Between high camp and low camp, there's summer camp. And on Friday, Netflix is rewarding fans of comedy crew The State's 2001 cult film, Wet Hot American Summer, with an eight-episode reunion series that adds to the movie’s already-giant ensemble with a panoply of boldface names. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp rewinds viewers to Camp Firewood in the summer of 1981—which, yes, means that the original cast of alt-comedy luminaries and stars on the rise are yet another decade too old to play teens. And in the intervening years they’ve become astonishingly accomplished—so much so that it’s hard to tell whether the alumni or the newcomers are bigger stars. Grab your bug juice and take a seat for the most overloaded talent show in the history of summer camp.
Elizabeth Banks
(Lindsay)
Roles after Wet Hot: Scrubs, The Hunger Games, 30 Rock, Pitch Perfect
H. Jon Benjamin
(Can of Vegetables)
Roles after Wet Hot: Archer, Bob’s Burgers
Bradley Cooper
(Ben)
Roles after Wet Hot: The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper
Janeane Garofalo
(Beth)
Roles after Wet Hot: The West Wing, Ratatouille, 24
Christopher Meloni
(Gene)
Roles after Wet Hot: Law & Order: SVU
David Hyde Pierce
(Professor Henry Newman)
Roles after Wet Hot: The Good Wife, Spamalot
Amy Poehler
(Susie)
Roles after Wet Hot: Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation, Golden Globes cohost
Paul Rudd
(Andy)
Roles after Wet Hot: Anchorman, Knocked Up, Role Models, Ant-Man
Lake Bell
Comedy pedigree: Childrens Hospital, In a World …, How to Make It in America
Josh Charles
Comedy pedigree: Inside Amy Schumer, Sports Night
Jon Hamm
Comedy pedigree: Bridesmaids, 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Rob Huebel
Comedy pedigree: Childrens Hospital, Human Giant, Transparent
Randall Park
Comedy pedigree: Veep, Fresh Off the Boat
Chris Pine
Comedy pedigree: Horrible Bosses 2, Star Trek (that was a comedy, right?)
Jordan Peele
Comedy pedigree: Key and Peele, MADtv
Paul Scheer
Comedy pedigree: The League, NTSF:SD:SUV, Human Giant, How Did This Get Made?
Jason Schwartzman
Comedy pedigree: Rushmore, Bored to Death, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
John Slattery
Comedy pedigree: Mad Men, Charlie Wilson's War
Michaela Watkins
Comedy pedigree: New Girl, Enlightened
Kristen Wiig
Comedy pedigree: Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids, MacGruber
Kyle Hilton
