Television & Pop Culture

Start with broadcasting and early television, then study drama, speculative series, sitcoms, variety, and factual programmes by genre. Within each series, learn its premise and creators before characters, episodes, and recurring details. Continue through animation, film franchises, comics, and games.

Broadcasting and Early Television

Follow radio and early television through formats, programs, and performers.

Radio

• radios — Radios are the medium behind dramatic broadcasts such as Orson Welles’s famous adaptation of The War of the Worlds. In fiction, John Cheever’s “The Enormous Radio” and “The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio” both use a radio as a revealing or consoling object. They also appear in theater and music questions, from August Wilson’s work to John Cage’s Imaginary Landscape No. 4, which is scored for twelve radios.

• Radio and television announcers
  • Shadoe Stevens — Shadoe Stevens is an American radio and television announcer and DJ who replaced Casey Kasem on American Top 40. He also hosted Hollywood Squares, appeared on Dave’s World, and worked in radio before creating ShadoeVision and helping develop radio formats.
• Radio comedians
  • Fred Allen — Fred Allen was a radio comedian best known as a witty rival of Jack Benny. His program was famous for its ‘Allen’s Alley’ cast of recurring characters.
• Radio comedy programs
  • Amos ‘n’ Andy — Amos ‘n’ Andy began as a 1928 radio comedy created by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and later became a television show. The TV version centered on characters such as the Kingfish and became controversial because of its racial stereotypes. The series remained famous on radio into the 1950s and was later the target of a 1953 NAACP boycott.
• Radio hosts

  • Alan Colmes — Alan Colmes was the liberal co-host opposite Sean Hannity on the Fox News program Hannity & Colmes. He was also a radio host and author of Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong.

  • Art Bell — Art Bell was the radio host best known for Coast to Coast AM, a late-night show centered on paranormal and unusual topics. He broadcast from Pahrump, Nevada, and became a defining voice of overnight talk radio.

  • Michael Savage — Michael Savage, also known as Michael Weiner, is a conservative radio host and columnist known for his combative commentary. He wrote The Savage Nation and Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder, and he drew criticism for inflammatory remarks about immigrants and gays.

• Radio panel games
  • I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue — I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue is a long-running British radio panel show described as an antidote to panel games. It was long hosted by Humphrey Lyttelton and features recurring bits like Samantha, Mrs. Trellis of North Wales, and rounds such as One Song to the Tune of Another.
    • Mornington Crescent — Mornington Crescent is a parody panel-game tradition built around naming a London Underground station as if it were a strategy game. Its culture includes fake rules, made-up tactical terminology, and the recurring presence of Mrs. Trellis of North Wales.
• Radio personalities

  • Don Imus — Don Imus was a controversial radio shock jock known for the syndicated Imus in the Morning program. He was also cited for the kind of political satire that turned public figures into targets at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner.

  • Dr. Demento — Dr. Demento is the radio personality Barry Hansen, whose long-running show specialized in novelty, comedy, and oddball recordings. He helped bring “Weird Al” Yankovic to national attention by playing and promoting his earliest songs.

  • Howard Stern — Howard Stern is the radio shock jock famous for record FCC fines, confrontational interviews, and his long-running show Miss America. He also became a major pop-culture celebrity through books, films, and his public persona as the self-styled king of all media.

    • Ralph Cirella — Ralph Cirella was Howard Stern’s makeup and hair artist and a recurring figure in Stern-related media. He was also associated in clues with his relationship to Terry Farrell and with Stern’s on-air comments about his sexuality.

    • Son of the Beach — Son of the Beach is an FX sitcom produced by Howard Stern that parodies Baywatch. It is set around the Beach Patrol at Malibu Adjacent and features outlandish character names and cameo-heavy episodes.

    • The Howard Stern Show — The Howard Stern Show is a long-running syndicated radio program hosted by Howard Stern with Robin Quivers as a regular co-host. It became known for recurring characters, celebrity callers, and outlandish bits such as Black Jeopardy and other shock-comedy segments.

      • Fred Norris — Fred Norris is Howard Stern’s longtime sound-effects man and a regular associated with Mars jokes. He is sometimes called the King of Mars.

      • Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf — Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf was a Howard Stern regular whose real name was Henry Nasiff. He became a cult celebrity through Stern-related appearances and later died in 2001.

      • Stuttering John — Stuttering John is the Howard Stern associate and former interviewer whose interruptions became a recurring part of Stern-related media. He later appeared as a contestant on the first season of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and served as that program’s announcer.

  • Ira Glass — Ira Glass is the radio host and producer of This American Life, the public radio program that helped launch Serial. He is also known for interviewing David Sedaris and for his association with WBEZ and stories like “The Giant Pool of Money.”

  • Rick Dees — Rick Dees is an American radio personality and entertainer best known for the novelty hit “Disco Duck.” He also hosted the short-lived ABC late-night talk show Into the Night, which featured Billy Vera and the Beaters as its house band.

  • Robin Quivers — Robin Quivers is the longtime news anchor and co-host associated with The Howard Stern Show. She began working with Stern in Washington, D.C., before becoming his nationally known female sidekick.

  • Tom Joyner — Tom Joyner is a syndicated radio host known for The Tom Joyner Morning Show and The Sky Show. His program featured regular sidekicks and made him a major voice in African American radio and media.
• Radio programs
  • A Prairie Home Companion — A Prairie Home Companion is Garrison Keillor’s long-running public radio variety show, famous for the fictional town of Lake Wobegon and recurring sketches like Guy Noir, Private Eye. It was long associated with St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theater and opened with sponsor bits, music, and Keillor’s deadpan Midwestern monologues.
    • Guy Noir — Guy Noir is Garrison Keillor’s hard-boiled private detective from A Prairie Home Companion. He is associated with the Acme Building and was portrayed by Kevin Kline in the 2006 film adaptation.

• Casey Kasem — Casey Kasem was a radio DJ and voice actor best known for hosting American Top 40 and voicing Shaggy on Scooby-Doo. He also voiced characters in Transformers and Super Friends and became a frequent pop-culture target for parodies and samples.

• Conservative radio hosts
  • Rush Limbaugh — Rush Limbaugh was a conservative radio host and commentator known for provocative political talk and frequent controversy. He wrote books such as The Way Things Ought to Be and See, I Told You So, and became notorious for attacks on Sandra Fluke and other public figures.
• Fibber McGee and Molly
  • Fibber McGee — Fibber McGee was a famous American radio character created for a long-running comedy series set in Wistful Vista. He was portrayed by Jim Jordan, with Marian Jordan playing his wife Molly, and he was known for his blustery tall tales and closet gag.

• Glenn Beck — Glenn Beck is the conservative commentator and radio host who founded The Blaze and promoted the 9/12 Project. He became notorious for Fox News commentary, including attacks on Barack Obama and his Restoring Honor rally in Washington.

• KDND
  • Hold Your Wee for a Wii — Hold Your Wee for a Wii was a 2007 KDND radio contest in which contestants tried to avoid urinating while drinking water to win a Nintendo console.
• Music journalists
  • Nardwuar the Human Serviette — Canadian interviewer and musician based in Vancouver, known for rapid-fire questions, exhaustive celebrity research, a high-pitched voice, a signature greeting and sign-off routine, and interviews with rappers and other musicians. He has become a cult figure in hip-hop and alternative music interviews.
• National Public Radio
  • All Things Considered — All Things Considered is a long-running National Public Radio news program, including a weekday edition and a weekend edition. The clues mention hosts such as Melissa Block, Michelle Norris, Robert Siegel, and Guy Raz, along with commentary from Bob Trout.
• News anchors
  • Pat Kiernan — Pat Kiernan is a New York news anchor best known for his NY1 segment ‘In the Papers’ and for covering major events such as September 11 from the station’s morning desk. He has also hosted game shows and served as the off-screen moderator or announcer for Grand Slam and the World Series of Pop Culture.
• NPR programs
  • Fresh Air — Fresh Air is the NPR interview program hosted by Terry Gross. The show begins with the line “Live From WHYY in Philadelphia” and won a Peabody Award in 1994. It is a long-running weekday arts-and-issues program with a reputation for probing interviews.
• NPR radio programs
  • Car Talk — Car Talk was the long-running NPR show hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, known as Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers. The program mixed auto repair advice with comedy, a theme song built from “Dawggy Mountain Breakdown,” and a famously goofy closing sign-off.

• PopMaster — PopMaster is the BBC Radio 2 music quiz hosted by Ken Bruce, built around identifying popular songs and artists. It has spawned a television adaptation and special high-score formats such as an all-day version and the final round called Three-in-Ten.

• Public radio quiz shows
  • Whad’Ya Know — Whad’Ya Know is Michael Feldman’s long-running public radio quiz show. It is built around odd questions and humorous trivia categories.
• Reservoir Dogs
  • K-BILLY — K-BILLY is the fictional radio station in Reservoir Dogs, home of the ‘Super Sounds of the 70s’ weekend. It is remembered for its playlist of oldies and for the station voice that introduces the music in Quentin Tarantino’s film.
• Talk radio hosts
  • Larry Elder — Larry Elder is an African-American conservative talk radio host and author associated with Moral Court. He gained prominence as the ‘Sage from South Central’ and wrote The Ten Things You Can’t Say in America.

• The Archers — The Archers is the long-running British radio soap opera set in Ambridge and billed as an everyday story of country folk. Its characters include Helen and Rob, and its theme music is “Barwick Green.”

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
  • Deep Thought — Deep Thought is the enormous supercomputer from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that calculates the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It famously returns 42 but cannot identify the question itself. In later clues it is described as an ancestor of chess computers and as the machine that helped design Earth.
• The Onion Radio News
  • Doyle Redland — Doyle Redland is the fictional announcer who anchors The Onion Radio News. He is presented as a Wisconsin-based reporter with a dry, deadpan style and an absurd résumé tied to breaking satirical news stories.

• The Shadow — The Shadow is the pulp hero and radio detective who first appeared in a different program before becoming the star of his own show. He is famous for his eerie ability to cloud men’s minds and for the Walter B. Gibson stories written under the house name Maxwell Grant. The name also became a Jungian term for the hidden or rejected side of the self. That psychological clue is a separate use of the same word, but the main quizbowl answer here is the masked crimefighter.

• This American Life — This American Life is Ira Glass’s weekly public radio program, produced by WBEZ and built around nonfiction stories on a theme. Its wide reach helped inspire spin-offs such as Serial and S-Town.

• Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! — Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is an NPR news quiz panel show hosted by Peter Sagal. It features recurring games, former scorekeeper Carl Kasell, and a Chicago production base shared with This American Life.

• BBC Radio 4 programs
  • Desert Island Discs — Desert Island Discs is the BBC Radio 4 interview program where guests choose the recordings they would take to a remote island, along with a book and a luxury item. It has been hosted by figures including Roy Plomley, Sue Lawley, Kirsty Young, and Lauren Laverne.

Broadcast Television: The Early Era

• NBC, CBS, ABC — the three major U.S. broadcast networks that dominated American television from the late 1940s through the 1980s; PBS (public) added a fourth non-commercial voice.

• The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS, 1948–1971) — cornerstone variety series; notable for introducing Elvis Presley (1956) and the Beatles to American television audiences (February 1964).

• Murrow and broadcast journalism — Edward R. Murrow’s See It Now (CBS, 1951–1958) established the tradition of serious television journalism; his 1954 broadcast challenging Joseph McCarthy is a landmark.

• The Today Show (NBC, premiered 1952) — first successful morning news-magazine format; template for decades of morning television.

• Nielsen ratings — the dominant system for measuring U.S. television audiences; “sweeps” periods (fall, February, May) historically determined ad rates and programming decisions.

Saturday Night Live and Sketch Comedy

• Saturday Night Live (SNL) (NBC, premiered October 1975) — Lorne Michaels’s late-night live sketch-comedy show; the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” included John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and Bill Murray; a primary launchpad for American comedy careers for five decades.

• Monty Python’s Flying Circus (BBC, 1969–1974) — British sketch-comedy troupe (John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones); surrealist humor, animated interstitials, and non-sequitur structure profoundly influenced comedy writing globally; films include Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979). Its sketches included the Dead Parrot, the Ministry of Silly Walks, and the Spanish Inquisition.

  • The Cycling Tour — The Cycling Tour is the Monty Python Flying Circus episode built around Michael Palin’s cycling traveler Mr. Pither. It is marked by the Gounod Faust waltz, absurd recurring encounters, and the running gag of the protagonist crashing as he tours Cornwall.

  • Upperclass Twit of the Year — Upperclass Twit of the Year was a Monty Python Flying Circus contest satirizing upper-class competition and privilege. The sketch is remembered for absurd events like the matchbox hurdles, beggar kicking, and the final celebratory door-slamming in Kensington.

  • Whizzo — Whizzo is the fictional food company from a Monty Python sketch that sells absurd confections such as Crunchy Frog and Ram’s-bladder Cup. The name also appears as a magician clown character on Bozo’s Circus, portrayed by Marshall Brodien.

• Andy Samberg — Andy Samberg is an American comedian and actor, a member of The Lonely Island, and a comic performer associated with Saturday Night Live. He starred in Hot Rod, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Palm Springs, appeared in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and gained fame through viral music-video shorts. He also played the pop star Connor4Real in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

• Blue Collar Comedy Tour
  • Blue Collar TV — Blue Collar TV was a sketch comedy series built around Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, and Bill Engvall. The show was tied to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour and featured other Southern comic figures such as Ron White.
• Comedy bits
  • Celebrity Secrets — Celebrity Secrets is a comedy bit in which famous people reveal absurd or private-sounding confessions. The examples in the clues frame it as a recurring celebrity confession segment rather than a single dramatic work.
• Comedy duos

  • Abbott and Costello — Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were an American comedy duo best known for the routine “Who’s on First?” Their films included Universal horror comedies such as Meet Frankenstein, and they were sent to Mars, the Foreign Legion, and into encounters with the Keystone Kops and other Universal monsters.

  • Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong — Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong are the comedy duo known for stoner humor and for appearing together in films like Yellowbeard.

  • Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis — Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were the famous comedy duo who teamed up in nightclubs in the 1940s before splitting in the 1950s. They starred in films such as My Friend Irma and later became part of pop-culture shorthand through the Pulp Fiction milkshake joke.

  • Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele — Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are the comedy duo behind Key & Peele, the sketch series that produced the Substitute Teacher and East/West College Bowl sketches. Their joint work also turned up in interview shows like Hot Ones and helped make them one of the best-known modern sketch teams.

  • The Jerky Boys — The Jerky Boys were a prank-call comedy duo made up of Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed. Their releases and sketches were widely sampled and parodied, and they became a notable 1990s novelty act.

  • The Smothers Brothers — The Smothers Brothers were the comedy duo of Tom and Dick Smothers, best known for their variety show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Their act mixed music and satire, and the show became famous for clashes with network censors over its increasingly pointed humor.

• Comedy groups
  • Buzzkill — Buzzkill is the name of an MTV-related comedy group made up of Dave Sheridan, Travis Draft, and Frank Hudetz. The answer is the group rather than the slang term for an unwelcome spoiler.
• Comedy teams
  • George Burns and Gracie Allen — George Burns and Gracie Allen were a husband-and-wife comedy team who worked together in vaudeville, radio, and television for decades. Their act played on the contrast between Burns as the straight man and Allen as the ditzy comic character.

• Dana Carvey — Dana Carvey is the Saturday Night Live comedian known for characters like Garth, Massive Headwound Harry, and impersonations of George H. W. Bush and other public figures. Quiz clues often reference his dead-on political impressions, his catchphrases, and his long run as one of SNL’s most recognizable cast members.

• Dave Chappelle — Dave Chappelle is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for Chappelle’s Show, his Comedy Central sketch-comedy series that aired from 2003 to 2006. He walked away from the show at the height of its fame. His work includes characters such as Clayton Bigsby and Tyrone Biggums, and he appeared in films including Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Blue Streak, You’ve Got Mail, Half Baked, and The Nutty Professor. His stand-up is noted for social commentary, race, and sharp observational humor.
  • Chappelle’s Show — Chappelle’s Show is Dave Chappelle’s Comedy Central sketch series, famous for recurring bits like Rick James, Prince, and the Racial Draft. Its sketches included Trading Spouses, Tyrone Biggums, and When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong.
    • Dave Chappelle’s Show — Chappelle’s Show was a Comedy Central sketch series hosted by Dave Chappelle. It became known for recurring characters and celebrity impressions such as Rick James and Lil Jon.
      • I Know Black People — This Chappelle’s Show sketch is a game show about African-American culture and language, with contestants answering questions like “Finish this Good Times lyric.” It was hosted by Dave Chappelle and featured prizes such as Murray’s Hair Cream and bootleg DVDs.

• Dick Martin — Dick Martin was the co-host, with Dan Rowan, of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. He also acted on The Lucy Show and directed the final episode of Newhart.

• Fridays — Fridays was ABC’s short-lived live sketch-comedy series, intended as a rival to Saturday Night Live. It is remembered for sketches like “Diner of the Living Dead” and for the on-air Andy Kaufman confrontation that helped define the show.

• Gilda Susan Radner — Original Saturday Night Live cast member and celebrated comedienne known for creating Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa. Her Broadway material drew on her SNL songs and sketches, and she died before a planned hosting appearance could happen.

• Humphrey — Humphrey is the first name of the Great Magician of Information in Xanth and also the name of Britain’s best-known political cat. The cat clue refers to Humphrey, the famous Downing Street mouser associated with several British prime ministers.

• Julie Brown — Julie Brown is an actress and comedian known for Earth Girls Are Easy, Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful, and Strip Mall. She also voiced Zatanna on Batman: The Animated Series and is distinct from the MTV personality Downtown Julie Brown.
  • Uptown Julie Brown — Uptown Julie Brown is the stage name of Julie Brown, an actress and comedian known for satirical pop-culture projects. She appeared in Earth Girls Are Easy, Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful, and Attack of the 5’2” Women, and had a rare serious role as a PE coach in a high-school setting.

• Keegan-Michael Key — Keegan-Michael Key is an American comedian and actor best known for co-creating and co-starring in Key & Peele with Jordan Peele. He has played Hingle McCringleberry, the substitute teacher who misreads Aaron as “A. A. Ron,” and roles in shows such as Schmigadoon! and Reboot.

• Keenan Ivory Wayans — Keenan Ivory Wayans is a comedian, actor, writer, and director associated with In Living Color. He directed A Low Down Dirty Shame and starred in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.

• Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show — Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show was a short-lived 2005 Fox sketch comedy series adapted from a British format. It ran for only four episodes and was produced by Kelsey Grammer after Frasier ended.

• Kevin Nealon — Kevin Nealon is a comedian and actor who was a Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live. He played Doug Wilson, the pot-smoking accountant and city councilman on Weeds, and also appeared on Hiller and Diller and Celebrity Poker Showdown.

• Key & Peele — A Comedy Central sketch series created and performed by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. It is known for recurring sketches such as Substitute Teacher, East/West College Bowl, Obama’s anger translator, and a series of increasingly surreal internet-era parodies.

• Mad TV — Mad TV was a Fox sketch-comedy series known for characters such as Stuart and Ms. Swan. It aired opposite Saturday Night Live and helped launch performers including Alex Borstein and Taran Killam.
  • Miss Swan — Miss Swan is a recurring Mad TV character played by Alex Borstein. The character is a heavily accented, heavily stereotyped woman named Bunny who is usually portrayed with a short, clipped vocabulary.

• MADtv — MADtv was a Fox sketch-comedy series inspired by MAD magazine and its Alfred E. Neuman mascot. The show ran from the 1990s into the 2000s and featured performers such as Debra Wilson, Aries Spears, Michael McDonald, and Keegan-Michael Key.

• Saturday Night — Saturday Night is the time period whose name titles the long-running NBC sketch show that became famous for opening with “Live from New York.” It also appears in the title of the Bay City Rollers song “Saturday Night,” and in other TV and music titles that use the same phrase.

• Saturday Night Live

  • Ana Gasteyer — Ana Gasteyer is an American actress and comedian best known for Saturday Night Live. She has also appeared in Mean Girls and What Women Want.

  • Bad Idea Jeans — Bad Idea Jeans is a Saturday Night Live commercial parody about dangerously foolish decisions made while wearing jeans. The sketch features deadpan testimonials and absurdly reckless lines such as keeping a gun in the house or wearing no protection.

  • Bill Brasky — Bill Brasky is a mythical, grotesquely exaggerated character from late-1990s Saturday Night Live sketches, usually praised by drunken men in stories that grow more absurd with every retelling. The running jokes describe him as a larger-than-life monster whose impossible feats include outlandish violence, obscene strength, and bizarre acts of generosity.

  • Brian Fellow — Brian Fellow is a Saturday Night Live character played by Tracy Morgan, best known as the host of Safari Planet. He is portrayed as an overenthusiastic but scientifically clueless animal lover who repeatedly declares his own name.

  • Cast members
    • John Belushi — American comedian and actor best known for Saturday Night Live. He was also known for improvisational comedy, including his Joe Cocker imitation, and starred as Bluto in Animal House and Jake Blues in The Blues Brothers. He died in 1982 from a drug overdose.

  • Celebrity Jeopardy — Celebrity Jeopardy is the Saturday Night Live parody of the Alex Trebek game show, famous for absurd answers and recurring appearances by Connery and Turd Ferguson. Its sketches often feature intentionally wrong responses to simple trivia.

  • Charles Rocket — Charles Rocket was a Saturday Night Live cast member remembered for being fired after swearing on live television during the 1980–81 season. He later acted in films and television, including Earth Girls Are Easy, Dances with Wolves, and Max Headroom.

  • Chico Escuela — Chico Escuela is the fictional former baseball player created for Saturday Night Live and played by Garrett Morris. He is remembered for the line “Beisbol been berry, berry good to me.”

  • Christmastime for the Jews — “Christmastime for the Jews” is a Saturday Night Live TV Funhouse sketch featuring Darlene Love singing about holiday life for Jews. The sketch’s joke centers on the deserted streets, a Quaker attack, and crowd scenes built around Jewish cultural references.

  • Commercial parodies
    • Old Glory Insurance — Old Glory Insurance is a fictional insurance company from Saturday Night Live commercials. The ads feature Sam Waterston pitching coverage against robot attacks, a parody of cautious senior-citizen products.

  • Coneheads — Coneheads is the Saturday Night Live sketch about a family of aliens with elongated heads, known individually as Beldar, Prymaat, and Connie. The sketch was later adapted into a 1993 film starring Dan Aykroyd.

  • Consumer Probe — Consumer Probe was a Saturday Night Live sketch built around a fake consumer safety show hosted by Joan Face. It featured Dan Aykroyd as the sleazy salesman Irwin Mainway and parodied absurd products and dangerous toys.

  • David S. Pumpkins — David S. Pumpkins is the absurd Halloween character played by Tom Hanks in the Saturday Night Live sketch Haunted Elevator. He appears with two skeleton dancers and is known for the deadpan line, “Any questions?”

  • Debbie Downer — Debbie Downer is the ultra-pessimistic Saturday Night Live character portrayed by Rachel Dratch. Her sketches turn mundane situations into comic doom by introducing diseases, accidents, terrorists, and other grim reminders.

  • Don Pardo — Don Pardo was the longtime announcer best known for Saturday Night Live. He also worked on early versions of The Price Is Right, Jeopardy!, and other game shows, and his distinctive voice made him one of television’s most recognizable announcers.

  • Father Guido Sarducci — Father Guido Sarducci is the comic Vatican gossip columnist and rock critic created and played by Don Novello, a recurring Saturday Night Live character. He is known for satiric bits about the pope, religion, and Catholic life, including stories about a lost papal wallet and claiming the Last Supper was a brunch.

  • Goth Talk — Goth Talk is a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch spoofing a gloomy cable-access show, usually hosted by Azreal Abyss and Circe Nightshade. It is set on Sunshine State Cable Access Channel 33 and opens with Bauhaus’s “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” The sketch leans on exaggerated goth mannerisms and faux-public-access absurdity, with characters like Todd Henderson and Stephanie hiding behind their on-air names.

  • Hans and Franz — Hans and Franz are the fictional Austrian bodybuilders from Saturday Night Live, played by Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon. They are known for shouting that they want to “pump you up” and for Arnold Schwarzenegger jokes.

  • Happy Fun Ball — Happy Fun Ball is the fake product from a famous parody commercial that warns viewers not to taunt it. The joke advertisement gives it absurd safety warnings, a lifetime warranty, and a suspiciously dangerous glowing core.

  • Horatio Sanz — Horatio Sanz is a Saturday Night Live performer who was the show’s first Latino cast member. He was known for a run of absurd impressions and recurring sketches that compared him to a wide range of celebrities.

  • James Thomas Fallon — James Thomas Fallon is a comedian and television host who was a Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live. He later left the show to host his own NBC late-night program and also appeared in the film Taxi.

  • Jane Curtin — Jane Curtin was an original Saturday Night Live cast member and a Weekend Update anchor. She is also known for roles such as Prymaat on Coneheads and Dr. Mary Albright on 3rd Rock from the Sun.

  • Jim Downey — Jim Downey is a longtime Saturday Night Live writer and actor, and the longest-associated writer in the show’s history. He is also known for coining the fake George W. Bush word “strategery” and for playing small comic roles in films like Billy Madison and There Will Be Blood.

  • Kate McKinnon — Kate McKinnon is a comedian and actor best known for Saturday Night Live, where she became famous for impressions of figures like Hillary Clinton and Ellen DeGeneres. She also voiced Stella in The Angry Birds Movie and played Jillian Holtzman in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot.

  • Matt Foley — Matt Foley is a Chris Farley character, a thrice-divorced motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river. He is remembered for his blustery self-introduction and over-the-top speeches.

  • Miskel Spillman — Miskel Spillman was the elderly winner of Saturday Night Live’s “Anyone Can Host” contest and hosted a 1977 episode. Her appearance is remembered as her only television appearance and for the notorious Elvis Costello performance that aired that night.

  • Mr. Bill — Mr. Bill is a clay character from early Saturday Night Live sketches who is repeatedly mangled and abused. He is famous for his squealed cry of “Oh noooooooooo” and for the later Pizza Hut parody ads.

  • Mr. Bill Show — The Mr. Bill Show was a Saturday Night Live sketch series built around play-dough characters and repeated abuse of the title character. Its recurring cast included Miss Sally, Mr. Hands, Spot, and Mr. Sluggo, and the catchphrases often centered on Mr. Bill’s imminent misfortune.

  • Nat X — Nat X is Chris Rock’s black-power militant character from Saturday Night Live, known for hosting the short-lived talk show The Dark Side. The character is marked by his huge afro, his top-five list, and the “White Man Cam” that mocked his guests and his 15-minute format.

  • Sketches
    • What Up With That? — What Up With That? is the recurring Saturday Night Live sketch built around Diondre Cole, a wildly overlong dance-and-song television parody. The sketch features repeated interruptions by celebrities and the never-ending theme song that keeps the show from finishing interviews.
  • Sprockets
    • Dieter — Dieter is the pretentious German music critic character from Saturday Night Live’s “Sprockets,” performed by Mike Myers. He is one of Myers’s recurring sketches that became especially well known for its absurd, high-culture parody.

  • Stefon — Stefon is Bill Hader’s recurring Weekend Update character on Saturday Night Live, a flamboyant New York club promoter who recommends absurd nightlife spots. He is known for his garbage-can dwelling, his dog Bark Ruffalo, and his hyper-specific slang for city nightlife.

  • Tim Kazurinsky — Tim Kazurinsky is an Australian-born comedian and actor who was a featured performer on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s. He later appeared in the Police Academy films as Sweetchuck.

  • Toonces the Driving Cat — Toonces the Driving Cat is a Saturday Night Live character from the 1980s, created as one of the show’s recurring animal sketches. The joke is that Toonces can drive a car, but never very well; the car usually goes over a cliff. The sketches often feature his rival Spunky and the shouted warning “Look out!” before the crash.

  • Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer — Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer is a Phil Hartman Saturday Night Live character who claims to be frightened and confused by modern life. He was thawed out after falling into a crevasse and then became a lawyer while still speaking as a prehistoric man.

  • We are two wild and crazy guys — “We are two wild and crazy guys!” was the catchphrase of the Festinanks, a Saturday Night Live skit performed by Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin. The routine featured exaggerated Czechoslovakian brothers courting American women and became one of the show’s classic recurring bits.

  • Weekend Update — Weekend Update is Saturday Night Live’s recurring fake newscast segment. It began with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin and later became associated with hosts such as Dennis Miller, Norm Macdonald, and Colin Jost and Michael Che.
• Saturday Night Live cast members

  • Cheri Oteri — Cheri Oteri is an American comic actress and former Saturday Night Live cast member known for characters like the Spartan cheerleader Arianna and for impressions of Barbara Walters and Judge Judy. She also appeared in films such as Scary Movie and Inspector Gadget.

  • Tim Meadows — Tim Meadows is an American comic actor and former Saturday Night Live cast member who played the principal in Mean Girls. He is also known for playing the title role on The Ladies Man and for his part in Son of Zorn.

• Sketch comedians
  • Mark McKinney — Mark McKinney is a comedian and actor who became a cast member on Saturday Night Live in the mid-1990s. He was previously one of The Kids in the Hall, making him the group’s only member to join SNL.
• Sketch comedy television series

  • A Black Lady Sketch Show — A Black Lady Sketch Show is an HBO sketch comedy created by Robin Thede and built around an all-Black women writers’ room. It features Thede alongside performers such as Gabrielle Dennis and helped showcase Quinta Brunson early in her rise.

  • All That — All That is Nickelodeon’s sketch-comedy series launched in 1995 as a kid-friendly SNL, with recurring bits like Vital Information and Ask Ashley. It helped launch performers such as Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Amanda Bynes, and Nick Cannon, and even spawned Good Burger and other spin-offs.

    • Action League Now! — Action League Now! was a stop-motion animated comedy segment that originated on All That and later got its own Nicktoon special or series in 2001. Its characters included The Chief, Bill the Lab Guy, Justice, and The Mayor.

    • Good Burger — Good Burger is the fictional fast-food restaurant made famous on All That and in the 1997 film of the same name. Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell became closely associated with it through their sketch-comedy roles and movie appearances.

  • In Living Color — In Living Color was the Fox sketch-comedy series launched in 1990 that made stars of Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, and the Wayans family. Its recurring characters and sendups, including Homey the Clown and Fire Marshall Bill, helped define its irreverent style. The show also featured sketches like ‘Great Moments in Black History’ and ‘Homeboy Shopping Network,’ and it is associated with the dance work of Rosie Perez.

    • Fire Marshal Bill — Fire Marshal Bill is the exaggerated safety-obsessed recurring sketch character played by Jim Carrey on In Living Color. His catchphrase, ‘Lemme show ya somethin’!’, usually introduced his over-the-top fire-prevention mishaps.

    • Homey D. Clown — Homey D. Clown is Damon Wayans’s surly children’s entertainer from In Living Color. His catchphrase is a refusal to play around, and he often threatens misbehaving people with a sock.

  • SCTV — SCTV was a Canadian sketch-comedy series built around a fictional television station and a parade of recurring comic performers. Its fake musical acts and sketches helped inspire later comedy, including the style of Saturday Night Live’s Celebrity Jeopardy! bits.

  • The Carol Burnett Show — The Carol Burnett Show was a long-running CBS sketch comedy series led by Carol Burnett and known for Harvey Korman and Lyle Waggoner. It is also remembered for recurring bits such as “As the Stomach Turns.” The show ended with Burnett tugging her ear in a tribute to her grandmother and featured sketches like “Went with the Wind” and “Mrs. Wiggins.” Its ensemble also included Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence, and it later spawned Mama’s Family.
    • Harvey Korman — Harvey Korman was a comic actor best known for The Carol Burnett Show, where he played recurring characters like Hedley Lamarr and Mother Marcus. He also appeared in comedy films such as Blazing Saddles and was a frequent television comedian.

  • The VACANT LOT — The Vacant Lot was a short-lived Canadian sketch-comedy series that aired on Comedy Central. Its songs and six-episode run are the main identifying clues.

  • Turn-On — This short-lived 1969 ABC sketch comedy was a rougher, more offensive attempt at the Laugh-In formula. It was famously canceled almost immediately after its only episode aired.
• The Lonely Island
  • Lazy Sunday — ‘Lazy Sunday’ is the Lonely Island digital short featuring Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell as two friends heading out to see The Chronicles of Narnia. It became famous for its rap lyrics about Magnolia cupcakes, Red Vines, Mr. Pibb, and a low-key weekend adventure.

• The Tracy Ullman Show — The Tracy Ullman Show was the variety program that first aired short Simpsons sketches before the family got its own series. It is now remembered mainly as the launching pad for Bart and the rest of the animated cast.

• The Weird Al Show — The Weird Al Show was a 1997 CBS children’s series fronted by Weird Al Yankovic, featuring comic guests like Stan Freberg, Judy Tenuta, Dweezil Zappa, and Dr. Demento. Its theme song describes the main character and his hamster living in a sewer before moving to Ohio and working in a nasal decongestant factory.

• Tim Conway — Tim Conway was a comic actor best known for The Carol Burnett Show, where he played characters like the bumbling Mr. Tudball and a clumsy dentist. He also appeared in McHale’s Navy and in assorted short-lived TV comedies such as Rango and Ace Crawford, Private Eye.

• Tim Heidecker — Tim Heidecker is a comedian and actor best known for his work with Eric Wareheim on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! He also appeared in Tom Goes to the Mayor, co-directed The Comedy, and turned up on I Think You Should Leave.

• Wonder Showzen — Wonder Showzen was an MTV2 sketch series that satirized children’s television with absurd, offensive puppetry and fake educational segments. Its recurring bits included Beat Kids, mangled interviews, and childlike puppets such as Clarence and Chauncey.

• A Bit of Fry and Laurie — A Bit of Fry and Laurie was a British sketch comedy series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. It mixed sketches with surreal non sequiturs and brief interview-style segments.

• Comedy troupes
  • Monty Python — Monty Python was the British comedy troupe behind The Flying Circus, Life of Brian, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Its members included Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.

    • Connie Booth — Connie Booth is an actor and writer best known for playing Polly Sherman on Fawlty Towers and for performing in several Monty Python productions. She also co-wrote Fawlty Towers with John Cleese and appeared in his earlier comedy work.

    • Dead Parrot — “Dead Parrot” is the Monty Python sketch in which a customer tries to return a supposedly dead Norwegian Blue parrot to a shopkeeper who insists it is merely resting. The routine is famous for lines about the bird not going “voom” and “pining for the fjords.”

    • Dead Parrot Sketch — The Dead Parrot Sketch is the Monty Python routine in which a customer insists a supposedly purchased parrot is actually dead, while the shopkeeper keeps offering absurd evasions. It is famous for lines like “pining for the fjords,” and for its later revivals in different versions and tributes.

    • Graham Chapman — Graham Chapman was a founding member of Monty Python and a Cambridge-trained physician who left medicine to perform comedy. He played King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and was the group’s first deceased member.

    • how not to be seen — How Not to Be Seen is a Monty Python educational sketch about avoiding detection. Its absurd lesson ends in repeated explosions when the victims are spotted.

    • Michael Palin — Michael Palin is a Monty Python performer who became widely known as a travel broadcaster. His geography documentaries include Great Railway Journeys of the World and Full Circle, and his comedy roles include the Bicycle Repair Man and Biggus Dickus.

    • Ministry of Silly Walks — The Ministry of Silly Walks is the Monty Python sketch ministry devoted to absurdly elaborate walking styles. Its fictional research projects include an Anglo-French collaboration called La Marche Futile and references to over-the-top leg movements.

    • The Funniest Joke in the World — The Funniest Joke in the World is the Monty Python sketch in which an absurdly lethal punchline is treated like a weapon against Nazi Germany. In the bit, the joke kills anyone who reads or hears it, including Ernest Scribbler and later several soldiers and police officers.

    • Life of Brian

      • Judean People’s Front — The Judean People’s Front is a fictional revolutionary faction from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. It is one of several rival groups with nearly identical names, including the People’s Front of Judea.
  • Three Stooges — The Three Stooges were a slapstick comedy troupe originally created by Ted Healy and later featuring the Howard brothers, Larry Fine, and other replacements. Their film and television legacy includes shorts such as Have Rocket, Will Travel and later revivals like the one with Joe DeRita.
• Crank Yankers — Crank Yankers was a Comedy Central puppet show built around reenacted prank calls and absurd celebrity bits. Its recurring characters included Special Ed, Spoonie Luv, and the assistant Terrence Catheter, and much of the production was based in Nevada.

  • Special Ed — Special Ed is a mentally disabled puppet character from the comedy series Crank Yankers. He is also described as a teenage burger-joint worker who likes chicken, Hawaii, snow globes, and scooters.

  • Spoonie Luv — Spoonie Luv is the lecherous puppet character voiced by Tracy Morgan on Crank Yankers. He is known for crude pickup lines and for pranking country-club snobs while posing as a white man.

• Dennis Miller — Dennis Miller is a comedian and former Saturday Night Live Weekend Update anchor known for heavily verbal, rant-style routines. He later hosted an HBO talk show and was briefly a controversial Monday Night Football commentator.

• Humorous imagery
  • shark riding on an elephant — A shark riding on an elephant is a surreal image or phrase built from two dangerous animals combined into one absurd composite. It is likely meant as a humorous answer rather than a standard named concept.

• John Cleese — John Marwood Cleese is a Monty Python member and comedian and actor, best known for playing Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, Sir Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Nearly-Headless Nick. He also narrated the 2011 Disney film Winnie the Pooh and co-wrote the comic-book take on Superman titled Superman: True Brit.

• Jonathan Winters — Jonathan Winters was a comedian and improviser famous for creating characters such as Maudie Frickert. His career included a mid-1950s television show, later breakdowns, and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

• Kevin McDonald — Kevin McDonald is a member of the comedy troupe Kids in the Hall. He has appeared as Pastor Dave on That ’70s Show and voiced Agent Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch television series.

• Little Britain — Little Britain is a British sketch-comedy series created by and starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Its recurring characters include Daffyd Thomas, the self-described “only gay in the village,” along with figures like Vicky Pollard and Andy Pipkin.

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail

  • Patsy — Patsy is King Arthur’s loyal servant in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, known for banging coconuts to simulate a horse’s trot. He is the human pack-mule who follows Arthur and delivers the line about Camelot being “only a model.”

  • The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch — The absurd sacred weapon from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, carried by Brother Maynard and used against the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Its instructions are given in the Book of Armaments and require counting to three before throwing. Arthur uses it against the Killer Rabbit in the film.

• Monty Python’s Life of Brian

  • People’s Front of Judea — The People’s Front of Judea is the satirical resistance group from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The group is famous for comic factionalism and for distinguishing itself from the Judean People’s Front.

  • Romans go home — “Romans go home” is the Latin graffiti phrase from Monty Python and the Life of Brian, famously corrected into the mock-grammatical forms “Romani ite domum” and “Romanes eunt domus.” It is remembered for the scene in which Brian is forced to write the line repeatedly under a centurion’s supervision.

• Nickelodeon sketch comedy series

  • Roundhouse — Roundhouse was a Nickelodeon sketch-comedy series built around a central theme for each episode, often culminating in a moralizing song. It featured the motorized recliner of the dad character and the surreal Anyfamily sketches that made it a distinctive SNICK show.

  • The Amanda Show — This Nickelodeon sketch comedy series spun off from All That and featured recurring bits such as Blockblister Video, Judge Trudy, and The Girls’ Room. It starred Amanda Bynes and was a fixture of SNICK-era children’s television.

    • Dancing Lobsters — The Dancing Lobsters are the recurring crustacean gag from The Amanda Show, where Judge Trudy calls them in at the end of sketches. They are associated with Josh Peck and with the absurd courtroom comedy style of that Nickelodeon series.
• Satirical television programs
  • That Was The Week That Was — That Was the Week That Was was a satirical television program presented in Britain by David Frost and later adapted in the United States. It helped launch televised political satire and is often abbreviated TW3.
• Sketch comedy
  • Portlandia — Portlandia is an IFC sketch-comedy series set in Portland, Oregon, and starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. It is best known for recurring bits such as “put a bird on it” and for guest appearances by Kyle MacLachlan as the mayor.
• Sketch comedy troupes
  • The Whitest Kids U’ Know — The Whitest Kids U’ Know is a sketch comedy troupe and television series known for dark, absurd humor. Its sketches include “The Grapist,” “Opposite Day,” and “The Popcorn Factory,” and it aired largely on IFC.
• television parody series
  • The Rerun Show — The Rerun Show was a short-lived NBC comedy that reenacted classic sitcom and soap-opera episodes with a new cast. It is remembered for word-for-word parodies of series such as The Facts of Life and for cast members including Ashley Drane, Daniele Gaither, Paul Vogt, and Brian Beacock.
• Television sketch comedy
  • Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In — Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In was a late-1960s fast-paced NBC sketch-variety show hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. It became famous for running gags, a joke wall, catchphrases like “Sock it to me!” and “You bet your sweet bippy!”, and a fake news bulletin that alarmed viewers. It also helped launch performers such as Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin.
    • sock it to me — Sock it to me is the catchphrase popularized by Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In and repeated by guests and performers on the show. The phrase became especially famous through Judy Carne’s sketch bits and even turned up in Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign-era television appearance.
• That Mitchell and Webb Look — That Mitchell and Webb Look is the BBC sketch comedy series starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, best known for sketches like Numberwang and The Innebriati.
  • Numberwang — Numberwang is the absurd fake British game show from That Mitchell and Webb Look, built around contestants blurting random numbers and the host declaring the result is “Numberwang.” Clues often mention the rotating board, the contestants Simon and Julie, the robotic scorer Colosson, and the parody version Wordwang.

• The Ben Stiller Show — The Ben Stiller Show was a short-lived Fox sketch-comedy series hosted by Ben Stiller and associated with writers and performers like Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo, and Judd Apatow. Despite lasting only thirteen episodes, it helped launch several major comedy careers.

• The Dana Carvey Show — The Dana Carvey Show was the short-lived mid-1990s ABC sketch series named for Dana Carvey and remembered for its sponsor-driven format. It is especially notorious for the debut of The Ambiguously Gay Duo and an opening sketch involving a lactating Bill Clinton.

• The Frantics
  • boot to the head — “Boot to the Head” is a comedy routine by the Frantics about a martial-arts style punishment delivered to rude or irritating people. The sketch centers on Ed Gruberman and the absurd discipline of Tae Kwon Leap.
• The Kids in the Hall — Kids in the Hall was the Canadian sketch-comedy troupe and television series featuring Dave Foley, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson, Kevin McDonald, and Bruce McCulloch. Quizbowl clues often mention Brain Candy, the recurring characters, and the show’s cult status.

  • Bruce McCulloch — Bruce McCulloch is a Canadian comedian best known as a member of The Kids in the Hall. He also made music albums and directed films such as Superstar and Stealing Harvard.

  • Buddy Cole — Buddy Cole is Scott Thompson’s flamboyant, martini-sipping character from The Kids in the Hall. He is a monologuist and bar owner whose persona was expanded in a faux autobiography.

  • Kids in the Hall — Kids in the Hall was a Canadian sketch-comedy troupe and television series created by Lorne Michaels. It featured Kevin McDonald, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson, and it later spawned the film Brain Candy.

  • The Chicken Lady — The Chicken Lady is a recurring character from The Kids in the Hall. She is a grotesque farmyard creation associated with the catchphrase “Gotta get laid” and was played by Mark McKinney.

  • Paul Bellini — Paul Bellini is a writer and performer associated with The Kids in the Hall. He is especially known for appearing in sketches while wearing only a towel and for his Buddy Cole material.

• The League of Gentlemen — The League of Gentlemen is a British dark comedy series set in the fictional town of Royston Vasey. Its ensemble includes bizarre figures such as Papa Lazarou, Edward and Tubbs, and the grotesque local crimes and oddball village life that define the show.

• Too Many Cooks — Too Many Cooks is an Adult Swim short that parodies the opening credits of old sitcoms. Its escalating credits sequence introduces an absurdly large cast before a serial killer begins replacing the characters.

• Tracey Ullman — Tracey Ullman is a British comedian, singer, and television host whose Fox variety show spawned The Simpsons shorts. She is also known for the song “They Don’t Know” and later work in television satire.
  • Tracey Takes On — Tracey Takes On… is a sketch-comedy series starring Tracey Ullman. Each episode centers on a theme and features multiple recurring characters created and played by Ullman herself.

• Tracy Morgan — Tracy Morgan is a comedian and actor known for recurring SNL characters like Brian Fellows, Astronaut Jones, and Woodrow. He later starred on 30 Rock as Tracy Jordan and has also hosted Scare Tactics.

• You Can’t Do That on Television — You Can’t Do That on Television was a Canadian children’s sketch show that began in Ottawa and later became a Nickelodeon staple. It is remembered for green slime punishments, recurring characters like Moose and Barth, and for launching Alanis Morissette.

• British comedy duos

  • David Mitchell and Robert Webb — David Mitchell and Robert Webb are a British comedy duo known for their partnership in television, radio, and stage work. They created Peep Show and appeared together in projects such as That Mitchell and Webb Look, That Mitchell and Webb Sound, and Doctor Who voice roles.

  • Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise — Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were a British comedy duo famous for their television variety acts and Christmas specials. Their routines included parody performances such as singing “Singin’ in the Rain” without rain and the line “plays what I wrote.”

The Sitcom Form

• Sitcom (situation comedy) — half-hour comedic format centered on recurring characters in a stable situation; the dominant form of American TV comedy from the 1950s onward.

• All of Us — All of Us is a sitcom starring Duane Martin and LisaRaye McCoy as a divorced couple raising their son Bobby, Jr. in the same home. The series is also linked here to Chris Rock through cast and production references.

• American sitcoms
  • Family Ties — Family Ties is the 1980s NBC sitcom centered on the Keaton family and Michael J. Fox’s Alex P. Keaton, a teenage conservative. Its humor comes from the generational clash between the ex-hippie parents and their politically ambitious children.

    • Alex P. Keaton — Alex P. Keaton is the conservative son on Family Ties, played by Michael J. Fox, whose obsession with money and Wall Street marks him as the family Republican. His character arc includes plans for Princeton, a later stint at Leland College, and references to a future career in politics.

    • Skippy — Skippy is the odd nickname of Irwin ‘Skippy’ Handleman on Family Ties. The name also appears as a generic pet name in another clue about Rocco’s girlfriend’s cat.

  • The Nanny — The Nanny is the 1990s sitcom starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a cosmetics seller from Flushing hired as nanny to the Sheffield children. The show centers on her banter with Maxwell Sheffield, C. C. Babcock, and the butler Niles.

  • ’Til Death — ‘Til Death is a Fox sitcom about the Stark and Woodcock families, set around the comic frustrations of marriage and neighboring couples. Its cast included Brad Garrett, Joely Fisher, and Eddie Kaye Thomas, and the show eventually became self-aware about its own sitcom format.

• Blossom — Blossom was a 1990s NBC sitcom starring Mayim Bialik as a teenage girl named Blossom Russo. The series also featured Joey Lawrence as Joey Russo and was set in a turbulent family household.

• Blue Mountain State — Blue Mountain State is a comedy series set at a fictional college football program known for outrageous campus antics. It follows quarterback Alex Moran and teammates such as Thad Castle under coach Marty Daniels.

• Boston Public — Boston Public is a Fox drama set at Winslow High School and created by David E. Kelley. The series centers on principal Steven Harper, vice principal Scott Guber, and a faculty ensemble that includes colorful and often chaotic teachers.

• Canadian sitcoms
  • Little Mosque on the Prairie — Little Mosque on the Prairie is the Canadian sitcom set around a Muslim community in Mercy, Saskatchewan. Its premise follows an imam arriving from Toronto and navigating small-town tensions in a title that plays on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books.

• Car 54, Where Are You? — Car 54, Where Are You? is the 1960s police sitcom about Officers Toody and Muldoon in the Bronx’s 53rd precinct. It was later turned into a 1994 film adaptation starring David Johansen, John C. McGinley, and the crime-comedy setup of the original series.

• Caroline in the City — Caroline in the City was a late-1990s NBC sitcom starring Lea Thompson as a Manhattan cartoonist. The show centered on her work and her circle of friends and coworkers, including Richard Karinsky and Annie.

• Cavemen — Cavemen was the short-lived ABC sitcom based on the GEICO advertising cavemen. It followed the lives of the titular prehistoric men in a modern setting and was canceled after only a handful of episodes.

• Charles in Charge — Charles in Charge is a sitcom starring Scott Baio as a live-in babysitter who works for the Pembrokes and later the Powells. The series is remembered for characters like Buddy Lembeck and Gwendolyn Pierce, and for its theme song about Charles being in charge of the family’s days and nights.

• Davis Rules — Davis Rules was a sitcom that ran from 1991 to 1992 and featured a family with three sons named Robbie, Charlie, and Ben. Randy Quaid starred as schoolteacher Dwight, while Jonathan Winters played the grandfather Gunny.

• Ellen — Ellen is the ABC sitcom that became famous for its progressive portrayal of homosexuality and for the episode known as ‘The Puppy Episode’. Bruce Campbell and Laura Dern are among the notable guest stars associated with the series.

• General Hospital — General Hospital is the long-running ABC soap opera set in Port Charles and originally centered on the title medical facility. It is the longest-running American soap still in production and features figures such as Sonny Corinthos and Luke Spencer.
  • Port Charles — Port Charles is a soap opera that spun off from General Hospital in 1997. Its seasons were titled with themes such as “Fate,” “Tainted Love,” and “Miracles Happen,” and its plots included vampires, time travel, and angels on Earth.

    • Livvie Locke — Livvie Locke is a character from the soap opera Port Charles, where she is portrayed as the daughter of Kevin Collins. She becomes a vampire and is linked to Tess, her sister made from the good parts of her.

    • Rafe Kovich — Rafe Kovich is a soap-opera character played by Brian Gaskill, an angel who briefly married Livvie before finding true love with Alison Barrington.

  • Sonny Corinthos — Sonny Corinthos is the Port Charles mob boss from General Hospital, played by Maurice Benard. He is associated with Bensonhurst, Joe Scully, Brenda Barrett, Carly Spencer, and the Paradise Lounge Strip Club.

  • Vanessa Marcil and Tyler Christopher — Vanessa Marcil and Tyler Christopher are actors associated with General Hospital. The clue points to the real-life romance between the actress who played Brenda Barrett and the actor who played Nikolas Cassadine.
• Get Smart — Get Smart is the Mel Brooks spy sitcom about CONTROL agent 86, Maxwell Smart, and his partner Agent 99. The show is known for gadgets and running gags like the Cone of Silence, the shoe phone, Hymie the robot, and the recurring foe organization KAOS.

  • Agent 99 — Agent 99 is the female CONTROL operative in Get Smart, played by Barbara Feldon. Her cover identity is often revealed as Susan Hilton, and she later marries Maxwell Smart.

  • Cone of Silence — The Cone of Silence is the impractical privacy device from Get Smart that was meant to block eavesdropping for conversations with the Chief. It became one of the show’s best-known running gags and later inspired portable novelty versions.

  • Conrad Siegfried — Conrad Siegfried is the head of KAOS and the main opponent of Maxwell Smart in Get Smart. He is described as vice president in charge of Public Relations and Terror.

  • KAOS — KAOS is the villainous spy organization from Get Smart, led by Siegfried and opposed by CONTROL. The group is remembered for its absurd bureaucracy, coded language, and globe-topped vulture logo.

  • Maxwell Smart — Maxwell Smart is the bumbling secret agent known as Agent 86 from Get Smart. He works for CONTROL, uses a shoe phone, and is partnered with Agent 99.

• Gimme a Break! — Gimme a Break! was an NBC sitcom about Nell Harper and the Kanisky family, starring Nell Carter and later adding Joey Lawrence. It ran in the 1980s and was known for its domestic comedy setup and a mid-series change in format. The show even had a live broadcast episode, an unusual stunt for a sitcom.

• Girls Club — Girls Club was a short-lived David E. Kelley legal drama about three young lawyers in San Francisco. The series centered on Lynne Camden, Jeannie Falls, and Sarah Mickle living together and working at the same firm.

• Hunter S. Thompson
  • fear and loathing — Fear and loathing is the phrase tied to Hunter S. Thompson’s gonzo journalism and to book titles such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. It evokes paranoia, drugged-up disorientation, and Thompson’s signature mix of autobiography and political satire.

• Laverne & Shirley — Laverne & Shirley was a Happy Days spin-off about two Milwaukee bottling-plant workers. Its opening theme featured the title pair marching to Shotz Brewery while chanting the famous nonsense line about Schlemiel and Schlimazel.

• Laverne and Shirley — Laverne and Shirley was a Happy Days spin-off about two Milwaukee brewery workers. Its theme song begins with the line “schlemiel, schlamazel,” and the series became known for characters like Lenny and Squiggy and Laverne’s stuffed animal Boo Boo Kitty. The show later moved its setting to Burbank and even inspired an animated spinoff.

• Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman — Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is a Norman Lear soap-opera parody set in Fernwood, Ohio and centered on a suburban housewife. The series starred Louise Lasser in the title role and became notorious for its offbeat characters and satirical tone.

• Maude Findlay — Maude Findlay is the sharp-tongued title character of the 1970s sitcom Maude, played by Bea Arthur. She is a liberal cousin of Edith Bunker, married to Walter, and known for the catchphrase “God’ll get you for that!”

• Me and the Chimp — Me and the Chimp was a short-lived CBS sitcom starring Ted Bessell. The show centered on a man caring for a troublesome chimpanzee and became one of the early-1970s network flops.

• Musicians
  • Brendon Small — Brendon Small co-created Home Movies and served as its head writer and lead musician. He gave his name to the show’s child protagonist, whom he also voiced.

• My Favorite Martian — My Favorite Martian is the 1960s sitcom about a Martian who crashes on Earth and hides his identity while living with newspaper reporter Tim O’Hara. It starred Ray Walston as the alien and Bill Bixby as O’Hara, and it was later adapted into a film.

• My Mother the Car — My Mother the Car is the notorious 1960s sitcom about an attorney whose late mother is reincarnated as a talking 1928 Porter automobile. Its bad reputation comes from its absurd premise, Captain Manzini, and the repeated claim that it was one of television’s worst shows.

• My Secret Identity — My Secret Identity is a Canadian-American teen superhero sitcom starring Jerry O’Connell as Andrew Clements. The show follows his accidental exposure to a photon beam and is set in North Dakota.

• My Three Sons
  • Steve Douglas — Steve Douglas is the Fred MacMurray character on My Three Sons, the father of Mike, Robbie, and Chip. He works as an aeronautical engineer and structural design consultant, and his children nickname their grandfather “Bub.”

• My Two Dads — My Two Dads is an NBC sitcom that aired from 1987 to 1990 and centered on Nicole Bradford’s unusual family situation. It starred Greg Evigan and Paul Reiser as the title characters and also featured Joey Harris, Michael Taylor, and Judge Wilbur.

• My Wife and Kids — My Wife and Kids is a family sitcom starring Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell-Martin as the Kyle parents Michael and Janet. The show follows their children and the domestic chaos of the household.

• Napoleon Dynamite
  • Kip Dynamite — Kip Dynamite is Napoleon Dynamite’s awkward older brother, played by Aaron Ruell. He is remembered for online chatting, door-to-door sales, and the romantic subplot involving LaFawnduh.

• Normal, Ohio — Normal, Ohio is a short-lived Fox sitcom set in the titular Midwestern town. The show starred John Goodman as Butch Gamble, a gay man returning to his hometown, with Anita Gillette and Joely Fisher in supporting roles.

• Off Centre — Off Centre was a short-lived WB sitcom about two Oxford roommates trying to find sex and romance in New York City. It starred Eddie Kaye Thomas and John Cho.

• One Day at a Time — One Day at a Time is a sitcom about a Cuban-American family that exists in both the Norman Lear original and the later Netflix revival. The revival centers on Lydia Riera and her family, while the earlier series starred Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother.

• Our Miss Brooks — Our Miss Brooks is a radio and television situation comedy about a sharp-tongued high school teacher. It starred Eve Arden and ran on radio in the late 1940s before moving to television in the 1950s.

• Out of This World — Out of This World is an 1980s sitcom about Evie Ethel Garland, a teenager who learns on her thirteenth birthday that her father is an alien named Troy. Her half-alien powers include stopping time, creating objects, and teleportation, and she communicates with Troy through a glowing cube.

• Outsourced — Outsourced is an NBC comedy set around a Kansas City novelties company that runs a call center in Mumbai. Its central figure is Todd Dempsy, who manages the outpost while the employees adjust to his cluelessly American workplace style.

• P.S.I. Luv U — P.S.I. Luv U was a short-lived crime-comedy television series starring Connie Sellecca and Greg Evigan. Sonny Bono appeared as the mayor of Palm Springs, and the title echoes an early Beatles song.

• Police Squad! — Police Squad! was the short-lived ABC cop spoof starring Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. Its opening credits famously killed off guest stars, and the show later inspired The Naked Gun films.
  • Frank Drebin — Frank Drebin is Leslie Nielsen’s deadpan police detective from Police Squad! and The Naked Gun films. The character is known for disguises such as Enrico Pallazzo and for outrageous comic confrontations with villains like Vincent Ludwig and Quentin Hapsburg.

• Sledge Hammer! — Sledge Hammer! is a 1980s police sitcom starring David Rasche as an absurdly violent detective with a beloved .44 Magnum. The show spoofed hard-boiled cop stories and became a cult favorite despite its short run.

• Small Wonder — Small Wonder was an early Fox sitcom about the Lawson family and the robot girl Vicki, or V.I.C.I., whom Ted Lawson secretly builds as a domestic aide. The show ran from 1985 to 1989 and is remembered for its creepy premise, the nosy neighbor Harriet, and Vanessa, Vicki’s evil twin.

• Soap
  • Benson — Benson is the sitcom spin-off of Soap that starred Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, the household manager for Governor Eugene Gatling. Its supporting cast included James Noble, Inga Swenson, Ethan Phillips, and later story lines involving the Gatling family.

• Something So Right — Something So Right is a short-lived sitcom about a newlywed couple who each have children and former spouses from previous marriages. The series starred Jere Burns and Mel Harris and is remembered as one of the longer-lasting shows in its set despite its brief run.

• Soul Man — Soul Man is a short-lived sitcom and the title of a film about a white student who darkens his skin to win a scholarship intended for Black applicants. The sitcom version was associated with Dan Aykroyd, while the movie is infamous for its racial premise.

• Taxi — Taxi is the sitcom about New York cab drivers who reported to Louie De Palma. It featured Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger, Danny DeVito as Louie, and characters like Latka and Reverend Jim.

  • Latka Gravas — Latka Gravas is the eccentric Eastern European mechanic on Taxi, played by Andy Kaufman. He is known for his foreign-man persona and his alter ego Vic Ferrari.

  • Louie De Palma — Louie De Palma is the abusive, short-statured dispatcher and boss of the Sunshine Cab Company on Taxi, played by Danny DeVito. He is one of the show’s most memorable comic characters.

• The Greatest American Hero — The Greatest American Hero is an early-1980s sitcom about Ralph, who gets an alien super-suit that lets him fly, turn invisible, and perform other feats. Its theme song begins, “Believe it or not, George isn’t at home,” as in the Seinfeld reference to George Costanza singing it on his answering machine.
  • Greatest American Hero — The Greatest American Hero was an early 1980s superhero sitcom starring William Katt. It is best remembered for its theme song, “Believe It or Not,” and for its premise about a man who cannot fully control the power of his suit.

• The I.T. Crowd — A British workplace sitcom set around the awkward, misfit IT support staff Roy, Moss, and Jen in the basement of Reynholm Industries. It starred Chris O’Dowd and Richard Ayoade, and featured Chris Morris as the reclusive goth Richmond. It was remembered for its absurd workplace comedy.

• The Young Ones — The Young Ones is the anarchic BBC2 sitcom about Mike, Neil, Vyvyan, and Rik, played by Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. It is remembered for absurd guest appearances, musical performances, and episodes that parody University Challenge and end in slapstick disaster.

• Who’s the Boss? — Who’s the Boss? is the sitcom starring Tony Danza as Tony Micelli, a retired baseball player who becomes a live-in housekeeper for Angela Bower. The show also centers on Tony’s daughter Samantha and the domestic comedy of the household setup.

• Whoopi — Whoopi is the short-lived NBC sitcom starring Whoopi Goldberg as Mavis Rae, a former singer who buys the Lamont Hotel. The show also featured characters such as Nasim and Courtney and was canceled after one season.

• Andy Griffith — Andy Griffith was the actor and singer best known for playing Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show and later Ben Matlock. He became a television icon through his small-town Southern roles. Clues may also note his earlier film work in A Face in the Crowd and his later gospel recording career.

• Bewitched — Bewitched is a 1960s sitcom about Samantha Stephens, a suburban witch who marries Darrin and uses nose-twitching magic. Its clue set includes Endora, Aunt Clara, Gladys Kravitz, and the recurring comic use of spells to split or transform ordinary people and situations.

  • Aunt Clara — Aunt Clara is Samantha’s absent-minded witch aunt on Bewitched. She is portrayed as bumbling and spell-prone, and is remembered for odd props like a handbag full of doorknobs.

  • Darrin Stephens — Darrin Stephens is the husband of Samantha in Bewitched, and he works for Larry Tate at McMann and Tate. The role was famously played by both Dick York and Dick Sargent, and he is often the target of spells and hexes with comic consequences.

  • Elizabeth Montgomery — Elizabeth Montgomery was the actress who played Samantha Stevens on Bewitched, her best-known television role. She also appeared in The Legend of Lizzie Borden and other television projects, and was married to producer William Asher during Bewitched.

  • Endora — Endora is Samantha’s powerful mother on Bewitched. She is a witch who disapproves of Samantha’s marriage to mortal Darrin Stephens and frequently clashes with him.

• Father Knows Best — Father Knows Best is the family sitcom about Jim Anderson, his wife Margaret, and their children Betty, Bud, and Kathy. It began on radio before moving to television, where Robert Young played the patriarch in Springfield, Illinois.
  • Father Knows Best of the Worst — Father Knows Best of the Worst appears to be a title involving Robert Young and Greg Kinnear. The evidence suggests a presentation or parody centered on the classic family show Father Knows Best and a collection of very bad clips.
• Green Acres — Green Acres is the CBS rural sitcom about Manhattanites Oliver and Lisa Douglas who move to Hooterville to farm. Its surreal humor includes Arnold Ziffel the pig, Mr. Haney, and absurd dishes like hot water soup and square eggs. The show was canceled during the 1960s rural purge.
  • Arnold Ziffel — Arnold Ziffel is the pig from Green Acres who is treated as if he were a human member of the Hooterville household. He is remembered for watching television, understanding English, playing cricket, and appearing in surreal comic scenes with Lisa Douglas.

• Hydro Thunder — Hydro Thunder is a Midway arcade and Dreamcast boat-racing game built around high-speed powerboats and boost items. It features hidden vehicles and tracks, including the Tiny Titanic and the Chumdinger, and later inspired a sequel called Hurricane.

• I Dream of Jeannie — I Dream of Jeannie is the Sidney Sheldon sitcom about astronaut Tony Nelson, a NASA major who discovers a genie living in a bottle. The show is set around Cocoa Beach, features Dr. Bellows’s suspicions, and made Barbara Eden’s title character famous for the forbidden navel.
  • Jeannie — Jeannie is the title genie from I Dream of Jeannie, the sitcom starring Barbara Eden. She is usually identified by her pink smoke entrance, bottle-home, and relationship with astronaut Tony Nelson.
• The Beverly Hillbillies — The 1960s rural sitcom about Jed Clampett and his family, who strike oil, become rich, and move to California. It was once the top-rated show on television before CBS ended its run. Its theme song was “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” and its cast included Granny, Jethro, Mr. Drysdale, and Miss Hathaway.

  • Elly May Clampett — Elly May Clampett is the animal-loving daughter of Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. Played by Donna Douglas, she is remembered for her country skills, strong throwing arm, and ability to outwrestle men.

  • Jethro Bodine — Jethro Bodine is the Clampetts’ bumbling relation from The Beverly Hillbillies, famous for bragging about his imagined sophistication and for courting Jane Hathaway. He is Jed Clampett’s nephew in one version of the family description and a cousin in another, and he is typically portrayed as a dimwitted schemer.

• Absolutely Fabulous — Absolutely Fabulous is a British sitcom about the outrageously self-indulgent Edina Monsoon and her friend Patsy, played by Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. The show is known for its fashion-world satire, heavy drinking, celebrity cameos, and recurring chaos involving Edina’s daughter Saffron.
  • Characters
    • Edwina ‘Eddy’ Margaret Rose Monsoon — Edwina ‘Eddy’ Margaret Rose Monsoon is the flamboyant, self-absorbed central character of Absolutely Fabulous. She is the daughter played by Jennifer Saunders in the sitcom and is usually called Eddy.
  • Eurydice Colette Clytemnestra Dido Bathsheba Rabelais Patricia ‘Patsy’ Cocteau Stone — This is the extravagant, perpetually fashion-conscious character Patsy Stone from Absolutely Fabulous, played by Joanna Lumley.
• Diff’rent Strokes — Diff’rent Strokes is the television sitcom centered on the wealthy Drummond family and their adopted sons. It is remembered for Gary Coleman’s catchphrase, “What’chu talkin’ bout, Willis?”, and for its theme song, “It Takes Diff’rent Strokes,” which begins, “Now the world don’t move to the beat of just one drum.”

  • Dana Plato — Dana Plato was the child actress best known for playing Kimberly Drummond on Diff’rent Strokes. After the show she struggled with notoriety, appeared in softcore material and Playboy, and died of a drug overdose in 1999.

  • The Facts of Life — The Facts of Life is an NBC sitcom spun off from Diff’rent Strokes that follows Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie at Mrs. Garrett’s boarding school. Its theme song became widely recognizable, and the series was one of the long-running network comedies of the 1980s.

    • Dorothy “Tootie” Ramsey — Dorothy “Tootie” Ramsey is a child character from The Facts of Life, one of the girls under Edna’s care alongside Blair and Natalie. She is known for the catchphrase “there’s gonna be trouble!”

    • Edna Garrett — Edna Garrett is a television character best known as the housekeeper from Diff’rent Strokes and later as the central figure of The Facts of Life. She later married and left for Africa, and was played by Charlotte Rae.

    • Lisa Whelchel — Lisa Whelchel played Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. She later became known for conservative parenting advocacy and for her book Creative Correction, which promoted “hotsaucing” as discipline.

  • Willis Jackson — Willis Jackson is the younger brother on Diff’rent Strokes, played by Todd Bridges. He is the character whose catchphrase asks for the object of his discourse, and the clues also reference school controversy and his relationship with Charlene.
• Happy Days — Happy Days is the nostalgia sitcom set in mid-century America that introduced Fonzie and boosted the phrase “jump the shark.” The show began as a 1950s-family comedy centered on Richie Cunningham before shifting toward Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli.

  • Arthur Fonzarelli — Arthur Fonzarelli, better known as Fonzie or the Fonz, is Henry Winkler’s leather-jacketed greaser character from Happy Days. He became one of the show’s central and most recognizable figures, famous for his cool persona, snap-finger mannerisms, punching Arnold’s jukebox to fix it, and the episode associated with “jumping the shark.”

  • Chuck Cunningham — Chuck Cunningham is Richie Cunningham’s older brother on Happy Days, famous for disappearing from the show without explanation. The character’s name became shorthand for a person or plotline that is abruptly written out.
    • Buy More — Buy More is the fictional electronics chain in Chuck where Chuck Bartowski works with the Nerd Herd. The store is managed by Big Mike and serves as the main workplace setting for the series.

  • Joanie Loves Chachi — Joanie Loves Chachi was the short-lived Happy Days spinoff starring Erin Moran and Scott Baio. It followed the title couple’s move to Chicago and became famous for the Korean-language urban legend about the show’s title.

  • Jump the Shark — Jump the shark is a phrase for the moment when a television series starts to decline sharply in quality. The expression comes from Happy Days, where Fonzie waterskied over a shark.

  • The Happy Days Game — The Happy Days Game is a board game themed around the television series Happy Days. Its gameplay includes board spaces and a chance device, with players gaining “cool points” as they move through retro hangouts.

  • Arnold’s Drive-In — Arnold’s Drive-In is the Happy Days hangout in Milwaukee associated with Richie, Potsie, and the Fonz. The restaurant changed hands after the original owner and later Al Delvecchio ran it, and it became a familiar setting for the series.
• Hyphy
  • Ghost Riding the Whip — A Bay Area hyphy dance stunt in which a driver puts a car in neutral, gets out, and dances on or around the moving vehicle. It originated in Northern California and became nationally visible in the 2000s through music and media coverage, including hip-hop songs such as E-40’s “Tell Me When to Go.”

• Petticoat Junction — Petticoat Junction is the sitcom set in Hooterville around the Shady Rest Hotel and the Bradley family. It centers on Kate Bradley and her three daughters. The show is also remembered for a cast change after a death and replacement by June Lockhart’s Dr. Janet Craig.

• Petticoat Junction and Green Acres
  • Hooterville — Hooterville is the fictional rural town shared by Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. It is remembered for the Shady Rest Hotel and the C.F. & W. railroad station.
• The Jeffersons — The Jeffersons is the Norman Lear sitcom about George and Louise Jefferson, an upwardly mobile Black couple living in a Manhattan high-rise. It ran on CBS from 1975 to 1985 and became known for the theme of “moving on up.”

  • Florence Johnston — Florence Johnston is the sharp-tongued housekeeper on The Jeffersons, played by Marla Gibbs. She later appeared in the short-lived spinoff Checking In and is remembered for her banter with George Jefferson.

  • George Jefferson — George Jefferson is the television patriarch from All in the Family and The Jeffersons, played by Sherman Hemsley. He is best known for moving his family into a high-rise apartment and for the theme-song boast that he was finally getting a piece of the pie.

  • Isabel Sanford — American actress best known for playing Louise Jefferson on The Jeffersons. Her earlier stage and film work included The Amen Corner and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and she was one of the first Black women to win an Emmy.

• Three’s Company — Three’s Company is a sitcom about Jack Tripper, Chrissy, Janet, and their landlord disputes at the Regal Beagle-era apartment complex. It later spawned spin-offs including The Ropers and Three’s a Crowd.

  • Chrissy Snow — Chrissy Snow is the bubbly roommate from Three’s Company, played by Suzanne Somers. She was originally named Samantha in a pilot version, later wrote out of the show, and was eventually replaced by her cousin Cindy.

  • Jack Tripper — Jack Tripper is the main character played by John Ritter on Three’s Company. He pretends to be gay so he can live with two women, a premise that drives much of the sitcom’s comedy.

  • The Regal Beagle — The Regal Beagle is the bar from Three’s Company where Jack Tripper, Larry Dallas, and their friends spent time. It is remembered as the swinging neighborhood establishment with waitresses and recurring bartender characters.

• Hyrule Warriors — Hyrule Warriors is a crossover action game that combines Dynasty Warriors gameplay with characters and settings from The Legend of Zelda. It features playable heroes such as Link and Ganondorf, and its story centers on Cia opening the Gate of Souls and threatening Hyrule.

• M*A*S*H
  • Crabapple Cove, Maine — Crabapple Cove, Maine is the hometown associated with Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H. It is remembered as the fictional Maine town repeatedly cited in questions about the character’s background.
• According to Jim — According to Jim is the ABC sitcom starring James Belushi as Jim, a Chicago-area family man whose wife is Cheryl. The show follows his chaotic home life with their children and his brother-in-law Andy, and it features the construction company Ground Up.
  • Cheryl — Cheryl is Jim’s wife on According to Jim, played by Courtney Thorne-Smith. The evidence here does not distinguish the character from other uses of the name, but it clearly matches that sitcom role.
• Barney Miller — Barney Miller is the 1970s police-station sitcom set around a New York precinct captain played by Hal Linden. Its ensemble included Abe Vigoda as Phil Fish and characters like Dietrich and Harris, and it was praised as a realistic cop show.
  • Phil Fish — Phil Fish is the grumpy detective played by Abe Vigoda on Barney Miller. The character is remembered for his retirement fixation, his irritability, and his habit of disappearing to the bathroom at the precinct.
• Coach — Coach is the sitcom centered on Hayden Fox and his football team, the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles. The title character was later played by Craig T. Nelson, and the show eventually moved its characters to Orlando. The term also appears in a sketch-comedy character who uses absurd dance routines to motivate young people.

  • Hayden Fox — Hayden Fox is the head coach at Minnesota State in the sitcom Coach. The role was played by Craig T. Nelson, who won an Emmy for the character.

  • Minnesota State — Minnesota State, also called the Screamin’ Eagles, is the fictional college football team from Coach. Under Hayden Fox, the team is remembered for bowl-game success and a national championship before he leaves for the Orlando Breakers.

  • Orlando Breakers — The Orlando Breakers were the fictional NFL expansion team coached by Hayden Fox on Coach. They appeared in the final two seasons of the series after Fox left Minnesota State.

• Head of the Class — Head of the Class is an 1980s sitcom about Charlie Moore teaching gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program at Millard Fillmore High School. The ensemble included characters such as Dennis Blunden, Janice Lazarotto, and Sarah Nevins, and it starred Howard Hesseman.
  • Charlie Moore — Charlie Moore is the fictional history teacher played by Howard Hesseman on Head of the Class. The name also belongs to a Boston fisherman known as the “Mad Fisherman” and host of an ESPN outdoor challenge show.
• Ian Fleming
  • Casino Royale
    • Le Chiffre — Le Chiffre is a recurring James Bond villain, most famously the casino adversary in Casino Royale. In the 2006 film version he is a financier tied to terrorist money and loses a high-stakes poker game to Bond. The character first appeared in the original novel and has been adapted in several Bond incarnations.
• Perfect Strangers — Perfect Strangers is the ABC sitcom about Larry Appleton and his cousin Balki Bartokomous, who share an apartment in Chicago. It is known for the “Dance of Joy” and for Balki’s Myposian background.

  • Balki Bartokomous — Balki Bartokomous is the Myposian cousin who moves in with Larry Appleton on Perfect Strangers, bringing his outsider’s view of Chicago. He works at places like a store and the Chicago Chronicle, celebrates with the “Dance of Joy,” dates Mary Anne, and is played by Bronson Pinchot.

  • Mypos — Mypos is the fictional Mediterranean island homeland of Balki Bartokomous in Perfect Strangers. It is described as a sheep-herding nation whose culture is presented with comic, lightly Greek-inspired details.

• Welcome Back, Kotter — Welcome Back, Kotter is the ABC sitcom about Gabe Kaplan as a teacher returning to a New York high school to deal with the Sweathogs. The show is especially remembered for Vinnie Barbarino, Horshack, Epstein, Washington, and its theme song by John Sebastian.

  • Horshack — Horshack is the exuberant Sweathog from Welcome Back, Kotter, remembered for shouting his catchphrase in class. He was played by Ron Palillo.

  • The SWEATHOGS — The Sweathogs are the Brooklyn high-school group from the television series Welcome Back, Kotter. The gang includes Vinnie Barbarino and Horshack among its most recognizable members.

  • Vinnie Barbarino — Vinnie Barbarino is the Sweathog character played by John Travolta on Welcome Back, Kotter. He is the loudmouthed Buchanan High student known for wisecracks and rhyming insults such as ‘Up your nose with a rubber hose.’

• Boston Legal — Boston Legal is David E. Kelley’s legal dramedy starring William Shatner as Denny Crane and James Spader as Alan Shore. A spinoff of The Practice, it follows the staff of a Boston law firm and is famous for Denny Crane’s eccentric courtroom style.
  • Alan Shore — Alan Shore is the fast-talking lawyer played by James Spader on Boston Legal and The Practice. He is known for flamboyant speeches, eccentric personal habits, and his friendship with Denny Crane.

• Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper — Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper is a 1990s sitcom starring Mark Curry as a former NBA player who becomes a substitute teacher and coach. The show is set in Oakland and later added Raven-Symoné and Mo’Nique to the cast, with Curry playing the title character.

• Improv comedians

  • Colin Andrew Mochrie — Colin Mochrie is a Canadian improv comedian best known for Whose Line Is It Anyway? He is a frequent target of bald jokes on the show and often plays exaggerated scene roles opposite Ryan Stiles.

  • Sal Vulcano — Sal Vulcano is a member of The Tenderloins and one of the stars of Impractical Jokers. He is often singled out for punishment on the show and is known for being a germaphobe and for his fear of cats.

• Stark Raving Mad — Stark Raving Mad was a 1999 NBC sitcom starring Neil Patrick Harris and Tony Shalhoub. The show paired Harris’s neat-freak editor Henry McNealy with Shalhoub’s eccentric horror writer Ian Stark.

• Steve Smith
  • The Red Green Show — This Canadian sitcom is set around the residents of Possum Lodge and stars the duct-tape-obsessed handyman Red Green, played by Steve Smith. It is remembered for jokes about improvised repairs and for the slogan that if women do not find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.
    • Red Green — Red Green is the duct-tape-loving host of The Red Green Show, a Canadian comedy series. He is famous for his handyman persona, suspenders, and the motto that if women do not find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

• The League — The League is an FX comedy centered on a group of friends who obsess over fantasy football. Its absurd running jokes include the Shiva, Taco’s disguises, and Ruxin’s constant scheming.

• Arrested Development (TV series)
  • Arrested Development — Arrested Development is the Fox/Netflix sitcom about the dysfunctional Bluth family. Its running gags include Gob’s magician antics, Buster’s hand loss to a loose seal, the chicken dance, and the family’s many ridiculous schemes.

    • Bluth family — The Bluth family are the dysfunctional center of Arrested Development, the sitcom whose running jokes include Gob’s “loose seal” hand injury and recurring Blue Man Group and chicken-call bits. The family’s absurd California misadventures also include George Sr.’s legal troubles and the model home that becomes a symbol of the show’s collapsing fortunes.

    • Bob Loblaw — Bob Loblaw is the Bluth family lawyer on Arrested Development, played by Scott Baio. He is remembered for his law blog, his commercial catchphrases, and his replacement of Barry Zuckerkorn.

    • Byron “Buster” Bluth — Byron “Buster” Bluth is one of the Bluth siblings on Arrested Development, played by Tony Hale. He loses his hand to a seal and later uses a hook, with his awkward family ties and military fixation defining the character.

    • Franklin Comes Alive! — Franklin Comes Alive! is a parody album associated with a crude puppet character from Arrested Development. Its songs spoof soft rock and include a cover of Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do (I Do It for You) and the single It Ain’t Easy Bein’ White.

    • Franklin Delano Bluth — Franklin Delano Bluth is the offensive Black ventriloquist puppet used by G.O.B. on Arrested Development. He appears in recurring sketches that parody stereotypes and is sometimes identified as the mysterious Mr. F.

    • George Michael Bluth — George Michael Bluth is Michael Bluth’s son on Arrested Development. He is known for his crush on Ann Veal and for sharing a name with the Wham! singer George Michael.

    • Michael Bluth — Michael Bluth is the earnest businessman at the center of Arrested Development. He is the father of George Michael and the brother whose lost wife and long-missing sister drive much of the family plot.

    • Mock Trial with J. Reinhold — Mock Trial with J. Reinhold is a fictional television show hosted in the style of a courtroom program and named for Judge Reinhold. It is associated with an in-universe last-minute title change, William Hung and the Hung Jury, and Arrested Development’s parody appearance.

    • Steve Holt — Steve Holt is the overenthusiastic high school athlete from Arrested Development who constantly shouts his own name. He briefly runs for student body president and is later revealed to be GOB’s son and Maeby’s cousin.

    • Tobias Fünke — Tobias Fünke is the hapless former psychiatrist and aspiring actor from Arrested Development. He is remembered for his blue-body paint, failed hair-related schemes, and the line “I blue myself.” Played by David Cross, he is Lindsay Bluth’s husband, a Never Nude, and the author of The Man Inside Me.

    • Tony Wonder — Tony Wonder is the flamboyant magician rival of Gob in Arrested Development. Played by Ben Stiller, he is remembered for elaborate stage antics and an absurdly intense rivalry with Gob.

• Baby Bob — Baby Bob was a CBS sitcom about a talking toddler, starring Adam Arkin and Joely Fisher. It aired in the early 2000s and was promoted as a quirky family comedy.

• Back to You — Back to You is the short-lived Fox sitcom about rival Pittsburgh news anchors played by Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. The title also matches a separate pop song duet by Louis and Bebe Rexha.

• Better Off Ted — Better Off Ted is an ABC sitcom set at the corporation Veridian Dynamics, where the title character works in research and development. The show stars Jay Harrington and Portia de Rossi as Ted and Veronica, and centers on absurd corporate culture and office politics.
  • Veridian Dynamics — Veridian Dynamics is the fictional multinational company at the center of Better Off Ted. Its in-universe advertising promotes absurd products and slogans, and the company is identified by a red triangle logo.
• Black Books — Black Books is a British sitcom about Bernard Black, whose used bookstore is staffed by the clueless Manny. The show’s comedy comes from Bernard’s misanthropy and the store’s constant disasters and odd customers.
  • Dave’s Syndrome — Dave’s Syndrome is the fictional condition from Black Books that affects Manny, Bernard Black’s colleague. Its symptoms are triggered by heat and are associated with Manny’s efforts to avoid overheating, including improvised cooling devices.
• Black-ish — Black-ish is the ABC sitcom about a wealthy African-American family centered on advertising executive Dre and anesthesiologist Bow, played by Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross. The series features recurring roles for Raven-Symoné and Daveed Diggs and follows the Johnson family through contemporary issues such as police brutality.

  • Grown-ish — Grown-ish is a spinoff series centered on Zoey Johnson from Black-ish as she navigates college life. The show features characters such as the track-star twins Sky and Jazz Forster.

  • Zoey Johnson — Zoey Johnson is the eldest daughter of Dre and Rainbow Johnson on Black-ish. Yara Shahidi also plays her in the spin-off Grown-ish, where she attends Cal U and meets classmates such as Aaron and Ana.

• Bob Patterson — Bob Patterson is a short-lived ABC sitcom about a motivational speaker played by Jason Alexander. The title character is a self-help guru, and the show is often remembered as one of Alexander’s post-Seinfeld misfires.

• Bosom Buddies — Bosom Buddies is the early-1980s sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari as Henry and Kip, two men who disguise themselves as women to live in a cheap apartment building and later at the Susan B. Anthony Hotel. The show is remembered for its cross-dressing premise and for the characters Buffy and Hildegard, names used while they are in drag.

• Boy Meets World — Boy Meets World is a 1990s ABC sitcom about Cory Matthews, his family, and his friends as they grow up. It features Mr. Feeny, Topanga, Shawn, and episodes set around the Matthews family’s moves from school to Pennbrook University and beyond.

  • George Feeny — George Feeny is the teacher and neighbor on Boy Meets World played by William Daniels. He follows Cory Matthews through school, later teaches at Pennbrook College, and closes the series with the line, “I love you all…class dismissed.”

  • Topanga Lawrence — Topanga Lawrence is the free-spirited girl from Boy Meets World who becomes Cory Matthews’s girlfriend and later wife. She starts out as a vegetarian outsider and eventually chooses Pennbrook College over Yale.

• Chico and the Man — Chico and the Man was the East Los Angeles sitcom starring Freddie Prinze as Chico and Jack Albertson as garage owner Ed Brown. The show is remembered for Prinze’s death in 1977 and for the short-lived replacement storyline involving a young stowaway and Charo. Quiz clues often focus on the suicide of Freddie Prinze and the replacement of the title character’s dynamic after his death. It is a common answer when asked about TV comedies set in a Mexican-American neighborhood.
  • Chico and the Man Who Knew Too Much — Chico and the Man Who Knew Too Much appears to combine the title of the TV series Chico and the Man with Hitchcock’s spy thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much. The clue points to a title built from those two well-known works.

• Corner Gas — Corner Gas is a Canadian sitcom set in Dog River, Saskatchewan, and centered on a gas station owned by Brent Butt’s character. Its recurring characters include Brent, Wanda, Lacey, and Davis.

• Cougar Town — Cougar Town is the sitcom created by Bill Lawrence that stars Courteney Cox as Jules Cobb, a divorced single mother in Florida. The show centers on Jules’s wine-soaked suburban life and features characters like Bobby Cobb and her best friend Ellie.

• Daddio — Daddio is a short-lived 2000 NBC sitcom starring Michael Chiklis as Chris Woods. The show centers on a father who leaves his job to stay home with his family.

• Dad’s Army — Dad’s Army is the BBC sitcom about Captain Mainwaring and his inept Home Guard platoon. It is famous for catchphrases such as “Don’t tell ’em, Pike!”, “We’re doomed!”, and “Don’t panic!” and for the theme song “Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr. Hitler?”

• Danny — Danny is the title character of a short-lived CBS sitcom about a single parent who runs a neighborhood recreation center. The name also appears as a common first name in fiction, including a white boy in American Born Chinese and the secret identity of Iron Fist.

• Dave Barry
  • Dave’s World — Dave’s World was a sitcom starring Harry Anderson as a version of Dave Barry living as a newspaper columnist. It was based on Barry’s newspaper writing and adapted from his comic persona.
• Designing Women — Designing Women is the Atlanta-set sitcom about the Sugarbaker sisters and their design firm. It featured Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo, Charlene, and Anthony Bouvier, and is remembered for its political monologues and episodes touching on issues like AIDS.
  • Women of the House — Women of the House is a 1994 TV sitcom that follows Suzanne Sugarbaker after she finishes her husband’s congressional term in Washington. It continues the storyline of Designing Women and features a political and social comedy setup around her new congressional role.
• Disney Channel sitcoms
  • Even Stevens — Even Stevens is the Disney Channel sitcom about siblings Ren and Louis, played by Christy Carlson Romano and Shia LaBeouf, whose antics drive much of the show’s comedy. It also features side characters such as Twitty, Beans, Donny, and the overachiever Ren’s foil Louis in the Stevens family setting.

• Drexell’s Class — Drexell’s Class is a 1991 sitcom about a former stockbroker who becomes an elementary school teacher. The show centered on an Iowa fifth-grade classroom and featured Brittany Murphy, Edie McClurg, and Jason Biggs.

• Emeril — Emeril is the short-lived NBC sitcom built around celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. The series featured his signature “Bam!” persona and also starred Robert Urich in one of his final regular television roles.

• Emily’s Reasons Why Not — Emily’s Reasons Why Not was the short-lived ABC comedy starring Heather Graham as a self-help writer struggling in romance. Its single aired episode left the series canceled almost immediately, though additional unaired episodes were produced.

• Empty Nest — Empty Nest was a sitcom spun off from The Golden Girls and centered on Dr. Harry Weston and his daughters. The show starred Richard Mulligan and later featured Park Overall, David Leisure, Estelle Getty, and other recurring Golden Girls connections.

• Evening Shade — Evening Shade is an early-1990s CBS sitcom set in an Arkansas town and starring Burt Reynolds as a small-town football coach. The show’s title came from an Arkansas place name suggested to title-match the idea of small-town life.

• Everybody Loves Raymond — Everybody Loves Raymond is the CBS sitcom starring Ray Romano as sportswriter Ray Barone, with Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, and Doris Roberts among its major cast. It ran from 1996 to 2005 and later inspired a Russian adaptation called Voroniny.

  • Debra — Debra is the wife of Ray Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. The name also appears in Beck’s “Debra,” a song from Midnite Vultures.

  • Robert Barone — Robert Barone is the older brother on Everybody Loves Raymond, a New York police officer played by Brad Garrett. His character is defined by awkward habits, a long stay in his parents’ house, and a comic family life with Amy and Joanne.

• F Troop — F Troop is a 1960s Western sitcom set at Fort Courage, where Captain Wilton Parmenter commands a motley Army unit. It features Sgt. O’Rourke, the Hekawi, and other comic variations on frontier military life.

• Family Affair — “Family Affair” is a 1970s sitcom about Uncle Bill, Mr. French, and the children Buffy, Jody, and Cissy. The title is also a hit song by Sly and the Family Stone that was later sampled by Wyclef Jean.

• Family Matters — Family Matters was an ABC/CBS sitcom spun off from Perfect Strangers and centered on the Winslow family and Steve Urkel. The show ran for nine seasons, featured Reginald VelJohnson and Jaleel White, and ended with a return-from-space plotline in its finale.

  • Stefan Urquelle — Stefan Urquelle is the suave alter ego of Steve Urkel on Family Matters. He appears as a more polished, fashion-model persona whose existence becomes permanent after a transformation-machine storyline.

  • Steve Urkel — Steve Urkel is the breakout nerd character from Family Matters, played by Jaleel White. He is known for his glasses, suspenders, clumsy catchphrases, and his transformation into the suave Stefan Urquelle.

• Father Ted — Father Ted is the Irish sitcom set on remote Craggy Island, where the priests Ted Crilly, Dougal McGuire, and Jack Hackett share a parish house. The series centers on Ted’s failed attempts at dignity amid absurd routines, including the memorably titled “My Lovely Horse” and his claim that stolen charity money was only “resting” in his account.

• Four Kings — Four Kings was an NBC sitcom about four childhood friends sharing an apartment. Seth Green starred in the show, which aired in the mid-2000s.

• Frasier — Frasier is the sitcom about psychiatrist Frasier Crane, his brother Niles, their father Martin, and radio station KACL in Seattle. Its café setting, Café Nervosa, is one of the show’s most recognizable recurring locations.

  • Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe — Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe is the macho sports-show host from Frasier’s KACL station. He is known for his crude catchphrase, his attempts to impress Roz, and his exaggerated on-air persona.

  • Cafe Nervosa — Cafe Nervosa is the coffeehouse in Frasier just across from the KACL radio studios, where Niles and Martin often spend time.

  • Cam Winston — Cam Winston is Frasier’s deep-voiced upstairs neighbor and recurring rival. He is remembered for snobbery and for hanging an American flag over Frasier’s balcony.

  • Daphne Moon — Manchester-born physical therapist on Frasier, played by Jane Leeves. She marries Niles Crane after a long relationship arc that also involves Donny Douglas, family psychics, and her large, eccentric working-class family, including her brother Billy.

  • David Hyde Pierce — David Hyde Pierce won Emmys for playing Dr. Niles Crane on Frasier. David E. Kelley created or executive-produced shows including L.A. Law, Picket Fences, The Practice, and Ally McBeal, while David Greene won directing Emmys for Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots.

  • Dr. Niles Crane — Dr. Niles Crane is the psychiatrist brother of Frasier Crane on Frasier. He is an Ivy League-trained snob whose romantic life and family comic mishaps are central to the show.

  • Frasier (Winslow) Crane — Frasier Crane is the radio psychiatrist played by Kelsey Grammer, first known from Cheers and later the title character of Frasier. He is remembered for his poised delivery, his catchphrase “I’m listening,” and long-running family and workplace comedy plots.

  • Frasier Crane — Frasier Crane is the psychiatrist and later radio and TV host played by Kelsey Grammer on Cheers and Frasier. He first appeared on Cheers and later finished his run in the Frasier finale set in Seattle.

  • Maris Crane — Maris Crane is Niles Crane’s unseen first wife on Frasier. She is portrayed as wealthy, fragile, and absurdly high-maintenance, with jokes about her family fortune and medical limitations.

  • Martin Crane — Martin Crane is the retired police father from Frasier, known for his recliner, his dog Eddie, and his no-nonsense sports fandom. He was shot in the hip while on duty and lives with his sons Frasier and Niles in the sitcom’s central family dynamic.

  • Niles Crane — Niles Crane is Frasier’s younger brother on Frasier, played by David Hyde Pierce. He is known for his refined tastes, his marriage to the unseen Maris, and his long-running obsession with Daphne Moon.

  • Roz Doyle — Roz Doyle is the radio producer on Frasier, played by Peri Gilpin. She is one of the central supporting characters around Frasier Crane’s on-air advice show, where the phrase “Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs” is a recurring reference.

• Freaks and Geeks — Freaks and Geeks was Judd Apatow’s short-lived NBC series about the Weir siblings and their friends at McKinley High School in the 1980s. Its cast included James Franco, Seth Rogen, and John Francis Daley, and it became a cult favorite despite cancellation after one season.

• Fresh Off the Boat — Fresh Off the Boat is an ABC sitcom about a Taiwanese-American family who move to Orlando, where the father opens a steakhouse called Cattleman’s Ranch. The series stars Randall Park and Constance Wu, and it follows Eddie Huang’s family as they navigate suburban life in the 1990s.

• Fresh Prince of Bel-Air — The sitcom follows Will Smith’s West Philadelphia teenager sent to live with wealthy relatives in Bel-Air, Los Angeles. It starred Will Smith and featured Geoffrey Butler, Jazz, and Banks family members including Carlton, Hilary, Ashley, and Uncle Phil; the ensemble cast also included James Avery and Alfonso Ribeiro. It became known for its theme song.

  • Alfonso Ribeiro — Alfonso Ribeiro is an American actor and dancer best known for playing Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He later hosted game and reality shows and became closely associated with the “Carlton” dance.

  • Carlton Banks — Carlton Banks is Will Smith’s cousin on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, played by Alfonso Ribeiro. He is famous for his dance to Tom Jones’s “It’s Not Unusual”.

• Friday Night Dinner — Friday Night Dinner is a Channel 4 sitcom about the Goodman family and their weekly Shabbat meal. Its comic scenarios include the frozen fox, the eccentric neighbor Jim Bell, and the family’s recurring misunderstandings and disasters.

• Full House — The ABC sitcom about Danny Tanner raising his three daughters—D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle—after the death of Pam Tanner, with help from Joey Gladstone and Jesse Katsopolis. Michelle Tanner is the youngest child and is played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The show later inspired the reboot Fuller House.
  • Characters
    • Kimmy Gibbler — D.J. Tanner’s eccentric best friend on Full House, played by Andrea Barber. She is portrayed as a goofy but loyal neighbor who spends much of her time with the Tanner family. She also appears in Fuller House, where she moves into the Tanner home after D.J.’s husband dies.

  • Danny Tanner — Danny Tanner is the widowed father from Full House, played by Bob Saget. He is closely associated with the in-universe morning show Wake Up San Francisco and its later replacement by Mario Lopez’s character in Fuller House.

  • Jodie Sweetin — Jodie Sweetin is an American actress best known for playing Stephanie Tanner on Full House. Her later personal struggles often appear in questions alongside her childhood role on the sitcom.

  • Uncle Jesse Katsopolis — Uncle Jesse Katsopolis is the Elvis-loving character from Full House, played by John Stamos. He changes his name from Hermes; his surname was changed from Cochran to Katsopolis to make the character sound more Greek. He moves in with Danny Tanner after Pam’s death and fronts bands such as the Rippers and Hot Daddy and the Monkey Puppets.

  • Wake Up, San Francisco — Wake Up, San Francisco is the in-universe morning talk show hosted by Danny Tanner and Rebecca Donaldson on Full House. It functions as the fictional workplace that frames Becky and Danny’s on-air partnership.
• Golden Girls — The Golden Girls is the NBC sitcom about four older women sharing a home in Miami, starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty. It is remembered for Blanche’s housemate ad, Dorothy’s deadpan wit, and the theme song “Thank You for Being a Friend.”

  • Blanche Devereaux — Blanche Devereaux is the Southern belle from The Golden Girls, played by Rue McClanahan, and known for openly boasting about her romantic exploits. Her family background and eccentric relatives are also part of her character profile, including siblings such as Clayton, Virginia, and Charmaine.

  • Rose Nylund — Rose Nylund is the naïve, cheerful Golden Girl played by Betty White, famous for her long stories about St. Olaf. Her backstory places her as the daughter of a monk and a monastery cook before she later marries Charles Nylund.

  • Sophia Petrillo — Sophia Petrillo is Dorothy’s sharp-tongued Sicilian mother on The Golden Girls, played by Estelle Getty. She is known for her purse, stories about Sicily, and threats of being sent back to Shady Pines.

  • St. Olaf — St. Olaf is the fictional Norwegian-style hometown of Rose on The Golden Girls, remembered for absurd stories and its “cradle of idiocy” reputation. The name also refers to King Olaf II of Norway, the canonized ruler associated with Christianizing Norway and the namesake of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

• Good Luck Charlie — Good Luck Charlie is a Disney Channel sitcom about the Duncan family, centered on teenager Teddy Duncan and her video diary for her younger sister Charlie. The family includes Bob, a pest-control businessman, and Amy, a nurse, and the show follows the arrival of the youngest child Toby.

• Good Morning Miami — Good Morning Miami was the NBC sitcom about Jake Silver, a TV producer trying to revive a low-rated morning show in Florida. It starred Mark Feuerstein, Suzanne Pleshette, and Ashley Williams, and ran in the early 2000s.

• Growing Pains — Growing Pains is the 1980s sitcom about the Seaver family, starring Alan Thicke and Kirk Cameron. It is remembered for the theme song “Show Me That Smile Again,” the character Boner, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s later role as Luke.

  • Boner — Boner is the nickname of Richard, Mike Seaver’s best friend on Growing Pains.

  • Just the Ten of Us — Just the Ten of Us was a TGIF sitcom spin-off of Growing Pains about Coach Graham Lubbock, his wife, and their eight children. The show was set at St. Augustine’s Academy and featured actress Heather Langenkamp among its cast.

  • Seaver — The Seaver family is the central family on Growing Pains, led by Dr. Jason Seaver and his wife Maggie. Their children include Mike, Carol, Ben, and Chrissy.

• Hearts Afire — Hearts Afire is the early-1990s CBS sitcom starring John Ritter and Markie Post as a senator’s aide and press secretary, with Billy Bob Thornton in the supporting cast. The show began in Washington, D.C., then shifted to a small-town setting in Missouri, and later featured a largely revamped cast.

• Heil, Honey I’m Home — Heil Honey, I’m Home! was a short-lived British sitcom satirically centered on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. Its only aired episode involved Neville Chamberlain as a dinner guest, and the series was canceled after one episode.

• Hello, Larry — Hello, Larry is the sitcom starring McLean Stevenson as a divorced Portland radio talk show host. It is remembered as a short-lived post-M*A*S*H vehicle that also featured Meadowlark Lemon as a recurring character.

• Henry Danger — Henry Danger is a Nickelodeon sitcom about a teenager who becomes Captain Man’s sidekick while hiding the job from his friends. It stars Jace Norman as Henry Hart and features villains such as The Toddler.

• Hi Honey, I’m Home! — Hi Honey, I’m Home! is a short-lived 1992 ABC sitcom about a TV family that is moved into a normal neighborhood after their show is canceled. Nick at Nite promoted it as an “instant rerun” and replayed it after the premiere.

• Hiller and Diller — Hiller and Diller was a short-lived 1997 ABC sitcom about two comedy writers played by Richard Lewis and Kevin Nealon.

• Hogan’s Heroes — Hogan’s Heroes was a 1960s sitcom set in a German prisoner-of-war camp called Stalag 13 during World War II. Its comic cast included Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz, with Schultz famously insisting that he knew nothing.

  • Colonel Crittenden — This British officer on Hogan’s Heroes is the bumbling rival played by Bernard Fox. He outranks Hogan by seniority while sharing the same rank and repeatedly appears around Stalag 13.

  • Colonel Klink — Colonel Klink is the inept commandant of Stalag 13 on Hogan’s Heroes, played by Werner Klemperer. He is often remembered for his monocle, terrible violin playing, and constant attempts to control the POWs despite his own incompetence.

  • Colonel Wilhelm Klink — Colonel Wilhelm Klink is the bumbling commandant of Hogan’s Heroes, usually shown with a monocle. Werner Klemperer played him, and the character is frequently paired with the equally inept Sergeant Schultz.

  • Wolfgang Hochstetter — A Gestapo major and officer on Hogan’s Heroes who repeatedly threatens Colonel Klink. He is played by Howard Caine and is remembered as a strict camp inspector in the series.

• Home Improvement — Home Improvement is the 1990s sitcom centered on Tim Taylor, his family, and the Tool Time show-within-a-show. It also features Al Borland and made Jonathan Taylor Thomas a teen idol.

  • Al Borland — Al Borland is the flannel-wearing assistant to Tim Taylor on Home Improvement, where he is known for his dry responses and the catchphrase ‘I don’t think so, Tim.’ The character is a fencing champion from Gilmore High who dates Ilene Markham before marrying Trudy.

  • Binford Tools — Binford Tools is the fictional hardware-and-power-tool company featured on Tool Time in Home Improvement. Its logo appears on a toolbox in Toy Story, and the name is a tribute to an anthropologist who studied Stone Age tools.

  • Tool Time — Tool Time is the fictional home-improvement show-within-a-show on Home Improvement, hosted by Tim Taylor with Al Borland as his sidekick. It is remembered for sponsor Mr. Binford, the “man’s kitchen,” and Bob Vila’s frequent guest appearances and mishaps.

• Homeboys in Outer Space — Homeboys in Outer Space was a short-lived 1990s UPN sitcom starring Flex Alexander and Darryl M. Bell. It followed two astronauts, Morris and Ty, as they traveled in the Space Hoopty with their talking computer, Loquatia. The show is remembered as an example of sci-fi parody sitcom excess.

• Hope & Faith — Hope & Faith is an ABC sitcom about a suburban mother who takes in her actress sister after she is written out of a soap opera. The series stars Faith Ford and Kelly Ripa and ran for three seasons from 2003 to 2006.

• How I Met Your Mother — How I Met Your Mother is the CBS sitcom narrated by Bob Saget as Ted Mosby tells his children how he met their mother. The show centers on Ted, Barney Stinson, Robin Scherbatsky, Marshall Eriksen, and Lily Aldrin, and is known for running gags like the Bro Code, ‘legen—wait for it—dary,’ and the false lead of Robin’s Canadian pop-star past.

  • Barney Stinson — A suit-wearing, womanizing main character on How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. He is known for catchphrases such as “Suit up,” “legendary,” and “have you met Ted?,” for writing The Bro Code, for The Playbook, for elaborate schemes and repeated slap-bet humiliation, and for his close friendship with Ted Mosby. He works for Goliath National Bank.

  • Robin Scherbatsky — Robin Scherbatsky is a character on How I Met Your Mother, played by Cobie Smulders. She is a Canadian news anchor and former pop star known as Robin Sparkles, famous for “Let’s Go to the Mall.”

  • Robin Sparkles
    • “Let’s Go to the Mall” — “Let’s Go to the Mall” is the bubblegum pop single performed by Robin Sparkles, the teen-pop alter ego of Robin Scherbatsky on How I Met Your Mother. The song is tied to the Slap Bet episode and to mock-Canadian details such as Brian Mulroney and references to shopping at the mall.
  • Ted Mosby — Ted Mosby is the central character and narrator of How I Met Your Mother, the sitcom framed as the long story of how he met the title figure. The show’s world includes Barney Stinson, Robin Scherbatsky, and recurring gags like “legen—wait for it—dary,” along with Ted’s many failed relationships and career setbacks. It is narrated by Bob Saget as the older Ted.
• Ins Choi
  • Kim’s Convenience — Kim’s Convenience is a Canadian sitcom about a Korean-Canadian family running a corner store in Toronto. It centers on Umma and Appa and includes workplace scenes at Handy Car Rental and the character Jung.
    • Simu Liu — Simu Liu is the Canadian actor who played Jung in Kim’s Convenience before being cast as Shang-Chi in Marvel’s film universe. He also appeared in Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens as a one-off role near the start of his rise to wider fame.

• Inside Schwartz — Inside Schwartz is the short-lived NBC sitcom starring Breckin Meyer as an aspiring sports announcer whose life is narrated by imaginary commentators. It was built around a sports-broadcast gimmick and became known as a notable flop of the period.

• Jack Klugman and Tony Randall — Jack Klugman and Tony Randall played Oscar and Felix in the television version of The Odd Couple. Their performances defined the mismatched roommates at the center of the long-running comedy.

• Jerry Seinfeld — Jerry Seinfeld is the comedian and actor best known for playing a fictionalized version of himself on Seinfeld, the sitcom about George, Elaine, and Kramer in New York. The character is defined by observational comedy, petty grievances, and recurring bits involving Newman, Superman, and elaborate social awkwardness.

• Judd Apatow
  • Undeclared — Undeclared is a short-lived Fox college comedy set at the University of Northeastern California and centered on a group of freshmen and their dorm life. It was created by Judd Apatow and drew several Freaks and Geeks alumni, including Jason Segel and director Paul Feig, while also featuring guest spots such as Adam Sandler playing himself.
• Just Shoot Me! — Just Shoot Me! is the sitcom set at Blush magazine, where David Spade plays an office worker and Wendie Malick plays ex-model Nina Van Horn. It was created by Steve Levitan and also starred Laura San Giacomo, George Segal, and Enrico Colantoni.

  • Blush — Blush is the fictional fashion magazine featured on Just Shoot Me. Maya Gallo works there as a writer, making the magazine a central setting of the sitcom.

  • Nina Van Horn — Nina Van Horn is the former model turned fashion editor on Just Shoot Me, played by Wendie Malick. Her backstory includes being abandoned as a child, briefly marrying Robert Evans, and becoming linked to the closing of Studio 54.

• Kate and Allie — Kate and Allie is the CBS sitcom about two divorced best friends who move into a Greenwich Village apartment and raise their children together. The series starred Susan Saint James as Kate McArdle and Jane Curtin as Allie Lowell, and each episode framed the story with the two title characters talking directly to one another.

• Kenan & Kel
  • Kel Kimble — Kel Kimble is the orange-soda-loving best friend and business partner of Kenan Rockmore on Kenan & Kel. He is known for the catchphrase “Who loves orange soda?” and for a string of absurd phobias and comic misadventures.

• Kenan and Kel — Kenan and Kel is a Nickelodeon sitcom starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell as the mismatched duo Kenan and Kel. It is remembered for its theme song “Aw, Here It Goes” and its tie to All That and Good Burger.

• King of Queens — The King of Queens is the CBS sitcom about Doug and Carrie Heffernan, played by Kevin James and Leah Remini, living in Queens with Carrie’s father Arthur. Its supporting cast includes Jerry Stiller, Patton Oswalt, and recurring celebrity neighbors such as Lou Ferrigno.

• Leo and Liz in Beverly Hills 90210 — Leo and Liz in Beverly Hills 90210 is a mashup title that combines the sitcom Leo and Liz with Beverly Hills, 90210. Its clue points to Harvey Korman and Valerie Perrine as new neighbors alongside a family including twins played by Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestley.

• Letterkenny — Letterkenny is the fictional rural Ontario town that gives its name to a Canadian comedy series and the web series that preceded it. Its recurring local disputes include fights around the produce stand, the bar MoDean’s, and brawls involving characters such as Daryl, Squirrely Dan, Tanis, and Hard Right Jay.

• Listen Up — Listen Up is a short-lived CBS sitcom based on sportswriter Tony Kornheiser’s life. It starred Jason Alexander and Malcolm-Jamal Warner and centered on a sports columnist balancing work and family.

• Living Single — Living Single is the Fox sitcom about six friends in Brooklyn centered on Khadijah James and her Flavor magazine office. The ensemble included Synclaire, Regine, Max, and Overton, and it became one of the signature Black comedies of the 1990s.

• Love and War — Love and War was a CBS sitcom from the early 1990s centered on the Blue Clover restaurant and bar. The series followed the relationship between Dana Palladino and Jack Stien and featured Susan Dey, Annie Potts, and Jay Thomas.

• Love, Sidney — Love, Sidney was an early-1980s sitcom starring Tony Randall as a middle-aged gay man living in Manhattan. The series followed his relationship with a single mother and her daughter after they move into his apartment.

• Madman of the People — Madman of the People is a sitcom centered on Dabney Coleman as a sharp-tongued columnist at Your Times Magazine. The show also features his daughter as his boss, making family conflict part of its newsroom setup.

• Malcolm in the Middle — Malcolm in the Middle is the FOX sitcom about a chaotic working-class family centered on the gifted title boy and his brothers Francis, Reese, and Dewey. Bryan Cranston plays their father Hal, and the show is remembered for its absurd domestic comedy and Malcolm’s Krelboyne class.

  • Edwin Spangler — Edwin Spangler is the strict commandant of Marlin Academy on Malcolm in the Middle, later remembered with an eyepatch and hook after Francis maims him. He is one of the show’s recurring authority figures, eventually turning up at Snow Haven Retirement Home after his clashes with Francis.

  • Hal Wilkerson — Hal Wilkerson is the father on Malcolm in the Middle, played by Bryan Cranston. He is a former radio DJ whose suburban oddball behavior is a recurring source of comedy for his sons.

  • Malcolm Wilkerson — Malcolm Wilkerson is the gifted middle child at the center of the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, played by Frankie Muniz. His family includes parents Hal and Lois and brothers Francis, Reese, Dewey, and Jamie, while his circle of friends includes Stevie, Lloyd, and Dabney.

• Mama’s Family — Mama’s Family is the sitcom set in Raytown that stars Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper and centers on her dysfunctional relatives. Clues often mention Bubba, Vint, Iola, and the show’s early NBC run before it became a TBS staple.

• Mara Brock Akil
  • Girlfriends — Girlfriends is the UPN and later CW sitcom created by Mara Brock Akil and produced with Kelsey Grammer. The series follows Joan, Maya, Lynn, and Toni, and it became notable as one of the longest-running network sitcoms of its era.
• Married With Children — Married… with Children is a Fox sitcom about the Bundy family, starring Ed O’Neill as Al Bundy. The show centers on Al, Peg, Kelly, and Bud, and became known for its crude humor and long run in the 1990s.

  • Al Bundy — Al Bundy is the shoe salesman and former high school football star at the center of Married… with Children. He is famous for his miserable family life, his devotion to NO MA’AM, and his obsession with old football glory.

  • Bud Bundy — Bud Bundy is the older brother of Kelly on Married… with Children, played by David Faustino. He is portrayed as a hapless womanizer whose schemes at Trumaine University and with his inflatable girlfriend Isis routinely fail.

  • David Faustino — David Faustino is the actor best known for playing Bud Bundy on Married… with Children. Before that sitcom success, he had child-actor roles in films like I Ought to Be in Pictures and Mr. Boogedy.

  • NO MA’AM — NO MA’AM is the anti-women, anti-feminist men’s club on Married… with Children, led by Al Bundy. The group meets in Al’s garage and includes members such as Ike, Bob Rooney, Griff, and Jefferson D’Arcy, who serves as vice president; it is a recurring gag tied to the Bundy household and the show’s reactionary satire.

  • Psycho Dad — Psycho Dad is the violent cartoon persona of Al Bundy’s imagined hero in the NO MA’AM universe. The character is remembered for the parody song lyric about sleeping with a gun, loving his son, and killing for fun.

  • Top of the Heap — Top of the Heap is a Married… with Children spinoff that starred a young Matt LeBlanc as a dim-witted character. Joe Bologna played the character’s father in the series.

    • Vinnie and Bobby — Vinnie and Bobby is the short-lived sitcom spinoff in which Matt LeBlanc plays Vinnie Verducci, a college student from Top of the Heap. Robert Torti plays Bobby, and Joey Lauren Adams reprises Mona Mullins from the earlier series.

• Microsoft Flight Simulator — Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft’s long-running aircraft simulation series, known for letting players pilot planes over realistic recreations of the Earth. Its 2020 release became famous for its satellite-based world map and for odd viral incidents such as a sudden Brazilian chasm appearing in the game.

• Middle
  • the middle — “The Middle” is a phrase used in songs and titles that point to being caught between extremes, including the Jimmy Eat World hit “The Middle.” It is also the name of an ABC family sitcom, and appears in psychology in the serial position effect, where middle items are least likely to be remembered.

• Mike and Molly — Mike and Molly is a CBS sitcom about a police officer and an elementary-school teacher who meet at Overeaters Anonymous. The show starred Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy and featured Chuck Lorre as producer.

• Mister Ed — Mister Ed is the 1960s sitcom about Wilbur Post and his talking horse, voiced by Allan Lane and later Rocky Lane. The horse was based on Walter R. Brooks’s stories and became known for the theme song that begins, “A horse is a horse, of course, of course.”

• Modern Family — Modern Family is an ABC mockumentary sitcom about the Pritchett, Dunphy, and Tucker families in Los Angeles. It is known for Phil Dunphy, Cameron and Mitchell’s adoption of Lily, and running gags like Phil’s broken step and his enthusiasm for trampolining and magic tricks.

  • Manny Delgado — Manny Delgado is Gloria’s son on Modern Family, played by Rico Rodriguez. He is Jay Pritchett’s bookish stepson and is often characterized by his romantic, slightly precocious outlook and unusual interests.

  • Phil Dunphy — Phil Dunphy is the goofy but affectionate father in Modern Family, married to Claire and the parent of Haley, Alex, and Luke. He is known for his tech obsession, his alter ego Clive Bixby, and running gags involving the family staircase and his attempts to impress Gloria.

• Moesha — Moesha is the UPN sitcom starring Brandy Norwood as a high school student living in Leimert Park in Los Angeles. The show features characters such as Kim, Niecy, Andell, and Hakeem, and it spawned the spin-off The Parkers.
  • The Parkers — The Parkers is a UPN sitcom centered on Nikki Parker and her daughter Kim, who both attend Santa Monica College. It spun off from Moesha and features Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn in the lead roles.

• Moonlighting — Moonlighting is the 1980s detective dramedy starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd as David Addison and Maddie Hayes. The show is known for fourth-wall breaking, fantasy touches, and the Blue Moon Detective Agency, along with the hit theme sung by Al Jarreau.

• Morey Amsterdam — Morey Amsterdam was a comedian and television writer who became famous for playing Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He was nicknamed “The Human Joke Machine” for his work writing for performers such as Fanny Brice and Jimmy Durante.

• Mork and Mindy — Mork and Mindy is the sitcom spun off from Happy Days that follows the alien Mork and his human roommate Mindy in Boulder, Colorado. The show features Mork’s “Nanoo-nanoo” catchphrase and his telepathic reports to Orson.
  • Mork — Mork is the alien from Ork who appeared on Happy Days before getting his own sitcom, Mork and Mindy. Played by Robin Williams, he is known for saying “Nanu Nanu,” wearing size-eight shoes, and living in Boulder with Mindy and their son Mearth.
• Mr. Belvedere — Mr. Belvedere is the ABC sitcom about the Owens family and their British butler, played by Christopher Hewett. The show is remembered for its theme song and recurring domestic gags involving the title character and the family around him.
  • the Owens family — This TV family from Beaver Falls consisted of George and Marsha Owens and their children Wesley, Kevin, and Heather. They were the household served by Lynn Belvedere in the series Mr. Belvedere.

• Mr. Ed — Mr. Ed was the talking horse sitcom star voiced by Alan Lane and owned by Wilbur Post. The show ran in the early 1960s and built its premise around a horse that could speak to people.

• Murphy Brown — Murphy Brown is the Candice Bergen sitcom title character, a hard-edged television reporter on the news show FYI. The series became famous for its cultural commentary, including the debate over her decision to raise a child as a single mother.

• My Big Fat Greek Life — My Big Fat Greek Life is the short-lived television follow-up to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It centers on Nia and Thomas adjusting to married life and the Portokalos family restaurant.

• NBC sitcoms
  • Mad About You — Mad About You is the NBC sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It also features Ursula Buffay and is remembered for a blackout episode that parallels the blackout in Friends.
• New Girl — New Girl is a sitcom about Jess, Schmidt, Nick, Coach, Winston, and Cece living in Los Angeles. The show is known for True American, Jess’s “adorkable” persona, and the temporary replacement of the title character by Reagan, played by Megan Fox.

  • Jess — Jess, short for Jessica Day, is the optimistic title character of New Girl, a sitcom about the loft she shares with Coach, Schmidt, Winston, and Nick. She works as a teacher and vice principal, and her relationships and schemes often center on her roommates, her family, and her attempts to fix other people’s lives.

  • True American — True American is the drinking game played by characters on New Girl. It features shouted countdowns like “1, 2, 3, JFK!” and a room-filling floor of “molten lava” that players must avoid.

• Nickelodeon sitcoms
  • Victorious — Victorious is a Nickelodeon sitcom that helped launch Ariana Grande’s career. The show includes the ventriloquist Robbie Shapiro and his puppet Rex.
    • Cat Valentine — Cat Valentine is the red-haired, ditzy Nickelodeon character played by Ariana Grande on Victorious and Sam & Cat. She is known for her eccentric behavior and apartment attic storyline.

• Night Court — Night Court is a long-running sitcom set in a New York City night court, with Judge Harold T. Stone presiding over the bizarre proceedings. Its cast included Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Markie Post, and a rotating line of bailiffs such as Bull Shannon and Roz.

• Parker Lewis Can’t Lose — Parker Lewis Can’t Lose was an early 1990s Fox sitcom starring Corin Nemec as the title character. It is remembered for its stylized high school antics, synchronized Swatches, and supporting characters like the trench-coat-wearing Mikey.

• Parks and Recreation — An NBC sitcom set in the Parks Department of Pawnee, Indiana, centered on Leslie Knope and her coworkers, including Ron Swanson, Tom Haverford, Ben Wyatt, Chris Traeger, Ann Perkins, Andy Dwyer, April Ludgate, and Jerry Gergich. It is a mockumentary series known for details such as Treat Yo Self, Ice Town, Duke Silver, Entertainment 720, and Andy Dwyer’s injury from the pit that opens the series.

  • Andy Dwyer — Andy Dwyer is the lovable, dim-witted Parks and Recreation character played by Chris Pratt, who often uses the alias Burt Macklin. He becomes a main character after the first season and quickly marries April Ludgate.

  • April Roberta Ludgate-Dwyer — April Roberta Ludgate-Dwyer is the deadpan Parks and Recreation character who begins as an intern and later becomes Andy Dwyer’s wife. She is known for absurd self-descriptions, including claims about being born in Bjork’s house in Iceland and having bizarre supernatural abilities.

  • Leslie Knope — Leslie Knope is the relentlessly enthusiastic Pawnee parks official from Parks and Recreation, played by Amy Poehler. Her clue set includes Li’l Sebastian, Greg Pikitis, Ben Wyatt, and her absurdly earnest campaigns, speeches, and workplace rivalries.

  • Mouse Rat — Mouse Rat is the fictional band from Parks and Recreation fronted by Andy Dwyer. It is known for songs like “5,000 Candles in the Wind” and for cycling through ridiculous former names such as Threeskin and Nothing Rhymes with Blorange.

  • Ron Swanson — Ron Swanson is the mustachioed libertarian official from Parks and Recreation, played by Nick Offerman. He is famous for his disdain for government work, his love of breakfast food and woodworking, and his alter ego Duke Silver.

• Punky Brewster — Punky Brewster is the 1980s sitcom heroine played by Soleil Moon Frye, a spirited girl abandoned by her parents and adopted by Henry Warnimont. The series also led to an animated spin-off featuring the magical creature Glomer and her dog Brandon.

• Quinta Brunson
  • Abbott Elementary — Abbott Elementary is Quinta Brunson’s ABC mockumentary sitcom set at a Philadelphia public school. The series follows Janine Teagues, Gregory Eddie, Ava Coleman, and the other teachers at the title school.
• Rachel Bloom
  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the CW musical comedy series created by and starring Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch. The show’s episodes prominently reference Josh, and its songs and numbers include “The Sexy Getting Ready Song” and other comic musical set pieces.

• Reba — Reba is the WB/CW sitcom starring country singer Reba McEntire as a divorced mother. The show centers on her family, including her daughter Cheyenne and Cheyenne’s boyfriend Van.

• Red Dwarf — Red dwarfs are small, cool main-sequence stars of K or M type, like Proxima Centauri and Barnard’s Star, and they burn hydrogen extremely slowly over very long lifetimes. The title also recalls the British sitcom set on a mining ship with a hologram, a cat, and a cleaning robot.

• Roseanne
  • The Conners — The Conners is the ABC sitcom that began in 2018 as a continuation of Roseanne after its revival was canceled. The series centers on the Conner family after the death of its matriarch, Roseanne, which is revealed in the premiere.

• Rules of Engagement — Rules of Engagement is a CBS sitcom about a group of friends and couples centered on the character Russell, played by David Spade. The show also stars Patrick Warburton and Oliver Hudson.

• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch — Sabrina, the Teenage Witch was the 1990s sitcom based on the Archie Comics character of the same name. Melissa Joan Hart starred as Sabrina Spellman, who lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda and her talking cat, Salem.

  • Harvey Kinkle — Harvey Kinkle is Sabrina Spellman’s boyfriend in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, usually portrayed as sweet but not especially bright. On the television series, he eventually learns that Sabrina is a witch after repeated memory erasures and is played by Nate Richert.

  • Libby Chessler — Libby Chessler is the snobby cheerleader and recurring antagonist on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, known for calling Sabrina a freak. She is played by Jenna Leigh Green and is remembered for being turned into a pineapple in the pilot episode.

  • Salem Saberhagen — Salem Saberhagen is the talking black cat from Sabrina the Teenage Witch and a recurring character in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. In the sitcom, the character was voiced by Nick Bakay and lives with the Spellman family.

• Salute Your Shorts — Salute Your Shorts is a Nickelodeon summer-camp sitcom set at Camp Anawanna. It featured Bobby Budnick, Donkeylips, Sponge, and the unseen counselor Ug, and it is remembered for its theme song and camp pranks.
  • Camp Anawanna — Camp Anawanna is the fictional summer camp that serves as the setting for Nickelodeon’s Salute Your Shorts. Its campers include the show’s comic regulars such as Z.Z., Budnick, and Donkey Lips.

• Samantha Who? — Samantha Who? is an ABC sitcom starring Christina Applegate as an amnesiac woman trying to reinvent herself as a nicer person. Jean Smart plays her mother, and the show features her ex-boyfriend Todd.

• Saved by the Bell — Saved by the Bell is the teen sitcom that grew out of Good Morning, Miss Bliss and follows Zack Morris, Screech, Lisa, and Kelly Kapowski. The series is set around Bayside High and includes the hangout called The Max.

  • Good Morning Miss Bliss — Good Morning, Miss Bliss is the short-lived sitcom that was later reworked and syndicated as the first season of Saved by the Bell. The title character is Miss Bliss, a teacher at a junior high school.

  • Jessie Spano — Jessie Spano is a character from Saved by the Bell played by Elizabeth Berkley. She is known for her activism, her friendship with Kelly and Lisa, and her caffeine-pill storyline.

  • Malibu Sands Beach Club — The Malibu Sands Beach Club is the summer job setting from Saved by the Bell, run by Mr. Carosi and his daughter Stacey. Its episodes feature events such as a volleyball match against Club North Beach, a beauty pageant, and other beachside competitions.

  • Richard Belding — Richard Belding is the principal from Saved by the Bell, played by Dennis Haskins. He is remembered as a Bayside administrator with a comic backstory involving old school ties, his wife Becky, and his son being born in an elevator.

  • Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style — Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style is a 1992 made-for-TV movie set during summer vacation before the gang’s senior year. The special sends the cast to the Hideaway hotel, involves land developer Worthington, and includes subplots with Mr. Belding, the Pupuku clan, and a theme song by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

  • The Max — The Max was the diner hangout on Saved by the Bell, the place where Zack, Kelly, Jesse, Lisa, and their friends spent much of their time. It was staffed by the magician-actor Ed Alonzo as its namesake owner and later became a central setting for school and teen antics.

  • Violet Bickerstaff — Violet Bickerstaff is a character from Saved by the Bell, played by Tori Spelling. She is remembered as Screech’s love interest and for singing in the school glee club.

  • Zach Attack — Zach Attack is the fictional band formed around Zach Morris and other Saved by the Bell characters. The group recorded songs like ‘Friends Forever’ and ‘Did We Ever Have a Chance’ and was featured in a Casey Kasem-narrated documentary style episode.

  • Zach Morris — Zach Morris is a main character on Saved by the Bell played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar. He is portrayed as a clever, popular high school student with a romantic rivalry involving Kelly Kapowski and A.C. Slater.

  • Zack Morris — Zack Morris is the main protagonist of Saved by the Bell, known for his schemes at Bayside High and his clashes with Principal Belding. He is portrayed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar and is associated with friends like A.C. Slater and hangouts such as The Max.

• She’s the Sheriff — She’s the Sheriff is a short-lived 1980s sitcom starring Suzanne Somers as a rural police officer. Its premise centers on a sheriff’s office in Lakes County, Nevada.

• Silver Spoons — Silver Spoons was the 1980s sitcom about young Ricky Stratton, who goes to live with his wealthy and immature father Edward Stratton III. The show’s theme-song lyric “Here we are, face to face” and the word “Together” identify its opening music and one of its season-era associations.

• Sister, Sister — Sister, Sister is the sitcom starring Tia and Tamera Mowry as twins reunited after being separated at birth. The show centers on their adoptive families and recurring teen-comedy plots, including their parents Ray and Lisa and a frequent neighbor named Roger.

• Sitcoms

  • 2 Broke Girls — 2 Broke Girls is the CBS sitcom about Max Black and Caroline Channing, two waitresses trying to turn a cupcake business into reality. Its recurring names include Earl, Oleg, Sophie Kaczynski, and the horse Chestnut, while Caroline’s fall from wealth comes after her father is jailed for a Ponzi scheme.

  • 8 Simple Rules — ABC sitcom that began as 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter and centers on Paul Hennessy and his three teenage children in a suburban family comedy format. John Ritter starred as Paul Hennessy; after his 2003 death, the show shifted focus to daughters Bridget and Kerry and added David Spade as C.J. Barnes. Kaley Cuoco and Katey Sagal were among the cast.

  • Costello — Costello is the sitcom named for comedian and actress Jenny Costello, who starred as a South Boston bartender on FOX. The show was remembered as a short-lived sitcom centered on blue-collar Irish Catholic life.

  • Doogie Howser, M.D. — Doogie Howser, M.D. is the early-1990s sitcom starring Neil Patrick Harris as a teenage medical prodigy. The show centers on his friendships and his life as a young doctor, and it ran for three seasons.

  • Everybody Hates Chris — Everybody Hates Chris is the sitcom narrated by Chris Rock and inspired by his teenage years, with Tyler James Williams starring as the title character. Set in 1980s Brooklyn, it follows Chris, his parents Rochelle and Julius, and his siblings Drew and Tonya through a string of school and family misadventures.

  • Family sitcoms
    • Oliver Beene — Oliver Beene is a Fox sitcom about an eleven-year-old boy and his family, set in 1962. It used a narrated retrospective style and was one of the network’s short-lived family comedies.

  • Fired Up — Fired Up is a short-lived 1997 NBC sitcom starring Sharon Lawrence. It also featured Leah Remini and a workplace setup involving Sharon Lawrence’s character Gwen.

  • Get a Life — Get a Life was the short-lived Fox sitcom starring Chris Elliott as a 30-year-old paperboy who still lived with his parents. It ran for two seasons, used R.E.M.’s “Stand” as its theme, and featured recurring oddball deaths and a staff that included Charlie Kaufman and Bob Odenkirk.

  • Grace Under Fire — Grace Under Fire is an ABC sitcom starring Brett Butler as a divorced single mother raising children in Missouri. Its first-season theme was an Aretha Franklin cover of “Lady Madonna,” and the show was part of ABC’s early-1990s female-led comedy lineup.

  • Hey Dude — Hey Dude is the Nickelodeon sitcom set on the Bar None ranch and centered on Benjamin Ernst and the ranch’s employees. It is often identified by characters such as Melody, Ted, Brad, Danny Lightfoot, and Mr. Ernst.

  • It’s Like, You Know … — It’s Like, You Know … was a short-lived ABC sitcom set in Los Angeles and built around a lightly satirical, self-aware comedy style. Its cast included Jennifer Grey, A. J. Langer, and Peter Mehlman’s Hollywood satire ensemble.

  • It’s Your Move — It’s Your Move is a short-lived 1980s sitcom starring Jason Bateman as Matthew Burton, a teenage con artist. The show centers on the Burton family and their neighbor Norman Lamb.

  • Kate & Allie — Kate & Allie is the CBS sitcom starring Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin that ran from 1984 to 1989. It centered on two title characters raising children together and received major Emmy attention for its lead actresses.

  • Life on a Stick — Life on a Stick was a short-lived Fox sitcom set around the Yippee Hot Dogs chain, following Laz and Fred and their comic workplace schemes.

  • Mork & Mindy — Mork & Mindy was the 1978–1982 sitcom starring Robin Williams as the alien Mork from Ork and Pam Dawber as Mindy. It spun off from Happy Days and later featured Jonathan Winters as Mearth.
    • Mork and Robin Williams — Mork is the alien character Robin Williams played on the TV series Mork & Mindy after first appearing on Happy Days. The character is known for his fish-out-of-water behavior and became one of Williams’s signature early roles.
  • My Name Is Earl — My Name Is Earl is the NBC sitcom about a deadbeat named Earl Hickey who tries to make amends for his past wrongs. It features Randy, Catalina, Kenny, and Darnell, and is set in the fictional Camden County.
    • Earl Hickey — Earl Hickey is the title character of the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl, played by Jason Lee. After a near-death experience, he tries to undo his bad karma by making a list of wrongs he has committed and working through it, improving the lives of others along the way.

  • Ned and Stacey — Ned and Stacey is a sitcom about a marriage of convenience starring Debra Messing and Thomas Haden Church. Its premise centers on two mismatched title characters who marry for practical reasons and later orbit a supporting cast including Amanda and Rico.

  • Newhart — Newhart is the 1980s CBS sitcom about author Dick Loudon and his wife running the Stratford Inn in Vermont. Its finale famously revealed the entire series as the dream of Bob Newhart’s earlier character from a different show.

    • Dick Loudon — Dick Loudon is the innkeeper and how-to book author played by Bob Newhart on Newhart. He runs the Stratford Inn with Joanna and is associated with the show’s comedic, small-town setting.

    • Newheart — Newheart is the sitcom centered on Dick Loudon, a character played by Bob Newhart. Its finale famously suggests that the entire series was a dream, with Larry and the two Darryls among its memorable characters.

    • Vermont Today — Vermont Today was the local television talk show hosted by Dick Loudon on Newhart. It was later part of his work at the station WPIV.

  • Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher — Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher is a WB sitcom about an unemployed actor who becomes a substitute teacher at an urban middle school. The series starred Mitch Mullany and Jane Sibbet and ran in the late 1990s.

  • Rob — Rob is a sitcom about a man adjusting to marriage into his wife’s Mexican-American family. The title character is played by Rob Schneider.

  • Sanford and Son — Sanford and Son is the American sitcom adapted from the British series Steptoe and Son. It starred Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson, with Fred Sanford famously threatening to have a heart attack and call it “the big one.”
    • Fred Sanford — Fred Sanford is the junkyard owner from Sanford and Son, played by Redd Foxx. He is famous for threatening to have ‘the big one’ when he thought he was having a heart attack.

  • Square Pegs — Square Pegs was an early-1980s sitcom set at Weemawee High School and centered on awkward teenagers trying to break into the in-crowd. It featured Sarah Jessica Parker as Patty Greene and included running jokes about cliques and a classmate fundraising for a Guatemalan student named Rosarita.

  • The Big Bang Theory — The Big Bang Theory is the CBS sitcom about Leonard, Sheldon, Penny, and their Caltech circle of friends. It follows a physicist roommate pair, Raj’s selective mutism around women, Howard’s astronaut adventures, and Sheldon’s relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler.

    • Amy Farrah Fowler — Amy Farrah Fowler is the neurobiologist played by Mayim Bialik on The Big Bang Theory. She begins as a romantic interest for Sheldon Cooper, co-hosts “Fun with Flags,” and later wins the Nobel Prize in Physics with him.

    • Bazinga! — “Bazinga!” is Sheldon Cooper’s signature catchphrase from The Big Bang Theory, usually said after a joke or prank. The word became a meme target and was even trademarked, spawning many playful parody variants online.

    • Penny — A penny is the coin in Beethoven’s unfinished rondo known as Rage over a Lost Penny. Penny is also the blond waitress and aspiring actress from The Big Bang Theory, as well as the title teenage girl in Harry Haenigsen’s comic strip.

    • Raj — Raj is a character in the television series who is dismissed after a shady contractor and a decision to turn a four-bedroom house into a three-bedroom house. He also unsuccessfully tries to get Robin’s phone number.

    • Sheldon (Lee) Cooper — Sheldon Lee Cooper is the title character of the spinoff Young Sheldon and the eccentric physicist from The Big Bang Theory. He is defined by his arrogance, his catchphrase “Bazinga!”, and his tendency to belittle those around him.

    • Sheldon Cooper — Sheldon Cooper is the socially awkward physicist from The Big Bang Theory and its spinoff Young Sheldon. He is known for his rigid habits, his “Soft Kitty” comfort song, and his work at Caltech alongside Leonard, Raj, and Howard.

    • Dr. Sheldon Cooper — Sheldon Cooper is the brilliant but socially awkward theoretical physicist from The Big Bang Theory. He works at Caltech, obsessively pursues string theory, and is known for his high IQ and extreme academic precocity.

  • The Jackie Thomas Show — The Jackie Thomas Show was a short-lived 1990s sitcom starring Tom Arnold as the star of a show within a show. Despite a decent rating position after Roseanne, it was cancelled after one season.

  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show — A 1970s Minneapolis-set sitcom centered on Mary Richards, a newswriter at WJM-TV, and her coworkers Lou Grant and Gordy Howard. Its theme asks who can turn the world on with her smile, it featured the famous line about having spunk, and it spawned spin-offs such as Rhoda and Lou Grant.

    • Chuckles the Clown — Chuckles the Clown is a children’s TV clown character from The Mary Tyler Moore Show universe. His disastrous appearance as Peter Peanut leads to a fatal parade gag and a famous funeral sequence.

    • Lou Grant — Lou Grant is the gruff newspaper editor played by Ed Asner, first on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and then in the spin-off drama that bore his name. The character became one of television’s most famous newsroom figures and won Asner major awards across both comedy and drama.
      • Los Angeles Tribune — The Los Angeles Tribune is the newspaper worked at by Lou Grant in the television series of the same name.

    • Mary Richards — Mary Richards is the central character of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where she works at WJM-TV after moving to Minneapolis. She becomes associate producer of the news broadcast and lives among figures like Rhoda and Phyllis.

    • Mary Tyler Moore — Mary Tyler Moore was the actress whose name became attached to a 1970s sitcom about a Minneapolis newscaster. The show is remembered for its hat toss in the opening sequence and for co-stars such as Ed Asner and Betty White.

    • Phyllis — Phyllis is a television sitcom spun off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, starring Cloris Leachman as the title character. The series centers on Phyllis Lindstrom, formerly Mary’s landlady, after she moves to San Francisco following her husband’s death.

    • Phyllis Lindstrom — Phyllis Lindstrom was the snobbish, gossip-prone landlady of Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She was played by Cloris Leachman and later appeared in a spin-off centered on the character.

    • Rhoda — Rhoda is the Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoff that starred Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern. It is also remembered for introducing Joe’s brother and for the offscreen voice work of Charles Durning as Carlton the Doorman.

  • The Wonder Years — The Wonder Years is a coming-of-age sitcom set in the 1960s and narrated by Daniel Stern. It premiered after the Super Bowl and centers on Kevin Arnold’s family life and adolescence.

  • Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central) — Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central) was an ABC sitcom named for its timeslot and cancelled after only two episodes. It satirized network programming through David Weiss, who was hired for his insight into the average American mind.

  • Yes, Dear — Yes, Dear is a CBS sitcom created by Greg Garcia that starred Anthony Clark as Greg Warner and Mike O’Malley as Jimmy Hughes. The show centers on Greg and Kim and their in-laws, who end up living in the couple’s guesthouse.

• Spin City — Spin City is a workplace sitcom set in the New York mayor’s office, originally starring Michael J. Fox. Its later cast changes included additions such as Heather Locklear and Charlie Sheen, along with recurring figures like Charlie Crawford and Caitlin Moore.

• Sports Night — Aaron Sorkin’s ABC sitcom about a fictional Manhattan sports-broadcast program, following Dan Rydell and Casey McCall at the Continental Sports Channel. It starred Robert Guillaume as Isaac Jaffee and also featured Peter Krause and Felicity Huffman; its abrupt cancellation became part of the show’s legacy.

• Suddenly Susan — Suddenly Susan is an NBC sitcom starring Brooke Shields as Susan, who works at the magazine The Gate in San Francisco. The show also featured Judd Nelson, Kathy Griffin, and David Strickland in its ensemble cast.

• Superstore — Superstore is an NBC workplace sitcom set at the Cloud 9 big-box store, with America Ferrera as Amy Sosa and Colton Dunn as a sarcastic employee. The series follows the employees through store politics, corporate changes, and a shift toward online fulfillment.

• Television characters named D.J.
  • D.J. — D.J. is the nickname of a character in Full House, where it belongs to Donna Jo Tanner. The same nickname also appears for Roseanne’s son D.J., one of the show’s central children.
• Television sitcoms

  • Andy Barker, P.I. — Andy Barker, P.I. is an NBC comedy in which Andy Richter plays an accountant who becomes a private detective. The series was short-lived and quickly canceled after a brief run.

  • Black comedies
    • It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia — It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the FX/FXX dark comedy about the Gang’s schemes around Paddy’s Pub. Common clues include Charlie’s bird law, Frank Reynolds, Chardee MacDennis, Dayman, and the show’s willingness to make its characters grotesque and absurd.

      • Charlie Kelly — Charlie Kelly is the illiterate, glue-sniffing janitor from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, known for his obsession with the Waitress and his chaotic schemes at Paddy’s Pub. He writes the “Nightman Cometh,” uses “Green Man” as an alter ego, and is closely associated with milk steak, magnets, and other bizarre habits.

      • Paddy’s Pub — Paddy’s Pub is the bar at the center of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Its owners stage outrageous schemes there, including forcing a critic to revise his review after calling it the worst bar in Philadelphia.

      • Pepe Silvia — Pepe Silvia is the imaginary person at the center of Charlie Kelly’s mail-room conspiracy theory on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The gag plays on Charlie’s mistaken reading of Pennsylvania and the wall covered with strings and papers meant to “prove” that half the company does not exist.

      • the D.E.N.N.I.S. system — The D.E.N.N.I.S. system is the manipulative dating routine used by Dennis Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Its steps include demonstrating value, engaging physically, nurturing dependence, neglecting, inspiring hope, and separating entirely.

      • The Waitress — The Waitress is the recurring barista character on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia whom Charlie obsessively pursues. She is often identified by her AA and Big Brothers/Big Sisters involvement, while her real name is rarely given.

  • Derry Girls — Derry Girls is a sitcom about teenagers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, centered on Erin, Orla, and their friends at an all-girls school. It mixes family and school life with absurd set pieces, including a priest storyline and a finale built around the conflict’s impact on ordinary people.
    • Sister George Michael — Sister George Michael is the stern headmistress of Our Lady Immaculate College in Derry Girls. The character is a Catholic nun who is known for dry sarcasm and for sharing a name with George Michael of Wham!.
  • Good Times — Good Times is the 1970s sitcom that starred John Amos as James Evans. When Amos left the series, the show addressed his absence by killing James Evans off in an unseen car wreck.

    • Dyn-O-Mite — “Dyn-O-Mite” is J. J. Evans’s catchphrase from Good Times. The line became one of the show’s most famous pop-culture references.

    • J.J. — J.J., also called Junior or James Evans Jr., is a character from Good Times and a member of the Evans family. He is associated with the painting of Black Jesus and with the popularity that reportedly influenced Esther Rolle’s departure from the show.

  • Hope and Faith — Hope and Faith is an ABC sitcom starring Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford as sisters with very different lives. The series centers on the collision between a suburban mother and an ex-soap-opera actress trying to start over.

  • Leave It to Beaver — Leave It to Beaver is a late-1950s family sitcom centered on Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver and his suburban household. It starred Jerry Mathers as Beaver, Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver, Hugh Beaumont, and Tony Dow. Its pilot episode was titled “It’s a Small World,” and the show moved from CBS to ABC after one season. It became known for clean-cut domestic comedy.

    • Eddie Haskell — Eddie Haskell is the ingratiating friend of Wally on Leave It to Beaver, notorious for flattering adults while mocking the Beaver. The character became a classic sitcom symbol of sly, hypocritical politeness.

    • Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver — Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver is the title boy from Leave It to Beaver, the 1950s television series about a suburban American family. He is Ward and June’s younger son, often tormented by Eddie Haskell and tied to Mayfield, Grant Avenue Grammar School, and his older brother Wally.

  • Less Than Perfect — Less Than Perfect is an ABC sitcom starring Sara Rue as secretary Claude Casey and featuring co-workers played by Zachary Levi, Andrea Parker, Sherri Shepherd, Eric Roberts, and Andy Dick. Patrick Warburton later joined the cast as on-air pundit Jeb Denton.

  • My Boys — My Boys is a sitcom centered on PJ Franklin, a sportswriter in Chicago surrounded by male friends. Its plots involve dating, friendships, and family life, including her brother Andy.

  • NewsRadio — NewsRadio is the NBC sitcom set around an offbeat radio station and centered on Dave Nelson, Jimmy James, and Joe Garrelli. The show is remembered for its ensemble cast, rapid-fire workplace humor, and Phil Hartman’s role as Bill McNeal.

    • Bill McNeal — Bill McNeal is the fictional on-air personality on NewsRadio, portrayed by Phil Hartman. He is remembered for his odd habits, including a cane, a butler, a homemade stun gun, and a stint in commercial work.

    • Dave Nelson — Dave Nelson is the Canadian-born news director on NewsRadio, played by Dave Foley. The character is a neurotic, highly competent staffer with an elaborate catalog of odd skills and habits.

    • Jimmy James — Jimmy James is the billionaire owner of WNYX on NewsRadio and the larger-than-life center of that sitcom’s corporate plots. He is known for outrageous schemes, a presidential run, and the autobiography subtitle “Macho Business Donkey Wrestler.”

    • WNYX — WNYX is the fictional New York radio station that serves as the setting of the sitcom NewsRadio. It is described as a top-ranked AM station with a small staff and is associated with the Fort Awesome house.

  • The Andy Griffith Show — The Andy Griffith Show is the 1960s sitcom set in Mayberry that featured Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Aunt Bee, and Barney Fife. Clues also mention episode names such as ‘The New Housekeeper’ and characters like Ellie Walker and Mayor Stoner.

    • Barney Fife — Barney Fife is the bumbling deputy on The Andy Griffith Show, played by Don Knotts. He is famously allowed to carry only one bullet, which he keeps in his pocket.

    • Barney Fife (either name) — Barney Fife is the bumbling deputy sheriff on The Andy Griffith Show, remembered for his nervous incompetence and his romance with Thelma Lou.

    • Floyd Lawson — Floyd Lawson is the mellow-voiced barber on The Andy Griffith Show, portrayed by Howard McNear. He became a comic television reference point through an Eddie Murphy Saturday Night Live parody.

    • Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. — Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is the television spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show starring Jim Nabors as the title Marine recruit. The series centered on Camp Henderson and Sergeant Carter, with Gomer’s bumbling innocence driving the comedy.

    • Mayberry, North Carolina — A fictional North Carolina town in The Andy Griffith Show and related spinoffs, modeled on the real town of Mount Airy. It is the home of Sheriff Andy Taylor and the show’s small-town cast, including Barney Fife, Aunt Bee, Goober, and Gomer Pyle.

    • Otis Campbell — Otis Campbell is the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show. He is portrayed as a glue dipper turned ice cream man, and one episode has him arrested after striking his mother-in-law with a leg of lamb.

  • The Charmings — The Charmings was an ABC sitcom that transplanted Snow White, Prince Charming, their children, and the Wicked Queen into suburban Los Angeles. It aired in the 1987-88 season.

  • The Class — This CBS sitcom followed a group of adults who had gone through grade school together and reunited as twenty-somethings. It lasted only one season and was created by David Crane.

  • The Courtship of Eddie’s Father — The Courtship of Eddie’s Father is the TV series about Tom Corbett and his son Eddie, played by Bill Bixby and Brandon Cruz. It began as a film before becoming a 1969–1972 ABC sitcom built around Eddie trying to find a partner for his widowed father.

  • The Donna Reed Show — The Donna Reed Show was a 1950s American sitcom centered on the Stone family. Donna Reed starred as the homemaker matriarch, with Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as the teenage children.
    • Hilldale — Hilldale is the fictional town where The Donna Reed Show is set.

  • The Mindy Project — The Mindy Project is a sitcom about an Indian-American OB-GYN created by and starring Mindy Kaling. It briefly returned after cancellation, becoming one of the better-known examples of a revived network comedy.

  • Veronica’s Closet — Veronica’s Closet was an NBC sitcom that ran from 1997 to 2000. Kirstie Alley played the wealthy owner of a lingerie and fashion company on the show.

  • You’re the Worst — You’re the Worst is an FX/FXX comedy about the terrible relationship between Jimmy Shive-Overly and Gretchen Cutler. The show also features war veteran Edgar Quintero and ran for five seasons.
• That ’70s Show — A Fox sitcom set in Point Place, Wisconsin in the 1970s, centered on Eric Forman and his friends hanging out in the Formans’ basement. The ensemble includes Eric Forman, Jackie Burkhart, Fez, Laurie, Bob Pinciotti, and Red Forman, and the series starred Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, and Laura Prepon. It is especially remembered for Red Forman’s insults and its basement hangout setting.

  • Michael Kelso — Michael Kelso is the dim-witted character on That ’70s Show played by Ashton Kutcher. He is known for his relationship with Jackie Burkhart and for running gags involving his stupidity and catchphrases like ‘Burn!’

  • Red Forman — Red Forman is the abrasive father on That ’70s Show, played by Kurtwood Smith. He is known for his blunt insults, Veterans Day barbecue, and the muffler shop he names “and Son.”

  • That 80’s Show — That 80’s Show was the short-lived Fox sitcom spun off from That ’70s Show, centered on Corey, Katie, Roger, Sophia, and their circle.

• That Girl — That Girl is a 1960s sitcom about Ann Marie, a young woman trying to build a life in New York as an actress and model. It stars Marlo Thomas and features her boyfriend Donald Hollinger, played by Ted Bessell, along with recurring appearances by her father Lou and other family members. The show was notable for emphasizing independent single-woman life and for shooting extensively on location. Its title theme and opening are also frequently remembered in TV trivia.

• That ’80s Show — That ’80s Show was a short-lived Fox sitcom set in the 1980s and starring Chyler Leigh. It followed Corey Howard, his family, and his friends at Permanent Record in San Diego.

• That’s My Bush! — That’s My Bush! is the short-lived Comedy Central sitcom from Trey Parker and Matt Stone starring Timothy Bottoms as George W. Bush. It parodyed the style of domestic sitcoms while placing the 43rd president in absurd situations.

• The Bernie Mac Show — The Bernie Mac Show is the Fox sitcom centered on the comedian and his family. It is remembered for its home-comedy setup and episodes that mix stand-up energy with family situations, including a charity golf-tournament story featuring Damon.

• The Bob Newhart Show — The Bob Newhart Show is the 1970s sitcom about Chicago psychologist Dr. Robert Hartley, played by Bob Newhart. It featured Bill Daily as an airline pilot, Fiedler as the neurotic Mr. Peterson, and the famous ‘Hi, Bob’ drinking game.

• The Dick Van Dyke Show — The Dick Van Dyke Show is the classic CBS sitcom about Rob and Laura Petrie, with Dick Van Dyke playing the title role and Mary Tyler Moore as Laura. It is also known for Carl Reiner’s Alan Brady, its early-1960s run, and memorable comic bits including a dream episode with aliens from Twizo.
  • Alan Brady — Alan Brady is the fictitious star of The Alan Brady Show in The Dick Van Dyke Show. His character is known for a toupee gag and for being written around by characters such as Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers, and Rob Petrie.
• The Drew Carey Show — The Drew Carey Show is the Cleveland sitcom about Drew Carey, Buzz Beer, and a circle that includes Mimi Bobeck, Oswald, and Kate O’Brien. Its later seasons experimented with live episodes, mistake-hunt gimmicks, and a single-camera style, and the theme songs include ‘Cleveland Rocks’ and ‘Moon Over Parma’.

  • Buzz Beer — Buzz Beer is the coffee-flavored beer invented by the characters on The Drew Carey Show. It is one of the show’s recurring fake products and was often part of the workplace comedy’s business schemes.

  • Nigel Wick — Nigel Wick is the formidable department-store boss on The Drew Carey Show, played by Craig Ferguson. The clues point to his replacement of Mr. Bell and to the memorable green-card civil union plot with Drew.

  • neverendingstore.com — neverendingstore.com is the fictional online retailer that Drew works for in the last two seasons of The Drew Carey Show. It is run by brothers Evan and Scott and replaces Winfred-Louder as the office setting.

• The Flying Nun — The Flying Nun is the 1960s sitcom about Sister Bertrille, a young nun in Puerto Rico who can soar in the wind. It was based on Tere Rios’s novel The Fifteenth Pelican and starred Sally Field.
  • Sister Bertrille — Sister Bertrille is the title nun played by Sally Field on The Flying Nun. She is the eccentric flying sister whose habit and powered glides make her the comic center of the series.

• The Fresh Prince — The Fresh Prince is the stage name Will Smith used early in his music career with DJ Jazzy Jeff. It also names the TV character who is sent from West Philadelphia to live with relatives in Bel-Air after one fight.

• The Goldbergs — The Goldbergs is the 1980s-set ABC sitcom about the Jewish title family living outside Philadelphia. It was based on creator Adam F. Goldberg’s home videos, stars Jeff Garlin and Wendi McLendon-Covey, and features Patton Oswalt as the adult Adam.

• The Good Life — The Good Life is the British sitcom about Tom and Barbara Good, a suburban couple who abandon the corporate world for self-sufficiency. Its humor comes from their chickens, pigs, and frazzled neighbors Margot and Jerry in Surbiton.

• The Good Place

  • Chidi Anagonye — Chidi Anagonye is the moral philosopher on The Good Place who teaches ethics and repeatedly struggles with decision-making. The character is associated with the trolley problem, Kant, and a life shaped by overthinking.

  • Janet — Janet is the omniscient artificial assistant from The Good Place, where she is repeatedly described as not being a girl. She creates Derek in an attempt to provoke jealousy and is associated with Jason Mendoza and Eleanor’s nickname “Busty Alexa.”

• The John Larroquette Show — The John Larroquette Show was a 1993 sitcom featuring a reformed Dan Fielding in the role of St. Louis bus station manager John Hemingway. Its later seasons and abrupt cancellation made it a common example of a show that lost momentum.

• The Last Man on Earth — The Last Man on Earth is a post-apocalyptic Fox comedy starring Will Forte, Kristen Schaal, and January Jones. It follows the lonely survivors of a global viral pandemic.

• The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis — The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is a television series centered on Dobie Gillis and his comic romantic troubles. Its familiar setup includes Thalia Menninger, Zelda Gilroy, and an opening gag with Dobie posing like Rodin’s Thinker.
  • Dobie Gillis — Dobie Gillis is the title character of a sitcom about a young man forever chasing girls while his friend Maynard G. Krebs looks on. He is especially associated with Zelda Gilroy and Thalia Menninger, two of the show’s recurring romantic interests.

• The Mullets — The Mullets was a short-lived UPN sitcom about two brothers with mullet haircuts who run a roofing business. It featured Loni Anderson and John O’Hurley and was created by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein.

• The Munsters — The Munsters is the 1960s sitcom about a family of horror-movie monsters living at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Fred Gwynne played Herman, Yvonne De Carlo played Lily, and Al Lewis played Grandpa, making the show a comic counterpart to The Addams Family.

  • Herman Munster — Herman Munster is the green-skinned patriarch of The Munsters, played by Fred Gwynne. He is the husband of Lily and the father of Eddie, and the character is known for his childlike temper and monster family background.

  • Marilyn Munster — Marilyn Munster is the human-looking niece in The Munsters, played by Beverly Owen and later Pat Priest. She is the odd one out in her monstrous family because she appears normal rather than terrifying.

• The Norm Show — The Norm Show was an ABC sitcom starring Norm Macdonald as an exiled hockey player working in social services.

• The Office — The Office is the mockumentary sitcom set around the Dunder Mifflin paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It follows Jim, Pam, Dwight, and Michael Scott through workplace pranks and absurd office life.

  • Andy Bernard — Andy Bernard is the Cornell-educated salesman from The Office, played by Ed Helms, known for his singing, anger issues, and insecurities. He becomes connected with Angela, joins Here Comes Treble, and later serves as manager of the Scranton branch.

  • Angela Martin — Angela Martin is the stern accountant on The Office who is known for her conservative, judgmental personality. Her storyline includes a secret relationship with Dwight Schrute and a later engagement to Andy Bernard, which is broken off after the affair comes to light. She is also remembered for her hard-edged opinions, including mocking pop culture and joking that she would bring sacred or bestselling books to burn one of them on a deserted island.

  • Characters
    • Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor — Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor is the chatty, fashion-obsessed customer service representative on The Office. She talks “smack” rather than trash, celebrates Diwali, gets a birthday sign from Jim and Dwight, and is the one who slaps Michael in the “Diversity Day” episode. Her eccentric behavior, including bizarre claims about a non-existent baby, makes her one of the show’s most distinctive comic characters.

  • Creed Bratton — Creed Bratton is the bizarre Dunder Mifflin employee from The Office, played by the former Grass Roots musician of the same name. He is known for his fabricated backstory, odd behavior, and deadpan lines about cults, theft, and quality assurance.

  • David Brent — David Brent is the painfully self-important manager of the Slough branch of Wernham-Hogg Paper in The Office. He imagines himself a comedian and musician, fronts the band Foregone Conclusion, and is remembered for deeply awkward attempts at entertainment.

  • Dunder Mifflin — Dunder Mifflin is the paper company at the center of The Office, especially its Scranton branch. The company’s corporate troubles and branch reorganizations are recurring background details in the series.

  • Dunder Mifflin Paper Company — Dunder Mifflin is the fictional paper company at the center of The Office, with the Scranton branch managed by Michael Scott. Its employees and former employees include Jim Halpert, Pam Beasley, Roy Anderson, Devon White, and Tom Peets.

  • Dwight Kurt Schrute — Dwight Kurt Schrute is a character from the American version of The Office. He works as a salesman at Dunder Mifflin Scranton and is known for his hypercompetitive, rigid love of hierarchy, his rivalry with Jim Halpert, his odd hobbies and habits, his beet farming and Schrute farm, his interest in weapons and table tennis, his obsession with Battlestar Galactica, and his on-and-off relationship with Angela Martin, whom he eventually marries. He is played by Rainn Wilson and at one point holds the title of assistant to the regional manager.

  • Gabe Lewis — Gabe Lewis is a character on The Office who works for Sabre as a regional coordinator. He is portrayed by Zach Woods and is known for his awkward romance with Erin and his eccentric tastes in movies and food.

  • Gareth Keenan — Gareth Keenan is the officious, sycophantic Territorial Army character from The Office who repeatedly irritates Tim. He is remembered for awkward boasting, strange conversation topics, and blaming his calculator for bad arithmetic.

  • Jan Levinson-Gould — Jan Levinson-Gould is Michael Scott’s corporate supervisor and longest-running romantic interest in The Office. After being fired from Dunder Mifflin, she remains tied to Michael and later has a daughter named Astrid.

  • Jim Halpert’s pranks
    • Jim’s pranks — Jim’s pranks are the office jokes from The Office most often aimed at Dwight. They include the stapler-in-Jell-O gag and other elaborate workplace tricks.

  • Kevin Malone — Kevin Malone is the incompetent accountant from The Office who plays drums in the Police cover band Scrantonicity. He is known for gambling, storing candy at his desk, and a generally hapless office persona.

  • Michael Gary Scott — Michael Gary Scott is the painfully clueless regional manager of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch on The Office, played by Steve Carell. He is known for his awkward jokes, lines like “that’s what she said,” his “World’s Best Boss” mug, and the in-universe action film Threat Level Midnight, which he wrote and starred in as Michael Scarn. He later moves from Scranton to Colorado.

  • Oscar Martinez — Oscar Martinez is the Dunder Mifflin accountant from The Office, first nearly outed by Dwight and then publicly outed by Michael. He is the Mexican-American accountant who becomes a founding member of the Finer Things Club and is memorably kissed by Michael in “Gay Witch Hunt.”

  • Pam Beesly — Pam Beesly is the receptionist and later artist on The Office who marries Jim Halpert. She is played by Jenna Fischer and is also known for her awkward romance with Roy and her rivalry with Karen for Jim’s attention.

  • Robert California — Robert California is the unsettling, philosophizing CEO who briefly runs Dunder Mifflin Sabre in The Office, portrayed by James Spader. He marries a woman named Susan, gives contradictory messages about office politics, and later hosts a mansion pool party after becoming Sabre’s boss.

  • Stanley Hudson — Stanley Hudson is the grumpy Dunder Mifflin salesman on The Office who loves pretzel day, red wine, and TV mysteries. Played by Leslie David Baker, he is known for his deadpan demeanor and Michael Scott’s repeated disappointment in his basketball skills.

  • That’s What She Said — “That’s what she said” became a recurring innuendo catchphrase in The Office, especially through Michael Scott. Characters like Jim and Dwight use it throughout the series to turn ordinary comments suggestive.

  • Threat Level Midnight — Threat Level Midnight is the fake action movie created within The Office, starring Michael Scarn as he stops the villain Goldenface from sabotaging the NHL All-Star Game. It is packed with absurd set pieces, including the Scarn dance, robot butlers, and repeated jokes about cleaning up aisle five.

  • Toby Flenderson — Toby Flenderson is the long-suffering HR representative on The Office, played by Paul Lieberstein. He is Michael Scott’s nemesis, briefly moves to Costa Rica, and is repeatedly mocked for his awkward personal life and workplace return.

  • Todd Packer — Todd Packer is the crude salesman and Michael Scott friend from The Office, played by David Koechner. He is known for obscene jokes, the license plate “WLHUNG,” and recurring appearances in Scranton and on road trips.

  • Zeke — Zeke is the comic cousin of Dwight and brother of Mose in The Office. The name can also point to the Cowardly Lion’s Kansas farmhand alias in The Wizard of Oz.

• The Partridge Family — The 1970s television sitcom about a widowed mother and her children forming a pop group, starring Shirley Jones and David Cassidy. It is associated with the hit song “I Think I Love You,” the theme “Come On, Get Happy,” the animated opening sequence, and later revivals or spin-offs.

• The Return of Jezebel James — The Return of Jezebel James was a three-episode Fox sitcom starring Parker Posey as a woman trying to reconnect with her sister. Its premise centers on Posey’s character, a children’s book editor, asking her sister to serve as a surrogate mother.

• The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer — The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer was a short-lived UPN sitcom about an imagined Black confidante to Abraham Lincoln. It drew protests from the NAACP and was widely criticized as a tasteless historical spoof.

• The Steve Harvey Show — The Steve Harvey Show is the WB sitcom about music teacher Steve Hightower at Booker T. Washington High School in Chicago. It features characters such as Regina Greer, Lovita Jenkins, Cedric Robinson, and Bullethead.

• Too Close for Comfort — Too Close for Comfort was a sitcom about a cartoonist and his family living in a San Francisco house. It later ran under the title The Ted Knight Show in its final season.

• Townies — Townies was a short-lived 1996 ABC sitcom starring Molly Ringwald. It followed a group of young Boston-area adults and was often compared to a lighter, less successful version of Mystic Pizza.

• Trailer Park Boys — Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom set in Sunnyvale, Nova Scotia, following Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles as they cycle through petty schemes and jail time. Its supporting cast includes Jim Lahey and other eccentric residents, and the show became known for its profanity, criminal farce, and low-rent suburban setting.

• TV Land sitcoms
  • Hot in Cleveland — Hot in Cleveland is a TV Land sitcom about three women whose plane lands in Cleveland, where they rent a house from Elka Ostrovsky. The show starred Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendy Malick, and Betty White, and became the network’s first original scripted series.

• Two and a Half Men — Two and a Half Men is a CBS sitcom about Charlie Harper, his brother Alan, and Alan’s son Jake. The series also features Berta, Judith, and Rose, and later replaced Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher.

• Two Guys and a Girl, and a Pizza Place
  • Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place — An ABC sitcom about Pete, Sharon, and Berg, three young Boston roommates whose lives revolve around their apartment and the fictional Beacon Street Pizza. It originally aired as Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place before shortening its title to Two Guys and a Girl. The cast included Ryan Reynolds and Traylor Howard.
• Tyler Perry
  • Tyler Perry’s House of Payne — Tyler Perry’s House of Payne is a TBS sitcom created by Tyler Perry about the Payne family, headed by Curtis and Ella. It was once noted as the longest-running series with a majority-Black cast, passing The Jeffersons by one episode when it was cancelled in 2012.

• Unfabulous — Unfabulous is the Nickelodeon sitcom about Addie Singer, an aspiring pop star played by Emma Roberts. The show launched in 2004 and became one of Roberts’s early television roles.

• Watching Ellie — Watching Ellie was a Julia Louis-Dreyfus sitcom in which she played a cabaret singer. The show used a real-time gimmick and focused on a compressed slice of the character’s life.

• We Got It Made — We Got It Made was a short-lived 1980s sitcom about two New York bachelors and their live-in housekeeper Mickey McKenzie, played by Teri Copley. It is remembered as a flashy oddity that briefly ran in prime time before later appearing in syndication.

• What’s Happening!! — What’s Happening!! is the ABC sitcom centered on Raj, Dwayne Nelson, and Freddie “Rerun” Stubbs.

• Will & Grace — NBC sitcom centered on gay lawyer Will Truman and his best friend Grace Adler, an interior designer. Starring Eric McCormack and Debra Messing, with Megan Mullally as Karen Walker and Sean Hayes as Jack; guest appearances included John Cleese as Lyle Finster and other recurring celebrity roles. It was one of the early mainstream TV comedies to prominently feature gay characters and was revived in 2017 after its original run.

  • Jack McFarland — Jack McFarland is Sean Hayes’s flamboyant, wannabe-actor character on Will & Grace, known for campy humor and outrageous vanity. He is the friend of Will Truman and Grace Adler and owns pets named Guapo and Klaus Von Puppy.

  • Karen Walker — Karen Walker is the wealthy, vain socialite on Will & Grace played by Megan Mullally. She uses the alias Anastasia Beaverhausen and is known for her offbeat, self-indulgent behavior and unlikely flirtations.

• Woops! — Woops! is the short-lived 1992 Fox sitcom about six survivors of a nuclear apocalypse living together on a farm. Its premise centers on an accidental missile launch by children and a group of people with sharply contrasting personalities.

• Workaholics — Workaholics is the Comedy Central sitcom about Adam, Blake, and Anders, three TelAmeriCorp slacker employees living in Rancho Cucamonga. The show mixes office-bro antics with absurd sketches and features supporting characters like Jillian Bell’s office assistant and the drug dealer Karl.

• Yes, Minister — Yes, Minister is a British political sitcom centered on bureaucratic maneuvering and government office life. It inspired later satire such as The Thick of It and includes episode titles like “The Economy Drive” and “Jobs for the Boys.”

• Young Sheldon — Young Sheldon is a prequel to The Big Bang Theory that follows Sheldon Cooper’s childhood in East Texas. It features Iain Armitage as the young Sheldon and Jim Parsons as the narrator.

• Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane — Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane is a WB sitcom about four New York teenagers. Two of its title characters are fraternal twins, and the series was originally developed under a shorter title centered on Zoe.

• Zoey 101 — Zoey 101 is a Nickelodeon series created by Dan Schneider and starring Jamie Lynn Spears as Zoey Brooks. The show follows students at the formerly all-boy Pacific Coast Academy, a boarding school in California.

• British sitcoms
  • Keeping Up Appearances — Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom about Hyacinth Bucket, whose obsession with social status drives the humor. It aired on the BBC in the 1990s and became a cult favorite in reruns, especially through PBS in the United States.
    • Rose Bucket — Rose Bucket is one of Hyacinth Bucket’s sisters in Keeping Up Appearances. She is described as reading steamy romance novels in bed while her husband Onslow prefers Open University.

• Broad City — Broad City is the Comedy Central sitcom about Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer playing exaggerated versions of two young New Yorkers. It became known for its irreverent urban comedy, guest appearance by Hillary Clinton, and Hannibal Buress’s recurring role as Lincoln, Ilana’s dentist boyfriend.

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine — Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a police sitcom set in an NYPD precinct in Brooklyn, led by Captain Raymond Holt. It stars Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta and Andre Braugher as Holt, and its ensemble includes Rosa Diaz, recurring figures such as the Vulture, Marcus, and Doug Judy the Pontiac bandit. The show is known for recurring jokes and bits including the Halloween Heist and the “title of your sex tape” gag.

  • Captain Raymond Holt — Captain Raymond Holt is the strict police captain of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s 99th Precinct. He is notable as the first openly gay police captain in New York City and for his deadpan rivalry with colleagues.

  • Jake Peralta — Jake Peralta is the impulsive NYPD detective at the center of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the police sitcom set in the 99th precinct. The show follows his precinct’s cases, Halloween heists, and workplace antics alongside Captain Raymond Holt and the rest of the ensemble.

• Brotherly Love — Brotherly Love is a 1990s sitcom about Joey Lawrence and his real-life brothers Matthew and Andrew, who play half-brothers in a Philadelphia garage business. The show follows Joe Roman as he helps run the garage after the owner’s death, and it later moved from NBC to the WB.

• Dan Harmon
  • Community — A meta NBC sitcom set at Greendale Community College in Colorado and centered on a study group of mismatched friends, including Jeff Winger, Abed, Troy, Annie, Britta, and Pierce. It is known for parody-heavy episodes such as paintball wars, alternate timelines triggered by a dice roll, and the long-running “six seasons and a movie” joke.

    • Abed Nadir — Abed Nadir is the pop-culture-savvy member of the study group on Community, known for his deadpan catchphrases and obsessive references to television and film. He is Troy Barnes’s close friend and is famous for coining the phrase “six seasons and a movie.”

    • Annie Edison — Annie Edison is a main character on Community, played by Alison Brie. She is a highly organized, often anxious student who works closely with Dean Pelton and lives with Abed and Troy.

    • Annie’s Boobs — Annie’s Boobs is the name Troy gives to the monkey on Community that lives in the vents and steals pens. The name is a joke referring to Alison Brie’s character Annie Edison.

    • Inspector Spacetime — Inspector Spacetime is the fictional British sci-fi series from Community that spoofs Doctor Who. Its recurring details include the catchphrase “the question isn’t where, but when,” the X7 dimensioniser, and enemies who shout “eradicate!”

    • reformed neo-Buddhism — Reformed Neo-Buddhism is the fictional religion from Community associated with Pierce Hawthorne. Its bizarre theology includes Laser Lotus ranks, a Temple of Renewal, and the promise of becoming a shimmering ocean of knowledge.

    • Troy Barnes — Troy Barnes is a character from Community, where he is best known for his friendship with Abed and their fake morning show. He later studies at the Air Conditioning Repair School, dates Britta, and eventually leaves before going on a cruise with LeVar Burton.

    • Troy Barnes and Abed Nadir — Troy Barnes and Abed Nadir are the Community roommates played by Donald Glover and Danny Pudi. They host an in-universe morning show, perform elaborate bits like the Awesome Elevator, and are known for their double high-five and pop-culture banter.

• Fox sitcoms
  • Herman’s Head — Herman’s Head is a 1990s Fox sitcom about a fact-checker whose inner life is personified by figures such as Angel, Animal, Wimp, and Genius. The show starred William Ragsdale and featured Hank Azaria and Yeardley Smith.
• The Bold and the Beautiful — The Bold and the Beautiful is the CBS daytime soap opera centered on the Forrester and Logan families and their fashion-business rivalries in Los Angeles. It is a half-hour series often identified by characters such as Ridge, Brooke, Eric, and Thorne.
  • Brooke Logan Forrester — Brooke Logan Forrester is a character on The Bold and the Beautiful, played by Katherine Kelly Lang. Her storyline centers on complicated marriages to members of the Forrester family, especially Ridge, Eric, and Thorne.

Related Works, People, and Context

• American broadcast television networks
  • ABC — ABC is an American broadcast television network owned by Disney. It aired shows such as The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Dark Shadows, and Wide World of Sports, and was long associated with Monday Night Football.

    • Roone Arledge — Roone Arledge was a major ABC executive who revolutionized sports broadcasting with innovations like instant replay and dramatic athlete features. He launched Monday Night Football and later created ABC News programs such as Nightline and 20/20.

    • TGIF — TGIF was ABC’s Friday-night block of family sitcoms that included Full House, Family Matters, Dinosaurs, and Boy Meets World. The acronym is commonly expanded as Thank Goodness It’s Friday, and it became a hallmark of 1990s television.

• American television networks

  • MyNetworkTV — MyNetworkTV was a short-lived American television network formed from former WB and UPN affiliates that did not join The CW. It launched with telenovelas and later shifted toward syndicated programming before ending its original network run in 2009.

  • The CW — The CW is a U.S. broadcast television network formed in 2006 from the merger of the WB and UPN; its name combines CBS and Warner Bros. It is known for teen dramas and DC superhero series, and its lineup has included Supernatural, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, The Flash, Supergirl, Riverdale, Jane the Virgin, Beauty and the Geek, and Reaper. Riverdale aired on it from 2017 to 2023.

• CBS — The Columbia Broadcasting System, known as CBS, is an American television and radio network. It has broadcast programs such as All in the Family, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, The Big Bang Theory, and coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It is associated with Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite and is nicknamed the Eye Network or Tiffany Network; its eye logo is one of the most recognizable in American television.
  • CBS News — CBS News is the news division associated with Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and 60 Minutes. Its history includes See It Now, Fred Friendly, and the controversy over reporting on Vietnam and later the National Guard memos.

    • Charles Kuralt — Charles Kuralt was the CBS correspondent best known for the long-running travel feature On the Road and for Sunday Morning. He won multiple Emmys and Peabodys and died in 1997 of complications from lupus.

    • Charles Osgood — Charles Osgood was a CBS journalist and radio commentator who hosted CBS Sunday Morning beginning in the 1990s. He took over the program after the death of Charles Kuralt.

• Spanish-language television networks
  • Univision — Univision is the major U.S.-based Spanish-language television network. It owns or has owned sister properties such as TeleFutura and Galavisión and is known for news programs like Primer Impacto as well as telenovelas and variety shows.
• Spanish-language television networks in the United States
  • Telemundo — Telemundo is a major Spanish-language television network in the United States and a longtime competitor to Univision. Founded by Angel Ramos and later acquired by NBC Universal, it expanded from Puerto Rico to the mainland and became a household name for Spanish-language programming.

• The Joker’s Wild — The Joker’s Wild is the Jack Barry-hosted game show built around a slot machine that selected categories and dollar values. Contestants answered in a format billed as the game where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen.

• Bonanza — Bonanza is the long-running Western about the Cartwright family on the Ponderosa Ranch, starring Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright. The show featured Hoss, Little Joe, Adam, and Hop Sing, and it was notable for being shot entirely in color.

  • Ben Cartwright — Ben Cartwright is the patriarch of the Bonanza family and owner of the Ponderosa Ranch. He had three sons—Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe—and was portrayed by Lorne Greene.

  • Eric “Hoss” Cartwright — Eric “Hoss” Cartwright is the middle Cartwright brother from Bonanza, played by Dan Blocker. He was the kindhearted and gullible son of Ben Cartwright, and the character was written out after Blocker’s death.

• The Guiding Light — The Guiding Light was a long-running CBS soap opera that began on radio in 1937 and later moved through several fictional settings, including Springfield. It became known for the Bauer, Spaulding, and Santos families and for plot lines involving characters such as Reva Shayne and Alan Spaulding.

• Announcers

  • Alan Kalter — Alan Kalter was the announcer for The Late Show with David Letterman and replaced Bill Wendell on To Tell the Truth. He was also known for a later on-air persona involving an Elvis costume.

  • Rich Fields — Rich Fields is the announcer best known for The Price Is Right after Rod Roddy, and he previously worked as a weather forecaster in Palm Springs. He also maintained a personal website under the richfields.tv domain and voiced other television projects such as Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza.

• College Bowl
  • G. E. College Bowl — G. E. College Bowl was a college quiz show hosted by Allen Ludden. It is an early predecessor often compared with University Challenge.

• Jack Benny — Jack Benny was a radio and television comedian famous for his violin playing, his stinginess routine, and the long-running Jack Benny Program. Born Benjamin Kubelsky, he successfully crossed from radio to TV and became one of American comedy’s best-known personalities.

• Television announcers

  • Ed McMahon — Ed McMahon was the longtime sidekick and announcer for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. He also hosted Star Search and co-hosted televised blooper specials and the MDA Labor Day Telethon.

  • Johnny Gilbert — Johnny Gilbert is the longtime announcer for Jeopardy!, a role he has held since the show’s 1984 revival. Before Jeopardy!, he worked on game shows such as Music Bingo and Fast Draw, and he also announced other programs including Chain Reaction and Win, Lose or Draw.

  • Rod Roddy — Rod Roddy was a television and game-show announcer best known for his long run on The Price Is Right and for Press Your Luck. He also announced for Soap and Love Connection, narrated Soap, and was known for his booming voice, bright jackets, flamboyant wardrobe, and radio background.

• Andrea Thompson — Andrea Thompson is an actress who played Talia Winters on Babylon 5, Commander Allison Krennick on JAG, and Jill Kirkendall on NYPD Blue. She also worked as a CNN Headline News anchor after earlier reporting work in Albuquerque.

• British broadcasters
  • Jeremy Paxman — Jeremy Paxman is a British broadcaster and interviewer best known for Newsnight and University Challenge. He became famous for relentless questioning, including the repeated interrogation of Michael Howard and other combative political interviews.
• British broadcasters and food personalities
  • Loyd Grossman — Loyd Grossman is a British broadcaster and food personality who hosted MasterChef and Through the Keyhole. He is also known for his distinctive mid-Atlantic accent and for work in art and sculpture broadcasting.
• British documentary presenters
  • Louis Theroux — Louis Theroux is a British documentary interviewer known for Weird Weekends and other offbeat television projects. His work has included interviews with controversial groups such as the Westboro Baptist Church and the subjects of The Most Hated Family in America.
• British television presenters

  • Jimmy Savile — Jimmy Savile was a BBC host of Jim’ll Fix It who was exposed after his death as a serial sexual abuser and later became the subject of major documentary and political controversy.

  • Noel Edmonds — Noel Edmonds is a British television presenter known for Noel’s House Party and for hosting the UK version of Deal or No Deal. A later clue refers to his eccentric claim about seeing energy balls associated with his deceased parents.

  • Sir David Paradine Frost — Sir David Frost was a British satirist and interviewer known for That Was the Week That Was and his Nixon interviews. He also co-hosted other television programs and was later portrayed by Michael Sheen on film.

• British television presenters and models
  • Cat Deeley — Cat Deeley is a British television presenter and former model who co-hosted SM:TV Live with Ant and Dec. She later became the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States and has hosted This Morning.
• Broadcast journalism
  • news anchor — A news anchor is a broadcaster who presents televised news, often serving as the face of a local or national newscast. Fictional examples include Kent Brockman, Morbo, Robin Scherbatsky, and Ron Burgundy.

    • Brick Tamland — Brick Tamland is the dim-witted weatherman from Anchorman, played by Steve Carell. He is remembered for his bizarre comments, politeness, and absurdly low IQ.

    • Ron Burgundy — Ron Burgundy is the blustery fictional anchorman from Anchorman, associated with KVWN, Veronica Corningstone, and his news team. He is played by Will Ferrell and is known for absurd one-liners, an oversized mustache, and a satirical media career.

    • Sex Panther — Sex Panther is the fictional cologne from Anchorman that Brian Fantana promotes with the boast that it works 60 percent of the time, every time. The joke version is described as smelling terrible, while the real product is said to contain lavender and patchouli.

• Broadcast journalists
  • Serena Altschul — Serena Altschul is a broadcast journalist who became known for MTV News before moving into work with CNN and CBS. She hosted programs such as MTV News Unfiltered and True Life and later became a CBS News contributing correspondent.
• Broadcasters
  • Ernie Anderson — Ernie Anderson was a Cleveland disc jockey and horror host who performed as Ghoulardi before becoming the ‘voice of ABC’. His voice introduced programs such as The Love Boat and Charlie’s Angels, and he was the father of director Paul Thomas Anderson.

• Fred Graham — Fred Graham was a Court TV anchor who had previously gained prominence covering the Watergate hearings for CBS. He remained associated with Court TV and was described as a white-haired head anchor.

• journalists

  • Bob Schieffer — Bob Schieffer is a longtime CBS journalist best known for hosting Face the Nation and briefly anchoring the CBS Evening News. His memoir This Just In reflects on decades of reporting and interviewing.

  • Don Lemon — Don Lemon is the former CNN anchor and author of Transparent, a memoir in which he discussed his sexuality and childhood abuse. He became notorious for controversies on-air and off, including remarks about Nikki Haley and feuds with coworkers before his firing in 2023.

  • Edward R. Murrow — American radio and television journalist and CBS broadcaster known for his wartime London and Blitz reports. He helped define radio and television news reporting, hosted Hear It Now and See It Now, led the televised challenge to Joseph McCarthy, and is associated with Harvest of Shame and Person to Person. He was also remembered for closing broadcasts with “Good night, and good luck.”

  • Maria Bartiromo — Maria Bartiromo is a CNBC business journalist who became widely known as the network’s “Money Honey.” She hosted shows such as Market Wrap, Business Center, and Closing Bell, and her name was even used in a Joey Ramone song.

  • Martin Bashir — Martin Bashir is a British journalist who became widely known for his interviews with Princess Diana and Michael Jackson. He worked with ABC programs such as Nightline and 20/20 and later drew controversy for his Living with Michael Jackson documentary.

  • Peter Jennings — Peter Jennings was the Canadian-born ABC newsman who became the youngest network anchor at age 26 and later anchored World News Tonight. He had a long broadcast career in Canada before becoming one of the best-known American television journalists, and he died of lung cancer in 2005.

  • Radio hosts
    • Tavis Smiley — Tavis Smiley is an American radio and television host and journalist who built his career with short radio commentaries before hosting shows on BET, NPR, and PBS. He is also known for guest appearances on scripted television and for portraying Thurgood Marshall in American Dreams.
  • Television news anchors
    • Bernard Shaw — Bernard Shaw was a long-time CNN anchor who became widely known for covering the Gulf War from Baghdad. Earlier, he worked in radio and as a White House correspondent before co-anchoring major CNN programs.

  • Terry Moran — Terry Moran is an ABC News journalist who previously anchored nightly coverage of the O. J. Simpson trial for Court TV. He has covered national politics and the White House and has filled in on World News Tonight.

  • Wolf Blitzer — Wolf Blitzer is an American journalist and CNN anchor best known for hosting The Situation Room. He also became widely known to many audiences through a memorable appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy!.

• Juan Williams — Juan Williams is an American journalist and commentator who was fired by NPR in 2010 after remarks about feeling nervous around passengers in Muslim clothing. He later became a frequent Fox News contributor and wrote Eyes on the Prize and the novel Those Who Trespass.

• Keith Olbermann
  • Countdown with Keith Olbermann — Countdown with Keith Olbermann was an MSNBC news program fronted by Keith Olbermann, known for his return to the network. It also ran publicity stunts such as auctioning off puppets from its Michael Jackson Puppet Theater for charity.
    • Worst Person in the World — This recurring Countdown segment named Keith Olbermann’s daily choice for the person who most deserved the title of worst person in the world. It ranked three nominees for a moral outrage award, with Bill O’Reilly famously taking the bronze, silver, and gold spots.

• Search for Tomorrow — This daytime soap opera ran from 1951 to 1986 and centered on Joanne and her successive husbands. It aired first on CBS and later on NBC, and its cast included Mary Stuart, Kevin Bacon, Susan Sarandon, Olympia Dukakis, and other future stars.

• See It Now — See It Now was Edward R. Murrow’s influential CBS newsmagazine, co-produced with Fred W. Friendly. It is especially remembered for broadcasts that challenged Senator Joseph McCarthy and helped define early television journalism.

• Television journalism

  • Barbara Walters — Pioneering American television journalist and interviewer for ABC, associated with Today, 20/20, and annual specials listing the “10 Most Fascinating People.” She was the first female nightly news co-anchor and co-created The View; she was also widely parodied as “Baba Wawa.”

  • Deborah Norville — Deborah Norville is a television news anchor and host best known for her brief and widely discussed stint on Today and for later hosting Inside Edition. She also wrote children’s books and worked on programs such as Street Stories and Inside Edition.

  • Kurt Loder — Kurt Loder is a journalist who moved from Rolling Stone to MTV News. He became known for anchoring MTV News and for the joke that he once gave Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon a bad review.

• Television journalists

  • Tim Russert — Tim Russert was a NBC News journalist best known as the longtime host of Meet the Press. He also fronted a program simply titled Tim Russert and served as Washington bureau chief for NBC News.

  • Diane Sawyer — Diane Sawyer is an ABC news anchor and interviewer best known for Good Morning America and PrimeTime Live. She became a prominent election-night figure and was often associated with high-profile celebrity and political interviews.

  • Fred Friendly — Fred Friendly was an American television journalist and producer, closely associated with Edward R. Murrow and See It Now. He became CBS News president in the 1960s and later helped spur the development of PBS.

  • Greta Van Susteren — Greta Van Susteren is a television journalist and legal analyst who worked for CNN before moving to Fox News. She hosted On the Record and was widely known for her coverage of the Natalee Holloway disappearance, as well as high-profile interviews and coverage tied to Wisconsin sports figures.

  • Jane Pauley — Jane Pauley is an American television journalist best known for co-anchoring The Today Show. She later hosted programs on MSNBC and won an Emmy after Deborah Norville took over her former job.

  • Jim Lehrer — Jim Lehrer was a longtime PBS journalist and anchor best known for NewsHour. He moderated numerous presidential debates and was parodied in a Saturday Night Live sketch with the words “lockbox” and “strategery.”

  • Megyn Kelly — Megyn Kelly is the former Fox News host and reporter who moderated the 2015 Republican debate with Donald Trump. She later hosted America Live and became known for challenging Trump over his remarks about women.

  • Ted Koppel — Ted Koppel was the longtime anchor of ABC’s Nightline, a post he held for 25 years before retiring in 2005. His career is also associated with interviews and public-affairs television, including a famous segment in which Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear discussed the stock market.

• Television news
  • local news — Local news is the regional television news programming produced by network affiliates and focused on community stories, crime, sports, and weather. In the 1970s it was reshaped by consultants, new ENG technology, and formats such as “eyewitness” and “action” news.
• Television news anchors

  • Erin Burnett — Erin Burnett is the CNBC and Bloomberg financial news host associated with Street Signs and Squawk on the Street. Her clues also mention her remarks about China and her frequent appearance as a media personality outside straight news reporting.

  • Paula Zahn — Paula Zahn is a television news anchor who was the subject of a controversial CNN promo in 2002. The ad called her “just a little bit sexy” and was quickly withdrawn after criticism.

  • Stone Phillips — Stone Phillips was a longtime anchor of Dateline NBC and a former Yale quarterback. He was named after Stonewall Jackson and was known for a serious, authoritative broadcast style.

• Television news programs
  • Meet the Press — Meet the Press is the long-running NBC Sunday morning public-affairs program founded by Lawrence Spivak. Its history includes frequent guests like Bob Dole and moderators such as Tim Russert and Chris Wallace.

• The Fifth Estate — The Fifth Estate is a Canadian television news magazine known for investigative journalism. The same title was also used for a film about WikiLeaks starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange.

• ABC News

  • Nightline — Nightline is ABC’s long-running late-night news program, originally created in response to the Iran hostage crisis. It first aired as America Held Hostage before taking its current name in 1980, and Ted Koppel became its best-known host.

  • World News Now — World News Now is ABC’s overnight news program, first airing in 1992. It is known for its polka theme, quirky interviews, and unusual weather graphics and statistics.

• American talk show hosts
  • Steve Wilkos — Steve Wilkos is a former Chicago police officer and U.S. Marine who became Jerry Springer’s security chief and later a talk-show host. His program is marketed as “Moron-Free TV” and has developed a cult following.
• American television hosts

  • James Lipton — James Lipton was the longtime host of Inside the Actors Studio and a dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School. He became widely associated with the interview format of asking actors about their craft and careers.

  • Oprah Winfrey — Oprah Winfrey is the television host, talk-show host, producer, and media executive behind Harpo Productions and the Oprah Winfrey Network. She hosted The Oprah Winfrey Show, founded O magazine, and became famous for giveaways, book club selections, and other high-profile media projects. Her book club boosted authors such as Edwidge Danticat and Rhonda Byrne, and some selections sparked controversy, as when Jonathan Franzen objected to The Corrections being chosen.

• American television personalities

  • Bryant Gumbel — Bryant Gumbel is the television personality who anchored The Early Show after a long run on NBC’s Today and also hosted Public Eye on HBO.

  • Kathie Lee Gifford — Kathie Lee Gifford is a television personality and singer who became famous as a talk-show host and entertainer. She was a long-time media celebrity before and after co-hosting morning television with Regis Philbin.

  • Star Jones — Star Jones is a lawyer and television personality who gained prominence as a host on The View. Clues about her often mention her work as NBC’s legal correspondent, her book You Have to Stand for Something or You’ll Fall for Anything, and the Starlet Fund.

• Commentators
  • Television commentators
    • Andy Rooney — Andy Rooney was the curmudgeonly commentator best known for his closing essays on 60 Minutes. He also wrote collections of essays such as Common Nonsense, My War, and Out of My Mind, and earlier appeared on Point/Counterpoint.

• Good Morning America — Good Morning America is ABC’s morning news and talk program, long a rival of The Today Show. It has featured anchors such as Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos and at one point included Michael Strahan.

• Meredith Vieira — Meredith Vieira is a television host and journalist known for The View, the syndicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and NBC’s Today. Her earlier work included CBS news and the Lifetime series Intimate Portrait.

• Michael Gelman — Michael Gelman is the television producer best known as the executive producer of Live with Regis and Kelly. He is also known through his off-camera presence on the show and his marriage to Laurie Hibberd.

• Mike Douglas — Mike Douglas was a daytime talk-show host who began as a big-band singer and later fronted a syndicated variety program from Cleveland and Philadelphia. His show was notable for high-profile guests and for a period co-hosted by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

• Television personalities

  • Ben Stein — Ben Stein is a Yale-educated lawyer, speechwriter, and actor known for deadpan roles such as the economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He also hosted the game show Win Ben Stein’s Money and became widely recognized for his nasal delivery.

  • Bil Dwyer — Bil Dwyer is a television personality and commentator who appeared as a battle caster on BattleBots. He is also known for hosting other game and reality programming, including work tied to The New American Sportsman and I’ve Got a Secret.

  • Cathy Lee Crosby — Cathy Lee Crosby is an American television personality and actress who was the only female host on the original That’s Incredible! She also starred as Wonder Woman in an early pilot version of the superhero series.

  • Debbie Matenopoulos — Debbie Matenopoulos is a television personality best known as a former co-host of The View and later as a host on E!’s The Daily 10. She also began as an MTV intern before moving into entertainment-news hosting.

  • Dr. Phil — Dr. Phil is the television personality Phillip Calvin McGraw, who first became famous through repeated appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He later hosted his own talk show and was once a licensed psychologist.

  • Ed Lover — Ed Lover is a media personality best known as a co-host of Yo! MTV Raps and for later radio and television work. He and Doctor Dré also appeared as a duo in Who’s the Man? as barbers who become cops.

  • Elisabeth Hasselbeck — Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a television personality who became known as a contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback before joining The View as a conservative co-host. She also hosted The Look for Less and wrote The G-Free Diet. Clues often mention her marriage to NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck and her fourth-place finish on Survivor.

  • Hoda Kotb — Hoda Kotb is the Egyptian-American television personality best known for co-hosting the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford. She came to NBC through Dateline and later became widely known for her work on the morning show.

  • Hugh Downs — Hugh Downs was a longtime television personality who co-hosted 20/20 and earlier hosted Concentration, Today, and other NBC programs. He was once widely noted for logging more than 10,000 hours on television.

  • Jesse Camp — Jesse Camp was the first winner of MTV’s Wanna Be a VJ contest. He became known as a flamboyant MTV personality before later leaving television for music.

  • Jillian Barberie — Jillian Barberie is a television personality and weather reporter who worked for Fox NFL Sunday and Good Day Live. She also hosted Extreme Dating and earlier became known as a weather anchor in Miami.

  • Judge Judy — Judge Judy is the television persona of Judith Sheindlin, a former family-court judge who presided over a long-running small-claims courtroom show known for final rulings, a hard-edged, aphoristic style, and sharp no-nonsense catchphrases. The show used a theme based on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. She also wrote Beauty Fades, Dumb is Forever and became known for her highly paid syndicated program.

  • Kelly Ripa — Kelly Ripa is an American television personality and actress who became known for All My Children before joining Regis Philbin on Live. She also appeared on Dance Party USA and is associated with the Hayley Vaughan role on daytime television.

  • Kevin O’Leary — Kevin O’Leary is a Canadian businessman and television personality best known as “Mr. Wonderful” on Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den. He became known for sharp investment commentary, business-brand mutual funds, and high-profile royalty deals.

  • Larry Ziegler — Larry Ziegler is identified here as a TV talk show host. The evidence is too sparse to reconstruct which program or broader context is intended.

  • Martha Stewart — Martha Stewart is the television personality and homemaking brand name associated with the catchphrase “It’s a good thing.” She became widely known through lifestyle media and later through her insider-trading scandal and prison sentence.

  • Mary Hart — Mary Hart was the longtime lead anchor of Entertainment Tonight and a familiar face on American television entertainment news. She also won attention as a former Miss South Dakota and later hosted and appeared in several entertainment and fitness projects.

  • Mo Rocca — Mo Rocca is a television personality and writer known for CBS Sunday Morning, Innovation Nation, and Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! He was also a correspondent for The Daily Show and wrote for Wishbone and All the Presidents’ Pets.

  • Nancy Grace — Nancy Grace is a former Court TV personality and Georgia prosecutor who became known for her HLN program and her outspoken coverage of criminal cases.

  • NeNe Leakes — NeNe Leakes, born Linnethia Monique Johnson-Leakes, appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The New Normal. She also played Roz Washington on Glee and served as Mama in a Broadway Chicago revival.

  • Rachel Perry — Rachel Perry is a Canadian television host who worked on MuchMusic, VH1’s All Access, and NBC’s Gravity Games. She was fired from VH1 in 2002 amid substance abuse problems, later returned from rehab, and was known for the two large swallows tattooed on her stomach.

  • Sharon Osbourne — Sharon Osbourne is a British television personality and music manager best known for her work on The X Factor and The Talk. She became widely known as Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and later as a judge on talent shows.

  • Steve Allen — Steve Allen was the first host of The Tonight Show and later hosted Meeting of the Minds. He was also a comedian, songwriter, and frequent television personality associated with Jayne Meadows and other midcentury variety work.

  • Susan Powter — Susan Powter was a 1990s diet and fitness personality known for her infomercials, books, and the slogan “Stop the Insanity!” She later became a talk-show host and public figure tied to the health-culture boom of that decade.

  • Ty Pennington — Ty Pennington is a carpenter and television personality best known for Trading Spaces and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. He also worked in graphic design and became a spokesperson for several brands.

• Television presenters

  • Amanda Byram — Amanda Byram is an Irish television presenter who co-hosted Total Wipeout and also fronted reality shows such as Paradise Hotel and The Swan. Her work made her a familiar face in light entertainment and makeover-style TV formats.

  • Andy Cohen — Andy Cohen is the Bravo host and producer closely associated with the Real Housewives reunions. He is also known as the host of a Keeping Up with the Kardashians special and as a frequent target of pop-culture jokes.

  • Children’s television presenters
    • Steve Burns — Steve Burns is the original host of Blue’s Clues and later became a musician whose song “Mighty Little Man” was used for Young Sheldon. He resurfaced in a viral 2021 video that echoed his old green striped shirt and revived affection for the character he played.
  • Game show hosts
    • Jeffrey Lee Probst — Longtime host of Survivor, where he popularized the line “the tribe has spoken.” He also hosted Rock & Roll Jeopardy! in the late 1990s and early 2000s, wrote and directed the film Finder’s Fee, and was described as an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church.

  • James May — James May is a British television presenter best known as one of the former Top Gear hosts and as the man nicknamed “Captain Slow.” He has fronted travel and food programs and is associated with automotive writing and comic bits about cars, gadgets, and driving mishaps.

  • Jeremy Clarkson — Jeremy Clarkson is a British television presenter best known for Top Gear and later The Grand Tour. He is associated with loud automotive enthusiasm, the “some say” introduction, and later hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the UK.

  • Lorraine Kelly — Lorraine Kelly is a Scottish daytime television presenter best known for her eponymous breakfast show on ITV. She won a 2019 tax tribunal by arguing that she was performing as a character with her own name rather than as an employee.

  • Magnus Magnusson — This Icelandic journalist was the longtime host of Mastermind and became known for his repeated first and last name. He was associated with the Mastermind tenure that saw contestants such as Fred Housego and Chris Hughes.

  • Marc Summers — Marc Summers is the television host best known for Double Dare and other Nickelodeon and Food Network programs. He has also been identified with his outspoken discussion of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

  • Mario Lopez — Mario Lopez is an actor and television host best known for playing A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell. He also hosted entertainment and reality shows including Access Hollywood, The X Factor, Pet Star, and America’s Best Dance Crew, hosted the Miss Teen USA contest, and appeared on Dancing with the Stars.

  • Paige Davis — Paige Davis is the television host best known for Trading Spaces, where she served as the bubbly cohost before returning after a hiatus. Her background also includes stage work and appearances on other reality and game-show programs.

  • Phil Keoghan — Phil Keoghan is the New Zealand-born television host best known for fronting The Amazing Race. Before that, he worked as a cameraman and hosted travel-oriented series such as Heroes and No Opportunity Wasted.

  • Piers Morgan — Piers Morgan is a British television presenter and newspaper editor known for tabloid controversy, interview programs, and outspoken commentary. He hosted Good Morning Britain, later moved to TalkTV, and became notorious for remarks about Meghan Markle that led to his resignation.

  • Vanna White — Vanna White is the longtime letter-turner on Wheel of Fortune, where she replaced Susan Stafford and became famous for her onscreen clapping. Pop-culture references to her include songs and television appearances, and she won a lawsuit over the use of her likeness against Samsung.
• Television weather presenters
  • Al Roker — Al Roker is the longtime television weatherman best known from Today and for his public weight-loss and voice-acting work. He also wrote the memoir Don’t Make Me Stop This Car! about fatherhood.

• The Chase — The Chase is the title of a trivia game show featuring chasers such as Mark Labbett, known as “The Beast,” and Brad Rutter, “The Buzz Saw.” The same title is also used for the final three chapters of Moby-Dick, which end with Ahab’s fatal pursuit of the White Whale.

• The Dating Game — The Dating Game is the Chuck Barris game show that used Herb Alpert’s “Spanish Flea” as its theme. On the show, a contestant questioned three eligible singles before choosing a date.

• The Newlywed Game — The Newlywed Game is the television game show in which married couples answer questions about each other, often with comic mismatches. It became famous for its flirtatious “whoopee” humor and long-running versions hosted by Bob Eubanks and later Carnie Wilson.

• The Phil Donahue Show — The Phil Donahue Show was an influential American talk show that began in Cleveland and later moved to Chicago. It pioneered audience participation and helped define the modern single-topic talk-show format.

• Today — Today is NBC’s long-running morning show, often known as The Today Show. Its host lineup has included figures such as Dave Garroway, Al Roker, Hoda Kotb, and Kathie Lee Gifford.

  • J. Fred Muggs — J. Fred Muggs was a chimpanzee mascot who appeared on NBC’s Today show in the 1950s. He was used to boost ratings and became famous for comic antics alongside Dave Garroway.

  • Willard Scott — Willard Scott was the longtime Today Show weatherman who first became known as one of the earliest television Ronald McDonalds. He had earlier worked as Bozo in Washington, D.C., and later became famous for birthday greetings and weather forecasting.

• Animated fantasy series
  • The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin — The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin is an animated fantasy series centered on the title bear, his friend Grubby, and inventor Dr. Newton Gimmick. It follows a quest through the land of Grundo for the Treasure of Grundo and the power of mysterious crystals.
• animated television series
  • Mission Hill — Mission Hill is an animated series about Andy French, his younger brother Kevin, and their roommates in the title neighborhood. The show originally aired on the WB in 1999 and later appeared on TBS and Adult Swim.
• Another World — Another World was the long-running NBC daytime soap set in Bay City, Illinois, and it was the first soap opera to run a full hour five days a week. It also spawned the spin-offs Somerset and Texas. Questions often mention the Frame, Cory, Hudson, and Matthews families, or cite assorted characters such as Cindy, Marnie, and Gary.
  • Bay City — Bay City is the fictional Midwestern setting of the soap opera Another World. The town served as the show’s location for much of its long run and is identified in some clues as being in Illinois.

• Beulah — Beulah is a recurring name associated with Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” where it is the dead wife of the blind man. The same name was also used for a stereotyped radio and television maid character once portrayed by Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters, and Louise Beavers.

• Bozo — Bozo was the long-running WGN-Chicago clown whose morning show was sponsored by Sears and breakfast cereals for decades. He is remembered for his blue-and-red costume, pies in the face, and 83-AAA shoes that were later sent to the Television Hall of Fame.

• Children’s television shows
  • Romper Room — Romper Room was a long-running children’s television program built around a local hostess and a recurring magic mirror segment. It began in the 1950s and later expanded into versions such as Romper Room and Friends.
• Dragnet — Dragnet was a hard-edged police procedural centered on Joe Friday of the LAPD. It became famous first as a 1950s radio and television series and later as a comedy film with Dan Aykroyd as Friday.
  • Officer Bill Gannon — Officer Bill Gannon is the detective who partnered Joe Friday when Dragnet returned in 1967. He was played by Harry Morgan.
• Game show hosts

  • Bill Cullen — Bill Cullen was a veteran game-show host who led The Price Is Right, Blockbusters, Hot Potato, and The Joker’s Wild after Jack Barry. Born in Pittsburgh in 1920, he overcame a childhood polio injury and became known for appearing on numerous network game shows, sometimes hosting programs on three networks at once.

  • Chuck Woolery — Chuck Woolery is the game-show host who first hosted Wheel of Fortune and later became associated with Love Connection, Scrabble, Greed, and Lingo. He is also remembered as a former musician from Morehead State and The Avant Garde. Quiz clues often mention his original Wheel of Fortune run ending in a salary dispute and his later role as a television personality and occasional voiceover presence. His name is a standard answer for questions about long-running American game shows.

  • George Gray — George Gray is a game show host and announcer who hosted Junkyard Wars and later the syndicated version of The Weakest Link. His other hosting work included Extreme Gong and the game-show revival of The Gong Show.

  • Jack Barry — Jack Barry was an early television game-show host who fronted Twenty-One before the quiz-show scandal and later hosted The Joker’s Wild. He also hosted Winky Dink and You, Juvenile Jury, and other midcentury game shows that made him a familiar figure in television history.

  • Jim Perry — Jim Perry was a game-show host best known for hosting Card Sharks and Sale of the Century. He was a Canadian-born broadcaster who became one of the more familiar faces of television quiz and game shows.

  • John Davidson — John Davidson is an entertainer who hosted Hollywood Squares and The $100,000 Pyramid. He also had a background as a hockey player and later became a sports broadcaster.

  • Monty Hall — Monty Hall was the long-time host of Let’s Make a Deal. He is also remembered for the Monty Hall problem, a famous probability puzzle.

  • Peter Marshall — Peter Marshall is a game show host best known for hosting Hollywood Squares. Born Pierre LaCock, he also hosted other game shows and became a radio personality.

  • Peter Tomarken — Peter Tomarken was the game-show host best known for Press Your Luck. He died in a plane crash in 2006, and later tributes connected him to the show’s famous Whammy sequences.

  • Richard Dawson — Richard Dawson was the actor and game-show personality who became famous as the original host of Family Feud and as a longtime panelist on Match Game. He also played Damon Killian in The Running Man and was known for kissing female contestants on air.

  • Shandi Finnessey — Shandi Finnessey is a former Miss USA who co-hosted game shows such as Lingo and Quiznation. She also won the Miss Missouri USA and Miss USA pageants and wrote a children’s book.

  • Wink Martindale — Wink Martindale is an American radio and television host who also had a brief recording career, including the 1959 novelty hit “Deck of Cards.” He is best known for hosting game shows such as Tic-Tac-Dough, Gambit, High Rollers, and Debt.

• I Spy — I Spy is both a secret-agent television series starring Robert Culp and a line of hidden-object picture books. The TV theme was written by Earle Hagen, while the books were created by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick.

• Jeopardy! — Long-running quiz/game show that requires contestants to answer in the form of a question. It was hosted for years by Alex Trebek and later associated with Ken Jennings as host. Its format includes Daily Doubles and the Clue Crew, and it has featured famous champion runs such as those by Ken Jennings and Julia Collins, as well as later tournaments like the Greatest of All Time event. It also inspired the recurring Saturday Night Live parody Celebrity Jeopardy!.

  • Art Fleming — Art Fleming was the original host of Jeopardy!, presenting the show in its early syndicated run and later on The All-New Jeopardy!. He is remembered as Alex Trebek’s predecessor on the franchise.

  • Brad Rutter — Brad Rutter is a Jeopardy! champion known for becoming the game show’s top money winner and for winning the Million Dollar Masters tournament. He became undefeated on the show in 2000 and is often mentioned alongside Ken Jennings.

  • host of Jeopardy! — The host of Jeopardy! reads clues to contestants on the long-running quiz show. The role was famously held by Alex Trebek and later by a rotating group that included Mike Richards, Mayim Bialik, and Ken Jennings.

  • James Holzhauer — James Holzhauer is the Jeopardy! champion known for his record-breaking winnings and aggressive wagering style. He also gained fame for large wins on The Chase and for his 32-game Jeopardy! streak.

  • Jep! — Jep! was a kids’ version of Jeopardy! hosted by Bob Bergen in the late 1990s. It featured Hyper and Super rounds and is remembered as a short-lived game show spinoff.

  • Ken Jennings — American game-show champion, trivia personality, and writer best known for his record-breaking Jeopardy! run. He won fame for a 74-game winning streak and a very large Jeopardy! total, later becoming a Jeopardy! host. He has also been associated with podcasting and online trivia writing, and has written books on trivia, geography, humor, and parental advice.

  • losing on Jeopardy! — Losing on Jeopardy! refers to failing on the game show Jeopardy!, a mishap famously parodied by Weird Al Yankovic. The topic also appears in fiction and trivia history through especially memorable defeats, including Ken Jennings’s loss to Nancy Zerg.

• Nature television series
  • Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom — Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom is the long-running nature television series sponsored by the insurance company Mutual of Omaha. It is associated with Marlin Perkins, Jim Fowler, and dramatic animal encounters such as anaconda and helicopter scenes.
• News magazines
  • 48 Hours — 48 Hours is a CBS newsmagazine hosted for many years by Dan Rather and later associated with long-form true-crime and investigative stories. Its title comes from the program’s original format of devoting an hour to each of two stories across a weekend broadcast.
• Press Your Luck — Press Your Luck was the 1980s game show in which contestants chased Big Bucks on the Big Board while avoiding the loss-causing Whammies. It became famous for Michael Larson’s record-setting, pattern-memorizing run and for host Peter Tomarken.

  • Michael Larson — Michael Larson was the ice cream truck driver who famously solved the hidden pattern on Press Your Luck and won $110,237. He later became known for a fraudulent lottery scam and for trying to evade authorities after the scheme collapsed.

  • Whammy — The Whammy is the Press Your Luck cartoon menace that steals contestants’ winnings and is avoided during the show’s spinning rounds. The character was redesigned in a later revival and is sometimes shown as a red devil with a dollar sign and a cape.

• Queen for a Day — Queen for a Day was a television game show hosted by Jack Bailey in which women competed by telling stories of hardship to win prizes and the title itself. It was one of the early daytime programs aimed at women, and later references use its title for a short story by Albert E. Cowdrey.

• Quiz Show
  • Herb Stempel — Herb Stempel was a contestant in the 1950s quiz show scandal who was coached to throw a game to Charles Van Doren. He later became publicly associated with the exposure of the rigged television quiz programs and was portrayed by John Turturro in Quiz Show.
• Quiz show scandals
  • Charles Van Doren — Charles Van Doren was the Columbia professor and contestant at the center of the 1950s television quiz-show scandal. He is also the subject of the film Quiz Show, in which Ralph Fiennes played him.
• Quiz shows
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? — Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is the televised quiz show in which contestants answer a ladder of multiple-choice questions for a million-dollar prize. Its signature lifelines include Phone a Friend, Ask the Audience, and 50/50, and later revivals added changes such as Ask the Host.
• Television game show hosts

  • Allen Ludden — Allen Ludden was a television game show host best known for hosting Password. He also hosted the original television run of G.E. College Bowl and later Password Plus.

  • Bob Barker — Bob Barker was a longtime game-show host and animal-rights activist, best known for hosting The Price Is Right. He earlier hosted Truth or Consequences and also hosted Miss USA pageants. He drew attention for refusing to emcee the 1988 Miss USA event over the use of real fur, after emphasizing that the contestants wore simulated furs in 1987. He also served in the Navy and was the subject of lawsuits filed by former employees.

  • Frank Nicotero — Frank Nicotero is a comic and television host from Pittsburgh who hosted the game show Street Smarts. The clues point to him as the program’s host rather than a character or other performer.

  • Gene Rayburn — Gene Rayburn was a television and radio host best known for Match Game and for his distinctive skinny microphone. He also announced for Steve Allen, hosted earlier game shows such as Tic Tac Dough, and became famous for his playful panel banter and impersonations.

  • George Alexander Trebek — George Alexander Trebek, better known as Alex Trebek, was the longtime host of Jeopardy! after its 1984 revival. He also hosted The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, To Tell the Truth, and Classic Concentration, and later hosted the National Geographic Bee and a 2020 GOAT tournament on Jeopardy!. He became a pop-culture figure through sketches, commercials, and cameos, and was remembered for a 2011 Achilles tendon injury.

• Television news magazines
  • Hard Copy — Hard Copy was a tabloid television news magazine hosted by Terry Murphy and Barry Nolan. It aired from 1989 to 1999 and specialized in celebrity scandals, conspiracies, and sensational crime stories.
• Television newsmagazines
  • Dateline NBC — Dateline NBC is NBC’s long-running newsmagazine, known for investigative segments and specials such as To Catch a Predator. Its hosts have included Stone Phillips, Jane Pauley, and Ann Curry.
    • To Catch a Predator — To Catch a Predator is the Dateline NBC sting segment and later series fronted by Chris Hansen. It used hidden cameras and decoys to catch adults who thought they were meeting minors online, and the show became notorious for Hansen’s ‘take a seat’ confrontations.
      • Chris Hansen — Chris Hansen is the NBC journalist who hosted Dateline’s To Catch a Predator segments, confronting would-be predators after they arrived to meet a supposed minor. He also reported on major news events including the Columbine shooting and the Oklahoma City bombing.
  • Entertainment Tonight — Entertainment Tonight is a long-running syndicated entertainment newsmagazine that began in 1981 and became a daily Hollywood fixture. It is closely associated with Mary Hart and later hosting and reporting teams including Bob Goen, Mark Steines, and Jann Carl.
• Television quiz shows
  • Twenty-One — Twenty-One was the television quiz show later exposed by scandals dramatized in Quiz Show. The number twenty-one also titles the band Twenty One Pilots and appears in names like 21 Guns and 21 Savage.
• Television segments
  • Oddball — Oddball was a recurring MSNBC Countdown segment highlighting bizarre news and viral oddities. It was introduced with a lively musical cue and became a showcase for the strangest stories of the day.
• Television techniques
  • laugh tracks — Laugh tracks, also called canned laughter, are the recorded audience sounds used to make sitcoms seem live. Charles Douglass popularized the device, which producers used heavily in shows like Hogan’s Heroes and The Monkees.

• The $64,000 Question — The $64,000 Question was a 1950s television quiz show based on contestants choosing a specialty category and then trying to protect rising winnings by quitting at the right time. It became famous through Dr. Joyce Brothers’s victory and later fell amid the quiz show scandals.

• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet — The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet began on radio before moving to television for a long ABC run built around the real Nelson family. Its later years featured Ricky Nelson as a pop star, turning the family sitcom into a showcase for a real-life musical household.
  • Oswald George “Ozzie” Nelson — Ozzie Nelson was a bandleader and television father figure best known as the paterfamilias of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He was a young Eagle Scout, married singer Harriet Hilliard, and was the father of David and Ricky Nelson. His family became one of the best-known in American television during the 1950s and 1960s.

• The Edge of Night — The Edge of Night was a long-running American soap opera set in the fictional town of Monticello. It aired from 1956 to 1984 and featured Larry Hagman among its cast members.

• The New Treasure Hunt — The New Treasure Hunt was a Chuck Barris game show revival notable for its all-female contestant pool. Contestants picked boxes or prizes that could conceal money or absurd gag rewards, with much of the episode built around prepared skits and comic routines.

• TV Guide — TV Guide is the magazine long associated with listings of what is on television. Its history includes a national issue with a famous baby cover and an origin in the era of broadcast scheduling magazines.

• What’s My Line? — What’s My Line? was the long-running panel game show hosted by John Daly in which celebrity panelists guessed a guest’s occupation. The show featured regulars like Dorothy Kilgallen and Arlene Francis and popularized lines such as asking whether something was bigger than a breadbox.

• astronomy media
  • television series
    • Star Hustler — Star Hustler was Jack Horkheimer’s weekly astronomy television series, promoted as a short show about naked-eye observing. It was produced out of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and was once described as one of television’s most successful five-minute programs.
• Children’s television
  • Bob Keeshan — Bob Keeshan was the children’s television entertainer best known as Captain Kangaroo. He also helped create Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody and worked in early television as a censor-minded host and performer.
• Children’s television characters
  • Puppets
    • Howdy Doody — Howdy Doody was one of the earliest popular children’s TV stars, a marionette controlled by Buffalo Bob Smith. His show featured Clarabell the Clown, a peanut-gallery audience, and the slogan “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” became closely associated with the character.
      • Clarabell — Clarabell was the clown character from the children’s television show Howdy Doody.
• Jack Webb — Jack Webb was an actor, producer, and writer best known for creating Dragnet and playing Sergeant Joe Friday. His work became synonymous with the deadpan line “Just the facts, ma’am,” and he also wrote The Badge.

Television Storytelling and Early Landmarks

Television forms developed through live production, recorded programming, network schedules, sponsorship, public broadcasting, syndication, cable, and changing audience measurement. These landmarks represent shifts in form and circulation rather than a definitive ranking of programs.¹

• Live anthology drama — programs such as Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, and Playhouse 90 mounted different dramatic stories each week and trained writers, directors, actors, and designers in the constraints of live or near-live production. Surviving recordings are incomplete, which distorts retrospective canons.

• Playhouse 90 (CBS, 1956–1960) — the ninety-minute anthology presented ambitious adaptations and original teleplays, including Requiem for a Heavyweight. Production gradually shifted from live broadcast toward videotape because weekly live staging at that scale was difficult.²

• Variety television — vaudeville-derived programs combined hosts, comedy, music, dance, novelty acts, and guest stars for a mass household audience. The Ed Sullivan Show, Your Show of Shows, and later The Carol Burnett Show represent different balances of booking, sketch performance, and star persona.

• How landmarks are judged — ratings, awards, formal innovation, industrial influence, preservation, critical reputation, and representation answer different questions. A program can be historically important without being universally “best,” and lost or marginalized work is harder to canonize.

• Television criticism
  • vast wasteland — A vast wasteland is the phrase Newton Minow used to describe what television could become if it offered little of value. His 1961 speech to broadcasters made the expression famous as a criticism of mindless TV programming.
• television — Television is the broadcast medium that uses electronic image transmission and was originally built around cathode ray technology. Quizbowl clues often tie it to Philo Farnsworth, Vladimir Zworykin, Newton Minow’s “vast wasteland,” and the rise of cable and the V-chip.
  • Action series
    • 18 Wheels of Justice — 18 Wheels of Justice is a short-lived action series about a man in witness protection who becomes a long-haul truck driver. It starred Lucky Vanous and also featured G. Gordon Liddy and Billy Dee Williams in supporting roles.
  • Anthology series
    • The Outer Limits — The Outer Limits is the 1960s science-fiction anthology series introduced by the Control Voice’s warning not to adjust the television set. Its episodes included “The Hundred Days of the Dragon,” and the series later returned in a 1990s revival that continued the anthology format.

  • Jumping the Shark — A phrase for the point at which a TV series seems to start relying on a desperate, flashy gimmick rather than genuine momentum after its peak. It comes from Happy Days, where Fonzie literally jumped a shark on water skis, and has since become a general term for a series crossing into decline.

  • Political satire
    • The Thick of It — The Thick of It is an Armando Iannucci political satire set around Whitehall and British ministerial life. It features Malcolm Tucker, whose profanity and invented term “omnishambles” became especially associated with the series, and it spawned the film In the Loop.
  • Procedural dramas
    • 9-1-1 — 9-1-1 is a Fox procedural drama about emergency responders in Los Angeles, centered on characters such as Bobby Nash, Athena Grant, Buck, and Chimney Han. The title refers to the U.S. emergency telephone number.
  • Sitcoms

    • Accidentally on Purpose — Accidentally on Purpose was a short-lived CBS sitcom about a movie critic who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand with a younger man. Jenna Elfman starred as the central character who chooses to live platonically with the father of her child.

    • Dharma & Greg — Dharma & Greg is an ABC sitcom about a free-spirited woman and an uptight lawyer who marry impulsively after meeting on the subway. The show plays its comedy off the clash between her hippie family and his straight-laced parents.
      • Dharma and Greg — Dharma and Greg is the sitcom about a free-spirited woman who marries a wealthy lawyer from a conservative family. The show featured the Montgomery family and helped inspire Chuck Lorre’s use of vanity cards in later productions.

    • Grounded for Life — Grounded for Life is an early-2000s sitcom starring Donal Logue as Sean Finnerty. The show moved from Fox to The WB after its cancellation on Fox.

    • Platypus Man — Platypus Man was a short-lived 1995 UPN sitcom starring Richard Jeni as a lonely man who hosted a cooking show. The title refers to a male who tries to mate often but spends much of his time alone.

    • The Vicar of Dibley — This British comedy series stars Dawn French as an Anglican vicar serving the sleepy village of Dibley. Its humor comes from the arrival of a female clergy member in a conservative rural parish.

  • television programming — Television programming is the broad category of mass-media content that includes shows, sitcoms, news, and other broadcast or streamed offerings. Clues often invoke Newton Minow’s “vast wasteland” speech, Raymond Williams’s idea of flow, and critiques of television’s social effects.

  • Television set — A television set is the household screen used to display broadcast or recorded video. It appears in horror-film scenes such as Poltergeist and Scream, where the set becomes a memorable prop.

  • Televisions — Televisions are a common material and device in video installation art, especially in works by Nam June Paik and Wolf Vostell. They also appear in performance and installation pieces such as Electronic Superhighway and other multimedia artworks, recur in film scenes by Michael Haneke, and figure in modern discussions of color television technology.

  • watching television — Watching television is the media activity discussed through theories of flow, segmentation, and encoding and decoding. Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death criticizes it as a form of passive, attention-shaping consumption.

Early Sitcoms and Domestic Comedy

• The Honeymooners (CBS, 1955–1956) — Jackie Gleason; short-lived but enormously influential on domestic working-class comedy; widely cited as a precursor to The Flintstones and later animated sitcoms.

  • Alice Kramden — Alice Kramden is the long-suffering wife of Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners. She is closely associated with the catchphrase ‘To the moon, Alice!’ and was played by Audrey Meadows among others.

  • Raccoon Lodge — The Raccoon Lodge is the lodge Ralph Kramden belongs to in The Honeymooners. It is a recurring comic detail associated with Ralph’s weekly outings.

  • Ralph Kramden — Ralph Kramden is the loud, blustering bus driver from The Honeymooners, husband of Alice and roommate to Ed Norton and Trixie. He lives at 328 Chauncey Street and is famous for threats about sending Alice “to the moon.” His catchphrases and schemes, including Handy Housewife Helpers, made him one of classic television’s best-known working-class sitcom protagonists.

• I Love Lucy (CBS, 1951–1957) — Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz; one of the first TV sitcoms to be filmed before a live audience and edited; set precedents for syndication and rerun economics. It became famous for the chocolate-factory conveyor belt scene. It was an early multicamera hit and helped establish the production style and rerun model of American television comedy.

  • Ethel Mertz — Ethel Mertz is Lucy Ricardo’s best friend and landlady on I Love Lucy, played by Vivian Vance. The former vaudeville performer is from Albuquerque and is married to Fred Mertz.

  • Lucy Ricardo — Lucy Ricardo is the comic heroine of I Love Lucy, played by Lucille Ball. She is remembered for scenes like the chocolate-factory conveyor belt, the Vitameatavegamin commercial, and various schemes involving her husband Ricky.

  • Ricky Ricardo — Ricky Ricardo is the bandleader husband of Lucy on I Love Lucy, where he is remembered for his nightclub performances and his signature song “Babalu.” The character is a Cuban-born showman whose episodes include “Job Switching” and other domestic-comedy situations built around his quick temper and stage persona.

  • Vitameatavegamin — Vitameatavegamin is the fictional tonic Lucy pitches in a famous I Love Lucy commercial sequence. The gag depends on its high alcohol content, which makes Lucy increasingly intoxicated as she keeps recording the advertisement.

  • Vitameatavegemin — Vitameatavegemin is the fictional tonic Lucy Ricardo hawks in a famous I Love Lucy episode, boasting that it contains vitamins, meat, vegetables, and minerals. The commercial parody centers on its sugary taste and the breathless pitch to join the “happy peppy people.”

Cable, Streaming, and Television Genres

Distinguish television genres and the changes in distribution.

Drama, Crime, and Historical Television

• Roots (ABC, 1977) — the eight-part miniseries brought a multigenerational story of enslavement and Black family history to a vast U.S. broadcast audience over consecutive nights. Its event status changed expectations for the miniseries, while historians have also scrutinized Alex Haley’s genealogy and the adaptation’s compression.³

• Hill Street Blues (NBC, 1981–1987) — combined an ensemble workplace, overlapping dialogue, mobile visual style, moral ambiguity, and stories continuing across episodes. Its ratings were often modest, but its production and narrative methods became templates for later serial drama.⁴ The series stars Daniel J. Travanti as Frank Furillo; other clues include Sergeant Esterhaus, “Grace Under Pressure,” Mike Post’s theme, and the spinoff Beverly Hills Buntz.

• Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990–1991; Showtime, 2017) — David Lynch and Mark Frost mixed soap opera, murder mystery, melodrama, surrealism, and sound design. Its early ratings decline and later cult influence show how artistic impact can diverge from first-run audience size.⁵ The central mystery concerns Laura Palmer’s murder, investigated by coffee-and-cherry-pie-loving Dale Cooper. Recurring elements include BOB, the Black Lodge, and the Roadhouse; Fire Walk With Me and The Return extend the story.

  • Annie Blackburn — Annie Blackburn is a character in Twin Peaks, introduced as the sister of Norma Jennings and a love interest for Agent Cooper. She is an ex-nun and was played by Heather Graham.

  • Black Lodge — The Black Lodge is the sinister Twin Peaks realm associated with the Red Room and the Man from Another Place. It is remembered for reverse-talking dialogue, the zigzag floor, and lines such as the warning that “that gum you like is going to come back in style.”

  • Dale Cooper — Dale Cooper is the FBI agent at the center of Twin Peaks, where he investigates Laura Palmer’s death. He is famous for black coffee, a tape recorder addressed to Diane, and surreal dreams involving a red room and the Man from Another Place.

  • Diane — Diane is a recurring name in Twin Peaks, including the woman Cooper addresses through his tape recorder. Diane Ravitch is the education historian known for criticizing standardized testing and writing about New York City schools.

  • Invitation to Love — Invitation to Love is the soap opera watched in Twin Peaks, where it parodies and mirrors events in the main story. The show is set in the high-rise apartment complex called the Towers and features characters such as Emerald and Jade.

  • Leland Palmer — Leland Palmer is a character from Twin Peaks. He is Laura Palmer’s father and is revealed as her killer while under the influence of BOB.

  • The Black Lodge — The Black Lodge is the eerie extradimensional place from Twin Peaks associated with the Red Room and the backwards-talking dwarf. Windom Earle seeks its secret entrance.

• The Americans (FX, 2013–2018) — Cold War spy drama about Soviet agents living undercover in the D.C. suburbs; Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell; critically acclaimed, limited in mass viewership but often cited as one of the best dramas of the 2010s.

• The Crown (Netflix, 2016–2023) — dramatization of the British royal family from Queen Elizabeth II’s accession onward; subject of intense debate about dramatizing living figures; six seasons. Its cast has included Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, and Vanessa Kirby.

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents — Alfred Hitchcock Presents was the long-running television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock and introduced by the famous funeral-march title music. Its episodes adapted stories such as Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter,” and the series later returned in revival form using old footage of Hitchcock.

• Anthology series
  • Masterpiece — PBS’s long-running prime-time anthology strand for British drama, originally launched in 1971 as Masterpiece Theatre and originally hosted by Alistair Cooke. Its broadcasts have included The First Churchills, I, Claudius, Upstairs, Downstairs, Jeeves and Wooster, Middlemarch, Sherlock, and Downton Abbey.
• Anthology television series

  • Love, American Style — This 1970s anthology show presented separate romantic sketch segments under a shared theme and later became famous for airing an unsold Happy Days pilot. It was parodied in later comedy media and is closely tied to the early development of Happy Days.

  • Night Gallery — Night Gallery was Rod Serling’s anthology television series, presented with paintings that introduced each story. Its pilot was directed by Steven Spielberg, and the series adapted stories by authors such as Lovecraft and Conrad Aiken.

  • Playhouse 90 — Playhouse 90 was a CBS anthology television series that ran in the late 1950s and emphasized ambitious ninety-minute dramas. It premiered works such as Judgement at Nuremberg, The Miracle Worker, and Requiem for a Heavyweight.

• Room 222 — Room 222 was an ABC television series set in an integrated Los Angeles high school. The show starred Lloyd Haynes as history teacher Pete Dixon and is often remembered as an early “dramedy.”

• The Defenders — The Defenders was the 1960s courtroom drama starring E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as the father-son legal team Lawrence and Kenneth Preston. It grew out of an earlier Studio One episode and won Emmys for controversial stories such as the Hollywood blacklist episode.

• The Fugitive — The Fugitive is the classic TV drama about a man wrongly accused of killing his wife while pursuing the one-armed man who really did it. Its story was later revived in a popular 1993 film version with Harrison Ford.

• The Reagans — This CBS miniseries about Ronald and Nancy Reagan was abandoned after conservative protests and questions about its portrayal of the Reagans. It starred James Brolin and Judy Davis and was later sold to a cable network.

• The Rifleman — The Rifleman is a western series centered on Lucas McCain, a widowed rancher raising his son Mark in North Fork, New Mexico. Chuck Connors, a former baseball player, starred as McCain and used a specially modified Winchester rifle as his trademark weapon.

• The Slap — The Slap is the 2015 NBC miniseries centered on the fallout from one child being struck at a family gathering. Its ensemble cast included Peter Sarsgaard, Zachary Quinto, Brian Cox, and Uma Thurman, and it was adapted from an Australian series.

• The Waltons — A television family drama centered on the Walton family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression. Its main characters include John-Boy, John and Olivia Walton, and children such as Mary Ellen and Elizabeth. It is also known for its ending goodnight sequence and large cast of children, grandparents, and parents.

• Wagon Train — Wagon Train was a popular television western that followed a group of settlers traveling from Missouri to California. The series was notable for guest-star stories centered on different members of the wagon train and for its top Nielsen ranking in the early 1960s.

• Burke’s Law — Burke’s Law is a crime television series about millionaire detective Amos Burke, played by Gene Barry. It originally aired in the 1960s and was later revived in 1994 with a remodeled format and prominent guest stars.

• Peter Gunn — Peter Gunn is a television private detective series created around a jazz-loving title character. Its theme music was written by Henry Mancini and has been widely covered by artists such as Monty Python, They Might Be Giants, and Aerosmith.

• America: A Tribute to Heroes — America: A Tribute to Heroes was the live September 11 charity telethon produced by Joel Gallen. It was broadcast from Los Angeles and New York and raised funds for victims of the attacks.

• Television characters
  • Eric Foreman — Eric Foreman is the shared name of Topher Grace’s teenager from That ’70s Show and Omar Epps’s neurologist on House. The House character is a former delinquent who works under House at Princeton-Plainsboro, while the sitcom character is the Star Wars-loving center of the Point Place group.

    • Allison Cameron — Allison Cameron is a doctor on House and one of House’s original team members. She is an immunology specialist and is often associated with lupus diagnoses.

    • Amber Volakis — Amber Volakis is the manipulative House applicant nicknamed “Cutthroat Bitch,” and she is also Wilson’s love interest. She dies after the bus crash storyline, which becomes important to House’s character arc.

    • Dr. Gregory House — Dr. Gregory House is the Vicodin-addicted diagnostician at Princeton-Plainsboro played by Hugh Laurie. The character is famous for his leg pain, abrasive medical genius, and reliance on unconventional diagnostic puzzles.

    • Dr. James Wilson — Dr. James Wilson is the Head of Oncology and Gregory House’s closest friend on House. His personal life is often marked by complicated marriages and romances, including Amber Volakis and Cuddy-related advice to House.

    • Gregory House, M.D — Gregory House is the Vicodin-dependent diagnostician at Princeton-Plainsboro in the TV series House. He is famous for his abrasive brilliance, limp, and obsession with the maxim that everybody lies.

    • Lawrence Kutner — Lawrence Kutner is a fictional doctor on House, where he is introduced as one of House’s new fellows and works in sports medicine. He is characterized as inventive and risk-taking, with episodes involving improvised medical tests and dangerous defibrillation stunts. The character is played by Kal Penn and was written out through an apparent suicide when Penn left for government work.

    • Lisa Cuddy — Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in House, and House’s boss and recurring romantic foil/love interest. She is played by Lisa Edelstein, has an adopted daughter named Rachel, and her storylines include clashes with House over his conduct and a later forged document used to protect an employee.

    • Vicodin — Vicodin is the brand name for the hydrocodone-and-acetaminophen painkiller that Dr. House uses to blunt the pain in his leg and from which he becomes addicted. The show treats it as a signature drug of House, and one clue even turns it into a visual joke with Twin Towers made of prescription bottles.

• Angus MacGyver — The ingenious secret-agent hero of the MacGyver franchise, famous for improvising nonlethal solutions and gadgets from ordinary objects such as duct tape. He works with the Phoenix Foundation, repeatedly escapes danger without relying on guns, and was portrayed by Richard Dean Anderson and later Lucas Till.

  • Jack Dalton — Jack Dalton is MacGyver’s pilot friend, played by Bruce McGill. He is known for a facial tic when he lies.

  • Murdoc — Murdoc is the recurring enemy of MacGyver, a master of disguise and assassin who often appears to die dramatically before returning later. He is associated with H.I.T., and one version features him as a photograph-taking nemesis played by Michael Des Barres.

  • Phoenix Foundation — The Phoenix Foundation is the organization from MacGyver that Pete Thornton runs. It employs trouble-shooters such as Nikki Carpenter and Jack Dalton against the Homicide International Trust.

• American television miniseries
  • Harper’s Island — Harper’s Island is a 2009 CBS mystery miniseries set around a wedding on the title island off Seattle. Its gimmick is that a character dies in every episode as a serial killer hunts the wedding party.

• CHiPs — CHiPs was a television series about California Highway Patrol officers Joe Baker and Francis Poncherello. It featured Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox, with Bruce Jenner later replacing one of the leads.

• Rich Man, Poor Man — Rich Man, Poor Man is a 1976 television miniseries adapted from Irwin Shaw’s novel about the Jordache brothers. It helped launch Nick Nolte as Tom Jordache and Peter Strauss as Rudy Jordache.

• The Young and the Restless — The Young and the Restless is a long-running CBS daytime soap opera set in Genoa City. Its cast has included Victoria Newman, Katherine Chancellor, and Drucilla Winters, and it has featured crossover ties with The Bold and the Beautiful as well as a cameo from Wayne Gretzky.
  • Young and the Restless — The Young and the Restless is a long-running American daytime soap opera that began in 1973. Its principal settings include Genoa City, and it is associated with the theme song “Nadia’s Theme.”

• Angie Tribeca — Angie Tribeca is the title detective of a TBS police parody created by Steve and Nancy Carell and played by Rashida Jones. The series follows her work in the Really Heinous Crime Unit with partners such as Jay Geils.

• Animal Kingdom — This title belongs to an Australian crime drama series centered on the Cody family, especially matriarch Janine “Smurf” Cody. It was adapted from an earlier Australian film and shares its name with a 2011 Kentucky Derby winner and a Disney park.

• China Beach — China Beach was an ABC drama set around a Vietnam War evacuation hospital and centered on medical workers during the conflict. Dana Delany starred in the series, which also featured Ricki Lake and Marg Helgenberger.

• Cold Case — Cold Case is the CBS crime drama starring Kathryn Morris as Philadelphia detective Lilly Rush, whose unit reopens unsolved murders. Episodes often jump back to the year of the crime and end with the evidence box being shelved.

• Columbo — Lieutenant Columbo is the rumpled, shabby but shrewd television detective played by Peter Falk. He is famous for his seemingly absent-minded questioning, his raincoat, cigar, battered Peugeot, and the line “just one more thing.” The series began as part of NBC’s Mystery Movie wheel and became one of the signature mystery shows of the era.

• comedy television series
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 — A comedy series in which a human host and two wisecracking robots are trapped in space and forced to watch and mock bad movies. It began on KTMA in Minneapolis in 1988, later ran on Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Channel, and featured Joel Hodgson and Mike Nelson at different points. It is especially associated with riffs on films such as Manos: The Hands of Fate.

    • Crow T. Robot — Crow T. Robot is the gold robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000, built by Joel Robinson to watch bad movies with the rest of the Satellite of Love crew. Trace Beaulieu voiced him for much of the series, and the character is known for his offbeat writing credits and robot roll-call catchphrases.

    • Joel Robinson — Joel Robinson is the original host character of Mystery Science Theater 3000, trapped aboard the Satellite of Love and forced to watch bad movies. He was later replaced by Mike Nelson in the show’s narrative.

    • Magic Voice — This is the Satellite of Love’s public-address computer persona on Mystery Science Theater 3000. The role was voiced by Mary Jo Pehl and used for announcements on board the ship.

    • Pearl Forrester — Pearl Forrester is the mother of Clayton Forrester in Mystery Science Theater 3000, where she eventually took over as the mad scientist. She is portrayed as a flamboyant villain whose schemes and absurd domestic life made her a recurring part of the show’s later seasons.

    • The Observer — The Observer is a Crow T. Robot sidekick on Mystery Science Theater 3000, better known by the nickname Brain Guy. The name also refers to the Sunday newspaper edition of The Guardian, the oldest Sunday paper in the world.

    • Tom Servo — Tom Servo is the red robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000, famously voiced by Kevin Murphy after an earlier season with J. Elvis Weinstein. He is often described as a talking gumball machine, with a head formed from a bubblegum machine and a personality more polished than Crow’s.

• CSI
  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation — CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is the CBS forensic drama set in Las Vegas that launched a popular franchise of spinoffs. Its cultural influence became known as the CSI effect, a term for crime shows shaping public expectations of forensic evidence.

    • Catherine Willows — Catherine Willows is the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation investigator played by Marg Helgenberger, a former exotic dancer who became a crime lab blood-spatter analyst in Las Vegas. Her backstory includes growing up in Montana, working to support herself through school, and later learning that Sam Braun was her biological father.

    • Gil Grissom — Gil Grissom is the original lead investigator of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’s Las Vegas lab. Nicknamed the Bug Man, he is a biology-trained forensic scientist associated with cockroach racing and hearing loss that was later corrected.

    • Jim Brass — Jim Brass is a Las Vegas homicide detective on CSI who was originally head of the CSI unit in the pilot. He is also described as having a strained relationship with his daughter.

    • Warrick Brown — Warrick Brown is a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation character played by Gary Dourdan. He is a Las Vegas native with gambling ties and a backstory involving work as a casino runner and the support of his Aunt Bertha.

• CSI franchise
  • CSI: NY — The CBS forensic police procedural set in New York and the New York entry in the CSI franchise, following a forensic team led by Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera. It stars Gary Sinise as Mac Taylor and Melina Kanakaredes as Stella Bonasera, and includes characters such as Danny Messer and Don Flack.
• CSI: Miami — CSI: Miami is the CSI franchise spin-off centered on Horatio Caine and a Miami crime lab team. It is often clued by David Caruso’s sunglasses-heavy performance, cast members like Calleigh Duquesne and Eric Delko, and its network crime-procedural format.
  • Horatio Caine — Horatio Caine is the sunglasses-wearing crime lab supervisor on CSI: Miami, portrayed by David Caruso. He is marked by a dramatic personal history involving his wife Marisol, his brother Raymond, and his mentor Al Humphreys.
• Dallas

  • Bobby Ewing — Bobby Ewing is the Dallas character played by Patrick Duffy whose apparent death was undone by the famous dream-season twist. The storyline made him one of the soap’s most memorable returns from the dead.

  • J. R. Ewing — J. R. Ewing is the ruthless oil tycoon on Dallas, played by Larry Hagman and famous as the target of the show’s “who shot him” mystery. He was married to Sue Ellen and later Cally Harper, and the series repeatedly centered on his feuds with Cliff Barnes and other members of the Ewing family.

  • Knots Landing — Knots Landing was a prime-time soap opera and Dallas spin-off centered on Gary and Valene Ewing in a California cul-de-sac. Its ensemble included Abby, Mack, and Karen, and it ran with a long emphasis on family rivalries and neighborhood intrigue.

  • Kristin Shepard — Kristin Shepard is a Dallas character, played by Mary Crosby, who was revealed to have shot J.R. Ewing. She was Sue Ellen’s sister and had an affair with J.R. before the famous cliffhanger shooting. The character later died after a drug overdose and a fall into the ranch’s swimming pool.

  • Who Shot J.R.? — The 1980 Dallas cliffhanger in which J. R. Ewing was shot and wounded, later revealed to have been done by Kristin Shepard. It became a major cultural catchphrase, was widely promoted, and was frequently parodied.

• Danger Man
  • John Drake — John Drake is the fictional spy character associated with Patrick McGoohan’s television work in Danger Man. He is also linked by fan speculation to Number 6 in The Prisoner.
• Detective television series

  • Baretta — Baretta is the 1970s detective series starring Robert Blake as a master-of-disguise cop who lives at the King Edward Hotel. Its theme song, “Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow,” and the bird named Fred are among its best-known clues.

  • Simon and Simon — Simon and Simon is a detective television series about the brothers Rick and A.J. Simon, who run a San Diego private-investigation business. It is set in San Diego and follows two mismatched brothers with very different personalities.

• Diagnosis: Murder — Diagnosis: Murder is the CBS mystery-medical drama starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan. The show also featured his son Steve, plus Jesse Travis and Amanda Bentley, as they solved crimes tied to the hospital and police department.

• Dirty Sexy Money — Dirty Sexy Money is an ABC drama about attorney Nick George and the wealthy Darling family. The series centers on a suspicious death, family intrigue, and Donald Sutherland’s role as Tripp Darling.

• EastEnders — EastEnders is a long-running BBC soap opera set in the fictional London borough of Walford. The Mitchells, Ian Beale, and Max Branning are among its best-known characters.

• Eight Is Enough — Eight Is Enough is the 1970s television series about the Bradford family and their eight children. The show starred Dick Van Patten as Tom Bradford and was based on Tom Braden’s family memoir.

• Falcon Crest — Falcon Crest is a prime-time soap opera centered on the Channing family winery. Angela Channing, played by Jane Wyman, is its domineering matriarch.

• First Monday — First Monday was a short-lived 2001 CBS drama set around the U.S. Supreme Court. It featured James Garner and Charles Durning as conservative justices and Joe Mantegna as the swing vote.

• Grey’s Anatomy — Grey’s Anatomy is Shonda Rhimes’s long-running medical drama about Meredith Grey at Seattle Grace, later Grey Sloan Memorial. Its ensemble includes McDreamy, Izzie Stevens, Cristina Yang, and recurring relationship drama such as Callie and Arizona.

  • Cristina Yang — Cristina Yang is a surgeon on Grey’s Anatomy, portrayed by Sandra Oh. She is known for her competitiveness, her relationship with Preston Burke, and her early academic success at Stanford.

  • Dr. Addison Montgomery — Addison Montgomery is the fetal and neonatal surgeon from Grey’s Anatomy who also appears in Private Practice. She is portrayed by Kate Walsh and is linked to Seattle Grace before leaving to start her own practice.

  • George O’Malley — George O’Malley is a character on Grey’s Anatomy portrayed by T. R. Knight. He is a surgical intern whose story lines include his marriage to Callie Torres and several awkward early-season medical mishaps.

  • Isobel Stevens — Isobel “Izzie” Stevens is a surgical intern at Seattle Grace on Grey’s Anatomy, portrayed by Katherine Heigl. She is part of the show’s early ensemble at Seattle Grace Hospital; her backstory includes growing up in Chehalis, Washington, having a daughter given up for adoption, and later entering medical school after working and modeling. Her fiancé Denny Duquette dies in season two.

  • Meredith Grey — Meredith Grey is the title character of Grey’s Anatomy and a surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital. Her story lines include her relationship with Dr. Derek Shepherd, her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, and major events such as the ferry accident.

  • Private Practice — Private Practice is the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off centered on Addison Montgomery and the Oceanside Wellness Center. The series features characters such as Cooper, Violet, and Pete after Addison leaves Seattle Grace for Los Angeles.

  • Seattle Grace Hospital — Seattle Grace Hospital is the fictional hospital at the center of Grey’s Anatomy. It is associated with surgeons such as Meredith Grey, Derek Shepherd, Miranda Bailey, and Richard Webber.

• Hart to Hart — Hart to Hart is a 1979 American mystery-adventure television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as wealthy married sleuths. Its recurring supporting figures include their butler Max and their dog Freeway, making the show a staple of clues about elegant amateur detectives.

• Hawaii Five-0 — Hawaii Five-0 is the 2010 CBS remake of the classic police procedural set in Hawaii. It follows Steve McGarrett and his partner Danny “Danno” Williams while recurring plots involve criminals like Wo Fat.
  • Wo Fat — Wo Fat is a recurring criminal mastermind from Hawaii Five-0 and one of the series’ most notorious villains. He is tied to the Hawaiian underworld and is often remembered as the hidden power behind many plots.
• Hawaii Five-O — Hawaii Five-O is a CBS police drama remake set in Hawaii that stars Steve McGarrett and Danny “Danno” Williams. It also features the medical examiner Max Berman.

  • Danny “Danno” Williams — Danny “Danno” Williams is McGarrett’s police partner on Hawaii Five-O, played by James MacArthur. The character is famous for the command to “book ‘em, Danno” at the end of the show.

  • Steve McGarrett — Steve McGarrett is the commander portrayed by Jack Lord on Hawaii Five-O. He is a former Navy officer who leads the Hawaii state police force from Honolulu.

• Homefront — Homefront was an ABC drama set in postwar Ohio that followed the lives and romances of the Sloans and Metcalfs after World War II. Despite winning praise and awards, it was canceled after two seasons.

• Judging Amy — Judging Amy is a CBS drama about a title character who works around juvenile justice and family life. The series stars Tyne Daly as Maxine Gray and features relationships with characters such as Stu Collins and Ignacio Messina.

• Kojak — Kojak is the TV detective drama centered on a bald New York City police lieutenant played by Telly Savalas. The title character is famous for his lollipop and for solving cases in the 1970s series.
  • Lt. Theo Kojak — Lieutenant Theo Kojak is the bald NYPD detective from the 1970s television series Kojak, played by Telly Savalas. He is known for his three-piece suits, lollipop, and the line “Who loves ya, baby?”

• LA Law — L.A. Law was an NBC legal drama centered on the firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak. Its early cast included characters like Arnie Becker, Stuart Markowitz, Roxanne Melman, and Victor Sifuentes.

• Law & Order — Law & Order is Dick Wolf’s long-running New York City crime drama about the criminal justice system. It spawned spinoffs such as Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent, and later featured Fred Thompson as district attorney Arthur Branch.

  • Anita Van Buren — Lt. Anita Van Buren is the police lieutenant on Law & Order, played by S. Epatha Merkerson. She serves as the superior officer to detectives such as Briscoe and Curtis in the Manhattan precinct. Her nickname “LT” appears in the series’ dialogue, and she replaced Captain Cragen after NBC pushed for more female characters.

  • Arthur Branch — Arthur Branch is the New York County district attorney in the Law & Order franchise, introduced as Nora Lewin’s successor and portrayed by Fred Thompson. He is a conservative Southern prosecutor who lives in New York with his wife Maggie and appears across multiple Law & Order series.

  • Captain Donald Cragen — Captain Donald Cragen is the police captain played by Dann Florek in Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He first appears as the captain of the 27th Precinct before later moving to SVU headquarters.

  • Claire Kincaid — Claire Kincaid was an assistant district attorney on Law & Order played by Jill Hennessy. She was a Harvard Law graduate, Irish, and was raised agnostic rather than Catholic. The character was written out after dying in a drunk-driving accident in “Aftershock.”

  • Conviction — Conviction was a short-lived NBC legal drama tied to the Law & Order universe by its cast and setting, though it was not officially part of the franchise. The show followed attorneys and prosecutors such as Jim Steele, Billy Desmond, and Christina Finn. Alexandra Cabot returned from Special Victims Unit as part of its ensemble.

  • Detective Ed Green — Detective Ed Green is the Law & Order detective played by Jesse L. Martin. He became Lenny Briscoe’s partner after Rey Curtis and was originally portrayed as a less rule-bound cop.

  • Dick Wolf — Dick Wolf is the television producer behind Law & Order and its many spinoffs. He also produced other police procedurals and crime dramas such as FBI, Chicago Med, New York Undercover, and Crime and Punishment.

  • Jack McCoy — Jack McCoy is the longtime prosecutor on Law & Order, portrayed by Sam Waterston. He served as Executive Assistant District Attorney and later as District Attorney, and his courtroom style is marked by hard-charging moral speeches.

  • Jamie Ross — Jamie Ross is the assistant district attorney who appears in the Law & Order franchise. She succeeds Kincaid at the district attorney’s office, wrestles with custody issues involving her ex-husband Neil Gordon, and later leaves the office to spend more time with her daughter.

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — A long-running Law & Order spin-off centered on sex-crimes investigations in New York. It follows the Special Victims Unit, especially detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, and includes characters such as Captain Donald Cragen, John Munch, Fin Tutuola, Casey Novak, Brian Cassidy, and Kim Greylek. The series stars Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, and Ice-T.

    • Alexandra Cabot — Alexandra Cabot is the blonde assistant district attorney from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, played by Stephanie March. She disappears into witness protection under the name Emily and later returns to testify against a drug cartel figure.

    • Casey Novak — Casey Novak is an assistant district attorney on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She took over after Alexandra Cabot left for witness protection.

    • Elliot Stabler — Elliot Stabler is the volatile New York detective played by Christopher Meloni on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He is partnered with Olivia Benson and is known for his angry interrogations and frequent Internal Affairs scrutiny. The character is a former Marine and later returned in the Organized Crime spinoff.

    • Olivia Benson — Olivia Benson is the Mariska Hargitay character on Law & Order: SVU, the longtime partner of Elliot Stabler and a detective often involved in sexual-assault cases. Clues commonly mention her rape-conceived origin, undercover prison assignment, and her role as a compassionate SVU investigator.

    • Special Victims Unit — Special Victims Unit is the NYPD squad in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that investigates sexually based offenses. The unit is strongly associated with detectives Olivia Benson and Fin Tutuola and with ADA Rafael Barba. Its cases often involve high-profile exploitation and assault investigations, and the team has featured both long-running members and newer additions like Amanda Rollins and Nick Amaro.

      • John Munch — John Munch is the sardonic detective who began in the Baltimore homicide squad before moving to the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. His backstory includes a brief marriage that ended after one night, along with a running joke about awkward professional and personal relationships.

  • Law & Order: Trial by Jury — Law & Order: Trial by Jury was a short-lived spin-off in the Law & Order franchise that premiered in 2005. It starred Bebe Neuwirth and included Jerry Orbach in his final television appearances.

  • Law and Order: Criminal Intent — Law & Order: Criminal Intent is the Law & Order spinoff centered on the Major Case Squad and detectives Robert Goren and Alex Eames. The series became notable for story lines involving serial killers, recurring nemeses like Nicole Wallace, and later additions such as Zach Nichols.

  • Lennie Briscoe — Lennie Briscoe is the longtime detective played by Jerry Orbach on Law & Order. He is known for deadpan humor, multiple partners including Rey Curtis and Ed Green, and storylines involving his daughter Cathy and the death of Claire Kincaid.

  • Max Greevey — Max Greevey was one of the original detectives on Law & Order, killed off before he could testify in a case. His death in the episode “Confession” became notable because the actor had already left the series.

  • Mike Logan — Mike Logan is a Law & Order detective who was demoted to Staten Island after punching a politician. He later returned in Exiled after the transfer to a less desirable beat.

  • Serena Southerlyn — Serena Southerlyn is the assistant district attorney from Law & Order who exits after asking whether her dismissal is because she is a lesbian. The character was played by Elisabeth Röhm, who had previously appeared on Angel.

  • Tony Profaci — Tony Profaci is the Law & Order detective played by John Fiore who serves as the 27th Precinct’s gofer and often supplies key evidence. He is later revealed to have mob connections in the made-for-TV film Exiled.

• Law and Order — Law and Order is the NBC crime drama that begins with the phrase about police investigations and district attorney prosecutions. Created by Dick Wolf, it is famous for its New York setting, revolving cast, and paired police-and-courtroom structure.

• Legal thriller television series
  • Damages — Damages is a legal thriller centered on Patty Hewes and her associate Ellen Parsons. The series starred Glenn Close and featured season-one lawyer Ray Fiske, played by Ted Danson.
• Magnum, P.I. — Magnum, P.I. is the Hawaii-set detective series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum. Clues often mention Robin Masters, Higgins, and the Ferrari-driving private investigator who ran the case-solving operation on Oahu.

  • Robin Masters — Robin Masters is the unseen millionaire author whose estate is overseen by Higgins in Magnum, P.I. He is also the elusive employer of Thomas Magnum.

  • Thomas Magnum

    • Thomas Magnum, P.I. — Thomas Magnum is the Hawaiian-shirted private investigator played by Tom Selleck on Magnum, P.I. He lives on the estate of the unseen novelist Robin Masters and works alongside T.C., Rick, and Higgins.

• Marcus Welby, M.D. — Marcus Welby, M.D. was a long-running medical drama starring Robert Young as a Santa Monica doctor with a more old-fashioned, empathetic style. James Brolin played Dr. Steven Kiley, and the series became one of ABC’s biggest hits after premiering in 1969.

• Matlock — Matlock is the legal drama starring Andy Griffith as the folksy Southern defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show is associated with gray suits, hot dogs, and cases handled alongside his daughters Charlene and Leanne.

• Maverick — Maverick can refer to the James Garner Western series about Bret Maverick or to the roguish call sign used by Tom Cruise’s pilot in Top Gun. The word also means an independent-minded person and is traced to an unbranded calf, which is a separate clue from the TV and film titles.

• McCloud — McCloud was a television crime series starring Dennis Weaver as a marshal from Taos, New Mexico who solves cases in Manhattan. Sergeant Joe Broadhurst is the NYPD officer who often assists or bails out the title character.

• McHale’s Navy — McHale’s Navy was a 1960s sitcom about the crew of PT-73 under Lt. Commander Quinton McHale, played by Ernest Borgnine. The series later inspired a 1997 film adaptation and is remembered for Captain Binghamton, Ensign Parker, and its wartime comic setting.

• McMillan and Wife — McMillan and Wife was a 1970s crime drama starring Rock Hudson and Susan St. James as the title married couple. The series followed San Francisco police commissioner Stuart McMillan and his wife Sally as they became involved in cases.

• Murder, She Wrote — Murder, She Wrote is the long-running mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, an author who keeps solving murders in Cabot Cove, Maine. The show features recurring characters like Sheriff Amos Tupper, Mort Metzger, Seth Hazlitt, and Harry McGraw.

• Nash Bridges — Nash Bridges is a CBS police drama centered on the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, with Don Johnson as the title detective and Cheech Marin as his partner Joe Dominguez. It also features Harvey Leek, a beret-wearing investigator who often drives a Ranchero, as one of the team’s regulars.

• NYPD Blue — An ABC police drama set in Manhattan and around the New York Police Department. It centers on detectives including John Kelly, Andy Sipowicz, Arthur Fancy, and George Medavoy, and later included supporting characters such as Connie McDowell and Baldwin Jones. The series became notorious for nudity and controversy.

• Our House — Our House was an NBC family drama from the 1980s starring Wilford Brimley, Deidre Hall, and Shannen Doherty. The title also evokes the songs by Madness and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, but the clue set here points to the TV series.

• Picket Fences — Picket Fences is the Emmy-winning drama set in Rome, Wisconsin, centered on the Brock family and its odd local cases. Kathy Baker and Tom Skerritt led the cast, and the show included characters such as Jimmy Brock and Judge Henry Bone.

• Police dramas
  • The Commish — The Commish is an ABC police dramedy centered on Tony Scali, a small-town police commissioner played by Michael Chiklis. Created by Stephen J. Cannell, it also featured supporting characters such as Rachel Scali, Stan Kelly, and Cyd Madison.
• Political dramas
  • Designated Survivor — Designated Survivor is the political drama in which Tom Kirkman becomes president after a terrorist attack destroys the rest of the line of succession. The title refers to the cabinet member kept away from major events so the government can survive a mass-casualty attack.
• Scrubs — Scrubs is the medical comedy-drama set at Sacred Heart Hospital that follows J.D., Turk, Elliot, Carla, and the Janitor. It is known for Zach Braff’s Dr. John Dorian, Neil Flynn’s Janitor, and episodes such as “My Lunch.”

  • Dr. Chris Turk — Dr. Chris Turk is the energetic surgeon on Scrubs, played by Donald Faison. He is J. D.’s best friend and eventually becomes chief of surgery at Sacred Heart Hospital.

  • The Janitor — The Janitor is the nameless Scrubs staff member played by Neil Flynn, known for tormenting J.D. at Sacred Heart. Clues often mention his stuffed-animal obsession, his strange lies about his past, and running jokes about his family and undercover talents.

  • The Worthless Peons — The Worthless Peons are the barbershop quartet formed by Ted and other hospital administrators on Scrubs. In one bit, they are used in a joke involving Dr. Cox, Jordan, and a botched vasectomy.

• Seventh Heaven — Seventh Heaven is the family drama about the Camden household, headed by a minister father and his wife, with children including Lucy, Mary, Simon, Ruthie, Happy, and the twins. The title also refers to a state of blissful happiness and to the highest heavenly sphere in medieval religious cosmology.

• St. Elsewhere — St. Elsewhere was a 1980s medical drama set at St. Eligius hospital. It is famous for its finale revealing that the series existed inside the imagination of Tommy Westphall.
  • Tommy Westphall — Tommy Westphall is the child at the center of St. Elsewhere’s famous snowglobe ending, in which the series seems to be imagined by an autistic boy. His name is associated with the broader “Tommy Westphall universe” idea linking many television shows through that finale.

• Starsky and Hutch — Starsky and Hutch is the 1970s police drama starring Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul as the title detectives. Its pop-culture clues usually include the red Ford Torino with the white stripe and the duo’s status as a stylish buddy-cop pair.

• T.J. Hooker — T. J. Hooker is the 1980s police series starring William Shatner as a veteran sergeant who returns to uniformed patrol work. It features Captain Sheridan, rookie Vince Romano, and later fifth-season episodes that aired on CBS after ABC dropped the show.

• Television detective series
  • Mannix — Mannix is the 1960s detective series starring Mike Connors as Joe Mannix, a private investigator who first worked for the computerized agency Intertect before going independent. The show also featured Gail Fisher as Peggy Fair and is remembered for its stylized title sequence and frequent use of Robert Reed.

• The White Shadow — The White Shadow is a CBS drama about former Chicago Bull Ken Reeves, who coaches at Carver High School in Los Angeles. The show ran from 1978 to 1981 and followed a number of students whose lives were shaped by basketball and school life.

• thirtysomething — thirtysomething is the late-1980s ensemble drama about young professionals in Philadelphia facing marriage, work, and midlife anxiety. Its central circle includes Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Timothy Busfield, and Peter Horton, and the show often focuses on Elliot, Nancy, Michael, Hope, and Gary.

• This Is Us — This Is Us is an NBC family drama about the Pearson siblings and their parents Jack and Rebecca. It follows overlapping lives, flashbacks, and storylines including Kevin, Kate, Toby, and Randall.

• Thunder in Paradise — Thunder in Paradise is an action television show starring Hulk Hogan as “Hurricane” Spencer. The series follows crime-fighting adventures on a futuristic high-tech boat and also features Chris Lemmon and Carol Alt.

• Walker, Texas Ranger — Walker, Texas Ranger stars Chuck Norris as Texas Ranger Cordell Walker, who works with Jimmy Trivette and Alex Cahill. The long-running action series also inspired a reboot and centers on Walker’s cases, family history, and martial-arts heroics.

  • CD Parker — CD Parker is the former Texas Ranger and bartender who serves as Walker’s sidekick in Walker, Texas Ranger. The role was played by Noble Willingham.

  • Sons of Thunder — Sons of Thunder is a television spin-off tied to Walker, Texas Ranger. It centers on action-oriented crimefighting with characters such as Trent Malloy and Carlos Sandoval.

• World War II television series
  • Combat! — Combat! is a 1960s television series about an American infantry squad in France during World War II after D-Day. It starred Vic Morrow and was known for its bayonet-style title exclamation point.

• Ally McBeal — Ally McBeal is the quirky legal comedy-drama about a lawyer played by Calista Flockhart, remembered for its hallucinations and dancing baby gag. It centered on the Cage & Fish law firm and featured characters such as Ling Woo and Georgia Thomas.

• American Crime Story — American Crime Story is Ryan Murphy’s true-crime anthology series, whose first season dramatized the O. J. Simpson case. Its title is easily confused with American Horror Story, another Ryan Murphy anthology.

• Australian television soap operas
  • Neighbours — Neighbours is the long-running Australian soap opera that began in 1985 and became famous for launching the careers of performers such as Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Natalie Imbruglia, and others. It became a cultural institution with thousands of episodes and a large ensemble revolving around suburban life.
• Beverly Hills, 90210 — Beverly Hills, 90210 is the California teen drama centered on Brandon Walsh and his friends, many of whom spend time at the Peach Pit. The series starred Jason Priestley and Shannon Doherty and became one of the defining 1990s network soaps.

  • Brandon Walsh — Brandon Walsh is the Jason Priestley character from Beverly Hills, 90210, a reporter-like student who works at the Peach Pit and later studies and works in California. He is often associated with his romantic entanglements, his gambling habit, and his role as a conscientious campus figure.

  • David Silver — David Silver is a character from Beverly Hills, 90210. The clues point to the show’s relationship drama, including Donna’s first sex scene with him and questions about which regular male characters Kelly Taylor has slept with.

  • Dylan McKay — Dylan McKay is the brooding Beverly Hills, 90210 character played by Luke Perry. He is associated with romance plots involving Brenda Walsh and Kelly Taylor and with a wealthy, trouble-prone backstory.

  • Melrose Place — Melrose Place is the Fox soap opera set in a trendy apartment complex and part of the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. It later returned in an updated 2009 version and spawned the spinoff Models Inc.
    • Models, Inc. — Models, Inc. is the short-lived Fox spin-off of Melrose Place about a modeling agency run by Hillary Michaels. Its cast included Carrie-Anne Moss, Garcelle Beauvais, Stephanie Romanov, and Linda Gray, and the series ended with the agency’s closure.

  • Tori Spelling — Tori Spelling is the actress best known for playing Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210. She also appeared as Violet Bickerstaff, Screech’s girlfriend, on Saved by the Bell.

  • Valerie Malone — Valerie Malone is a character on Beverly Hills, 90210, introduced as a replacement for Shannen Doherty’s Brenda Walsh. One late-season storyline has Valerie seeking an HIV test, making the character a notable source of soap-style drama.
• Dawson’s Creek — Dawson’s Creek is the WB teen drama set in Capeside and centered on Dawson, Joey, Pacey, and Jen. Created by Kevin Williamson, it is also known for Paula Cole’s theme song and for launching several of its young stars, including Katie Holmes, James Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams.

  • Andie McPhee — Andie McPhee is a character from Dawson’s Creek, played by Meredith Monroe. She leaves during season four after an in-story trip to Italy.

  • Capeside — Capeside is the fictional Massachusetts town where Dawson’s Creek takes place. It is associated with Dawson Leery and locations such as the Icehouse bar and Leery’s Fresh Fish.

  • Dawson Leery — Dawson Leery is the aspiring filmmaker at the center of Dawson’s Creek. He is the son of Gale and Mitch and is closely tied to Joey Potter, Pacey Witter, and other Capeside characters.

  • Pacey Witter — Pacey Witter is a character on Dawson’s Creek, played by Joshua Jackson. He is Dawson Leery’s best friend and later has a post-high-school career that includes work on a yacht, at a restaurant, and as a stockbroker.

• Days of Our Lives — An NBC daytime soap opera set in Salem, identified by the line about events being “like sands through the hourglass.” It is associated with the Horton family, especially Dr. Tom Horton and his wife, and was the top daytime show during the 1970s. Recurring cast includes Roman, John, Marlena, and Hope Williams Brady.

  • Marlena Evans — Marlena Evans is a character from Days of Our Lives played by Deidre Hall. Her story lines included the death of her son D.J., rape by Kellam Chandler, and romances with Roman and John Black.

  • Stefano DiMera — Stefano DiMera is a long-running archvillain from Days of Our Lives, played by Joseph Mascolo. He is known for elaborate schemes involving kidnappings, brainwashing, hidden lairs, and repeated apparent deaths.

• Degrassi — Degrassi is a long-running Canadian teen drama franchise set around a Toronto school and street, beginning with a 1979 short film and later continuing as the series Degrassi: The Next Generation. It is known for soap-opera plotting and issue-driven stories, including characters like Drake’s role as Wheelchair Jimmy and storylines about drugs, sex, and school violence.

• Degrassi: The Next Generation — Degrassi: The Next Generation is the Canadian teen drama that helped launch Drake as Jimmy Brooks. It follows students such as Sav Bhandari and Spinner Mason and was notable enough to attract guest appearances from figures like Kevin Smith.

• Desperate Housewives — Desperate Housewives is the ABC dramedy set on Wisteria Lane, narrated by Mary Alice Young and centered on Susan, Lynette, Gabrielle, and Bree. It aired from 2004 to 2012 and became known for suburban melodrama, Emmy wins, and a revolving cast of neighbors and scandals.

  • Bree Van de Kamp — Bree Van de Kamp, later Bree Hodge, is the red-haired Desperate Housewife known for her immaculate suburban perfection and strained marriages. She is linked to storylines about her son Andrew, her first husband Rex, and her often rigid moral posture.

  • Gabrielle Solis — Gabrielle Solis is the Eva Longoria character on Desperate Housewives. Her plotline involves an affair with gardener John Rowland and a pregnancy caused by her husband’s switching her birth control pills with sugar pills.

  • Karen McCluskey — Karen McCluskey is the elderly neighbor on Desperate Housewives played by Kathryn Joosten. She begins as Lynette’s sharp-tongued neighborhood nemesis and later becomes linked with Roy Bender.

  • Lynette Scavo — Lynette Scavo is the overworked mother of four on Desperate Housewives, played by Felicity Huffman. She struggles with family chaos, including her sons Preston and Porter, and is known for her relationship with her husband Tom.

  • Mary Alice Young — Mary Alice Young is the dead narrator who opens Desperate Housewives after her suicide in the first season. Her ghostly narration continues throughout the series, making her one of the show’s central off-screen presences.

  • Wisteria Lane — Wisteria Lane is the fictional suburban street in ABC’s Desperate Housewives. The set was based on Universal’s Colonial Street backlot.

• Downton Abbey
  • Matthew Crawley — Matthew Crawley is the solicitor who becomes heir to Downton Abbey after the sinking of the Titanic and later marries Lady Mary Crawley. He dies in a car accident shortly after the birth of his son.

• Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman — Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is the 1990s CBS western drama starring Jane Seymour as a frontier physician in Colorado Springs. The series continued in follow-up films and centered on Dr. Quinn’s family life, including her relationship with Sully and the Cooper children.

• Dynasty — Dynasty was an ABC primetime soap opera centered on the Carrington family and starring John Forsythe, Linda Evans, and Joan Collins. It became notorious for the 1985 Moldavian massacre cliffhanger and for its glossy, high-ratings depiction of wealth and melodrama.
  • Fallon Carrington Colby — Fallon Carrington Colby is the spoiled daughter of Blake and Alexis Carrington on Dynasty. She marries Jeff Colby, has a son nicknamed LB, and was later spun off into The Colbys before the character’s odd alien-abduction plotline.
• Ed — Ed is the short-lived or memorable TV title used for Tom Cavanagh’s bowling-alley lawyer series set in Stuckeyville, Ohio. The name can also refer to the best friend of Shaun in Shaun of the Dead, or appear as the title of a film about a chimp and a baseball player.
  • Stuckeyville — Stuckeyville is the Ohio town where the television series Ed is set, serving as the hometown to Tom Cavanagh’s character. The town is also associated with Carol Vessey, played by Julie Bowen.

• Emmerdale — Emmerdale is a long-running British soap opera set in a Yorkshire farming village. The series has aired since 1972 and centers on families such as the Sugdens and the Dingles.

• ER

  • Dr. Kerry Weaver — Dr. Kerry Weaver is a character on ER, where she served as head of County General. Her storylines include civil rights activism, HIV workplace policy, and the arc in which she comes out as a lesbian.

  • Lucy Knight — Lucy Knight is a medical student on ER played by Kellie Martin, and her storyline includes her early training under Carol Hathaway and John Carter. She is ultimately killed by stab wounds inflicted by Paul Sobriki.

• Everwood — Everwood is the WB drama about surgeon Andy Brown moving with his children Ephram and Delia to a small Colorado town. The series centers on his rivalry with local doctor Harold Abbott and Ephram’s relationship with Amy Abbott.

• Felicity — Felicity is the WB college drama starring Keri Russell as a student at the University of New York. It became famous for the controversy over Felicity’s haircut and for its letters-to-Sally framing device.
  • David Sherman — David Sherman is a character from Felicity, identified as Felicity’s boyfriend and the son of her drawing professor. He appears in the show’s college setting as part of Felicity’s romantic storyline.
• Fictional television series
  • The Pink Opaque — The Pink Opaque is a fictional teenage TV show about two psychic teens who fight villains like Mr. Melancholy. It is remembered through the perspective of an adult fan who later realizes he has misremembered it as more mature than it was.
• Historical dramas
  • Reign — Reign is the CW historical drama about Mary, Queen of Scots and her court in France. The show is known for deliberately stylized plots and major historical inaccuracies.

• Hollyoaks — Hollyoaks is a long-running British teen soap opera set in the Chester suburb of the same name, with characters such as Tony Hutchinson.

• Homicide: Life on the Street — Homicide: Life on the Street was a 1990s NBC police drama set in Baltimore, created by Tom Fontana and associated with David Simon’s writing. It featured Andre Braugher as Frank Pembleton and spawned the character John Munch, later known across multiple series.
  • Characters
    • Daniel Baldwin — Daniel Baldwin played Detective Beau Felton on Homicide: Life on the Street. He is one of the Baldwin brothers, less famous than Alec Baldwin.

  • Frank Pembleton — Frank Pembleton is a Baltimore homicide detective on Homicide: Life on the Streets, played by Andre Braugher. He is known for intense interrogations in the box, a Jesuit education, and a severe health setback after a stroke.

  • Roger Gaffney — Roger Gaffney is a detective from Homicide: Life on the Street who is promoted over Al Giardello. He becomes known as the ‘Lunch Bandit’ after stealing other detectives’ lunches and is also portrayed as racist and incompetent.

• JAG — JAG is a military legal drama that began on NBC in 1995 before moving to CBS. The series follows Navy lawyers such as Harmon Rabb Jr. and Sarah MacKenzie, with Donald P. Bellisario as creator.

• Jake and the Fatman — Jake and the Fatman is a CBS legal drama that pairs Joe Penny with William Conrad as the older detective Jason McCabe. Set in Los Angeles and later Honolulu, it is a Matlock spinoff built around the title team investigating crimes.

• Jane the Virgin — Jane the Virgin is a telenovela-style CW series about Jane Villanueva, a young woman accidentally artificially inseminated while trying to live an ordinary life. The show blends family melodrama and satire around her romance with Rafael and her work as a future novelist.

• La Femme Nikita — La Femme Nikita is the TV series starring Peta Wilson as an undercover operative working for Section One. It centers on her brutal rehabilitation, covert missions, and the show’s techno-heavy spy atmosphere.
  • Peta Wilson — Peta Wilson is the Australian actress best known for playing Nikita in La Femme Nikita. She later played Mina Harker in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and became associated with that action role in television.
• Monk
  • Adrian Monk — Adrian Monk is the obsessive-compulsive San Francisco homicide detective played by Tony Shalhoub in Monk. His character is defined by extreme phobias, ritualized habits, and the lingering trauma of his wife Trudy’s murder.

• North Shore — North Shore is a short-lived Fox drama set at the Grand Waimea hotel in Hawaii. The series follows hotel staff and guests including Jason Matthews, Nicole Booth, and Vincent Boyd.

• Numb3rs — Numb3rs is a CBS crime drama about math prodigy Charlie Eppes helping his FBI-agent brother Don solve cases. The series also features Larry Fleinhardt and ran for five seasons.
  • Charles “Charlie” Eppes — Charlie Eppes is the Caltech mathematics professor portrayed by David Krumholtz in the television series Numbers. He loses his security clearance after sending a colleague’s research to Pakistan, and the character is also framed as a rival of Marshall Penfield.

• Once a Thief — Once a Thief is a John Woo action series about two criminals, Mac Ramsey and Li Ann Tsei, who are recruited into fighting crime. The show also features Victor Mansfield and centers on their criminal training and later work for a law-enforcement group.

• One Life to Live — One Life to Live is an ABC daytime soap opera set around Llanview and the Lord family, including Victoria Lord and Erika Slezak’s long-running run as the character. It featured characters such as Layla Williamson and storylines that were sometimes altered in response to real-world news.

• Party of Five — Party of Five is the family drama about the Salinger siblings, who are left orphaned after their parents are killed in a car crash. Set in San Francisco, it starred Neve Campbell and used “Closer to Free” by the BoDeans as its theme song.

• Pretty Little Liars — Pretty Little Liars is the teen mystery series based on Sara Shepard’s books about four girls tormented by a mysterious figure called A. Its Rosewood setting, the Ravendwood spin-off, and reveals such as Alex Drake are recurring clues in questions on the show.

• Prison Break — Prison Break is a FOX drama built around Michael Scofield’s plan to free his brother from Fox River State Penitentiary. Its plot centers on escapes, prison conspiracies, and a continuing search for stolen money linked to D. B. Cooper.
  • Theodore Bagwell — Theodore Bagwell, nicknamed T-Bag, is a Prison Break character and violent white supremacist. He is notorious for losing and later reattaching his hand after it is severed.

• Profiler — Profiler is a television series about Samantha Waters and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force hunting serial killers. The show later added Rachel Burke and featured the recurring villain Jack of All Trades.

• Push, Nevada — Push, Nevada was a short-lived ABC series centered on the fictional Nevada town of the title. The show followed an IRS agent investigating a casino mystery and was tied to a prize puzzle that viewers could solve for a large cash award.

• Queer as Folk — Queer as Folk is the television drama about gay life on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, first adapted in the United States from a British original created by Russell T Davies. Its U.S. version centered on characters like Brian Kinney and Michael Novotny and later inspired a 2022 reboot.

• Quincy, M.E — Quincy, M.E. is a TV medical drama starring Jack Klugman as a forensic medical examiner. Set around Quincy and his cases, it ran on NBC in the late 1970s and early 1980s and is often treated as a precursor to later forensic crime shows.
  • Sam Fujiyama — Sam Fujiyama is the young assistant to Dr. Quincy on the television series Quincy, M.E. He was played by Robert Ito.

• Riverdale — Riverdale is the CW teen drama based on Archie Comics, centered on the town where Archie Andrews and his friends live. Its plots include the Blossom family, the Southside Serpents, and increasingly surreal supernatural twists.

• Scandal — Scandal is a Shonda Rhimes political drama centered on public relations fixer Olivia Pope. In a joke from Lady Windermere’s Fan, scandal is defined as gossip made tedious by morality.

• Scarecrow and Mrs. King — Scarecrow and Mrs. King was a CBS espionage series starring Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner. The show paired Lee Stetson with Amanda King and eventually had the title characters marry.

• Snoops — Snoops is a short-lived 1999 television detective show associated with David E. Kelley. It starred Gina Gershon as the head of an Los Angeles detective firm.

• Teen dramas

  • Huge — Huge is an ABC Family teen drama set at Camp Victory and centered on a summer weight-loss camp. It features characters such as Willamina and Ian, with Gina Torres playing the camp director.

  • One Tree Hill — One Tree Hill is a teen drama centered on the half-brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott and their high school basketball rivalry. Set to songs in its episode titles and featuring Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis, it became closely associated with the WB and then the CW.

  • The Secret Life of the American Teenager — The Secret Life of the American Teenager is an ABC Family drama centered on Amy Juergens, a teenage mother played by Shailene Woodley. The series follows her pregnancy, the fallout among her friends and family, and the abstinence-focused lives of the students around her.

• The Dukes of Hazzard — The CBS television series follows the Duke cousins in fictional Hazzard County, centering on Bo and Luke Duke, their cousin Daisy, and their General Lee Charger. It is known for car chases, frequent clashes with local authorities, the Cooter catchphrase, and controversy over its iconography.

  • Abraham Lincoln Hogg — Abraham Lincoln Hogg is the black-clad twin brother of Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard. He is portrayed as the good counterpart to Boss’s villainous character.

  • Boss Hogg — Boss Hogg is the corrupt county commissioner from The Dukes of Hazzard, where he schemes constantly against the Duke family. He is associated with a white Cadillac, Rosco P. Coltrane, and the setting of Hazzard County.

  • Cletus Hogg — Cletus Hogg is Boss Hogg’s cousin on The Dukes of Hazzard. He becomes a temporary Hazzard County deputy when Enos leaves for Los Angeles and is portrayed by Rick Hurst.

  • Cooter Davenport — Cooter Davenport is the auto mechanic from The Dukes of Hazzard, played by Ben Jones. He is part of the Duke family’s circle of allies and is often identified by his role as the show’s resident mechanic.

  • Coy and Vance — Coy and Vance are the cousins who briefly replaced Bo and Luke on The Dukes of Hazzard. Their replacement was explained by the original characters’ absence from the show for a racing circuit storyline.

  • Enos — Enos is a given name shared by the first chimpanzee to orbit Earth and by several fictional or sports figures. In pop culture, it can refer to the deputy from The Dukes of Hazzard and to the early spacefaring chimpanzee.

  • Hazzard County — Hazzard County is the fictional Georgia county from The Dukes of Hazzard, home to the Duke family, Cooter, Roscoe, and Boss Hogg. Its recurring locations include the Boar’s Nest, the county seat, and the surrounding backroads and border-country setting.

  • Lulu Hogg-Coltrane — Lulu Hogg-Coltrane is a character from The Dukes of Hazzard, the sister of Rosco P. Coltrane and wife of Boss Hogg. She is remembered as Boss Hogg’s large, angry spouse.

  • The General Lee — The General Lee is the orange 1969 Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard. Famous for its horn and “bootlegger’s turn,” it became the series’ most recognizable symbol and drew huge amounts of fan mail.

• The Fall Guy — The Fall Guy was the 1981–1986 television series starring Lee Majors as a stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. Its theme song and stunt-heavy setup are recurring clues, and the title was later reused for a 2024 film remake.
  • The Fall Guy, Lee Majors — The Fall Guy is the 1980s TV series starring Lee Majors as a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. Its theme song, “The Unknown Stuntman,” is closely associated with the show and with Majors himself.
• Veronica Mars — Veronica Mars is the title character of the Kristen Bell TV series about a teenage private investigator in Neptune. The franchise also includes a Kickstarter-funded film and later revival, and its mysteries center on events like the Lilly Kane murder.
  • Mars family — The Mars family is the wealthy Neptune clan centered on private investigator Keith Mars and his daughter Veronica. Clues tied to this family include Veronica’s high school memories, the Lilly Kane murder, Don Lamb’s harassment, and Lianne Mars’s disappearance after Abel Koontz’s arrest.

• Yellowstone — Yellowstone is Taylor Sheridan’s ranch-centered television franchise about the Dutton family in Montana. The flagship series has spawned prequels such as 1883 and 1923, and its plotlines involve the “Train Station,” political power, and violent land disputes.

• Cop Rock — Cop Rock was Steven Bochco’s short-lived musical police drama set in Los Angeles. It became notorious for mixing crime plots with songs, rapping, and singing courtroom scenes, and it aired only 13 episodes. Its expensive production and odd premise made it a famous TV failure.

• Coronation Street — Coronation Street is the long-running ITV soap opera set in the fictional town of Weatherfield. It centers on characters like Ken Barlow, Deirdre, and the Duckworths, and is famous for landmark weddings, deaths, and disaster episodes. It is one of the best-known British soap operas and is often referred to as Corrie.
  • Platt — The Platt family is a long-running family in Coronation Street, including Gail, Sarah, Bethany, and David. Their storylines have included kidnappings, grooming, attempted murder, and David’s notorious canal crash.

• Covington Cross — Covington Cross is a short-lived ABC medieval drama about a noble English family led by Sir Thomas and his four children. It was filmed on location in Kent and centered on siblings such as Cedric, Eleanor, Richard, and Armus.

• Crazy Like a Fox — Crazy Like a Fox is a 1980s CBS detective series starring Jack Warden as a free-spirited investigator whose son often gets pulled into his cases. The show was set in San Francisco and ran from 1984 to 1987.

• Crime dramas
  • Charlie’s Angels — Charlie’s Angels is the television crime series about three private investigators in Los Angeles who take orders from the unseen Charlie through a speaker. The original starred Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah Fawcett. The franchise was later revived in a 2019 film directed by Elizabeth Banks.
    • Farrah Fawcett — Farrah Fawcett was the blonde star best known as Jill Munroe on Charlie’s Angels and for playing one of the angels on television. She also appeared in Logan’s Run and became a major 1970s pinup icon. She died in 2009, the same day as Michael Jackson, and her memorials were widely noted in the entertainment press.
  • Criminal Minds — Criminal Minds is a CBS procedural about the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, which profiles serial offenders and their ‘unsubs.’ The series stars Dr. Spencer Reid and Aaron Hotchner and has spawned spinoffs including Beyond Borders and Evolution.
    • Penelope Garcia — Penelope Garcia is the BAU’s resident computer expert on Criminal Minds, played by Kirsten Vangsness. She is usually kept out of field work and is remembered for her quirky personality and office-based hacking skills.
  • DaVinci’s Inquest — DaVinci’s Inquest is a Canadian crime drama centered on a coroner played by Nicholas Campbell. It follows coroner Dominic Da Vinci as he works with detectives and investigates deaths in Vancouver. The series won multiple Gemini Awards and was partly inspired by the pre-political career of Larry Campbell.

• Crossing Jordan — Crossing Jordan is a crime drama centered on Boston medical examiner Jordan Cavanaugh, played by Jill Hennessy. The show mixed forensic cases with recurring characters like Woody Hoyt and was canceled after six seasons.

• Cucumber — Cucumber is a TVOntario children’s series hosted by Moose and Beaver, with a title that points to the vegetable. A cucumber is a common pickled vegetable, and clues may mention gherkins or related varieties.

• Dr. Kildare — The title intern of the long-running Dr. Kildare medical franchise that began with Max Brand stories and later became a 1960s television series starring Richard Chamberlain as a young intern at Blair General. He is usually paired with his mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie.

• Gilligan’s Island — Gilligan’s Island is a sitcom about castaways stranded after a three-hour tour, featuring characters like the Skipper, the Professor, and Gilligan.

  • Gilligan — Gilligan is the stranded, bumbling first mate from Gilligan’s Island, played by Bob Denver. He is the nervous comic center of the show and is often called “Little Buddy” by the Skipper. His first name was revealed as Willy in an unaired pilot and is occasionally used in later references.

  • S.S. Minnow — The S.S. Minnow is the ill-fated boat from Gilligan’s Island, famous for the “three-hour tour” that left its passengers stranded. The vessel inspired later TV-movie and prop versions tied to the sitcom.

  • The Real Gilligan’s Island — The Real Gilligan’s Island was a reality-TV riff on Gilligan’s Island that aired on TBS for two seasons. Contestants were matched to the classic castaways, and Glenn Stearns won the first season.

  • The Skipper — The captain of the S.S. Minnow on Gilligan’s Island, a former Navy man and close friend of Gilligan. He is the garrulous boat captain stranded with the castaways and is often recognized by the hat he uses to swat Gilligan; Jonas Grumby is his given name, though he is usually known simply as the Skipper.

• Gunsmoke — Gunsmoke was the long-running western set in Dodge City, Kansas, centered on Marshal Matt Dillon, Doc Adams, and Kitty Russell’s Long Branch Saloon. The series later starred James Arness and Ken Curtis in its television years.
  • Matt Dillon — Marshal Matt Dillon is the Dodge City lawman who anchors Gunsmoke, first heard on radio and then portrayed for years on television by James Arness. He works with Doc Adams and deputies like Chester and Festus, and his story centers on frontier justice and long-running western drama.

• Life Goes On — Life Goes On is a family drama centered on Corky Thatcher, one of the first regular television characters with Down syndrome. The series aired on ABC and starred Patti LuPone, with Chris Burke playing Corky and Chad Lowe joining in later seasons.

• State of Play — State of Play is a BBC miniseries later adapted into a film starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck. Its plot follows journalist Cal McCaffrey investigating the death of Sonia Baker and a scandal involving Stephen Collins.

• Adam-12 — Adam-12 is the Jack Webb police series about LAPD officers Malloy and Reed, who patrol in a squad car and are linked to Dragnet. Quiz clues often mention the radio call sign, dispatcher Shaaron Claridge, and the show’s later remake.

• B.J. and the Bear — B.J. and the Bear is a television series about a trucker and his pet chimpanzee, starring Greg Evigan as the title character. The show moved from rural Georgia to Los Angeles in its later season, where B.J. tried to start a trucking business amid corrupt officials and hired seven women drivers.

• Baa Baa Black Sheep — Baa Baa Black Sheep, also known as Black Sheep Squadron, is a World War II television series inspired by the real exploits of Pappy Boyington’s fighter squadron. Its cast included Robert Conrad as the squadron leader and featured characters such as Colonel Lard and Hutch Hutchinson.

• Babylon Berlin — Babylon Berlin is a German television drama set in Weimar-era Berlin and centered on detective Gereon Rath. Its plots involve cabarets, political intrigue, and criminal investigations, including work with Charlotte Ritter and the Moka Efti nightclub.

• For the People — For the People is a legal drama set around lawyers working at the “Mother Court.” It features Britt Robertson and Anna Deavere Smith, and one version centers on Lea Thompson as a Los Angeles County chief deputy district attorney.

• Mental — Mental is a short-lived Fox medical comedy-drama about Dr. Jack Gallagher, an unconventional British psychiatrist in Los Angeles. The title also refers to a business maxim in one clue and to the show’s psychiatric setting in another.

• Miami Vice — Miami Vice was the glossy 1980s police series about Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs. Its theme and neon-soaked style made it a pop-culture touchstone, and its soundtrack album was a major seller tied to the show’s commercial success.
  • Sonny Crockett — Sonny Crockett is the Don Johnson character from Miami Vice, usually partnered with Ricardo Tubbs. He is linked to a sailboat called The St. Vitus Dance, a pet alligator named Elvis, and the Crockett’s Theme soundtrack cue.

• Michael Hayes — Michael Hayes was a short-lived CBS series starring David Caruso after his run on NYPD Blue. The clue identifies the failed 1995 television follow-up project associated with Caruso.

• Midnight Caller — Midnight Caller was an NBC drama about Jack Killian, a former police officer who hosts a late-night radio talk show. Its premise centered on Killian’s involvement in the personal problems of his listeners.

• Rawhide — Rawhide is the Western TV series about Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates driving cattle across the American frontier. Its theme song became famous in later covers and parody appearances in films like The Blues Brothers and Shrek 2.

• Remember WENN — This dramedy centers on a fictional Pittsburgh radio station during the early 1940s, following the staff’s personal and professional lives through the World War II era. It was created by Rupert Holmes, the singer-songwriter best known for “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).”

• Remington Steele — Remington Steele is an 1980s detective series centered on Laura Holt and the invented male identity she uses for her agency. Pierce Brosnan plays the title thief who assumes the Remington Steele persona, and the show later featured actors such as Tom Baker and Doris Roberts.

• The Love Boat — The Love Boat was an ABC romantic-comedy series set aboard the Pacific Princess and hosted by Captain Merrill Stubing, played by Gavin MacLeod. It was known for its parade of guest stars, its theme song, and its run as a Saturday-night network staple.

• The Lyon’s Den — The Lyon’s Den was a short-lived NBC legal drama starring Rob Lowe as Jack Turner, an idealistic lawyer. The series involved a troubled Washington law firm and an unresolved death investigation before cancellation.

• The Man from UNCLE — The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was a spy series known for its episodic titles ending in “Affair.” A later revival film referenced “The Fifteen-Years-Later Affair,” tying the movie back to the original show.

• The Mentalist — The Mentalist is the CBS procedural starring Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, a fake psychic who uses observation skills to solve murders while hunting Red John. It also centers on Teresa Lisbon, Kimball Cho, and the California Bureau of Investigation.
  • Red John — Red John is the serial-killer antagonist on The Mentalist. He is identified by a calling card of a smiley face drawn in blood and is tied to Patrick Jane’s family tragedy.

• The Mod Squad — A 1960s television series, The Mod Squad follows three troubled young people—Julie, Linc, and Pete—who become undercover cops under Captain Adam Greer. It is remembered for its counterculture style and later inspired a 1999 film adaptation.

• The O.C. — The O.C. is the Fox teen drama about Ryan Atwood, Seth Cohen, Marissa Cooper, and their wealthy California world in Newport Beach. It is remembered for Chrismakkuh, its pop-music soundtrack, and creator Josh Schwartz’s later callbacks to the show.

  • Chrismukkah — Chrismukkah is the hybrid holiday invented on The O.C. by Seth Cohen. It combines Christmas and Hanukkah, and the show treated it as a jokingly over-the-top alternative to either holiday alone.

  • Luke Ward — Luke Ward is a character on The O.C. who dates Marissa early in the series and is later revealed to have been involved with her mother. Played by Chris Carmack, he suffers a car crash near the end of season one and learns that his father, a car salesman, is gay.

  • Seth Cohen — Seth Cohen is the sarcastic teenager from The O.C., played by Adam Brody, known for his love of The Goonies and for inventing the winter holiday Chrismukkah. He is Sandy and Kirsten Cohen’s son, an avid sailor who worked at The Bait Shop and named his boat Gimme Sex after his girlfriend Summer.

• 21 Jump Street — 21 Jump Street was a late-1980s TV series about an undercover police unit focused on youth crime, and it launched Johnny Depp’s rise to fame. The show also featured Richard Grieco, Dustin Nguyen, and a number of later guest stars in episode plots about drugs, violence, and delinquency.
  • Characters
    • Richard Grieco — Richard Grieco is the actor associated with Detective Dennis Booker in 21 Jump Street and its spin-off Booker. The character was originally meant to be killed off, but proved popular enough to anchor a separate series.

• Branded — Branded was a mid-1960s Western series starring Chuck Connors as Jason McCord, a disgraced cavalry officer accused of cowardice. The show follows his travels across the West as he tries to clear his name after surviving the Battle of Bitter Creek.

• British teen dramas
  • Skins — Skins is a British teen drama set in Bristol that follows students through rotating casts divided into successive generations. It became known for characters such as Tony and Effy, and for an American remake set in Baltimore.

• Broadchurch — Broadchurch is a British detective series starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman. Its first season follows the investigation of the murder of a young boy in a small coastal town in southwest England.

• Brothers & Sisters — Brothers & Sisters is the ABC drama centered on the Walker family. Its cast included Calista Flockhart, Dave Annable, Ron Rifkin, and Rob Lowe as Robert McCallister.

• GameChangers
  • Heated Rivalry — Heated Rivalry is a television adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels about gay hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. It is set in the world of competitive ice hockey and rose to viral prominence in 2026.

• Have Gun, Will Travel — Have Gun, Will Travel is the CBS Western starring Richard Boone as Paladin, a well-dressed gunfighter for hire. The title comes from the four words on Paladin’s calling card, and the show leans on his chess-knight emblem, San Francisco base, and dry wit.

• Hull High — Hull High is a short-lived 1990 NBC teen series set at a racially integrated inner-city high school. It was notable for a rapping Greek chorus made up of teen rappers commenting on the action.

• Ironside — Ironside was a television crime series starring Raymond Burr as wheelchair-bound San Francisco detective Robert Ironside. The show was also exported abroad under the French title L’homme de fer.
  • Robert Ironside — Robert Ironside is the wheelchair-using title detective of Ironside, a San Francisco police drama starring Raymond Burr. After being shot and forced off regular duty, he serves as a special consultant and works with assistants like Ed Brown and Eve Whitfield.

• Jack & Bobby — Jack & Bobby is a WB television series about two brothers, one of whom is destined to become President of the United States. Christine Lahti stars as their mother.

• Jack and Bobby — Jack and Bobby is a short-lived WB drama about two brothers in Hart, Missouri, one of whom grows up to become President of the United States. The series framed its story through future documentary footage and centered on their mother, Grace McCallister, played by Christine Lahti.

• Jack of All Trades — Jack of All Trades is the Bruce Campbell action-comedy series set around an American secret agent and the fictional island of Pulau-Pulau. Its clues center on the disguise of the Daring Dragoon and the show’s spoof of Napoleonic intrigue.

• The A-Team — The A-Team is the 1980s action series about four fugitives from the Army’s Special Forces who help people while on the run. Its title team includes B. A. Baracus, and its theme of improvised weapons and comic bravado made it a distinctive pop-culture touchstone.

  • Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith — John “Hannibal” Smith is the cigar-chomping leader and strategist of The A-Team, played by George Peppard. A decorated veteran of Korea and Vietnam, he is known for elaborate schemes, leather gloves, disguising himself as Mr. Lee, and the catchphrase about a plan not coming together.

  • Team — Team is the nickname for the A-Team, the 1980s action series about a fugitive commando squad led by Templeton Peck. The clue also refers to Team as the code name for North Korean-American military exercises used in negotiations.

• The Bedford Diaries — The Bedford Diaries is a short-lived WB college drama centered on a human sexuality class and student journalism. It stars Matthew Modine as a professor and Milo Ventimiglia as the recovering alcoholic editor of the campus paper.

• TV series

  • Airwolf — Airwolf is the 1980s action series centered on a heavily armed superhelicopter rather than its human pilots. Its recurring names include Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini, and the show is often remembered for its synth theme and for being a flying counterpart to KITT.

  • Dexter — Dexter is the name of the blood-spatter analyst and serial killer from the Showtime series of the same name. The first name is also shared by the boy genius of Dexter’s Laboratory, a cartoon centered on his secret laboratory and his rivalry with Dee Dee.
    • Dexter Morgan — Dexter Morgan is the title character of Showtime’s Dexter, a blood-spatter analyst who secretly kills criminals. He is played by Michael C. Hall and is known by the nickname the Bay Harbor Butcher.

  • The Practice — The Practice is a David E. Kelley legal drama set in a Boston law firm whose name changes over the course of the series. It featured Emmy-winning performances by Dylan McDermott and guest turns by actors such as Camryn Manheim, with the firm eventually renamed Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt and later Young, Frutt, & Berlutti.

  • WKRP in Cincinnati — WKRP in Cincinnati is the sitcom about staff at an Ohio radio station, best remembered for the Thanksgiving turkey drop. Its theme song and radio-industry setting are recurring identifying clues.

    • Andy Travis — Andy Travis is the full name of the program manager played by Gary Sandy on WKRP in Cincinnati. He is identified as the program director on the original WKRP in Cincinnati.

    • WPIG — WPIG is the fictional Cincinnati station that serves as an arch-rival to WKRP.

• Ugly Betty — Ugly Betty is the American adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea. It follows Betty Suarez, a Mexican-American woman from Queens who works at the fashion magazine Mode, and includes Vanessa Williams as the ruthless Wilhelmina Slater.
  • Hilda Suarez — Hilda Suarez is a character on Ugly Betty, played by Ana Ortiz. She owns the salon Beautilities after earlier work at places like Zuchinni on a Stick and Herbalux. Her family storyline includes a son with Santos Reynoso, a tense relationship with her sister Betty, and a past romance with Tony Diaz.

• Upstairs, Downstairs — Upstairs, Downstairs is a British television drama set at 165 Eaton Place, following the Bellamy family and their servants from the Edwardian era into the 1930s. Jean Marsh co-created the series and played Rose Buck, while Gordon Jackson portrayed the butler Hudson.

• V.I.P. — V.I.P. is the action series starring Pamela Anderson as Vallery Irons, the public face of a bodyguard firm. The team includes specialists like Kay Simmons, Nikki Franco, Quick Williams, and Tasha Dexter.

• Vanished — Vanished is the short-lived 2006 Fox drama about the search for the wife of Senator Jeffrey Collins. Its conspiracy plot folded in a senator’s wife’s kidnapping, the Masons, Supreme Court nominations, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

• Glee — Glee is the Fox series about the New Directions, a show choir at William McKinley High School. It features characters like Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray, and Sue Sylvester, and ran from 2009 to 2015.

  • Lea Michele — Lea Michele is the actress best known for playing Rachel Berry on Glee. She later drew attention for the long-running Broadway connection to Fanny Brice and for public allegations about her treatment of coworkers.

  • Sue Sylvester — Sue Sylvester is the ruthless cheerleading coach on Glee, played by Jane Lynch. She spends much of the series tormenting Will Schuester and eventually rises to the role of principal.

• Burn Notice — Burn Notice is the USA spy series about Michael Westen, a former covert operative stranded in Miami after being burned. It features Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe and revolves around Michael using spy tradecraft, aliases, and improvisation to uncover who destroyed his career.

  • burned — In the television series Burn Notice, a burned operative is a former spy cut off from the CIA and forced into Miami, where Michael Westen is stranded under that status. The term also covers blacklisting or covertly dismissing an agent, and the show uses aliases and covert allies like Sam Axe and Fiona Glenanne around that premise.

  • Michael Westen — Michael Westen is the blacklisted former CIA operative at the center of Burn Notice, a show built around his attempts to survive and investigate who burned him. He is characterized by a love of yogurt, improvisational spycraft, and help from friends in Miami.

• Southland — Southland is the 2009 television drama about LAPD officers that moved from NBC to TNT. Its cast includes Benjamin McKenzie, Regina King, Michael Cudlitz, Tom Everett Scott, and Kevin Alejandro.

• Without a Trace — Without a Trace was a CBS drama about Jack Malone and an FBI missing persons team. The show ended episodes with real-case information and featured characters such as Samantha Spade, Vivian Johnson, and Danny Taylor.

• Mr. Robot — Mr. Robot is the USA series about hacker Elliot Alderson, fsociety, and a campaign against E Corp. Christian Slater plays the title persona, while Rami Malek stars as Elliot in the story of cybersecurity, corporate sabotage, and fractured identity. The show became known for its twisty reveal that the title figure is a construct linked to Elliot’s father.

• Murder One — Murder One is a Steven Bochco legal drama set around the Hoffman and Associates law firm, originally built around a single season-long murder trial before shifting to multiple arcs. It stars Mary McCormack as Justine Appleton and features Daniel Benzali, Anthony LaPaglia, Stanley Tucci, and the case of Richard Cross.

• My Own Worst Enemy — My Own Worst Enemy was a 2008-09 NBC series starring Christian Slater as a man whose life is divided by implanted personalities and false memories. The show involved the Janus Collective, a secret organization led by Alastair Trumbull.

• Cagney & Lacey — Cagney & Lacey is the television drama about two female New York City police detectives, originally Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey, with Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless in the title roles. The series was briefly canceled after its second season, then revived after a fan letter-writing campaign, and its actresses won repeated Emmy awards.

• Cagney and Lacey — Cagney and Lacey is the CBS police drama centered on Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey, played by Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly. The show was notable for its awards success, including repeated wins for Daly, and for controversies surrounding cast changes and its feminist reputation.

• Television genres
  • Soap operas — Soap operas are serialized melodramatic radio and television dramas, originally sponsored by soap companies. Examples include Ma Perkins on radio and long-running TV shows like Days of Our Lives and Coronation Street.
    • All My Children — All My Children is a long-running ABC daytime soap opera set in Pine Valley and centered on Erica Kane. It became known for its longevity, large Emmy haul, and storylines involving the Chandler and Montgomery families.

      • All My Children of a Lesser God — All My Children of a Lesser God is a conjoined-title prompt combining the soap opera All My Children with the film Children of a Lesser God. The clue points to the ABC series set in Pine Valley and the Marlee Matlin movie.

      • Erica Kane — Erica Kane is the iconic All My Children character played by Susan Lucci. She is a soap opera heroine and cosmetics magnate associated with Pine Valley, known for her long string of marriages and as the mother of Kendall Hart and Bianca.

    • As the World Turns — As the World Turns was a long-running CBS daytime soap opera that premiered in 1956. The show is set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois.
      • Oakdale — Oakdale is the fictional Midwestern town used as the setting for As the World Turns. The town was modeled on a real Illinois community.

    • Capitol — Capitol was a 1980s CBS soap opera about Washington, D.C. politicians and socialites. It aired from 1982 to 1987 in a daytime slot later occupied by The Bold and the Beautiful.

    • Ryan’s Hope — Ryan’s Hope was an ABC soap opera that ran from 1975 to 1989 and centered on a family bar across from a New York hospital. The show later shifted some focus to Greenberg’s Deli and featured actors such as Helen Gallagher, Louis Shaffer, Yasmine Bleeth, and Regis Philbin.

    • telenovelas — Telenovelas are Latin American serial dramas, usually limited-run and shorter than American soap operas. They are often cited for their cultural role in language learning and for globally popular examples like The Rich Also Cry and Jane the Virgin.
• Television series

  • Arrow — Arrow is the CW superhero series starring Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire archer who survives on Lian Yu and returns to fight crime in Star City. The show features Deathstroke, the mirakuru drug, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, and the destruction of the Glades in its first-season climax.

  • Bay City Blues — Bay City Blues was an early 1980s television comedy-drama about a California minor league baseball team. It is remembered for a cast that included Dennis Franz and Ken Olin and for its very short run.

  • Blind Justice — Blind Justice was a short-lived television series about a detective who continues solving crimes after losing his sight. It starred Ron Eldard and followed a wounded cop reinstated to active duty despite his blindness.

  • Cleopatra 2525 — Cleopatra 2525 is a Sam Raimi-produced science-fiction series about a dancer who is frozen and later awakened in the future. It is remembered for its campy tone and for being paired with Jack of All Trades in its original scheduling.

  • Courage the Cowardly Dog — Courage the Cowardly Dog is the surreal Cartoon Network series about a terrified pink dog living with Eustace and Muriel Bagge in Nowhere, Kansas. Its episodes feature absurd villains, bizarre dangers, and Courage’s repeated attempts to protect his owners despite his own fear.

  • Daktari — Daktari was a 1960s CBS television series about Dr. Marsh Tracy and an African animal study center. The show featured animals such as the cross-eyed lion Clarence and the chimp Judy, and its title is the Swahili word for doctor.

  • Due South — Due South is the 1990s Canadian crime series about RCMP constable Benton Fraser and his adventures in Chicago. It is known for the wolf-husky Diefenbaker and for being the first Canadian-made TV series broadcast in prime time on a major U.S. network. The title refers to Fraser’s work taking place south of Canada, in the United States.

  • Lost — Lost is the mystery drama about the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 stranded on a strange island. Its mythology includes the Swan Station, the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42, and characters such as Desmond Hume, Rousseau, and Sawyer.

    • Benjamin Linus — Benjamin Linus is the manipulative leader of the Others on Lost, first appearing under the alias Henry Gale. His backstory includes being born in the woods near Portland, losing his mother in childbirth, and later murdering his father Roger with poison gas. He is also tied to the Purge, spinal surgery for a tumor, and multiple killings, including John Locke.

    • Charlie Pace — Charlie Pace is the former Driveshaft musician on Lost, a heroin addict who gradually weans himself off drugs on the island. He is tied to Claire and her baby, and he ultimately dies in the Looking Glass station after fulfilling Desmond’s vision.

    • Desmond David Hume — Desmond David Hume is a Lost character played by Henry Ian Cusick who first appears working in the Swan station. He becomes linked to Penny Widmore as his constant after the events surrounding the Hatch and The Incident.

    • Dharma Initiative — The Dharma Initiative is the mysterious research organization in Lost that built stations such as the Hydra station on the island. It is tied to the signal jammer and other experiments central to the series’ mythology.

    • Hugo “Hurley” Reyes — Hugo “Hurley” Reyes is a character on Lost played by Jorge Garcia. He is remembered for the cursed numbers, his lottery fortune, Mr. Cluck’s, and eventually becoming the Island Protector.

    • Jin-Soo Kwon — Jin-Soo Kwon is a character on Lost, played by Daniel Dae Kim. He is Sun’s husband, and his backstory involves work at the Seoul Gateway Hotel and tension with his wife’s family.

    • Kate Austen — Kate Austen is a major character on Lost, played by Evangeline Lilly. Her backstory includes killing her abusive father, robbing banks, and repeatedly trying to escape the island with Sawyer.

    • Kelvin Joe Inman — Kelvin Joe Inman is a former Army officer on Lost who worked in The Swan with Desmond and helped with the blast-door map. His storyline includes a fatal struggle after Desmond learned he was trying to take the boat.

    • Oceanic Flight 815 — Oceanic Flight 815 is the commercial flight that crashes on the mysterious island in Lost. Jack, Kate, Charlie, and John Locke are among its survivors.

  • Madigan Men — Madigan Men is a television series named in the style of Mad Men and remembered chiefly as a short-lived ensemble comedy-drama. The sparse evidence here only confirms the title and cast fragments, not much about the premise.

  • Men of a Certain Age — Men of a Certain Age is a TNT dramedy about middle-aged friends starring Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher. It follows men confronting work, family, and aging while trying to adjust to the realities of getting older.

  • Millennium — Millennium was Chris Carter’s supernatural television series starring Lance Henriksen as a troubled investigator in the Pacific Northwest. It followed The X-Files era and was pitched as a darker successor to Carter’s earlier hit.

  • Misfits — Misfits is an E4 drama about young offenders in London who gain superpowers after a freak storm. Over its run, the original group of probationers was gradually replaced by new characters.

  • Northern Exposure — Northern Exposure is the quirky series about Dr. Joel Fleischman, a New York doctor sent to the Alaskan town of Cicely. Its cast included Maurice Minnifield, Chris Stevens, and Ed Chigliak, and it won acclaim for its oddball small-town setting.

  • Nowhere Man — Nowhere Man is a cult television series about Thomas Veil, who is trapped in a conspiracy and tries to recover his life. The title also echoes the Beatles song and appears in other media such as a John Lennon biography.

  • Period television series
    • American Dreams — American Dreams was an NBC drama set in 1960s Philadelphia about the Pryor family. Its distinctive gimmick was using contemporary pop stars to portray classic performers in recreated American Bandstand segments. The series was tied to Dick Clark and to a soundtrack of classic pop hits, and it followed characters such as Meg, Roxanne, Luke, and other members of the Pryor family.

  • Reaper — Reaper is a CW series starring Bret Harrison as Sam Oliver, who learns at 21 that his parents sold his soul to the Devil. He works for Hell as a soul collector, aided by Josie and Sock, while serving at the Buy More and the Work Bench.

  • Relic Hunter — Relic Hunter is a syndicated adventure series starring Tia Carrere as history professor Sydney Fox. She and her partner Nigel Bailey travel the world searching for legendary objects.

  • Rewind or Hollyweird — Rewind and Hollyweird were short-lived TV series that were canceled early, one a sitcom with seventies flashbacks and the other a supernatural Hollywood detective show. They are remembered mainly as obscure casualties of the 1997 and 1998 fall schedules.

  • Riptide — Riptide was the 1980s NBC detective show about private investigators Nick Ryder, Cody Allen, and their partner operating from Pier 56. The title also matches a later pop song by Vance Joy, but the television series clue identifies the answer here.

  • Robbery Homicide Division — Robbery Homicide Division was the short-lived CBS crime drama associated with Michael Mann and Tom Sizemore. The series followed a team of investigators and aired on Friday nights before cancellation.

  • Scream Queens — Scream Queens is a Fox horror-comedy series set first in a sorority house and later in a hospital. It centers on a string of murders involving masked killers such as the Red Devil and the Green Meanie, with Emma Roberts among the main cast.

  • Sex Education — Sex Education is the British Netflix series about Otis Milburn and Maeve Wiley running an underground sex-advice clinic at Moordale School. It is also known for Gillian Anderson’s role as Jean Milburn and for its frank, comedic treatment of teen romance and sexuality.

  • Sketch comedy series
    • Mr. Show — Mr. Show is a short-run HBO sketch comedy series created and performed by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. It aired in the late 1990s, produced 30 episodes, earned multiple Emmy nominations, and became known for recurring bits and absurd sketches such as GloboChem and fake public-service style segments.
      • Three Times One Minus One — Three Times One Minus One, or T.T.O.M.O., is a Mr. Show comedy duo known for a music video about traveling through time to stop a girl’s suicide. The act features the absurdly named Wolfgang Amadeus Stallonies Von Funkenmeister the Nineteenth and Three Quarters and Pootie T.
  • The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. — The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is a 1993 Fox sci-fi western starring Bruce Campbell as the title character. The series follows a bounty hunter pursuing John Bly’s gang and searching for a mysterious orb, with allies including Socrates Poole and Lord Bowler.
    • John Bly — John Bly is the time-traveling leader of a Wild West gang from the year 2506 in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Played by Billy Drago, he hunts the Orb alongside associates like Doc McCoy and Juno Dawkins.

  • The Riches — The Riches is the FX drama about the Malloy family, a clan of con artists who impersonate a wealthy deceased family. It stars Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard and begins with the release of the drug-addicted Dahlia from prison.

  • The Rockford Files — The Rockford Files is a 1970s detective series starring James Garner as Jim Rockford, an easygoing private investigator who works out of a Malibu trailer and gets an odd new answering-machine message in each episode. Rockford is an ex-con who was pardoned after serving time in San Quentin, and the show also features his gold Pontiac Firebird and recurring figures like Dennis Becker and Beth Davenport.
    • Jim Rockford — Jim Rockford is the private detective played by James Garner on The Rockford Files. He lives in a trailer by the beach, drives a gold Camaro, keeps his gun in a cookie jar, and is often helped by his father, Angel Martin, and Dennis Becker.

  • The Unit — The Unit is a CBS drama about a covert special forces team operating under the cover of the 303rd Logistical Studies Unit. Dennis Haysbert plays Jonas Blane, and the series is associated with David Mamet.

  • Third Watch — Third Watch is the NBC drama about New York City police officers, firefighters, and EMTs working the 3-to-11 shift. It featured characters such as Maurice Boscorelli, Faith Yokas, Ty Davis, and Kim Zambrano, and was created by John Wells.

  • Under One Roof — Under One Roof is the title shared by multiple television projects, including a 2002 reality series about families competing for a house in Fiji. The name also belongs to a short-lived CBS sitcom about a widowed police officer in Seattle and a later MyNetworkTV comedy starring Flavor Flav.

  • VIP — VIP is a television action-comedy series starring Pamela Anderson as Valerie Irons, a celebrity who joins a bodyguard agency. The show’s title refers to the bodyguard-business setting rather than the ordinary phrase ‘very important person.’

  • Wiseguy — Wiseguy is a Stephen J. Cannell crime drama about undercover FBI agent Vinnie Terranova. The series became notable for serialized story arcs and for characters such as Lifeguard, while later plotlines involved mob families and high-profile guest stars.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Television

• The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1959–1964) — Rod Serling’s anthology used science fiction, fantasy, and horror to stage moral and political problems within network censorship. Its twist endings are memorable, but allegory, narration, and the self-contained episode were equally central to its form. Memorable episodes include “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” “To Serve Man,” and “Judgment Night”; a 2019 revival featured Jordan Peele’s narration.

  • Eye of the Beholder — Eye of the Beholder is a Twilight Zone story about a woman considered ugly by society despite repeated surgery. It is also the title of a wordless comic strip drawn by Peter Kuper.

  • The Eye of the Beholder — The Eye of the Beholder is the Twilight Zone episode about Janet Tyler, whose bandages are removed to reveal that she appears beautiful to the viewer but monstrous to the society around her. It is one of the series’ best-known explorations of conformity and subjective beauty, ending with Rod Serling’s closing commentary.

  • The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street — “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” is a Twilight Zone episode in which a sudden power failure drives neighbors into paranoia and accusation. The story ends in violence after the residents turn on one another, convinced aliens are hiding among them.

  • Time Enough at Last — “Time Enough at Last” is a classic Twilight Zone episode about Henry Bemis, a book-loving bank teller who survives an atomic blast. Its most famous ending has Bemis break his glasses after discovering the ruined library, leaving him unable to read.

  • To Serve Man — To Serve Man is the famous Twilight Zone alien “cookbook” that turns out to be a recipe book rather than a benevolent text. The Kanamits present it as a gift, and the revelation comes too late for the humans who hope to decipher it.

• Doctor Who (BBC, 1963–1989; revived 2005) — combined serial adventure, educational aims, science fiction, and a flexible lead character. Regeneration enabled recasting, while missing episodes and multiple production eras make its history one of archives and institutional change as well as longevity. The Doctor travels in the TARDIS, a blue police box, from a home planet called Gallifrey. Familiar actors include Hartnell, Troughton, Tom Baker, Tennant, and Whittaker; adversaries include Daleks and Cybermen, with the Master, Rani, and River Song recurring. Verity Lambert produced the original series; a television movie appeared in 1996.

  • Gallifrey — Gallifrey is the homeworld of the Time Lords in Doctor Who. It is the planet associated with the Doctor and was destroyed during the Time War.

  • Skaro — Skaro is the fictional home planet of the Daleks in Doctor Who. Its clues include the Daleks’ origins among the Kaleds and Thals, as well as places like the Ocean of Ooze and the Lake of Mutations.

  • Autons — The Autons are Doctor Who monsters made of plastic mannequins controlled by the Nestene Consciousness. They are especially associated with the Third Doctor’s era.

  • Bad Wolf — Bad Wolf is a recurring phrase from Doctor Who that appears as graffiti and other warnings before becoming associated with Rose Tyler. It also names the form Rose takes after absorbing the Time Vortex, and later serves as the interface of The Moment in The Day of the Doctor.

  • Brigadier (former Colonel) Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is a Doctor Who ally who once headed UNIT before later teaching mathematics at a boarding school. He appears in adventures involving companions such as Tegan Jovanka and Turlough.

  • Colin Baker — Colin Baker is the actor who played the Sixth Doctor on Doctor Who. His tenure included The Twin Dilemma and The Trial of a Time Lord, and he had previously appeared as Maxil in Arc of Infinity.

  • Cybermen — The Cybermen are the Doctor Who villains from Mondas who convert humans into cybernetic copies of themselves. They are famous recurring foes of the Doctor, with later stories highlighting weaknesses such as gold clogging their filters.

  • Daleks — The Daleks are the armored, pepper-pot-shaped villains of Doctor Who, created by Davros on the planet Skaro. They are famous for their eyestalks, suction-cup arms, and the cry “Exterminate!”

  • Davros — Davros is the creator of the Daleks in Doctor Who. He is a grotesque scientist whose return in later stories follows his first appearance in Genesis of the Daleks.

  • Impossible — Impossible is the adjective used in several Doctor Who episode titles and related character epithets. It appears in phrases such as the Impossible Girl, the Impossible Planet, and the Impossible Astronaut.

  • K-9 — K-9 is the Doctor Who robotic dog, originally built by Professor Marius and later given to Sarah Jane Smith. The character is a durable companion piece in the franchise and has also appeared in a separate 1989 film about a cop and a dog.

  • Nyssa — Nyssa is a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors in Doctor Who. She is a Trakenite and was originally intended as a temporary companion before becoming a longer-running character. She eventually leaves during Terminus.

  • River Song — River Song is the time-traveling archaeologist and companion played by Alex Kingston in Doctor Who. She is associated with the Doctor’s later timeline, uses an upgraded sonic screwdriver, and often greets him with “Hello, Sweetie.”

  • Rose Tyler — Rose Tyler is the Billie Piper character who accompanies the Ninth and Tenth Doctors in Doctor Who. Her stories include the Bad Wolf arc, the Are You My Mummy? episode, and her eventual separation from the Doctor in Doomsday.

  • Sarah Jane Smith — Sarah Jane Smith is a Doctor Who companion best known for traveling with the Third and Fourth Doctors and later returning in the 2006 episode “School Reunion”. She was played by Elisabeth Sladen and later received her own spinoff series, making her one of the franchise’s most recognizable recurring companions.

  • Sonic devices
    • Sonic — Sonic is the Doctor Who adjective attached to a family of gadgets, from the Doctor’s screwdriver to River Song’s trowel and Sarah Jane Smith’s lipstick. The same word also appears in other Doctor Who technology, including a sonic cone, sonic sunglasses, and a device that can triangulate ghosts.

  • Susan Foreman — Susan Foreman is the Doctor’s granddaughter and the first companion in Doctor Who. She appears in early stories such as An Unearthly Child and The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

  • TARDIS — The Doctor’s time machine in Doctor Who, usually disguised as a blue 1960s British police box and famous for being bigger on the inside. Its chameleon circuit is broken, which is why it still looks like a police box. The acronym TARDIS is commonly expanded as Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, and Clara Oswald jokes that it is smaller on the outside.

  • The Doctor — The Doctor is the time-traveling protagonist of Doctor Who, a regenerating Time Lord who travels in the TARDIS. Episodes and stories about the character often feature the Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, and companions such as Amy Pond and Donna Noble.

  • Weeping Angels — The Weeping Angels are the Doctor Who aliens that move only when unseen and can send victims back in time when they touch them. They are strongly associated with the warning “Don’t Blink.”
• Star Trek (NBC, 1966–1969) — initially a short-lived network series whose syndication, fan organization, conventions, and later films and programs created a durable transmedia franchise. Its integrated future and moral allegories were significant, while production and representation still reflected the limits of its era.

  • Battle of Wolf 359 — This Star Trek battle is the Borg’s devastating attack on the Federation at a star called Wolf 359. It is remembered for the loss of the Saratoga and Melbourne, Admiral Hanson’s death, and Benjamin Sisko’s survival.

  • Captain Christopher Pike — Captain Christopher Pike is the Enterprise captain who appears in “The Cage” and “The Menagerie,” and later in Star Trek material set before Kirk. He is the predecessor to James T. Kirk and a mentor figure in the Star Trek universe.

  • Cardassians — The Cardassians are a Star Trek species recognizable by their neck and head ridges and their nickname “spoonheads.” They occupied Bajor for decades, controlled Terok Nor, and included figures such as Garak and Gul Dukat. Their alliance with the Dominion later broke apart in rebellion.

  • Corbomite — Corbomite is the fictional Star Trek bluff substance from “The Corbomite Maneuver.” It is described as something that can reflect an attacker’s destructive energy, though the original use is exposed as a ruse by Kirk.

  • Dilithium — Dilithium is the fictional Star Trek material used to regulate matter-antimatter reactions in warp drive. It is often described as nonreactive under a high-powered electromagnetic field and is sometimes specifically called dilithium crystals.

  • Dr. Leonard H. McCoy — Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, nicknamed Bones, is the chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek. He is known for his blunt medical quips, his old-country-doctor persona, his rivalry with Spock, and remarks such as refusing to be “a bricklayer” when treating the Horta.

  • Enterprise — Enterprise is the name shared by several notable ships, including the American aircraft carrier, the British and French naval vessels, and the Star Trek starships NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-D. The clues also point to the Space Shuttle Enterprise and the Civil War observation balloon built by Thaddeus Lowe.

  • Gagh — Gagh is a Klingon delicacy made of live serpent worms, often served alive rather than stewed. Star Trek characters such as Worf, Picard, and Riker are often associated with eating it.

  • George Takei — George Takei is an actor best known for playing Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek. He later became known for activism, for appearances drawing on his wartime internment childhood, and for comedic television and other crossover roles that kept him a recognizable fan-culture figure.

  • Gorn — The Gorn are a reptilian alien race from Star Trek, famous for the duel between Kirk and a Gorn in the original series. The singular and plural forms are sometimes both used for the species name.

  • Heisenberg compensators — Heisenberg compensators are fictional Star Trek devices used to explain how transporters can obtain precise particle location data. They are named after Werner Heisenberg, nodding to the uncertainty principle.

  • James Doohan — James Doohan was a Canadian actor best known for playing Montgomery Scott, or Scotty, on Star Trek. He served in the Royal Canadian Artillery during World War II and lost a finger in combat.

  • Khan Noonien Singh — Khan Noonien Singh is a genetically enhanced tyrant from Star Trek who first appeared in “Space Seed.” He escaped aboard the S.S. Botany Bay, later reemerged as the ruler of much of Asia, and became Captain Kirk’s great enemy and the central villain of The Wrath of Khan.

  • Klingons — Klingons are the warrior species from Star Trek, known for forehead ridges, bat’leths, and devotion to Kahless. Their history includes the Khitomer Accords, the House of Duras, and the moon Praxis. The species is also associated with the constructed language tlhIngan Hol.

  • Kobayashi Maru — The Kobayashi Maru is the unwinnable Star Trek cadet test used to probe character under pressure. It is famous as Kirk’s no-win scenario and appears in multiple Trek stories and spin-offs.

  • Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott — Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, better known as Scotty, is the chief engineer of Star Trek, famous for his technical skill and his time serving on the Excelsior and a captured Bird of Prey.

  • Lieutenant Worf — Lieutenant Worf is the Klingon security officer from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, the son of Mogh and father of Alexander.

  • Majel Barrett — Majel Barrett was a Star Trek actress and voice performer best known for playing Nurse Christine Chapel and voicing the Enterprise computer. She was married to Gene Roddenberry and became associated with the franchise across multiple series.

  • Mark Lenard — Mark Lenard was an American actor best remembered for his Star Trek roles, especially as Spock’s father Sarek. He also played Romulan, Klingon, and Vulcan characters across the franchise.

  • Original Series — The Original Series is the earliest Star Trek television era, commonly contrasted with later series such as The Next Generation. Its clue set points to the classic Enterprise and the familiar color-coded uniforms of the original crew.

  • Pavel Andreievich Chekov — Pavel Andreievich Chekov is the Russian navigator from Star Trek, played by Walter Koenig in the original series. He is associated with the Enterprise, the Reliant, and later Star Trek appearances that made him a recurring classic-series character.

  • Prime Directive — The Prime Directive is Star Trek’s rule forbidding interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. It is central to many stories involving Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew.

  • prune juice — Prune juice is Worf’s favorite beverage in Star Trek, introduced to him by Guinan.

  • Raktajino — Raktajino is the Klingon-style coffee drink popular on Deep Space Nine, especially in Quark’s Bar. Characters such as Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax are associated with it, served steamed, iced, or with added cream and flavorings.

  • Romulan Star Empire — The Romulan Star Empire is the interstellar state of the Star Trek Romulans, noted for its secretive politics, the Tal Shiar, and warbirds. It appears as a major rival of the United Federation of Planets and is linked to events such as the Treaty of Algeron and later anti-Dominion alliances.

  • Romulans — The Romulans are the Vulcan offshoot in Star Trek, known for their militarism, cloaking devices, and the Neutral Zone. They are also associated with the name Rihannsu in Diane Duane’s novels and with early encounters in ‘Balance of Terror.’

  • Sarek — Sarek is the Vulcan diplomat who is Spock’s father. He is associated with Bendii Syndrome and a late-career mind-meld with Jean-Luc Picard.

  • Section 31 — Section 31 is the covert intelligence and black-ops organization from Star Trek associated with clandestine Federation security operations. It is especially known for morally dubious schemes, including the virus used against the Founders.

  • Species
    • Ferengi — The Ferengi are a Star Trek species of merchants and con artists, introduced as a greedy capitalist race with huge ears and a rigid profit code. Their society is famously patriarchal, and major characters such as Quark, Rom, and Grand Nagus Zek are associated with them.
      • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition — The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition are the commercial maxims followed by Ferengi culture in Star Trek. They are memorized from childhood and include injunctions about profit, advice, and avoiding charity without gain.

  • Spock — The half-Vulcan, half-human science officer from Star Trek, born to Sarek and Amanda Grayson and portrayed by Leonard Nimoy. He serves as Captain Kirk’s second-in-command and is known for his logic, logical restraint, the Vulcan salute, and appearances in episodes such as “Amok Time” and “The Galileo Seven.” He dies repairing the Enterprise in The Wrath of Khan, and Nimoy later reprised him as Spock Prime.

  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
    • Jem’Hadar — The Jem’Hadar are the genetically engineered warrior species from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. They serve the Founders and are known for their ruthlessness and chemical dependence.

  • Star Trek: The Animated Series — Star Trek: The Animated Series is the 1970s cartoon continuation of the Enterprise’s adventures. It featured characters such as Arex and M’Ress, and episodes involving Kukulkan, Lucien, and the Guardian of Forever.

  • Star Trek: The Next Generation — Star Trek: The Next Generation follows the Enterprise-D under Captain Jean-Luc Picard. It is the sequel series to the original Star Trek and features Q, Data, and other core characters of the 24th-century setting.

    • Boothby — Boothby is the Starfleet Academy groundskeeper on Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Ray Walston. He serves as a mentor figure to cadets such as Jean-Luc Picard and later appears in connection with Kathryn Janeway and Wesley Crusher.

    • Captain Jean-Luc Picard — Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation and later related stories. Played by Patrick Stewart, he is known for episodes like “The Inner Light,” the Picard maneuver, his assimilation as Locutus of the Borg, and his emphasis on diplomacy, command, and eloquence. He often calls William Riker his first officer “number one.”

    • Daimon Bok — Daimon Bok is a Ferengi commander from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He appears in “The Battle” and seeks revenge on Picard after his son dies due to the Picard Maneuver.

    • Geordi La Forge — Geordi La Forge is the blind chief engineer on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was first the ship’s helmsman and is often identified by his VISOR and his engineering work under Captain Picard. He is also known for his friendship with Data and for various holodeck and romantic entanglements.

    • Guinan — Guinan is the wise bartender in Ten Forward on Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Whoopi Goldberg. She is an El-Aurian with a mysterious reputation, many children, and a largely pacifistic outlook except toward the Borg.

    • Hugh — Hugh is the first name shared by several different clue answers, including a 20th-century novelist and a Star Trek Borg character. The Star Trek reference points to the Borg drone later named Hugh, who first recognizes his own individuality.

    • Katherine Pulaski — Katherine Pulaski is the Star Trek: The Next Generation doctor played by Diana Muldaur in the show’s second season, replacing Dr. Crusher. She is portrayed as an old-fashioned, sometimes abrasive physician who writes about viral propagation and needles Data with her skeptical humor.

    • Lal — Lal is the android daughter Data creates in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Offspring.” She is remembered as a humanoid child-like machine who briefly develops emotions and must ultimately be shut down after her unstable neural growth.

    • Lore — Lore is the evil android brother of Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is a Soong-type android whose emotional and manipulative behavior makes him the darker counterpart to Data.

    • Lt. Tasha Yar — Tasha Yar is the chief of security aboard the Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She is one of the original bridge officers and is remembered for an early, abrupt death in the series.

    • Lwaxana Troi — Lwaxana Troi is the flamboyant Betazoid ambassador from Star Trek: The Next Generation, best known as Deanna Troi’s mother. Quiz clues about her often mention her many suitors, her aristocratic titles, and her tendency to embarrass Picard and Odo alike.

    • ship in a bottle — A ship in a bottle is an impossible miniature work enclosed in glass, and the phrase gives its name to a type of television episode set in one location. The title also appears in a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode involving Moriarty escaping the holodeck.

    • Ten Forward — Ten Forward is the bar and lounge aboard the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Guinan works there and serves the crew synthehol, with occasional real alcohol hidden behind the bar.

    • The Best of Both Worlds — “The Best of Both Worlds” is the two-part Star Trek: The Next Generation episode in which the Borg threaten Earth and capture Captain Picard. It is one of the series’ best-known season-three cliffhangers.

    • Wesley Crusher — Wesley Crusher is the Starfleet prodigy from Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Wil Wheaton and often remembered as an improbable boy genius. He later becomes associated with the Travelers and is told on Dorvan V that he once had another name before leaving the Academy.

    • William Riker — This Star Trek officer is Jean-Luc Picard’s first officer on the Enterprise-D and is known as “Number One.” He later commanded the USS Titan after turning down several starship captaincies.

    • William Thomas Riker — William Thomas Riker, usually called Will Riker, is the first officer aboard the Enterprise-D and Enterprise-E in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The evidence also points to his later command of the starship Titan.

    • Yesterday’s Enterprise — “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode in which the Enterprise-D encounters the Enterprise-C and Tasha Yar returns from a changed timeline. The episode is known for its darker tone and the line about prune juice being a warrior’s drink.

  • Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine — The pair named here are Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. They are linked by Worf, who appears on both series.

  • Star Trek: The Original Series — Star Trek: The Original Series is the 1960s science-fiction television series starring William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Its well-known episodes include “The City on the Edge of Forever,” “All Our Yesterdays,” and “Journey to Babel,” and it also includes memorable installments involving Hamlet, Jack the Ripper, and other genre-literary references.

    • A Piece of the Action — This original Star Trek episode sends the Enterprise to a planet whose civilization is modeled on Prohibition-era gangsters. The crew’s encounter with the planet’s mobster society gives the episode its title.

    • Arena — Arena is the classic Star Trek episode in which Kirk fights the Gorn captain on a rocky planet. The word also names a style of competitive game mode and is a common subtitle in video games such as Quake III: Arena.

    • Hikaru Sulu — This Star Trek character is the helmsman from the original series, originally the ship’s physicist, and later commanded the Excelsior. George Takei played him in TOS, and John Cho portrayed him in later films.

  • stardate — A stardate is the fictional timekeeping system used in Star Trek to mark dates aboard Starfleet vessels and other settings. It is a standardized galactic reference that can be adapted to different eras and time distortions within the franchise.

  • The Borg — The Borg are the cybernetic collective from Star Trek known for cube ships, assimilation, and the warning that resistance is futile. They famously turned Jean-Luc Picard into Locutus and later appeared with a queen in Star Trek: First Contact.

  • The City on the Edge of Forever — “The City on the Edge of Forever” is a classic Star Trek episode written by Harlan Ellison. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy travel to 1930s Earth and must let a woman die to preserve history and keep the Nazis from winning World War II. The episode features the Guardian of Forever and a role played by Joan Collins. It won a Hugo Award and is often ranked among the series’ best installments.

  • the Prime Directive — The Prime Directive, also called Starfleet’s General Order One, forbids Starfleet from interfering in the development of pre-warp civilizations. It is repeatedly tested in Star Trek stories involving Picard, Kirk, and other captains confronting primitive worlds or manipulated cultures.

  • the Traveler — The Traveler is the mysterious Star Trek entity that speaks with Wesley Crusher and is later seen as a being of vast powers. The name is also used in Destiny for the white spherical paracausal source of Light that empowers the Guardians.

  • The Trouble with Tribbles — “The Trouble with Tribbles” is the classic Star Trek episode about the Enterprise being overrun by rapidly multiplying furry creatures. The story also centers on Klingon rivalry and a spy on Deep Space Station K-7.

  • Tholians — This Star Trek species is known for extreme heat, a strange squeak-like speech pattern, and the production of valuable silk. In the Original Series, they trap the Enterprise in an energy web, and they also appear in the Temporal Cold War story in Enterprise.

  • transporter — In Star Trek, the transporter is the device that dematerializes a subject into a matter stream and rematerializes it elsewhere. It uses a pattern buffer and biofilters, and the franchise explains it with concepts such as Heisenberg compensators.

  • Tribbles — Tribbles are the fast-breeding furry creatures from Star Trek that become a nuisance on Station K-7 after being brought there by Cyrano Jones. They are famous for eating stored food, multiplying rapidly, and annoying Klingons.

  • USS Excelsior — USS Excelsior is the Star Trek starship first tested with an experimental transwarp drive in The Search for Spock. It later appears under Captain Hikaru Sulu in The Undiscovered Country.

  • Vulcans — The Vulcans are the logical, green-blooded alien species from Star Trek, best known for Spock and the split-fingered salute. Their culture includes telepathy, the mind-meld, and the mating drive known as pon farr, which was shaped by Surak’s logic-based reforms.
    • pon farr — Pon farr is the Vulcan mating drive in Star Trek, said to recur about every seven years in adult males. If it is not resolved, it can lead to plak tow, the blood fever, and is associated with the ritual koon-ut-kal-if-fee.

  • Walter Koenig — Walter Koenig is an actor best known for playing Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek. He also played Alfred Bester on Babylon 5 and later wrote Warped Factors: A Neurotic’s Guide to the Universe.

  • Warp drive — A warp drive is a fictional faster-than-light propulsion system used in Star Trek. In the setting, it is associated with Zefram Cochrane’s first successful faster-than-light flight and with the warp factor scale.

  • Zefram Cochrane — Zefram Cochrane is the inventor of warp drive in Star Trek continuity. He first appears as the twentieth-century scientist from “Metamorphosis” and later becomes central to the franchise’s first-contact history: he pilots the Phoenix and makes first contact with the Vulcans. He is portrayed as a hard-drinking scientist, and his legacy includes a high school named for him and major roles in Star Trek: First Contact.

  • Zephram Cochrane — Zephram Cochrane is the Star Trek inventor credited with the first warp drive and the first human contact with aliens. He is tied to the Phoenix, the ship that made that breakthrough possible.

  • engineer — An engineer is a shipboard specialist responsible for maintaining and repairing engines and other machinery. Star Trek characters such as Montgomery Scott and Charles Tucker are classic examples.

  • Surak — Surak is the Vulcan philosopher who introduced the path of logic and the suppression of emotion. He is associated with the Kir’shara, the Vulcan reform movement, and the principle of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

• American Horror Story — FX’s anthology horror series created by Ryan Murphy. It began with the haunted-house season Murder House, and later seasons include Asylum, Coven, Freak Show, Roanoke, and Hotel. Recurring performers include Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, and Evan Peters. Hotel was the fifth season, the first not to co-star Jessica Lange, and introduced Lady Gaga as the Countess.

• Are You Afraid of the Dark? — Are You Afraid of the Dark? is the Nickelodeon horror anthology about the Midnight Society, which gathers to tell spooky stories around a campfire. The show began in the early 1990s, ran for five seasons, and is remembered for episodes such as “The Tale of the Twisted Claw” and “The Monkey’s Paw” adaptation.

• Captain Video — Captain Video was the title character of an early science-fiction television series on DuMont, one of the first such shows on television. Richard Coogan and later Al Hodge played the character, who battled Dr. Pauli.

• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir — The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is the late-1960s television series about a widow and her children who move into haunted Gull Cottage. The house is haunted by Captain Gregg, played by Edward Mulhare, and Hope Lange stars as Mrs. Muir.

• The Sentinel — The Sentinel is the 1990s TV series about Detective Jim Ellison, a Cascade PD officer whose heightened senses were developed after time in the Peruvian jungle. The show briefly crossed over in spirit with another UPN series when Jeri Ryan played a character with a similar sensory enhancement.

• The Six Million Dollar Man — The Six Million Dollar Man is the 1970s series about astronaut Steve Austin, rebuilt with bionic limbs and a strengthened body after a catastrophic crash. It starred Lee Majors and Richard Anderson, and it spawned The Bionic Woman.

• The Visitor — The Visitor was a 1997-98 Fox television series starring John Corbett as Adam MacArthur, a man who returns after disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle. In the series, his alien encounter gives him special powers while government agencies pursue him.

• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea — Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1960s television drama set aboard the submarine Seaview. Richard Basehart played Admiral Harriman Nelson in the series, which was later satirized by MAD under a similar title.

• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction — Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is an anthology series that presents strange stories and asks viewers to decide which parts are true. The show was hosted first by James Brolin and later by Jonathan Frakes.

• The Wild Wild West — The Wild Wild West is a Western-espionage television series starring Robert Conrad as James West and Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon. It is famous for gadgets, recurring villains like Dr. Miguelito Loveless, and its premise of secret agents serving President Grant.

• Andromeda — A science-fiction television series created from Gene Roddenberry’s posthumous concept, set aboard the starship Andromeda Ascendant after the fall of a galactic commonwealth. Its backstory includes the Nietzscheans, the Long Night, and the Commonwealth’s collapse before the first episode begins; the ensemble includes Beka Valentine, Tyr Anasazi, and Seamus Harper.

• seaQuest DSV — seaQuest DSV is a science-fiction television series about an advanced underwater craft commanded by Nathan Bridger. Its final season retitled the show seaQuest 2032.

• Sequel series
  • The Next Generation — The phrase “The Next Generation” is used as a subtitle for sequel television series and other revivals, most famously Star Trek: The Next Generation. It also appears in series like Degrassi and Roots, where it signals a new cast or continuation of a family or franchise history.
    • Worf — Worf is the Klingon Starfleet officer from Star Trek, raised on Earth by Sergei and Helen Rozhenko after the Khitomer attack. He serves aboard the Enterprise and Deep Space Nine and later becomes Federation ambassador to Kronos.
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

  • Bajorans — The Bajorans are the humanoid species from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine who live on Bajor near the wormhole. Their religion centers on the Prophets, their sacred objects are Orbs, and figures such as Kira Nerys and Kai Winn are strongly associated with them.

  • Dax — Dax is the Trill symbiont from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, hosted most famously by Jadzia Dax. Its previous hosts included Curzon, Joran, Tobin, Emony, and others in the long Trill lineage.

  • Deep Space Nine — The Star Trek space station and series setting originally called Terok Nor. Built by the Cardassians, it is near the Bajoran wormhole and is associated with Benjamin Sisko, Odo, Kira Nerys, Quark’s bar, and the Promenade; Sisko controlled the station during the series, which is named for it.

  • Dominion War — The Dominion War is the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine conflict in which the Federation and its allies fight the Gamma Quadrant Dominion. It features Jem’Hadar troops, Vorta advisors, and battles such as Chin’toka and the Odyssey incident.

  • Gul Dukat — Gul Dukat is the Cardassian officer from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine who commanded the Second Order and later became a follower of the Pah-wraiths. He is linked to Bajor’s occupation, his daughter Ziyal, and Marc Alaimo’s portrayal.

  • In the Pale Moonlight — “In the Pale Moonlight” is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode in which Sisko arranges a forgery to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War. Its ending is famous for Sisko’s admission that he lied, cheated, and was complicit in murder, while still deciding he can live with it.

  • Jake Sisko — Jake Sisko is the son of Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He grows into an aspiring writer and is especially associated with the episode ‘The Visitor’ and his wartime reporting on the Dominion War.

  • Major Kira — Major Kira is the Bajoran militia officer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine who serves as Sisko’s first officer on the station. She fought the Cardassian occupation as a resistance fighter and remains bitter toward the Cardassians.

  • U.S.S. Defiant — The U.S.S. Defiant is the compact Federation warship assigned to Deep Space Nine and identified by registry NX-74205. It is remembered for its cloaking device, its role in the Dominion War, and Worf’s quarters aboard it.

  • USS Defiant — USS Defiant is the compact experimental Federation starship from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is known for heavy weaponry, layered shields, and a Romulan cloaking device.

  • Vic Fontaine — Vic Fontaine is the self-aware holographic lounge singer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, played by James Darren. He was programmed with Rat Pack-era style and manners and became a rival attraction to Quark’s bar.

  • Weyoun — Weyoun is the cloned Vorta diplomat on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine who serves the Founders as a loyal emissary. Each incarnation is produced through a cloning facility, giving him a form of repeated replacement rather than ordinary survival.

• Star Trek: Enterprise — Star Trek: Enterprise is the UPN prequel series set aboard the first ship to reach Warp Five, with Jonathan Archer commanding the titular vessel. Its clues often mention T’Pol, Hoshi Sato, Trip Tucker, and the theme song lyrics “It’s been a long road.”
  • T’Pol — T’Pol is the Vulcan science officer on Enterprise, serving under Captain Jonathan Archer. She is linked to neuropressure therapy, Pa’nar Disease, and the Vulcan effort to suppress emotion.
• Star Trek: Nemesis
  • Shinzon — Shinzon is the clone of Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: Nemesis. He survives the Reman mines of Remus, seizes power in the Romulan Empire by using thaleron radiation, and commands the warbird Scimitar.
• Star Trek: Voyager — Star Trek: Voyager is the series that follows the starship Voyager after it is stranded in the Delta Quadrant and forced into a long journey home. Its better-known characters include Captain Kathryn Janeway, Seven of Nine, the holographic Doctor, and the former Maquis crew.

  • Captain Kathryn Janeway — Captain Kathryn Janeway is the Star Trek: Voyager captain played by Kate Mulgrew. She grew up in Indiana, likes dogs, and once granted Q mortality, triggering a civil war in the Q continuum.

  • Caretaker — The Caretaker is the Star Trek: Voyager character who appears in the series pilot and is central to the ship’s displacement into the Delta Quadrant. The name also points to the older film role played by James Hampton.

  • Seven of Nine — Seven of Nine is the former Borg drone from Star Trek: Voyager who was born Annika Hansen and assimilated with her parents aboard the Raven. After her rescue in the Scorpion operation, she serves on Voyager and often interacts with the Doctor, Naomi Wildman, and Icheb.

  • The Delta Flyer — The Delta Flyer is the advanced shuttlecraft from Star Trek: Voyager designed by Tom Paris. It was built to recover probes and later appeared in Voyager stories involving slipstream travel and the Borg Queen.

  • Tuvok — Tuvok is the Vulcan security chief aboard Voyager in Star Trek: Voyager. He is a black Vulcan and is often associated with time-loop-like scenarios or repeated failures to save people.

• translation devices
  • universal translator — A universal translator is a science-fiction device that lets speakers of different languages understand one another. It is especially associated with Star Trek, while The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy offers the Babel Fish as an equivalent device.

• Being Human — Being Human is the BBC supernatural drama about a ghost, vampire, and werewolf trying to live together in Bristol. Its main trio includes Annie, Mitchell, and George, and the show reimagines the domestic sitcom as a horror-comedy.

• Blake’s 7 — Blake’s 7 is a British science-fiction series about a freedom fighter and other rebels aboard the ship Liberator. The show is known for its dark tone, low-budget space battles, and for killing off its title character before the end of the run.

  • Kerr Avon — Kerr Avon is the coldly intelligent antihero of Blake’s 7 who becomes a leading member of Blake’s crew. He is a computer criminal who once worked on matter transmission and is known for ruthlessness and self-interest.

  • Zen, Slave, Orac — Zen, Slave, and Orac are the three computer characters associated with Blake’s 7. They are named as a set of machine intelligences rather than human crew members.

• Science fiction television series
  • Stranger Things — Stranger Things is the Netflix sci-fi series set in the 1980s, where Eleven, Will Byers, and the kids of Hawkins confront the Upside Down, demogorgons, and the Mind Flayer. Other recurring clues include Joyce’s Christmas lights communication, Barb’s disappearance, and Robin’s Scoops Ahoy reveal. The show mixes nostalgia, horror, and Dungeons & Dragons references.

    • Eddie Munson — Eddie Munson is the Hawkins High metal guitarist and leader of the Hellfire Club in Stranger Things season four. He becomes linked to Chrissy Cunningham’s death and later plays “Master of Puppets” to distract demobats.

    • Eleven — Eleven is the telekinetic girl from Stranger Things, known by the number on her arm and later revealed as Jane. It is also the title of Schoenberg’s Op. 11 and a number used in Partch’s tuning system.

    • Hawkins — Hawkins is the fictional Indiana town in Stranger Things, where the opening rift to the Upside Down and later season events take place. The name also appears in several music and sports identities, but the clue set here points to the Netflix setting.

    • Hawkins, Indiana — Hawkins, Indiana is the fictional small town in Stranger Things, centered on a government laboratory where Eleven is held and experimented on. The town’s story also involves Hawkins National Laboratory, Sheriff Jim Hopper, and the recurring threat of the Upside Down.

  • Tripping the Rift — Tripping the Rift is a CGI science-fiction parody series that riffs on Star Trek. It features Captain Chode McBlob, voiced by Stephen Root, and the robot Six, played by Carmen Electra and later Jenny McCarthy.

• Sliders — Sliders is a science-fiction series about Quinn Mallory, who uses a device to travel among alternate universes with his companions. It began on Fox before moving to the Sci-Fi Channel, and its cast included Jerry O’Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies, and later Kari Wuhrer.

• Space: 1999 — Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction series set on Moonbase Alpha after the Moon is blasted out of Earth’s orbit by a nuclear explosion. It features Commander John Koenig, Dr. Helena Russell, Professor Victor Bergman, and Eagle transports as the survivors drift into deep space.

• Space: Above and Beyond — Space: Above and Beyond is a short-lived Fox science-fiction series set after alien attacks destroy the human colonies of Vesta and Tellus. It follows the 58th Squadron, the Wildcats, led by Lieutenant Colonel TC McQueen against the Chigs. The show centers on young Marine aviators like Shane Vansen, Nathan West, and Cooper Hawkes, and it was created by Glen Morgan and James Wong.

• Star Trek technologies
  • Cloaking device — A cloaking device is a fictional technology that hides a starship by rendering it effectively invisible, especially in Star Trek stories about Romulans and Klingons. Questions about it may mention the Treaty of Algeron, the USS Pegasus, or the idea of bending light and other emissions around a ship.
• Stephen King
  • Storm of the Century — Storm of the Century is Stephen King’s 1999 miniseries about a blizzard-struck town and the sinister visitor André Linoge. It was written specifically for television and centers on the town’s darkest secrets and moral collapse.

• Jaimie Sommers — Title heroine of The Bionic Woman and the female counterpart to Steve Austin from The Six Million Dollar Man. After a near-fatal skydiving accident leaves her badly injured, she is brought back with cybernetic enhancements and becomes an agent for the OSI; she also appears in episodes and spinoff material tied to the bionic television franchise.

• Knight Rider — Knight Rider is an action series centered on Michael Knight and his talking Trans Am, KITT. It is remembered for its shadowy opening narration and for starring David Hasselhoff.

  • Knight Industries Two Thousand — The intelligent talking car from Knight Rider, portrayed as a modified 1983 Pontiac Trans Am voiced by William Daniels. It is partnered with Michael Knight and maintained by Bonnie Barstow, and is equipped with scanners, ejector seats, a dashboard full of special systems, and a 5000-kilobyte memory. Related prototypes include KARR.

  • Michael Knight — Michael Knight is the protagonist of Knight Rider, portrayed by David Hasselhoff. He drives KITT, works for the Foundation for Law and Government, and was originally known as Long before his identity was changed.

• Max Headroom — Max Headroom is an 1980s television character with a stuttering voice and a shiny synthetic look. He became especially famous after the 1987 Chicago signal hijacking in which a masked intruder impersonated him during a Doctor Who broadcast.

  • Big Time TV — Big Time TV was the rival network of Network 23 in the Max Headroom universe. It is part of the series’ satire of television media and corporate broadcasting.

  • Network 23 — Network 23 is the fictional television network in Max Headroom, run by Ben Cheviot and known for programs like I Want To Know and the blipvert. It is portrayed as a dominant media network financed by the Zik Zak corporation.

• Medium — Medium is the NBC drama based on the supposedly psychic life of Allison DuBois, played by Patricia Arquette. The series centers on a woman who claims to communicate with the dead and solve cases through visions and dreams.

• Almost Human — Almost Human is a 2013 science-fiction drama starring Karl Urban. It takes place in a future where police officers are paired with android partners.

• Dark Shadows — Dark Shadows was a Gothic soap opera set around Collinwood in Collinsport, Maine. The series is best remembered for Barnabas Collins, Victoria Winters, and its long ABC run beginning in 1966.

• Early Edition — Early Edition was a CBS series from the late 1990s about Gary Hobson, a Chicago stockbroker who receives tomorrow’s newspaper a day early. The show starred Kyle Chandler and featured recurring elements such as Lucius Snow’s knife and Gary’s work with Detective Ezequiel Crumb.

• Eerie, Indiana — Eerie, Indiana is a surreal early-1990s television series set in a strange Midwestern town. It follows Marshall Teller and Simon Holmes as they encounter bizarre local oddities like Elvis, Bigfoot, and other uncanny residents.

• Eli Stone — Eli Stone is an ABC legal drama starring Jonny Lee Miller as a lawyer whose brain aneurysm triggers visions. The series follows him as he helps needy clients while trying to make sense of the apparitions.

• Fantasy Island — Fantasy Island was a TV series in which visitors came to a resort to have their dreams or fantasies fulfilled. It starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke and Herve Villechaize as Tattoo, who famously announced arrivals with “The plane! The plane!”

• Fantasy television series
  • Highlander: The Series — Highlander: The Series is a 1990s fantasy television series starring Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod. Its episodes feature sword fights and recurring villains who are usually killed by the title Scotsman.
    • Duncan MacLeod — Duncan MacLeod is the immortal Highlander protagonist of Highlander: The Series, born in Scotland in 1592. He is a swordsman who survives by decapitation rules and is associated with the spin-off series starring Adrian Paul.
• Farscape — Farscape is the sci-fi series about human astronaut John Crichton, whose wormhole jump strands him on the living ship Moya among alien fugitives. It was developed by Brian Henson and Rockne S. O’Bannon, ran on Sci Fi Channel, and ended with the follow-up miniseries The Peacekeeper Wars after cancellation. The series’ cliffhanger ending and later miniseries are among its most common identifying clues.
  • Moya — Moya is the living Leviathan ship that carries the crew of Farscape through the far reaches of space. She serves as John Crichton’s home with the rest of the crew after he is flung through a wormhole.

• Fringe — Fringe is a Fox science-fiction series about Olivia Dunham, Walter Bishop, and a special federal unit investigating bizarre events. Its early episodes used glyphs before commercial breaks, and the show features Observers and alternate-universe storylines.

• Galavant — Galavant is a short-lived musical comedy television series centered on a Camelot-style knight named Galavant, played by Joshua Sasse. It is remembered for its self-aware songs, including a number about landlocked pirates who call themselves the Lords of the Sea.

• Heroes

  • Ando Masahashi — Ando Masahashi is Hiro Nakamura’s friend on Heroes and serves as his non-powered sidekick for much of the series. He is an English-speaking Japanese coworker whose story intersects with Hiro’s attempts to change the future.

  • Claire Bennett — Claire Bennett is the cheerleader from Heroes who has the power to heal herself and survive fatal injuries. She is the central figure in the series’ “Save the cheerleader, save the world” storyline.

  • Hiro Nakamura — Hiro Nakamura is the time-traveling, space-bending office worker from Heroes, played by Masi Oka. He teleports with his friend Ando, loves Charlie, and searches for the sword of Takezo Kensei to prevent disaster.

  • Nathan Petrelli — Nathan Petrelli is a politician in Heroes who has the power of flight. He is one of the series’ major superpowered characters and is often identified by that ability.

  • Niki Sanders — Niki Sanders is a character from Heroes who has split personalities and super strength. She is played by Ali Larter and is later replaced in the cast by the character Tracy Strauss.

  • Sylar — Sylar is the main villain of Heroes, portrayed by Zachary Quinto. Born Gabriel Gray, he uses telekinesis and other stolen powers to kill superhumans, often by opening their skulls and taking their abilities.

  • The Cheerleader — The Cheerleader is the recurring name used for Heroes character Claire Bennet, played by Hayden Panettiere. She is the adopted daughter protected by HRG and is linked to the phrase about saving her to save the world.

  • The Company — The Company is the secret organization from Heroes, operating through fronts such as Primatech Paper. It was founded by people brought together by Adam Monroe and is associated with figures like Noah Bennett, Bob Bishop, and Daniel Linderman.

• Jake 2.0 — Jake 2.0 is a short-lived UPN spy-fi series about an NSA tech worker who gains superhuman abilities after exposure to nanites. The show starred Christopher Gorham in the title role.

• James Cameron
  • Dark Angel — Dark Angel is a near-future sci-fi series starring Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, an escaped transgenic who works as a bike messenger in Seattle after the Pulse. Its mythology includes Manticore, Logan Cale, Jam Pony, and the search for Sandeman, and the show was created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee.
    • Project Manticore — Project Manticore is the secret government program that genetically engineered Max and other super-soldier women in Dark Angel. Its escaped subjects are known as X-series soldiers, including X-5 and X-7.

• Joan of Arcadia — Joan of Arcadia is a CBS drama starring Amber Tamblyn as a teenager who speaks with God in many guises. The series used Joan Osborne’s “One of Us” as its theme song and ran for two seasons.

• Joss Whedon
  • Firefly — Firefly is Joss Whedon’s short-lived space-western TV series about Captain Malcolm Reynolds and the crew of Serenity. Typical clues include River Tam, Simon, Jayne, Wash, Kaylee, the Reavers, the Alliance, and the episode “Out of Gas.”

    • Inara Serra — Inara Serra is the Companion from Firefly, played by Morena Baccarin. She is the sophisticated shuttle-renting crew member aboard Serenity.

    • Jayne Cobb — Jayne Cobb is the mercenary and thief on Firefly and Serenity who styles himself as a hired gun and carries the pistol Vera. He is a member of Malcolm Reynolds’s crew and is known for his blustering, self-serving personality.

    • Organizations

      • Blue Sun — Blue Sun is the mysterious corporate logo that appears throughout Joss Whedon’s Firefly universe and in Serenity. The company is associated with conspiracy, consumer goods imagery, and the Fruit Oaty Bar commercial that affects River Tam.

• No Ordinary Family — No Ordinary Family is an ABC series about a family that gains superhuman abilities after a plane crash in Brazil. It stars Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz, with Jimmy Bennett and Romany Malco among the supporting cast.

• Now and Again (TV series)
  • Now and Again — Now and Again is a CBS television series about a man whose brain is transplanted into a government-engineered body after his death. It was created by Glenn Gordon Caron and starred Eric Close and Margaret Colin.

• Once Upon a Time — ‘Once Upon a Time’ is the title of an ABC fantasy series centered on fairy-tale characters in the modern world. The phrase also begins the title of other works such as Once Upon a Time in the West, and it opens many fairy tales.

• Once Upon a Time — Once Upon a Time is a fairy-tale phrase that titles several films, songs, and TV series. The clues point especially to the ABC series set in Storybrooke and to the 2019 Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

• Point Pleasant — Point Pleasant is a short-lived Fox supernatural drama about a girl who washes ashore in the title town. The series centers on Christina Nickson, who is revealed to have a demonic or supernatural family connection.

• Pushing Daisies — Pushing Daisies is Bryan Fuller’s whimsical television series about Ned, a pie maker who can temporarily revive the dead. Set around the Pie Hole and featuring Chuck, Olive, and private investigator Emerson Cod, it was canceled after a short run on ABC.
  • Charlotte “Chuck” Charles — Charlotte “Chuck” Charles is the dead woman played by Anna Friel on Pushing Daisies. She is Ned’s childhood friend, raised by her aunts, and later brought back to life.
• Quantum Leap — Quantum Leap is a time-travel television series starring Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett and Dean Stockwell as Al Calavicci. The show follows Sam as he leaps into different lives to set mistakes right, usually ending with a hopeful catchphrase and a callback to Ziggy and the Project.
  • Sam Beckett — Sam Beckett is the physicist protagonist of Quantum Leap, an accidental time traveler who leaps into other people’s bodies and lives to change history. Working with Al and Ziggy, he is associated with the project that lets him leap through time.
• Robert J. Sawyer
  • FlashForward — This short-lived ABC series follows a worldwide event in which people glimpse their lives six months in the future. It was based on a novel by Robert J. Sawyer and starred Joseph Fiennes and John Cho.
• Smallville — Smallville is the Kansas town where Clark Kent grows up before becoming Superman, and it titles the television series centered on his teenage years. The show draws on Superman lore through characters such as Lana Lang, Pete Ross, Chloe Sullivan, and villains connected to Krypton and the Kent farm.
  • Characters
    • Chloe Sullivan — Chloe Sullivan is the school-newspaper editor in Smallville, where she investigates strange events in town. The character was played by Allison Mack and later became connected to Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen in the series’ drama.
  • Lionel Luthor — Lionel Luthor is the father of Lex Luthor in Smallville and the CEO of LuthorCorp. Played by John Glover, he is a ruthless businessman whose life is tangled in the rivalry with his son.

• So Weird — So Weird was a Disney Channel series that aired from the late 1990s into 2001. It followed Fiona Phillips, a teen who traveled with her rock-star mother while investigating paranormal phenomena.

• The X-Files — The X-Files follows FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they investigate alien abductions, conspiracies, and paranormal phenomena. The series is famous for its slogan “The truth is out there” and for the Cigarette Smoking Man’s role in the government conspiracy.

  • Cigarette Smoking Man — The Cigarette Smoking Man is the shadowy government conspirator and major antagonist of The X-Files, one of Mulder and Scully’s most persistent enemies. He is tied to the long-running alien-coverup conspiracy, associated with assassinations, government coverups, and the larger series mythos, and is identified as a former colleague of Mulder’s father in the 1950s and 1960s. He is played by William B. Davis, is known for his ever-present cigarettes, was long kept anonymous in the series, and is also linked to the writing of spy novels and to his underlings and rivals within the conspiracy.

  • Dana Scully — Dana Scully is the skeptical FBI agent on The X-Files, played by Gillian Anderson. A medical doctor and foil to Fox Mulder, she is marked by abductions, cancer, and the long-running mystery of her son William.

  • Fox Mulder — Fox Mulder is the FBI agent on The X-Files nicknamed “Spooky,” played by David Duchovny. His obsession with the paranormal and the abduction of his sister Samantha drive much of the series’ plot.

  • I Want to Believe — “I Want to Believe” is the slogan poster associated with Fox Mulder’s office on The X-Files, showing a grainy UFO above the phrase. It also became the subtitle of the second X-Files film.

  • John Doggett — John Doggett is the skeptical FBI agent from The X-Files who helped search for Mulder after his disappearance. Played by Robert Patrick, he is marked by a military and police background and by the murder of his son.

  • Jose Chung — Jose Chung is a fictional writer played by Charles Nelson Reilly in The X-Files and Millennium. He is associated with metafictional episodes such as “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” and “Doomsday Defense.”

  • Queequeg — Queequeg is a yappy dog owned by Scully in The X-Files. Its breed is a Pekingese.

  • The Lone Gunmen — The Lone Gunmen are the trio of conspiracy theorists from The X-Files: Byers, Frohike, and Langly, who operate an underground newsletter and often aid Mulder. They were spun off into a short-lived series of their own before later being written back into The X-Files.

  • Walter Skinner — Walter Skinner is the stern Assistant Director from The X-Files, played by Mitch Pileggi. He begins as an obstacle to Mulder and Scully but becomes one of their more reliable allies as the series develops.

• Timeless — Timeless is the short-lived sci-fi series about a team using time travel to stop a shadowy organization from altering history. It follows Garcia Flynn’s theft of a temporal device and the crew that pursues him.

• Twin Peaks: The Return
  • Twin Peaks: The Return Episode 8 — Episode 8 of Twin Peaks: The Return is the surreal black-and-white installment often nicknamed “Gotta Light?” It includes the Trinity test, the woodsman’s broadcast of the “This is the water, and this is the well” poem, a Nine Inch Nails performance, and the frogmoth ending.
• Xena — The title character of the 1990s television series Xena: Warrior Princess, portrayed by Lucy Lawless. She is a former warrior and violent warlord seeking redemption, and travels across the ancient world with her companion Gabrielle; the series also features Joxer as comic relief and is associated with the Amazons and a theme song adapted from a Bulgarian folk melody.

  • Gabrielle — Gabrielle is Xena’s companion in Xena: Warrior Princess, where she is often portrayed as a bard and later a warrior. She fights with a staff, comes from Potidaea, and is tied to the storyline involving her daughter Hope and Xena’s son Solon.

  • Joxer — Joxer is the bumbling warrior wannabe from Xena: Warrior Princess who styles himself “the Mighty.” He is a recurring comic-relief character and is infatuated with Gabrielle.

• Yellowjackets — Yellowjackets is an American drama about a girls’ soccer team whose plane crashes and strands them in the wilderness. The series follows their survival story and the long aftermath years later.

• Z Nation — Z Nation is a Syfy zombie series following survivors who transport the immune man Murphy across the United States. Murphy’s unique condition makes him central to efforts to develop a vaccine.

• Ghost Busters (TV series)
  • Ghost Busters — Ghost Busters was a short-lived live-action 1970s TV series starring Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch. It is unrelated to the 1984 film Ghostbusters, despite later legal confusion over the shared title.

• Ghost Whisperer — Ghost Whisperer is a supernatural TV series starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon, a woman who can speak with the dead. The show also features Jim Clancy and drew on the work of James Van Praagh.

• Ghostwatch — Ghostwatch was a 1992 BBC mockumentary presented as a live paranormal investigation and mistaken by many viewers for a real broadcast. It ended with Michael Parkinson’s on-air possession by the ghost called Pipes.

• Land of the Lost — Land of the Lost was the Sid and Marty Krofft adventure series about the Marshall family stranded among dinosaurs and the Sleestaks. Its memorable elements include Cha-Ka, the Pakuni language, and the weather-changing matrix tables.

• ALF — ALF is the cat-eating alien sitcom title character whose real name is Gordon Shumway. He is the Melmacian who ends up living with the Tanner family after his home planet is destroyed; the character is voiced by Paul Fusco and later appeared in animated and film appearances.
  • Melmac — The fictional home planet of ALF, also home to Gordon Shumway, Skip, and Rhonda. In the show’s backstory, it was destroyed in the mid-1980s when all of its inhabitants plugged in their hair dryers at once. Its culture is noted for seafood-based sports and a fondness for cats.

• Forever Knight — Forever Knight is a television series about a vampire police detective trying to atone for past sins. It was adapted from a TV movie and starred Geraint Wyn Davies as a vampire solving crimes in Toronto.

• Lost in Space — Lost in Space is a science fiction series about the Robinson family, their Jupiter 2 spacecraft, and the interference of Dr. Zachary Smith. The show is famous for the robot’s warning, “Danger, Will Robinson!”
  • Will Robinson — Will Robinson is the young boy from Lost in Space, famous for the robot’s warning of “Danger!” Later versions of the character include reboot portrayals, but the original role was played by Bill Mumy.

• Probe — Probe is an ABC science-fiction series created by Isaac Asimov and Michael Wagner and starring Parker Stevenson as Austin James. The show follows a modern Sherlock Holmes figure solving crimes with scientific know-how.

• The Middleman — The Middleman is an ABC Family superhero comedy based on a comic book, centered on the staff of the Jolly Fats Wehawkin Temp Agency. It follows Wendy Watson and the title hero as they battle bizarre threats like vampire puppets and flying zombie salmon.

• The Night Stalker
  • Characters
    • Carl Kolchak — Carl Kolchak is the hardboiled reporter protagonist of The Night Stalker and related stories. He works the supernatural beat for Chicago’s Independent News Service and investigates paranormal phenomena.

• The Pretender — The Pretender is an NBC drama about Jarod, a brilliant escapee from the Centre who can quickly assume many skills and identities. It starred Michael T. Weiss and aired with other shows in NBC’s ‘Thrillogy’ lineup.

• The Prisoner — The Prisoner is a 1960s British series about a former spy known as Number Six who is confined in the seaside village called The Village. Its surreal setting includes the white balloon Rover and the repeated demand that the hero be “un-mutual,” while the finale has long invited interpretation.

  • Number 6 — Number 6 is the designation of Patrick McGoohan’s imprisoned secret agent in The Prisoner. He insists he is not a number and refuses the surveillance and control imposed by the Village.

  • Number Two — Number Two is the rotating authority figure in The Prisoner, serving as the chief official of the Village. Different actors portray the role across the series, and the character exists to keep Number Six under control.

  • Rover — Rover is the white, marshmallow-like patrol creature from The Prisoner, used to catch escapees. The word also names the croquet ball that has passed through all wickets and not yet hit the finishing stake.

• Arrowverse

  • (DC’s) Legends of Tomorrow — DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is the Arrowverse series about a team of time-traveling superheroes assembled from lesser-known DC characters. The show’s early plots include Vandal Savage as a major villain and a team that rides the Waverider through history.

  • The Flash — The Flash is the CW superhero series about Barry Allen, whose powers come from a particle-accelerator accident at S.T.A.R. Labs. The show features villains such as Eobard Thawne, Savitar, and Godspeed, and it follows Barry’s adventures after the death of his mother is altered in later storylines.

    • Barry Allen — Barry Allen is the Silver Age Flash, a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department. He became the Flash after being struck by lightning and exposed to chemicals, and his name is used as an alias in Catch Me If You Can.

    • Captain Cold — Captain Cold is a Flash villain whose weapon of choice is a freeze ray or cold gun. His civilian name is Leonard Snart, and he is associated with the Rogues and with Keystone City.

    • Wally West — Wally West is the DC Comics speedster who became the Flash after Barry Allen’s death, having earlier served as Kid Flash. He is Barry Allen’s nephew by marriage and is often treated as one of the fastest versions of the Flash.

• Invasion — Invasion is an ABC science-fiction series about strange events after a Florida hurricane and alien body-snatching. The title also matches a Robin Cook novel adapted into a 1997 NBC miniseries.

• iZombie — iZombie is a CW series about Liv Moore, a former Seattle medical resident who becomes a crime-solving zombie by eating brains to absorb memories. It was adapted from a Chris Roberson comic and stars Rose McIver.

• Super Sentai — Super Sentai is the long-running Japanese tokusatsu superhero franchise that preceded Power Rangers. Early 1990s seasons such as Zyuranger were adapted for the American series, which reused and redubbed action footage.

• The 100 — The 100 is a CW post-apocalyptic series about juvenile delinquents sent from the Ark to test whether Earth is habitable. Its central plot follows Clarke Griffin and the title group as they clash with Grounders and other survivors.

• Babylon 5 — Babylon 5 is a science-fiction series created by J. Michael Straczynski and set on a diplomatic space station. The station orbits in the Epsilon Eridani system and is associated with John Sheridan after the Earth-Minbari War.

  • Claudia Christian — Claudia Christian is an actress best known for playing Commander Susan Ivanova on Babylon 5. The clues point to her reported contract disputes while she was appearing on the series.

  • Signs and Portents — This is the title of the first season of Babylon 5, the science-fiction series planned around a five-year arc.

  • The Coming of Shadows — “The Coming of Shadows” is an episode of Babylon 5, the science-fiction television series set in a future space station. The episode is one of the show’s notable dramatic-presentation entries and is often cited among the series’ best-regarded stories.

  • Zathras — Zathras is one of the many nearly identical servants associated with Babylon 5’s Great Machine on Epsilon 3. The character is remembered for speaking in the third person and for helping with events involving Babylon 4 and the Shadow War.

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Buffy the Vampire Slayer is Joss Whedon’s supernatural TV series about Buffy Summers and her friends in Sunnydale. The show is known for episodes like ‘Hush,’ its mix of horror and comedy, and supporting characters including Willow, Xander, Angel, Spike, and Giles.
  • Angel — Angel is the vampire-with-a-soul title character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. The character is associated with Wolfram and Hart, a curse by a Romani clan, and later detective work in Los Angeles.
    • Wolfram & Hart — The sinister Los Angeles law firm in Angel that serves demonic powers. It is presented as a corporate face of evil, with Senior Partners, a legal department, and shadowy corporate structures extending across multiple cities. It employs characters such as Lindsey McDonald, Lilah Morgan, and Holland Manners and manipulates events through its attorneys.

  • Buffy Summers — The Sarah Michelle Gellar character and title character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a high-school Slayer who lives in Sunnydale. She founds the Scooby Gang with Giles, Willow, and Xander; is temporarily succeeded by Kendra; and at one point works at the Doublemeat Palace to help support her family. Her story also includes killing vampires with Angel, Riley Finn, and Spike in her orbit, the famous burned gym, and her move from Los Angeles to Sunnydale.

  • Cordelia Chase — Cordelia Chase begins as a sharp-tongued Sunnydale cheerleader in Buffy the Vampire Slayer before moving to Los Angeles in Angel. She becomes part of Angel Investigations and later gains the ability to receive visions, with her character played by Charisma Carpenter. Her arc links the two series through romance, comedy, and supernatural drama.

  • David Boreanaz — David Boreanaz is an actor best known for playing Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel. He also became widely known as Special Agent Seeley Booth on Bones after early appearances on Married… with Children and other films.

  • Dingoes Ate My Baby — Dingoes Ate My Baby is the fictional band from Buffy the Vampire Slayer associated with Oz. Its name plays on the famous ‘dingo ate my baby’ phrase.

  • Ethan Rayne — Ethan Rayne is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer villain and former friend of Giles, who often called him Ripper. He appears as a Chaos-worshipping sorcerer and costume-shop proprietor in the Halloween episode.

  • Faith Lehane — Faith Lehane is the Slayer played by Eliza Dushku on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She works for Mayor Wilkins, later turns against Buffy, and is linked to the Ascension storyline.

  • Fray — Fray is the title of a Joss Whedon comic series set after Buffy the Vampire Slayer, following a future Slayer named Fray. The name also refers to the word for a fight or a ragged unraveling edge.

  • Harmony Kendall — Harmony Kendall is a Buffyverse vampire who begins as one of Cordelia Chase’s followers before being turned after “Graduation Day.” She appears across the Buffy and Angel canon, including the unaired Buffy pilot and the Angel finale.

  • Jonathan Levinson — Jonathan Levinson is a character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer played by Danny Strong. He begins as a minor Sunnydale student and later becomes part of the Geek Trio, with storylines involving suicide, a demon deal, and attempts at self-improvement.

  • Joyce Summers — Joyce Summers is Buffy Summers’s mother in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She dies from a brain aneurysm after surgery to remove a non-mystical brain tumor.

  • Marc Blucas — Marc Blucas is an American actor known for playing Riley Finn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also appeared in Undressed and in films such as View from the Top.

  • Once More, with Feeling — “Once More, with Feeling” is the sixth-season musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which a demon named Sweet forces the characters to sing their secrets. It includes numbers such as “I’ll Never Tell” and “Something to Sing About,” and it became one of the show’s most famous episodes. The episode is also remembered for its elaborate songs, the revelation that Buffy had been in heaven, and the spontaneous combustion caused by the singing curse.

  • Principal Snyder — Principal Snyder is the head of Sunnydale High in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Armin Shimerman. He is a recurring early-series antagonist and is killed when the Mayor, transformed into a giant snake, eats him during Graduation Day. The character is remembered as one of Buffy’s school authority figures.

  • Rupert Giles — Rupert Giles is Buffy Summers’s Watcher, a former Oxford dropout known by the nickname Ripper and played by Anthony Stewart Head. He runs The Magic Box and is associated with dark magic from his earlier life and his later role as a mentor to the Scooby Gang.

  • Spike — Spike is the nickname of the bleach-haired vampire from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it is also used for the former Spike TV network. The word itself also refers to a large nail, as in the golden spike driven at Promontory Summit to complete the Transcontinental Railroad.

  • Sunnydale — Sunnydale is the California town where Buffy the Vampire Slayer is set, and Richard Wilkins serves as its mayor. The town sits on a Hellmouth, which explains its repeated encounters with monsters and apocalypses.

  • Willow Rosenberg — Willow Rosenberg is the witch on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Alyson Hannigan. Her arc includes dating Oz and Tara, struggling with magic addiction, and later turning dark after devastating personal losses.

  • Xander Harris
    • Xander — Xander Harris is Buffy Summers’s dorky best friend in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Nicholas Brendon. He is often identified simply as Xander, short for Alexander.

Sitcoms of the 1970s and 1980s

• All in the Family (CBS, 1971–1979) — Norman Lear production; Archie Bunker character introduced social and political satire into primetime sitcoms; first U.S. sitcom to top annual ratings for five consecutive years. It spawned The Jeffersons and is remembered for pushing primetime television boundaries.

  • Archie Bunker — Archie Bunker is the bigoted, stubborn patriarch on All in the Family, played by Carroll O’Connor. He is best known for insulting his son-in-law Michael Stivic as a ‘meathead’.

  • Edith Bunker — Edith Bunker is the wife of Archie Bunker on All in the Family, played by Jean Stapleton. The character is remembered for her gentle, upbeat personality and for catchphrases like Archie telling her to “stifle yourself.”

  • Stephanie Mills — Stephanie Mills is the niece who appears in the later seasons of All in the Family. Played by Danielle Brisebois, she is the abandoned daughter of Edith’s brother and is often described as annoying.

• MAS*H (CBS, 1972–1983) — Korean War medical unit setting; finale (“Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” 1983) drew approximately 106 million viewers, the most-watched single episode in U.S. TV history at the time. It was adapted from Robert Altman’s film of the same name.

  • AfterMASH — AfterMASH is a sitcom sequel to M*A*S*H that follows Sherman Potter, Maxwell Klinger, and Father Mulcahy after the Korean War. It is set at a veterans hospital and is remembered for episodes involving postwar struggles, including a leukemia plot tied to atomic testing.

  • Benjamin Franklin Pierce — Benjamin Franklin Pierce, better known as Hawkeye, is a fictional army surgeon and one of the principal characters in M*A*S*H.

  • Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce — Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce is the prank-loving but war-weary surgeon played by Alan Alda in M*A*S*H. He is often central to episodes that mix comedy with reflections on the Korean War.

  • Corporal Walter Eugene “Radar” O’Reilly — Corporal Walter Eugene “Radar” O’Reilly is the company clerk from M*A*S*H’s 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. He is known for his childlike teddy-bear fondness, Iowa farm background, and uncanny ability to sense incoming helicopters.

  • Father Mulcahy — Father Mulcahy is the chaplain of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in M*A*S*H. He is portrayed on screen by William Christopher and Rene Auberjonois, and is known for his hearing loss, medical help under fire, and the nickname Dago Red.

  • Gary Burghoff — Gary Burghoff is the actor best known for playing Radar O’Reilly on M*A*S*H. He is the performer usually identified when clues ask for the actor who portrayed Radar.

  • Goodbye, Farewell and Amen — “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” is the final episode of M*A*S*H and the most-watched American television broadcast for decades. It closes the series as Hawkeye, B.J., and other 4077 personnel leave Korea.

  • Sherman T. Potter — Sherman T. Potter is the commanding officer of the 4077th in M*A*S*H. He is a World War I veteran, a former cavalryman and POW, and later a World War II Purple Heart recipient.

  • Spin-offs
    • Trapper John, M.D. — Trapper John, M.D. was a 1979-1986 M*A*S*H spin-off starring Pernell Roberts as the title doctor. The show continued the character made famous in M*A*S*H by Wayne Rogers and Elliott Gould.

  • Trapper John — Trapper John is the nickname of John Francis Xavier McIntyre, the M*A*S*H surgeon played by Wayne Rogers. He later inspired a spin-off series set decades after the original war.

  • W*A*L*T*E*R — W*A*L*T*E*R was an unsold 1984 pilot built around Gary Burghoff as Walter C. O’Reilly after M*A*S*H. It followed the character as he becomes a police officer in St. Louis, but the series was never picked up.
• Cheers (NBC, 1982–1993) — Boston bar ensemble; “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” theme; launched Ted Danson and produced the spin-off Frasier.

  • Cliff Clavin — Cliff Clavin is the know-it-all postal worker from Cheers, famous for his endless trivia and pompous explanations. He is best remembered for his Final Jeopardy answer, “Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?” He is also associated with the so-called Buffalo Theory and with living with his mother, Esther.

  • Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane — Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane is Frasier Crane’s ex-wife and a recurring character from Cheers and Frasier, played by Bebe Neuwirth. She is a scientist and author associated with Boston General, noted for her dry wit, famously severe anti-Freudian style, and her son Frederick.

  • Ernie “Coach” Pantusso — Ernie “Coach” Pantusso is the dim-witted bartender from Cheers played by Nicholas Colasanto. Before working at the bar, he was a minor-league baseball manager and later a Red Sox coach, and he is remembered for his kindly, offbeat personality.

  • Norm Peterson — Norm Peterson is the heavy-drinking, wisecracking regular at the bar in Cheers, played by George Wendt. He is associated with deadpan one-liners and a string of odd jobs, including work as an accountant, painter, and interior decorator.

  • Sternin — Sternin is Lilith’s maiden name on Cheers. The surname is associated with the show’s characters rather than with a real-world historical figure.

  • The Tortellis — The Tortellis was a short-lived Cheers spin-off centered on Nick Tortelli and his family. Its brief run included episodes involving Frank Sinatra and Elvis impersonators.

• The Cosby Show (NBC, 1984–1992) — credited with reviving the network sitcom in the mid-1980s and with changing depictions of Black families in primetime. The sitcom centered on the Huxtable family in Brooklyn, with Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable and Clair Huxtable at its center. It followed the family’s children through college, marriage, and everyday domestic mishaps, and became one of the signature sitcoms of the 1980s and early 1990s. Its cast included Phylicia Rashad as Clair and Raven-Symoné as Olivia.
  • A Different World — A Different World is a sitcom spin-off of The Cosby Show set at the fictional Hillman College. It became more centered on Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert after Denise Huxtable left the series.

    • Hillman College — Hillman College is the fictional historically black college in A Different World, the Cosby Show spin-off. It is the school Denise attends and the setting for much of the series.

    • Zachariah J. Haynes — Zachariah J. Haynes is a longtime president of Hillman College from The Cosby Show and A Different World. He is remembered as a respected college administrator whose retirement was celebrated in a later episode.

  • Olivia Kendall — Olivia Kendall is the stepdaughter character played by Raven-Symoné on The Cosby Show. She is Denise Huxtable’s stepchild after Denise marries naval officer Martin Kendall and later shares a first name with Detective Olivia Benson.
• Are You Being Served? — Are You Being Served? is the British sitcom set in the Grace Brothers department store, featuring Mr. Humphries, Mrs. Slocombe, Captain Peacock, and Mr. Spooner. Its humor centers on class, innuendo, and retail chaos. The show is also identified by the line about the store’s department layout and by Mr. Lucas’s replacement. These clues clearly point to the long-running BBC comedy.
  • Grace Brothers — Grace Brothers is the fictional London department store that serves as the setting for Are You Being Served? The store is portrayed as family-run and is associated with a frail, senile chairman in the series.

Sitcoms of the 1990s and 2000s

• Seinfeld (NBC, 1989–1998) — Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David; “show about nothing” meta-premise; introduced terms (“yada yada,” “double-dip,” “close-talker”) into popular vocabulary; finale among most-watched series finales. Built around Jerry Seinfeld and his circle of friends, including Elaine, George, and Kramer. Episodes such as “The Contest,” “The Soup Nazi,” and “Festivus” became especially famous, and its style and catchphrases made it one of the defining sitcoms of the 1990s.

  • Art Vandelay — Art Vandelay is George Costanza’s recurring fake identity on Seinfeld, used for jobs such as architect and importer-exporter. The name is also linked to a judge in the show’s finale and to George’s many absurd aliases.

  • Bob Sacamano — Bob Sacamano is Kramer’s unseen friend on Seinfeld, repeatedly mentioned but never shown on camera. He is associated with bad condoms, fake hats sold in Battery Park, and other absurd off-screen schemes.

  • Cosmo Kramer — Cosmo Kramer is Jerry Seinfeld’s eccentric neighbor on Seinfeld, played by Michael Richards. Usually identified by his first name Cosmo, he is known for get-rich-quick schemes, bizarre jobs, and unpredictable entrances, including selling raincoats without belts, opening a beach-scented perfume, and trying to launch a make-your-own pizza restaurant. He appears in plots involving coffee-table books, a fake commercial, and the phrase “master of your domain.”

  • David Puddy — David Puddy is Elaine Benes’s on-and-off boyfriend on Seinfeld. He works at a car dealership and is remembered for his deadpan demeanor, handshakes, and high-fives.

  • David Putty — David Putty is a Seinfeld character played by Patrick Warburton. He is Elaine’s burly on-and-off boyfriend, known for his monotone delivery, his brief job as a car salesman, and his devotion to the New Jersey Devils.

  • Dr. Martin van Nostrand — Dr. Martin van Nostrand is one of Cosmo Kramer’s fake identities on Seinfeld, often used when he wants to pass as a doctor or author. The name appears in several of Kramer’s schemes, including attempts to conceal awkward situations or gain access to records.

  • Elaine Benes — Elaine Benes is a main character on Seinfeld, known for her temper and for working at Pendant Publishing and later with Mr. Pitt and J. Peterman. She is Jerry’s former girlfriend and is played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

  • Elaine Marie Benes — Elaine Marie Benes is a central character on Seinfeld, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She works at various publishing and catalog firms and is known for awkward romances and an assertive, sarcastic personality.

  • Festivus — Festivus is the Seinfeld holiday celebrated on December 23 with an aluminum pole, the Airing of Grievances, and Feats of Strength. It was introduced as a family joke and became a pop-culture symbol of mock anti-commercial Christmas tradition.

  • Frank Costanza — Frank Costanza is George Costanza’s father on Seinfeld. He is a Korean War veteran and former cook who once worked in the computer business. The character is best known for creating Festivus and for promoting the stress-reduction slogan “Serenity Now!”

  • George Costanza — George Costanza is the permanently anxious friend of Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld, known for the alias Art Vandelay and for repeated schemes that backfire. His character is defined by elaborate lies, disastrous jobs, and his family’s recurring catchphrases and quirks.

  • J. Peterman — J. Peterman is the eccentric catalog magnate from Seinfeld, played by John O’Hurley, whose company sells luxury goods and offbeat items like the Urban Sombrero. Quizbowl clues also frame him as an upscale catalog brand associated with expensive reproductions and globe-trotting merchandising trips.

  • Jackie Chiles — Jackie Chiles is the Seinfeld lawyer modeled on Johnnie Cochran, known for outrageously grand speeches and for defending Kramer and the rest of the gang. He appears in cases involving tobacco, a spilled latte, Sue Ellen Mischke, and the Good Samaritan law.

  • Jacopo Peterman — Jacopo Peterman is the eccentric catalog-company owner from Seinfeld, played by John O’Hurley. He is associated with Elaine’s later employment and with absurd products like the Urban Sombrero and Bengalese Galoshes.

  • Kenny Bania — Kenny Bania is a Seinfeld comic known for the line “That’s gold, Jerry, gold!” and for being obsessed with soup, Ovaltine, and Mendy’s. He is remembered as a flashy but unfunny stand-up who outgrows an Armani suit and irritates Jerry.

  • Kruger Industrial Smoothing — Kruger Industrial Smoothing is the company where George Costanza works in the final season of Seinfeld. The fictional firm is tied to George’s failed inventions, the Human Fund, and the company president Kruger.

  • marble rye — Marble rye is the multicolored bread centerpiece of a famous Seinfeld episode, where Jerry steals a loaf from Mabel Choate so George can impress Susan’s parents. The episode turns the bread into an absurd symbol of social embarrassment and petty desperation.

  • Mickey Abbott — Mickey Abbott is the diminutive actor and stage-school acquaintance of Kramer on Seinfeld, played by Danny Woodburn. He appears as an angry aspiring performer who takes acting gigs, quarrels with Elaine’s communist boyfriend Ned Isakoff, and is known for comic clashes with Kramer.

  • Mulva — Mulva is the fake name George guesses for the woman whose real name is Dolores on Seinfeld. The joke works because the guessed name sounds like a crude reference to female anatomy, and the character later reappears in another episode.

  • Newman — Newman is the overweight postal worker on Seinfeld, a recurring enemy of Jerry and ally of Kramer. He schemes with recycled bottles, rickshaws, and other scams, and is played by Wayne Knight.

  • No soup for you — ‘No soup for you!’ is the brusque catchphrase of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. It became a common pop-culture taunt for denying someone a request after a minor offense.

  • Reggie’s — Reggie’s is the Seinfeld diner parody that serves as a bizarro counterpart to Monk’s Cafe. It appears in episodes where Jerry and his friends are forced to eat at a similar but less familiar coffee shop.

  • Serenity Now — “Serenity Now” is Frank Costanza’s relaxation mantra from Seinfeld. The phrase becomes a running joke when it is repeated as a supposed cure for stress, but Lloyd Braun warns that it leads to “insanity later.”

  • Soup Nazi — The Soup Nazi is the strict soup vendor from Seinfeld famous for refusing service with the catchphrase ‘no soup for you.’ The character is based on a real-life cook and later appears in a storyline involving Argentina and Elaine’s discovery of his recipes.

  • Sue Ellen Mischke — Sue Ellen Mischke is Elaine’s bra-less rival on Seinfeld, nicknamed the Bra-less Wonder. She is the heiress to the Oh Henry! candy fortune and is associated with several of Elaine’s social humiliations.

  • Susan Biddle Ross — Susan Biddle Ross is George Costanza’s former fiancée on Seinfeld. She dies after licking toxic glue from cheap wedding invitation envelopes.

  • Susan Ross — Susan Ross is the Seinfeld character who becomes engaged to George Costanza and dies after licking toxic envelopes. She was played by Heidi Swedberg and appears in plots involving George’s romantic misadventures.

  • The Betrayal — “The Betrayal” is the 1997 Seinfeld episode famous for being told in reverse chronological order. The plot sends Elaine to India over an “unvitation,” while George’s and Kramer’s tangled misunderstandings play out backward.

  • The Contest — The Contest is the Seinfeld episode built around the gang’s wager to remain “the master of their domain.” The episode’s comedy comes from escalating temptations and euphemisms surrounding the contest.

  • The Puffy Shirt — The Puffy Shirt is the famous ill-fated Seinfeld garment that Jerry is pressured into wearing on television. It became a collectible prop and is remembered for its exaggerated, pirate-like ruffles.

  • The Raincoats — The Raincoats is a Seinfeld episode that parodies Schindler’s List through the subplot involving Kramer and Jerry’s father.

  • the Soup Nazi — The Soup Nazi is the nickname of the strict New York soup vendor from Seinfeld, famous for the command “No Soup For You.” The character became one of the show’s most memorable recurring figures and was based on a real restaurateur, Al Yeganeh.
    • Schmoopie — Schmoopie is the irritating pet name Jerry and Sheila use for each other in Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” episode.

  • Uncle Leo — Uncle Leo is Jerry Seinfeld’s loud, overfriendly uncle, famous for booming greetings and the stretched-out “Jerry! Hello!” catchphrase. He appears in episodes involving his son Jeffrey, Helen’s family, and comic bits about anti-semitism, shoplifting books, and a watch found in the trash.

  • Urban sombrero — The urban sombrero is Elaine’s disastrous hat design from Seinfeld, presented as a trendy oversized Mexican-style hat for city dwellers. It became a running joke after appearing in a J. Peterman catalog and being treated as an absurd fashion flop.

  • Death Blow — Death Blow is the title of an in-universe film in Seinfeld that Jerry is forced to bootleg at gunpoint. The episode centers on the movie’s screening being interrupted and on the joke-maker who admires its filmmaking techniques.

  • Deathblow — Deathblow is the action film Jerry bootlegs in Seinfeld, whose plot Kramer describes as someone trying to blow you up for reasons unrelated to who you are. It is the first movie Jerry successfully copies.

  • Rochelle, Rochelle — Rochelle, Rochelle is the fictional film in Seinfeld subtitled “a young girl’s strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk.” It becomes the movie the characters end up watching, and it later inspires a Broadway musical adaptation.
• Friends (NBC, 1994–2004) — ensemble set in Manhattan; one of the most-watched and internationally syndicated sitcoms; finale (2004) drew ~52 million U.S. viewers. It centers on six Manhattan friends who often gather at Central Perk, and it is especially associated with Ross and Rachel, Phoebe’s song “Smelly Cat,” and the catchphrase “We were on a break!”

  • Central Perk — Central Perk is the coffee shop on Friends where the main characters regularly hang out, and it is especially associated with Rachel’s workplace. It serves as the show’s familiar New York meeting place and one of its most recognizable sets.

  • Chandler Bing — Chandler Bing is the sarcastic Friends character played by Matthew Perry, known for his awkward jokes, on-and-off romance with Janice, and his marriage to Monica. His job in advertising, the mysterious WENUS acronym, and the nickname “Ms. Chanandler Bong” are among the recurring clues associated with him.

  • Dr. Drake Ramoray — Dr. Drake Ramoray is the soap-opera neurosurgeon Joey Tribbiani played on Days of Our Lives in Friends. The character was memorably killed off and then absurdly brought back through a brain-transplant plotline.

  • Gunther — Gunther is a character from Friends, played by James Michael Tyler, who works at Central Perk and becomes infatuated with Rachel. He is remembered for his wordless presence early on and his later recurring role at the coffee shop. The same name also belongs to a figure from the Nibelungenlied, Kriemhild’s brother and Siegfried’s ally in winning Brunhild.

  • Janice — Janice is the recurring Friends character played by Maggie Wheeler, remembered for her nasal laugh and the exclamation “Oh my God!” She is Chandler Bing’s on-again, off-again girlfriend and later marries several husbands, including Sid. The name also appears as the Muppet guitarist Janice of the Electric Mayhem, who was originally designed as a male character.

  • Joey — Joey can refer to the title character of the short-lived Friends spinoff starring Matt LeBlanc, but the name also appears as a common given name. It is also the term for a baby kangaroo and, more generally, a young marsupial.

  • Joey Tribbiani — Joey Tribbiani is the lovable dim-witted womanizer from Friends, played by Matt LeBlanc. He is an actor who portrayed Dr. Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives and later headlined the short-lived spinoff Joey.

  • Phoebe Buffay — Phoebe Buffay is the eccentric Friends character who works as a massage therapist and sings “Smelly Cat” at Central Perk. She has a twin sister named Ursula and later marries Mike Hannigan.

  • Rachel Green — Rachel Green is the Friends character who leaves Barry at the altar and becomes a waitress at Central Perk. She is played by Jennifer Aniston and is one of the show’s central romantic leads.

  • Regina Phalange — Regina Phalange is Phoebe Buffay’s fake name on Friends. She uses it as a pseudonym when she wants to avoid giving her real name.

  • Ross Geller — Ross Geller is the paleontologist from Friends, Monica’s brother and Rachel’s on-again, off-again love interest. His storylines include his divorces, his son Ben, the famous “we were on a break” dispute, and his awkward professional and romantic setbacks.

  • Smelly Cat — “Smelly Cat” is Phoebe Buffay’s signature song on Friends. The comic ballad jokes that the cat’s odor keeps roses and noses alike at a distance.

  • The Holiday Armadillo — The Holiday Armadillo is Ross Geller’s Hanukkah costume in Friends, where he uses the odd Santa substitute to teach Ben about the holiday. It is remembered for the joke that it represents Santa for “all the Southern states…and Mexico!”

  • Ugly Naked Guy — Ugly Naked Guy is the largely unseen nude neighbor on Friends who lives across from Monica and Rachel’s apartment. He is associated with jokes about gravity boots, a ThighMaster, a hammock, and Ross moving into his apartment after he leaves.

  • Ursula Buffay — Ursula Buffay is Phoebe Buffay’s twin sister on Friends, played by Lisa Kudrow. She also appears on Mad About You as a waitress and is portrayed as selfish and sexually mercenary on Friends.

• Aliens in America — Aliens in America is a sitcom about a Pakistani exchange student named Raja living with the Tolchuk family in Wisconsin. Its comedy centers on cultural misunderstandings involving Gary, Franny, and their children Claire and Justin.

Contemporary Sitcoms and Comedy Series

• Schitt’s Creek (CBC/Pop TV, 2015–2020) — Eugene and Dan Levy’s fish-out-of-water Canadian sitcom; won all five major Emmy comedy categories in 2020 (a first). created by Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy about the wealthy Rose family falling into life in a small town. Catherine O’Hara stars as Moira Rose, and the show became an awards juggernaut at the 2020 Emmys.

• Atlanta (FX, 2016–2022) — Donald Glover (Childish Gambino); surrealist exploration of Black life and the Atlanta rap scene; genre-defying; four seasons.
  • Paper Boi — Paper Boi is the rap persona of Alfred Miles on Atlanta, where he is connected to Earn through family and management. The same name also belongs to the Atari arcade game’s newspaper delivery boy, who dodges hazards while making deliveries.
• Are We There Yet? — Are We There Yet? is a family sitcom based on the Ice Cube film of the same name. The TBS series starred Terry Crews and reworked the film’s premise into a television family comedy.

The Cable Era

• HBO (Home Box Office) — premium cable channel (launched 1972); paid-subscription model freed it from advertiser content constraints; pioneered original scripted drama in the 1990s–2000s.

• CNN — launched 1980 by Ted Turner; first 24-hour cable news channel; established the continuous news cycle format. Also known as Cable News Network, it has featured personalities such as Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Fareed Zakaria, Don Lemon, and Brian Stelter, and programs including The Situation Room and Reliable Sources.

• MTV (Music Television) — launched August 1, 1981; first video broadcast: “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles; transformed music promotion and youth culture through the 1980s–1990s.

• ESPN — launched 1979; dominant U.S. sports cable network; SportsCenter became the flagship highlight show. ESPN originally stood for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. It is based in Bristol, Connecticut, was founded by Bill Rasmussen, and later became known for programs such as Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn, 30 for 30 documentaries, high carriage fees, and expanding into esports coverage.

  • SportsNation — SportsNation is the ESPN2 afternoon show known for viewer-game segments like “Three Cheers/Jeers/Tears” and “Date, Marry, Dump.” It was co-hosted by Michelle Beadle and later Charissa Thompson, and later featured Marcellus Wiley and Max Kellerman.

  • This Is SportsCenter — This Is SportsCenter is ESPN’s long-running series of short advertisements built around fake behind-the-scenes antics at the network. The spots often feature SportsCenter personalities and end with the ESPN logo.

• Must See TV (NBC Thursday) — NBC’s 1990s Thursday primetime block anchored by Seinfeld, Friends, ER, and Frasier; the high-water mark of broadcast dominance.

• Reality television — genre defined by unscripted formats; The Real World (MTV, 1992) was an early landmark; Survivor (CBS, 2000) and American Idol (Fox, 2002) initiated a 2000s reality-TV boom.

  • Fear Factor — Fear Factor was the stunt-based reality show hosted by Joe Rogan and later briefly revived with Ludacris. It was built around phobia-themed challenges and had tie-ins such as a Universal attraction.

  • Joe Millionaire — Joe Millionaire was the Fox reality show in which women competed for the affection of a man who was pretending to be wealthy. Its original bachelor was construction worker Evan Marriott, and later versions revisited the same premise with new casts and international twists.
    • Zora Andrich — Zora Andrich was a contestant on Joe Millionaire, one of the early-2000s reality shows that used a mystery-marriage setup.

  • Laguna Beach — Laguna Beach is the MTV reality show about affluent teenagers in a Southern California beach town. It was marketed as “The Real Orange County” and became known for cast members like LC, Lo, and various season-two additions.

  • Murder in Small Town X — Murder in Small Town X was a Fox reality series built around a murder mystery in Eastport, Maine. Contestants competed to identify a hidden killer, and the first-season winner was firefighter Angel Juarbe.

  • Outback Jack — Outback Jack was a TBS reality series that paired a rugged Australian bachelor with a group of women competing for his affection in the outback. It was pitched as a blend of survival challenge and dating-show gimmick.

  • Pageants
    • Toddlers and Tiaras — Toddlers and Tiaras is a TLC reality series about child beauty pageants. It follows contestants competing in pageant categories such as Talent and Formal Wear, and it introduced viewers to Honey Boo Boo.
  • Parenting shows
    • Supernanny — Supernanny is the reality TV series featuring Jo Frost, who visits families and offers child-rearing advice. The American version was adapted from a British series and became known for Frost’s interventions with difficult households.
  • Pawn Stars — Pawn Stars is the History Channel series set in a Las Vegas pawn shop owned by the Harrison family. The show centers on Rick Harrison, Corey “Big Hoss,” and the Old Man as they buy, sell, and loan against unusual items.
    • American Restoration — American Restoration is the Pawn Stars spin-off featuring Rick Dale and his shop restoring antique objects. The show follows the repair of vintage items over multiple seasons.

  • Storage Wars — Storage Wars is a reality show about bidders buying the contents of repossessed lockers at auction. Its cast includes Barry Weiss, the Sheets brothers, and Jarrod Schultz with Brandi Passante.

  • The Girls Next Door — The Girls Next Door is an E! reality series about Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends living at the Playboy Mansion. Its central cast includes Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson.

  • Survivor contestants
    • Ami Cusack — Ami Cusack is a Survivor: Vanuatu contestant who became known as a central strategist in the women’s alliance. Her storyline in the season involved immunity wins, shifting alliances, and her relationship with fellow contestant Chris or her partner outside the game.

HBO and Prestige Drama

• The Sopranos (HBO, 1999–2007) — Tony Soprano as antihero mob boss; created by David Chase; widely credited with launching the “prestige TV” era and the antihero drama form. It follows Tony Soprano, a New Jersey mob boss who sees a psychiatrist while balancing family life and organized crime. Notable settings include Satriale’s and the Bada Bing, and the series ends with an abrupt cut to black.

  • Adriana La Cerva — Adriana La Cerva is Christopher Moltisanti’s girlfriend on The Sopranos, played by Drea de Matteo. She becomes an informant and is later murdered after Christopher reports her to his boss.

  • Bada Bing — The Bada Bing is the strip club in The Sopranos, with a real New Jersey club often cited as its filming stand-in. Its name comes from a mobster catchphrase.

  • Carmela Soprano — Carmela Soprano is Tony Soprano’s wife in The Sopranos, portrayed by Edie Falco. She is a central figure in the family drama and many of the series’ domestic and religious tensions.

  • Christopher Moltisanti — Christopher Moltisanti is Tony Soprano’s protégé in The Sopranos, played by Michael Imperioli. He struggles with heroin addiction, survives rehab, and is often marked by impulsive violence, including the murder of Emil Kolar and the shooting of a bakery clerk.

  • Dominic Chianese — Dominic Chianese is the actor best known for playing Uncle Junior Soprano on The Sopranos. His name is often tied to that role in character-identification questions.

  • Furio Giunta — Furio Giunta is a Sopranos enforcer sent from Italy to help with an international car theft operation. He becomes romantically drawn to Carmela Soprano, but leaves rather than stay in the United States and risk consequences from Tony.

  • Jackie Aprile Jr. — Jackie Aprile Jr. is a character from The Sopranos, the son of the former acting boss Jackie Aprile. He is portrayed as reckless and immature, with storylines involving card-game robbery, Meadow, and his eventual death.

  • Jennifer Melfi — Jennifer Melfi is the psychiatrist played by Lorraine Bracco on The Sopranos. She treats Tony Soprano for panic attacks, later drops him as a patient, and is remembered for the show’s ethically fraught scenes involving her and Tony.

  • Livia Soprano — Livia Soprano is Tony’s mother on The Sopranos, a manipulative and often unwell matriarch played by Nancy Marchand. Her schemes and family conflicts make her one of the show’s central sources of tension.

  • Made in America — Made in America is the title of the final episode of The Sopranos, ending with the series’ famous abrupt cut to black in a diner. The phrase also appears in songs and as a label for products manufactured in the United States.

  • Meadow Soprano — Meadow Soprano is Tony Soprano’s eldest child in The Sopranos. She is known for academic ambition, choir singing, and plot points involving Finn De Trolio, Patrick Parisi, and the series finale diner scene.

  • Sal “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero — Sal “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero is a character from The Sopranos and one of Tony Soprano’s closest early associates. He later becomes an informant for the FBI and is killed after his betrayal is discovered.

  • Silvio Dante — Silvio Dante is Tony Soprano’s consigliere in the DiMeo crime family on The Sopranos. He runs the Bada Bing and is the character who kills Adriana in “Long Term Parking.”

  • Tony Soprano — Tony Soprano is the New Jersey mob boss at the center of The Sopranos, played by James Gandolfini. The series follows his family life and crime-family leadership, and its final diner scene famously cuts to black.

  • Whitecaps — Whitecaps is the title of a fourth-season finale of The Sopranos, remembered for the breakup of Tony and Carmela after Irina’s call about Tony’s affair with Svetlana. The name also refers to sports teams such as the Vancouver Whitecaps and the West Michigan Whitecaps.

• The Wire (HBO, 2002–2006) — David Simon; five seasons each addressing a different Baltimore institution (drug trade, docks, politics, schools, media); retrospectively ranked among the greatest TV dramas; a persistent critical debate places it alongside The Sopranos as the artistic apex of the prestige-TV era. This Baltimore-set HBO crime drama follows the city’s drug trade, police, and politics through interconnected seasons. It features figures such as Omar Little, Stringer Bell, Marlo Stanfield, Jimmy McNulty, and Cedric Daniels. Across its run, it traces the decline of the Barksdale organization, the rise of Marlo, and story lines involving the docks, Hamsterdam, and the schools. The title refers to an electronic surveillance method.
  • Omar Devone Little — Omar Devone Little is a shotgun-wielding stickup man, armed robber, and vigilante from The Wire who targets drug dealers and follows a strict personal code. Played by Michael K. Williams, he became one of the show’s most iconic characters and is known for whistling “The Farmer in the Dell,” for his relationship with Brandon Wright, and for killing Stringer Bell.
• Six Feet Under (HBO, 2001–2005) — Alan Ball; funeral home family; noted for thematic handling of death and for its widely acclaimed series finale. The series centers on the Fisher family’s Los Angeles funeral home and follows David, Ruth, Claire, and Nate; its finale is remembered for showing the eventual deaths of the main characters.

  • Brenda Chenowith — Brenda Chenowith is the mortician from Six Feet Under, played by Rachel Griffiths. Her arc includes a premature birth and a troubled, lingering relationship to Nate after his death.

  • Claire Fisher — Claire Fisher is the youngest Fisher sibling from Six Feet Under, played by Lauren Ambrose. Her storyline follows art school, photography, and a later career that leads to magazine work and teaching.

• Deadwood (HBO, 2004–2006) — David Milch; revisionist Western set in the South Dakota gold-rush town; cancelled after three seasons.
  • Al Swearengen — Al Swearengen is the brutal saloon owner at the center of Deadwood, where he runs the Gem Saloon. In the series he is played by Ian McShane and is a rival of Cy Tolliver.

• Boardwalk Empire — Boardwalk Empire is an HBO series about Atlantic City bootleggers, centered on the corrupt treasurer and political boss Nucky Thompson. It draws on the career of Enoch L. Johnson and follows gangland violence during Prohibition.

• Bored to Death — Bored to Death is an HBO comedy-drama about Jonathan Ames, a writer who moonlights as a Craigslist detective. The series starred Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galifianakis, with Ted Danson as the magazine mogul George Christopher.

• Girls — Lena Dunham is the creator and lead writer of HBO’s Girls, a series centered on Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna. The show is known for its awkward, confessional humor and for launching Dunham as a major television voice.

• Girls
  • Hannah Horvath — Hannah Horvath is the Lena Dunham character at the center of Girls, an aspiring writer navigating work, relationships, and self-destructive behavior in New York. Her storylines include an unpaid internship, jobs at a law firm and coffee shop, and revelations about OCD, HPV, and her college boyfriend.
• HBO fantasy dramas
  • Carnivàle — Carnivàle is the HBO fantasy drama about a traveling carnival caught in an apocalyptic struggle between good and evil. It starred Nick Stahl and was canceled after two seasons before its mythology could be fully explained.
• HBO’s Rome
  • Lucius Vorenus — Lucius Vorenus is a centurion from HBO’s Rome whose career is tied to recovering Caesar’s eagle standard and serving Antony in Gaul and Egypt. The character’s story also includes a violent feud, his wife’s suicide, and later rule over Rome’s criminal underworld.
• Insignia
  • badges — In games like Paper Mario, badges are equippable items that grant abilities or upgrades, such as bump attack and triple dip. Phaleristics is the study of badges and similar insignia.

• Mare of Easttown — Mare of Easttown is an HBO crime miniseries set in a working-class Pennsylvania suburb near Philadelphia. Starring Kate Winslet as detective Mare Sheehan, it centers on the murder of a teenage mother and the town’s tangled family and school rivalries.

• Medical dramas
  • Nurse Jackie — Nurse Jackie is a cable series about a flawed New York emergency-room nurse at All Saints’ Hospital. The show stars Edie Falco and features characters such as Mo-Mo, Eleanor, and a pharmacist played by Paul Schulze.
• Sex and the City — Sex and the City is an HBO comedy-drama about Carrie Bradshaw and her circle of New York friends, including Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha. Its clues often center on Carrie’s relationships with Mr. Big and Aidan Shaw, as well as figures like Trey, Skipper Johnston, and the 2022 reboot And Just Like That.

  • Carrie Bradshaw — Carrie Bradshaw is the fashion-obsessed New York columnist at the center of Sex and the City. She is defined by her on-again, off-again relationship with Mr. Big and by stories involving Vogue, designer shoes, and romantic mishaps.

  • Charlotte York — Charlotte York is a main character on Sex and the City, played by Kristin Davis. She is one of Carrie’s close friends and a frequent source of marriage and relationship humor.

  • Harry Goldenblatt — Harry Goldenblatt is Charlotte’s divorce lawyer in Sex and the City, later becoming her husband in a Jewish wedding. The character was played by Evan Handler, who also portrayed Alan Dershowitz in American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson.

  • Miranda Hobbes — Miranda Hobbes is the sharp, career-focused friend from Sex and the City, played by Cynthia Nixon. She is often identified by her dry humor and her complicated relationship with Steve.

  • Samantha Jones — Samantha Jones is the Kim Cattrall character on Sex and the City, the sexually adventurous friend of Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte. She is known for her blunt one-liners, high-profile romances, and reinvention of her partners’ names.

  • Sex in the City — Sex in the City is an early or mistaken title variant for the HBO series more commonly known as Sex and the City. The show follows Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha in New York City.

  • Stanford Blatch — Stanford Blatch is Carrie Bradshaw’s gay best friend in Sex and the City, played by Willie Garson. He runs a talent agency, uses the online alias Rick9Plus, and later marries Anthony Marentino.

  • Trey MacDougal — Trey MacDougal is the cardiologist whom Charlotte marries and later divorces on Sex and the City. The character’s infertility becomes a major obstacle to Charlotte’s plans for a family.

• Shameless — Shameless is the Showtime dramedy about the Gallagher family, centered on the alcoholic Frank Gallagher and his children. The show was created by Paul Abbott and has both an American version and a British original.
  • Frank Gallagher — Frank Gallagher is the boozy, irresponsible patriarch of the Gallagher family on Shameless. He is played by William H. Macy and is notorious for neglecting his children while leaving most caregiving to Fiona.

• Sons of Anarchy — Sons of Anarchy is an FX drama about the outlaw motorcycle club SAMCRO in the fictional town of Charming, California. Its key clues include Charlie Hunnam as Jax Teller, Ron Perlman as Clay Morrow, and Katey Sagal as Gemma, with a theme song and tone that invite comparisons to gangster dramas like The Sopranos.

• Southern Vampire Mysteries
  • True Blood — True Blood is the HBO adaptation of Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries, centered on Sookie Stackhouse and the vampire Bill Compton. Its southern Gothic setting includes Bon Temps, shapeshifters, maenads, and vampire political factions.
    • Merlotte’s — Merlotte’s is the Louisiana restaurant where Sookie works in True Blood. Its owner, Sam Merlotte, is a shapeshifter who can take the form of a dog.
• Stephen King
  • Rose Red — Rose Red is Stephen King’s television miniseries about a haunted mansion and the psychics gathered to investigate it. The story centers on efforts to awaken or unleash the spirit tied to the mansion’s former owner.
• Steve Franks
  • Psych — Psych is the USA series about Shawn Spencer, a fake psychic detective who works with Gus and the Santa Barbara police. The show is known for its pineapple gag, playful genre pastiches, and the follow-up film Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.

• Strange Luck — Strange Luck is a supernatural television series about Chance Harper, a photojournalist who survives a childhood plane crash. Afterward he experiences uncanny coincidences while trying to help people in danger.

• Tales from the Crypt — Tales from the Crypt began as an EC horror comic before becoming an HBO anthology series hosted by a wisecracking corpse voiced by John Kassir. Its stories are famous for gore, black humor, and guest stars, and the title also appears in the 1972 and 1996 film adaptations of the comic.

• The Idol — The Idol is the 2023 HBO series about pop star Jocelyn and the cult leader Tedros, starring Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye. It drew attention for production turmoil, a Cannes premiere, and a heavily criticized single season that was later canceled.

• Interactive fiction

  • Depression Quest — Depression Quest is a Twine-based interactive fiction game by Zoe Quinn about living with depression. It became a Gamergate flashpoint after hostile online reaction to positive coverage and later was linked to Quinn’s broader harassment campaign.

  • text adventures

    • Colossal Cave Adventure — Colossal Cave Adventure is a pioneering text adventure game based on Will Crowther’s Mammoth Cave explorations. Don Woods expanded it with scoring and famous parser commands and phrases such as the maze of twisty little passages and the magic word xyzzy.

• The Leftovers — The Leftovers is the HBO series based on Tom Perrotta’s novel about the sudden disappearance of two percent of the world’s population. Its story centers on the Garvey and Murphy families and the strange spared town of Jarden, Texas.

• Insecure — Insecure is an HBO comedy created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, centered on two women navigating their late twenties. It began as Rae’s web series Awkward Black Girl and features Yvonne Orji as Molly.

• Barry (TV series)
  • Barry — Barry is the title of the HBO series about a former hitman who tries to become an actor, starring Bill Hader. The name also points to the surname of basketball star Rick Barry and his athletic family, and to Barry Goldwater, the Arizona senator and 1964 Republican nominee.

• Big Love — Big Love is the HBO drama about Bill Henrickson and his polygamist Mormon family. The show stars Bill Paxton alongside Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Chloë Sevigny as the three wives.

• Dollhouse — Dollhouse is a Joss Whedon television series starring Eliza Dushku as Echo, a programmable “doll” whose identities are altered by Rossum Corporation. The show includes figures like Adelle DeWitt, Topher Brink, Alpha, and the remote-wipe technology that drives its science-fiction premise.

• Entourage — Entourage is the HBO series about movie star Vincent Chase and his friends in Hollywood. It features Ari Gold as the abrasive agent pushing Vince’s career and centers on the making of films like Aquaman and Medellin.

  • Ari Gold — Ari Gold is the abrasive Hollywood agent on Entourage. He is best known for his sharp temper, his loyalty to Vincent Chase, and the catchphrase “hug it out.”

  • Johnny Drama — Johnny Drama is the nickname of Johnny Chase, a character on Entourage played by Kevin Dillon. He is the older brother of Vincent Chase and is known for his washed-up actor persona, loyal friendship, and comic self-importance.

  • Vincent Chase — Vincent Chase is the fictional movie star played by Adrian Grenier on Entourage. His career is built around projects like Aquaman, Queens Boulevard, and Medellin, with Ari Gold serving as his agent.

• Homeland — Homeland is a Showtime political-thriller series centered on CIA officer Carrie Mathison and former captive Nicholas Brody. Its early clues include Brody’s suspicious return, Carrie’s bipolar disorder, and the show’s connection to the Israeli series Prisoners of War.
  • Nicholas Brody — Nicholas Brody is a central character in Homeland, a former prisoner of war who returns to the United States under suspicion. He is later revealed to have become a double agent and is portrayed by Damian Lewis.
• Lena Dunham
  • girls — Girls is the HBO series created by Lena Dunham that follows Hannah Horvath and her friends in New York. Its title also overlaps with other TV shows and pop songs built around the word “girls,” but the best-known clue set points to the ensemble of Shoshanna, Jessa, Marnie, and Hannah.
• Oz

  • Tobias “Toby” Beecher — Tobias “Toby” Beecher is the lawyer-turned-inmate played by Lee Tergesen on Oz. His storyline includes a conviction for vehicular manslaughter, prison violence, and a fraught relationship with Vern Schillinger.

  • Vernon Schillinger — Vernon Schillinger is the white supremacist leader of the Aryan Brotherhood gang in Oz, played by J. K. Simmons. His storyline includes violence against other inmates, the deaths of his sons, and his eventual downfall in prison.

• Peaky Blinders — Peaky Blinders is the BBC crime drama about the Shelby family and their Birmingham gang in the interwar period. Its signature clues include the razor blades sewn into the caps, the Garrison pub, and villains such as Luca Changretta.

• Saving Grace — Saving Grace is a TNT crime drama starring Holly Hunter as Oklahoma City detective Grace Hanadarko, who is visited by an angel named Earl. The series follows her work on crime scenes and personal entanglements with coworkers and other unusual cases.

• Squid Game — Squid Game is the South Korean survival drama in which desperate players compete in deadly children’s games for a huge cash prize. Its memorable score includes recurring classical cues such as “Pink Soldiers,” and the series became a global Netflix hit.

• Television drama series
  • Rectify — Rectify is a Sundance TV drama about Daniel Holden, a man released after nearly two decades on death row when DNA evidence undercuts the case against him. Set in Paulie, Georgia, it stars Aden Young and Abigail Spencer.
• The Bear — The Bear is the FX comedy-drama about Carmy Berzatto returning to Chicago to modernize his late brother’s sandwich shop, The Beef. It centers on the restaurant staff and includes chaotic episodes involving family gatherings, kitchen pressure, and Sydney’s work with Carmy.
  • Richie — Richie is the nickname of Richie Jerimovich, a character from The Bear who calls Carmy cousin. In the second season he is sent to Ever to learn front-of-house service, and he is portrayed as a loud, abrasive presence.

• The L Word — The L Word is a Showtime drama about a circle of lesbians living in Los Angeles. It centers on characters such as Bette, Tina, Shane, Alice, Carmen, Dana, and Jenny. The show is known for The Planet, Alice’s relationship chart, and its soap-opera plotting. Quizbowl clues often mention Jennifer Beals, Pam Grier, and the series’ status as an early premium-cable queer drama.

• The Newsroom — The Newsroom is the HBO drama about ACN anchor Will McAvoy and the staff of Atlantis Cable News. It is especially remembered for McAvoy’s opening monologue arguing that the United States is not the greatest country in the world.

• The Night Of — The Night Of is the HBO miniseries about Nasir Khan, a Pakistani-American college student accused of murdering a young woman named Andrea. Its performance by Riz Ahmed made him the first Muslim man to win an acting Emmy.

• The Strain — The Strain is a horror-drama television series about a vampiric virus outbreak in New York City. It ran from 2014 to 2017 and starred Corey Stoll as Eph, the head of the CDC’s Canary Team.

• The Tudors — The Tudors is the Showtime historical drama about Henry VIII, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Sam Neill. The series helped popularize the lush, sexier style of television period drama.

• The Young Pope — The Young Pope is Paolo Sorrentino’s HBO drama about Lenny Belardo, a strikingly youthful pontiff played by Jude Law. Diane Keaton appears as Sister Mary, Belardo’s lifelong guardian, in the largely English-language series.

• True Detective — True Detective is an HBO anthology crime series, best known for its first season’s Louisiana murder investigation starring Rust Cohle and Martin Hart. Later seasons include Night Country, which follows a case in Alaska.

• Veep — Veep is the HBO political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, a vice president turned presidential hopeful. It follows Selina’s cutthroat staff, including Amy Brookheimer and Dan Egan, and is known for absurd campaigns, celebrity cameos, and sharp insults.

  • Jonah Ryan — Jonah Ryan is a deeply incompetent political climber from Veep who serves as a White House liaison before becoming a congressman. He is played by Timothy Simons and is remembered for his crude insults, absurd ambition, and recurring embarrassments.

  • Selina Meyer — Selina Meyer is the fictional former Maryland senator and president at the center of Veep, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She is associated with staffers such as Gary Walsh and press secretary Mike McClintock, and her storyline includes a relationship with her ex-husband Andrew.

• Westworld — Westworld is an HBO series set in a Delos theme park populated by android hosts and styled after the American West. Its first season centers on Dolores, Teddy, and Robert Ford, and the park’s Sweetwater setting became one of the show’s signature images.

• Wilfred — Wilfred is the FX series about a man who sees his neighbor’s dog as a man in a dog costume. Elijah Wood starred as Ryan in the show’s 2011-2014 run.

• Eastbound & Down — An HBO comedy series starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a washed-up former Major League Baseball pitcher. It ran from 2009 to 2013 and follows Powers as he tries to rebuild his career and life through increasingly absurd, self-destructive comeback attempts. The title comes from the song used in the Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack.

• Friday Night Lights — Friday Night Lights is the television drama about high school football set in Dillon, Texas, centered on coach Eric Taylor and the Panthers. It is known for the mantra “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” and for storylines involving players such as Smash Williams, Matt Saracen, and Vince Howard.

  • Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose — “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” is the rallying cry from Friday Night Lights associated with Coach Taylor and the Dillon Panthers. The phrase became a widely recognized slogan for the show’s version of high-school football inspiration.

  • Landry Clarke — Landry Clarke is Matt Saracen’s studious best friend on Friday Night Lights. He later gets playing time on special teams and at linebacker and dates Tyra Collette.

  • Matt Saracen — Matt Saracen is the quarterback from Friday Night Lights who takes over after Jason Street’s injury. He is close to Landry Clarke and is central to the show’s Dillon Panthers storyline, including his relationship with Julie Taylor.

  • Tim Riggins — Tim Riggins is a fictional character from Friday Night Lights, played by Taylor Kitsch as a hard-drinking Dillon Panthers fullback and running back. He is one of the show’s central figures, known for his romance with Lyla Garrity and his outlaw charm.

• Hung — Hung is a television comedy-drama about Ray Drecker, a high school basketball coach turned male escort. The series centers on his attempt to make money after losing his house, with supporting plots around personal shoppers and wealthier clients.

• Infomercials
  • Kevin Trudeau — Kevin Trudeau is an infomercial pitchman and author of Natural Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About. He became notorious for fraudulent health claims and was barred from pitching products by the FCC.
• Silicon Valley — Silicon Valley is the HBO comedy about the startup Pied Piper and the tech culture of the Santa Clara Valley. It features Richard Hendricks, Gilfoyle, Dinesh, Jared, and Erlich Bachman, along with running jokes about code, venture capital, and startup dysfunction.

British Prestige and The Office (UK)

• Life on Mars (TV series)
  • Life on Mars — Life on Mars is a British television series about a detective who wakes up in the 1970s and tries to understand whether he is alive, dead, or in a coma. The series stars John Simm as Sam Tyler and inspired the U.S. remake that starred Jason O’Mara.

• Hustle — Hustle is a British television series about a team of con artists who target only people they think deserve it. The word also names a dance associated with close partner work, and appears in modern slang for side jobs and grinding at work.

• Inspector Morse — Inspector Morse is the Oxford police detective played by John Thaw in the television series of the same name. The character’s first name is Endeavour, and the series is remembered for its theme music by Barrington Pheloung.

• Sherlock — Sherlock is the BBC television series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor Watson. Its clues often mention episodes like “A Study in Pink,” recurring figures such as Mrs. Hudson and Moriarty, and the show’s modern update of Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories.

The AMC and FX Contribution

• Breaking Bad (AMC, 2008–2013) — Vince Gilligan; chemistry teacher Walter White’s transformation into a drug manufacturer; five seasons; widely cited alongside The Sopranos as a defining antihero narrative. The series also follows Jesse Pinkman and Walter White’s meth operation after White begins chemotherapy. Notable details include Gus Fring, Los Pollos Hermanos, the Casa Tranquila confrontation with Hector Salamanca, the fly episode, and the RV in the desert.

  • Better Call Saul — Better Call Saul is the Breaking Bad spinoff that follows Jimmy McGill’s rise into the crooked lawyer Saul Goodman. It also uses flash-forwards featuring Gene Takovic, a Cinnabon manager in Omaha.

  • Bogdan Wolynetz — Bogdan Wolynetz is the Romanian owner of a car wash in Breaking Bad. He is the target of a money-demanding shakedown and is remembered for lines about scrubbing by hand and a grudge over air fresheners.

  • Gustavo Fring — Gustavo Fring is the fastidious owner of Los Pollos Hermanos on Breaking Bad and a major meth kingpin in the Southwest. He is associated with the death of Max, Victor, Tyrus, and later his own explosive demise, and he also appears in restaurant training videos.

  • Hank Schrader — Hank Schrader is the DEA agent and brother-in-law of Walter White on Breaking Bad. He is shot and killed by Jack Welker after a final exchange in which he tells Walter that he already made up his mind.

  • Heisenberg — Heisenberg is the alias adopted by Walter White in Breaking Bad. The name comes from the German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg, whose uncertainty principle gave the character his intimidating reputation.

  • Jesse Pinkman — Jesse Pinkman is Walter White’s younger partner in Breaking Bad, later the focus of El Camino and appearances tied to Better Call Saul. He is known for his meth-lab escape, emotional volatility, and eventual flight to Alaska under a new identity.

  • Jimmy McGill — The Albuquerque lawyer and former con artist who becomes Saul Goodman and later Gene Takavic. He is the younger brother of Chuck McGill and is associated with schemes like the Chicago Sunroof, slip-and-fall cons, and money laundering through Ice Station Zebra Associates. As Saul Goodman, he is the shady criminal lawyer played by Bob Odenkirk in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul; his scams, office theatrics, and Cinnabon ending are often noted.

  • Los Pollos Hermanos — Los Pollos Hermanos is the fictional fast-food chain in Breaking Bad that serves as Gustavo Fring’s public front. Its name and branding evoke the murdered partner Max, and the chain’s slogan is “taste the family.”

  • Tuco Salamanca — Tuco Salamanca is a violent Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul character from the Salamanca family. He is known for his erratic meth use, his shouted catchphrase ‘Tight, tight, tight!’, and his role as one of the series’ early major antagonists.

  • Walter White — Former chemistry teacher from Breaking Bad who becomes the meth kingpin known as Heisenberg. He works with Jesse Pinkman, is tied to Gustavo Fring, Saul Goodman, and the Desert Southwest criminal underworld, and has a history that includes working at a carwash, poisoning, violence, and the declaration that he is the one who knocks.

  • Aaron Paul — Aaron Paul is the actor best known for playing Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad, a role that made “yeah, bitch” one of his signature catchphrases. He also played Eddie Lane in The Path and appeared in Big Love as a reformed Mormon who marries Sarah Henrickson.

  • Breaking Bad universe

    • Mike Ehrmantraut — Mike Ehrmantraut is the fixer and enforcer associated with Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. He is known for the “half measures” speech, for his work as a parking attendant around Jimmy McGill, and for being played by Jonathan Banks.
• Mad Men (AMC, 2007–2015) — Matthew Weiner; 1960s advertising world; seven seasons; prominent for visual design and critique of mid-century American masculinity. It centers on Don Draper and the staff of Sterling Cooper in New York, with recurring characters including Peggy Olson, Joan Holloway, Pete Campbell, and Roger Sterling, and it follows shifting gender roles and corporate ambition.

  • Don Draper — Central advertising executive on Mad Men, originally born Dick Whitman and later living under the identity of Donald Francis Draper after assuming a dead officer’s identity during the Korean War. He works at Sterling Cooper and later becomes a partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, is the former husband of Betty, and has an affair with Rachel Menken. His character is shaped by his wartime past and family secrets.

  • Margaret “Peggy” Olson — Peggy Olson is a character on Mad Men who begins as a secretary at Sterling Cooper and rises into advertising copywriting. Her story includes her promotion after Freddy Rumsen is fired, her Brooklyn background, and her pregnancy and childbirth in the first season.

  • Peter Campbell — Peter Campbell is a character on Mad Men, where he is played by Vincent Kartheiser. He is a partner at Sterling Cooper, known for his ego, his affair with Peggy Olson, and the death of his father in a plane crash.

• The Shield (FX, 2002–2008) — corrupt Los Angeles police unit; an early example of FX’s willingness to match HBO in content maturity.
  • Vic Mackey — Vic Mackey is the corrupt, violent detective at the center of The Shield, played by Michael Chiklis. Despite his brutality, he is often framed as a husband and father whose personal life complicates his work with Shane, Ronnie, and Lem.
• Rescue Me and Nip/Tuck — further FX prestige dramas of the 2000s expanding cable drama’s range.
  • Tommy Gavin — Tommy Gavin is the central character of Rescue Me, a New York City firefighter portrayed by Denis Leary. The series follows his damaged family life and grief after the deaths surrounding 9/11.

• Halt and Catch Fire — Halt and Catch Fire is the AMC drama about the personal computer and internet boom of the 1980s and early 1990s. It follows Joe MacMillan, Donna, and Cameron through companies like Cardiff Electric and Mutiny.

• Mysterious Ways — Mysterious Ways is a short-lived fantasy drama about professor Declan Dunn investigating paranormal events. It also shares its title with a U2 song, which is a common giveaway for the show.

• Mythic Quest — Mythic Quest is an Apple TV+ comedy series set around a video game studio developing the MMORPG of the same name. It stars Rob McElhenney as Ian Grimm and Charlotte Nicdao as Poppy Li.

• Narcos — Narcos is a crime drama about the cocaine empire of Pablo Escobar and the DEA efforts to bring him down. The show is narrated by Steve Murphy, and its story centers on cartel violence, informants, and the world of drug trafficking.

• The District — The District is a CBS police drama centered on Chief Jack Mannion and the officers of a Washington, D.C. police precinct. Its cast included Craig T. Nelson as Mannion and later Duncan as Sgt. Ray Cutter.

• The Walking Dead — The Walking Dead is AMC’s zombie apocalypse series centered on Rick Grimes and his survivors. Its early storylines include the CDC, a farm, a prison, and characters such as Merle Dixon and Michonne.
  • Rick Grimes — Rick Grimes is the former sheriff at the center of The Walking Dead, portrayed by Andrew Lincoln. His family includes Lori, Carl, and Judith, and he is a leading survivor in the prison and church arcs.

• Close to Home — Close to Home is a CBS legal drama that follows prosecutors and police corruption cases in Indianapolis. The series starred Christian Kane, David James Elliott, Kimberly Elise, and Jennifer Finnigan.

• Fargo
  • Lorne Malvo — Lorne Malvo is the chilling hitman and recurring antagonist in Fargo, the Coen brothers-inspired FX series set around Minnesota and North Dakota. He is associated with deadpan violence, surreal set pieces, and the first season’s hunt led by Molly Solverson.
• Fastlane (TV series)
  • Fastlane — Fastlane was a Fox action series about undercover Los Angeles cops Billie Chambers, Deaqon Hayes, and Van Ray. It starred Peter Facinelli and Bill Bellamy and was known for its flashy, expensive style.

• HawthoRNe — This TNT medical drama stars Jada Pinkett Smith as a nurse at Richmond Trinity Hospital. The show also featured Michael Vartan as a chief love interest and dealt with the protagonist’s personal tragedies in later seasons.

• How to Get Away with Murder — How to Get Away with Murder is the Shondaland legal drama starring Viola Davis as Annalise Keating. Its major plot points include the Keating Five, Wes Gibbins, and the murder of Sam.

• In Plain Sight — In Plain Sight is a USA series about Mary Shannon, a Deputy U.S. Marshal working with the Federal Witness Security Program in Albuquerque. It centers on protecting witnesses while Mary deals with her difficult family background.

• Lie to Me — Lie to Me is a FOX drama starring Tim Roth as deception expert Cal Lightman and Kelli Williams as Gillian Foster. The series draws on the work of Paul Ekman and focuses on reading microexpressions and body language.

• Love Monkey — Love Monkey is a short-lived TV drama centered on Tom Farrell, an A&R executive who tries to rebuild his career after leaving Mammoth Records. The series follows his friends and colleagues at True Vinyl as he navigates work and relationships.

• Nip/Tuck — Nip/Tuck is Ryan Murphy’s FX drama about plastic surgeons Sean McNamara and Christian Troy. The series became known for serialized plots involving sensational medical cases, the masked serial rapist known as the Carver, and its Miami-to-Los Angeles setting.

• Supernatural — The CW series about the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean, who hunt monsters, demons, and other beings across the country. It features Castiel, a trench-coated angel; the Yellow-Eyed Demon Azazel; the Mark of Cain; Chuck’s secret identity as God; and the brothers’ memorable 1967 Chevrolet Impala.

  • Castiel — Castiel is an angel from Supernatural who accompanies Sam and Dean Winchester. He brings Dean back from Hell, is associated with the Leviathans, and is played by Misha Collins.

  • Sam Winchester — Sam Winchester is one of the two central brothers in Supernatural and the younger brother of Dean Winchester. The series repeatedly places him in supernatural crises, including a body-swap situation and a role as Lucifer’s vessel.

• Terriers — Terriers is a short-lived 2010 FX drama about Hank Dolworth and Britt, an ex-cop and an ex-con running an unlicensed private-detection business. Despite critical praise, the series was cancelled after one season and ended on a cliffhanger.

• The Closer — The Closer is a TNT crime drama centered on Brenda Leigh Johnson and the Major Crimes Division of the LAPD. The title is also shared by Dave Chappelle’s 2021 stand-up special, which drew controversy over jokes about transgender people.
  • Major Crimes — Major Crimes is a TNT police procedural spin-off of The Closer centered on a major-crimes division. It stars Mary McDonnell and follows cases handled by that department. Major crimes are a category of offenses, including those defined by the federal Major Crimes Act for crimes committed on Native American reservations.

• The Division — The Division is a crime drama about five female police officers working in San Francisco. The title also appears in a separate game series set after a pandemic and in a Doctor Who storyline, but those are distinct works.

• The Equalizer — The Equalizer is a crime drama about Robert McCall, a former intelligence agent who helps people in need from a New York apartment. The title later returned for a remake centered on a single mother who once worked for a shadowy organization called the Company.

• The Following — The Following is a Fox series about FBI agent Ryan Hardy and the serial killer Joe Carroll, who recruits followers through the internet while in prison. Its story centers on a cat-and-mouse struggle between Hardy, played by Kevin Bacon, and Carroll, played by James Purefoy.

• The Good Doctor — The Good Doctor is a medical drama about Shaun Murphy, an autistic savant surgeon at a San Jose hospital. It is adapted from a Korean series and stars Freddie Highmore in the title role.

• The West Wing — The West Wing is Aaron Sorkin’s political drama about the staff of President Josiah Bartlet’s White House. It is famous for rapid walk-and-talk dialogue, senior staff characters like Josh, C.J., Toby, and Leo, and plotlines involving elections, crises, and Bartlet’s administration.

  • Claudia Jean Cregg — White House press secretary on The West Wing, played by Alison Janney; her full name is Claudia Jean, and she later becomes chief of staff in the series.

  • Dolores Landingham — Dolores Landingham is President Bartlet’s longtime secretary on The West Wing. She dies after being struck by a drunk driver near the end of the show’s second season.

  • Josh Lyman — Josh Lyman is a character on The West Wing, where he serves as Deputy Chief of Staff and one of President Bartlet’s chief political enforcers. He is a Harvard-educated Fulbright scholar whose personality is marked by intensity, alcohol trouble, and a quick temper.

  • Josiah Bartlet — Josiah Bartlet is the fictional Democratic president at the center of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing. The show is famous for its walk-and-talk dialogue and for C. J. Cregg and other senior White House staff.

  • Josiah Bartlett — Josiah “Jed” Bartlett is the fictional president on The West Wing, portrayed by Martin Sheen. The character is written as a Nobel Prize-winning economist and former governor of New Hampshire.

  • Josiah “Jed” Bartlet — Josiah “Jed” Bartlet is the fictional president of The West Wing, played by Martin Sheen. Before becoming president, he was a professor, a member of Congress, and governor of New Hampshire.

  • Leo McGarry — Leo McGarry is the chief of staff from The West Wing, portrayed by John Spencer. He later becomes senior counselor after suffering a heart attack.

  • Matt Santos — Matt Santos is a fictional Texas congressman on The West Wing who runs for president. His campaign is prominent enough that Josh Lyman leaves the White House to work for it.

  • Sam Seaborn — Sam Seaborn is a fictional character from The West Wing, played by Rob Lowe. He is a gifted speechwriter and former White House communications official who later runs for Congress.

  • Will Bailey — Will Bailey is a character on The West Wing who joins the Bartlett administration as a speechwriter and later becomes Deputy Communications Director. He was played by Joshua Malina and is the son of a NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

• Wonderfalls — Wonderfalls is a quirky Fox comedy-drama about Jaye Tyler, a gift-shop worker in Niagara Falls who receives guidance from animal figurines. The show starred Caroline Dhavernas and briefly featured episodes with unusual guest characters and surreal, anthropomorphic premises.

• House, M.D. — House, M.D. is the Fox medical drama starring Hugh Laurie as the acerbic diagnostician Gregory House. The show follows House and his team through unusual cases, recurring jokes about lupus, and a soundtrack that includes Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.” It became famous for its bleak humor, medical mysteries, and House’s Vicodin addiction.

  • Gregory House — Gregory House is the misanthropic, sarcastic diagnostician at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital on House, M.D., portrayed by Hugh Laurie. He is known for his medical brilliance, abrasive behavior, Vicodin addiction, and Sherlock Holmes-like personality, and is closely associated with Wilson and Cuddy. He was expelled from Johns Hopkins medical school.

  • Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital — Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital is the fictional New Jersey hospital in House, M.D. It is where Dr. House heads the diagnostic department. The setting is identified directly with the series’ medical cases and hospital staff.

• Interactive fiction series
  • Zork — Zork is the classic Infocom interactive fiction series set in the Great Underground Empire, beginning with the player outside a white house. It is famous for the grue, the thief, and the Wizard of Frobozz. Early clues may note that it was inspired by Adventure and originally appeared as a mainframe text game before spawning later sequels and offshoots.
    • Zork I — Zork I is an early Infocom text adventure that begins near a white house and sends the player into the Great Underground Empire. Its signature obstacles include grue-infested darkness, mazes, and a quest to collect treasures and place them in a trophy case.
• J. J. Abrams
  • Alias — Alias is the J. J. Abrams spy series starring Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow. Common clues mention Michael Vaughn, Lauren Reed, and Eric Weiss. The show centers on espionage, double lives, and a Covenant brainwashing plotline.

    • Milo Rambaldi — Milo Rambaldi is the fictional Renaissance inventor and prophet at the center of Alias, credited with mysterious devices and prophecies sought by Arvin Sloane and others. He is linked to an eye symbol, worked as an architect for Rodrigo Borgia, and is associated with the recurring number 47.

    • Sydney Bristow — Sydney Bristow is the Jennifer Garner character on Alias, where she begins believing she works for the CIA but discovers she is actually tied to the rogue organization SD-6. She later operates as a double agent with her father Jack, making the show’s spy-game betrayals central to her story.

• Television dramas

  • Once and Again — Once and Again is a television drama about Lily, a single mother, and Rick, a single father, whose relationship develops after their divorces. Sela Ward and Billy Campbell starred in the series, which followed an ex-husband and blended-family setup.

  • The Deuce — The Deuce is HBO’s drama about 1970s New York City and the rise of the porn industry around 42nd Street’s famous nickname. Its story follows characters in Times Square’s underworld, including a newcomer named Lori and the pimp C.C.

  • The Education of Max Bickford — The Education of Max Bickford was a short-lived CBS drama starring Richard Dreyfuss as a college professor. The show also featured his daughter and a transgender best friend as regular characters.

  • The Nine — The Nine was a short-lived ABC drama centered on nine people bound together by a bank robbery. It used flashbacks and starred Tim Daly and Chi McBride.

  • Touched by an Angel — Touched by an Angel is a CBS drama about angels who intervene in human lives to guide people through major decisions and crises. Its central figures are Monica and her supervisor Tess, with Andrew as another recurring heavenly messenger. The series ran into the early 2000s and became known for its sentimental, explicitly religious tone.

  • Tru Calling — Tru Calling was a short-lived supernatural drama starring Eliza Dushku as a morgue worker who relives days to prevent deaths. It also featured Jason Priestly and centered on each episode’s temporal rewind after the dead asked for help.

• The Blacklist — The Blacklist is an NBC crime drama centered on the mysterious fugitive Raymond “Red” Reddington, played by James Spader. He turns himself in and helps the FBI track down dangerous criminals from his blacklist, and the 2017 spin-off Redemption was later canceled after one short season.

Related Works, People, and Context

• Television shopping networks
  • QVC — QVC is a televised home-shopping network and merchandise company based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, founded in 1986 by the founder of the Franklin Mint. Its name was chosen to suggest quality, value, and convenience, and it became known for round-the-clock live programming and hosts like Jane Rudolph Treacy and Mary Beth Roe, as well as brands such as Diamonique and the Joan Rivers collection.
• 24

  • Chloe O’Brian — Chloe O’Brian is the socially awkward CTU computer analyst from 24, played by Mary Lynn Rajskub. She is one of Jack Bauer’s closest allies and later rises to a leadership role at CTU.

  • David Palmer — David Palmer is the fictional president from 24, portrayed by Dennis Haysbert. Before entering politics on the show, he was a Georgetown basketball star who won the Wooden Award and later earned a law degree at Maryland.

  • Edgar Stiles — Edgar Stiles is the CTU computer expert on 24 who appears in season 5. He dies after being exposed to Sentox nerve gas at CTU, unable to escape to safety.

  • Jack Bauer — Jack Bauer is the hard-bitten protagonist of 24, a counterterrorism agent known for racing against time through catastrophic crises. His story includes the deaths of his wife Teri and repeated clashes with foreign conspirators, escaped prisoners, and coup leaders across the series.

  • Kim Bauer — Kim Bauer is Jack Bauer’s daughter on 24, where she is repeatedly kidnapped. She is portrayed by Elisha Cuthbert.

  • Sangala — Sangala is a fictional African nation used as a setting in the television series 24. It appears in the show’s seventh season and is connected to characters such as Benjamin Juma and Ike Dubaku.

  • Silent Clock — On 24, this tribute appears as a clock that keeps ticking without sound, used to honor the deaths of important characters.

  • Teri Bauer — Teri Bauer is Jack Bauer’s wife on 24. She is kidnapped and later shot by Nina Myers in the first season’s finale after discovering she is pregnant.

  • Tony Almeida — Tony Almeida is a character from 24 who served as a CTU agent and later became entangled in treason and hostage crises. He is tied to the show’s darker plotlines, including the death of his wife Michelle and repeated survival against extreme injuries.

• A&E Networks
  • Lifetime — Lifetime means lasting for the duration of a person’s life, or more generally for an indefinite period without a fixed end. It is also the name of the A&E Networks subsidiary associated with reality programming such as Dance Moms.

• Cartoon Network — Cartoon Network is the cable channel associated with classic Hanna-Barbera and later original animation such as Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Adventure Time, and Regular Show. It also spun off Boomerang to air older cartoons.

• Cartoon Network programming blocks
  • Adult Swim — Adult Swim is the late-night programming block on Cartoon Network known for offbeat animation and comedy. Its lineup has included Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken, Rick and Morty, and the Toonami anime block.

    • Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil — Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil is an animated comedy about the Devil’s daughter and features a cast connected to Home Movies. Its premise involves Satan, the Anti-Christ, and DJ Jesús in San Francisco.

    • The Ripping Friends — This Adult Swim cartoon follows four extremely muscular brothers—Crag, Rip, Chunk, and Slag—who battle evil in their town. It was created with John Kricfalusi’s involvement and stars the kind of exaggerated, grotesque superheroes associated with his style.

    • Tom Goes to the Mayor — Tom Goes to the Mayor is an Adult Swim animated comedy that ran from 2004 to 2006 and is set in the small town of Jefferton. Its visual style uses processed still images of real actors to create limited animation.

• Curb Your Enthusiasm — Curb Your Enthusiasm is Larry David’s semi-fictional HBO comedy, built around improvised dialogue and awkward social collisions. Its cast includes Cheryl Hines and Jeff Garlin, and later seasons follow David’s attempts to repair his marriage and friendships.

  • Kevin Roberts — Kevin Roberts is a Larry David character who appears in a police-training simulation on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He is remembered for absurd one-liners and for being shot by a confused police recruit.

  • Leon Black — Leon Black is a character on Curb Your Enthusiasm played by J. B. Smoove. He is a loud, loyal friend of Larry David who becomes part of the household after Hurricane Edna and is often used for comic confrontation.

• Dave — Dave is the FXX comedy starring Lil Dicky as a fictionalized version of himself, with GaTa as his hype man. The show follows his awkward rise through rap fame and celebrity culture.

• In-flight shopping catalogs
  • SkyMall — SkyMall is the in-flight shopping catalog famous for odd gadgets, gift items, and novelty products advertised in airplane seatbacks. It was associated with airline partnerships and became a pop-culture punchline for travelers browsing it on flights.

• Party Down — Party Down is the Starz comedy about a Los Angeles catering company staffed by aspiring actors and other drifters. It stars Adam Scott as Henry Pollard and features recurring characters such as Roman DeBeers and Constance Carmell.

• Premium cable television networks
  • HBO — American premium cable television network launched in 1972. It became known for subscription-based service, prestige original programming, strong awards performance, films and specials, and early hockey coverage. Its slogan was “It’s not TV, it’s HBO,” and it was later associated with series such as The Sopranos, Girls, Euphoria, Chernobyl, Game of Thrones, and True Blood. It also drew attention for a notorious signal-jamming protest in the 1980s, and Cinemax has long operated as one of its sister channels.

• Shark Week — Shark Week is Discovery Channel’s long-running summer programming event devoted to sharks and shark documentaries. It has featured celebrity hosts, themed specials, and promotion stunts like 3D glasses and novelty tie-ins.

• Showtime — Showtime is a premium cable network known for original series such as Dexter, Homeland, Weeds, Californication, and House of Lies. It has also aired Rude Awakening, Huff, and The L Word, and is a long-running rival of HBO.

• Strong Medicine — Strong Medicine is a Lifetime medical drama set around women’s health and hospital work. Patricia Richardson and Janine Turner are both associated with the series.

• Suits — Suits is a legal drama set at a New York law firm, following Harvey Specter and Mike Ross as they work while hiding Mike’s lack of qualifications. The series also features Jessica Pearson, Louis Litt, and Rachel Zane, and later spawned the spinoff Pearson.

• Television channels
  • Travel Channel — Travel Channel is a cable network known for travel, food, and adventure programming. Its shows include Man v. Food, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, and Samantha Brown’s travel series.
• Television distribution
  • cable television — Cable television is a television delivery system that sends signals over coaxial connections to paying customers. Its history is tied to must-carry rules, early community antenna systems, and companies that later expanded into larger media holdings.
• Television networks

  • Bravo — Bravo is the cable network associated with reality TV, especially shows like Project Runway, Top Chef, and The Real Housewives. It is also linked with Andy Cohen and talk-show programming such as Watch What Happens Live and Inside the Actors Studio.

  • C-SPAN — C-SPAN is the U.S. public-affairs television network known for live, unedited coverage of government proceedings. It also produces Book TV and has spin-off channels focused on congressional and political coverage.
    • Booknotes — Booknotes was Brian Lamb’s C-SPAN interview program devoted to nonfiction authors. It ran from 1989 until it was replaced by Q&A, and featured guests ranging from presidents to political writers.

  • Channel 4 — Channel 4 is a British television network launched in 1982 as an alternative to the BBC channels then dominant in Britain. Its lineup has included We Are Lady Parts, and The Great British Bake Off moved to it from the BBC.

  • Comedy Central — Comedy Central is the basic-cable network associated with The Daily Show and with the controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle’s 2021 special. It also airs Nathan for You and other comedy programming that helped define its late-night identity.
    • Drunk History — Drunk History is the Comedy Central series built around intoxicated comedians retelling historical events. It began as a Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters, and its episodes have featured figures such as Alexander Hamilton, Boris Spassky, Teddy Roosevelt, Carl Sagan, and Bass Reeves.

  • DuMont Television Network — The DuMont Television Network was one of the earliest American TV networks, founded by Allen B. DuMont and operating until 1956. It aired programs such as Cavalcade of Stars and Captain Video and His Video Rangers, and pioneered several firsts in live and daytime television.

  • Freeform — Freeform is the cable network formerly known as ABC Family. It airs teen-oriented series such as Grown-ish and was the home of Pretty Little Liars under its earlier name.

  • FX — FX is a cable network known for prestige television such as The Americans, Sons of Anarchy, American Horror Story, and American Crime Story. Under John Landgraf, it became associated with the idea of “Peak TV” and a slate of edgy scripted programming.

  • Hallmark Channel — The Hallmark Channel is a cable network known for wholesome original programming and a large slate of Christmas movies. It also airs the Kitten Bowl and uses the slogan “Where Great Stories Come to Life.”

  • National Broadcasting Company — The National Broadcasting Company is an American television network identified with the peacock logo. Its programming has included Saturday Night Live, Friends, Seinfeld, Miami Vice, The Tonight Show, and long-running Thursday-night and Sunday Night Football coverage. It is also associated with the infamous Heidi Game.

    • Must See TV — NBC’s promotional slogan for its Thursday-night programming block, especially during the eras of The Cosby Show, Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, and ER. It later became associated with the network’s broader attempt to brand its primetime lineup.

    • The More You Know — The More You Know is NBC’s long-running public service announcement campaign marked by a shooting star and an uplifting music cue. It has been adapted for NBC’s Saturday morning children’s programming blocks.

  • Public Broadcasting Service — The Public Broadcasting Service is the American public television network commonly abbreviated PBS. It is a nonprofit network behind programs such as Nova, Frontline, NewsHour, Masterpiece, and American Masters, and is associated with long-running cultural staples including Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, The Joy of Painting, and Austin City Limits. It also appears on local channel listings in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area.

    • Frontline — Frontline is PBS’s long-running investigative documentary series, narrated by Will Lyman and produced by WGBH. Its title refers to the forward line of a battlefield, and it has won many Peabody Awards.

    • P.O.V. — P.O.V. is a PBS series that showcases documentaries by outside filmmakers. Its episodes have included recent documentary features such as The Tamil Diaspora, Tintin and I: Tintin in America, and Nerakhoon.

  • TBS — TBS, short for Turner Broadcasting System, is the cable network that became known for sitcom reruns, late-night comedy, and shows like Conan and George Lopez. It is also the channel associated with Tyler Perry sitcoms and a lineup of broad comedy programming.

  • truTV — A U.S. cable network that began as Court TV, a 24-hour legal television network founded by Steven Brill, and later evolved into truTV. It became known for reality and prank-oriented programming; its lineup has included Hardcore Pawn, Impractical Jokers, and live courtroom coverage.

  • UPN — UPN, the United Paramount Network, was a U.S. broadcast television network that merged with the WB to form the CW. It was especially known for sitcoms and genre shows such as Moesha, One on One, Everybody Hates Chris, and Veronica Mars.
• TV channels
  • Syfy — Syfy is the U.S. cable channel formerly spelled Sci-Fi, known for genre programming such as Sharknado, Ghost Hunters, and Warehouse 13. Its branding changed in 2009, a move that drew jokes because the new spelling is pronounced like the older one.
• Debate shows
  • Crossfire — Crossfire is the CNN political debate show that staged left-versus-right exchanges and was once hosted by figures such as Paul Begala and Robert Novak. The title can also refer to a shooting term for hitting a target other than your own, and to a game about shooting ball bearings at goals.
• Independent video game developers
  • Kitty Horrorshow — Kitty Horrorshow is a solo indie horror developer known for unsettling freeware games released on itch.io. Her work includes Anatomy, CHYRZA, and the Haunted Cities series, along with other low-poly psychological horror projects.
• Television commentators
  • Chris Matthews — Chris Matthews is the television pundit who hosted Hardball on MSNBC. Before becoming a commentator, he worked in politics and journalism, including a stint as a top aide to Tip O’Neill and reporting on major events in Europe.

• 2gether — 2gether was a fictional MTV boy band whose members included Jerry O’Keefe, Mickey Parke, Jason “Q.T.” McKnight, Chad Linus, and Doug Linus. Their songs included “U+Me=Us (Calculus),” “Say It, Don’t Spray It,” and “The Hardest Part About Breaking Up.”

• Awkward — Awkward is an MTV teen drama about Jenna Hamilton, whose social awkwardness and love triangle with Matty and Jake drive the series. It follows Jenna after a supposed suicide attempt and features Palos Verdes High School, Mr. Hart, and the Asian Mafia plotline.

• Hannah Montana — Hannah Montana is the Disney Channel series in which Miley Cyrus plays Miley Stewart, an ordinary teen who secretly performs as pop star Hannah Montana. Its supporting cast includes Lily Truscott, Oliver Oken, and guest stars such as Dolly Parton, and the show helped launch Cyrus’s music career.

• Indian American comedians
  • Hasan Minhaj — Hasan Minhaj is an Indian American comedian who served as a correspondent on The Daily Show before hosting Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj on Netflix. The show ended in 2020 after Netflix pulled an episode criticizing Saudi Arabia, drawing attention to Minhaj’s political commentary style.
• Jackass — Jackass is the MTV stunt-comedy franchise built around destructive pranks, painful stunts, and reckless dares. It grew from the original television show into feature films featuring Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, and others.
  • Bam Margera — Bam Margera is a skater and Jackass cast member known for CKY videos and MTV projects like Unholy Union. He became prominent through Jackass and later reality-style television tied to his wedding to Missy.

• Loveline — Loveline was the radio call-in show hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky and Adam Carolla that focused on sex, relationships, and addiction. It later spawned an MTV television adaptation and became a long-running pop-culture fixture.

• MTV Liquid Television
  • Aeon Flux — Aeon Flux is the MTV Liquid Television animated series about a Monican secret agent who repeatedly dies in her missions against Bregna and Trevor Goodchild. The title character is known for acrobatic action, revealing black outfits, and a provocative, surreal spy-adventure style.
• MTV Networks
  • VH1 — VH1 is the music-oriented cable channel that began as MTV’s sibling network and later leaned into celeb-reality programming. Clues include Pop-Up Video, I Love the 80’s, Celebrity Rehab, and the slogan “Music First.”

    • Behind the Music — Behind the Music was a VH1 documentary series that profiled musicians and the dramatic rises and falls of their careers. Jim Forbes narrated nearly all of the episodes, and the show became especially associated with stories like Milli Vanilli and Bobby Brown. Its pop-culture footprint was large enough to be parodied in film and television, including references to the “more cowbell” sketch.

    • Pop-Up Video — Pop-Up Video was a VH1 program that overlaid music videos with pop-up trivia bubbles about the song, artist, or imagery. It became famous enough to inspire parodies and later versions that applied the same format to shows like game shows and sitcoms.

• MTV News
  • Tabitha Soren — Tabitha Soren was an MTV News reporter best known for hosting Choose or Lose. She later married writer Michael Lewis and briefly stepped away for a Stanford Knight Fellowship.
• MTV programs
  • 120 Minutes — 120 Minutes was MTV’s long-running show devoted to alternative music. It debuted in 1986, ran for 17 years, and is often associated with host Matt Pinfield.
• MTV VJs
  • Adam Curry — Adam Curry is an MTV VJ and one of the early pioneers of podcasting. He hosted Headbangers Ball and later created the Daily Source Code podcast.
• Music television networks
  • MTV — Launched in 1981 with “Video Killed the Radio Star,” MTV became a major cable channel for music videos and youth culture. Its early programming and related releases included Headbanger’s Ball, MTV Unplugged, and an MTV documentary on R.E.M.; it later broadened into reality, comedy, and animation programming with shows such as The Osbournes, Road Rules, and Liquid Television.

    • Celebrity Deathmatch — Celebrity Deathmatch is the MTV claymation series that stages absurd fights between famous people. It began as a Cartoon Sushi short and featured characters such as Nick Diamond, Johnny Gomez, and the referee Mills Lane.

    • I want my MTV! — “I want my MTV!” was a slogan used to promote MTV in the 1980s. The campaign featured musicians such as David Bowie, Billy Idol, and Cyndi Lauper, and Sting turned the phrase into a lyric on Dire Straits’s “Money for Nothing.”

    • MTV’s House of Style — MTV’s fashion program best known through Cindy Crawford and later hosts such as Amber Valletta and Shalom Harlow. It mixed modeling, style advice, and pop-music montages. Later versions considered models including Shalom Harlow, Amber Valletta, Linda Evangelista, and Kate Moss as replacements.

    • Parental Control — Parental Control was an MTV dating show in which parents chose dates for their child while the couple watched from a distance. The format centered on the child’s current partner being judged unworthy and then compared with two parent-selected strangers.

    • Total Request Live — MTV’s music-video countdown show hosted by Carson Daly, airing from 1998 to 2008 and becoming one of the network’s best-known daily pop culture programs. It featured guest hosts and special revivals, and is remembered for celebrity appearances that turned into chaotic on-air moments, including memorable appearances by artists such as Destiny’s Child and Mariah Carey.

    • MTV Unplugged — MTV Unplugged was a long-running music series built around acoustic performances by popular artists. Its episodes by Eric Clapton and Tony Bennett won Album of the Year Grammys in the 1990s.

• Music television programs

  • American Bandstand — American Bandstand was a long-running music television show originally hosted locally by Bob Horn and then nationally by Dick Clark. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 hits and included the long-running segment Rate-a-Record. The program aired from Philadelphia and helped define the teen dance-show format that later inspired other music television and nostalgia projects.

  • Austin City Limits — Austin City Limits is a long-running live music television program taped at the University of Texas by KLRU. Willie Nelson appeared on the first episode, and Gary P. Nunn’s “London Homesick Blues” became an early theme song.

• Music video channel proposals
  • Time Warner, Sony, Thorn EMI, PolyGram — This case refers to a proposed global interactive music-video channel backed by major music and entertainment companies. The named partners include Time Warner, Sony, Thorn-EMI, and PolyGram, with Philips Electronics appearing as an alternate fifth partner in one version.

• music videos — Music videos are short visual accompaniments to songs, often used as a medium for pop artists and filmmakers. They can range from performance pieces to experimental works such as Beyoncé’s “Formation” and “Hold Up,” or art-driven projects by directors like David Fincher.

• Bodyshaping — Bodyshaping was an ESPN2 fitness program created by John Traetta and produced by High Bar Productions. The show featured a six-person cast and was presented as a morning workout staple.

• Children’s television networks
  • Nickelodeon — Nickelodeon is an American children’s television network known for animated and live-action programming such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra. It began as a local service in Columbus before becoming a national cable channel and later building a major kids-media brand.

    • Aaahh! Real Monsters — Aaahh! Real Monsters! is a Nickelodeon animated series about young monsters Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm, who attend school under the Gromble. The show follows their attempts to scare children and includes stories about monsters living in a landfill.

    • Clarissa Explains It All — Clarissa Explains It All was a Nickelodeon series starring Melissa Joan Hart as Clarissa Darling, a teenage girl whose pet alligator Elvis appeared early in the show. Suzanne Collins also briefly worked as a staff writer on the series before becoming known for The Hunger Games.

      • Ferguson Darling — Ferguson Darling is Clarissa Darling’s annoying younger brother on Clarissa Explains It All. He was played by Jason Zimbler and is remembered for the show’s sibling pranks and chaos.

      • Sam Anders — Sam Anders is Clarissa’s best friend on Clarissa Explains It All and is known for climbing into her room by ladder. He is the laid-back boy who becomes a recurring part of the show’s central friendship circle.

    • Gak — Gak was a brightly colored, malleable slime toy popularized in the 1990s by Nickelodeon and Mattel. It was marketed as a gooey sensory product related to Slime and Floam and often sold in play sets and containers.

    • Nick Arcade — Nick Arcade was a Nickelodeon game show hosted by Phil Moore that centered on video games and virtual gameplay. Its better-known finale put contestants inside a video game, while segments and locations like the Video Zone, Mikey, and the pirate-themed world were recurring clues.

    • Noggin — Noggin was Nickelodeon’s preschool-oriented sister channel, later associated with Moose and Zee. It also aired some older Nickelodeon and teen-oriented programming in reruns or offshoot blocks.

    • Rugrats — Rugrats is the Nickelodeon animated series about toddlers such as Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica. Its stories often involve the Pickles family and were noted for references to Jewish holidays and the characters being grandchildren of Jewish immigrants.

      • Dr. Werner P. Lipschitz — Dr. Werner P. Lipschitz is a fictional child psychologist from Rugrats who is cited as an authority on parenting and children. He is presented as a German-accented expert whose advice characters consult despite his comic, occasionally dubious domestic habits.

      • Reptar — Reptar is the green dinosaur mascot from Rugrats, a Godzilla-like character first seen on cereal and merchandise before becoming part of the show’s fake media world. He is linked to the Reptar Wagon, a movie-and-theme-park style set of appearances, and to enemies such as RoboSnail and Dactar.

    • Series
      • KaBlam! — KaBlam! was a Nickelodeon sketch-comedy series hosted by the animated characters Henry and June. Its recurring shorts included Action League Now!, Prometheus and Bob, and Life with Loopy.
• ESPN commercials
  • The Rick — The Rick is an ESPN commercial character played by Mike O’Malley who embodies the stereotypical Boston sports fan. He is depicted as obsessed with Boston teams and sports trivia, often in basement-message-board settings.

• Hoops Malone — Hoops Malone was a fictional ESPN sitcom centered on a retired college basketball coach who serves as a source of advice. The show featured Dick Vitale and a cast of exaggerated family and neighbor characters, including a live-in puppet.

• Indigo Prophecy — Indigo Prophecy is the 2005 adventure game later released in the United States under the title Fahrenheit. It follows Lucas Kane, whose story mixes a noir murder mystery with supernatural and reality-bending elements.

• Inside the NBA
  • Segments
    • Shaqtin’ a Fool — Shaqtin’ a Fool is the recurring Inside the NBA segment that mocks basketball blunders and other lowlights. It is hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and is known for bits like the catchphrase “Tragic Bronson Alert.”

• Monday Night Football — Monday Night Football is the long-running primetime NFL broadcast that moved to ESPN after years on other networks. It has featured a rotating cast of announcers and commentators, including figures such as Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, and Sean McDonough.

• Pardon the Interruption — An ESPN sports debate show hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, featuring the two Washington-area sportswriters arguing over the day’s top stories. Its rapid-fire segments include recurring features such as “Headlines,” references to “Around the Horn” spinoff connections, and the sign-off style that made it a long-running television staple.

  • Stat Boy — Stat Boy is the in-show corrections role on Pardon the Interruption, most famously filled by Tony Reali. The role closes the program by correcting factual errors made by the hosts.

  • Toss-Up — Toss-Up is a rotating segment on Pardon the Interruption in which a topic is introduced for discussion. Tony Kornheiser is mentioned as a champion of the segment in the clue.

• Weather channels
  • The Weather Channel — This cable network debuted in 1982 and became known for weather forecasts, travel advisories, and the familiar “Local on the 8s” segment. It is closely associated with personalities such as Jim Cantore and Frank Batten, and with programming like Storm Stories and Cantore Stories.

• Dog with a Blog — Dog with a Blog is a Disney Channel sitcom about a talking dog who keeps an online blog and is played by different dogs in production credits. The show centers on step-siblings Avery and Tyler James and their blended family.

• Infomercial companies
  • Ronco — Ronco is the infomercial company founded and fronted by Ron Popeil, whose name became associated with late-night direct-response gadget sales. Its product line included the Pocket Fisherman, the Dial-O-Matic, the Pasta Maker, the Drain Buster, and the famous Showtime Rotisserie with the slogan ‘set it and forget it.’

• 19 Kids and Counting — 19 Kids and Counting is the TLC reality series about the Duggar family, centered on Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their large household. The show’s title changed over time as the family’s number of children increased, and the cast was often linked to the Quiverfull movement.

• 30 Rock — 30 Rock is the NBC sitcom set at the fictional version of NBC headquarters, with Liz Lemon writing TGS with Tracy Jordan. The show centers on Jack Donaghy, Liz’s bizarre love life, and a parade of rapid-fire celebrity and corporate jokes.

  • Dealbreakers — Dealbreakers is the relationship advice book and failed TV project associated with Liz Lemon on 30 Rock. It is tied to a sketch and later show concept about reasons someone is not Mr. Right.

  • Jack Donaghy — Jack Donaghy is the suave NBC executive on 30 Rock, played by Alec Baldwin, who serves as Liz Lemon’s boss and endlessly projects calm authority. He is defined by his corporate absurdity, old-money habits, odd romances, and ownership of an Arby’s franchise, plus his many GE-related inventions and programming schemes.

  • Jenna Maroney — Jenna Maroney is the vain singer and actress on 30 Rock, played by Jane Krakowski. Her character is known for songs like “Muffin Top,” a pop-star persona, and a relentless hunger for attention.

  • Liz Lemon — Liz Lemon is the head writer on 30 Rock, played by Tina Fey, and the show follows her awkward dating life and work at NBC. Her character is associated with New York media life, a skiing-accident-stricken brother, and a string of eccentric boyfriends and coworkers.

  • TGS with Tracy Jordan — TGS with Tracy Jordan is the fictional sketch show within 30 Rock that began as The Girlie Show before Tracy Jordan joined and the title was changed. Its recurring sketches include “Gaybraham Lincoln,” and its cast and writers are a frequent source of the show’s satire.

  • Tracy Jordan — Tracy Jordan is the erratic celebrity played by Tracy Morgan on 30 Rock, where he fronts The Girlie Show after his film career collapses. The character is tied to absurd fake movies, his assistants Grizz and Dotcom, and the show’s recurring satire of fame and race.

  • Werewolf Bar Mitzvah — ‘Werewolf Bar Mitzvah’ is a novelty song from 30 Rock performed by Tracy Jordan. The song humorously describes a spooky, scary Jewish coming-of-age celebration that takes place on a full moon and begins with a line about working late on a haftorah. Its lyrics mention places like the Larchmont Country Club and are paired with absurd references to monsters and pluralized Frankensteins.

• 60 Minutes — 60 Minutes is CBS’s long-running Sunday newsmagazine, famous for its ticking stopwatch opening and investigative segments. Its history includes Point/Counterpoint, Andy Rooney’s commentary, and controversies over edited interviews and major political reporting.
  • Mike Wallace — Mike Wallace was a long-time 60 Minutes correspondent and one of the best-known television interviewers in American journalism. He also hosted earlier interview programs and is the father of Chris Wallace, who later became a political news host.
• 7th Heaven — 7th Heaven is the long-running WB family drama centered on the Camden household in Glenoak, California. It starred Stephen Collins as Reverend Eric Camden and helped launch Jessica Biel, while later seasons added characters such as Martin Brewer.
  • Robbie Palmer — Robbie Palmer is a character from 7th Heaven, played by Adam LaVorgna. He is Mary Camden’s ex-boyfriend and later becomes part of the Camden household.

• 90 Day Fiancé — 90 Day Fiancé is a reality series built around couples pursuing K-1 visas so they can marry. It is associated with a broader television-universe framing in promotional language from its network.

• An Idiot Abroad — An Idiot Abroad is the travel documentary series built around Karl Pilkington’s baffled, skeptical reactions to the places he visits. The show was associated with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and follows Pilkington as a reluctant globe-trotter.

• Ancient Aliens — Ancient Aliens is a History Channel series that popularizes claims that extraterrestrials influenced ancient civilizations. It became famous for Giorgio Tsoukalos, the “Chariots of the Gods?” connection, and its broadly mocked pseudo-historical speculation.

• Baywatch — Baywatch is the lifeguard drama centered on David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, famous for slow-motion beach rescues and red swimsuits. The series began on NBC before becoming a worldwide syndication hit with cast members such as Yasmine Bleeth and Erika Eleniak.
  • Baywatch Nights — Baywatch Nights was a short-lived Baywatch spinoff that starred David Hasselhoff, Angie Harmon, and Lou Rawls. It began as a detective series and later shifted into paranormal science fiction in its second season.

• Beat Shazam — Beat Shazam is a Fox music game show in which contestants try to identify songs before the Shazam app does. The show has featured Jamie Foxx as host and October Gonzalez as DJ, with Nick Cannon later taking over hosting duties.

• Beat the Clock — Beat the Clock was a long-running television game show built around couples attempting timed stunts before a giant clock. It is especially associated with Bud Collyer, though later revivals and versions were hosted by figures such as Monty Hall and Gary Kroeger.

• Best Week Ever — Best Week Ever was a VH1 comedy commentary series that ran from 2004 to 2009. It featured recurring segments such as The Sizzler, Upgrade/Downgrade, Five Good Reasons, and Doug Benson: Pop Culture Bachelor.

• Big Brother

  • Power of Veto — The Power of Veto is a Big Brother game object that lets its holder remove a nominee from the block. It was first won by Gerry Lancaster in season 3 and later changed from silver to gold.

  • the Big Brother house — The Big Brother house is the sealed reality-show setting where contestants live under surveillance and face eviction. The British version’s house is known for its Diary Room, themed redesigns, and the eye motif associated with the franchise.

• Big Brother 2
  • Justin Sebik — Justin Sebik was a Big Brother 2 contestant expelled after an intoxicated knife incident involving fellow houseguest Krista. He became infamous for the disqualification and the criminal history later associated with him.

• Bridezillas — Bridezillas is a WE tv reality series about the chaos of wedding planning and over-the-top brides. The show later received a spin-off called Marriage Boot Camp.

• Britney and Kevin: Chaotic — Britney and Kevin: Chaotic is a reality show centered on Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. Filmed with a shaky handheld style during the Onyx Hotel Tour era, it follows the pair through a whirlwind romance that ends in a wedding and other heavily mocked scenes.

• Catfish: The TV Show — Catfish: The TV Show is an MTV documentary series in which Nev Schulman and later co-hosts investigate people who create fake online identities for relationships. Its title comes from the idea of shipping live fish with catfish to keep them active, and it gained wider attention during the Manti Te’o scandal.

• Dating shows

  • Blind Date — Blind Date is the syndicated dating show hosted by Roger Lodge that pairs two strangers on a first date. Its pop-up commentary characters, including Sarcastic Sid and Obvious Guy, mock the contestants throughout the episode.

  • Room Raiders — Room Raiders is an MTV dating show in which a contestant chooses among prospective dates by rummaging through their bedrooms instead of meeting them first. The owners are watched and commented on from outside, while the room inspection is used to decide which person gets selected.

  • The Littlest Groom — The Littlest Groom was a Fox dating show centered on Glen Foster, a little person searching for love. It drew controversy for its premise and for the way contestants were added and eliminated during the series.

• Dead Like Me — This Showtime series follows a group of grim reapers led by Rube and centered on George Lass after her death. Its grim, deadpan ensemble includes Mason, Daisy Adair, Betty, and the Der Waffel Haus crew around them.

• Deadliest Catch — Deadliest Catch is the Discovery Channel series about crab fishing in the Bering Sea and the danger faced by the crews aboard the boats. Its familiar vessels include the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, and Time Bandit, with narration by Mike Rowe.

• Deal or No Deal — Deal or No Deal is a game show hosted in the United States by Howie Mandel, in which contestants open briefcases and bargain with the Banker. The show originated from the Dutch Miljoenenjacht and has many international versions. Meghan Markle once worked on the American version as a briefcase model.

• Delocated — Delocated is an Adult Swim mockumentary series starring Jon Glaser as a man in witness protection who must wear a mask and film a reality show. Its absurd plot involves Russian assassins, celebrity cameos, and a comic finale centered on the fate of the mask.

• Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives — Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives is Guy Fieri’s long-running Food Network series. The show tours casual American eateries and is associated with Fieri’s signature style, including the red Camaro convertible opening.

• Dinner: Impossible — Dinner: Impossible is a food challenge series hosted by Robert Irvine, who is tasked with producing elaborate meals under extreme constraints. The show later featured Michael Symon as host after questions were raised about Irvine’s credentials.

• Dirty Jobs — Dirty Jobs is a Discovery Channel series hosted by Mike Rowe in which he performs filthy or dangerous occupations. The show became known for its travel to odd workplaces, recurring cameramen, and themed specials such as shark and Alaska episodes.

• Dog the Bounty Hunter — Dog the Bounty Hunter is the reality series about Duane Chapman and Da Kine Bail Bonds in Honolulu. It began as a spinoff from Take This Job and follows Chapman and his family as they capture fugitives.

• Drake & Josh

  • Crazy Steve — Crazy Steve is the volatile movie-theater employee played by Jerry Trainor on Drake & Josh. He is known for his angry outbursts, obsession with Dora the Explorer, and absurd behavior around the theater’s customers and equipment.

  • Drake and Josh — Drake and Josh is a Nickelodeon sitcom about two stepbrothers with opposite personalities, Drake Parker and Josh Nichols. The show features Megan Parker’s sabotage, the theme song “I Found a Way,” and plots involving schemes like the Game Sphere and a quiz bowl cheat.

• Extreme Makeover
  • Extreme Makeover: Home Edition — Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is the ABC renovation reality show hosted by Ty Pennington and known for the command “Move that bus!” The series sends families away while a volunteer crew demolishes and rebuilds their homes, with heavy product sponsorship and makeover-promo branding.

• Farmer Wants a Wife — Farmer Wants a Wife is a reality dating show in which rural men seek partners who live with them and compete for their attention. A revival of the series has aired in recent years, with episodes featuring eliminations, reversals, and a host of network promotions.

• Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman — Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman is a PBS children’s reality-game show hosted by an anthropomorphic dog voiced by Jim Conroy. It was set around Studio G and featured contestants taking on challenges such as fencing, LARPing, and a halftime quiz show.

• finding Bigfoot — Finding Bigfoot is the Animal Planet series about searching for evidence of Bigfoot and other cryptids. Its premise is the same kind of creature-hunting task spoofed in episodes of The Simpsons and Psych.

• Flavor of Love — Flavor of Love is the VH1 dating show in which Flavor Flav had women compete for his attention. It introduced contestants such as Tiffany Pollard and Hoopz and spawned later reality-spinoff drama.
  • Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School — Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School is a reality-TV spinoff of Flavor of Love hosted by Mo’Nique. The show centers on former Flavor of Love contestants being taught manners and etiquette.
• Food Network

  • Ace of Cakes — Ace of Cakes is the Food Network reality show centered on Duff Goldman and his Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes. The series is known for elaborate novelty cakes, from pop-culture homages to oversized sculpted designs.

  • Ready…Set…Cook! — Ready…Set…Cook! was the Food Network’s first game-show-style cooking competition. Its format paired contestants or chefs against each other under tight time limits and limited ingredients.

  • The Next Food Network Star — The Next Food Network Star is the reality competition that launches a Food Network host and made Guy Fieri famous. Contestants compete for the chance to become a television chef personality, with later winners like Amy Finley also highlighted.

• Food Network Challenge — Food Network Challenge was a Food Network competition series in which chefs and bakers worked under time limits to produce elaborate dishes, including cakes and other themed creations. The show was hosted by Keegan Gerhard and was associated with prize money, gold medals, and specials such as Last Cake Standing.

• Hogan Knows Best — Hogan Knows Best is a VH1 reality series centered on Hulk Hogan and his family. The show features Linda and the children Brooke and Nick, and its title riffs on classic sitcom naming conventions.

• Holey Moley — Holey Moley is an ABC mini-golf competition series hosted with commentary by Rob Riggle and Joe Tessitore. It features over-the-top obstacle courses, a plaid-jacket prize, and Stephen Curry as a resident expert.

• Home improvement television series
  • Trading Spaces — Trading Spaces is TLC’s home-makeover reality show in which two neighbors redesign each other’s rooms on a limited budget. It became associated with Ty Pennington, Paige Davis, Genevieve Gorder, and Amy Wynn Pastor.
• Home makeover reality television series
  • Clean House — Clean House is a home-makeover reality show in which a cluttered house is sorted, junk is sold at a yard sale, and the space is redecorated. It was originally hosted by Niecy Nash and later by Tempestt Bledsoe.
• Home renovation television series
  • Clean Sweep — Clean Sweep is a home makeover show in which homeowners must sell off clutter at a yard sale while a team renovates and organizes their rooms. The premise centers on forcing a family to purge half its junk before the redesign is complete.

• House Hunters — House Hunters is HGTV’s home-buying reality series, in which participants tour three properties before choosing one. It has spawned spin-offs such as House Hunters International and versions like House Hunters: Pop’d.

• How It’s Made — How It’s Made is the Canadian documentary series that explains how everyday products are manufactured. Its early narration was done by Mark Tewksbury, and later long-running narration is associated with Brooks Moore.

• Ice Road Truckers — Ice Road Truckers is a History Channel reality series about drivers hauling cargo across frozen roads and lakes in Alaska and Canada. Its early seasons followed tough hauls on the Dalton Highway and featured drivers such as Hugh Rowland and T.J. Tilcox.

• Impractical Jokers — Impractical Jokers is the TruTV hidden-camera comedy show starring Q, Sal, Murr, and Joe, with challenges set up by The Tenderloins. It includes punishment segments and specials such as Dinner Party, and it often centers on elaborate embarrassing dares.

• Jamie Oliver
  • The Naked Chef — The Naked Chef was Jamie Oliver’s breakthrough cooking show, built around stripped-down recipes and his youthful persona. Standard clues include his work at The River Cafe, his parents’ pub, and his other media career as a drummer and food writer.
• Jenji Kohan
  • Weeds — Weeds is the television series about Nancy Botwin, a suburban California housewife who turns to drug dealing after her husband’s death. The show mixes crime and dark comedy around her family’s efforts to survive.

• Love Island — Love Island is the reality dating franchise in which contestants couple up, recouple, and are eliminated for ending up single. Its original U.K. version is narrated by Iain Stirling, and the franchise drew attention for the deaths of Caroline Flack and other former participants.

• Making the Band — Making the Band was an MTV reality franchise created by Sean Combs that assembled new musical acts, including the boy band O-Town and the group Danity Kane. The original show was a reality competition that assembled a boy band from semi-talented contestants and later aired on ABC.

• Man v. Food — Man v. Food is a Travel Channel series in which Adam Richman tackles oversized eating challenges at different restaurants. The show ran from 2008 to 2012 and became known for recurring fantasy sequences and infamous challenge foods.

• Married by America — Married by America was a Fox reality dating show in which audiences voted online to shape the pairings and dates. Its structure and contestants made it a gimmicky matchmaking competition rather than a traditional romance series.

• Miami Ink — Miami Ink is a reality series about a South Beach tattoo parlor. It featured Ami James, Chris Nuñez, Chris Garver, Darren Brass, and later Kat Von D.

• Michael Landon — Michael Landon was the television star of Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven. The clues also highlight his long-running NBC career and his earlier film role in I Was a Teenage Werewolf.

• Monster Garage — Monster Garage was a Discovery Channel reality show hosted by Jesse James. Teams modified ordinary vehicles into wildly different machines, such as a car turned into a wood chipper or a hovercraft.

• Morgan Spurlock
  • 30 Days — 30 Days is the Morgan Spurlock reality series in which participants spend the title period living a radically different lifestyle. Clues also tie the phrase to an FX show, a horror-comic title, and a song title.

• MTV Cribs — MTV Cribs is the reality series that tours celebrities’ homes and bedrooms. It became famous for over-the-top houses, reruns of big episodes like Mariah Carey’s, and narrated doorway introductions.

• MTV dating shows

  • Dismissed — Dismissed is an MTV dating show in which a contestant chooses between two dates and eliminates one of them. It is also described as a competition built around smack-talk and the loser receiving the title action.

  • Taildaters — Taildaters was an MTV dating show built around blind dates followed by friends’ commentary. Its format involved a couple going on a date while their friends tracked the action from a following bus.

• MTV game shows
  • Remote Control — Remote Control was an MTV game show hosted by Ken Ober that built its rounds around television trivia and choosing among nine channels. Its offbeat format also included recurring cast members like Colin Quinn and Denis Leary, along with gimmicks such as Snack Time and the elimination cue “Off the Air.”
• MTV reality television series
  • The Challenge — The Challenge is MTV’s competitive reality series that grew out of The Real World and Road Rules. Its format has included team divisions, contest sets, and strict house rules such as curfews and bans on romantic entanglements.

• My Super Sweet 16 — My Super Sweet 16 is an MTV reality series about lavish birthday parties for wealthy teenagers. Episodes often feature expensive gifts, celebrity performers, and conspicuous displays of excess.

• Mythbusters — MythBusters was a Discovery Channel show hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage that tested urban legends with elaborate experiments. It also featured the Build Team, including Kari Byron and Grant Imahara, and became famous for blowing things up while checking myths.
  • Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman — Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman hosted MythBusters on the Discovery Channel. They became a paired clue because of their long-running television partnership in special-effects and science demonstration segments.

• Nashville Star — Nashville Star was a country-music competition series that aired on NBC and later USA, with co-hosts including Jewel, LeAnn Rimes, and Wynonna.

• Nathan for You — Nathan for You is the Comedy Central series in which Nathan Fielder, a Canadian business-school graduate, pitches absurd strategies to struggling businesses. Its schemes include Dumb Starbucks, poop-flavored frozen yogurt, and a ghost-free real-estate guarantee, along with the later Finding Frances finale.

• Nickelodeon GUTS — Nickelodeon GUTS was the Nickelodeon sports-competition show whose contestants tackled physical events culminating in the Aggro Crag. Hosted by Mike O’Malley with referee Moira Quirk, it featured events like Moon Race and awarded winners a piece of the mountain.

• Ninja Warrior
  • American Ninja Warrior — American Ninja Warrior is the U.S. obstacle-course competition series based on the Japanese show Sasuke. Contestants try to clear challenges such as the Salmon Ladder and Warped Wall, with finals held in Las Vegas.

• Pimp My Ride — Pimp My Ride was the MTV series hosted by Xzibit and produced with West Coast Customs. The show centered on wildly customized cars, with upgrades ranging from fish tanks to gimmicky interior makeovers. Its clues often mention the crew at West Coast Customs, the later Galpin Auto Sports work, and the series’ reputation for over-the-top vehicle transformations.

• Property Brothers — Property Brothers is the home-renovation series starring twins Drew and Jonathan Scott. The show pairs Drew’s real-estate work with Jonathan’s remodeling of fixer-uppers.

• Queer Eye — A Bravo makeover reality series built around the Fab Five, whose specialties include fashion, grooming, food, culture, and design. The original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy became a defining early-2000s reality TV hit, and the reboot Queer Eye revived the franchise with Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Karamo Brown, popularizing Tan France’s French tuck advice.
  • Queer Eye for the Straight Girl — Queer Eye for the Straight Girl is the Bravo spin-off of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. It featured a team of “Gal Pals” who gave style and makeover advice.
• Reality competition series

  • Boot Camp — Boot Camp is a reality competition series that puts contestants through military-style training and eliminations. A later celebrity revival featured Recruit Coolio, while the original version used drill instructors and dog tags to mark the contestants.

  • The Mole — The Mole is a reality competition series in which contestants try to identify the saboteur among them while completing missions. It later produced celebrity editions and was hosted by Anderson Cooper and Ahmad Rashad.

• Reality competition shows

  • I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! — I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! is the reality competition that drops celebrities into a jungle or outback setting. Clues often mention contestants such as Lou Diamond Phillips, Patti Blagojevich, and Sanjaya Malakar.

  • Survivor — Survivor is the CBS reality competition in which castaways live in tribes, compete for immunity, and vote one another off the island. Jeff Probst hosts the show, whose slogan is “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast,” and whose memorable moments include immunity idols, tribal councils, and the line “the tribe has spoken.”

    • Boston Rob Mariano — Boston Rob Mariano is the reality-TV personality and Survivor runner-up known for his many appearances on Survivor and The Amazing Race. He married Amber Brkich, whom he met on Survivor, and later appeared in a poker-themed TV project.

    • Brian Heidik — Brian Heidik is best known as the winner of Survivor: Thailand. Before reality television, he appeared in softcore films and made guest appearances on various TV series.

    • Jenna Lewis — Jenna Lewis was a Survivor contestant on the first season of the show. She later became known for a leaked sex tape involving her husband Travis Wolfe.

    • Jenna Morasca — Jenna Morasca is a Survivor winner who was a finalist on Survivor: The Amazon. She is remembered for a nude peanut-butter-and-Oreos stunt during that season.

    • purple rock — The purple rock was a Survivor twist used to randomize which contestant would be eliminated when a vote was tied or otherwise unresolved. It became infamous after early seasons such as the one in which Paschal was sent home instead of Neleh or Kathy.

    • Russell Hantz — Russell Hantz is a Survivor contestant known for aggressive gameplay, hidden immunity idols, and making the finals on multiple seasons. He was nicknamed for his oil and tankering business and became famous for his villainous style on Survivor: Samoa and later seasons.

    • Sandra Diaz-Twine — Sandra Diaz-Twine is a reality television contestant best known for winning Survivor: Pearl Islands. She became the first two-time winner of Survivor by also winning Heroes vs. Villains.

    • The Amazon
      • Tambaqui, Jaburu, Jacare — Tambaqui, Jaburu, and Jacare were the tribal names used on a television show’s sixth season after it was filmed in the Amazon rainforest. They are presented as alternate names for the show’s competing teams rather than as separate identities.

    • Tina Wesson — Tina Wesson won Survivor: The Australian Outback. She is a nurse from Knoxville, Tennessee who defeated Colby Donaldson in the final vote.

    • contestants
      • Richard Hatch — Richard Hatch is the original winner of Survivor, where he became famous for his strategic play and frequent nudity. He later drew further notice after a tax-evasion conviction and appearances on other reality shows.
• Reality competition television series

  • Shear Genius — Shear Genius was a Bravo reality competition about hairstyling. Jaclyn Smith hosted the series, which featured contestants completing shortcut and elimination challenges.

  • The Traitors — The Traitors is a reality competition show hosted by Alan Cumming and filmed at Scotland’s Ardross Castle. Contestants vote to banish suspected traitors while the traitors secretly murder players, and the series won the Emmy for Best Reality Competition Series in 2024.

• Reality dating shows

  • Average Joe — Average Joe was a reality dating show built around ordinary-looking men competing for a woman’s affection. It was hosted by Kathy Griffin and later featured a season centered on rejected contestant Adam Mesh.

  • Love Is Blind — Love Is Blind is the Netflix dating series hosted by Vanessa and Nick Lachey. Contestants speed-date in pods, get engaged before meeting face to face, and then continue the relationship after leaving the show.

• Reality singing competition television series
  • The Masked Singer — The Masked Singer is the reality singing competition hosted by Nick Cannon, in which celebrities perform in elaborate costumes while panelists try to identify them. Contestants have included T-Pain and La Toya Jackson, and judges such as Ken Jeong help guess the performers’ identities.
• Reality television contestants
  • Frenchie Davis — Frenchie Davis is a reality-TV contestant who was disqualified after topless photos surfaced online. She later joined the Broadway cast of Rent.
• Reality television couples
  • Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano — Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano are the Survivor and Amazing Race pair known as Rob and Amber. She won Survivor: All-Stars, and the two became married reality-competition veterans.
• Reality television personalities

  • Darva Conger — Darva Conger became famous after winning the reality special Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire? and briefly marrying Rick Rockwell. She later appeared on other television programs and in Playboy.

  • Farrah Abraham — Farrah Abraham is a reality-TV personality known for Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, and her memoir My Teenage Dream Ended. She also became notorious for a leaked sex tape and for briefly pursuing music and other publicity projects.

  • Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth — Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth became a reality TV personality after appearing on The Apprentice. She had previously worked for Al Gore and later appeared on other reality programs and in acting roles.

  • Rick Rockwell — Rick Rockwell is a writer and performer who appeared in the Killer Tomatoes films under character names such as Ze Captain and Lance Boil. He is also known for a highly publicized marriage on reality television.

  • Scott Disick — Scott Disick is a reality-TV personality best known from Keeping Up with the Kardashians and its spin-offs, where he appears as Kourtney Kardashian’s longtime ex-partner and the father of her children. He is also associated with the self-parodying “Lord” persona, including the nickname Lord Disick and the web series subtitle “Lifestyles of a Lord.”

• Reality television series

  • American Chopper — American Chopper is a reality series about the Orange County motorcycle shop run by Paul Teutul and his son. The show became famous for its family arguments and custom bike builds.

  • Ax Men — Ax Men is a History Channel reality series about logging companies and the lumber industry. It is narrated by Thom Beers and featured logger Jay Browning.

  • Bands on the Run — Bands on the Run was a VH1 reality contest in which unsigned groups toured and competed to sell tickets, CDs, and merchandise. Flickerstick won the series over acts including Harlow, Soulcracker, and the Josh Dodes Band.

  • COPS — COPS is a long-running reality series that follows police officers on duty. Its theme song is Bad Boys, and the show became controversial because of its association with policing and public protests.

  • Dance Moms — Dance Moms is a reality series set around Abby Lee Miller’s Pittsburgh dance studio and the training of young dancers. The show became known for intense parent-dancer conflicts, frequent arguments, and the success of dancers such as Chloe Lukasiak.

  • High School Reunion — High School Reunion is a WB reality show about alumni from the Oak Park-River Forest classes of 1992 and 1993. The cast included people such as Holly Herckis, and the finale featured a Naughty by Nature performance and a marriage proposal.

  • Jersey Shore — An MTV reality series centered on a group of young adults from the Jersey Shore area living and partying in the Jersey Shore house. It made Snooki, The Situation, Pauly D, JWoww, Vinny, Ronnie, and Deena into tabloid fixtures through bar fights, fist-pumping, and the show’s signature “smush room.”
    • Snooki — Nicole Polizzi, better known as Snooki, is a reality television personality from Jersey Shore. She became known for her short stature, party-girl antics, pickle eating, and tabloid-baiting incidents that MTV eagerly promoted. She is also associated with memoirs and spin-off appearances, and with the cast from Seaside Heights.

  • Jon and Kate Plus 8 — Jon and Kate Plus 8 was a TLC reality series about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their large family of twins and sextuplets. The show followed the couple after the birth of sextuplets and became a major example of early-2000s family reality TV.

  • Little People, Big World — Little People, Big World is a TLC reality show about the Roloff family and their farm near Portland, Oregon. The family members named in clues include Matt, Amy, and their children Zach, Jeremy, Molly, and Jacob.

  • Love Cruise - The Maiden Voyage — Love Cruise: The Maiden Voyage was a short-lived FOX reality series in which couples competed aboard a cruise ship. The winners named in the clue were Darin, a construction engineer, and Melissa, a respiratory therapist.

  • Mr. Romance — Mr. Romance was an Oxygen reality show hosted by Fabio and created by Gene Simmons. The series staged a search for a Harlequin-style cover model through a campy man-pageant competition.

  • My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss — My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss was a short-lived FOX reality series modeled on The Apprentice. Its early episodes centered on contestants competing for the approval of a deliberately obnoxious boss figure.

  • my strange addiction — My Strange Addiction is a TLC reality series in which people describe unusual compulsions and habits. The show has featured people with habits such as drinking gasoline, using coffee enemas, and chewing on dirty diapers.

  • Project Runway — Project Runway is the fashion-design reality competition hosted by Heidi Klum and mentored by Tim Gunn. It became known for its challenge format, its “one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out” slogan, and its early Peabody Award win.
    • Make it work — “Make it work” is the blunt fashion catchphrase associated with mentor Tim Gunn on Project Runway. It became his signature advice to contestants when a design was in trouble.

  • Real People — Real People was an NBC reality and human-interest series hosted by Skip Stephenson, Sarah Purcell, John Barbour, Byron Allen, and Bill Raftery. It featured oddball stories and ran in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

  • RuPaul’s Drag Race — RuPaul’s Drag Race is the reality competition series where drag queens vie for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar. Its signature clues include Snatch Game, lip-syncs for survival, and the catchphrases “Shantay, you stay” and “sashay away.”

  • Say Yes to the Dress — Say Yes to the Dress is a TLC reality series set at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan, where brides shop for wedding gowns. The franchise also has spinoffs such as Atlanta and UK versions.

  • Sex Box — Sex Box is the British reality show in which couples have sex inside a box-like chamber and then discuss the experience afterward. It became controversial enough to inspire an American adaptation on WE tv.

  • Shark Tank — Shark Tank is the ABC reality series where entrepreneurs pitch products to a panel of wealthy investors. Its best-known deals include Scrub Daddy, and the show features personalities such as Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, and Kevin O’Leary.
    • Dragon’s Den — Dragon’s Den is the reality show in which entrepreneurs pitch to a panel of wealthy investors, the Canadian version of Shark Tank. Its format includes contestants seeking funding from the investors, or “dragons,” in exchange for a business stake.

  • Solitary — Solitary is a Fox Reality Channel series in which contestants are isolated in small rooms and tested by a computerized voice named Val. The show centers on endurance and brainwashing-style challenges administered while the players remain alone.

  • The Moment of Truth — The Moment of Truth was a FOX reality show hosted by Mark Walberg in which contestants answered highly personal questions while hooked up to a polygraph. The format offered cash prizes for truthful answers and mined embarrassment for drama.

  • The Osbournes — The Osbournes was the MTV reality series centered on Ozzy Osbourne and his family, especially Sharon, Jack, and Kelly. It turned the household of the former Black Sabbath singer into a pop-culture phenomenon and later inspired similar celebrity-family reality TV.

  • The Simple Life — The Simple Life was the Fox reality series that followed Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie as they tried blue-collar jobs and farm living. Its first season sent them to Altus, Arkansas, making their pampered celebrity image part of the joke.

  • The Surreal Life — The Surreal Life was the WB/VH1 reality series that put faded celebrities into a shared house in the Hollywood Hills. Its casts included figures like Vanilla Ice, Corey Feldman, Erik Estrada, Tammy Faye Baker, and others from across pop culture.
    • Strange Love — Strange Love is an MTV reality spinoff of The Surreal Life centered on the on-and-off relationship between Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav. The show is also remembered for Nielsen eventually choosing Mattia Dessi over Flav, which broke up the pairing that had driven the series.
  • Who Do You Think You Are? — Who Do You Think You Are? is a genealogy series in which celebrities trace their ancestry through historical records and DNA testing. The U.S. version originally aired on NBC and included an episode in which Lisa Kudrow learned about Holocaust-era executions.
• Reality television shows
  • Kid Nation — Kid Nation was a reality show that placed children in a deserted New Mexico town to try to build a functioning society. The contestants were divided into social roles and the show drew controversy over unsafe incidents involving the participants.
• Reality television singing competitions
  • American Idol — American Idol is the Fox singing competition that made stars of Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, and Simon Cowell. The show later moved to ABC after a long Fox run and was also judged by Paula Abdul in its early seasons.

    • Corey Clark — Corey Clark was an American Idol contestant removed after allegations that he had assaulted his teenage sister.

    • Sanjaya Joseph Malakar — Sanjaya Joseph Malakar was a contestant on the sixth season of American Idol. He became known more for his hairstyles and novelty performances than for strong singing. He had an unexpectedly long run on the show, later appeared on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, and released the EP Dancing to the Music in My Head.

  • The Voice — The Voice is a singing competition built around blind auditions, spinning red chairs, and judges who turn for performers they want on their teams. It has been associated with winners such as Javier Colon and with judges including Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani.
• Shaquille O’Neal
  • Shaq’s Big Challenge — Shaq’s Big Challenge was a 2007 reality program in which Shaquille O’Neal helped obese Florida children. It is one of his early reality-television ventures.

• Silk Stalkings — Silk Stalkings was a USA Network detective series about a pair of investigators handling crimes of passion among the rich in Palm Beach. It originally starred Rob Estes and Mitzi Kapture and later became a long-running example of USA’s stylish crime dramas.

• Simon Cowell
  • The X Factor — The X Factor is Simon Cowell’s British singing competition, known for stages like Judges’ Houses and the Four-Chair Challenge. It launched acts such as Leona Lewis, One Direction, and Little Mix.
• Television game shows
  • Fifth Wheel — Fifth Wheel was a UPN dating show in which a woman picked one man from a large pool of suitors after unusual staged competition. The phrase also means an unnecessary extra person or thing, or a support piece on a carriage axle that helps stabilize turns.
• Television producers
  • Aaron Spelling — Aaron Spelling was a prolific television producer behind shows such as Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Dynasty, Melrose Place, and Beverly Hills, 90210. He is often clued as the man behind Charlie’s Angels and as a producer who worked with Leonard Goldberg. Clues may also mention the Data East pinball machine made in his honor and the fact that Tori Spelling was his daughter.

    • Malibu Shores — Malibu Shores is a short-lived Aaron Spelling teen drama set among wealthy Malibu residents and families from the Valley. Its first episode centers on characters named Josh, Teddy, Chloe, and Zack, and it starred Keri Russell and Charisma Carpenter.

    • Sunset Beach — Sunset Beach was an Aaron Spelling soap opera set in a fictional California town. Its stories centered on love, intrigue, and the lives of characters such as Meg Cummings and Casey Mitchum.

  • Bruce Paltrow — Bruce Paltrow was a television producer and director best known for producing The White Shadow and St. Elsewhere. He was the husband of Blythe Danner and the father of Gwyneth Paltrow.

  • Chuck Lorre — Chuck Lorre is a television producer and writer known for creating sitcoms such as Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, and Mom. He is also associated with the end-of-episode vanity cards that appear on many of his shows.

  • Dan Schneider — Dan Schneider is a television producer and creator behind Nickelodeon series such as Drake & Josh, iCarly, Victorious, Henry Danger, and Game Shakers. His career became the subject of criticism over reports of abusive behavior and allegations about his treatment of staff and cast members.

  • Norman Lear — Norman Lear was a television producer and writer behind All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Good Times, and Sanford and Son. He founded People for the American Way and built a broad career in film, television, and media enterprises; his shows helped define socially conscious American sitcoms across the 1970s and beyond.

  • Quinn Martin — Quinn Martin was a television producer whose company made police and crime dramas such as The Untouchables, The Fugitive, The F.B.I., Cannon, and The Streets of San Francisco. His shows were a major influence on Police Squad! and helped define the TV procedural.

  • Sid and Marty Krofft — Sid and Marty Krofft were the brothers behind a string of children’s television programs including H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. They became famous for colorful live-action fantasy shows and for a copyright dispute with McDonald’s over Mayor McCheese.

• Temptation Island — Temptation Island is a Fox reality series in which established couples live among attractive singles to test their relationships. It was set in places like Belize and Honduras and became known for its deliberately provocative premise.

• That’s Incredible! — That’s Incredible! was an early-1980s ABC reality-style series hosted by John Davidson, Cathy Lee Crosby, and Fran Tarkenton. The show featured astonishing stunts, unusual talents, and human-interest oddities. It was a forerunner of later reality television and spawned less successful spin-offs such as Those Amazing Animals.

• The Amazing Race — The Amazing Race is a reality competition in which teams travel around the world completing assigned tasks for host Phil Keoghan. Its signature features include detours, where teams choose between two challenges, and U-turns that can force rivals to do both sides of a detour. The series became a dominant awards winner after the Primetime Emmy category for Outstanding Reality Competition Program was created in 2003.

• The Anna Nicole Show
  • Bobby Trendy or Bobby Trend (his real name) — Bobby Trendy is a fashion designer who became known through appearances on the Anna Nicole Smith show. He is Vietnamese American and once worked for low wages at K-Mart before becoming a celebrity designer.
• The Apprentice — The Apprentice is the reality competition series associated with Donald Trump’s “You’re fired” catchphrase. It spun off local versions abroad and later produced The Celebrity Apprentice, with Omarosa among its best-known contestants.

  • Brent Buckman — Brent Buckman is the Apprentice contestant remembered for his over-the-top self-branding and awkward ads for products like Gillette Fusion and Grape Nuts. The Texas lawyer also touted a bagel diet plan after losing a large amount of weight.

  • The Apprentice: Martha Stewart — The Apprentice: Martha Stewart was the Martha Stewart version of the reality competition in which contestants worked under her supervision. It featured Dawna Stone as the winner and used team names such as Primarius and Matchstick.

  • The Benefactor — The Benefactor was ABC’s short-lived attempt to adapt The Apprentice into a giveaway competition hosted by Mark Cuban. It was canceled quickly after poor ratings and featured contestants competing for a million-dollar prize.

• The Bachelor — The Bachelor is an ABC reality dating franchise in which a title bachelor sends contestants home through rose ceremonies. Its long-running host is Chris Harrison, and its spinoffs include Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelorette.

  • Chris Harrison — Chris Harrison is the longtime host of The Bachelor franchise and its spinoffs. He also hosted Mall Masters and multiple Miss America pageants.

  • Trista Rehn — Trista Rehn was the original Bachelorette after appearing on The Bachelor. She later married Ryan Sutter and became a familiar early reality-TV star.

• The Bachelorette — The Bachelorette is the reality dating series in which one woman eliminates suitors by handing out roses. Its title figure was notably Becca Kufrin after her split from Arie Luyendyk Jr.

• The Biggest Loser — The Biggest Loser was an NBC reality competition in which overweight contestants competed to lose the most weight. Its format included the Ranch, the yellow line, and trainer duo Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels.

• The Contender — The Contender is a boxing reality series that premiered in 2005 and followed fighters competing in tournament-style matches. Its first season is associated with Najai Turpin, whose death occurred just before the show’s premiere.

• The Great British Bake Off
  • Bingate — Bingate is the name given to a Great British Bake Off controversy involving Iain Watters and a melted dessert. The incident became infamous after accusations that Diana Beard removed the dessert from a freezer and it was later discarded.

• The Hills — The Hills is an MTV reality series spun off from Laguna Beach that follows the lives of Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, and their circle in Los Angeles. It is also the title of a 2015 Weeknd song from Beauty Behind the Madness.

• The Jamie Kennedy Experiment — The Jamie Kennedy Experiment was a hidden-camera prank show hosted by Jamie Kennedy. Its sketches and pranks often featured Kennedy in disguises and characters such as B-Rad and Virginia Hammond.

• The Joe Schmo Show — The Joe Schmo Show was a Spike TV reality-hoax series in which one real contestant was surrounded by actors and led to believe the competition was genuine. Its first-season contestant was Matt Kennedy Gould, and the show’s elaborate prank included a fake program called Lap of Luxury.
  • Lap of Luxury — Lap of Luxury is a Cheap Trick album title that was also used for the fictional reality-show competition inside The Joe Schmo Show. The latter centered on Matt Kennedy Gould, who was unknowingly surrounded by actors in a staged contest.
• The Real Housewives — The Real Housewives is Bravo’s franchise of city-based reality shows, with versions set in places such as Orange County, Atlanta, Durban, Cape Town, and Joburg. Its Beverly Hills installment is the one associated with the viral Taylor Armstrong yelling meme.

  • The Real Housewives of New Jersey — This Bravo reality franchise follows wealthy women and their social feuds, including the New Jersey installment centered on families such as the Giudices, Manzos, and Lauritas. One notorious episode involves Teresa Giudice flipping a table, a signature moment from The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

  • The Real Housewives of Orange County — This Bravo series about affluent women in Orange County launched the Real Housewives franchise and long featured Vicki Gunvalson. Its cast included figures such as Tamra Judge and Gretchen Rossi, and it inspired later city-specific spinoffs.

• The Real World — The Real World is MTV’s pioneering reality series in which strangers are brought together to live in one house and be filmed continuously. It is especially remembered for the San Francisco season and for cast member Pedro Zamora, whose AIDS diagnosis gave the show unusual public impact. Other common clues include early cast members such as Puck and later seasons set in cities like New Orleans and Las Vegas. The show became a defining early example of the modern reality-TV format.

• The Real World: San Francisco
  • David “Puck” Rainey — David “Puck” Rainey was a cast member on The Real World: San Francisco. He was expelled after clashes with other housemates and later appeared on The Challenge.
• The Rebel Billionaire — This Fox reality show mixed business tasks with daredevil challenges as contestants competed for Richard Branson’s job at Virgin Worldwide.
  • The Rebel Billionaire: Branson’s Quest for the Best — Richard Branson hosted this reality series in which contestants traveled and performed stunts in hopes of replacing him as president of Virgin Worldwide. The subtitle ‘Branson’s Quest for the Best’ identifies the program.

• The Starter Wife — The Starter Wife is a USA miniseries based on Gigi Levangie Grazer’s novel and starring Debra Messing as a woman rebuilding her life after divorce. Joe Mantegna and Judy Davis appear in the cast, and the story follows the social fallout around a wealthy Hollywood marriage ending.

• Tommy Lee Goes to College — Tommy Lee Goes to College was a 2005 reality series about Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The show was partly scripted and followed his attempts at campus life, including band and roommate antics, despite a disclaimer that he was not truly enrolled.

• Top Gear — Top Gear is the BBC motoring series once hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, with the silent Stig as a recurring test driver. The show became famous for stunt segments, celebrity laps, and the later spiritual successor The Grand Tour.
  • The Stig — The Stig is the anonymous test-track driver on Top Gear, always identified only by the racing helmet that hides his face. The character was originally played by Perry McCarthy, and later clues pointed to other drivers such as Ben Collins and even a Michael Schumacher appearance.
• Travel television series
  • Wild On! — Wild On! was an E! travel-entertainment series hosted by Jules Asner and other guests such as Brooke Burke and Jenna Jameson. Each episode showcased nightlife and tourist spots in destinations like Ibiza, South Beach, and the Riviera.

• Trust Me — Trust Me was a short-lived TNT drama set at a fictional Chicago advertising firm. It starred Eric McCormack and Thomas Cavanagh as creative directors and also featured Griffin Dunne and Geoffrey Arend.

• Undercover Boss — Undercover Boss is a reality series in which executives disguise themselves as entry-level workers to inspect their own companies. Its premiere featured Waste Management CEO Larry O’Donnell, and the show later spawned foreign versions and reruns on TLC.

• Undressed — Undressed was an MTV anthology series built around short stories of teenage and college-age hookups. The series featured many young actors in early roles and is remembered for its soap-opera style treatment of sexual situations.

• Warehouse 13 — Warehouse 13 is a Syfy series about Secret Service agents who recover dangerous supernatural artifacts and store them in a hidden South Dakota facility. Its cast includes Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly, and its universe overlaps with other Syfy genre shows through actor crossovers.

• What Not to Wear — What Not to Wear is a TLC makeover show featuring Stacy London, Clinton Kelly, and stylists like Nick Arrojo and Carmindy. Its premise is to give poorly dressed participants a budget for new clothes while the hosts critique their wardrobes.

• While You Were Out — While You Were Out was a TLC home-makeover show in which a person was sent away while a room was secretly renovated. It was hosted by Teresa Strasser and featured designer Leslie Segrete.

• Army Wives — Army Wives is a Lifetime drama set at Fort Marshall that follows the lives of soldiers’ spouses and families. Its ensemble includes characters like Roxy, who arrives after marrying a private, and it starred Catherine Bell and Kim Delaney.

• Business-news television channels
  • CNBC — CNBC is the business-news cable channel known for programs like Squawk Box and Mad Money. It has also aired Olympic boxing coverage, Triplecast promotions, and reality or talk shows hosted by figures like LeBron James, Alex Rodriguez, and John McEnroe.
• Cable networks

  • A&E — A&E is the American cable network formerly tied to Biography and known for reruns, documentaries, and later reality programming. Its lineup has included shows such as Cold Case Files, Dog the Bounty Hunter, and other nonfiction series.

  • ABC Family — ABC Family was a U.S. cable network known for teen and family-oriented series such as Kyle XY, Greek, and Pretty Little Liars. It had previously been connected to Fox and was also required to air The 700 Club.

  • AMC — AMC, short for American Movie Classics, is the cable network behind The Walking Dead, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad. Its modern identity is tied to original dramas and horror programming, including Shudder and the annual “Ghoul Log.”

  • E! Entertainment Television — E! Entertainment Television is a cable network known for celebrity and entertainment programming. Its signature shows have included True Hollywood Story and The Anna Nicole Show.

  • G4 — G4 was a U.S. cable network best known for gaming and pop-culture programming such as Attack of the Show! and X-Play. It also aired original shows like Human Wrecking Balls and Code Monkeys before its later revival campaign.

• cable television channels

  • Animal Planet — Animal Planet is a cable network known for animal-themed programming such as Meerkat Manor, The Crocodile Hunter, and My Cat from Hell. It also airs Finding Bigfoot and the Puppy Bowl.

  • Spike TV — Spike TV was the men-oriented cable channel formerly known as TNN, known for macho reality programming, combat shows, and reruns such as Star Trek. It also carried shows like Deadliest Warrior and The Ultimate Fighter, and its name briefly drew objections because of the similarity to Spike Lee.

• Cable television networks

  • America’s Talking — America’s Talking was an NBC-owned cable talk channel that was folded into the launch of MSNBC. Its lineup included hosts such as Christopher Matthews and E. Jean Carroll.

  • Discovery Channel — Discovery Channel is the cable network associated with science and reality programming such as Dirty Jobs, MythBusters, Cash Cab, and PitchMen. It became a major home for populist documentary and gadget-heavy television in the 2000s.

  • HGTV — HGTV is an American cable network focused on home improvement, decorating, gardening, and real estate programming. It is associated with shows like Property Brothers, House Hunters, Color Splash, and Property Virgins; the name expands to Home & Garden Television.

  • History Channel — History is a cable network known for programs such as American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Modern Marvels, and Swamp People. It was once known for historical documentaries but later became associated with reality and documentary programming, and it also aired Vikings and a Bible miniseries produced by Mark Burnett. Its branding often emphasizes historical content despite this broader mix.

  • Starz — Starz is a premium cable network known for showing series such as Spartacus, Boss, and Outlander. It is one of the major movie and series channels named by a stylized plural form of “star.”

  • The Discovery Channel — The Discovery Channel is a cable network once associated with science and nature programming and later with reality series. It is also known for Shark Week and for owning channels such as TLC and Animal Planet.

  • TV Land — TV Land is a cable network built around reruns of classic television series. It began as a Nick-at-Nite spin-off and later produced original shows such as Hot in Cleveland and Younger.

  • USA Network — USA Network is a basic cable channel known for series such as Psych, Monk, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, and The 4400. It also produced The 4400 and other original shows under the slogan that characters are welcome.

• Double Dare — Double Dare was the Nickelodeon game show built around trivia, messy physical challenges, and a final obstacle course. Marc Summers hosted the original series and several later revivals and spinoffs.

• G4TechTV — G4TechTV was the merged gaming-and-tech television network created when G4 and TechTV combined in 2004. Its programming included Judgment Day, Arena, X-Play, and Anime Unleashed, reflecting its mix of game coverage and entertainment.

• iCarly — iCarly is a Nickelodeon sitcom about a teen webcast hosted by Carly Shay, with Freddie and Sam as her cohosts. It is remembered for running gags like spaghetti tacos, the Groovy Smoothie, and the show’s theme song “Leave It All to Me.”
  • Spencer Shay — Spencer Shay is Carly’s eccentric guardian on iCarly. He is known for being prank-targeted by Chuck Chambers and for inventing spaghetti tacos.
• Improvisational comedians
  • Colin Mochrie — Colin Mochrie is a Canadian improvisational comedian best known from Whose Line Is It Anyway? He has also appeared in ad campaigns such as Nabisco’s Snack Fairy and in other Canadian television projects.

• The 4400 — The 4400 is a USA Network science-fiction series about thousands of people who mysteriously return after long disappearances. Some of the returnees develop powers linked to promicin, and the show follows figures such as Shawn Farrell, Jordan Collier, and Richard Tyler.

• The Cape — This short-lived NBC series starred David Lyons as Vince Faraday, a disgraced cop who becomes the title superhero. It was called The Cape and was canceled after nine episodes.

• The Good Wife — The Good Wife follows Alicia Florrick as she returns to practicing law after her husband’s political scandal. The CBS drama is known for its sharp legal cases, recurring guest stars, and the long-running tension between Alicia’s personal life and her professional reinvention.

• The Secret World of Alex Mack — The Secret World of Alex Mack is a Nickelodeon series about a teenager who gains strange powers after being drenched in a chemical spill. Alex can turn into a silvery goo, generate electricity, and is pursued by a corporate research operation while living in Paradise Valley.

Variety, Talk, and Satirical Television

• Late-night talk and variety — hosts from Steve Allen and Jack Paar through Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Arsenio Hall, and later figures reshaped monologue, interview, music, sketch, and topical comedy. Network, cable, and streaming formats reflect different audiences and promotional economies.

• Country variety shows
  • Hee Haw — Hee Haw was a long-running country variety show hosted by Roy Clark and Buck Owens, built around rural comedy, music, and skits set in Kornfield Kounty. It was canceled by CBS in 1971 but continued in syndication for decades, with recurring bits such as Junior Samples’s used-car lot and the song “Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me.”

• Dance Fever — Dance Fever was a disco-themed television variety show hosted first by Deney Terrio and later by Adrian Zmed. It featured celebrity judges, dance contests, and a grand-prize competition format that helped make it a late-1970s and early-1980s pop-culture staple.

• Dancing with the Stars — Dancing with the Stars is the ABC ballroom-dance competition in which celebrities are paired with professional dancers and compete for the Mirrorball Trophy. The show was long hosted by Tom Bergeron, later won by Alfonso Ribeiro and by Ukrainian version winner Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Derek Hough now serves as a judge.

• Ernie Kovacs — Ernie Kovacs was an innovative early television performer known for surreal comedy sketches and character work. He hosted programs such as Three to Get Ready and died in a car accident in 1962.

• Eurovision Song Contest — The Eurovision Song Contest is the long-running annual international song competition organized by the European Broadcasting Union. It is famous for entries like ABBA’s “Waterloo,” Conchita Wurst’s “Rise Like a Phoenix,” and other national pop performances.
  • Eurovision — Eurovision is the long-running European song contest in which each country sends one entry to a live television competition. Its winners include ABBA and Celine Dion, and it has produced politically charged moments such as the 2014 win by Conchita Wurst.
• Got Talent
  • Britain’s Got Talent — Britain’s Got Talent is the ITV talent competition judged over the years by figures such as Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden. The show launched in 2007 and has produced winners such as Paul Potts and Jai McDowall.

• Jang Dong-min — Jang Dong-min is a Korean variety-show competitor who won multiple seasons of The Genius. He is known for sharp puzzle-solving and strategy on shows such as Bloody Game 3, where he used an art auction and hangul puzzle to gain an edge.

• Milton Berle — Milton Berle was an early television comedian and host of Texaco Star Theater, where he became one of the first major stars of the medium and earned the nickname “Mr. Television.” His long show-business career also included vaudeville, drag performances, radio, film, later cameo appearances, and multiple Emmy honors.

• Noel’s House Party
  • Characters
    • Mr. Blobby — Mr. Blobby is a grotesque pink BBC comedy character known for his giant polka-dotted body and repeated use of his own name. He became a 1990s novelty sensation through Noel’s House Party, a hit single, and even theme park tie-ins.

• Red Buttons — Red Buttons was an American comedian and actor who won an Oscar for Sayonara. He was also known for his variety show and the catchphrase “Strange things are happening.”

• Running Man — The Running Man is both an SBS Korean variety show starring Yoo Jae-suk and a 1987 film based on Stephen King’s novel. The film follows Ben Richards, who is framed on a deadly game show and forced to fight for survival.

• Smothers Brothers — The Smothers Brothers were the comic folk duo Tom and Dick Smothers, best known for their CBS variety show in the 1960s. Their show mixed comedy with topical political satire and also became famous for booking rock acts such as the Who.

• Soul Train — Soul Train was the long-running American music and dance television show created by Don Cornelius. Beginning in Chicago and later entering national syndication, it became a major showcase for R&B, soul, disco, and later hip-hop performers and dancers.

• Spanish-language variety shows
  • Sábado Gigante — Sábado Gigante was a long-running Spanish-language variety show hosted by Don Francisco (Mario Kreutzberger). It began in Chile in 1962, later moved to Miami, and aired for decades on Univision with music, comedy, games, and talent segments. It was renamed from the plural Sabados Gigantes.

• Spitting Image — Spitting Image was a British satirical television show famous for its puppet caricatures of politicians and celebrities. It was created by Roger Law and Peter Fluck and became notorious for its sharp political mockery.

• Super Dave Osborne — Super Dave Osborne is the exaggerated stuntman character played by Bob Einstein, first popular on television variety and comedy shows. He later headlined his own series and videos built around absurdly dangerous stunts and deadpan bravado.

• Talent shows
  • America’s Got Talent — America’s Got Talent is the NBC competition series where singers, novelty acts, and other performers compete for a cash prize and a Las Vegas headlining spot. Its judges have included Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel, and the golden buzzer became one of its signature gimmicks.

• The Benny Hill Show — The Benny Hill Show was a British television comedy-variety program built around Benny Hill’s recurring sketches and running gags. It is remembered for stock characters like Captain Fred Scuttle and for its recognizable saxophone theme.

• The Man Show — The Man Show was the Comedy Central variety series hosted by Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel, built around beer-soaked stunts, street interviews, and recurring bits featuring the Juggies.

• The Muppet Show — The Muppet Show was Jim Henson’s late-1970s variety series built around Kermit, the Electric Mayhem, and a rotating roster of guest stars. Its recurring bits included Pigs in Space, the Swedish Chef, and sketches such as Mahna Mahna, and it featured characters like Gonzo, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy.

  • Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem — Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem is the house band from The Muppet Show, led by the gold-toothed keyboard player Dr. Teeth. Its members include Animal, Zoot, Janis, and Floyd Pepper, and clues often mention their film and television performances as a comic rock group.

  • Pigs in Space — Pigs in Space was a recurring Muppet Show sketch featuring the starship Swinetrek and its pig crew. Characters such as Captain Link Hogthrob and Dr. Julius Strangepork became part of its running sci-fi parody.

• Variety shows

  • El Sabado Gigante — El Sabado Gigante was a long-running Miami-based Spanish-language variety show hosted by Don Francisco. It was famous for audience participation, musical performances, and its immense popularity across Latin America.

  • Lawrence Welk Show — The Lawrence Welk Show was a long-running musical variety program hosted by bandleader Lawrence Welk. Known for its “champagne music,” bubble imagery, and wholesome acts, it also featured performers such as the Lennon Sisters, Norma Zimmer, and Arthur Duncan.

• Vic Reeves
  • Shooting Stars — This title refers both to a surreal British panel show hosted by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and to celestial objects named in songs by artists like Carly Rae Jepsen and B.o.B.
• Whose Line Is It Anyway?
  • Guy — Guy LeDouche is the recurring field reporter in the mock game-show series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, known for his pith helmet, French accent, and flirtatious persona. The broader clue set also points to simply ‘Guy’ as a generic character name used in titles and fiction, so the distinctive reporter is the best match here.

• @midnight — @midnight was a Chris Hardwick-hosted comedy panel show built around quick-fire games like hashtag wars and the catchphrase of awarding points. Its title refers to midnight, and the show aired in the late-night slot after The Colbert Report.

• Actors, comedians, singers, and television hosts
  • Wayne Brady — Wayne Brady is an actor, comedian, singer, and television host who rose to prominence on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, where he became known for improvisational games and musical bits. He also hosted Don’t Forget the Lyrics! and Let’s Make a Deal, played Billy Flynn in Chicago, appeared in Everybody Hates Chris and How I Met Your Mother, and had an early start at Disney World.
    • The Wayne Brady Show — The Wayne Brady Show was Wayne Brady’s ABC comedy-variety program, built around singing, dancing, improvising, and a large house band. The name also covered his later daytime talk show, which won Daytime Emmys before ending in 2004.

• Alan Keyes Is Making Sense — Alan Keyes Is Making Sense was an MSNBC talk show hosted by Alan Keyes in which he discussed current issues from a more conversational format. The title playfully echoed his effort to appear more relatable through a cardigan-and-panel setup.

• Clive Anderson — Clive Anderson is a British broadcaster, comedian, and former lawyer best known for hosting the original British Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He also worked in radio and television comedy, including The Cabaret Upstairs and Discovery Mastermind.

• Comedians and talk show hosts
  • Conan (Christopher) O’Brien — Conan Christopher O’Brien is a comedian and talk-show host who rose from Harvard Lampoon editor to writing for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. He later hosted Late Night and briefly The Tonight Show, then moved to a TBS series under his own name.
• Conan — Conan O’Brien is the red-haired comedian who briefly hosted The Tonight Show before moving to TBS. The name Conan also belongs to the barbarian created by Robert E. Howard and to the detective manga protagonist Conan Edogawa.
  • Late Night with Conan O’Brien — Late Night with Conan O’Brien was Conan O’Brien’s NBC talk show, known for recurring comedy bits and its musical performances. The show is also associated with offbeat sketches and long-running segments such as “In the Year 2000.”

    • In the Year 2000 — “In the Year 2000” is a recurring comedy sketch from Conan O’Brien’s shows that imagines absurd future events and slogans. The bit became closely associated with Late Night with Conan O’Brien and later related Conan appearances.

    • Pierre Bernard’s Recliner of Rage — Pierre Bernard’s Recliner of Rage was a recurring Late Night with Conan O’Brien segment in which Pierre Bernard sat in a recliner and delivered an angry rant. The bits were built from obsessive complaints about television, merchandise, and other pop culture annoyances.

  • Lookwell — Lookwell is a 1991 unaired television pilot co-written by Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel and starring Adam West as a washed-up former TV detective.
• Conan O’Brien segments
  • Actual Items — Actual Items was a recurring Conan O’Brien segment built from supposedly real but absurd advertisements and newspaper or magazine clippings. Its jokes depended on bizarre captions and misprinted ads presented as genuine finds.
• Cunk
  • Philomena Cunk — Philomena Cunk is the deadpan mock-documentary interviewer created and portrayed by Diane Morgan. She appears in programs such as Cunk on Britain and Cunk on Earth and is known for absurdly confident, misinformed commentary.

• Jimmy Kimmel Live — Jimmy Kimmel Live is the ABC late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, a former co-host of The Man Show. It is associated with bandleader Cleto Escobedo Jr. and with recurring bits such as guest-host appearances and audience promotions.

• Late Night
  • Joel Goddard — Joel Goddard was the announcer for Late Night, serving in that role from the show’s beginning.
• Late-night hosts
  • Seth Meyers — Seth Meyers is a comedian and late-night host who anchored Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live before hosting Late Night on NBC. He co-created The Awesomes and is known for the recurring segment “A Closer Look.” He hosted the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he joked about Donald Trump.
• Late-night talk show games
  • Stump the Band — Stump the Band is the musical audience-participation game in which performers try to play whatever song a listener requests. It was associated with Johnny Carson and later revived on The Late Show with David Letterman.
• Late-night talk show hosts
  • David Michael Letterman — An American former late-night host who fronted The Late Show on CBS after being passed over for The Tonight Show and previously became a defining NBC late-night comedian. His programs featured deadpan stunts, celebrity interviews, recurring bits such as Top Ten Lists and Stupid Pet Tricks, and occasional scandals, including a blackmail case involving his assistant. He was a long-running rival of Jay Leno, and the character Bud Melman is closely associated with his television persona.

    • Dick Assman — Dick Assman was a Canadian gas station attendant in Regina, Saskatchewan who became briefly famous in 1995. David Letterman turned his unusual surname into a running joke and publicity phenomenon.

    • Dorothy Letterman — Dorothy Letterman is David Letterman’s mother, a recurring figure in stories about her son’s career and interviews. She was mentioned for helping secure a Hillary Rodham Clinton interview and for her appearance on Entertainment Weekly’s power list.

    • Margaret Mary Ray — Margaret Mary Ray was the woman who became known for claiming to be Mrs. David Letterman. The clues describe a former nursing student who followed celebrities and drew attention for impersonation and delusional behavior.

    • Will It Float? — Will It Float? is the David Letterman segment in which objects are tested for buoyancy, with Paul Shaffer and other performers helping out. The bit was modeled on the British show Is It Buoyant? and became a recurring Friday staple.

• Late-night talk shows
  • Last Call with Carson Daly — Last Call with Carson Daly was a late-night talk show hosted by former TRL VJ Carson Daly. After moving to Los Angeles, it added monologues, a house band, and a traditional set, and it became known as NBC’s final late-night show before the network’s 2011 high-definition conversion.
• Late-night television sidekicks
  • Geoff Peterson — Geoff Peterson is an animatronic robot skeleton who served as a late-night television sidekick. He became associated with Craig Ferguson’s show and a set of recurring catchphrases.

• Nipsey Russell — An American comedian, game-show panelist, and actor known for rapid-fire, punning verse and rhymed punchlines. He was nicknamed television’s poet laureate by Ed McMahon. He appeared on game shows such as Match Game, acted in Car 54, Where Are You? and other comic roles, and played the Tin Man in The Wiz.

• Not Necessarily the News — Not Necessarily the News was an HBO satirical news-comedy series from the 1980s. It featured performers such as Rich Hall, Anne Bloom, Stuart Pankin, and others in sketches that mocked current events and television news.

• Oprah Winfrey — Oprah Winfrey is the talk-show host, actress, and media mogul whose Harpo Productions is named for her first name spelled backward. She became a cultural powerhouse through The Oprah Winfrey Show, her book club, and high-profile interviews and film roles including The Color Purple and Beloved.

• Oprah Winfrey

  • Oprah’s Book Club — Oprah’s Book Club was a televised reading list associated with Oprah Winfrey and her talk show. Its selections helped make novels such as Song of Solomon, The Deep End of the Ocean, and The Corrections widely discussed.

  • The Oprah Winfrey Show — The Oprah Winfrey Show was Oprah Winfrey’s nationally syndicated daytime talk show, originally broadcast from Chicago. It became one of the most successful talk shows in television history and was known for its book club, giveaways, and extensive guest roster.

• Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher — Bill Maher’s round-table discussion show, first on Comedy Central and later on ABC. Maher hosted panel discussions of current events, and the program became notorious for the controversy that led to its cancellation after September 11, when sponsors and affiliates withdrew in 2001.

• Robert Altman and Garry Trudeau
  • Tanner ‘88 — Tanner ‘88 is Robert Altman and Garry Trudeau’s mockumentary about a fictional presidential candidate. Set during the 1988 campaign, it blends satire with real political figures and later received a sequel. The series is remembered as an inventive early HBO project and a landmark of political television comedy.

• Showtime at the Apollo — Showtime at the Apollo is a syndicated variety program associated with the Apollo Theater in New York. Hosted in later years by Steve Harvey, it features audience reaction as performers are judged live.

• Steve Coogan
  • Alan Partridge — Alan Partridge is the fictional British media personality created and played by Steve Coogan. He appears as a smug broadcaster in radio and television settings, including Knowing Me Knowing You and I’m Alan Partridge.
• Talk show hosts

  • Dick Cavett — Dick Cavett was a prominent ABC talk-show host known for long-form interviews with writers, actors, and other public figures. His show became associated with literary conversations and notable on-air moments involving guests such as James Baldwin, Lillian Hellman, and Arthur C. Clarke.

  • Jenny Jones — Jenny Jones is the daytime talk show host who became infamous after a guest was murdered following a secret-crush episode. Before hosting, she worked as a comic and television personality and won on Star Search. Quiz clues may mention her earlier game-show appearances, comedy career, or the talk show that ended after the scandal. She is also the name of a Henry Fielding character in Tom Jones.

  • Jerry Springer — Jerry Springer was the long-running tabloid talk-show host and former mayor of Cincinnati whose program became notorious for sensational confrontations. His name became a pop-culture shorthand for outrageous television, and he died in 2023.

  • Montel Williams — Montel Williams is the TV host and former Marine officer best known for The Montel Williams Show and for recurring daytime-television appearances. He later discussed multiple sclerosis and medical marijuana, and also hosted or guest-starred in several short-lived TV projects.

  • Phil Donahue — Phil Donahue was the pioneering daytime talk-show host whose nationally syndicated show made the audience-phone-in format famous. His program covered controversial issues such as birth control and AIDS, and he became a model for later hosts like Oprah Winfrey.

• Talk shows

  • Inside the Actors Studio — Bravo’s long-running interview program hosted by James Lipton, known for his blue index cards and for ending with the same ten Bernard Pivot questions asked of many actors and filmmakers.

  • Jerry Springer Show — The Jerry Springer Show was a long-running tabloid talk show hosted by the former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer. It became notorious for staged fights, outrageous guests, and the security work of Steve Wilkos before he launched his own show.

  • Sunday Night Sex Show — Sunday Night Sex Show is a Canadian sex-advice television program hosted by Sue Johanson. It aired on WTN and later appeared on Oxygen alongside her other program Talk Sex.

  • The Mike Douglas Show — The Mike Douglas Show was a syndicated daytime talk show hosted by singer Mike Douglas from the 1960s through the early 1980s. It featured rotating celebrity co-hosts and became notable for appearances by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Donny and Marie, and even a young Tiger Woods.

  • The Talk — The Talk is a CBS daytime panel show hosted by Julie Chen and featuring personalities such as Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Leah Remini, and Holly Robinson Peete. It follows the format of a roundtable discussion show in the style of The View.

• Talk Soup — Talk Soup was an E! television show that recapped and mocked highlights from daytime and tabloid talk shows. It was hosted first by Greg Kinnear and later by John Henson and Aisha Tyler.

• Ricki Lake — Ricki Lake is a talk-show host and actress best known for starring as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray and hosting The Ricki Lake Show. She also drew attention for an anti-fur protest arrest and related disorderly conduct case.

• Television and radio hosts
  • Ryan Seacrest — Ryan Seacrest is a television and radio host best known for American Idol, American Top 40, and New Year’s Eve broadcasting. He also produces reality television such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and has hosted a range of entertainment programs.
• Television hosts

  • Anne Robinson — Anne Robinson is the British television host best known for The Weakest Link and its curt catchphrase, “You are the weakest link — goodbye.” She was a former tabloid journalist whose abrasive style drew comparisons to a dominatrix, a librarian, and other similarly sharp caricatures.

  • Art Linkletter — Art Linkletter hosted House Party and later became strongly associated with the children’s interview segment Kids Say the Darndest Things. His face appeared on the original Game of Life play money.

  • Bill O’Reilly — American conservative television host, commentator, and author William James Bill O’Reilly Jr. He hosted The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, was known for combative interviews, wrote the Killing series and other books on politics and history, including collaborations on the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations, and was later dismissed by Fox News after allegations.
    • The O’Reilly Factor — The O’Reilly Factor was Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News talk show, built around political commentary, recurring segments, and viewer mail. It became one of cable news’s highest-rated programs and was associated with the host’s “No Spin Zone” persona.

  • Billy Bush — Billy Bush is a television host who co-hosted Access Hollywood and was previously associated with NBC entertainment shows. He became widely known for the leaked 2005 Donald Trump conversation and is a first cousin of George W. Bush.

  • Bob Eubanks — Bob Eubanks is a television host best known for The Newlywed Game and for asking couples the show’s famously awkward questions about “whoopee.” He also hosted shows such as Card Sharks, Trivia Trap, Dream House, and The Diamond Head Game.

  • Brian Dunkleman — Brian Dunkleman was the original co-host with Ryan Seacrest on the first season of American Idol. He later worked in television and comedy after leaving the show.

  • Carson Daly — Carson Daly is a television and radio personality who hosted MTV’s Total Request Live (TRL). He later hosted NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly, became a recurring NBC New Year’s Eve host, and served as a host on The Voice.
    • Last Call — Last Call is Carson Daly’s NBC late-night interview show, known for mixing conversations with live musical performances. Its early run included guests such as Jewel, Suge Knight, and Alicia Keys, and its debut was briefly delayed by a cable rights dispute.

  • Craig Ferguson — Craig Ferguson is the Scottish-born host best known for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He also voiced Owl in Disney’s 2011 Winnie the Pooh and was later replaced as the host by James Corden.

  • Dave Garroway — Dave Garroway was the first host of NBC’s Today show, which he led from its debut in 1952 until 1961. He was a broadcast pioneer who worked on Chicago radio before becoming a major television personality and later appeared in Quiz Show.

  • Dick Clark — Dick Clark hosted American Bandstand and later became the face of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. He is also associated with helping popularize dance crazes such as the Twist and the Jerk.

  • Don Cornelius — Don Cornelius was the Chicago broadcaster who created and hosted Soul Train, the long-running nationally syndicated dance show sponsored by Afro Sheen. He was known for his closing catchphrase about taking “your last money” and for building a media brand that included record and awards ventures tied to the show.

  • Don Francisco — Don Francisco is the stage name of Chilean television host Mario Kreutzberger, best known for Sabado Gigante. He became a major Latin American entertainer and was honored by Pope John Paul II and the Pan American Health Organization.

  • Ed Sullivan — Ed Sullivan was the newspaper columnist and television host whose variety show began as Toast of the Town. His long-running show helped introduce the Beatles to American audiences and gave his name to the theater now used by The Late Show with David Letterman.

  • Graham Norton — Graham Norton is an Irish television host best known for his BBC chat show, which features audience interaction, celebrity guests, and recurring comedic segments. Earlier programs and clips built his reputation for irreverent interviews, web stunts, and flamboyant on-air humor.

  • Home improvement hosts
    • Bob Vila — Bob Vila is the home-improvement television host best known for This Old House and later Home Again. He became associated with criticism over commercial endorsements during his PBS years.
  • Jay Leno — Jay Leno is the comedian and late-night host famous for his long run on The Tonight Show, his massive car collection, and his distinctive chin. He became one of the defining names in American late-night television and was at the center of the Conan O’Brien host shakeup. Quiz clues often mention his love of cars, his stand-up background, and his record number of Letterman appearances.
    • The Jay Leno Show — The Jay Leno Show was NBC’s short-lived 2009 primetime talk show, built around monologues, comedy segments, and features like the Green Car Challenge. It is also remembered for appearances by guests such as Kanye West and Jerry Seinfeld and for helping trigger fallout in late-night television scheduling.

  • Jimmy Kimmel — Jimmy Kimmel is an American comedian and television host who first built a career in radio before moving into late-night and sketch comedy. He first became widely known through The Man Show, where he cohosted alongside Adam Carolla and Ben Stein, and later became known for his ABC late-night talk show, long monologues, recurring celebrity stunts, and recurring Matt Damon jokes.

  • Joe Scarborough — Joe Scarborough is the former Florida congressman who cohosts MSNBC’s Morning Joe. He became a frequent cable-news figure through his interview style and later criticism over his treatment of Donald Trump and clashes with The Daily Show.

  • John Henson — John Henson was a television host known for Talk Soup and later Wipeout. He is also the namesake of the North Carolina forward drafted by Milwaukee in 2012.

  • Johnny Carson — Johnny Carson was the long-running host of The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He became famous for characters like Carnac the Magnificent and for shaping later late-night television through his influence on comedians such as David Letterman.

  • Kristin Holt — Kristin Holt is a television host and former contestant known for work on G4 programs such as Cheat! and Character Fantasy. She also hosted Screenlife Presents and appeared on American Idol in a memorable on-air stumble.

  • Mark L. Walberg — Mark L. Walberg is a television host known for game and reality shows such as Temptation Island and Russian Roulette. He also hosted academic competition programs and later worked on relationship-focused reality formats.

  • Maury Povich — Maury Povich is a television host best known for the daytime talk show Maury and for the catchphrase “You are not the father.” Before that, he hosted A Current Affair and other news-and-entertainment programs, often alongside his wife Connie Chung.

  • Mike Rowe — Mike Rowe is the television host best known for Dirty Jobs, where he tackled grim industrial and farm work for the camera. He also appeared in commercials and early TV spots built around his deadpan delivery and willingness to perform awkward demonstrations.

  • Nick Cannon — Nick Cannon is a television host, comedian, and occasional rapper best known for hosting Wild ‘N Out and The Masked Singer. He also hosted America’s Got Talent and was married to Mariah Carey, with whom he has multiple children from a large family.
    • Wild ’n Out
      • Nick Cannon Presents Wild ’n Out — Nick Cannon Presents Wild ’n Out is an MTV comedy and freestyle-rap competition hosted by Nick Cannon. The show pits opposing squads against one another in games and rap battles, with celebrity guest captains joining in.

  • Pat O’Brien — Pat O’Brien is a television host and entertainment journalist who worked on Access Hollywood and The Insider. He later drew attention for alcohol-related scandals and rehab during his career.

  • Pat O’Brien — Pat O’Brien was a sports broadcaster who hosted Access Hollywood and later The Insider. He is also remembered for a public scandal involving leaked voicemail messages and later remarks about returning to South Dakota and running for governor.

  • Regis Philbin — American television host known for early local work, morning shows, and his national rise with Live! and as the original host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He was a longtime co-host with Kelly Ripa, appeared on The View, and hosted Million Dollar Password, America’s Got Talent, and a daytime show with Kelly Ripa and Kathie Lee. He also became a familiar guest commentator and guest star and held a Guinness World Record for the most hours on U.S. television.

  • Robin Leach — Robin Leach was a British television host and entertainment reporter best known for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. He later worked in American television and was associated with tabloid-style celebrity coverage and travel advertising.

  • Sean Evans — Sean Evans is the host of Hot Ones, the interview show in which celebrities answer questions while eating progressively spicier wings. He has become closely associated with the show’s later media crossovers and guest appearances.

  • Stephen Colbert — American comedian and television host who first became widely known as a correspondent on The Daily Show after working with Second City and also played Chuck Noblet on Strangers with Candy. He created a satirical conservative pundit persona on The Colbert Report on Comedy Central in 2005, where he coined and popularized “truthiness” and used recurring segments such as “The Word” and “Threat Down”; his satire also included hosting the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Dinner in character. He later replaced David Letterman as host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and became associated with the Ben & Jerry’s flavor Americone Dream.
    • Alpha Squad 7
      • Stephen Colbert’s Alpha Squad 7 — Stephen Colbert’s Alpha Squad 7 is the fake science-fiction novel Colbert claims to have written. The book centers on Tek Jensen and is one of his recurring on-air jokes.

  • Tom Bergeron — Tom Bergeron is a television and radio host whose career included Boston radio, Breakfast Time, and later long-running work on America’s Funniest Home Videos and Dancing with the Stars. He also guest-acted on Enterprise and won an Emmy for game-show hosting.

  • Tom Snyder — Tom Snyder was a late-night television host known for the Tomorrow show and for a tough, conversational interview style. He later hosted programs that were passed to Charles Grodin and was associated with the early version of The Late Late Show.

• Thank God You’re Here — Thank God You’re Here was a short-lived Australian improvisational comedy show hosted by David Alan Grier with Dave Foley serving as a judge. Wayne Knight appeared in its first and last episodes, including scenes involving a Roman emperor and a Roman general.

• The Arsenio Hall Show — The Arsenio Hall Show was an early 1990s late-night talk show known for its Dog Pound audience, Burton Richardson announcing, and Arsenio Hall’s catchphrases and celebrity interviews. Its best-remembered moment was Bill Clinton playing saxophone on the show during the 1992 campaign.

• The Best Damn Sports Show Period — The Best Damn Sports Show Period was Fox Sports Net’s high-profile panel show that mixed sports talk with comedy. Its early cast included Chris Rose and Tom Arnold, and it later became known for rotating analysts and light, irreverent debate.

• The Chevy Chase Show — The Chevy Chase Show was a short-lived Fox late-night talk show hosted by Chevy Chase. It lasted only a few weeks and was remembered for its Hollywood Express house band and its rapid cancellation.

• The Colbert Report — The Colbert Report was Stephen Colbert’s Comedy Central satirical political show, built around recurring segments like “The Word” and “Better Know a District.” Its run included the “Rally to Restore Fear” and a mock-conservative persona that shaped the program’s style.

  • Better Know a District — Better Know a District was a recurring Stephen Colbert segment that profiled members of Congress through mock interviews and a district map. It became one of the signature running bits of The Colbert Report.

  • On Notice — “On Notice” is Stephen Colbert’s recurring warning list segment from The Colbert Report. It is used to place people, places, and things on a list of things Colbert wants viewers to watch out for.

  • truthiness — Truthiness is Stephen Colbert’s comic coinage for a feeling that something is true even when it is not supported by facts. The term became one of the signature concepts from The Colbert Report and a recurring pop-culture clue associated with his satirical persona.

• The Daily Show — Comedy Central late-night news parody program once hosted by Craig Kilborn, Jon Stewart, and Trevor Noah. Trevor Noah took over after Stewart’s departure. Correspondents have included Hasan Minhaj, Jordan Klepper, Ronny Chieng, and Roy Wood Jr. Recurring bits have included Five Questions, Back in Black, and advice segments built around absurd interview material.

  • John William Oliver — John William Oliver is an English comedian and television host who presents Last Week Tonight on HBO. He previously hosted The Daily Show and became widely known for satirical commentary on American politics. He is also known for segments such as “How Is This Still a Thing?” and for offbeat stunts including Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption and the Marlon Bundo children’s book parody.

  • The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is a Comedy Central fake-news program that became known for its political satire and the closing ‘Moment of Zen’. It originally premiered with Craig Kilborn and later featured correspondents such as Samantha Bee, John Oliver, and Rob Riggle.

• The Eric Andre Show — This surreal Adult Swim talk show is hosted by Eric Andre and features Hannibal Buress as a sidekick while the set is destroyed at the start of each episode. It is known for absurd street bits and recurring segments like Bird Up!, along with a deliberately chaotic public-access parody style.

• The Larry Sanders Show — The Larry Sanders Show is HBO’s satirical sitcom about a neurotic late-night host and the staff around him. Garry Shandling stars as Larry, with Rip Torn as Artie and Jeffrey Tambor as Hank Kingsley, and the show is famous for celebrity cameos and industry in-jokes.

• The Last Leg — The Last Leg is a Channel 4 talk show hosted by Adam Hills with cohosts Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe. It began as a Paralympics companion program before becoming a regular series.

• The Late Late Show — The Late Late Show is the CBS talk show later hosted by James Corden, whose era included Carpool Karaoke and a mocked Reddit AMA special. It also hosted a sketch that featured Gordon Ramsay in the “idiot sandwich” parody scene.

• The Late Late Show with James Corden
  • Carpool Karaoke — Carpool Karaoke is the recurring Late Late Show segment in which James Corden drives musical guests and they sing along in a car. It became especially famous through appearances by artists such as Mariah Carey, Adele, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
• The Late Show with David Letterman — The Late Show with David Letterman was the CBS late-night talk show hosted from the Ed Sullivan Theater from 1993 to 2015. David Letterman hosted it long enough to become the longest-running late-night talk show host before the program ended in 2015.
  • Rupert Jee — Rupert Jee is the owner of New York’s Hello Deli and a recurring figure on The Late Show with David Letterman. He became known for recurring stunts such as pretending to be Dan Rather’s nephew and visiting Regis Philbin’s office.

• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is the CBS late-night talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert since 2015. Its recurring bits have included political comedy segments like “Hungry for Power Games” and guest interviews with figures such as Neil deGrasse Tyson.

• The Tonight Show — The Tonight Show is NBC’s long-running late-night talk show, first airing in 1954. It has been hosted by figures including Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Jimmy Fallon.

  • Jack Paar — Jack Paar was an early host of The Tonight Show and briefly quit after NBC censored one of his jokes. Hugh Downs filled in, and Paar later returned before eventually yielding the show to Johnny Carson. Clues often point to the famous 1961 walkout over censorship and his place in late-night television history.

  • Steve Allen and Jack Paar — Steve Allen and Jack Paar were the two men who hosted The Tonight Show before Johnny Carson. They are commonly identified as Carson’s immediate predecessors on the late-night franchise.

• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
  • Carnac the Magnificent — Carnac the Magnificent is Johnny Carson’s comic psychic persona, famous for delivering absurdly phrased prophecies and then opening the sealed envelope for the punch line. The character became a recurring Tonight Show bit and later turned up in versions associated with other late-night hosts as well.

• The View — The View is the ABC daytime talk show that began in 1997 and has featured hosts such as Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. It is built around a panel discussion format and is best known for on-air clashes among its co-hosts.

• Your Show of Shows — Your Show of Shows was a landmark 1950s television variety show hosted by Sid Caesar and featuring Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner. Its writers included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart.

• Hidden camera television series
  • Candid Camera — Candid Camera was Allen Funt’s long-running hidden-camera prank show. Its classic bits involved unsuspecting people reacting to absurd situations, and it later inspired shows like Punk’d and Just for Laughs.
• Hidden-camera television shows
  • Trigger Happy TV — Trigger Happy TV is the hidden-camera comedy show created by Dom Joly that stages bizarre public pranks and reactions. Its segments often feature elaborate stunts, costumes, and awkward confrontations.
• John Lurie
  • Fishing With John — Fishing With John is John Lurie’s cult television series combining oddball fishing trips with deadpan celebrity guests. Episodes include outings with Jim Jarmusch, Matt Dillon, and Dennis Hopper.
• Mel Brooks
  • When Things Were Rotten — When Things Were Rotten was a short-lived Mel Brooks television comedy about Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest hijinks. The series starred Dick Gautier as Robin Hood and Dick Van Patten as Friar Tuck.

• Reno 911! — Reno 911! is a Comedy Central mockumentary spoof of COPS about inept Nevada deputies, with Thomas Lennon as Lt. Jim Dangle and Carlos Alazraqui as Deputy Garcia.

• Brass Eye — Brass Eye is a British satirical current-affairs program created by Chris Morris. It became notorious for its fake drug and public-hysteria segments, including the infamous “cake” episode that even drew parliamentary attention.

• British comedy series
  • The Mighty Boosh — The Mighty Boosh is the surreal British comedy series created by and starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt as Vince Noir and Howard Moon. Its bizarre episodes feature recurring figures like Naboo, Bollo, the Crack Fox, and Old Gregg.
• British satirical television
  • Chris Morris — Chris Morris is a British satirist known for Blue Jam and for co-creating The Day Today and Brass Eye. He also played Denholm Reynholm in the first series of The IT Crowd.

Children’s, Educational, and Factual Television

• Public-service and educational television — Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, documentary strands, and imported drama demonstrate that television history cannot be reduced to commercial primetime. Funding structures and educational research shaped both form and access.

• BBC children’s television programmes
  • Blue Peter — Blue Peter is the long-running BBC children’s television program famous for awarding its eponymous badges to guests and viewers who earn them. It has had many presenters over its history and is often cited as the world’s longest-running children’s TV show.

• Captain Kangaroo — Captain Kangaroo was the children’s television host played by Bob Keeshan from the 1950s through the 1980s. The show featured recurring figures and segments such as Mr. Green Jeans, Mr. Moose, Banana Man, and Picture Pages.

• Ernie — Ernie is the title character of the comic strip Ernie, the driver of a DeSoto and central figure in the Piranha Club. Ernie is also the Sesame Street character known for his rubber ducky and his line about having a banana in his ear.

• Eureeka’s Castle — Eureeka’s Castle was a Nick Jr. puppet series set in a magical castle and centered on the young sorceress Eureeka. Characters included Magellan the dragon, Batty, and the twin otters Bog and Quagmire, and R. L. Stine was involved in its creation.

• Ghostwriter — Ghostwriter is the PBS mystery series about a silent spirit who helps a group of New York City kids solve cases through written words. It originally aired in the 1990s and featured characters such as Jamal, Lenni, Gaby, and Rob.

• Lassie — Lassie is the famous collie from the long-running television series that followed the dog’s rescues of Timmy and others. The show was also notable for being an early post-Super-Bowl lead-out program and for its association with Pal, the dog trained by the Weatherwax brothers.
  • Timmy Martin — Timmy Martin is the foster boy who became Lassie’s caretaker after Jeff Miller left the series. He is the Lassie character associated with the old joke about falling down a well.
• Public service mascots
  • McGruff the Crime Dog — McGruff the Crime Dog is an anti-crime mascot created for public-service messaging, recognizable by his trench coat, jeans, and catchphrase “Take a Bite Out of Crime.” The slogan was used in public-service campaigns urging people to help prevent crime. McGruff later appeared in campaigns about bullying, bike safety, diversity, and identity theft.
    • McGruff — McGruff is the animated crime-prevention dog created for the Ad Council’s anti-crime campaign. He became famous for the slogan “Take a bite out of crime,” and his later stories introduced his nephew Scruff.
• Puppeteers
  • Jim Henson — He created the Muppets, including Kermit the Frog, and pioneered soft, fabric-covered puppet construction with rod control. His work includes Sesame Street characters, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and the fantasy film Labyrinth. He voiced Kermit the Frog and Ernie, and after his death tributes included “Just One Person” and the sign on his casket reading “I lost my voice.”
• Puppets
  • Lamb Chop — Lamb Chop is the famous sock puppet created and voiced by Shari Lewis, first appearing on Captain Kangaroo and later fronting a children’s series with Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy. The character became one of the best-known puppets in American television.

• The 700 Club — The 700 Club is a long-running Christian Broadcasting Network program associated with conservative evangelical commentary. It is closely linked with Pat Robertson, who co-hosted the show for many years.

• The Huggabug Club
  • Lumpy — Lumpy is the blue moose character from the children’s television show The Huggabug Club, remembered as the eldest figure on the show. He is often portrayed as watchful but clumsy, with his negligence and accidents causing trouble for the other characters.

• Wild Chicago — Wild Chicago is a WTTW-produced television series that highlights unusual features and people around Chicago. Its segments range from stunts and festivals to eccentric local attractions, with correspondents such as Mindy Bell, Tava Smiley, and Choky Lim.

• Wildlife experts
  • Jim Fowler — Jim Fowler was the wildlife expert and assistant best known from Wild Kingdom and his work with Marlin Perkins. He also appeared as a conservationist and wildlife consultant in later film and television work.

• Yo Gabba Gabba! — Yo Gabba Gabba! is a music-oriented children’s show hosted by DJ Lance Rock and featuring characters such as Muno and Plex. It is also known for beatboxing segments with Biz Markie and for drawing guest appearances from performers like Weird Al Yankovic.

• Adventure television hosts
  • Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls — Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls is a survival television host and author best known for Man vs. Wild. His exploits, from drinking his own urine to staging extreme stunts, made him one of the best-known adventure personalities on television.

• Flipper — Flipper is the dolphin star of the 1960s TV series about a boy and his marine-animal companion, with later sequel and remake versions keeping the same aquatic premise. Its original theme song was later parodied and covered, and the character also appeared in a namesake 1963 film.

• The Monarchy — This British television special featured a national debate over the monarchy, with a phone poll and colorful theatrics around the issue of keeping the institution.

• That’s So Raven — This Disney Channel sitcom follows Raven Baxter, a psychic teenager whose visions of the future complicate life with her friends Eddie and Chelsea and her family in San Francisco. Its cast includes T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh and Rondell Sheridan as Raven’s parents, and it later spawned Cory in the House.
  • Cory in the House — Cory in the House is a short-lived Disney Channel spinoff of That’s So Raven set in Washington, D.C. The series stars Kyle Massey as Cory Baxter, who moves into the presidential residence and gets into schemes involving the President and his staff.
• The Adventures of Pete & Pete — The Adventures of Pete & Pete is a Nickelodeon series about two red-haired brothers who share the same name. Its surreal small-town world includes characters like Artie, Petunia the tattoo, and the family’s oddball neighbors and teachers.
  • Adventures of Pete and Pete — This Nickelodeon series follows two brothers both named Pete and was first introduced through short segments before becoming a full half-hour show. Its surreal cast includes Artie the Strongest Man in the World, Petunia, and other oddball residents of Wellsville.

• Unsolved Mysteries — Unsolved Mysteries was a long-running television series hosted by Robert Stack that presented real disappearances, crimes, and alleged paranormal events through interviews and reenactments. Its signature style included Stack’s trench coat and dramatic appearances, and some seasons used a telecenter to give updates on cases from earlier episodes.

• Barney & Friends
  • Barney — Barney is the purple children’s dinosaur from Barney & Friends, famous for sing-along songs and preschool popularity. The name also shows up in unrelated pop-culture clues, including Barney Stinson and the Bush family dog.
    • Barney and Friends — *Barney & Friends* is the PBS children’s series built around a singing purple dinosaur and a theme song about a happy family. Its cast of recurring characters included Baby Bop and B.J., and early versions of the show featured Sandy Duncan.
  • Barney the Dinosaur — Barney the Dinosaur is the large purple children’s character from Barney & Friends, known for singing “I Love You” and for his cheerful preschool persona. He is presented as a dinosaur mascot but is really a costumed character created by Sheryl Leach.

The Streaming Era

• Netflix — founded 1997 as a DVD-by-mail service; launched streaming in 2007; began original content with House of Cards (2013), Orange Is the New Black (2013); shifted the industry to binge-release models. Founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph; later produced series such as Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and Disenchantment, and is also associated with tools like Chaos Monkey and Open Connect.

• Binge-watching — the practice of viewing multiple episodes in rapid succession, enabled by on-demand streaming; fundamentally altered episode structure and cliffhanger conventions.

• Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ — major competitors to Netflix; Disney+ launched 2019 and aggregated the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and Disney animation libraries.

• Peak TV — a term (attributed to FX CEO John Landgraf, circa 2015) for the era of extremely high volume scripted television production; over 500 scripted series produced annually in the U.S. by the late 2010s.

• Cord-cutting — consumer trend of canceling cable or satellite subscriptions in favor of streaming services; accelerated through the 2010s and pressured traditional broadcast/cable economics.

• Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011–2019) — George R.R. Martin adaptation; globally dominant franchise; final season (2019) drew record viewership but divided critical and audience reception. It is the HBO fantasy series adapted from George R. R. Martin’s novels, centered on rival houses competing for the Iron Throne in Westeros. Its final season drew major attention for criticism of the writing, alongside the show’s enormous awards haul and cultural reach.

  • Greyscale — Greyscale is a disfiguring skin disease in Game of Thrones, also called Prince Garin’s curse. It affects people such as Shireen Baratheon, Ser Jorah Mormont, and Jon Connington, and is associated with the ruins of Old Valyria.

  • Jon Snow — Jon Snow is the bastard son of Ned Stark and a central character in Game of Thrones, portrayed by Kit Harington. He becomes Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and wields Longclaw, a sword tied to Jeor Mormont’s gift and the politics of the Wall.

  • Ramsay Bolton — Ramsay Bolton is the sadistic bastard son of Roose Bolton in Game of Thrones. He is associated with Reek, Lady Hornwood, and his death at the hands of his own hounds.

  • Theon Greyjoy — Theon Greyjoy is the Ironborn character from Game of Thrones who is captured, mutilated, and forced to adopt the name Reek. He is the ward-hostage of Eddard Stark, later betrays Winterfell, and is portrayed by Alfie Allen.

  • Tyrion Lannister — Tyrion Lannister is the dwarf son of Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, played by Peter Dinklage. He is associated with wildfire, the Battle of the Blackwater, and alliances with figures such as Shae and Myrcella’s Martell marriage.

  • Valar Morghulis — Valar morghulis is a High Valyrian phrase from Game of Thrones meaning “all men must die.” Arya Stark learns it from Jaqen H’ghar and uses it in her prayer of names while at the temple of the Many-Faced God in Braavos.

  • Winter is Coming — Winter is Coming is the signature warning line of Game of Thrones and the title of its series premiere.

  • Dothraki — The Dothraki are the nomadic horse-riding people of Essos in Game of Thrones, led by khals such as Drogo and known for the Dothraki Sea. Their language was created for the series and is marked by distinctive words for blood, dreams, and riding.

• Succession (HBO, 2018–2023) — Jesse Armstrong; Roy family media dynasty; four seasons; multiple Emmy wins. Succession is an HBO drama about the Roy family’s struggle over control of Waystar RoyCo and its media empire. It centers on Logan Roy, his children, and power struggles that spill into ATN News and the family’s political alliances.
  • GoJo — GoJo is the Norwegian tech company founded by Lukas Matsson in Succession, where it moves to acquire Waystar Royco. The company becomes central to the series’ finale, when Tom Wambsgans is installed as CEO after the acquisition.

• 13 Reasons Why — 13 Reasons Why is a Netflix teen drama based on Jay Asher’s novel of the same name. It centers on the aftermath of Hannah Baker’s suicide and features Clay Jensen as the student closest to her story.

• 7 Days — 7 Days is a UPN science-fiction series about Frank Parker, an ex-CIA agent and the pilot for Operation Backstep.

• Altered Carbon — Altered Carbon is a Netflix science-fiction series based on a cyberpunk novel. It centers on Takeshi Kovacs, whose mind is transferred between bodies called sleeves and stored in a stack.

• Attaway General — Attaway General is a Brat TV and Hulu youth drama set around volunteers at the title hospital. Its plots include Holden’s heart surgery and other melodramatic hospital scenes that drew mockery for poor acting.

• Atypical — Atypical is the Netflix series about Sam Gardner, a teenager on the autism spectrum who wants to date his therapist. The show centers on his family, including his sister Casey, and follows their changing lives over the course of the series.

• Bloodline — Bloodline is a Netflix drama about the dysfunctional Rayburn family in the Florida Keys. Its plot centers on buried family secrets, a drowning in flashback, and the return of Danny Rayburn. Bloodline is also the title of a film based on a Sidney Sheldon novel in which Audrey Hepburn plays an heiress to a pharmaceutical fortune. That film is remembered as her only R-rated movie.

• Bridgerton — Bridgerton is the Netflix Regency romance series based on Julia Quinn’s novels and narrated by Lady Whistledown. Its plotlines center on the Bridgerton family, Simon and Daphne’s courtship, and later spinoff material like Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

• Cobra Kai — Cobra Kai is the Karate Kid continuation and Netflix series centered on Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso’s rivalry. It takes its title from the aggressive dojo whose motto is “Strike first, strike hard, no mercy.”

• GLOW — GLOW is the Netflix series about 1980s women’s professional wrestling, centered on Ruth Wilder and her persona Zoya the Destroya. The show mixes backstage comedy with outlandish wrestling personas such as Britannica and Machu Picchu.
  • Ruth Wilder — Ruth Wilder is the aspiring actress at the center of GLOW, a Netflix series about the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. She is a Strindberg-obsessed method actor from Omaha who performs under the persona Zoya the Destroya.

• Grace and Frankie — Grace and Frankie is the Netflix comedy starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as two older women whose husbands leave them to marry each other. The pair then move in together and try to rebuild their lives with very different personalities.

• Horror filmmakers
  • Mike Flanagan — Mike Flanagan is a horror writer-director and showrunner known for Netflix series such as The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. His work also includes adaptations of horror and gothic literature, including projects based on Henry James, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Christopher Pike, and Edgar Allan Poe.
• House of Cards — House of Cards is the Netflix political thriller starring Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, whose climb through Washington drives the series. It features House Majority Whip scheming, union-busting, and the rise of Republican challenger Will Conway.
  • Frank Underwood — Frank Underwood is the anti-hero politician from House of Cards, a ruthless operator who uses power, manipulation, and murder to climb the political ladder. He is associated with the line “Power is a lot like real estate,” and the character was played by Kevin Spacey in the American version.

• Lupin — Lupin is a French Netflix series starring Omar Sy as Assane Diop, who adopts the persona of a gentleman thief to seek revenge. The show takes its title from the fictional thief Arsène Lupin, whose image inspires Diop’s scheme and style.

• Manifest — Manifest is a supernatural drama about passengers from Flight 828, a plane that vanishes and later reappears after more than five years. The series follows the odd calls and compulsions that affect the returned travelers after the flight’s time jump.

• Master of None — Master of None is the Netflix series centered on Dev Shah, a New York actor played by Aziz Ansari. The show mixes comedy with episodes about dating, identity, and city life, including standalone stylistic episodes.

• Mindhunter — Mindhunter is a Netflix crime drama about the FBI’s early behavioral science unit and its interviews with serial killers such as Ed Kemper, Charles Manson, and the Son of Sam. It follows Holden Ford and Wendy Carr as they develop criminal profiling.

• Mockumentary television series
  • American Vandal — American Vandal is a Netflix mockumentary that parodies true-crime documentaries. Its first season follows a student investigating whether Dylan Maxwell spray-painted obscene images on teachers’ cars.
• Netflix original series
  • Santa Clarita Diet — Santa Clarita Diet is a Netflix horror-comedy about a suburban couple whose wife becomes a flesh-craving undead woman. Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore star as the Hammonds, and the series mixes zombie gore with dark real-estate and family humor.

• Never Have I Ever — Never Have I Ever is the Netflix coming-of-age series created by Mindy Kaling and centered on Devi Vishwakumar. It features John McEnroe as narrator for most episodes and follows Devi’s family and school life.

• Ozark — Ozark is a Netflix crime drama centered on the Byrde family’s money laundering operation in the Missouri Ozarks. It features figures such as Ruth Langmore, Marty and Wendy Byrde, and the cartel-linked Navarro family.

• Search Party — This comedy-drama follows Dory and her friends as they become obsessed with the disappearance of a former acquaintance. It began on TBS before moving to HBO Max after its second season and stars Alia Shawkat, John Early, Drew, Elliott, and Portia.

• See — See is an Apple TV+ post-apocalyptic series set in a world where most people are blind. It stars Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard and follows the Alkenny and other rival groups in its later seasons.

• Severance — Severance is the Apple TV series in which Lumon Industries splits employees into “innie” and “outie” selves through a brain-chip procedure. It stars Adam Scott as Mark Scout and features Lumon incentives, the overtime contingency, and the ominous Kier Eagan mythology.

• Wednesday — Wednesday is the Netflix series centered on Wednesday Addams, the daughter of Morticia and Gomez Addams. The show follows her at Nevermore Academy after she is expelled from her former school.

• What We Do in the Shadows — What We Do in the Shadows is a vampire mockumentary franchise created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. The film is set in New Zealand, and the later FX series relocates the undead housemates and their familiar Guillermo to New York City.

• Web musicals
  • Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog — Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is Joss Whedon’s web musical, created during the 2007–2008 WGA strike and starring Neil Patrick Harris as a wannabe supervillain. Its recurring clues include Captain Hammer, Penny, the Evil League of Evil, and songs such as “My Freeze Ray.”

    • Bad Horse — Bad Horse is the sinister horse who leads the Evil League of Evil in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. He is described as the “thoroughbred of sin” with an “iron hoof” and communicates through singing cowboy messengers.

    • Moist — Moist is Dr. Horrible’s sidekick in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. He is a member of the Henchmen’s Union and is defined by his damp, soggy powers and perpetually wet appearance.

    • The Evil League of Evil — The Evil League of Evil is the villainous organization in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It is led by Bad Horse and includes members such as Professor Normal, Fake Thomas Jefferson, and Dead Bowie.

• I May Destroy You — This Michaela Coel limited series was acclaimed as the highest-rated show of 2020 on Metacritic and featured a predominantly Black British cast. It centers on Arabella and her attempts to reconstruct the events of a traumatic assault.

• The Get Down — The Get Down is Baz Luhrmann’s Netflix series about the rise of hip-hop and disco in the 1977 Bronx. It follows a crew of young performers and includes Grandmaster Flash as part of its historical backdrop.

• Black Mirror — Black Mirror is Charlie Brooker’s British anthology series about technology’s darker effects on society. Common episodes and clues include “The National Anthem,” “Be Right Back,” “Nosedive,” “San Junipero,” and “USS Callister,” along with the series’ darkly reflective title image.
  • San Junipero — San Junipero is the Black Mirror episode about Yorkie and Kelly in a simulated seaside reality. The episode won multiple Emmy Awards and is set in the eponymous 1980s resort town.

• Being Erica — Being Erica is a Canadian dramedy starring Erin Karpluk as Erica Strange, a woman who visits therapist Dr. Tom and is sent back in time to revisit regrets. The series mixes contemporary life with speculative episodes such as a vampire LARP and a time-displaced rock star named Kai.

• Bodyguard — Bodyguard is a British television drama about a war veteran assigned to protect the Home Secretary. The series begins with a train-bombing plot and stars Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes.

• Boomtown — Boomtown is a short-lived NBC police drama set in Los Angeles and told through multiple perspectives. It starred Donnie Wahlberg and Mykelti Williamson as detectives, with Neal McDonough playing district attorney David McNorris.

• Dear White People — Dear White People is a satirical series set at Winchester University that follows Sam White and other Black students navigating race, identity, and campus politics. It grew out of Justin Simien’s film of the same name and uses media motifs such as the show Defamation and Sam’s radio broadcasts.

• Euphoria — Euphoria is the HBO drama about Gen Z teenagers created by Sam Levinson and starring Zendaya as Rue. Its signature scenes, music cues like “All for Us,” and storylines involving Jules, Nate, Cassie, and Lexi made it one of HBO’s most discussed recent series.

• Explained — Explained is the Vox-created Netflix documentary series whose episodes cover subjects ranging from punctuation and astrology to cricket and dieting. Its spinoff-style titles include The Mind, Explained, Money, Explained, and Sex, Explained, and it has featured guest narration from figures such as Carly Rae Jepsen, Kevin Smith, and Jerry Springer.

• Killing Eve — Killing Eve is the BBC America thriller about MI6 officer Eve Polastri and the assassin Villanelle. The series was created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and features Carolyn as the head of MI6’s Russian unit.

• Only Murders in the Building — Only Murders in the Building is the Hulu comedy-mystery series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Set in the Arconia, it follows neighbors who investigate murders through a true-crime podcast and features recurring jokes about show-business mishaps and Sting.
  • The Arconia — The Arconia is the fictional Upper West Side apartment building at the center of Only Murders in the Building. Its residents include Charles-Haden Savage, Jan, and a fictionalized Sting.

• Orange Is the New Black — Orange Is the New Black is Jenji Kohan’s Netflix series set in Litchfield Penitentiary, adapted from Piper Kerman’s memoir. Clues often mention Piper Chapman, Red, Nicky Nichols, Sophia, and the show’s women’s-prison ensemble cast.

• Orphan Black — Orphan Black is a Canadian science-fiction series centered on Sarah Manning and a group of interconnected clones. Tatiana Maslany’s multiple roles, including Sarah, Beth, Alison, and Cosima, became one of the show’s defining features.

• Reservation Dogs — Reservation Dogs is the Indigenous comedy series set in rural Oklahoma and created by Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo. It follows a group of Native American teens, especially Bear and his friends, as they drift through petty crime, spirits, and small-town life.

• Russian Doll — Russian Doll is a comedy-drama series starring Natasha Lyonne as Nadia Vulvokov. The show centers on Nadia’s birthday and a repeated time-loop cycle, and it was co-created by Amy Poehler.

• Ted Lasso — Ted Lasso is an Apple TV+ comedy about an optimistic American football coach hired to lead AFC Richmond, a fictional English soccer club. The show began from NBC Sports commercials and became known for its earnest catchphrases, mustache, and underdog tone.

• The Chair — The Chair was a 2002 ABC game show hosted by John McEnroe that tried to raise contestants’ heart rates before they answered questions. Players were strapped into a special chair and faced physical “heartstopper” challenges, including encounters with an alligator. The same title is also used by the Netflix comedy-drama in which Sandra Oh’s character Ji-Yoon Kim tries to preserve the department chair position.

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is an Amazon series about Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a 1950s New York housewife who becomes a stand-up comic after her marriage falls apart. It is known for scenes at the Gaslight Cafe, her manager Susie Myerson, and Midge’s encounters with figures like Sophie Lennon and Shy Baldwin.

• The Summer I Turned Pretty — The Summer I Turned Pretty is an Amazon Prime coming-of-age series adapted from Jenny Han’s novels and centered on Isabel “Belly” Conklin, who spends her summers in Cousins Beach. The story follows Belly’s love triangle with the Fisher brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad, while characters like Laurel Park and Cleveland Castillo appear in the coastal setting.

• The Umbrella Academy — The Umbrella Academy is a Netflix series about the dysfunctional Hargreeves siblings, including Viktor and the number-based heroes. Its cast includes powers such as Vanya or Viktor’s reality-bending role, Klaus’s knife-throwing, and Five’s time-traveling story, with Pogo serving the Hargreeves family.
  • Number Five — Number Five is the nameless, time-traveling member of The Umbrella Academy, a man trapped in a child’s body who is known for his ties to the Temps Commission and to Delores, the mannequin he loves. The designation also points to other pop-culture references such as the Short Circuit robot and Chanel No. 5.

• The Vampire Diaries — The Vampire Diaries is a supernatural CW series centered on Elena Gilbert and the vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder are among its best-known cast members, and the show became a major teen romance hit.

• The Wachowskis
  • Sense8 — Sense8 is a Netflix science-fiction series about eight psychically linked people known as sensates. Created by the Wachowskis, it follows characters such as Sun Bak and Capheus and was later given a concluding special after cancellation.
• The Wheel of Time — The Wheel of Time is Amazon’s television adaptation of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy novel series, centered on Moiraine’s search for the Dragon Reborn. The series includes Perrin, Rand, the Aes Sedai, Trollocs, and the One Power, with the first season ending in a clash against a vast invading force.
  • Aginor or Balthamel — Aginor and Balthamel are two of the Forsaken in The Wheel of Time. They are among the first Forsaken killed in The Eye of the World and later return in altered forms.

• The White Lotus — The White Lotus is an HBO anthology set around luxury resorts, beginning with a season in Maui and later including Sicily and Hawaii as locations. Its first season opens by hinting at a death before following wealthy guests and staff at the title hotel.

• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt — Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a Netflix comedy about a woman rescued after years in a cult and starting over in New York City. It stars Ellie Kemper as Kimmy and features Tina Fey among its creators and supporting cast.

• For All Mankind — For All Mankind is an alternate-history science fiction series in which the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon. The title comes from the Apollo 11 plaque, and the show stars Joel Kinnaman as Ed Baldwin.

• Shonda Rhimes — Shonda Rhimes is an American television writer and producer known for Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. Her production company, Shondaland, has also been behind series such as Station 19 and For the People.

• Six Degrees — Six Degrees was an ABC drama about six New Yorkers whose lives were increasingly tangled together. The show was executive-produced by J. J. Abrams and centered on characters such as Steven, Damian, Carlos, Mae, Whitney, and Laura.

• The Queen’s Gambit — The Queen’s Gambit is the Netflix series about Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy who rises through tournaments after learning from Mr. Shaibel at an orphanage. Its clues include tranquilizer pills, Benny Watts, Vasily Borgov, and a Moscow finale.