The most amazing thing about Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, the eight-episode prequel to the cult classic that starts streaming on Netflix on Friday 31 July, is that creators David Wain and Michael Showalter got all the original cast members to come back to reprise their roles no matter how famous they had become since the 2001 flick hit theaters. That means former nobodies such as Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler signed on to take bit parts in an ensemble comedy when they could be, you know, headlining Marvel superhero flicks or starring in network sitcoms.
Since many members of the ensemble have become so big, that means they also have super famous friends that they can convince to take a trip to Camp Firewood, even if it’s just for a few episodes. Here’s a list of some of the biggest names who are joining the project and what they’ll be doing on the show. Don’t worry, there aren’t any real spoilers ahead. And be sure to check the background in every scene. Even the extras are actors you probably recognize from somewhere.
Jon Hamm (The Falcon)
Now that Mad Men has officially come to a close, Hamm is welcome to do anything he wants, including playing a government assassin who is interested in Camp Firewood for some obscure reason.
John Slattery (Claude Dumet)
Hamm’s Mad Men co-star shows up as a washed-up New York theater director who takes a shine to Poehler’s Susie, even though she’s still barking up Ben’s tree. He brings along a tough-as-nails choreographer played by Michaela Watkins.
Josh Charles (Blake)
The Good Wife star is a counsellor at Camp Tigerclaw, the bougie rich people camp across the lake, who can’t believe his girlfriend Katie (Marguerite Moreau for the original) is slumming with the losers at Camp Firewood. He wears three shirts at a time and has two sycophantic friends played by Mad Men’s Rich Sommer and Eric Nenninger. What, did Mad Men film on the sound stage next door or something?
Kristen Wiig (Courtney)
Wiig, who never appeared on Mad Men, is in a small but affective performance. She plays a preppy girl who wants to rub her tennis skirt all over Blake, even though he’s staying faithful to Katie.
Jason Schwartzman (Greg)
The uptight urban nebbish that Schwartzman usually plays isn’t the type who would want to get down and dirty in the wilderness, but he does a great job here as the head boys counsellor, who discovers some secrets about the camp and then has his life put in danger to try to defend it.
Lake Bell (Donna)
A camp movie is nothing without a few romantic interests for the counsellors and Donna is Coop’s (Michael Showalter) girlfriend who just got back from a semester abroad in Israel. She gives mixed messages a whole new meaning.
Randall Park (Jeff)
The Veep and Fresh Off the Boat star plays the camp librarian who is trying to win Gail (Molly Shannon) away from her uptight but fracturing boyfriend Gene (Christopher Meloni).
Chris Pine (Man with no name)
The character this square-jawed leading man plays doesn’t even have a name, and I would hate to ruin the surprise, but just wait until you see him.
