Real-life killer Gary Gilmore and fictional innkeeper Lorelai Gilmore have just about nothing in common other than a last name. And now, an acquaintance with Norman Mailer.

The literary lion will appear in an episode of "Gilmore Girls" later this season, which is perhaps all the proof anyone needs that The WB is trying to lure an audience beyond its teen and young-adult core.

Mailer will play himself in the episode. His son, Stephen, also guest-stars as a reporter who interviews the author during his stay at the Dragonfly Inn, owned by Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and chef Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy).

The prospect of working with his son, who's appeared in "Reversal of Fortune" and "Cry-Baby," appealed to Mailer, but he wasn't sure about doing the cameo until he saw a few episodes of "Gilmore Girls."

"It had taste. It was witty and well put together," Mailer tells USA Today. "It had a certain elan that I liked. To my amazement, I had a fine time."

Mailer has written screenplays for a handful of television movies, including "The Executioner's Song," based on his book about Gary Gilmore. His "Gilmore Girls" guest spot is the first he's done on a TV series, however.

"Gilmore" creator and bibliophile Amy Sherman-Palladino was giddy at having Mailer on set and watching him improvise some of his lines.

"It was completely intimidating," she tells the paper. "But it was one of those moments where you say, 'This is why you do this.'"