of Rory's exes).

Ray Wise (Jack Smith): The Fresh Off the Boat actor guest-stars as Richard's old Yale buddy who attends Richard's wake and recounts the story of the time he and Richard put ladies' underwear in each other's lockers and Richard joked, "We can't possibly both be in black."

Richard Cox (Franklin): Cox (The Librarians, Alpha House) plays Richard's friend who attends his wake and remembers how Richard cheated at cards.

Alex Kingston (Ms. Naomi Shropshire): Kingston (Doctor Who, ER) guest-stars as Rory's "hellion-in-arms" co-writer and the subject for the biography Rory is writing.

Louise Goffin (Louise): A singer, Goffin plays the Town Troubadour's sister who gets into trouble for singing on a town corner. In fact, not only is Goffin the daughter of Carole King, but that's her singing a duet with her mother in the show's theme song.

Sebastian Bach (Gil): The Skid Row lead singer returns to Stars Hollow to once again rock out with Hep Alien in Lane and Zack's living room.

Spring

Julia Goldani Telles (Sandee Martin): The founder of "Sandee Says" keeps trying to hire Rory as an editor for her site. The actress also starred in Amy Sherman-Palladino's short-lived series Bunheads.

Gregg Henry (Mitchum Huntzberger): Logan's father returns, even offering to help Rory set up her interview with Condé Nast.

Paul Anka (as himself): The singer returned to Stars Hollow—specifically Lorelai's dream—as he played the human version of Luke and Lorelai's canine companion.

Rachael Ray (as herself): There's another chef attempting to run a pop-up in the Dragonfly Inn's kitchen.

Dan Bucatinsky (Jim Nelson): The Scandal actor plays a Condé Nast editor who interviews Rory.

Jason Mantzoukas (Robert Castellanos): The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star plays Naomi Shropshire's lawyer who dissolves her book contract with Rory.

Mae Whitman (Marcy): Whitman plays the girl in line to whom Lorelai gives one of her free "Krodo Cakes."

Kerry Butler (Claudia): The seasoned Broadway actress plays Lorelai and Emily's shared therapist. She also appeared in season four of The Mindy Project.

Summer

Bailey De Young (Heidi): The Faking It actress and former Bunheads star plays a member of the town's "30-Something Gang." De Young also plays Imogene Cleary in Sherman-Palladino's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Sutton Foster (Violet): Foster (Younger) took a break from pretending to be in her 20s to star as the lead of Stars Hollow: The Musical.

Jackie Hoffman (Esther): Hoffman (The New Normal) plays an employee of the Stars Hollow Gazette.

Christian Borle (Carl): The Smash star plays one of the leads in Stars Hollow: The Musical.

Brad Ellis (Pianist): The composer returns to the series as the pianist for Stars Hollow: The Musical. He also played the glee club pianist on Glee.

Carole King (Sophie Bloom): The singer reprises her role as Sophie, who becomes a member of Stars Hollow: The Musical's advisory committee.

Biff Yaeger (Tom): Yaeger once again plays Tom, who volunteers to become a member of Stars Hollow: The Musical's advisory committee.

Nancy Linari (Martha): Linari (General Hospital) plays one of Emily's Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) club members.

Carolyn Hennesy (Toni): The General Hospital actress brings an added dose of drama as a memberof Emily's DAR club.

Charles C. Stevenson Jr. (Charlie): Stevenson (Men in Black, Pleasantville) plays an employee of the Stars Hollow Gazette.

Fall

Stephanie Oristano (Allie): This Bunheads alum plays one of the hikers attempting to do the hike in the book, Wild.

Jason Ritter (Park Ranger): There's no stranger danger as Ritter, who played Graham's character's love interest on Parenthood, plays a park ranger issuing a warning to the Wild-inspired hikers.

Peter Krause (Park Ranger): It's all in the family as Krause—whose Parenthood character Adam Braverman was the older brother of Graham's Sarah—plays the park ranger who bars Lorelai from going on her hike.

Bonita Friedericy (Nun #1): The Chuck actress plays one of the nuns from whom Lorelai wants to buy a building.

Mary Pat Gleason (Nun #2): The Middleman's Ida shows a softer side as Gleason plays one of the nuns from whom Lorelai wants to buy a building. Gleason died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 70.

Julie Berman (Serena Ainsworth): Berman (Casual) plays a potential member of the DAR club.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is currently available for streaming on Netflix.