History CreatorBreakdown / LiveActionTv

** ''Series/TheNewsroom'' kicks off very similarly to ''Studio 60'' -- Sorkin's AuthorAvatar, news anchor Will [=McAvoy=], responds to a question at a political town hall meeting with a rant about the fallacy of American exceptionalism, which goes viral on Website/YouTube and causes a ripple effect through his staff and the network. As the series progresses, Will discovers that [[spoiler:his boss and his ex-fiancée set it up to steer him back to being a serious journalist]].

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' provides a parody of the whole phenomenon, given that Castle is basing his detective novels on Detective Beckett, shadowing her for material, and slowly falls in love with her over the course of the series. Their interactions make it into his works in curious ways. Nowhere is this more evident than the appearance of Detective Tom Demming, a [[RomanticFalseLead rival for Beckett's affection]], which leads to the books introducing a "Detective Schlemming" whom the narrative seems not to like.

* On ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', Eli breaks up with Clare and subsequently writes a play in which the protagonist gets his heart broken by a girl named Clara, and the guy who steals her is named Jack after Clare's new boyfriend Jake.

** For Brian Topp, his art's default setting is [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]], [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible bizarre]], and directly based on his misery, fear, anger, and self-loathing. Except when he's happy; then he starts producing happy pictures of flowers and his girlfriend. Turns out his negative thoughts are his ''muses''; he can't produce any art worth anything unless he's miserable.

* The ''Series/{{Friends}}'' episode that featured Phoebe thinking her mother has come back to her in cat form was penned by co-creator Marta Kauffman, who lost her own mother at the time. Other staff writers have said that the script -- which earned primarily negative responses from the audience due to [[InformedWrongness Ross being portrayed as a horrible friend for telling Phoebe to return the cat to its nine-year-old owner]]-- would not normally have been greenlit, but [[RealitySubtext under the circumstances]] nobody felt comfortable saying 'no.'
* Similarly, the storyline where a major character in the first season of the shortlived ''Series/{{Smash}}'' is adopting a child got a lot of airtime because it mirrored a similar process in showrunner Theresa Rebeck's own life, and despite the clear detriment to the show as a whole the network's executives did not intervene because they knew how personal this was for her.
* InUniverse: One episode of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' involves Eric dating the aspiring singer/songwriter Corinna (played by real-life singer Leisha Hailey), whose songs are [[SickeninglySweet saccharine and completely unappealing]]. When he dumps her, she immediately starts writing dark and angry songs clearly directed at him; ''these'' sell, and she becomes a huge success. After a while she meets with Eric, ostensibly to apologize, but he quickly realizes she's just run out of material. Refusing to give her any, he acts nice to Corinna and manages to revert her to mindless schlock mode. Part of their conversation consists of singing some of "Tomorrow" from ''Annie''. (The episode even openly references Music/AlanisMorissette, who had a similar transformation--see "Music", below.) At the end of the episode, Eric gives an evil snicker once her cheerful albums bomb again.
** In one episode, the TrueCompanions had fallen on incredibly bad terms and were on the verge of [[FeudEpisode splitting up for good]]. FlashForward (but [[DaydreamSurprise not really]]) to the 10-year reunion. The gang have all gone their separate ways, but Eric has taken the split up the hardest. He is shown at first as a crazy MountainMan dressed like [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]], but then he presents the book he wrote about the meaning of life; it's a {{Doorstopper}}, but with writing on only the first page: "Lose one friend. Lose all friends. Lose yourself." When asked why he didn't write anything else, he says, "Nothing else seemed important."
* A similar example to the above occurs on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' when Jerry tells a would-be stand-up comic whom he finds annoying that she's not funny. So, of course, when she premieres an act that centers ''entirely'' around insulting Jerry (and this isn't even telling jokes about him -- this is pretty much just ''actually nakedly insulting him''), she becomes a hit.[[note]]The comic is played by Creator/KathyGriffin, whose real-life comedy act consists of making fun of celebrities.[[/note]]
** In the early seasons especially, before it became known as a "show about nothing" the central theme of the show was that we were seeing the things happening to Jerry and his friends that would later go on to inspire his routines, with the stand-up sections reflecting the events of the episode.
* A combination of CreatorBreakdown and ExecutiveMeddling may have contributed to Creator/DaveChappelle abandoning ''Series/ChappellesShow'', even after the show had become a massive hit and the comedian was offered a $50 ''million'' contract by the network.
* InUniverse example: Brian Topp in ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', whose default setting for all of his art is [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]], [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible bizarre]] pieces directly based on his misery, fear, anger and self-loathing -- except when he's happy, in which case he starts producing happy pictures of flowers and his girlfriend.
** Worse yet, misery, fear, anger and self-loathing are his ''muses''; Brian can only produce art at all when miserable, and eventually his inspiration dries up if he doesn't have something to break down over.
** Tim gets in on the act as well; flipping through his sketchbook one night, Daisy is alarmed and disturbed by the sheer volume of graphic, angry and hurt revenge pictures of Tim's ex-girlfriend, who betrayed him by cheating on him with her boss and kicked him out of their flat; then, she comes across a warm, happy sketch of Tim, herself and her dog Colin drawn after they moved in together.
* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', after Amy breaks up with him, Sheldon makes an episode of his Website/YouTube series "Fun With Flags" entitled "Countries That Fell Apart And The Women I Suspect Were Responsible", where he uses historical instances of balkanization as thinly-veiled metaphors for their failed relationship.
---> "... and then UsefulNotes/TheCzechRepublic says to UsefulNotes/{{Slovakia}}, 'I don't think you understand how being broken up works'. Can you believe that? You'd think the Czech Republic would try to hold on to what it had, given that it's not as young as it used to be, and I don't see any other countries lining up to invade its southern borders!"
* Portrayed in ''Series/MadAboutYou'': Jamie discovers that her ex-boyfriend has created his own comic whose primary villain, Queen Talon, looks exactly like Jamie. Reading through his work, she discovers several events that are exaggerated sci-fi versions of incidents from their relationship.
* Played for laughs in ''Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace'', in which the ShowWithinAShow presents more of an insight into the eponymous author's mindset than he perhaps realizes or wishes, especially his feelings about women. Of particular note is an episode which is essentially an extended racist tirade at the Scottish; played for laughs in that the English Marenghi loudly insists that it's not racist despite the overwhelmingly obvious evidence that it is, including another character who freely admits that it is, but didn't bother him because he too is prejudiced against the Scottish.
* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Stephen Franklin quits his job and goes wandering around the seedier parts of the station. Eventually, he's stabbed and nearly dies. Sometime after the episode aired, Creator/JMichaelStraczynski was asked if he'd ever done anything similar. He described how he used to wander around the seedier parts of San Diego, late at night, until he was mugged and beaten nearly to death. Until then he hadn't made the connection.
** Which might also explain why San Diego is a nuclear wasteland in the ''Series/BabylonFive'' 'verse.
---> "So, to all my friends in San Diego, this is my shout-out to you." (Director's Commentary.)
** Straczynski got a bad case of flu late in the process of writing the first season, and when he came out of it the script for the episode "The Quality of Mercy" was on his desk. To date, he has no memory of actually writing it, but it's surprisingly lucid given the circumstances. On the other hand, the same thing happened with "Grey 17 is Missing," which is widely regarded to be one of the worst episodes in the series.
* A very literal example; the tone of both the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]]''-based ''Franchise/StarTrek'' movies and ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' took a significant turn in theme and storytelling with the departure of Creator/GeneRoddenberry, who was unceremoniously KickedUpstairs from the former, and who proved unequal to the task of producing the latter, due to ill health.
** Early into filming the first-season episode "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS1E25TheDevilInTheDark}} The Devil in the Dark]]," Creator/WilliamShatner received word that his father had suddenly died. Shatner continued to film for most of the day before heading to make his flight to Florida and has credited the cast and crew for helping him handle what would normally have been a horrible day.
** Michael Piller's script for "[[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds}} The Best of Both Worlds]]" is the result of a Creator Breakdown. Riker's career crisis, loss of faith in himself and antagonistic relationship with his possible replacement, Shelby, was inspired by Piller's angst over his own career path as a writer.
* Matt Albie and Harriet Hayes' relationship in the short-lived ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' was largely thought to have been inspired by Aaron Sorkin's tumultuous real-life relationship with Kristen Chenoweth. In the same show, Danny Tripp is unable to continue to direct movies for the time being after failing an insurance physical drug test -- Sorkin having had similar drug-related issues in the past.
** ''Studio 60'' also features an in-universe example in the first episode: after being forced to cut a sketch making fun of the religious right (and, we learn later, having been increasingly unhappy with the direction of the show for years), show creator Wes Mendel walks out on camera during the live broadcast and delivers a 57-second diatribe on how his show used to be cutting-edge satire, but that a combination of ratings obsession by the network and low-brow reality TV is intellectually lobotomizing the public.
** Aaron Sorkin used the same device to kick off his HBO series ''Series/TheNewsroom'', when news anchor [[AuthorAvatar Will [=McAvoy=]]], in response to a question in a political town hall meeting, goes on a rant on the fallacy of American exceptionalism, which gets posted to [=YouTube=] and subsequently causes a ripple effect through the network he works for and his staff. As the series progresses, he discovers it was [[spoiler:part of a deal between his boss at the network and former fiancee to steer him back to being a serious reporter again.]]
* Creator/DennisPotter's ''Karaoke'' and ''Cold Lazarus'' were written in tandem (for different networks!) in the full and present awareness of his own impending death from pancreatic cancer. The former of these is a reasonably traditional drama (with standard Potteresque touches). The latter, however, [[spoiler:picks up the same central (Potter-analogue) [[AuthorAvatar character]], four hundred years later after he's had his [[HumanPopsicle head cryogenically frozen]].]] Things get significantly weirder from there. It's arguable, of course, whether or not this actually represents a great shift from the pre-illness output!
* Parodied in ''Series/{{Castle}}''; over the later episodes of season two, Detective Tom Demming appears as a [[RomanticFalseLead rival over Beckett's attentions and affections]] for the eponymous novelist. He's quite successful, displacing Castle in several ways. Not long after, a character called "Detective Schlemming" makes his way into later drafts of Castle's most recent novel.
-->'''Alexis''': This robbery detective character... he seems to come out of nowhere.\\
'''Castle''': ''[Troubled for reasons obviously beyond writing]'' I can't argue with that...\\
'''Alexis''': He seems like kind of a doofus.\\
'''Castle''': ''[Eagerly]'' Yeah? You think?
** Not to mention the show's whole '''premise''' - that he's basing a character in his novels on Detective Beckett...
%%** A bit of a meta [=/=] FridgeBrilliance example: in the first season, a RunningGag is that Castle killed off his previous character Derrick Storm because he was bored with him. Looking over [[{{Defictionalization}} the (fictional) bibliography]] provided at the character's [[http://www.richardcastle.net/ website]], the blurbs for several of the works featuring this character seem to suggest a number of increasingly unsubtle (and no doubt ignored) hints from Castle that he's a bit bored with this guy and would like to stop writing him now, please.
* An in-universe example occurs in the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "True Night", where the killer, a comic book artist, creates an extremely violent comic starring what appears to be a NinetiesAntiHero because of the same issues ([[spoiler:watching his pregnant girlfriend die at the hands of street thugs]]) that are making him kill. In fact, his art is ''based'' on his murders.
* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', the husband of Ted's former love interest writes a romantic comedy directly based upon the events leading up to him winning the woman away from Ted, but in a drastically distorted POV that shows him as a hero and Ted as an obnoxious heel (played by real-life obnoxious heel Chris Kattan). The movie then goes on to be a huge hit.
* Parodied on ''Series/{{Community}}'' when Vaughn breaks up with Britta, he cowrites a song called "Getting Rid of Britta" that consists of the refrain "She's a GDB" sung multiple times.
** In ''Documentary Filmaking Redux'', Dean Pelton completely breaks down trying to film a commercial for Greendale and warps the entire school around, canceling all classes. Abed decides to document the whole thing because he predicted this would happen. The whole episode is a parody of ''Film/HeartsOfDarkness'', which gets lampshaded repeatedly.
--->'''Abed:''' The Dean is going insane and taking all of you with him.
%% ** Some fans have also argued that the quality slump in season 3 of the show could be attributed to real-life personal problems that show creator Dan Harmon was going through at the time. %% blind speculation
* An in-universe example in ''Series/{{Degrassi}}''. Eli writes a play after he breaks up with Clare, even naming the character that breaks the main character's heart Clara and naming the guy who stole her from him Jack (after Clare's new boyfriend Jake).
* Both ''Series/PressGang'' and ''Series/JokingApart'' contain some incredibly bitter dark comedy regarding Creator/StevenMoffat's attempt to deal with his divorce.
* Creator/PatrickSwayze starred in ''Series/TheBeast'' while undergoing treatment for his pancreatic cancer, with many reviewers saying it brought out the best in him. But it also meant that Swayze was unable to promote the show himself, which led to it being canceled three months before Swayze ultimately died from his cancer.
* Speaking of Creator/JMichaelStraczynski, this was what likely led to him to break certain taboos when he wrote certain episodes of ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture'' the way he did, including at least two instances of profanity, and a(n intended-to-be season) finale in which an important good guy character was killed off onscreen. In an interview, he mentions that he had known someone who had taken their own life despite his best efforts to save them, which likely resulted in him invoking this trope. Had the series continued, it would have featured even DarkerAndEdgier plotlines.

** The increasing {{p|inballProtagonist}}owerlessness and [[DownerEnding incompetence]] of the First Doctor towards the end of his tenure was partially a response to Creator/WilliamHartnell's failing physical and mental health. His inability to remember lines and hatred of everyone else in the crew put him constantly in a bad mood and gave his character a [[RealitySubtext genuine frailty]], and the writers responded by going for a DarkerAndEdgier tone and giving the Doctor [[DemotedToExtra fewer lines to say]].
** Creator/TomBaker was by his own admission a 'very depressed man' when he got the role of the Doctor, and used his role in part to work through his own mental issues, referring to the rehearsal rooms as 'his own little asylum'. (He later stated in interviews that he was struggling to manage undiagnosed bipolar disorder the entire time he played the character.) This led to him being quite allergic to criticism and often attempting to WagTheDirector, but his unhinged and obviously personal performance is one of the main reasons his Doctor is praised.
*** When making "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]" (a story about the Doctor and a gaggle of civilians being trapped in a lighthouse with an enigmatic monster), Baker was unhappy and angry with the direction the show was going in (partly due to ExecutiveMeddling getting the established creative team sacked and partly because he didn't like sharing the main character spotlight with anyone else) and reportedly spent much of production bullying his co-stars and making himself unpopular. His performance is [[ByronicHero severe, broody and temperamental]], giving the impression he is [[BreakTheBadass losing his mind between the claustrophobia and fear]], and all the other actors regard him with visible wariness.
*** The unusual characterization of the Fourth Doctor in Season 18 is because Baker was seriously burned out with the role after doing it both onscreen and off for seven years, and because the line between his own personality and the Doctor's had been getting [[LostInCharacter increasingly blurry]] -- and he was physically unwell, too. The character became [[ByronicHero moody]] and [[DarkerAndEdgier vulnerable]] with the comedy bits being strained, a harsh contrast with his usual manic exuberance. Once his departure was known by the writers it was turned into an {{Arc}} where every story was linked by themes of mortality and decay, foreshadowing his upcoming regeneration.
* ''Creator/AgathaChristie's Series/{{Poirot}}'': Creator/DavidSuchet revealed in an [[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/magazine/david-suchet-part-of-me-died-with-him.html?_r=0 interview]] that he requested the series finale ''Literature/{{Curtain}}'' be filmed before the other four episodes of the final series because [[spoiler:he didn't want Poirot's death at the same moment he was finishing the role to be too depressing or to be "a negative thing for [him] to go through".]] But even as Suchet chose to film ''Curtain'' first, it felt agonizing for him to play the role [[spoiler:of a dying Belgian detective who didn't just pass away, but did so after ending his final case with a bang. Filming his actual death was the hardest day of the actor's life; it felt that "a part of me died with [Poirot]"]].
* During the production and shooting of the third season of ''Series/MagnificentCentury'', [[http://www.doyouknowturkey.com/meryem-uzerli-left-muhtesem-yuzyil-and-returned-to-germany/ Mehyem Uzerli]], a.k.a. Roxelana/Hürrem, suffered one of these and left the series. The exact reasons behind it have been speculated on a lot: monetary issues, bad health, burnout, a mix of all the mentioned factors, etc.
* Appears in-universe on ''Series/TheLarrySandersShow'', in an episode where Music/WarrenZevon appears. He begs not to be asked to play his famous song "Werewolves of London", claiming to be utterly sick of it. Unfortunately, this request never actually makes it to Larry, who asks Zevon for an encore... and specifically requests "Werewolves of London". You can feel the resentment burning through the screen as Zevon angrily bashes out a perfunctory run-through of the song.
* Lampshaded in-universe on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'': singer-songwriter Ariel writes extremely angsty songs (her biggest hit is "Slit My Wrists" and she did ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) and is extremely popular until she has a relationship with Duane, a decent guy who treats her well, and her songs become happy and cheerful--and flop very badly.

* ''Creator/AgathaChristie's Series/{{Poirot}}'': Creator/DavidSuchet himself [[WordOfGod said]] in an [[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/magazine/david-suchet-part-of-me-died-with-him.html?_r=0 interview]] that he chose to star in ''Literature/{{Curtain}}'' first for a reason: [[spoiler:he didn't want Poirot's death at the same moment the actor would finish the role to be too depressing or to be "a negative thing for [him] to go through", so he asked the producers to have him star in ''Curtain'' before having Poirot remain alive for the filming of the final four episodes.]] But even as Suchet chose to do ''Curtain'' first, it felt agonizing for him to play the role [[spoiler:of a dying Belgian detective who didn't just pass away, but did so after ending his final case with a bang. Filming his actual death was the hardest day of the actor's life; it felt that "a part of me died with [Poirot]"]].

* [[InUniverseExample In-universe]]: One episode of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' involves Eric dating the aspiring singer/songwriter Corinna (played by real-life singer Leisha Hailey), whose songs are [[SickeninglySweet saccharine and completely unappealing]]. When he dumps her, she immediately starts writing dark and angry songs clearly directed at him; ''these'' sell, and she becomes a huge success. After a while she meets with Eric, ostensibly to apologize, but he quickly realizes she's just run out of material. Refusing to give her any, he acts nice to Corinna and manages to revert her to mindless schlock mode. Part of their conversation consists of singing some of "Tomorrow" from ''Annie''. (The episode even openly references Music/AlanisMorissette, who had a similar transformation--see "Music", below.) At the end of the episode, Eric gives an evil snicker once her cheerful albums bomb again.

* An example of the trope in fiction: One episode of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' involves Eric dating the aspiring singer/songwriter Corinna (played by real-life singer Leisha Hailey), whose songs are [[TastesLikeDiabetes saccharine]] and completely unappealing. When he dumps her, she immediately starts writing dark and angry songs clearly directed at him; ''these'' sell, and she becomes a huge success. After a while she meets with Eric, ostensibly to apologize, but he quickly realizes she's just run out of material. Refusing to give her any, he acts nice to Corinna and manages to revert her to mindless schlock mode. Part of their conversation consists of singing some of "Tomorrow" from ''Annie''. (The episode even openly references Music/AlanisMorissette, who had a similar transformation--see "Music", below.) At the end of the episode, Eric gives an evil snicker once her cheerful albums bomb again.

* Dennis Potter's ''Karaoke'' and ''Cold Lazarus'' were written in tandem (for different networks!) in the full and present awareness of his own impending death from pancreatic cancer. The former of these is a reasonably traditional drama (with standard Potteresque touches). The latter, however, [[spoiler:picks up the same central (Potter-analogue) [[AuthorAvatar character]], four hundred years later after he's had his [[HumanPopsicle head cryogenically frozen]].]] Things get significantly weirder from there. It's arguable, of course, whether or not this actually represents a great shift from the pre-illness output!

** In a particularly depressing episode the TrueCompanions had fallen to incredibly bad terms and were on the verge of [[FeudEpisode splitting up for good]]. FlashForward (but [[DaydreamSurprise not really]]) to the 10-year reunion. The gang had all gone their separate ways, but Eric had taken the split up the hardest. He was shown at first as a hilariously crazy MountainMan dressed like [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]], but there was intense MoodWhiplash when he presented the book he wrote about the meaning of life. It was a {{Doorstopper}}, but with writing on only the first page: "Lose one friend. Lose all friends. Lose yourself." When asked why he didn't write anything else, he said: "Nothing else seemed important."

* Deliberately played for laughs in ''Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace'', in which the ShowWithinAShow presents more of an insight into the eponymous author's mindset than he perhaps realizes or wishes, especially his feelings about women. Of particular note is an episode which is essentially an extended racist tirade at the Scottish; played for laughs in that the English Marenghi loudly insists that it's not racist despite the overwhelmingly obvious evidence that it is, including another character who freely admits that it is, but didn't bother him because he too is prejudiced against the Scottish.

* A very literal example, the tone of both the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]]''-based ''Franchise/StarTrek'' movies and ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' took a significant (some would say "immensely better") turn in theme and storytelling with the departure of Creator/GeneRoddenberry, who was unceremoniously KickedUpstairs from the former, and who proved unequal to the task of producing the latter, due to ill health. He died in 1991.

** A more positive result of CreatorBreakdown was Michael Piller's script for "[[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds}} The Best of Both Worlds]]". Riker's career crisis, loss of faith in himself and antagonistic relationship with his possible replacement, Shelby, was inspired by Piller's angst over his own career path as a writer. Today, the two-part season finale is remembered as some of the best television Trek has ever produced.
* Matt Albie and Harriet Hayes' relationship in the short-lived ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' was largely thought to have been inspired by Aaron Sorkin's tumultuous real-life relationship with Kristen Chenoweth. Also, in the same show, Danny Tripp is unable to continue to direct movies for the time being after failing an insurance physical drug test -- Sorkin having had similar drug-related issues in the past.
** For that matter, ''Studio 60'' also features an in-universe example in the first episode: after being forced to cut a sketch making fun of the religious right (and, we learn later, having been increasingly unhappy with the direction of the show for years), show creator Wes Mendel walks out on camera during the live broadcast and delivers a 57-second diatribe on how his show used to be cutting-edge satire, but that a combination of ratings obsession by the network and low-brow reality TV is intellectually lobotomizing the public.
** Aaron Sorkin uses the same device to kick off his HBO series Series/TheNewsroom, when news anchor [[AuthorAvatar Will [=McAvoy=]]], in response to a question in a political town hall meeting, goes on a rant on the fallacy of American exceptionalism, which gets posted to [=YouTube=] and subsequently causes a ripple effect through the network he works for and his staff. As the series progresses, he discovers it was [[spoiler:an AllAccordingToPlan between his boss at the network and former fiancee to steer him back to being a serious reporter again.]]

* Parodied in ''Series/{{Castle}}''; over the later episodes of season two, Detective Tom Demming appears as a [[RomanticFalseLead rival over Beckett's attentions and affections]] for the eponymous novelist. He's quite successful, displacing Castle in several ways. Not long after, a character called 'Detective Schlemming' makes his way into later drafts of Castle's most recent novel.

* Another in-universe example occurs in the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "True Night", where the killer, a comic book artist, creates an extremely violent comic starring what appears to be a NinetiesAntiHero, because of the same issues ([[spoiler:watching his pregnant girlfriend die at the hands of street thugs]]) that are making him kill. In fact, his art is ''based'' on his murders.
* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', main character Ted's former love interest's husband writes a romantic comedy directly based upon the events leading up to him winning the woman away from Ted, but in a drastically distorted POV that shows him as a hero and Ted as an obnoxious heel (played by real-life obnoxious heel Chris Kattan). The movie then goes on to be a huge hit.

** In ''Documentary Filmaking Redux'' Dean Pelton completely breaks down trying to film a commercial for Greendale, and warps the entire school around, canceling all classes. Abed decided to document the whole thing because he predicted this would happen. The whole episode is a parody of ''Film/HeartsOfDarkness'', which gets lampshaded repeatedly.

** Some fans have also argued that the quality slump in season 3 of the show could be attributed to real-life personal problems that show creator Dan Harmon was going through at the time.

* Creator/PatrickSwayze starred in ''Series/TheBeast'' [[{{Determinator}} while undergoing treatment for his pancreatic cancer]], with many reviewers saying [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct this was bringing out the best of him]]. But it also meant that Swayze was unable to promote the show himself, which led to it being canceled three months before Swayze ultimately died from his cancer.
* Speaking of Creator/JMichaelStraczynski, this was what likely led to him to breaking certain taboos when he wrote certain episodes of Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture the way he did, including at least two instances of swearing, and a(n intended-to-be season) finale in which an important good guy character was killed off onscreen. In an interview, he mentions that he had known someone who had taken their own life, despite his best efforts to save them, which likely resulted in him invoking this trope. Had the series continued, it would have featured more DarkerAndEdgier plotlines.

** The increasing {{p|inballProtagonist}}owerlessness and [[DownerEnding incompetence]] of the First Doctor towards the end of his tenure was partially a response to Creator/WilliamHartnell's failing physical and mental health. His inability to remember lines and hatred of everyone else in the crew put him constantly in a bad mood and gives his character a [[RealitySubtext genuine frailty]], and the writers responded by going for a DarkerAndEdgier tone and giving the Doctor [[DemotedToExtra fewer lines to say]].

*** When making "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]" (a story about the Doctor and a gaggle of civilians being trapped in a lighthouse with an enigmatic monster), Baker was unhappy and angry with the direction the show was going in (partly due to ExecutiveMeddling getting the established creative team sacked and partly because he didn't like sharing the main character spotlight with anyone else) and reportedly spent much of production bullying his co-stars and making himself unpopular. His performance is [[ByronicHero severe, broody and temperamental]], giving the impression he is [[BreakTheBadass losing his mind between the claustrophobia and fear]], and all the other actors regard him with visible wariness - lifting an already scary story to NightmareFuel.
*** The unusual characterization of the Fourth Doctor in Season 18 is because Baker was seriously burned out with the role after doing it both onscreen and offscreen for seven years and because the line between his own personality and the Doctor's had been getting [[LostInCharacter increasingly blurry]] -- and he was physically unwell, too. The character became [[ByronicHero moody]] and [[DarkerAndEdgier vulnerable]] with the comedy bits being strained, a harsh contrast with his usual manic exuberance. Once his departure was known by the writers it was turned into an {{Arc}} where every story was linked by themes of mortality and decay, foreshadowing his upcoming regeneration.
* ''Creator/AgathaChristie's Series/{{Poirot}}'': Creator/DavidSuchet himself [[WordOfGod has said]] [[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/magazine/david-suchet-part-of-me-died-with-him.html?_r=0 in an interview]] that he chose to star in ''Literature/{{Curtain}}'' first for a reason: [[spoiler:he didn't want Poirot's death at the same moment the actor would finish the role to be too depressing or to be "a negative thing for [him] to go through", so he asked the producers to have him star in ''Curtain'' before having Poirot remain alive for the filming of the final four episodes.]] But even as Suchet chose to do ''Curtain'' first, it felt agonizing for him to play the role [[spoiler:of a dying Belgian detective who didn't just pass away but did so after ending his final case with a bang. Filming his actual death was the hardest day of the actor's life; it felt that "a part of me died with [Poirot]"]]. Here's an excerpt from Suchet's ''Poirot and Me'' in [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2506890/Poirot-finale-My-agony-Poirot-drew-breath-David-Suchet.html this link]].
* During the production and shooting of the third season of ''Series/MagnificentCentury'', [[http://www.doyouknowturkey.com/meryem-uzerli-left-muhtesem-yuzyil-and-returned-to-germany/ Mehyem Uzerli]] a.k.a. Roxelana/Hürrem suffered one of these and left the series. The exact reasons behind it have been speculated on a lot: monetary issues, bad health, burnout, a mix of all the mentioned factors, etc.
* Appears in-universe on ''Series/TheLarrySandersShow'', in an episode where Music/WarrenZevon appears. He begs not to be asked to play his famous song "Werewolves of London", claiming to be utterly sick of it. Unfortunately, this request never actually makes it to Larry, who asks Zevon for an encore... and specifically requests "Werewolves of London". You can practically feel the furious resentment burning through the screen as Zevon angrily bashes out a perfunctory run-through of the song.

** A bit of a meta [=/=] FridgeBrilliance example: in the first season, a RunningGag is that Castle killed off his previous character Derrick Storm because he was bored with him. Looking over [[{{Defictionalization}} the (fictional) bibliography]] provided at the character's [[http://www.richardcastle.net/ website]], the blurbs for several of the works featuring this character seem to suggest a number of increasingly unsubtle (and no doubt ignored) hints from Castle that he's a bit bored with this guy and would like to stop writing him now, please.

* Appears in-universe on ''Series/TheLarrySandersShow'', in an episode where Warren Zevon appears. He begs not to be asked to play his famous song "Werewolves of London", claiming to be utterly sick of it. Unfortunately, this request never actually makes it to Larry, who asks Zevon for an encore... and specifically requests "Werewolves of London". You can practically feel the furious resentment burning through the screen as Zevon angrily bashes out a perfunctory run-through of the song.

* By her own admission, much of the [[SeasonalRot widely disliked Season 6]] of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is a rehashing of that season's showrunner Marti Noxon's personal issues. Noxon is currently the showrunner of the equally popularity-challenged ''Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce'' (although not ''that'' popularity-challenged, since Bravo renewed it. And as Noxon said, "[[http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/bc-beat/girlfriends-guide-divorce-writer-marti-noxon-it-s-not-about-my-divorce-tca14/132434 It’s not about my divorce; it’s about divorces]]").

** Another example: in a particularly depressing episode the TrueCompanions had fallen to incredibly bad terms and were on the verge of [[FeudEpisode splitting up for good]]. FlashForward (but [[DaydreamSurprise not really]]) to the 10-year reunion. The gang had all gone their separate ways, but Eric had taken the split up the hardest. He was shown at first as a hilariously crazy MountainMan dressed like [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]], but there was intense MoodWhiplash when he presented the book he wrote about the meaning of life. It was a {{Doorstopper}}, but with writing on only the first page: "Lose one friend. Lose all friends. Lose yourself." When asked why he didn't write anything else, he said: "Nothing else seemed important."

** Another example: in a particularly depressing episode the TrueCompanions had fallen to incredibly bad terms and were on the verge of [[FeudEpisode splitting up for good]]. FlashForward (but [[DaydreamSurprise not really]]) to the 10 year reunion. The gang had all gone their separate ways, but Eric had taken the split up the hardest. He was shown at first as a hilariously crazy MountainMan dressed like [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]], but there was intense MoodWhiplash when he presented the book he wrote about the meaning of life. It was a {{Doorstopper}}, but with writing on only the first page: "Lose one friend. Lose all friends. Lose yourself." When asked why he didn't write anything else, he said "Nothing else seemed important."
* A similar example to the above occurs on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', when Jerry tells a would-be stand-up comic whom he finds annoying that she's not funny. So, of course, when she premieres an act that centers ''entirely'' around insulting Jerry (and this isn't even telling jokes about him -- this is pretty much just ''actually nakedly insulting him''), she becomes a hit.[[note]]The comic is played by Creator/KathyGriffin, whose real-life comedy act consists of making fun of celebrities.[[/note]]

* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', after Amy breaks up with him, Sheldon makes an episode of his Website/YouTube series "Fun With Flags" entitled "Countries That Fell Apart And The Women I Suspect Were Responsible", where he uses historical instances of balkanisation as thinly-veiled metaphors for their failed relationship.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Stephen Franklin quits his job and goes wandering around the seedier parts of the station. Eventually he's stabbed and nearly dies. Some time after the episode aired, Creator/JMichaelStraczynski was asked if he'd ever done anything similar. He described how he used to wander around the seedier parts of San Diego, late at night, until he was mugged and beaten nearly to death. Until then he hadn't made the connection.

** Straczynski got a bad case of flu late in the process of writing the first season, and when he came out of it the script for the episode "The Quality of Mercy" was on his desk. To date he has no memory of actually writing it, but it's surprisingly lucid given the circumstances. On the other hand, the same thing happened with "Grey 17 is Missing," which is widely regarded to be one of the worst episodes in the series.

* Matt Albie and Harriet Hayes' relationship in the short lived ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' was largely thought to have been inspired by Aaron Sorkin's tumultuous real life relationship with Kristen Chenoweth. Also, in the same show Danny Tripp is unable to continue to direct movies for the time being after failing an insurance physical drug test -- Sorkin having had similar drug-related issues in the past.

** Aaron Sorkin uses the same device to kick off his HBO series Series/TheNewsroom, when newsanchor [[AuthorAvatar Will [=McAvoy=]]], in response to a question in a political town hall meeting, goes on a rant on the fallacy of American exceptionalism, which gets posted to [=YouTube=] and subsequently causes a ripple effect through the network he works for and his staff. As the series progresses, he discovers it was [[spoiler:an AllAccordingToPlan between his boss at the network and former fiancee to steer him back to being a serious reporter again.]]

** A bit of a meta [=/=] FridgeBrilliance example: in the first season, a RunningGag is that Castle killed off his previous character, Derrick Storm, because he was bored with him. Looking over [[{{Defictionalization}} the (fictional) bibliography]] provided at the character's [[http://www.richardcastle.net/ website]], the blurbs for several of the works featuring this character seem to suggest a number of increasingly unsubtle (and no doubt ignored) hints from Castle that he's a bit bored with this guy and would like to stop writing him now, please.

** In ''Documentary Filmaking Redux'' Dean Pelton completely breaks down trying to film a commercial for Greendale, and warps the entire school around, cancelling all classes. Abed decided to document the whole thing because he predicted this would happen. The whole episode is a parody of ''Film/HeartsOfDarkness'', which gets lampshaded repeatedly.

* Creator/PatrickSwayze starred in ''Series/TheBeast'' [[{{Determinator}} while undergoing treatment for his pancreatic cancer]], with many reviewers saying [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct this was bringing out the best of him]]. But it also meant that Swayze was unable to promote the show himself, which led to it being cancelled three months before Swayze ultimately died from his cancer.
* Speaking of Creator/JMichaelStraczynski, this was what likely led to him to breaking certain taboos when he wrote certain episodes of Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture the way he did, including at least two instances of swearing, and a(n intended-to-be season) finale in which an important good guy character was killed off onscreen. In an interview he mentions that he had known someone who had taken their own life, despite his best efforts to save them, which likely resulted in him invoking this trope. Had the series continued, it would have featured more DarkerAndEdgier plotlines.

*** The unusual characterisation of the Fourth Doctor in Season 18 is because Baker was seriously burned out with the role after doing it both onscreen and offscreen for seven years and because the line between his own personality and the Doctor's had been getting [[LostInCharacter increasingly blurry]] -- and he was physically unwell, too. The character became [[ByronicHero moody]] and [[DarkerAndEdgier vulnerable]] with the comedy bits being strained, a harsh contrast with his usual manic exuberance. Once his departure was known by the writers it was turned into an {{Arc}} where every story was linked by themes of mortality and decay, foreshadowing his upcoming regeneration.
* ''Creator/AgathaChristie's Series/{{Poirot}}'': Creator/DavidSuchet himself [[WordOfGod has said]] [[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/magazine/david-suchet-part-of-me-died-with-him.html?_r=0 in an interview]] that he chose to star in ''Literature/{{Curtain}}'' first for a reason: [[spoiler:he didn't want Poirot's death on the same moment the actor would finish the role to be too depressing or to be "a negative thing for [him] to go through", so he asked the producers to have him star in ''Curtain'' before having Poirot remain alive for the filming of the final four episodes.]] But even as Suchet chose to do ''Curtain'' first, it felt agonizing for him to play the role [[spoiler:of a dying Belgian detective who didn't just pass away, but did so after ending his final case with a bang. Filming his actual death was the hardest day of the actor's life; it felt that "a part of me died with [Poirot]"]]. Here's an excerpt from Suchet's ''Poirot and Me'' in [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2506890/Poirot-finale-My-agony-Poirot-drew-breath-David-Suchet.html this link]].

* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', after Amy breaks up with him, Sheldon makes an episode of his YouTube series "Fun With Flags" entitled "Countries That Fell Apart And The Women I Suspect Were Responsible", where he uses historical instances of balkanisation as thinly-veiled metaphors for their failed relationship.

** Aaron Sorkin uses the same device to kick off his HBO series Series/TheNewsroom, when newsanchor [[AuthorAvatar Will [=McAvoy=]]], in response to a question in a political town hall meeting, goes on a rant on the fallacy of American exceptionalism, which gets posted to YouTube and subsequently causes a ripple effect through the network he works for and his staff. As the series progresses, he discovers it was [[spoiler:an AllAccordingToPlan between his boss at the network and former fiancee to steer him back to being a serious reporter again.]]

** Early into filming the first-season episode "Devil in the Dark," William Shatner received word that his father had suddenly died. Shatner continued to film for most of the day before heading to make his flight to Florida and has credited the cast and crew for helping him handle what would normally have been a horrible day.

** The increasing {{p|inballProtagonist}}owerlessness and [[DownerEnding incompetence]] of the First Doctor towards the end of his tenure was partially a response to William Hartnell's failing physical and mental health. His inability to remember lines and hatred of everyone else in the crew put him constantly in a bad mood and gives his character a [[RealitySubtext genuine frailty]], and the writers responded by going for a DarkerAndEdgier tone and giving the Doctor [[DemotedToExtra fewer lines to say]].

* By her own admission, much of the [[SeasonalRot widely disliked Season 6]] of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is a rehashing of that season's showrunner Marti Noxon's personal issues. Noxon is currently the showrunner of the equally popularity-challenged ''Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce'' (although not ''that'' popularity-challenged, since Bravo renewed it. And as Noxon said, "[[http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/bc-beat/girlfriends-guide-divorce-writer-marti-noxon-it-s-not-about-my-divorce-tca14/132434 It’s not about my divorce; it’s about divorces]]").

* A similar example to the above occurs on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', when Jerry tells a would-be stand-up comic who he finds annoying that she's not funny. So, of course, when she premieres an act that centers ''entirely'' around insulting Jerry (and this isn't even telling jokes about him - this is pretty much just ''actually nakedly insulting him''), she becomes a hit.[[note]]The comic is played by Creator/KathyGriffin, whose real-life comedy act consists of making fun of celebrities.[[/note]]

* InUniverse example: Brian Topp in ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', whose default setting for all of his art is [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]], [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible bizarre]] pieces directly based on his misery, fear, anger and self-loathing - except when he's happy, in which case he starts producing happy pictures of flowers and his girlfriend.
** Worse yet, misery, fear, anger and self-loathing are his ''muses''; Brian can only produce art at all when miserable, and eventually his inspiration dries up if he doesn't have something to breakdown over.

** Straczynski got a bad flu late in the process of writing the first season, and when he came out of it the script for the episode "The Quality of Mercy" was on his desk. To date he has no memory of actually writing it, but it's surprisingly lucid given the circumstances. On the other hand, the same thing happened with "Grey 17 is Missing," which is widely regarded to be one of the worst episodes in the series.

** For that matter, Studio 60 also features an in-universe example in the first episode: after being forced to cut a sketch making fun of the religious right (and, we learn later, having been increasingly unhappy with the direction of the show for years), show creator Wes Mendel walks out on camera during the live broadcast and delivers a 57 second diatribe on how his show used to be cutting edge satire, but that a combination of ratings obsession by the network and low-brow reality TV is intellectually lobotomizing the public.
** Aaron Sorkin uses the same device to kick off his HBO series Series/TheNewsroom, when newsanchor [[AuthorAvatar Will [=McAvoy=]]], in response to a question in a political town hall meeting, goes on a rant on the fallacy of American exceptionalism, which gets posted to YouTube and subsequently causes a ripple effect through the network he works for and his staff. As the series progresses, he discovers it was [[spoiler:a AllAccordingToPlan between his boss at the network and former fiancee to steer him back to being a serious reporter again.]]

*** The unusual characterisation of the Fourth Doctor in Season 18 is because Baker was seriously burned out with the role after doing it both onscreen and offscreen for seven years and because the line between his own personality and the Doctor's had been getting [[LostInCharacter increasingly blurry]] - and he was physically unwell, too. The character became [[ByronicHero moody]] and [[DarkerAndEdgier vulnerable]] with the comedy bits being strained, a harsh contrast with his usual manic exuberance. Once his departure was known by the writers it was turned into an {{Arc}} where every story was linked by themes of mortality and decay, foreshadowing his upcoming regeneration.

* During the production and shooting of the third season of ''Series/MagnificentCentury'', [[http://www.doyouknowturkey.com/meryem-uzerli-left-muhtesem-yuzyil-and-returned-to-germany/ Mehyem Uzerli]] aka Roxelana/Hürrem suffered one of these and left the series. The exact reasons behind it have been speculated on a lot: monetary issues, bad health, burnout, a mix of all the mentioned factors, etc.

* Lampshaded in-universe on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'', singer-songwriter Ariel writes extremely angsty songs (her biggest hit is "Slit My Wrists" and she did ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) and is extremely popular until she has a relationship with Duane, a decent guy who treats her well, and her songs become happy and cheerful--and flop very badly.

** In ''Documentary Filmaking Redux'' Dean Pelton completely breaks down trying to film a commercial for Greendale, and warps the entire school around, cancelling all classes. Abed decided to document the whole thing because he predicted this would happen. The whole episode is a parody of ''[[Film/ApocalypseNow Hearts of Darkness]]'', which gets lampshaded repeatedly.

* ''Creator/AgathaChristie's Series/{{Poirot}}'': [[WordOfGod David Suchet himself]] has said [[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/magazine/david-suchet-part-of-me-died-with-him.html?_r=0 in an interview]] that he chose to star in ''Literature/{{Curtain}}'' first for a reason: [[spoiler:he didn't want Poirot's death on the same moment the actor would finish the role to be too depressing or to be "a negative thing for [him] to go through", so he asked the producers to have him star in ''Curtain'' before having Poirot remain alive for the filming of the final four episodes.]] But even as Suchet chose to do ''Curtain'' first, it felt agonizing for him to play the role [[spoiler:of a dying Belgian detective who didn't just pass away, but did so after ending his final case with a bang. Filming his actual death was the hardest day of the actor's life; it felt that "a part of me died with [Poirot]"]]. Here's an excerpt from Suchet's ''Poirot and Me'' in [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2506890/Poirot-finale-My-agony-Poirot-drew-breath-David-Suchet.html this link]].

* Appears in-universe on ''Series/TheLarrySanderShow'', in an episode where Warren Zevon appears. He begs not to be asked to play his famous song "Werewolves of London", claiming to be utterly sick of it. Unfortunately, this request never actually makes it to Larry, who asks Zevon for an encore... and specifically requests "Werewolves of London". You can practically feel the furious resentment burning through the screen as Zevon angrily bashes out a perfunctory run-through of the song.

** In the early seasons especially, before it became known as a "show about nothing" the central theme of the episodes was that we were seeing the things happening to Jerry and his friends that would later go on to inspire his routines, with the stand-up sections reflecting the events of the episode.

** Straczynski got a bad flu late in the process of writing the first season, and when he came out of it the script for the episode "The Quality of Mercy" was on his desk. To date he has no memory of actually writing it, but it's surprisingly lucid given the circumstances.

* A similar example to the above occurs on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', when Jerry tells a would-be stand-up comic who he finds annoying that she's not funny. So, of course, when she premieres an act that centers ''entirely'' around insulting Jerry (and this isn't even telling jokes about him - this is pretty much just ''actually nakedly insulting him''), she becomes a hit.[[note]]The comic is played by KathyGriffin, whose real-life comedy act consists of making fun of celebrities.[[/note]]