Why were there so many guest appearances in this Malcolm in the Middle two-parter?

Question

In Season 3 Episodes 11 & 12 Company Picnic we see a large number of guest appearances:

• Terry Bradshaw
• Tom Green
• Christina Ricci
• Heidi Klum
• Howie Long
• Patrick Warburton
• Susan Sarandon
• Stephen Root
• Magic Johnson
• Bradley Whitford

Many of these actors had shows on FOX around that time, which may answer why those particular actors made guest appearances.

But my question is why were there so many? Was there something special about the broadcast dates? Was there a promotional reason?

There was also some noticeable product placement, if that helps. Off the top of my head I remember:

• CRUNCH candy (possibly bites)
• Doritos 3D (the original, not Jacked)
• Starburst candy

Answer 1

Because it was a post Super Bowl episode, airing right after Super Bowl XXXVI in February 3, 2002 on the FOX network. From the Wiki page about Super Bowl lead-out programs:

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), and typically the highest-rated single U.S. television broadcast of any given year. In turn, the program aired immediately following coverage of the game in the U.S. is typically also one of the year's most watched television programs.

Post Super Bowl episodes often contain stunts and special events like cliffhangers, major plot twists, football-related plots and allusions and (like in Malcolm in the Middle's case) lots of celebrity cameos. You can see a list of post Super Bowl stunt casting here (where Company Picnic ranks at no. 5).