Vice President Biden will appear on the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation" next Thursday, but he filmed the top secret cameo back in July.
According to the
New York Times, producers were
warned that if news leaked before Nov. 6, they might have to film a similar cameo with the GOP vice presidential nominee.
The show's executive producer Michael Schur told Entertainment Weekly it was "much less difficult" convincing Biden to film the cameo than he had expected.
“His staff really loves the show, and he apparently had watched the show with his family and his family liked it," he said. "The hardest part was keeping it secret for so long because there’s all these FEC rules and equal-time rules. We couldn’t air it before the election because it was the equivalent of a campaign contribution to advertise for one candidate.”
Biden and the "Parks and Rec" crew managed to wait nearly a full day after the election to release the news. Schur said the cameo scene -- which also includes a few members of Biden's staff -- would have worked regardless of the election's outcome.
Biden tweeted Thursday that he had "a great time" filming the cameo and his whole family loves the show. That is also true of President Obama's family. Obama told TV Guide in October that he watches sitcoms like "Parks and Recreation" and ABC's "Modern Family" with Michelle and the girls.
The NBC sitcom already snagged a politician from the other side of the aisle for a cameo earlier this season. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), along with Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), all had small roles in the season premiere, which found local politician Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) visiting her boyfriend in Washington, D.C.
Knope's love of the VP has been a running gag on the series -- the character once joked her ideal man has “the brains of George Clooney and the body of Joe Biden" -- so boyfriend Ben (played by Adam Scott) arranges a meeting in the episode airing Nov. 15.
Producers promise Knope's character will be very "giggly" during the meeting.
