From ‘Modern Family’ to ‘Breaking Bad’: 25 Stars Who Reprised Their TV Characters for Ads

Fans hoping for a Desperate Housewives revival might have to content themselves with Marcia Cross’ 15-second reprise as Bree Van de Kamp in a new French advertisement for a television festival.

Many other TV stars have slipped into familiar roles for advertisements — including actors from Saturday Night Live, The O.C., and Modern Family in the past 12 months alone. See those examples and many more below.

Marcia Cross for SeriesMania

More than a decade after the end of Desperate Housewives, Cross once again donned Bree Van de Kamp’s apron in a 2025 promotion for the Series Mania TV festival. In the spoof, Cross’ Bree gives advice to her French counterpart, played by festival director Laurence Herszberg in drag.

Ana Gasteyer & Molly Shannon for Capital One

Margaret Jo McCullin (Ana Gasteyer) and Terry Rialto (Molly Shannon), hosts of SNL’s fictional NPR show The Delicious Dish, were back in action for a Capital One commercial in 2024. And yes, they served up intentional puns and unintentional double entendres, alongside regular Capital One pitchman Samuel L. Jackson.

Kristen Wiig for Target

When Target wanted a spokesperson to promote its Target Circle Week promotion in a 2024 series of TV commercials, the retailer enlisted its most enthusiastic fictional employee: Kristen Wiig’s Target Lady character from SNL. (“It’s Tur-get Cur-cle Week!” she exclaims in this commercial. “You bet your bottom dur-lar!”)

Rachel Bilson for 21Seeds

In character as Summer Roberts from The O.C., Rachel Bilson riffed on tropes and plot points from the 2000s-era teen drama — the “bitch”-ing, the arrival of a mysterious bad boy, the lounger-throwing — in commercials for 21Seeds tequila in 2024.

 

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Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet & Jesse Tyler Ferguson for WhatsApp

Why was Mitch Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) excluded from the group chat with husband Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) and Phil and Claire Dunphy (Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen)? He was on a different kind of phone, and the group hadn’t discovered WhatsApp, as this 2024 commercial touts.

Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul & Raymond Cruz for PopCorners

Three Breaking Bad alums reprised their parts from the hit show in a 2023 Super Bowl spot for PopCorners. The conceit of the spot is that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) were cooking up corn chips — not meth — for happy customers like Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz).

Sarah Jessica Parker for Stella Artois

The Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That… was still years away in when Stella Artois got Sarah Jessica Parker to reprise the part of Carrie Bradshaw in a 2019 ad. Carrie surprises restaurant employees by ordering the Belgian beer instead of her usual. Then Jeff Bridges does the same as he brings back his Big Lebowski character.

Alan Alda, Patrick Dempsey, Donald Faison, Noah Wyle, Lisa Edelstein, Kate Walsh & Neil Patrick Harris for Cigna

From 2016 to 2018, medical insurance company Cigna recruited TV doctors from M*A*S*H (Alan Alda), Grey’s Anatomy (Patrick Dempsey and Kate Walsh), ER (Noah Wyle), House (Lisa Edelstein), and even Doogie Howser, M.D. (Neil Patrick Harris) to remind viewers to get regular check-ups.

Bryan Cranston for Esurance

In a 2015 Super Bowl ad for Esurance, Cranston again reprised Walter White, who this time was working as a sorta-pharmacist. Advertising its personalized insurance options, Esurance was trying to drive home the point that “sorta you isn’t you.”

Bob Saget, Dave Coulier & John Stamos for Oikos

John Stamos had been shilling for Dannon’s Oikos greek yogurt for years by the time he reunited with Full House buddies Bob Saget and Dave Coulier for 2014 commercials for the brand. In one spot, Saget and Coulier use Stamo’s sex appeal to score free yogurt.

Kelsey Grammer & Bebe Neuwirth for Dr. Pepper

Kelsey Grammer suited up to play Frasier Crane of fame again in a 2008 ad for Dr. Pepper, with the Frasier character citing scientific studies that purportedly showed that the soda tasted better when savored slowly. Then Frasier’s ex Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) calls into his radio show, wondering why he never savored her slowly.

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