History LastNameBasis / LiveActionTV

* Despite being long-time partners and joined-at-the-hip best friends, ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' simply do not use each others' first names, no matter how dire or informal the circumstances.
** ''[[HoYay Pet names]]'', on the other hand...

* On ''Series/BreakingBad'', Jesse never really gets over his high school habit of calling Walt "Mr. White". He calls his partner by his first name exactly once during the series, and it's a deliberate sign of disrespect. Oddly enough, Walt is one of the few people to consistently call him "Jesse" rather than "Pinkman".

* ''Series/{{Columbo}}'': Lieutenant Columbo's first name is never spoken, though it's occasionally visible on ID cards as a FreezeFrameBonus. When asked directly, he's been known to say that it's "[[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Lieutenant]]".

* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': Almost all the characters in Miami Metro, unless they're particularly close to each other (Angel Batista and Maria [=LaGuerta=] during their mariage, siblings Dexter and Debra Morgan, etc.). This sometimes leads to confusion when a character calls out for "Morgan" when Dex and Deb are both present. Subverted to great effect by [[spoiler:Doakes to Dexter in episode 2.11 to reflect that in addition to capturing a killer, he now also wants to help Dexter by turning him in]].

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' and Beckett. Initially, she only called him Rick when she was teasing him, but in Season 3, she occasionally used his first name [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious in serious situations]]. He's called her Kate a handful of times, all of them dramatic: [[spoiler:once when when she was emotionally upset and he was trying to stop her leaving the station, continuously shouting it out frantically when he was trying to find her in her exploded apartment, and several times in the season three finale episode]].

* ''Series/{{Deputy}}'': After coming out as nonbinary, Bishop decides to use only her last name, dropping her first name Brianna. Even prior to this she was mostly called this while on duty as a deputy sheriff.

* Handled interestingly on ''Series/GilligansIsland''. The Howells are always referred to by the other regular characters as "Mr. Howell" and "Mrs. Howell", but are on a first-name basis with each other (though "Lovey" is a pet name, not her actual given name, which is Eunice). Ginger Grant is mostly called "Ginger", but is sometimes called "Miss Grant", especially by Mr. Howell. Mary Ann, though, is almost always just called "Mary Ann" to the extent that many fans wouldn't know the character's last name (it's Summers). The Professor and the Skipper have names, but even fewer fans know them, as they're always just referred to by their titles (their names are Roy Hinkley and Jonas Grumby, respectively). Gilligan himself is the really odd case, as he is never called any other name solely then Gilligan . It's not even known if that's his given name or his surname.
** "Gilligan" is fact his last name is what mainly what he been called the whole season just simply Gilligan. His first name has been revealed as William or Willy, but no one ever used it in the show.