The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Is Bringing In Two More Gilmore Girls Vets For Final Season, And I’m Pumped

From left to right: Danny Strong as Doyle and Sean Gunn as Kirk in Gilmore Girls.
(Image credit: The WB)

Since day one, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has always had A+ guest stars, from Gilbert Gottfried and Luke Kirby in the very first episode to Jane Lynch, John Waters and many others throughout the following four seasons. However, the guest stars I always get the most excited for are the ones who played iconic characters in Amy Sherman-Palladino’s other hit show Gilmore Girls. And lucky for us, we are getting not one, but two of them during The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s fifth and final season along with many other surprising and exciting guests. 

Two More Gilmore Girls Alums Will Guest Star In Season 5 Of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 

Considering Maisel’s creator and showrunner held the same job titles on the classic series Gilmore Girls, it makes a ton of sense that Sherman-Palladino would bring so many familiar faces into her other hit fast-talking comedy. While we’ve had some super exciting guest stars from Gilmore Girls in the past, things are about to get even better as Sean Gunn and Danny Strong have been cast in the final season. 

If you are a fan of the mother-daughter-centered comedy, you’ll remember Sean Gunn's Kirk and all his random business endeavors that were odd to the citizens of Stars Hallow but hilarious to anyone watching the show. He was such a beloved character, and I'm certain he will bring that Krik-ish comedy over to Maisel

Along with Gunn, Dany Strong will also be joining the guest stars of Maisel’s last season. Strong played Doyle in Gilmore Girls, Paris's fast-talking boyfriend, and the editor-in-chief of Yale’s student newspaper. These days, Strong doesn’t act as much and he has moved on to writing and producing award-winning shows like Dopesick and Empire. However, he’s making his way back to the screen for his old pal Amy Sherman-Palladino, and hopefully, he'll bring some of Doyle's chaotic energy with him.

Gunn and Strong will be joining quite the list of Gilmore Girls actors who have popped up in the Amazon Prime series from Sherman-Palladino. In fact, one of Maisel’s main characters is played by a Gilmore Girls guest star, as Alex Borstein, who played the harp player at Lorelai's hotel in Season 1 of the WB series, plays Midge’s manager Susie Myerson in the Amazon Prime series. Now, after four seasons of fantabulous guest stars, including Gilmore alums Milo Ventimiglia (Jess), Kelly Bishop (Emily) and Liza Weil (Paris) the show will round out the list with the actors behind Doyle and Kirk. 

Other Exciting Guest Stars Joining The Final Season Of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Along with Danny Strong and Sean Gunn, four other exciting guest stars were announced for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s final season. The other big names joining the cast include The Simpsons and Ray Donovan star Hank Azaria, Broadway legend Sutton Foster, who recently starred in a revival of The Music Man, and Emmy-winner Darren Criss, who is known for his roles in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and Glee. Along with these three, David Paymer will make his way back to Midge’s world reprising his role of Harry Drake. 

While this announcement confirmed six guest stars, we also found out through first looks that Luke Kirby will also be back as Midge’s mentor and occasional love interest Lenny Bruce. I'd also imagine there will be many more familiar faces popping up to add more color into Mrs. Maisel's world. I mean it is the final season, and this show is bound to go out with a bang. So, all-in-all the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is shaping up to have an excellent cast of guest characters who will perform alongside the show’s principal actors, and I couldn't be more excited. 

To see all these exciting guest stars in action, you’ll be able to start streaming Season 5 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel when it premieres on the 2023 TV schedule on Friday, April 14 with an Amazon Prime subscription. In the meantime, you can stream every season of Gilmore Girls to see how many of these actors got their start with a Netflix subscription.  

Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.