Prompted by a surprise cameo from the late James Van Der Beek in Amazon's new Legally Blonde prequel series Elle, this Guardian feature celebrates some of television's most memorable posthumous performances. Van Der Beek, who died in February aged 48, plays a crooked school district superintendent in a role described as bright and happily self-aware, in keeping with much of his post-Dawson's Creek work. The piece then rounds up other notable actors whose work reached screens after their deaths.

The selection spans a range of shows and tones, from drama to comedy. Highlighted turns include Robert Forster in Better Call Saul, Miguel Ferrer in Twin Peaks: The Return (which earned a posthumous Saturn award nomination), Carrie Fisher as a monstrous mother in Channel 4's Catastrophe, and Bernard Cribbins's final Doctor Who appearance in 2022's Wild Blue Yonder. Also cited are Chadwick Boseman voicing T'Challa in Marvel's What If…?, Ray Liotta's Emmy-nominated role in Black Bird, John Spencer in The West Wing's final series, and, most recently, Rob Reiner playing George Washington in Larry David's sketch show seven months after his death.