List of fictional television shows
Below is a list of television shows that have been made up in real television shows or other media. An early example of the show within a show format was The Jack Benny Program which had been popular on radio and took the same format to the new medium of television.[1]
30 Rock
30 Rock revolves around the fictional The Girlie Show (later renamed TGS with Tracy Jordan) on which most of the characters work. The fictional show was on the real American television network NBC, and the plot frequently referenced other fictional NBC programs, such as MILF Island, Gold Case, and Homonym. In later seasons, several episodes of 30 Rock were presented as though they were actually episodes of a fictional Bravo (U.S. TV channel) show, Queen of Jordan.
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
Poodle Justice - Television show about a crime solving French Poodle.
Delirious
Beyond Our Dreams - A daytime drama centered around the lives of the ruthless Hedison family of Ashford Falls, New York.
Densha Otoko
Getsumento Heiki Mina was originally a fictional anime show in Densha Otoko and later became a stand-alone anime.
Ed TV
- Ed TV is the fictional show at the center of the movie of the same name.
Entourage
- Viking Quest - sci-fi / fantasy series starring Johnny "Drama" Chase
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
- The Brown Hornet - A superhero program often mirroring the plot of the "Fat Albert" episode Loosely based on "The Green Hornet" TV show but in a Sci-Fi setting.
Full House
In season 2, Danny becomes co-host of a local morning television show, Wake Up, San Francisco.
Gravity Falls
- Duck-tective
- Cash Wheel
- Baby Fights
- Believe in Yourself
- Tiger Fist
- Why You Ackin' So Cray-Cray?
- Ghost Harassers
- Li'l Gideon's Big House!
- Ker-Prank'd
- World's Most Terrifying Skydiving
- Did Aliens Write the Constitution?
- Crawdads in Tiaras
- Florida: The Show
Genshiken
Within the world of Genshiken, Kujibiki Unbalance is a popular ongoing manga and anime adaptation, watched and discussed by the main characters.
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
- Cast Iron Stomach - Parody of Iron Chef.
- Love Problems
- The X-treme Adventures of Brandon and Mallory - Anime series featuring characters that are eerily similar to Billy, Mandy, and Grim, plus a "Helper Monkey" named Dickie Galoot.
- Dinobonoids
- Atriocia's Late-Night Cinemonstrosities - Parody of Elvira's Movie Macabre.
- The Grim Show - Supernatural talk show hosted by Grim. Replacement for Atriocia's Late-Night Cinemonstrosities.
The Grinder
- The Grinder - a drama featuring lawyer Mitchard Livingsone Grinder[2]
- The Grinder: New Orleans - a spin-off of The Grinder about the romantic exploits of Mitch Grinder's brother, Rake
Harry Hill's TV Burp
The K-Factor: So You Think You Can Knit? is a fictional TV show on Harry Hill's TV Burp.
Home Improvement
The Honeymooners
- The $99,000 Answer - television game show. Ralph Kramden was a contestant on it.
Joey
- Deep Powder - TV drama that starred Joey Tribbiani. The show was described as Baywatch on skis. His character was killed off after he became too demanding on the set.
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a late night talk show the characters of the show (of the same name) work on.
Life with Bonnie
- Morning Chicago, a local morning talk show hosted by the main character, Bonnie Malloy.
Martian Successor Nadesico
Gekiganger III is a fictional anime show within the anime show.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Chuckles the Clown - Locally produced children's show mentioned in several episodes. His death, when he is trampled by an elephant while wearing a "Peter Peanut" costume, was the basis for the episode Chuckles Bites the Dust.
- WJM-TV Evening News – Minneapolis news show on which many of the main characters worked[3]
Milo Murphy's Law
- Dr. Zone - He is based on the titular character from Doctor Who, as he travels through time.
The Muppet Show and Muppets Tonight
- The Muppet Show – the weekly variety show, overseen by Kermit the Frog, which included music, comedy sketches, and stunts[3]
- Bay of Pigs Watch - parody of Baywatch
- Bear on Patrol - cop show starring Fozzie Bear
- EIEIO-R - parody of ER
- Fairyland PD - a Crime show with cases revolving around nursery rhymes and fairytales.
- Gonzo and Rizzo's Amazing Discoveries
- The Kermit the Frog Club, parody of The Mickey Mouse Club. During her guest appearance on Muppets Tonight, it is revealed that Cindy Crawford was once a "frogkateer".
- Muppet Match-Up, - parody of The Dating Game. During her guest appearance on Muppets Tonight, it is revealed that Michelle Pfeiffer "appeared as a contestant".
- NYPD Green - parody of NYPD Blue
- Pigs in Space - parody of Star Trek: The Original Series
- Pigs in Space: Deep Dish Nine, The Next Generation - parody of later Star Trek
- Punch Teacher (from The Muppets)
- Swift Wits - Gameshow in the mould of Pyramid and Password in which muppet contestants play for pets.
- Veterinary Hospital - medical drama, title parodies General Hospital
The Muppets
- Up Late with Miss Piggy - a late-night talk show[4]
Murphy Brown
- FYI - a news show Murphy works for[5]
Nancy Drew
- Light of Our Love (Stay Tuned for Danger)
Newhart
- Book Talk
- Pearl's Kitchen
- Pirate Pete's Cartoon Lagoon
- Vermont Today
Nip/Tuck
- Hearts and Scalpels
- Plastic Fantastic
Pleasantville
Pleasantville is a black and white 1958 sitcom in the movie of the same name.
The Running Man
- The Running Man The novel and the film describe alternate versions of a game show in which convicted criminals are chased by "hunters" from the television network and can win their freedom if they evade the hunters.
Saturday Night Live
- Bill Swerski's Superfans
- The Barry Gibb Talk Show
- Behind The Music: The Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew
- Church Chat with The Church Lady
- Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley
- Debbie Downer
- The Don Zimmer Sports Spectacular - talk show hosted by actor Don Zimmer
- Fernando's Hideaway - talk show hosted by actor Fernando Lamas (portrayed by Billy Crystal)
- The Joe Pesci Show - talk show
- Mister Robinson's Neighborhood - parody of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
- Pumping Up with Hans and Franz
- Sprockets
- Toonces: The Cat Who Could Drive a Car
- Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
- Wayne's World
- What Up with That?, A BET talk show.
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
- Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, talk show centering on mysteries.
Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright
- Talent Star, singing competition series
Seinfeld
- Jerry, a parody of the show itself. A major plot point in Season 4 of Seinfeld.[6] Features versions of all the main characters of Seinfeld played by different actors. Jerry lasted for 1 episode.
- Super Terrific Happy Hour, a Japanese television show that featured Jerry in the opening credits.
Shake It Up
- Shake It Up Chicago
- Really, You Call That Dancing?
The Simpsons
- Behind the Laughter (parody of Behind the Music)
- Eye on Springfield - local news magazine show
- Eye on Eye on Springfield - Shelbyville show highlighting the local news shows errors
- I Can't Believe They Invented It! - infomercial
- The Itchy & Scratchy Show - Violent children's cartoon (parody of Tom and Jerry)
- The Krusty the Klown Show (afternoon kids' show)[6]
- The Sideshow Bob Cavalcade of Whimsy (name of the show when Sideshow Bob takes over)
- Smartline (local news roundtable show, parody of ABC's Nightline)
- The Worker & Parasite Show (east European cat-and-mouse cartoon aired on The Krusty the Klown Show when Itchy and Scratchy had temporarily moved to the then more popular Gabbo Show) (Krusty Gets Kancelled)
Sonny With a Chance
- So Random! - a sketch comedy show that stars Sonny Munroe, Tawni Hart, Nico Harris, Grady Mitchell and Zora Lancaster (five of the six main characters), .
- Mackenzie Falls - a teen drama that stars Chad Dylan Cooper (the sixth main character), and criticizes So Random!, saying they are not real actors (a parody of popular teen dramas, though its title is suggested by Dawson's Creek).
South Park
- Jesus and Pals - a public-access talk show hosted by Jesus
- The Terrence and Phillip Show - vulgar children's cartoon and live-action show[6]
- Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow
- Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus
SpongeBob SquarePants
- The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy
- The New Adventures of Mermaidman and Barnacleboy
Stargate SG-1
- Wormhole X-Treme! - sci-fi TV program based on leaked information from the Stargate program
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show (also called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip or Studio 60) on the fictional television network NBS (National Broadcasting System), whose format is similar to that of NBC's Saturday Night Live.
That Mitchell and Webb Look
The Truman Show
Truman Burbank is the unsuspecting star of The Truman Show, a reality television program at the center of the film by the same name.
Twin Peaks
Invitation to Love was a soap opera watched by the residents of Twin Peaks; it often commented on the action of the plot.
UHF
Ugly Betty
- Vidas de Fuego (Lives of Fire) - A telenovela that is watched by the main characters.
V for Vendetta
- Storm Saxon - an openly racist action hero show
See also
References
- ↑ Mary Ann Watson (2008), "TV on TV", Defining visions: television and the American experience in the 20th century, Blackwell, p. 140, ISBN 978-1-4051-7053-6
- ↑ "Fox Announces New Primetime Series for 2015-2016 Season". Fox. May 11, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Semel, Paul (2006). "Shows Within Shows", MSN.com. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ↑ Foutch, Haleigh (August 5, 2015). "The Muppets' Show-within-a-Show Is 'Up Late with Miss Piggy'". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ↑ Moore, Frazier (July 7, 1992). "Show-within-a-show: A product of the Make-Believe Network", Associated Press. Reprinted in Spartanburg Herald-Journal, p. C4. Convenience link.
- 1 2 3 (February 1, 1999). "TV eating itself: small screen navel-gazing from The Simpsons to Seinfield", The Observer, p. 2.