The author of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' has a clever cameo in the new Netflix show

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Neil Patrick Harris and Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) at the Netflix premiere for "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

The INSIDER Summary:

Netflix's new show "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is based on a book series by Lemony Snicket - a pseudonym for author Daniel Handler.
Handler has a cameo role as a fish seller in the Netflix show.

Netflix's latest show, "A Series of Unfortunate Events," is a wry and stylized adaptation of a book series written by Daniel Handler. But Handler assumed a pseudonym when he penned "Unfortunate Events." He wrote under the name Lemony Snicket, and the narrative of the story eventually brings the fictitious Snicket into the plot.

In Netflix's adaptation of "Unfortunate Events," the narrative voice of Snicket is played onscreen by Patrick Warburton. But the real Snicket makes a small appearance, too.

Netflix

Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket.

In episode five, "The Wide Window: Part One," there is a scene when the Baudelaire orphans' Aunt Josephine goes shopping at an outdoor market. She passes by a fish seller boasting about his "roly poly fish heads" - and it's none other than Handler himself.

Netflix

Handler's first appearance as the fish seller.

One "Unfortunate Events" fan spotted Handler right away, and tweeted at the author. Handler retweeted the photo, essentially confirming the cameo (it also appears on his IMDb page as "fish head salesperson").

Handler's role as the fish seller was reprised at the beginning of episode seven, "The Miserable Mill: Part One." The scene takes place after the Baudelaire orphans have run away right under Mr. Poe's nose, and the banker is freaking out about their disappearance - a scene that never happens in the books.

"It's a catastrophe! It's unprecedented! It's off-book! It's unfortunate!" Mr. Poe yells while frantically looking around and right into the camera. 

He then moves to the side and Handler (as the fish seller) appears beside him. 

Netflix

Mr. Poe and the fish seller (a.k.a. Handler).

"The Baudelaires are lost and unsupervised! Do you know what that means?" Poe asks the fish seller.

"Without supervision?" the fish seller replies.

"Good God, man, you're right!" Poe yells back.

This exchange between Mr. Poe and the fish seller/Handler was extra clever because it included the meta reference to the Netflix series going "off-book." 

In the books, the Baudelaire children don't run away from Mr. Poe and choose to go to the "Miserable Mill" themselves. Instead, Mr. Poe selects Sir - the man in charge of the lumber mill - as their next guardian. He knows exactly where they are in the books. 

Netflix

The Baudelaires' arrival to the Lucky Smells lumber mill shakes out differently in the show.

So Mr. Poe's exclamation of the events being "off-book" to the literal author of the books was a great moment and a nod to those watching at home who were carefully tracking changes made to the original series.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" is currently streaming on Netflix.