The Season 1 finale of Apple TV+‘s Dear Edward features one of the year’s most iconic, unexpected, downright delightful cameos: Steve Kornacki.
That’s right! In a glorious blink or you’ll miss it moment, the 43-year-old journalist and national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC appears in Episode 10, “Shelter,” in a brilliantly unique cameo that perfectly highlights his talents.
The viral election sensation, “map guy,” lover of khaki pants, internet’s boyfriend, podcast host, and likely very sleep-deprived champion appears approximately 12 minutes into the finale, which takes place on Election Day. With Adriana (Anna Uzele) running for congress, she and her campaign office are watching the race unfold on TV. And there on the screen, the Khaki King Steve Kornacki tracks (the fictional) New York 13th District Special Election results. He’s even wore one of his famous striped ties for the occasion!
In celebration of Dear Edward‘s Season 1 finale, Decider spoke with creator, showrunner, EP, and writer Jason Katims about what he searches for in a television show, what it was like reuniting with Friday Night Lights star Connie Britton, his hopes for a potential Season 2, and, of course, Kornacki’s surprise appearance.
Here’s what Katims had to say about pulling off that perfect Kornacki Kameo, which — no surprise — was inspired by his own relatable admiration of the man.
“Well, you know, it’s funny because I’m just — like many, I think — obsessed with Steve Kornacki,” Katims laughed. “We went out to him because we thought we would love to get him to do that little cameo, and any time you can instill your story with something that makes it feel real and have people recognize somebody in that that way, it’s so great. But what was funny about it was he was interested in doing it, but he was also very busy doing his actual election stuff when we were shooting. And so it was always a question of when we would be able to get him and when his schedule would allow him to come in and overlap with when we had time in our schedule.”
Katims said the cameo took all of an hour to shoot, but the amount of planning felt endless. “I joked about how many times I would be on set and I would just be walking by somebody on a cell phone and hear ‘Kornacki,'” he laughed. “Constantly. Like, ‘Can we do Thursday? He can do between 11 and 12.’ So it was this incredible amount of planning to make that one moment come to life, but it was so much fun.”
For those wondering how the Kornacki magic happened, Katims explained when the national political correspondent came on set he told him, “Look. We want you to do what you do and give it it’s own thing.” And magic it was. “…It’s a soundstage, and everybody loves what they do, but after a while you get used to it,” Katims continued. “When we shot that scene though, everybody on the crew just gathered around and watched. It was magic. And he’s the nicest guy, so it was really fun to have him. I love that you asked about that.”
As far as 2023 TV cameos, this one is going to be hard to beat.
Dear Edward Season 1 is currently streaming on Apple TV+.