History Main / REALITYSUBTEXT

* In the final issue of ''[[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman, Inc]]'''s second volume, Talia al Ghul goes on a villainous rant to Batman about how little his whole crusade to keep Gotham safe actually matters, and declaring that he's wasting his life on pointless nonsense. This was after Creator/GrantMorrison, who wrote that issue, had spent years doing an extensive reworking of Batman and his mythos to make for a more worldly and complex vision of the character... only to see the ''ComicBook/New52'' undo a lot of the run's impact and reset as many things as possible back to square one. For instance, one of Morrison's main ideas was to make Dick Grayson the next Batman, hoping the change would stick for at least a decade--instead, despite Dick's time in the cowl being widely acclaimed and selling very well, he was reverted back to being Nightwing again. Hence, Talia's frustration at Batman's shortsightedness is essentially Morrison's own frustration shining through.

* The 2023 ''Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville'' mini-series takes the real world obscurity of the titular heroines, and uses it as a major plot point. The first issue even has Fire bitterly lament how she's not famous despite having fought alongside the likes of Batman and Superman back when she was a member of the Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational.

* The 2023 ''Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville'' plays off the the real world obscurity of the titular heroines, with Fire bitterly lamenting in the first issue how she's not famous despite having fought alongside the likes of Batman and Superman back when she was a member of the Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational.

** [[ComicBook/DCRebirth In 2016]], Wally West returned to the DC Universe after being ExiledFromContinuity since the New 52 reboot, where it's explained he was ''literally'' exiled from reality, trapped in the Speed Force by a being (Doctor Manhattan from ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'') who decided to interfere with the fabric of the DC Universe because they didn't understand it. Creator/GeoffJohns has confirmed it was meant as a criticism of the MisaimedFandom of ''Watchmen'' and how some creators have tried to emulate it in all the worst ways, and portraying his rewrites to reality as an invasion of the universe and an attack on everything that made it great ''really'' makes it obvious it was specifically criticising the people behind the New 52.

* It was long time since the original ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' and the [[VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame video game]] released in 2011, but they managed to get much of the cast back. In the interim years, for instance, Creator/ChristopherLloyd had gone (mostly) bald. The plot involves Marty feeling lonely and depressed after Doc leaves at the end of ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', and he eventually meets an alternate version of Doc Brown, who's got the same balding as Lloyd in real life.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/AfterEarth'': Several reviewers have noted the (possibly unintentional) parallel between Cypher pushing his son Kitai to perform in a situation he is ill-prepared for, and Creator/WillSmith having his son Jaden in his pet project.
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' and [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2 its sequel]] involved a notable RomanceOnTheSet, as Creator/AndrewGarfield and Creator/EmmaStone began dating at almost exactly the same time that they began playing the famous couple Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Fittingly, their onscreen chemistry was one of the most praised aspects of the movies; unlike Creator/TobeyMaguire and Creator/KirstenDunst before them, Garfield and Stone didn't need acting to convince the audience that they were in love.
** Same could be said for Creator/TomHolland and Creator/{{Zendaya}} in ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''.
* In ''Film/AndGodCreatedWoman'', Juliette (Creator/BrigitteBardot) marries Michel (Creator/JeanLouisTrintignant) but struggles with, and eventually gives in to her attraction to Michel's brother, Antoine. In real life, Bardot was married to the film's director Roger Vadim, but fell in love with Trintignant during filming, and ended up leaving Vadim for him.
* An unusual case of deliberate [[InvokedTrope invocation]] by the screenwriters of ''Film/TheApartment'': they would keep track of the actors' real-life experiences and try to integrate them into the plot. That's how the whole gin rummy subplot found its way to the screen (Creator/ShirleyMacLaine was learning the game at the time). And some offscreen lines of actors discussing their own private lives were also featured in the film, making it a case of ''offscreen'' ThrowItIn. [[http://nitratediva.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/shirley-maclaine-the-apartment-tcmff/ Here is more.]]
* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'':
** One of the innumerable executive nightmares surrounding the film's production was Creator/MartinSheen having a heart attack due to the stress from filming, suspending filming of all his prominent scenes and making his brother double for him.
** Then there were the helicopters that the Philippine military lent to Coppola for the famous "air cavalry" scene against a village held by communist Viet Cong insurgents. Those were frequently taken back, interrupting filming, to do actual air cavalry work for the Philippine military units engaged in combat with real communist insurgents.
* ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance'' is a clear analogy for Creator/MichaelKeaton[='s=] struggles with escaping his IAmNotSpock status as the man who played Franchise/{{Batman}} in the [[Film/Batman1989 first]] [[Film/BatmanReturns two]] entries in the 1989 film series. The premise itself, in which an actor attempts to escape his typecasting as the titular ShowWithinAShow superhero by taking the lead in a play, is an almost note-for-note calling card for Keaton's attempts at escaping the mantle of the Caped Crusader. What's more, the in-universe play is initially a bit of a failure until a big crazy gimmick sparks the attention of the audience--''Birdman'' is itself a film with a pretty major gimmick, that being its extensive use of TheOner.
* At some point during or before production of ''Bobby'', Creator/LindsayLohan received word that one of her closest friends had passed away. Lohan used her grief over that event to fuel her during the more emotional scenes in the film.
* ''Film/BoyzNTheHood'':
** Since it was shot on location in South Central L.A., the cast and film crew had to deal with many of the same problems with gangs and crime that the movie's characters had to deal with. The dialogue had to be dubbed over in many parts due to gunshots and helicopters in the distance. There were threats of fights between the extras, and in one instance a filming location had to be changed because of threats from a member of the Bloods. The scene in question contained Doughboy, who is heavily implied to be a Crip, shooting someone who is heavily implied to be a Blood. The real-life gang member claimed that he was not responsible if someone actually shot Music/IceCube for portraying their gang negatively.
** The actor who played the blood gang member with the shotgun who murdered [[spoiler:Ricky]] is named Lloyd Avery Jr. In real life, he got mixed up with the gang and criminal lifestyle, despite being a promising actor and eventually kills two people, ending up in prison for it, before he was killed in prison after getting into an argument with another prisoner about religious beliefs. [[note]]He was a born again Christian, while the other prisoner was a Satanist.[[/note]]
* ''Film/CannibalTheMusical'' features a subplot about Alferd Packer and his horse, Liane, who runs away and, he later learns, has been ridden by every man in town. The movie was made by Creator/{{Trey Parker|AndMattStone}} shortly after he found out his fiancee Liane had cheated on him.
* The famous Marseillaise scene in ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'' features a close up of a woman crying while singing. The film was produced during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Many of the actors, including that woman, were forced to flee Europe due to the German invasion. The emotion in that scene was not faked.
* In ''Film/Catwoman2004'', [[BigBad Laurel Hedare]] is a CorruptCorporateExecutive who was a famous supermodel in her youth until she committed the worst crime in the fashion world: she turned 40. Hedare is played by Creator/SharonStone, who knows a thing or two about ''that'' subject.
* ''Film/AChristmasCarolGoesWrong'' has an in-universe example. Once the footage of Dennis' birthday party is aired and the entire cast is angry at one another, especially Chris, he uses Scrooge's redemption scene to apologize and make amends with his friends in real life as well as the characters.
* ''Film/Cinderella1965'', starring Creator/LesleyAnnWarren in the title role, gained this when her onscreen WickedStepmother, Creator/JoVanFleet, developed a real-life jealousy of Warren's beauty.
* In ''Film/ClerksII'', Jason Mewes returned to the iconic role of [[TheStoner Jay]] for the first time in five years, with the biggest change to his character being that he had sworn off drugs (''doing'' them, not selling them) and turned to Jesus since the events of the original ''Film/{{Clerks}}''. In reality, Mewes had been battling a heroin addiction since the mid-'90s, which greatly damaged his long-time friendship with Creator/KevinSmith, and had got him sent to court-mandated rehab in 2004. When Smith agreed to let Mewes reprise his role in ''Clerks II'' in 2006, he did it on the condition that Mewes stay clean. Considering Smith had actually forced Mewes into rehab himself at least once before, and he had earlier refused to cast him in ''Film/JerseyGirl'' because of his drug problems, he understood the significance of making Jay an ex-drug user all too well.
** In ''Film/JayAndSilentBobReboot'', a flight attendant tells Jay and Bob she can't sell them airline tickets because of a "wait problem", as in the two are on a no fly list: [[FunWithHomophones Jay mishears this as "weight problem"]] and goes on an extended riff about how Bob went vegan after the events of the previous film and lost a significant amount of weight, enough so that Jay's fat jokes about him no longer apply. Kevin Smith, who was also Silent Bob's actor, was once kicked off a flight because he was deemed too overweight to fit in a single seat, and after a health scare, he later slimmed down after adopting a vegan diet.
* Creator/ElizabethTaylor attempted suicide during the production of ''Film/{{Cleopatra}},'' which makes the film’s ending a little hard to watch.
* The original ''Film/ComingToAmerica'' was inspired by Creator/EddieMurphy's personal life. He was frustrated dating women who cared more about being with a celebrity than getting to know him as a person, hence Prince Akeem's desire to find a woman who "loves me for ''who'' I am, not ''what'' I am."
* Brandon Lee's [[FatalMethodActing fatal shooting with a prop gun]] during the filming of ''Film/TheCrow'' made his portrayal of a musician who was shot to death and came back from the dead for revenge very poignant. The scene in the movie where Eric Draven was killed was heavily edited to change it from an explicit view of Draven being shot to a fast cut of Funboy firing a gun at him, but it couldn't be removed completely because it was the basis of the movie's plot. (Part of this was pragmatic, of course, to hide the double's face.)
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'':
** In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Creator/HeathLedger's take on the Joker is constantly [[CharacterTics twitching his tongue and licking around his lips]]. Most people thought this was simply one of the Clown Prince's character traits, but according to [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/29/25-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-dark-knight-saga this article]], it wasn't an idle addition:
--->"One of several reasons Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker was so mesmerizing was the unnerving way the actor kept sucking at his cheeks and licking his lips. This facial tic was a result of Ledger's initial discomfort with the prosthetic scar make-up, but was eventually adopted as a character idiosyncrasy after Chris Nolan was suitably freaked out."
** Speaking of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Creator/ChristopherNolan seriously considered using actual footage of the Occupy Wall Street movement, due to the fairly explicit parallels to the movie's plot. He ultimately decided not to, averting the trope.
* In the ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' movies, a frequent source of humor involves the X-Men attempting to convince Deadpool to join the team and act like a traditional superhero, both of which Deadpool adamantly refuses to do. Prior to the first film's release, Creator/RyanReynolds' initial appearance as Deadpool in the relatively family-friendly ''Film/XMen'' {{prequel}} ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' was trashed by fans and critics for stripping the character of everything that made him such a fan-favorite in the comics, and it took the creative team ''years'' to convince Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox to let them bring a [[TruerToTheText more faithful]] portrayal to the screen. The studio wanted to tone down the violence and profane humor of the comics in favor of making a traditional superhero film for general audiences, while the creative team wanted an R-rated movie more in line with the comics. The X-Men's continual attempts to get Deadpool to tone down his antics are reflective of the studio's attempts to do the same.
* Creator/JenniferGrey and Creator/PatrickSwayze's [[HostilityOnTheSet tense working relationship]] going back to ''Film/RedDawn1984'' compounded the on-screen tension during Baby's TrainingMontage in ''Film/DirtyDancing''. Baby's giggling when Johnny Castle brushes his hand down her side, touching her breast, was just Jennifer Grey's nerves getting the better of her. Swayze seems mildly annoyed on most of the takes that ended up in the film.
* In ''[[Film/TheAbominableDrPhibes Dr. Phibes Rises Again]]'', Creator/VincentPrice and Robert Quarry play antagonists. According to insiders, the enmity onscreen was not fake: this was Price's last film for API, as he was being pushed aside for a younger actor. His replacement? Robert Quarry.
* ''Literature/ExitToEden'': Both Creator/DanaDelany and her character, Mistress Lisa, have a butt fetish. In an interview, Dana Delany was asked what's her favorite male body part and her answer was "I love butts. There's nothing better than a good butt." During [[KinkySpanking Citizen Elliot's bondage scene]] Mistress Lisa says:
-->'''Mistress Lisa:''' I like butts. Men's beautiful behinds. You know what I like to do to gorgeous butts? I like to squeeze them, pinch them and caress them.
* Jason Miller, at the time the still-struggling writer of a hit play who'd never acted in movies, asked Creator/WilliamFriedkin for the chance to test for the role of Father Karras in ''Film/TheExorcist'' due to the way the part resonated with his own experience: he'd spent three years himself studying to be a priest until a CrisisOfFaith similar to the one Karras was experiencing in the film led him to drop out.
* ''Film/{{Fatso}}'' stars Creator/DomDeLuise as [[TheDanza Dominick DiNapoli]] a man who is struggling with his weight. The story is a not-at-all disguised take on [=DeLuise=]'s own struggle with obesity.
* ''Film/FeverPitch'':
** The Farrelly Brothers had to completely rewrite the ending after the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. They were able to actually film at the last game of the series because both Farrelly Brothers and star Creator/JimmyFallon are actual Sox fans and had personal tickets to the games. Their filming was actually caught ''live on Fox's broadcast of the actual game!''
*** Then again, Fox also produced the film. People unaware of the production probably thought Jimmy Fallon and Creator/DrewBarrymore had a thing for each other.
** This turned out to mirror the true events of Nick Hornby's book from which a directly adapted film was made; the film -- made years after the events -- ends with Arsenal winning a First Division title on the last game of the season, the first in 12 years.
* When Tyler Durden, in his rant about ''Film/FightClub'', says "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars," he glances at Creator/JaredLeto's character. Jared Leto had just formed his own rock band, Music/ThirtySecondsToMars, and Tyler's actor, Creator/BradPitt, is a "movie god" in his own right.
* Most of the cast and crew of ''Film/TheFront'' had been blacklisted -- their dates of blacklisting are listed under their names during the end credits, including Zero Mostel and director Martin Ritt.
* Because Creator/PaulWalker, who played Brian O'Conner, died during production of ''Film/Furious7'', the film had to be rewritten to accommodate it. The film's tagline is "One Last Ride", there's a scene at [[spoiler:Han's]] funeral where the normally lighthearted Roman grimly tells Brian he can't take any more funerals, and there's also the recurring subplot about how Brian can't afford to go haring off around the world and risking his life when he has a family to take care of.
* The classic 1947 film ''Film/GentlemansAgreement'' has a scene of a meeting where the merits of having the hero pose as a Jewish man to learn first-hand about antisemitism is discussed with senior staff of the magazine. Much of the dialog came directly from meetings of senior executives of Fox Studios discussing the merits of adapting the novel into a film. (It was both a commercial and critical hit and likely was partly the inspiration for John Howard Griffin to pose as a black man in real life in 1959 to learn about racism again blacks, which was the basis of the book and film ''BlackLikeMe''.)
* In ''Film/Ghost1990'', Creator/WhoopiGoldberg plays a PhonyPsychic who soon discovers she's actually a NotSoPhonyPsychic that actually can talk to the dead. But despite working closely with a recently-slain man, she still doubts her abilities throughout much of the movie. According to Goldberg, she was originally unsure whether she should take the part until Creator/PatrickSwayze convinced her and the producers that she'd be perfect. She ended up winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
* The flashback at the end of ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII'' where the family is together for Vito Corleone's birthday was supposed to have him enter at the end, but Creator/MarlonBrando couldn't be gotten back, and instead the scene ends with an announcement that he's there and everybody but Michael rushing out to greet him offscreen. Creator/FrancisFordCoppola decided he actually liked it better with Vito remaining unseen since it created a ghostly feeling that the family as it was then, under Vito, is gone forever.
* At the end of ''Film/GuessWhosComingToDinner'', Creator/SpencerTracy's character says, "...there is nothing, absolutely nothing, you feel for each other that I didn't feel for Christina...the memories are still there, and they'll be there if I live to be a hundred and ten...and if it's half of what we felt, it's everything." The tears in Creator/KatharineHepburn's eyes are real -- Spencer Tracy was dying, and she and Tracy had been together for twenty-five years. He died soon after, and she never saw the finished film, saying that the memories of Tracy were too painful.
* ''Film/{{Help}}'': When Music/TheBeatles try to convince [[Music/RingoStarr Ringo]] [[ComedicSociopathy to let them cut off his finger]] in order to get [[ClingyMacGuffin the cult ring]] off, [[Music/PaulMcCartney Paul]] says to Ringo "Well, you didn't miss your tonsils, did you?", referencing the fact that Ringo had gotten a tonsillectomy earlier that year.
* In ''Film/HocusPocus'', Creator/SarahJessicaParker plays one of the three Sanderson Sisters, a trio of evil witches who magically resurrect themselves on [[UsefulNotes/AllHallowsEve Halloween night]] 300 years after being [[SalemIsWitchCountry executed for witchcraft in 17th century Salem]]. Many years after starring in the film, Parker discovered that she's actually a direct descendant of Esther Dutch Elwell, one of the last women formally charged with witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.
* The 1939 adaptation of ''[[Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame1939 The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' had a decidedly [[AdaptationalSympathy more sympathetic portrayal towards the Romani]], adding in new themes of humanism and social justice not present in vastly darker, more cynical [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame original Victor Hugo novel]]. This isn't a coincidence; director William Dieterle was a German who fled his home country as [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany the Nazi war machine]] was -- [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII among other things]] -- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_genocide committing systematic genocide of the Romani]], and writer Sonya Levien explicitly wished to parallel the plight of the fictional people of Roma to that of German Jews. The very day the scene where Quasimodo [[ForDoomTheBellTolls was ringing the bells for Esmerelda]] was filmed, the war was properly declared, and everyone on set was so overwhelmed with emotion that Dieterle forgot to yell cut, leaving Creator/CharlesLaughton ringing until he collapsed from exhaustion.
* ''Film/TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus'' was to have starred Creator/HeathLedger, but he died before filming was completed. In a show of support, Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/JudeLaw, and Creator/ColinFarrell finished the film in his place with the help of a magic mirror (according to an IMDB poster, Ledger has 45 mins of screen-time (out of ~120 total), Law and Farrell 15 each, and Depp 10). The three actors then donated their profits from the movie to Heath Ledger's daughter.
* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'':
** The scene in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' where Indy [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim just shot the bad guy]] would never have happened had Creator/HarrisonFord not been suffering from a nasty case of dysentery. The exact sequence of real-life events is disputed, but the scene as finally filmed replaced an elaborate "whip vs. sword" duel that Ford wasn't up to filming.
** According to the ''Making of Indiana Jones'' book, they did actually finish shooting the fight, but a test screening where the audience loved the shooting the swordsman bit convinced Creator/GeorgeLucas to use it.
** ''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom The Temple of Doom]]''[='s=] [[DarkerAndEdgier darker tone]] was due to Lucas' and [[Creator/StevenSpielberg Spielberg's]] real-life breakups with their wives. Which explains [[LiteralMetaphor having a bad guy who rips out people's hearts]].
* In ''Film/InsideLlewynDavis'', Creator/OscarIsaac and Creator/AdamDriver play a pair of struggling folk singers who finally get their shot at fame when they're invited to sing backup on a song that ends up becoming a huge radio hit. The movie was released in 2013, when Isaac and Driver were both struggling, mostly-obscure character actors with only a few major credits to their names--but just a few months after it was released in the United States, they actually ''did'' get their shot at fame when they were cast as Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/TheForceAwakens'', the long-awaited seventh ''Star Wars'' movie. In an amusing coincidence, the song that gives them their shot at the big-time is "Please, Mr. Kennedy", [[HilariousInHindsight a ballad about a man being launched into outer space]].
* ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers1956'' is often cited as a portrait of Red Scare America. Trust no one; for your neighbors, your friends, even your wife could become one of ''them'': a godless Commie -- er, pod person! By the same token, it's also a view of [=McCarthyism=], with a suspicious Hoover and the FBI keeping Americans under watch. Regardless of any of this, the movie actually averts the trope. WordOfGod stated repeatedly that they were just making a movie and not going for any social/political commentary.
* ''Franchise/JamesBond'':
** In ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', Pedro Armendáriz, who played Bond's Turkish sidekick Ali Kerim Bey, was dying of cancer during the production and eventually committed suicide to stop the pain. This makes it particularly poignant when his character makes a HeroicSacrifice and disappears from the film.
** Bond has considerably less sex in ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' and ''Film/LicenceToKill'' than the rest of the series, and he has stronger romantic relationships with the [[GirlOfTheWeek Bond Girls]] of those films. This is because they came out in the late 80s at the height of the AIDS crisis, and the producers didn't want to glorify promiscuity in that atmosphere. This is also mildly invoked in ''Film/GoldenEye''. Even though Bond was back to [[ReallyGetsAround his old self]] by 1995, he makes a quip with Xenia about safe sex, implying that yes, even James Bond wraps it up.
** Speaking of ''Film/GoldenEye'', the film was the first in the series to involve the Internet, and the Bond Girl Natalya is a programmer. This aptly reflected the mid-90s when computers and the Internet started becoming a part of everyday life. Since the movie was a soft reboot of the franchise, this was a deliberate attempt at modernizing Bond, along with more overt plot choices like featuring a post-Soviet Russia and a new female M.
* In the film ''John Doe: Vigilante'', the titular character is a SerialKiller spending his nights [[PayEvilUntoEvil killing child molesters/abusers, rapists, and abusive husbands/boyfriends]]. His final victim is revealed to be the man who murdered his wife and daughter. In an interview, John Doe's portrayer Creator/JamieBamber admitted that it was very easy to imagine the grief and rage that this man was feeling, as he himself is the HappilyMarried father of three girls and simultaneously very hard to play the scenes for that very same reason.
* In ''Film/TheKidsAreAllRight'', Creator/MarkRuffalo incorporated many of his younger brother's personality traits into his performance. His brother had been shot to death in an unsolved homicide a few years prior, and Ruffalo has stated he regarded the character as a way to pay tribute to his brother.
* Both Creator/DustinHoffman and Creator/MerylStreep were dealing with personal losses during the filming of ''Film/KramerVsKramer'' -- Streep with the death of her fiancé John Cazale, Hoffman with a divorce -- infusing the scenes of their crumbling marriage and subsequent custody battle with a dash of painful realism.
* ''Film/LaraCroftTombRaider'': Not only were Lara and Richard Croft [[RealLifeRelative played by a real-life daughter and father]] (Creator/AngelinaJolie and Creator/JonVoight), but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJArvSVqEo their brief scene]] even replicates aspects of their strained real life relationship, with her CallingTheOldManOut for being a DisappearedDad, then telling him she misses him and wishes she could change the past.
* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** [[HeartwarmingInHindsight Coincidentally]] (it is the exact citation from the book, but in the original, it may be connected with WWI) this exchange in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', which came out in November 2001:
---> '''Frodo:''' I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.\\
'''Gandalf:''' So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil.
** Aragorn is first introduced in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' as "Strider", a mysterious veteran Ranger who unexpectedly joins Frodo and his friends after they've begun their journey to Rivendell, and remains rather aloof from the rest of the Fellowship while guiding and protecting them. This actually parallels how Aragorn's actor, Creator/ViggoMortensen, joined the cast of the movie: he was an unexpected replacement for Stuart Townsend, and joined the cast [[TheOtherMarty after a few of Townsend's scenes had already been filmed]]; while most of the Fellowship's actors had time to get to know each other before filming began, Mortensen was a latecomer, and was somewhat aloof from his castmates during the early part of filming.
* The violent murder of Macduff's wife and children in Creator/RomanPolanski's 1971 film adaptation of ''Film/{{Macbeth|1971}}'' is somewhat difficult to watch due to this trope, as Polanski's pregnant wife Sharon Tate was violently murdered along with four others by followers of the UsefulNotes/MansonFamily.
* ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' has enough of this that a whole other movie was made to explore it! Creator/JimCarrey in [[https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast/ep-32-jim-carrey-on-characters-comedy-and-existence/id1209259768?i=1000392564726 this podcast interview]] and the documentary ''Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond'' discusses at length how his choice to take a more-than-MethodActing approach to playing Creator/AndyKaufman, a TrollingCreator, in the film was partially rooted in his being tired of maintaining a sunshiny public face as "Jim Carrey" for the sake of his career prospects and longing to '''be''' someone who could act exactly as they wanted without justification or apology to anyone confused and/or upset. As well, there is a parallel in Kaufman's distaste for being tied down to the sitcom ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' and his preference for potentially audience-alienating performance art to Carrey choosing not to be tied down to his mid-'90s blockbusters (''Film/AceVentura'', ''Film/TheMask'', ''Film/DumbAndDumber'') in favor of more complex fare (in particular ''Film/TheCableGuy'' and ''Film/TheTrumanShow'').
* For ''Film/TheManWhoInventedChristmas'', 87-year-old Creator/ChristopherPlummer is the oldest actor to ever play Scrooge onscreen, making Scrooge begging to do something good before he dies hit even harder.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** ''Film/IronManFilms'':
*** [[Film/IronMan1 The original film]] is now largely famous for leading to Creator/RobertDowneyJr's [[CareerResurrection comeback]] after his widely publicized problems with substance abuse derailed his career. Appropriately, Tony Stark's struggles with alcoholism have long been a major element of the comic book's mythos, and the first movie is ultimately about Stark resolving to turn his life around after getting a second chance at life.
*** ''Film/IronMan3'' was supposed to be an adaptation of [[ComicBook/IronMan the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline]] but was changed at Downey's behest. He didn't want to get in the headspace to put his own recovery from alcoholism at risk.
*** The Mandarin is often considered a controversial character in a modern context, as he was a YellowPeril villain created back when East Asians were easy to mock because of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. ''Film/IronMan3'' acknowledged this and subverted it by revealing that [[spoiler:the Mandarin is actually a DecoyLeader created by the real villain, who is a white American. It turns out he literally crafted the Mandarin as an over-the-top character to act as a scapegoat for his crimes]]. Unfortunately, this means that [[spoiler:with [[Film/AvengersEndgame his final film]], and barring any Multiverse shenanigans, the Sacred Timeline's Iron Man died without ever encountering his ArchEnemy from the comics]].
** ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'': Towards the end of the first phase of the final battle between the Hulk and Abomination, Hulk wrecks a police car and wields the torn halves as massive boxing gloves, a move lifted straight from the video game ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'', itself considered one of, if not the best depictions of the Hulk since then.
** For ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', Creator/MarkRuffalo has stated he was extremely hesitant about taking the role of Bruce Banner. He called Creator/RobertDowneyJr for advice, who convinced him to take the part. Ruffalo ended up kicking ass as Banner/Hulk. This is amusingly similar to their characters' relationship in the movie.
** At the beginning of ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', Korath has no idea who Peter Quill aka "Star-Lord" is. This lack of recognition reflects the obscurity of the comic series compared to other properties from the MCU. His getting it right at the end reflects the hope that the film could raise its profile among fans. Judging by the reviews and box office totals, this wish likely came true.
** ''Film/AntMan1'':
*** The trailers and marketing contained nods to the fact that the character is often considered a complete joke by many people, with one MissingTrailerScene in particular showing Scott asking if it's too late to change the name. In the film itself, ComicBook/TheFalcon looks like he's about to burst out laughing when Ant-Man first tells him his name.
*** When Hope is given the [[ComicBook/TheWasp Wasp]] armor by Hank in TheStinger, she simply grins and says "It's about damn time." This references the fact that despite being one of the founding Avengers in the comics, the Wasp was AdaptedOut of the first two ''Avengers'' films and the MCU as a whole before that point. It also references the fact that starting with Phase 3, Marvel began more seriously addressing the complaints about the lack of [[TheSmurfettePrinciple female]] and [[MonochromeCasting and minority]] superheroes in Phases 1 and 2.
** ''Film/CaptainAmerica'':
*** When making ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier The Winter Soldier]]'', Chris Evans had become so impressed with the combat gameplay for [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger the first film]]'s tie-in video game ''VideoGame/CaptainAmericaSuperSoldier'', he and the Russo brothers discussed adapting a similar, more acrobatic fighting style for Cap in the movies. The film ended up receiving praise from both critics and fans for its fight sequences and choreography.
*** ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar Civil War]]''
*** Tony Stark tells Peter Parker that he's here to give him a much-needed revamp and upgrade could be seen as a nod to Marvel Studios trying to fix Sony's ''Spider-Man'' franchise after the failure of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''.
*** Some have viewed the film's premise of the Avengers splitting into two factions going against each other as being accidentally reflective of the massive friction and tension generated by the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The USA at the time was said to have engaged in a kind of "social civil war" having been deeply polarized by its two candidates, particularly the surprising popularity and support of its [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump most controversial candidate and eventual winner]]. The film's tagline "United We Stand. Divided We Fall." somewhat highlighted this.
* The Oracle in ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' had to be [[TheOtherDarrin played by a different actor]] during ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', as the previous actor died from complications of diabetes. Hence that strange scene right before she sends the main characters to the Merovingian, explained in-universe as a case of TheNthDoctor.
* ''Film/MediumCool'', a {{Mockumentary}} shot and filmed during the Chicago 1968 riots outside the Democratic National Convention. [[WordOfGod It was supposed to be]] a film about poverty and [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing media manipulation]], and it was contemplated that the finale would be MLK's planned March on Poverty, but the director had it on word from friends in Chicago that a massive demonstration was about to take place, and then MLK and RFK got assassinated during filming, which were incorporated into the plot. Oh, and the film is shot [[EnforcedMethodActing entirely on-location while events took place]].
* ''Film/MerlinsShopOfMysticalWonders'', a family movie made by recycling bits of footage from a horror anthology rejected by the studio, features Creator/ErnestBorgnine as a grandfather who tells his grandson stories from a horror anthology he wrote that the studio rejected.
* In Creator/FritzLang's ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'', the [[MadScientist depraved inventor]] Rotwang is said to have been previously in love with his boss [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Joh Fredersen]]'s wife Hel, who left him to marry Fredersen. In real life, Rotwang's actor Rudolf Klein-Rogge was previously married to Fritz Lang's wife Thea Von Harbou (who [[CreatorCouple wrote the film's screenplay]], as well as the original novel that it was based on), who left Klein-Rogge to marry Lang after having an extramarital affair with him. That said, Lang and Klein-Rogge reportedly [[AmicableExes remained good friends for years after the incident]], and Lang repeatedly denied that his films reflected his personal life.
* When Al Michaels reprised his RealLife role as the broadcaster of the US-Soviet Union hockey game in ''Film/{{Miracle}}'', most of his lines were scripted. However, the last seconds of the game featured the RealLife call from 1980 in the belief that Michaels could never duplicate that same emotion.
* In-universe example in ''Film/MoulinRouge''; the plot of the ShowWithinAShow mirrors the romance of Christian and Satine with the looming threat of the Duke. The Duke does not take it well when this is pointed out to him.
* In the 1996 version of ''Film/{{The Nutty Professor|1996}}'', Klump says, "Buddy's who I thought the whole world wanted me to be." This is almost certainly a reference to Creator/EddieMurphy's own movie career. Series/SiskelAndEbert even noted this in their review.
* ''Film/Pathfinder1987'' is about the Sámi people of northern Scandinavia being pushed out of their ancestral lands by invaders. The film aired amidst a Sámi civil rights movement following centuries of efforts at cultural erasure.
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDvymblSdh4#t=51m09s this scene]] in ''Picasso Trigger'', Taryn's shown flying a Cessna 172P Skyhawk. Her actress, Hope Marie Carlton is a licensed pilot in RealLife.
* Creator/CharltonHeston appears in ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001'' as Thade's father. Heston's character, an ape on his deathbed, gives a gun to his son Thade, saying that it has "the power of a thousand swords." His last words, a nod to Heston's original role as the protagonist in the original 1968 film, were [[ActorAllusion "Damn them all to hell"]] regarding the humans[[note]]Heston's character in the original film, a human himself, said the same line in the context of cursing humans for destroying themselves and allowing the apes to replace them[[/note]]. In real life, Charlton Heston was also president of the National Rifle Association.
* ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}'':
** The family's eldest daughter is entirely missing from ''Film/PoltergeistIITheOtherSide'' and ''Film/PoltergeistIII'', as Dominique Dunne, the actress who played her, had been murdered in 1982. The role was not re-cast and the absence of the character was not mentioned, almost a [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Brother Chuck]]. Ms. Dunne also appeared in an episode of ''Series/HillStreetBlues'' playing an abuse victim, but many of the bruises on her face were genuine, inflicted by her boyfriend (her eventual killer).
** The actor who played the evil preacher, Julian Beck, was actually that gaunt: he was dying of cancer and didn't need that much makeup to look like a skeleton.
** Creator/HeatherORourke, who played Carol Anne, was noticeably chubby in the third movie due to the medication for her Crohn's disease. She would later die from surgical complications after filming completed in 1988 at [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth 12 years old]].
* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'':
** The reason Creator/MandyPatinkin's HeroicResolve was so convincing is a bit of very dedicated method acting: he thought of Rugen in that scene as being the cancer that killed Patinkin's own RealLife father.
---> "''I want my '''father''' back, you son of a bitch.''"
** Another bit is the fear in Christopher Guest's performance when he faces down Inigo. Patinkin actually had accidentally injured Guest in a training exercise some time beforehand.
* ''Film/ThePurge'':
** ''Film/ThePurgeElectionYear'' was released during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and certain elements of the story were pretty on the nose about it. The blonde, female Presidential candidate was a less-than-subtle NoCelebritiesWereHarmed take on UsefulNotes/HillaryClinton (though her policies and behavior have been said to make her closer to a DistaffCounterpart to UsefulNotes/BernieSanders) while her politically inexperienced Pro-Purge opponent obviously represented UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump. Even the film's marketing took jabs at Trump's campaign, with {{tagline}}s like "Keep America Great"[[note]]His well-known campaign slogan being "Make America Great Again". Ironically enough, [[LifeImitatesArt Trump would actually use "Keep America Great" for his 2020 campaign]].[[/note]] or reviews stating "This Purge ''trumps'' them all."
** ''Film/TheFirstPurge'' also looks to have this as it showcases the stark polarization of the public's opinion of implementing the Purge which more or less parallels the current RealLife division among political affiliations in regards to the Trump presidency.
* In the movie ''Film/{{Push}}'', Creator/DakotaFanning plays a girl with psychic precognitive powers. What makes this particularly funny is Ms. Fanning's apparent extreme intelligence which has led to some jokes about her having actual "powers."
* Creator/RobertDeNiro alerted his friend and director Creator/MartinScorsese to boxing biopic ''Film/RagingBull'' in the hope that engaging with the project would help Scorsese address his own self-destructive impulses.
* ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'':
** Both the first and last films mirror Creator/SylvesterStallone's story of making them quite movingly. He had over 30 failed screenplays to his name before United Artists took a chance on ''Film/{{Rocky}}'', and he was instantly catapulted to fame and fortune. Then when Stallone tried to make ''Film/RockyBalboa'', it was at a time when he was a laughingstock after several poor career moves, and no one thought the film could be anything but a disaster. Yet when the film was released, the fans all trumpeted it as a worthy conclusion to the story.
** ''Film/RockyII'' is about Rocky’s new found fame quickly running out, along with the accompanying financial resources. As a result he reluctantly accepts a challenge from Apollo for a rematch. There was never intended to be a sequel to the original film. They even have a LeaningOnTheFourthWall moment at the end when Apollo tells Rocky there won’t be a rematch and his response that he doesn’t want one. Unfortunately both of Stallone’s follow up starring roles, F.I.S.T. and Paradise Alley, were both critical and commercial flops leading many to suspect that he was destined to become a OneHitWonder. Rather than have that be his fate Stallone then wrote and directed the sequel which solidified his place as a star.
** This trope was further emphasized with the spin-off film ''Film/{{Creed}}'', which focuses on Adonis, the son of Apollo Creed, trying to become a boxer in his own right with the aid of Rocky's training. The film was the first in the series that Stallone neither wrote nor directed, and it essentially allowed him to pass the torch to Ryan Coogler and Creator/MichaelBJordan in the same way that Rocky does with Adonis.
** ''Film/RockyIV'', which pits Rocky against the brutish Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, was famously released near the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and was made as a blatantly patriotic celebration of America's triumph over Russia. ''Film/CreedII'' is an intergenerational story that pits Adonis Creed against Drago's son Viktor, who turns out to be just as much of a brute as his father. Notably, it was made in 2018, during a period of [[HistoryRepeats renewed tension]] between the United States and UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin's Russia.
* The titular rumor of ''Film/RumorHasIt'', about how Sarah's parents were the inspiration for the movie ''Film/TheGraduate'', stems from a real-life rumor that the original novel was inspired by an actual family.
* Branko Lustig helped to direct ''Film/SchindlersList'', a story about a German man who saved more than a thousand Jewish lives during [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust the Holocaust]]. Lustig was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp (where up to 1 million Jews were murdered) so the film had very significant meaning to him. This is reflected in the speech he gave at the 1994 Oscars upon the film winning the Academy Award for Best Picture:
-->"[[http://youtu.be/1HKTYYX50hQ?t=3m13s My number was 83317. I am a Holocaust survivor. It's a long way from Auschwitz to this stage.]]"
* In ''Film/ASimpleWish'', Annabel and her father have a close relationship following the death of Annabel's mother. This deeply ridiculous movie suddenly becomes a TearJerker with the reality subtext: Creator/MaraWilson, who played Annabel, was still recovering from the death of her own mother halfway through the filming of ''Film/{{Matilda}}''. She really does adore her father, who single-handedly raised Wilson and her brothers while managing his daughter's film career, thus doing a much better job than [[WaitingForABreak Annabel's father]].
* Similar to the ''Planet of the Apes'' example above, the tears that Thorn sheds for Sol near the climax of ''Film/SoylentGreen'' are real, as Creator/CharltonHeston is crying for Creator/EdwardGRobinson who was dying of cancer at the time (this was Robinson's last film).
* ''Film/SpaceJam'':
** The subplot with UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan playing baseball is based very loosely on his real life semi-retirement. It's essential to the plot because it means the aliens don't think to steal his basketball skills and this incident, in turn, leads to him returning to basketball which he also did in real life, making this a sort-of fictional autobiographical account. They even go so far as to acknowledge in-film that Jordan is a subpar baseball player and is only being indulged because of his celebrity.
** And for those wondering why the hell Creator/BillMurray is in the film trying to play basketball? That's actually a reference to the series of promo ads Murray did for the league circa 1995 claiming he was going to play NBA ball.
* ''Film/SpiderMan1'':
** It is believed that following 9/11, an entire scene was cut from the first film where Spidey strings a huge web in between the World Trade towers. There was a trailer composed of this scene (which was, obviously, pulled after the attacks), but whether this scene was from the movie or created specifically for the trailer is less certain.
** Likewise the scene where the New Yorkers help out Spidey against Green Goblin as he tries to save a tram of school kids and Mary Jane i.e. the citizens of the city banding together.
* In ''Film/SpyKids3DGameOver'', Creator/RicardoMontalban's character confronts the EvilFormerFriend who left him wheelchair-bound... then delivers a quietly passionate speech about everything his disability has cost him and everything he's learned from it, culminating in offering his forgiveness, which said friend emotionally accepts. It's also a case of DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: Montalbán was paralyzed by a botched spinal surgery and was speaking from personal experience.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'':
*** The movie entails the forging of peace between long-standing enemies, {{the Federation}} and the Klingon Empire, as the Klingons face extinction following the destruction of their moon, Praxis. The film, released in 1991, bluntly parallels the ending of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as tensions between the United States (the Federation) and the Soviet Union (Klingons) had subsided partially due to the potential damage done to Russia, one of the world's greatest superpowers, after the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 (the destruction of Praxis).
*** Additionally, ''Star Trek VI'' marked the official GrandFinale for the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]]'' era of the Franchise/TrekVerse and was the final bow for the original cast, hence their signatures at the end credits. It was also the last ''Star Trek'' production that franchise creator Creator/GeneRoddenberry was involved in as he passed away days after watching the finished film.
** ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'':
*** The central plot of the movie, which involves a villain's plan to turn Starfleet into a more militaristic version of itself, is largely reflective of the fandom's concerns about the once-optimistic franchise taking a DarkerAndEdgier turn and overemphasizing action and conflict at the expense of creative storytelling. Fittingly, the movie ends with [[spoiler:Kirk and company beginning their five-year exploration mission]], with Kirk giving a speech about the importance of Starfleet [[RevisitingTheRoots staying true to its founding principles of peacekeeping and discovery]].
*** The film can also be seen as an example of a once-good government taking increasingly dark and amoral actions in the name of protecting its citizens from a perceived outside threat, a subject that is very relevant to the post-9/11 western world.
** ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'':
*** In this film, Spock learns about the death of his Prime Timeline version and - Vulcan stoicism aside - is devastated, later speaking of how he wants to "live as he did". A sentiment that Creator/ZacharyQuinto likely feels just as his character does, given his friendship with the late Creator/LeonardNimoy.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** The first major action sequence in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', where Luke is attacked by a Wampa, was created solely to explain the scars on Creator/MarkHamill's face from a bad car accident that Hamill was in towards the end of filming ''Film/ANewHope''.
** One of Creator/HarrisonFord's more memorable ad-libs in ''Film/ANewHope'' is generally agreed to be the scene where Han attempts to bluff his way through a radio conversation with an Imperial officer on the Death Star after the heroes accidentally get into a firefight with a few Stormtroopers. Han's flustered efforts to bluff his way through the exchange ("Uh... Everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you... How are you?") are all the more believable because Ford neglected to memorize his lines for that scene, and actually ''was'' [[IndyPloy improvising as he went along]]. Han's wincing expression at the end of that monologue (as if to say "They couldn't ''possibly'' have bought that...") was actually Ford's expression, as he was absolutely sure that he'd screwed up that take.
** General Hux, one of the CoDragons in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', was born during the last days of the Galactic Empire. [[Creator/DomhnallGleeson His actor]] was born on May 12, 1983. ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' was released on May 25 of the same year.
* In ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'', Norma Desmond, a forgotten silent film star is played by Creator/GloriaSwanson, a forgotten silent film star herself. Her butler, Max, who was a leading director in the silent film era, is played by Creator/ErichVonStroheim, who was a leading director in the silent film era. For bonus points, the StockFootage of a younger Swanson chosen to represent Norma Desmond as she was as a silent film star was from the obscure feature ''Queen Kelly'', which was directed by von Stroheim. Norma also used to work with Creator/CecilBDeMille, who appears in the film playing himself; in real life, he did work with Swanson several times.
* In ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'', several Hollywood actors and creators are mocked for their liberal politics, with Creator/MichaelMoore being one of the prime targets. The reason for this was that Moore had used ManipulativeEditing and a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''-style cartoon in ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'' to make it appear that Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone worked on the film with him and were in favor of his ideology. They didn't and they weren't, so this was their way of getting revenge.
* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'':
** ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'': Besides [[MythologyGag the franchise's classic catchphrases]], one of the T-800's new {{Catch Phrase}}s was "Old, but not obsolete", referring to critics who felt that Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger had become too old to play the Terminator anymore.
** More broadly, the stories and themes of the ''Terminator'' films have more-or-less ''always'' evolved to fit the political and social climate of their moment in time, in some ways more subtle than others. To elaborate:
*** The original film (released in 1984, during a period of resurgent tensions in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar) features Sarah Connor preparing to face a [[YouCantFightFate seemingly inevitable]] nuclear holocaust--reflecting American culture's then-contemporary fears about the possibility of nuclear war between the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and the UsefulNotes/SovietUnion. Appropriately enough: it also introduces [[GreaterScopeVillain Skynet]] as a global network of [[KillSat armed satellites]], which bears a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything noticeable resemblance]] to the [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reagan]] administration's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative Strategic Defense Initiative]], which was announced the year before the film was released.
*** ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' (released in 1991, the year that the UsefulNotes/ColdWar ended) features John and Sarah Connor successfully preventing the nuclear holocaust that Sarah had previously feared, proving that [[ScrewDestiny it's not so inevitable after all]]--reflecting American culture's then-contemporary sense of relief after the long-prophesied nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union never came to pass.
*** ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' (released in 2003, shortly after the 9/11 attacks) features John Connor and Kate Brewster facing an uncertain future after discovering that the nuclear holocaust of "Judgment Day" really ''is'' inevitable, and Skynet's defeat was never going to last forever--reflecting American culture's reckoning with the onset of the UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror, which ended a decade of relative peace and stability following the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. It also reimagines Skynet as a global network of computers, reflecting the then-recent rise of the internet.
*** ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'' (released in 2009, when the UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror had been raging for nearly a decade) is an epic war film focused on the ForeverWar between Skynet and the Resistance--reflecting American culture's growing weariness with the seemingly endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The plot also introduces a new breed of Terminator [[TomatoInTheMirror programmed to believe that it's human]], reflecting American culture's fears about terrorists HidingInPlainSight among the American populace.
*** ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'' (released in 2015, just as digital technology was becoming more ubiquitous than ever) reimagines Skynet as a high-tech digital operating system that rises to power by exploiting humanity's reliance on portable computers in everyday life--reflecting American culture's growing anxieties about cyber warfare and the potential dangers of information manipulation.
*** ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate'' (released in 2019, during a resurgent period of social consciousness in the United States) features a young Mexican woman stepping up to fill the role of [[MessianicArchetype humanity's savior]] following the death of John Connor--reflecting contemporary discourse on diversity and feminism in the wake of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women%27s_March one of the largest women's rights demonstrations in American history]]. It also briefly portrays the US Border Patrol in an antagonistic context, which many critics [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical viewed]] as a reflection of the [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump Trump]] administration's controversial [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_administration_family_separation_policy policy]] on undocumented immigration from UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}.
* ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' wrote in a bit where Creator/ShiaLaBeouf's character Sam gets his hand injured, due to Shia actually injuring his hand when in a car accident during filming. Considering the nature of the movie, it didn't affect filming much at all.
* In ''Film/TheTrain'', it was necessary to add a scene where Creator/BurtLancaster's character was shot and injured while crossing a bridge because the actor had injured his knee playing golf and could only walk with a limp.
* Creator/TylerPerry has discussed in several interviews that his movies are based on his RagsToRiches life story. Some examples include the prevalence of RapeAsBackstory in his movies, relating to his childhood when he was molested several times.
* [[Creator/TheWachowskis The Wachowski Sisters]]:
** The interest in masked characters (i.e. Film/{{V|ForVendetta}}, [[Film/SpeedRacer Racer X]]) in their films might have something to do with their {{reclusive|Artist}}ness as well as Lana and Lilly having to live most of their lives as men.
** When they returned to the public with ''Film/CloudAtlas'', with its actors and actresses playing different genders and races, you can see it as a parallel to Lana's life.
* The Music/JohnnyCash biopic ''Film/WalkTheLine'' starts out with the tragic death of Johnny's older brother when he was a kid. Creator/JoaquinPhoenix, who played the adult Cash, said it was very hard to film scenes that dealt with this, because of [[Creator/RiverPhoenix his own brother's]] death years earlier.
* Creator/MichaelDouglas began shooting ''Film/WallStreetMoneyNeverSleeps'' shortly after his son Cameron was sent to prison on drug-dealing charges, the latest installment in his long battle with addiction. Six years earlier his half-brother Eric had also died of an overdose. Gekko's emotions as he recalls his own ultimately futile efforts to prevent his son's overdose are thus very real for Douglas.
* In the [[{{Recut}} director's cut]] of the ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' film, an FBI agent offers Laurie a smoke and Laurie responds by glaring at him. In real life, Creator/WarnerBros barred her character from smoking for fear of promoting the habit, much to the chagrin of fans and Creator/MalinAkerman.
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'':
** A key part of the ComicBook/WonderWoman mythos is that Princess Diana is an Amazon, a member of a legendary race of all-female warriors who defy traditional gender roles to become one of the most elite groups of soldiers on Earth. When she finally got her own big-budget Hollywood movie [[DevelopmentHell after years of failed attempts]], Israeli actress Creator/GalGadot was chosen to play her. Israel is, rather famously, one of the only countries in the world that not only ''allows'' women to serve in the military (up to and including in combat), but actually ''requires'' it. Gadot is no exception: she served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years, making her the first Wonder Woman actress who's actually a veteran herself.
** The film was the first resounding success for the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse, which had long lingered behind the long-running Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in both critical reception and box-office returns. It also seems to have been made (in part) as a SpiritualAntithesis to Marvel's film ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', another war-themed period piece about the origin of a superhero with a patriotic costume. Fittingly, much of the movie involves Diana trying to escape the shadow of [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a handsome American soldier named "Steve", played by an actor named "Chris"]]. The movie even ends with [[spoiler:"Steve" pulling a HeroicSacrifice to stop a loaded plane from destroying the world's major cities]].
* A major theme in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' is the concept of a second chance in the face of the mutant race's impending extinction. This could be seen as a nod to the fact that the movie was seen by some as a last-ditch effort to revitalize the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', which had been in a critical and box office tailspin since the release of ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' and ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Because of the intense, complicated nature of their storylines, this is often seen on {{Soap Opera}}s.
** On ''Series/AnotherWorld'', actress Judi Evans' RealLife struggle with losing her pregnancy weight was turned into a storyline for her character in 1997, with the actress admitting that many of the things her character Paulina Cory said were things she had said to her own husband (though her RealLife methods never became as extreme as her character, who turned to diet pills and eventually ran down her friend's son--who lived, fortunately--while high), while several others' decision to have plastic surgery was also played out on the show. But the most prominent example has been with onscreen romances eventually transcending to RealLife. Two especially eerie examples include two characters who were involved in an extramarital affair--the actors eventually left their spouses to marry each other, while at least two others had a couple's RealLife love story virtually parallel their onscreen one--meeting, friendship, dating, marriage, children... and divorce.
** NYPD Officer John Perry had a recurring role as a police officer on ''Series/OneLifeToLive''. On September 11, 2001, he was at One Police Plaza (just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center) when he learned of the attacks and dashed to the site to help. He was killed when the South Tower collapsed. In September 2002, the first anniversary was commemorated when Llanview's Police Commissioner Bo Buchanan gazed at a photo of Perry and sadly commented, "I can't believe it's been a year" The in-universe story was that Perry had been ''visiting'' New York that day (the show is set in Pennsylvania), but died just as he had in RealLife. It's not hard to imagine that Robert S. Woods (who played Bo), didn't have to do much acting to convey his grief. Until the end of the series, Perry's picture was visible during scenes set in the police station.
** In the spring of 1993, actor Clint Ritchie was badly injured in an accident on his California ranch. Storylines for his character Clint Buchanan were nixed and the character was written off for the summer as having been injured in the same manner. (Once again, it's highly likely that Robert Woods' didn't have to do much acting to convey his joy when Ritchie returned to the set after recuperating.)
* The "show about making a show" premise of ''Series/ThirtyRock'' gave numerous opportunities for this; a notable example is a Season 6 arc involving Tracy Jordan making offensive comments about gay people, which aired less than a year after a similar real-life incident involving the character's actor, Creator/TracyMorgan.
* Following Creator/JohnRitter's tragic and sudden death (he collapsed on set), his show ''Series/EightSimpleRules'' aired a sobering episode about his character dying in an accident and his family dealing with it.
* ''Series/AmericanCrimeStory'' creator Creator/RyanMurphy has admitted that he's wanted to do a season dramatizing the impeachment of U.S. President UsefulNotes/BillClinton since the series began, but had to delay production on the season due to behind-the-scenes difficulties. By a complete coincidence, the season--titled ''Impeachment''--finally began production in mid-2019, shortly before it was announced that U.S. President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump would be facing an impeachment investigation of his own.
* The last two episodes of ''Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos'' hosted by original host Creator/BobSaget did not have him [[SigningOffCatchPhrase ad-lib a line to his wife]]. This was because his marriage was falling apart at the time.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Similar to breakup between Buffy and Angel on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' (see below), in the [=S1=] episode where Angel becomes human and he and Buffy have 24 hours of perfect bliss before he voluntarily gives it all up ("[[Recap/AngelS01E08IWillRememberYou I Will Remember You]]"), Creator/SarahMichelleGellar was so distraught by the plotting that viewers can actually hear Creator/DavidBoreanaz consoling Gellar (by name) rather than Angel comforting Buffy.
** Cordelia's pregnancy in Season 4 coincided with Creator/CharismaCarpenter's real-life pregnancy, and also threw out an idea to have the season end with a fight between Angel and Cordelia.
* In ''Series/AngerManagement'', Charlie threw away his baseball career during a fit of anger, and his work as a therapist is his attempt to get his life together again -- this mirrors Creator/CharlieSheen's infamous meltdown, where an argument with Creator/ChuckLorre cost him his job on ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'', with ''Anger Management'' being an attempt at a second chance. This was even referenced in Lorre's show: When Alan suspects Charlie is still alive (and bent on revenge), Walden asks "Did he ever try anger management?" to which Alan responds "He did it for a while, [[TakeThat didn't work]]."
* Mr. Humphries of ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'' was eventually promoted to Senior Salesman because the producers were tired of casting elderly actors who subsequently died. In turn, actor Creator/JohnInman asked for Humphries' promotion not to be formally acknowledged, because he was superstitious about all those dead actors before him.
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' '''loves these'''.
** In Season 3, the Bluths' continual struggles to keep the family business afloat are reflective of the showrunners' continual struggles to keep the show on the air. Maeby's attempts to pitch a movie based on her family life are also reflective of their attempts to revive the show as a movie. One episode ("S.O.B.s") even features the Bluths trying to secure financial help from a rival real estate company, which is pretty blantantly based on the showrunners' efforts to get the show [[ChannelHop picked up by a different network]]--to the point of LeaningOnTheFourthWall.
--->'''George:''' Well, I don't think the [[FunWithAcronyms Home Builders Organization]] is going to be supporting us.\\
'''Michael:''' Yeah, the Creator/{{HBO}}'s not going to want us. What do we do now?\\
'''George:''' Well, I think it's [[Creator/{{Showtime}} show time]].
** Bob Loblaw (Scott Baio) replacing Gary Zuckerkorn (Creator/HenryWinkler) as the family's lawyer--a nod to Baio joining the cast of ''Series/HappyDays'' late in the show's run.
** Season 4 had a subplot about GOB being unable to recognize his son, Steve Holt. The writers included this because in real life, Justin Grant Wade (the actor who portrays Steve) had put on weight and become nearly unrecognizable during the seven years between the show's cancellation and [[{{Uncancelled}} Uncancellation]].
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
** Laurel Lance is walking with these. She has an alcoholic father, much like [[Creator/KatieCassidy her actress']] father having drinking problems. In the second season, she had a SelfDeprecation speech mentioning how people tend to stay away from her, alluding to her status as TheScrappy to most of the show's fandom. In the third, she becomes a ReplacementScrappy for her sister as the ComicBook/BlackCanary, both InUniverse and out.
** This gets twisted further in Season 4 with [[spoiler:Laurel's death]]. Laurel continued to be a polarizing figure after donning the Black Canary mantle, only for many a fan's view of both Laurel and her previously torpedoed relationship with Oliver Queen to improve dramatically right before [[spoiler:Damien Darhk kills her]], though this is also tied to [[ShipToShipCombat their wariness]] with the show's handling and [[CharacterShilling shilling]] of Felicity Smoak--once a fan favorite whose romance with Oliver Laurel was pushed aside for--in the third and fourth seasons. Laurel's LoveConfession to Oliver, Oliver's laudation of Laurel's contributions to Starling City, and [[spoiler:his declaration of vengeance against Darhk]] all mirrored the majority of then-current ''Arrow'' fandom in some way or another.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** Vir Cotto got a lot slimmer halfway through the series, which fit with the character developing from mostly comic relief to playing a more serious role in the show. In reality, Creator/StephenFurst had been ordered to lose weight after becoming diabetic.
** Zack Allan's complaints about his ill-fitting uniform were based -- in some cases word for word -- on that character's actor, Creator/JeffConaway, complaining about his ill-fitting costume. (When he later gets a change of costume, it is a notably better fit.)
** Delenn's scathing dressing-down of the Grey Council in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E10SeveredDreams Severed Dreams]]" was infused with her Croatian actress Creator/MiraFurlan's own considerable fury with the European powers who failed to help as the Balkans went to hell.
** ''Babylon 5'' enjoyed that sort of thing. WordOfGod is that Mr. Garibaldi's occasional speeches in favor of the death penalty were put in because actor Creator/JerryDoyle was a fervent supporter of capital punishment in real life (even Garibaldi's infamous "electric bleachers" line was taken from something Creator/JMichaelStraczynski had overheard Doyle say in absolute seriousness). Notably, the Season 3 episode [[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E04PassingThroughGethsemane "Passing Through Gethsemane"]] has a discussion between Garibaldi and Delenn on the matter that mirrors their real-life actors' viewpoints.
** There have been heavy hints dropped by Creator/JMichaelStraczynski and others that the reason why Sinclair and Garibaldi have no scenes together in "War Without End", despite the characters having been good friends in the first season when Sinclair was a regular, was because of a serious falling-out between the actors.
** It's [[RewatchBonus easy to miss]], but Commander Ivanova wears a single earring. One of Creator/ClaudiaChristian's brothers was killed by a drunk driver when they were kids, and she placed the other earring in his casket at the memorial service. [[MementoMacGuffin Ivanova's reason]] for wearing the single earring was made explicit in the prequel movie ''[[Film/BabylonFiveInTheBeginning In the Beginning]]'', which shows that she gave the other earring to her older brother for good luck, only for him to die during the Earth-Minbari War.
** The infamous "teddy bear meets airlock" and the annoyance over merchandising? Yeah, JMS had a lot of pent-up frustration, particularly at Kenner, over their interference with ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' to make the series more {{Toyetic}}, so when he had an opportunity to take a clean shot at toy companies, he did so with glee.
** Ivanova shows up in one episode leading a gaggle of Drazi with her leg in a cast. Reference to the rather... rambunctious nature of Drazi politics? No, Creator/ClaudiaChristian was in an accident and broke her leg. However, it was left in because it fit in hilariously well with what was going on in the character's life at the time.
* During the production halt observed for the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike, ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'''s Creator/MichaelTrucco (Samuel Anders) was involved in a near-fatal car accident. He miraculously survived the event with little lasting damage except for a rather large scar down the back of his neck. To allow him to recover but still be an active part of the show for its final season the writers came up with a scenario involving Anders being struck by a bullet and suffering massive brain trauma and being immobile for the remainder of the show but still an integral part of the final arc. By the time the post-script move ''[[TheMovie The Plan]]'' went into production, he was back on his feet and back to doing the kind of stuff his character was known for.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
** The breakup of Penny and Leonard [[BlatantLies was certainly not inspired by the fact that Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki broke up in real life around the same time]]. [[WesternAnimation/RobotChicken Surely!]]
** Also, several episodes featured Penny tending bar at work and not much of her being seen from the waist down. This coincided with Creator/KaleyCuoco's leg being in a cast after she was seriously injured while horseback riding.
** Similar tactics were needed when Creator/MayimBialik (Amy Farrah Fowler) injured her hand in a car accident. For several episodes, Amy's hand was always out of the shot, usually hidden behind things or placed beneath a tabletop.
* The main character of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' is an anthropologist/writer named Temperance Brennan. She writes mysteries about an anthropologist named Kathy Reichs. In reality, Kathy Reichs is an anthropologist/writer who writes mysteries about an anthropologist named Temperance Brennan. Also, when actress Creator/EmilyDeschanel was pregnant, her character was too.
* After ''Series/BreakingBad'' finished, writer-producer Creator/VinceGilligan said that he belatedly realized that he had written a story about a man having the worst [[HollywoodMidlifeCrisis mid-life crisis]] ever, at a time in his life when he was probably due for one himself.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E19SeeingRed Seeing Red]]", Warren Mears accidentally kills Tara Maclay. At the time, the actors, Adam Busch and Creator/AmberBenson, respectively, were dating, and Creator/JossWhedon actually told Adam, "You're gonna kill your girlfriend," to which the reply was "Warren gets a girlfriend?" "No, I mean your real girlfriend." Eight years later, by the way, they're still together.
** Cordelia's fall onto a piece of rebar in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E8LoversWalk Lovers Walk]]" was based on a similar incident that occurred to Creator/CharismaCarpenter in real life.
** When Angel breaks up with Buffy in the third season, the tears are real. Creator/SarahMichelleGellar, who considers Angel and Buffy soulmates, apparently cried for so long that the set had to be shut down briefly.
** The Anointed One, a [[UndeadChild child vampire]] who was the Master's protege in Season 1, was initially planned to be the BigBad of Season 2. He ended up being [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains shoved into a cage and incinerated]] by Spike early in the season when it became apparent the actor was visibly growing up and wouldn't be able to remain convincing as a never-aging vampire for long.
** [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E7ConversationsWithDeadPeople Conversations With Dead People]]" features four different subplots that [[DeadPersonConversation share a common theme]], but are different in tone mostly unrelated. This is because they were all written by different writers due to time constraints.
** Giles CommutingOnABus in Seasons 6 and 7 due to Creator/AnthonyHead moving back to England.
* If one interview in particular is any indication, this was the result of ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture'' breaking a number of taboos, including at least two instances of swearing, and an important good guy character being killed off onscreen. In the interview in question, Creator/JMichaelStraczynski reveals that he had known someone who had taken their own life despite his best efforts to stop them, which likely [[CreatorBreakdown influenced his decision to write those certain episodes (possibly even more of the series) the way he did]].
* Piper Halliwell was pregnant twice throughout the run of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', the first time just the character, the second time both character and actress. Because the actress knew more about being pregnant and having children, Piper's second pregnancy was a lot more realistic than her first: she wasn't on her feet as much, she didn't fight any demons, she talked about breastfeeding and maternity more, and Creator/HollyMarieCombs was noticeably more maternal with her onscreen children.
* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
** This happened a lot in the Season 4 premiere. Abed not wanting to graduate was rather bittersweetly reflective of the show's fans' reaction to the season, then rumored to be its last. The theme of coping with unexpected/unwelcome change also reflects the numerous behind-the-scenes shake-ups that had dogged the show since the middle of the previous season, chief among them the mid-season hiatus and the firing of Creator/DanHarmon as show-runner. Abed's "happy place" is presented as a rather blandly cheery and formulaic sitcom -- the same sort of sitcom fans worried that ''Community'' itself would turn into in an attempt to become more "mainstream" after the firing of Harmon.
** Halfway through his guest stint as Robert Laybourne in Season 3, Creator/JohnGoodman unexpectedly had to grow a beard and ponytail for his role as a drug dealer in the movie ''Film/{{Flight}}''. Troy is surprised by Laybourne's shocking new appearance, which Laybourne [[{{Handwave}} claims is a result of]] "[[NoodleIncident Going through some stuff right now]]".
** In the Season 5 premiere, the gang discusses the disastrous final season of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', and how Creator/ZachBraff only returned for a handful of episodes. Troy reacts angrily to this and calls Braff a "Son of a bitch" for bailing on the show after it made him famous. In real life, it had been announced that [[Music/ChildishGambino Donald Glover]] (Troy's actor) was leaving the show five episodes into the season in order to focus on his rap career, which made the line a bit of good-natured SelfDeprecation.
*** The entire episode is this. It's basically an acknowledgment of the show's decline in quality, with Jeff pointing out that none of the characters have accomplished the goals they set out to do at the onset at the series, and have become {{flanderiz|ation}}ed parodies of themselves. There's even an AuthorsSavingThrow attempt to {{handwave}} away the events of the reviled [[AudienceAlienatingEra Season 4]].
** Season 5's finale has a similar tone, as the show's future was once again uncertain. With both Donald Glover and Creator/ChevyChase gone, some fans began questioning how much longer the show could go on, and to reflect that, Annie asks if Greendale is even worth saving now that Troy and Pierce are both gone.
* ''Series/CriminalMinds''
** JJ's eponymous final episode is practically this. The cast and crew's sentiments about the decision to fire A.J. Cook were expressed [[SarcasmMode very subtly]] and emotions of the other characters during JJ's farewell weren't just acting, they were real.
** And the reason that JJ has to leave the BAU is extremely close to the reason that AJ Cook had to leave the show: [[ExecutiveMeddling mandates from those higher up]].
** Prentiss' departure was also forced by the same mandate, requiring the producers to fire Creator/PagetBrewster. Both ladies made it back after one season and a ''very'' aggressive fan campaign.
** Matthew Gray Gubler injured his knee while filming ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer'' and so his character Spencer Reid had to be shot in the leg to explain this.
*** In fact, earlier in the show, a wrist injury on Gubler's part required Reid to go through the same.
** The episode "Coda" centers around Reid and Rossi trying to communicate with a young autistic witness. One of Joe Mantenga (Rossi)'s daughters is autistic. (Interesting sidebar: His other daughter appears in the episode "3rd Life".)
** Reid saving the day with a magic trick in "Derailed" way back in the first season was written in because Gubler is accomplished at sleight of hand. It's since become a recurring character quirk. In fact, fans often debate how much of what we're seeing onscreen is Reid and how much is Gubler as a profiler.
** Jason Gideon left the agency due to emotional stress and growing pessimism due to the cases he was working. This reflects actor Mandy Patinkin's growing disgust with the show's grim content.
** Hotch goes on a temporary assignment (off-screen) in the third episode of Season 12 before being revealed to be put in a witness protection system in a later episode. In reality, Thomas Gibson was fired due to an altercation with a co-writer.
* ''Series/{{CSI}}'':
** [[spoiler:Warrick Brown]]'s murder occurred shortly after [[spoiler:Gary Dourdan]] was released from the show.
** Gil Grissom is absent from the lab attending a convention for four episodes of season 7 because Creator/WilliamPetersen was performing in a play in Chicago.
* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'':
** Lindsay got pregnant once because of Anna Belknap's real-life pregnancy. The first time, it was hidden, but the second one was the reason for Lucy's birth.
** Adam was absent from one episode because A.J. Buckley took time off for his father's funeral.
** Gary Sinise tore a leg muscle while filming a fight scene in a cemetery in Season 8's "Get Me Out of Here!" so Mac was written out of the scene where the victim is rescued, plus he spent the rest of that episode and most of the next one sitting down. [[note]]Incidentally, he had torn the same muscle in the other leg while filming a chase scene in the subway in Season 1's "On the Job" (on his 50th birthday, no less) although that one apparently did not affect his character.[[/note]]
* ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'': Creator/LarryDavid's divorce with his real life wife led to Season 6 onwards being about Larry and Cheryl's gradually worsening relationship. In Season 8, they actually get divorced, which considerably changed how the series might have continued.
* ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' had to do this twice with the patriarch of the Ewing family. Jock Ewing was killed off in the fourth season of the original series after actor Jim Davis passed away prior to the season. Then, in an eerily similar situation, JR was killed off in the second season of the new series following Creator/LarryHagman's death.
* In Season 2 of ''Series/Daredevil2015'', [[BlindJustice Matt Murdock]] and [[SexySecretary Karen Page]] are set up as an OfficialCouple. If Creator/DeborahAnnWoll's onscreen chemistry with Creator/CharlieCox during their scenes looks so good, it's because her real-life boyfriend EJ Scott is blind, having lost his sight to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choroideremia Choroideremia]], and one of her pet causes involves raising awareness for the disease.
* A ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode shows Creator/DickVanDyke as the character of Mark Sloan watching home movie footage of himself playing "cowboys" with his son Steve (played by real-life son Barry). This is in fact real footage of Dick Van Dyke presumably playing "cowboys" with a toddler-age Barry, though it could conceivably be another family member.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** One of the show's most famous story devices, regeneration -- in which the Doctor and other Time Lords transform into completely new people when injured or near death -- was created expressly [[TheNthDoctor to explain the change in actors]] from Creator/WilliamHartnell, who was ill, to Creator/PatrickTroughton.
*** Hartnell's illness also affected his appearance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors The Three Doctors]]" 7 years later, as it made him unable to join Troughton and Creator/JonPertwee's Doctors on the same stage. This was written into the story as the First Doctor being "trapped in a time eddy" and only being able to communicate with his successors through a viewscreen in the TARDIS. On top of that, it wasn't just his last appearance as the First Doctor but his last acting appearance ''ever''.
*** Similarly, Creator/TomBaker's refusal to appear in "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]" was explained away by having the Fourth Doctor ([[FakeShemp represented by archival footage]]) also get trapped in a time eddy.
** During the production of the Second Doctor serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]", Creator/FrazerHines (Jamie) contracted chicken pox. This resulted in a last-minute rewrite of the serial, which allowed another actor (Hamish Wilson) to play Jamie's part for Episode 2 of the serial.
** In 1970, ''Doctor Who'' made the switch from black and white to color. At the same time, the production team came up with a StoryArc where the Doctor gets exiled to Earth in the 1970s, which allowed them to save the money that would ordinarily get spent on more exotic settings. The producers considered having him face off [[MonsterOfTheWeek a number of alien invasions]]. However, it was felt the sheer number of invasions would push WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too far, and so the Master was introduced as a recurring villain. Furthermore, the Master was originally slated to die saving the Doctor's life. Instead, Roger Delgado (the Master) died in a tragic car accident. Jon Pertwee (the Third Doctor) left the show partly due to this and the Master got new life later, played by other actors. These events make [[spoiler:certain events of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime the Tenth Doctor's finale]]]] a fourth-wall-straddling [[BecauseDestinySaysSo date with destiny]].
** Much as the Fourth Doctor enjoys fighting the robot in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot Robot]]", he is clearly bored out of his mind with having to be in UNIT, snoozing with his hat over his eyes or talking over everyone else during the exposition scenes and even having a mini-meltdown at the end about how he refuses to go on like this. The creators were getting sick of how [[ArcFatigue UNIT limited the space-time travel premise of the show]], and the Doctor's boredom is a metaphor for their own boredom and a plea to [[RevisitingTheRoots get the audience back into space again]].
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E3TerrorOfTheVervoids Terror of the Vervoids]]", we see Mel putting the Doctor through an excercise and healthy eating routine, telling the Doctor "it's your waistline I'm concerned about". Creator/ColinBaker was struggling with weight gain at the time, and appeared noticeably more rotund in Season 23 than he had in Season 22.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld the second episode of the new series]], Rose Tyler rants at the "bitchy trampoline" Cassandra that "she'd rather die" than have any of the cosmetic modifications Cassandra suggests. The very powerful subtext at work here is that Creator/BilliePiper had ''anorexia'' years earlier.
** A mild case, but it seems very likely that the Tenth Doctor's last line before he regenerates into [[Creator/MattSmith his eleventh incarnation]] is as much his actor speaking as he is, as said actor, Creator/DavidTennant, got into acting to [[PromotedFanboy play the Doctor]]. The line?
--->'''The Doctor:''' I don't want to go.
** The short special [[Recap/DoctorWho2007CiNSTimeCrash "Time Crash"]] showed the Tenth Doctor meeting the Fifth and practically gushing over the earlier incarnation. That's because Creator/DavidTennant grew up on the Fifth's serials, considers the Fifth his favorite Doctor, and cites Creator/PeterDavison as the reason he wanted to become an actor and eventually play the Doctor. That's Tennant's fanboying you see throughout the whole thing.
** Not just Tennant's; Creator/StevenMoffat, who wrote it, is also an unabashed Davison fanboy.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]], for the first time, justifies the change in default Dalek props in-universe: [[spoiler:Three Daleks who have miraculously survived the Dalek genocide of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]] (and are thus represented by the Creator/RussellTDavies props) create a new Dalek breed, technicolor, taller and more powerful than them. The old Daleks declare their unworthiness in comparison to the new ones and are promptly disintegrated by them.]] The actual production reason for the switch is that the RTD Dalek props were built so that they could go eyestalk-to-eye with Creator/BilliePiper (Rose), so the Creator/StevenMoffat props were conversely made to match the much taller Creator/KarenGillan (Amy).
** When Creator/MatthewWaterhouse was 16, his older brother committed suicide, just two years before Matthew got the part of Adric. What happens in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E3FullCircle Adric's introductory story?]] His older brother is yanked out of his grasp to his death.
** Creator/MattSmith cut his hair for ''Film/LostRiver''. To explain his in-character entrance as the Doctor at the 2013 ''Doctor Who'' Prom not long after filming of that movie wrapped, prefilmed footage clearly filmed before production of ''How to Catch a Monster'' began depicted the Doctor (and Clara) getting into the Royal Albert Hall by bodyswapping with people present on the stage; the process caused the Doctor to inherit his target's short hair when he appeared on stage.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]" featured a forgotten incarnation of the Doctor who had fought in the Time War, serving as a metaphor for the Wilderness Years and the many diverging, convoluted arms of the ExpandedUniverse that took over the Doctor's 'life' at that time.
** Smith's final episode, [[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor "The Time of the Doctor"]], has the Eleventh Doctor suffer a leg injury that leads to him either limping or using a cane for the remainder of the story. This is a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as Smith had hurt his leg in real life just prior to the start of filming.
** Also in his last episode, Smith's baldness was written into the story, allowing him to conceal a spare TARDIS key under his wig. In RealLife, he'd shaved his head for a film role; in-Whoniverse, Clara correctly deduces that Eleven cut off his hair on a whim because he was bored.
** Eleven's final lines, right before he regenerates could easily be interpreted as Matt Smith saying the lines in regards to his tenure as The Doctor:
--->'''Eleventh Doctor/Matt Smith:''' I will always remember when The Doctor was me.
** The subsequent season premier, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath "Deep Breath"]], contains a large amount of commentary about Creator/PeterCapaldi, who is currently the oldest actor to portray the Doctor in the revived series. Clara acts as a stand-in for the audience and questions the legitimacy of the new, physically aged Doctor, which parallels the fervor in the fanbase about such an old actor playing the character after the YoungerAndHipper precedent that was set with Creator/ChristopherEccleston, Creator/DavidTennant, and Creator/MattSmith.
** [[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon A Time"]] ends with Twelve making a speech to his successor as the Doctor essentially saying "it is your time now, good luck". It is very easy to see this as Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat wishing their successors (Creator/JodieWhittaker and Creator/ChrisChibnall) all the best.
** There are a lot of examples to do with Creator/TomBaker, as he was the most blatant example of MetaCasting yet seen on the whole show, and Creator/RobertHolmes, who edited much of his era, thought he was an interesting person enough that he deliberately wrote [[ActorSharedBackground elements inspired by Baker's life into the Doctor's backstory]], or would use the show to criticize aspects of Baker's behavior.
*** One of the Fourth Doctor's most overwhelmingly common villain templates was religious fanatics or ritual-obsessed villains, usually in robes and using Catholic-inflected iconography. He had spent his teens and the beginning of his 20s as a monk in an extremely repressive environment and still carried emotional damage from this, and enjoyed [[CreatorBreakdown the opportunity to work out his issues by shouting at people in cassocks]], which the writers were happy to give him. In particular, Holmes based Time Lord society on the organizational style of the Catholic Church.
*** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]"'s plot kicks off when a religious fanatic looks up to make eye contact with the Doctor and becomes infatuated with his face. This is peculiarly similar to a formative experience Tom Baker recounts in his biography, where, as a monk forbidden to look at faces, he'd accidentally glanced up to see another novice and become infatuated with his face.
*** Creator/RobertHolmes wrote "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]" at a time when Baker's mental health was starting to fail him, and his ego and drinking habit was beginning to cause production issues and public embarrassment. The story portrays the Doctor as very selfish and aloof, paying little attention to Leela and trying to ditch her four times (as Baker hated the character and had been pushing for her to be written out), contains a setpiece where the Doctor intentionally upstages another actor on a stage as a mindgame (Baker often hogged scenes and stepped on lines to abuse actors he disliked), and also portrays the Doctor as having a secret alcohol stash.
*** The Fourth Doctor audio drama "The Justice of Jalxar" contains a scene where the Doctor has to protect a group of innocents by confessing to all the crimes he has committed to a homicidal justice robot, so it would pursue him rather than the ordinary people. His confession is structured like a Catholic confession and involves him begging "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa", something absurdly uncomfortable to listeners aware that Creator/TomBaker had spent years as a Catholic monk not allowed to look at people's faces, forbidden to laugh, repeatedly made to repeat that he was worthless and told that if he ever left he would go mad outside, leaving him with lifelong emotional damage.
*** Actress Creator/JemmaRedgrave has openly stated several times that Kate Stewart's intense admiration and love for her father, the Brigadier, is a reflection of her own for her late father Corin Redgrave, and that this connection is the thing she has most in common with the character.
* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' was conceived after Creator/JossWhedon, who'd sworn that he would never again work with Fox after his terrible experiences making ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', was asked by Creator/ElizaDushku to produce a show for her so that she could get out of her contract to Fox. To hear Whedon tell it, Fox treated him very much the same way that Rossum treats its "Actives", which may go a long way towards explaining why the show is much darker than most Mutant Enemy shows.
* ''Series/{{ER}}'': Dr. Elizabeth Corday and Dr. Peter Benton have a brief and tense relationship that finally fizzles out when she realizes he'll never get over his discomfort of dating a white woman (he's African-American). In RealLife, Benton's portrayer Eriq [=LaSalle=] was equally uncomfortable with the relationship, feeling that it sent a negative message to the African-American community and asked the show's writers to nix it.
* ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'': In "[[Recap/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldierEpisode2TheStarSpangledMan The Star-Spangled Man]]", the scene where Sam gets profiled by white cops who nearly draw their weapons on him clearly draws inspiration from recent incidents of police brutality and black deaths, most famously George Floyd. What is particularly galling is that Bucky, a white guy who's standing right next to Sam, was himself an international criminal and assassin (since pardoned), but he gets practically ignored until the police discover a warrant for his arrest. And even then, they treat Bucky with significantly more respect and gentleness while arresting him than they did with Sam. [[note]]Behavior like this has been observed in real life frequently, e.g. of a black driver being shot just for ''saying'' he had a (legal) gun in his car (like you're advised to) after police stopped him while a white man carrying a rifle openly was not only spared, police treated him with kid gloves.[[/note]]
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': By a rather unfortunate coincidence, the cast and crew ended up filming the funeral scene at the end of "[[Recap/FireflyE12TheMessage The Message]]" shortly after Creator/JossWhedon delivered the news that Creator/{{Fox}} had decided to cancel the show. The characters might have been mourning the death of [[spoiler:Private Tracey]], but the cast was mourning the end of the show that they'd poured so much effort into.
* On ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Creator/JaneLeeves' pregnancy was written into the show. The guilt Daphne suffers as a result of leaving Donnie at the altar, and the difficulties in Daphne and Niles' new relationship, cause Daphne to begin overeating. She gains sixty pounds, but Niles is so blinded by love he doesn't notice until Daphne falls to the floor and is too heavy to get up without the help of Frasier, Niles and Martin (who remarks "it took three Cranes to lift you!") The weight problem was written into the show to allow Leeves to continue working while pregnant. Daphne then left for several weeks to attend "fat camp" and returned with her figure restored. During the episode "It Takes Two to Tangle" in which she did not appear while at the resort, Niles tells Roz that Daphne had lost 9 pounds, 12 ounces (the weight of Leeves' baby in real life). Leeves' second pregnancy, in the 11th season, was written into the show as her character getting pregnant, though.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** Chandler's "transfer" to Tulsa was because Creator/MatthewPerry was going through rehab. (He still appeared in every episode, just not as many scenes.) Many of the scenes revolving around Monica's support of him moving probably reflected the real life support [[TrueCompanions the cast]] gave Matthew Perry during this time. (Especially as other cast members said Creator/CourteneyCox who plays Monica, was one of the most supportive people for him.)
** Chandler's weight also fluctuated throughout the series, much more than the other characters, due to Matthew Perry's drug problems. In the early episodes, Chandler was average size, however, in later seasons he was extremely skinny and in other seasons he gained weight back. In one case he looked noticeably heavier in a season premiere that was supposed to take place shortly after the previous season's finale.
** Monica and Chandler's struggle to have children while not based on Courteney Cox's miscarriages did reflect her situation. To the extent, Cox found some scenes difficult to film, and Matthew Perry's previously mentioned close friendship with her meant his delivery of Chandler's "she's mother without a child" speech was particularly heartbreaking and emotional.
* ''Series/GhostsUK'': The ongoing storyline about the restoration of the HauntedHouse mirrors the restoration of the actual house where it's filmed. The relationship is symbiotic, as the real-life restoration is in large part funded by the fees the BBC pays to hire the location for filming.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'':
** In one episode, Kurt wants to sing "Defying Gravity" from ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', but runs into some trouble because it's traditionally sung by a girl. Kurt's actor, Creator/ChrisColfer, had wanted all throughout high school to sing the song at the talent show but was denied.
** Kurt and Mercedes are best friends on the show; Chris Colfer (Kurt) and Amber Riley (Mercedes) are best friends in real life.
** In the episode "Furt", Sue Sylvester just happens to be acting principal of [=McKinley=] and undergoes CharacterDevelopment that makes her more sympathetic to Kurt's bullying problem. Sue also realizes her own mother is a bully as well, as evidenced by continued disapproval and PassiveAggressiveKombat over Sue's plan to marry [[spoiler:herself]]. Creator/JaneLynch is an outspoken gay icon in real life who had recently married her girlfriend (though they divorced in 2013), so someone behind the scenes may have decided the episode's {{Gay Aesop}}s (about bullying and marriage) were more poignant coming from her.
** In one Season 3 episode, Blaine is hit in the face with a slushie laced with rock salt, and injures his [[EyeScream eye]] badly enough that he has to have surgery. He's completely absent from the following two episodes, the reason being of course that he's at home, resting after his surgery. In reality, Creator/DarrenCriss was absent from the filming of those two episodes because he was doing a two-week stint in ''Theatre/HowToSucceedInBusinessWithoutReallyTrying'' on Broadway.
** With the death of Cory Monteith, [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim the episode held to mourn his character]] had the cast crying for real.
* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'':
** Actor Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke) was canned from the show at the end of the Season 3, causing his character's romantic storyline with Creator/SandraOh's Christina Yang to end rather abruptly, with her stood up at the altar and going to his apartment to find out he'd cleaned house and left. Also, the sudden disappearance of Dr. Erica Hahn was due to the unexplainable firing of actress Brooke Smith.
** Season 6 has had to do quite a bit of covering up -- [[spoiler:George was killed in a bus accident when T.R. Knight wished to leave the show]], Katherine Heigl was written out for some episodes in order to shoot a movie and spend time with her recently-adopted baby, and Meredith had a storyline that required her to be bedridden to cover up Ellen Pompeo's pregnancy.
*** And the maternity leave of Creator/JessicaCapshaw (Arizona) led to a hugely important arc: [[spoiler:Arizona leaves for Africa, she and Callie break up, Callie sleeps with Mark and gets pregnant, Arizona returns and they reunite and decide to raise the baby together, Arizona ends up proposing and Callie says yes immediately after a near-fatal car accident.]] A rather extreme example of RealLifeWritesThePlot.
* By the fourth and final season of ''Series/HannahMontana'', Music/MileyCyrus adopted a more mature image (she was 18-going-on-19), and had already released the reflective and (slightly) HotterAndSexier album ''Can't Be Tamed'' earlier in 2010. Many of the plots and themes in ''Hannah'' seemed to address this change, from Miley wincing at the girlish look of the new room her dad put together for her, to Hannah trying new styles of music and getting backlash for it, to Miley Stewart wondering if fans would accept the real Miley without the wigs and flashy clothing after she revealed her identity and performed as herself.
* ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'',
** During the fourth season, Hercules received less screentime, Iolaus and Autolycus got more to do, there was a Autolycus/Salmoneus episode (which Herc doesn't even appear in) and several Series/YoungHercules episodes were produced. This was due to Creator/KevinSorbo's health problems that year and production worked to accomodate while he recovered. The ClipShow "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hercules" is quite obviously LeaningOnTheFourthWall, as it shows a production team desperately trying to do the show when Sorbo is suddenly unavailable.
** During "Prometheus", a {{crossover}} episode with ''Series/{{Xena|WarriorPrincess}}'', Michael Hurst injured his arm during a fight sequence. In "Cast a Giant Shadow", Iolaus' arm is subsequently injured and shown in a cast for a couple episodes.
** "Regrets... I've Had A Few" was filmed at the end of Season 3. Kevin Sorbo was eager to start his vacation, so the writing staff decided to give him less to do and plug the ''Young Hercules'' pilot at the same time.
** In "For Those of You Just Joining Us", [[Creator/BruceCampbell Rob Tapert]] announces his plan to kill off Iolaus in the fifth season to generate interest in the series. He mockingly says this to Paul Coyle, who is being played by Michael Hurst. The real-life Tapert actually did do this with Hurst for those reasons, though presumably in a far kinder way, of course.
* The Creator/{{ITV}} television play ''Hidden Talents'' from the {{anthology}} series ''Unnatural Causes'' focuses on a bedridden, terminally ill mother who is taken care by her son. Around the same time, her actress Pat Phoenix (who is best known for her role in ''Series/CoronationStreet'' as the FieryRedhead Elsie Tanner) was battling lung cancer and sadly it became her final performance as she would pass away weeks after filming of the play ended.
* Westley's remark about how he thinks everybody will be wearing masks in the future, recreated in ''Series/HomeMovieThePrincessBride'' precisely, takes on a darkly humorous bent considering that this series was shot remotely in quarantine during [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic the COVID-19 pandemic]], when everybody was urged to wear masks in public.
* Jennifer Morrison (Dr. Cameron) and Jesse Spenser (Dr. Chase) dated in real life before their characters got together on ''Series/{{House}}'', and were even at one point engaged to be married. Subverted in that the actors had broken up before the characters got married.
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
** A month after actor Creator/NeilPatrickHarris came out as gay, the show introduced Barney's gay brother (played by Creator/WayneBrady), who makes a lifestyle choice with which Barney initially disagrees. Said lifestyle choice being getting married instead of living the life of promiscuity that Barney favors.
** The show also hid the pregnancies of Creator/CobieSmulders and Creator/AlysonHannigan using large, baggy shirts, but towards the end of the season, Hannigan was too big to hide and needed to go on maternity leave, so the writers created a joke that offended Hannigan's character Lily so much that she wouldn't speak to the rest of the group for a month.
*** This also led to a line in the next season premiere when Marshall asks Robin and Lily if they have lost weight to distract them from a previous comment he had made. Both women's babies had been born during the summer hiatus.
** However, during a later season, several months after Lily became pregnant, Alyson Hannigan announced she was pregnant again.
** The part in "Vesuvius" where Marshall gets mad about a silly scene where his film counterpart ("Narshall") eats a cake is based on an interview where Creator/JasonSegel had criticized the writing on the show. Specifically, he used a hypothetical joke about Marshall eating a cake and then lying about it as an example of how [[StrictlyFormula formulaic]] the writing on the show had become. The scene in "Vesuvius" was basically the writers having some fun and throwing a minor TakeThat at Segel.
* Carly only appears in the first and last scenes of ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' episode "iBalls". This was because of her actress Creator/MirandaCosgrove had to take time off to recover after breaking her ankle in a tour bus accident.
* ''Series/ILoveLucy'':
** [[OlderThanTheyThink Fifty years prior]] to the ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' example below, Little Ricky became a character as the result of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball not wanting to trick-shoot the show to hide the latter's pregnancy.
** Several episodes during this time were {{Whole Episode Flashback}}s -- with Ricky et. al. recalling some wacky hijinks. They were filmed while Lucy was still able to appear, but production intended them to air during her downtime after she gave birth.
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': Mac was assigned to the judiciary in the latter half of Season 8 because of Catherine Bell's pregnancy.
* Let's just say Creator/JaredPadalecki, the star of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', is somewhat... accident-prone.
** When Padalecki broke his wrist partway through filming an episode in Season 3, Sam Winchester had to break his wrist in a fight. There then follows at least one episode where Sam doesn't seem to do much while Padalecki was dealing with the pain and painkillers.
** In one episode of Season 4, Sam was only onscreen for forty seconds because Padalecki was busy filming the ''Film/FridayThe13th2009'' remake.
** In Season 10, Sam begins the first few episodes with his arm immobilized in a sling after having badly dislocated his shoulder before season 10 filming began. Padalecki had undergone surgery and had clearly lost a bit of weight, but could be explained in character due to the fact that [[spoiler:Dean had literally disappeared for weeks after dying in Sam's arms. Turns out, Dean had become a demon.]] Multiple characters bring up the injury in-universe -- at least once per episode for the first four episodes.
* In ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', Ryota Ozawa, who plays Marvelous, is best friends with Yasuhisa Furuhara, who played Sosuke.
* ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'': As revealed by the production blog after the show wrapped, the scene at the start of the final episode where [[spoiler:Yuki reads Kengo's farewell letter after he's been killed by Gamou]] was the last scene filmed. According to director Koichi Sakamoto, the main actors had become as close as family over the course of the shoot, thus the tears being shed were their real tears over the fact that they were about to go their separate ways. It was made worse was the fact that [[spoiler:Ryuki Takahashi, Kengo's actor,]] couldn't be on the set for obvious plot reasons. The same blog post had Fumika Shimizu, Yuki's actress, reveal that she actually considered messing up her lines on purpose just so it wouldn't have to end.
* Creator/TimAllen's sitcom ''Series/LastManStanding'' sees his first lines including "I'm back!" and "It's good to be home" -- referencing his return to TV and network ABC over ten years after ''Series/HomeImprovement'' ended.
* ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'':
** Olivia Benson's stint undercover (leading to her temporary disappearance from the show) in ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' was because the actress was pregnant.
** ''Series/LawAndOrderTrialByJury'':
*** Creator/JerryOrbach died of prostate cancer just after joining the cast, after spending 12 years on the mothership show as Detective Lennie Briscoe. ''Trial by Jury'' was canceled in its first season due to low ratings, and Briscoe is stated to have died offscreen sometime thereafter.
*** In one episode, Briscoe is huddled by the door of a courtroom with some cops and is providing whispered commentary so as not to interrupt what's going on inside. The scene was written this way because Creator/JerryOrbach was so weak from cancer treatments that he couldn't raise his voice to a normal speaking volume.
** A rather haunting episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' revealed that Mike Logan, Briscoe's first onscreen partner, imagined that he could still see Lenny. It wouldn't be surprising if there were a lot of Creator/ChrisNoth's emotions in there.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'':
** Sophie disappears to go "find herself." This is because of actress Gina Bellman's real-life pregnancy.
** Several episodes are centered around examples of TheCastShowoff. "The Schehearade Job" involves Alec Hardison playing the violin, which Aldis Hodge can do in real life. "The Studio Job" centers entirely around Eliot performing country music, while Christian Kane has his own country band.
* ''Series/MakeItOrBreakIt'' actress Chelsea Hobbs (Emily Kmetko) was pregnant so this was written into her character's story arc.
* Malcolm's family from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' ended up with another child after actress Jane Kaczmareck became pregnant in real life.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'':
** For the first three or four seasons, the character of Marcy was married to a materialistic banker named Steve Rhoades, played by David Garrison. When Garrison grew tired of television and did not want to continue the series, he and the producers mutually agreed to write off his character. Over the course of several episodes, Steve would be phased out of the show, culminating in his going to jail and Marcy's divorcing him. Garrison would, however, return to play the role of Steve several times during the rest of the show's run.
** Another example came from Katey Segal's first pregnancy. The writers fully embraced it as material for that season and had Peg in-show getting pregnant as well. Unfortunately, this plan did not materialize as perfectly as the writers hoped. Right before the predetermined birth, Katey suffered a miscarriage. This forced the writers to give the season an AllJustADream ending because having an infant on-set would be traumatic for Segal. Fans were initially displeased, but after the writers explained the tragic situation behind the season finale, they cooled down and expressed their condolences to Segal. Segal would become pregnant twice more during the show's run, thankfully successfully both times. Both times, the writers had Peg PutOnABus and invoked TheBusCameBack when Segal was ready to return to work.
* ''Series/{{Mash}}'': In the season 7 episode [[Recap/MashS7E22PreventativeMedicine "Preventative Medicine"]] a gung-ho colonel is planning to attack an enemy-controlled hill, not for any strategic necessity but simply for personal glory and to improve his chances for promotion. Hawkeye is so appalled that he drugs the colonel and performs an unnecessary appendectomy on him to keep him laid up long enough to prevent the attack from being carried out. In the original script written by Tom Reeder, both Hawkeye and B.J. were equally ready to take out the colonel's healthy appendix, just as Hawkeye and Trapper did to Col. Flagg in the early-series episode "White Gold". However, B.J.'s actor Mike Farrell strenuously objected to this, considering it ghoulish to cut into a healthy patient for any reason, while Creator/AlanAlda argued that whatever was necessary to get a BloodKnight off of active duty was justified in the name of saving lives. Their real-life argument fascinated Reeder, who revised his script to include Farrell's and Alda's real-life viewpoints in their respective characters, and ultimately saw Hawkeye perform the surgery alone when B.J. refused to participate. The end of the episode ties in as well, as Alda and Farrell's falling out had apparently strained their friendship and the characters reconciling was indicative of the actors doing so as well.
* The TV series ''Series/MaxHeadroom'' was about an investigative reporter fighting {{MegaCorp}}s using the power of pirate broadcasting. Seven months after its American debut, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Headroom_broadcast_signal_intrusion_incident we got this.]]
* In ''Series/MiamiVice'', Sonny Crockett has a very contentious working relationship with his commanding officer, Lieutenant Martin Castillo. This "feud" wasn't just created for the cameras -- Creator/DonJohnson and Creator/EdwardJamesOlmos [[HostilityOnTheSet often argued during the first season due to their wildly different acting styles]], and there are scenes and moments that unintentionally evoke this feeling of tension between them. Notably occurs in "Nobody Lives Forever" (where Johnson looks visibly disturbed while Olmos glowers at him) and "Back in the World", where Crockett rails at Castillo for not having the resources to do his job (and Olmos not even looking at Johnson until the very end of the scene).
* ''Series/TheMindyProject'' has been criticized for its MonochromeCasting in regards to Mindy's love interests (who have all been white), although this criticism died down somewhat after she settled down with [[spoiler:Danny]]. In Season 4, she goes on a date with an Indian guy who doesn't think she's Indian enough for him. She then begins wearing traditional Indian clothes and even has a traditional Hindu ceremony [[spoiler:for her son Leo]]. The end of the episode even features Mindy asking her parents why they didn't immerse her more in Indian culture.
* A.J. Langer came down with the chicken pox during filming of the ''Series/MySoCalledLife'' episode "Life of Brian" (which has nothing to do with [[Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian the Monty Python film]]). This resulted not only in her very limited screen time in that episode but also in having all of the makeup to be thrown out.
* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'':
** When Creator/PeterSellers guest starred, there was a brief bit where Kermit told him that he could feel free to drop his personas while backstage and be himself. Sellers' response was, "But that, you see, my dear Kermit, would be altogether impossible. I could never be myself. You see, there is no me; I do not exist... There used to be a me, but I had it surgically removed." He meant it. Sellers' claim that he existed as only what others wanted him to be was based on feeling his real self wasn't sufficiently able to make others or himself happy (and a desire to protect his privacy). In any case, his fascination with being others and never himself was what caused him to identify so much with Chance the Gardener in the novel ''Film/BeingThere'', to the point of spending much of his final years getting a film adaptation made so he could play Chance. Indeed, his family and friends have argued that of all of Peter's characters, Chance is by far the closest to who he actually was as a person.
** When Creator/GeneKelly guest starred, Scooter predicted the world would end and Beauregard was certain it was true. This was the last episode to be produced (though -- at least in America -- not the last one aired).
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'':
** The final season opens with an episode where Joel Hodgson (the creator and original host) made a cameo after leaving five seasons before. Replacement host Mike Nelson becomes jealous that he got to escape and have a normal life, and Tom cautions him "Don't compare yourself. It ain't healthy." This line is a FandomNod to the "Joel vs. Mike" debates that raged over the Internet when Hodgson first left the series, debates that still go on to this day over a decade later (despite the fact that Hodgson and Nelson are good friends).
** During an Season 7 episode, Crow goes through a hassle trying to get his film made and marketed. This mirrors the tough times getting the ''[=MST3K=]'' film made and marketed.
** The episode "Gamera vs. Guiron" has a line that's become infamous as the show's most obscure joke ever. There's a shot of a girl running away from the camera, and Tom Servo shouts, "Look out, Mike, she's got your keyboard!" This was a reference to the fact that head writer Mike Nelson was once dumped by a woman who stole his keyboard and took it back to Japan with her. (And this was back when Joel was the lead character, and Mike Nelson only made occasional appearances in front of the camera.)
* Shane Conor's drug problems and alleged violence on the set of ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'' led to him being fired from the show, so his character Joe Scully implausibly disappeared to run a farm in Bendigo.
* When Creator/ZooeyDeschanel got pregnant, her character Jess on ''Series/NewGirl'' was sent up for jury duty.
* Following the death of Creator/PhilHartman, the first episode of the next season of ''Series/NewsRadio'' had the WNYX staff dealing with the death of his character, Bill [=McNeal=], of a heart attack in front of the TV. Apparently the actors ''weren't acting''. Their responses to Bill's death mirror the actorss actual responses to Hartman's death, including, apparently, Beth (Creator/VickiLewis) standing outside Bill's apartment, drunk, calling his name, and Matthew (Creator/AndyDick) believing Bill's gonna come back somehow. Of course, ''that'' puts an extra subtext on Dick's fucked up behavior the last few years (particularly the incident that caused Creator/JonLovitz to beat the crap out of him).
* Similar to the ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'' example, ''Series/NightCourt'' went through two elderly female bailiff characters, with both actresses dying, so the producers finally cast a younger actress for Roz, who happily survived the rest of show's run.
* Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' fame have dated on and off in much the same way that their characters Kelly and Ryan did on the show.
* In ''Series/OneTreeHill'', Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis became AmicableExes after their breakup. Their actors were married for a while.
* In ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'', the deaths of the actors playing four characters were written into the show: Grandad and Uncle Albert were said to have died (and their funerals were shown), Mike Fisher was said to be in prison for embezzlement (leading to Sid taking over the Nag's Head), and Denzil's wife Corrine was said to have finally divorced him.
* Minor example in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': Actor Creator/ChrisPratt dropped a significant amount of weight and put on some muscle for his part in ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty''. They could cover up the muscle by dressing his character Andy in baggy clothes (not much of a departure for the slovenly character); the weight loss is {{Handwave}}d in a throwaway line revealing that he's given up beer.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** Combining Reality Subtext and {{Fanon}}, many ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim fans believe that Trini, the original Yellow Ranger, is dead, since her actress, Thuy Trang, died in a car accident]]. [[Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersOnceAndAlways Until 2023]], her death was never been mentioned on-screen, but since ''Power Rangers'' shows are usually independent of each other, this is not surprising. However, this one's purely {{Fanon}}. {{Reunion Show}}s involving characters who knew her have never mentioned anything bad had happened to her.
** ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'': Kendrix, the Pink Galaxy Ranger, makes a HeroicSacrifice in a DyingMomentOfAwesome near the end of the team-up with the Space Rangers. Her actress had to leave the show to undergo leukemia treatments. She was written out in this manner so that if the treatments were unsuccessful (as is all too often the case) people would have a grand heroic deed to remember her by. Fortunately, the treatments worked, and as a result, Kendrix was revived at the end.
** In ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder,'' Creator/JasonDavidFrank -- playing veteran ranger and mentor [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Tommy]] -- had prior commitments in the USA in the middle of filming (which takes place in New Zealand), and so the producers arranged to have Tommy first trapped in amber, then stuck in his Ranger suit, and then finally invisible (so that Frank could provide voice-overs without having to be present on set).
* When ''Series/PrisonBreak'' actress Creator/SarahWayneCallies' pregnancy overlapped with the first few episodes of Season 3, the writers plotted around her maternity leave. The Fox Network refused to sign off on the proposed plotline of [=S3=], forcing the writers to redo everything, and their new season arc came to involve the death of Callies' character. The actress refused to return to work just to be killed off, hence her offscreen death in the fourth episode. But she came BackFromTheDead in Season 4 anyway.
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'':
** During the filming of the pilot, Kirsten Nelson (Chief Vick) was pregnant. While she gave birth before the filming started proper, they never hid it in the pilot, and her character continued to be pregnant until halfway through the first season.
** Timothy Omundson (Lassiter) broke his collarbone in a mountain biking accident. Consequently, Lassiter's arm was in a sling for a few episodes in Season 2, an injury that he mysteriously never explained despite being asked by other characters.
* Two subtexts for the price of one on the sixth season premiere of ''Series/{{Reba}}'': First, Melissa Peterman's weight loss is written into the script, as Barbara Jean's been seeing a personal trainer. Second, the first (and only) line for Kyra in the episode is "I just went out to get something to eat!" The line references actress Scarlett Pomers' battle with anorexia (and explains away her absence for the last quarter of the fifth season).
%% * After six series in six years, ''Series/RedDwarf'' was forced to take a three-year hiatus between 1994 and 1996 as Craig Charles (Lister) had been arrested, and then cleared, of rape. Co-creator Rob Grant also left for undisclosed reasons.
* In the 1983 adaptation of Creator/JinYong's story ''Return of the Condor Heroes'', numerous people applauded the performance of how love-struck and romantic Andy Lau (who played Yang Guo) was towards Idy Chan (who played the character's love, Xiao Long Nu). Apparently, Andy Lau has since admitted that he harbored a huge crush on Idy Chan. To quote him, "When I collaborated in ''Return of the Condor Heroes'' with her, I really felt that she's my girlfriend. When we go home after work, I would be worried about her and think of her. Then when we collaborated again in ''Casino Raiders'' where she played Alan Tam's girlfriend, I felt unhappy about it."
* Creator/SarahShahi:
** Shahi is half-Iranian and speaks Farsi in real life. The ''Series/{{Life|2007}}'' episode "A Civil War" revealed that her character, Dani Reese, has an Iranian mother and can speak Farsi.
** Also, during production on the last season of ''Life'', she became pregnant, which resulted in the last five episodes being rewritten so her character would be recruited for an FBI joint task force and only able to communicate with the main character by phone, requiring the casting of Gabrielle Union as a replacement partner.
** Her ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' character, Samin Shaw, also has an Iranian mother (no word on if she speaks Farsi yet, though). Shahi was also pregnant during the forth season of the show, leading to her character being [[spoiler:apparently killed off, but actually being held by Samaritan operatives]].
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''
** Both of Dr. Cox and Jordan's children in were written in because Creator/ChristaMiller became pregnant, as was Creator/SarahChalke's pregnancy in the final season.
** In "My Cake", Scrubs paid proper homage to Creator/JohnRitter's death by having J.D.'s father (who, of course, was played by John Ritter a couple of years prior) die of a massive heart attack.
** In "My Catalyst", Dr. Kevin Casey is played by Creator/MichaelJFox. Casey suffered from OCD, a neurological disorder that usurps (directed) control of the body from a person. Fox stated in an interview that he let his struggles with Parkinson's (a neurological disorder that causes a person's body to shake uncontrollably) inform Casey's character.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'':
** In the episode "The Jacket", Jerry and George meet Elaine's father, Alton, and they're very intimidated by him. Lawrence Tierney, the actor who played Alton, scared the ''Seinfeld'' cast and crew just as much with his offscreen behavior (he stole a butcher knife from the set and hid it under his jacket), which is why the character never appeared again.
** Creator/JasonAlexander struggled to act alongside Heidi Swedberg, who played George's on-and-off girlfriend Susan, and felt that his comedic sensibility was "off" in every scene they did together. He claimed that [[EnforcedMethodActing Larry David chose her as George's fiancée in Season 7 for this exact reason]], stating that their ''non''-chemistry created the perfect effect as people would neither root for or against them as a couple.
* ''Series/SonnyWithAChance'' was {{retool}}ed into ''Series/SoRandom!'' due to the departure of star Music/DemiLovato following their rehabilitation from eating disorders, self-harm and depression.
* On ''Series/SportsNight'', Robert Guillaume's real-life stroke was written into the storyline as a stroke suffered by his character, executive producer Isaac Jaffee. This led to some very emotional scenes upon his return. Likewise, the on-screen portrayal of ExecutiveMeddling throughout Season 2 was almost certainly Aaron Sorkin's somewhat pissy reaction to the same. The latter theme would reappear in ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' (see below).
* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'':
** Creator/AlainaHuffman's pregnancy was apparently written into ''Series/StargateUniverse''. In fact the ''Stargate'' canon has never (in 16 seasons of television starring at least one and usually two or more women) included a pregnancy it wasn't forced into by actress pregnancies. The best one is probably the first, Sha're's pregnancy with the Harcesis, which actually came about because Vaitiare Bandera was pregnant. The father was Creator/MichaelShanks, who played Sha're's husband, Daniel. Less important for the series but the same father, Dr. Lam (Creator/LexaDoig), which resulted in Lam just disappearing for a while without explanation. Note to producers: keep Michael away from your actresses.
** Later on Creator/AmandaTapping was in Area 51 for 6 episodes at the beginning of the ninth season because of her pregnancy -- lots of cunning video-conferencing with conveniently placed computers. While she was away Creator/ClaudiaBlack did a guest spot on the show to [[TheSmurfettePrinciple inject some estrogen]]. At the end of the ninth season Black's character, Vala, returns... and she's pregnant, because Black was.
** Teyla's pregnancy on ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' was because of Creator/RachelLuttrell's real-life pregnancy. ([[RunningGag But Michael Shanks wasn't even on that show!]])
** And a non-pregnancy ''[=Stargate=]'' one -- in the episode "Nemesis" Daniel Jackson is mostly out of the picture because he has appendicitis... because Michael Shanks was recovering from appendicitis.
** Also, Jack O'Neill was [[PutOnABus transferred to the Pentagon to head Homeworld Command]] when Creator/RichardDeanAnderson decided he wanted to retire. Later on in the show, [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute his replacement]] Cameron Mitchell (Creator/BenBrowder), complains about shows who lose their lead actors and just replace him with a younger version of the same guy.
** General Hammond died of a heart attack because of the death of his actor, Creator/DonSDavis. The ''Daedalus''-class battlecruiser ''George Hammond'' in one of the movies and ''Series/StargateUniverse'' was renamed in his honor.
** In "Family Ties", Carter and Jacek have a conversation which is ostensibly about the lack of funding given to the SGC, but is actually an obvious reference to the then-recent cancellation of the show and its replacement with the series ''[Series/{{Eureka}}''.
--->'''Jacek:''' I don't mind telling you, I'm a bit disappointed in this facility. I was expecting more.\\
'''Carter:''' Well, at times so do we. But the truth is the Stargate Program just doesn't get the support it used to from the people in charge.\\
'''Jacek:''' Why not?\\
'''Lee:''' ''[working on something nearby]'' Eureka! One down, twelve to go.\\
'''Jacek:''' That's too bad, because after all your Stargate Program has accomplished for this '''network''' of planets, I would think the decision makers would show it the respect it deserves.
** Poor Sergeant Siler is the series ButtMonkey, who always gets voluntold and blown up or beaten for his troubles so often it has become a RunningGag. However, there's a reason for this. Dan Shea, who plays Siler, is also the series' stunt co-ordinator (as well as Richard Dean Anderson's stunt double), so of course he does all the cool stunts.
** Another example is the clear shout-out to ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' in Episode 200, since by that point in the series, both stars of the show (John Crichton and Aeryn Sun / Cameron Mitchell and Vala Mal Doran) were appearing in SG-1.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E24TheUltimateComputer The Ultimate Computer]]", William Marshall stars as Dr. Richard Daystrom, a prideful and ultimately fanatical computer designer. His eventual SanitySlippage carries a haunting subtext: Daystrom delivers a heartbreaking monologue about how he's been mocked and ridiculed and underestimated by people who did not understand him or his vision. In RealLife, Marshall was a [[ClassicallyTrainedExtra classically trained actor]] and opera singer who likely suffered similar indignities and a shortage of opportunities because he was African-American.
** The televised gladiator combats in the very next TOS episode to air, "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E25BreadAndCircuses Bread and Circuses]]", reflect the writers' rather jaundiced view of network television as it was increasingly believed as the episode was being written that the show would be canceled after the season.
** On TNG, Sarek's declining health and eventual death seemed to mirror those of ''Franchise/StarTrek'' creator Creator/GeneRoddenberry. To whit, "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E7Unification1 Unification, Part 1]]", in which Sarek died, was dedicated to Roddenberry, who had died a couple of weeks earlier.
** Riker's existential crisis throughout "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds The Best of Both Worlds]]" paralleled producer/writer Michael Piller's own crisis, as he pondered whether he should stay with TNG or move on to new opportunities. Riker's statements about Commander Shelby mirror Piller's feelings about younger writers like Ronald D. Moore. Riker and Guinan's conversation about Riker becoming his own man and "letting go" of Captain Picard in order to beat him could almost be about the show's struggle to find its own identity [[ToughActToFollow in the long shadow of the original series]].
*** This story was the DarkestHour for both the Federation and the franchise as a whole: ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' was a critical and financial failure, and TNG was on the verge of cancellation after the execrable mess the writers' strike made of Season 2 after a promising but raw Season 1, and it was still "on the bubble" during Season 3 despite GrowingTheBeard. The intense fan interest in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I," which became the most talked-about cliffhanger in serial television since [[Series/{{Dallas}} "Who shot J.R.?"]], saved TNG and made ''Star Trek'' into the 90s media juggernaut it was.
** Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar in the first season of ''TNG'', felt she was underused and asked to be let go abruptly. They managed to squeeze her death into "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E22SkinOfEvil Skin of Evil]]", but she was to film "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E21Symbiosis Symbiosis]]", which was going to air first. In the final moments of the last episode she filmed, you can see her waving to the camera.
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E15YesterdaysEnterprise Yesterday's Enterprise]]", Yar's performance is just dripping with meta commentary. The timeline is accidentally changed decades ago and suddenly Tasha is still alive on the ship (among other [[ForWantOfANail disagreeable changes]]). Tasha discovers that in the original timeline she died a "[[DroppedABridgeOnHim senseless death, one without meaning]]" (fans had complained ever since it happened that valiant character deserved better than a RedShirt exit.)
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E20CostOfLiving Cost of Living]]", Counselor Troi's mother Lwaxana reveals that she's suddenly marrying again. Creator/MajelBarrett (Lwaxana) had just lost her husband, ''Franchise/StarTrek'' creator Creator/GeneRoddenberry, several months earlier, adding another layer to Lwaxana pondering marriage again.
** In [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E3TheSurvivors The Survivors]], "Kevin" (an immortal EnergyBeing who has lived the past 50 years disguised as a human) gives a powerful and heartfelt speech about how he "wished he could've died with her", referring to his recently deceased (human) wife, who died fighting the aliens who destroyed their planet, never knowing her husband wasn't human. In reality, the actor playing Kevin, John Anderson, had just lost his wife of 43 years, and almost turned down the role because of it. His speech comes across as really genuine, because it was. Anderson himself died of a heart attack less than 3 years later.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' got in a few great lines in its fifth season when Creator/NanaVisitor (Major Kira) was pregnant with Creator/AlexanderSiddig (Dr. Bashir)'s child. Since Kira was the show's female lead, this would have been hard to hide, so the writers resorted to a plot twist: Keiko O'Brien was pregnant, and after she was injured in an accident on an away mission, Bashir had to ''transplant the fetus into Kira'' to save its life, and then couldn't take it back out before the due date due to Kira's biology. In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E01ApocalypseRising Apocalypse Rising]]", Kira is talking with Dr. Bashir, she gets off the line "this [pregnancy] is all '''''YOUR''''' fault." The best part was probably in the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E12TheBegotten The Begotten]]", where Bashir finally delivers the little snot. Visitor gets the line "YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Common enough in media, where the woman in labor shouts at the father.
** In another [=DS9=] episode, "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E05SecondSkin Second Skin]]", Kira is abducted by the Obsidian Order and surgically altered to look like a Cardassian. Kira is visibly horrified by the transformation and becomes increasingly distressed through the episode. Nana Visitor is severely claustrophobic and found the Cardassian makeup incredibly uncomfortable, eventually ripping it off her face when a take took too long.
** Similarly, Andrew Robinson is also claustrophobic, and drew on this experience in portraying Garak's claustrophobia, most notably in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E15ByInfernosLight By Inferno's Light]]." He was also suffering from the flu when the episode's scenes of Garak in the crawl space were shot, and said later that between the claustrophobia and the flu, he "didn't have to act" when portraying Garak's suffering.
** In the ''Deep Space Nine'', GrandFinale, "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E25E26WhatYouLeaveBehind What You Leave Behind]]", the scene where Quark and Vic play Go Fish because there's nothing else to do was the last scene ever filmed for [=DS9=]. So, there actually was nothing left to do on the show.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' made a few guarded allusions to behind-the-scenes production. "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E22Muse Muse]]" is basically a plea for understanding from the writers of this oft-criticized series, explaining how they're pulled between the desire to create meaningful works of art, the need to satisfy those [[ExecutiveMeddling paying their wages]], and the demands of the audience for more "action" and "romance", told via a dirt-poor playright on a primitive warlike world who's trying to write a play based on ''Voyager''[='s=] logs. The "executives" (or nobles) in question will [[YouHaveFailedMe have the playwright's head]] if he doesn't deliver.
** The "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E25S6E1Equinox Equinox]]" [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E2SurvivalInstinct two-parter]] seemed to be suggesting "This is how awful it could have been if we had taken a violent route and not produced the show we have -- a complete antithesis of Gene Roddenberry's ideals." Ron D. Moore, who resigned from the show before the second part aired, got the last word with ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'', which was more interested in dealing honestly with the problems faced by the ''Equinox''.
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' was greatly impacted by 9/11. Most of the cast and crew had friends, colleagues or relatives who perished in the attack. As a consequence, ''Enterprise'' Seasons 2-4 (and to a large degree the films, which will ''never'' wholeheartedly embrace the pacifist and multicultural message of Roddenberry's time) was a show defined by the war on terror. Even before the terrorist attacks, it seemed like the stories were consciously girding themselves for the conservative [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush Bush]] presidency. The cast was mostly white Americans. The Captain was not a scientist or a diplomat, but a ruggedly all-American test pilot.
* Creator/StephenFry:
** There's a ''lot'' of this in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'' with General Melchett, played by the aforementioned (and StraightGay) Fry. There's his habit of addressing Captain Kevin Darling as just "Darling" -- and then there's "[[Recap/BlackadderS4E3MajorStar Major Star]]", in which he falls for Creator/HughLaurie in drag yet finds "Bob" (a female passing for male) in "drag" utterly repulsive.
** In "[[Recap/BlackadderS4E5GeneralHospital General Hospital]]", Blackadder uncovers a spy by reciting the 'great universities': "Oxford, Cambridge, Hull", and observes that the spy failed to notice that only two of them were great universities. General Melchett chimes in, "Yes, Oxford's a complete dump." Fry was an alumnus of Cambridge, whereas Blackadder's actor, Creator/RowanAtkinson, attended Oxford.
** There's a bit of this in the ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' sketch where Fry plays a British officer, Major Donaldson, and Hugh Laurie plays a Nazi officer. Fry is captured by the Nazis and is tortured to make him reveal information about the invasion of Normandy. He hasn't cracked under the torture. But as soon as he sees Hugh, he's smitten with the German officer, reveals the information he wants, and begs for a kiss. (The German says, "Well, maybe a little one.")
* In ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'', Matt Albie is constantly getting into arguments with his blonde, Christian ex-girlfriend about everything from politics to same-sex marriage to whether or not she should pose for a men's magazine. Aaron Sorkin had recently broken up with his blonde, Christian girlfriend having had many of the same conflicts with her. Critics were quite to point out that this gave Sorkin an opportunity to win all the arguments by proxy since he was now writing both sides.
* Latka's SplitPersonality problem in Season 4 of ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' was conceived to relieve Creator/AndyKaufman's boredom with the role, making him TheCastShowoff in the process. Andy was extremely fond of assuming alternate identities in real life, which was to be incorporated into a first season episode where his AlterEgoActing persona Tony Clifton would serve as the guest star while Andy/Latka was elsewhere; it didn't work because Tony treated ''everyone'' like dirt, to the point he was not only fired but escorted from the Paramount lot.
* In the middle of filming the second season of ''Series/{{Titus}}'', Creator/CynthiaWatros became pregnant. ''Their'' way of hiding it was rather ingenious; during the early stages, her character wore a lot of baggy, shabby clothes, as she had temporarily gone back to her parents and pretty much given up on her dreams after Christopher started drinking again (long story), and she was still getting over that. Later, as she got bigger, her character broke her leg chasing after a burglar, and spent the bulk of the rest of the season in a wheelchair. They ''did'' also work the pregnancy into a cutaway gag; Erin wins a pie-eating contest, then stands up triumphantly, revealing a swollen belly.
* Then there is the insanity that is the show formerly known as ''Valerie''. Star Valerie Harper was let go at the very start of production of Season 3, amid accusations of demanding too much money and being hard to work with; her character was [[ActorLeavesCharacterDies killed off]] and replaced with Sandy Duncan (who played her sister-in-law), and the title was changed to ''Valerie's Family: The Hogans''. Then Harper won a defamation suit against the studio, forcing them to change the title again to ''Series/TheHoganFamily''.
* In ''Series/TheWestWing'', Knowing that Creator/JohnSpencer (Leo [=McGarry=]), had [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim died]] in real life, makes the characters' reactions (especially those of Creator/KristinChenoweth) all the more poignant.
* ''Series/TheWire'':
** Co-creator Ed Burns left the Baltimore police force to teach in city schools, much as Prez does in Season 4.
** The Deacon is played by Melvin Williams, the real-life inspiration for Avon Barksdale's character. In his prime, during the 1970s, Williams dominated the drug trade in West Baltimore in much the same way.
** Felicia Pearson had never acted before Michael Williams saw her in a nightclub and invited her to the set to test for Snoop. Before that, she had lived much the same life, getting involved in drug dealing in her teens (which she still did even after she was on the show, until she knew she'd like doing it) and serving a prison term for a murder she insists was self-defense. [[note]]The victim's family was ''not'' happy she got the part.[[/note]]
* In an episode of ''Series/{{Witchblade}}'', Sara lectures the coroner about alcoholism when she spots booze in the room. In real life, Creator/YancyButler has had battles with alcoholism, which led to [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor the show's cancellation after the second season]].
* Creator/DavidHenrie (Justin Russo) and Creator/SelenaGomez (Alex Russo), who play brother and sister in ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'', [[CastIncest liked each other in]] RealLife (and they still probably do) and it affected their characters' relationship, as implied by the looks they gave one another while they were performing the roles and [[UnresolvedSexualTension by the way they acted around each other]]. Their obvious chemistry was commented on by many fans, critics and even by their friends and families. [[{{Squick}} Much to some people's relief]] and [[FanPreferredCouple to a vast part of the fandom's dismay]], they didn't act upon their crushes.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'':
** Creator/DavidDuchovny forced production to move from Vancouver to Los Angeles, in part to further his wife Creator/TeaLeoni's acting career. Vancouver is rainy, forested, and has similar architecture to the Eastern U.S. Los Angeles mostly looks like Los Angeles. As a result, there were substantially more episodes set in the American Southwest, which L.A. can credibly replicate.
** ''The X-Files'' first did this when Creator/GillianAnderson first became pregnant. For a while, her character Dana Scully was wearing her trenchcoat and sitting behind desks a lot more until she was abducted by aliens and was gone for the length of Anderson's maternity leave.
** Not only that but when Scully returned she was in a coma for most of an episode. Due to complications from the pregnancy, her pallor didn't need a lot of make-up.
** This had even more effect on the plot than most such cases since it helped kick-start the show's long-term myth arc, whereas before it had only featured vague alien-related plots and unconnected events.
* Early into the second season of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'', Creator/LucyLawless broke her pelvis during a stunt accident on ''Series/TheTonightShow''. More so than with Creator/KevinSorbo [[Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys the following year]], production jumped through hoops to make it work. Xena's bodyswitch with Callisto in "Intimate Stranger" carried on into "Ten Little Warlords". she now died at the end of "Destiny" and new Xena-lite scripts were produced (such as "The Quest", "Necessary Evil" and "For Him the Bell Tolls") to give Lawless time to recover.
[[/folder]]

* Combining Reality Subtext and {{Fanon}}, many ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim fans believe that Trini, the original Yellow Ranger, is dead, since her actress, Thuy Trang, died in a car accident]]. [[Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangerOnceAndAlways Until 2023]], her death was never been mentioned on-screen, but since ''Power Rangers'' shows are usually independent of each other, this is not surprising. However, this one's purely {{Fanon}}. {{Reunion Show}}s involving characters who knew her have never mentioned anything bad had happened to her.

* Combining Reality Subtext and {{Fanon}}, many ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim fans believe that Trini, the original Yellow Ranger, is dead, since her actress, Thuy Trang, died in a car accident]]. Her death has never been mentioned on-screen, but since ''Power Rangers'' shows are usually independent of each other, this is not surprising. However, this one's purely {{Fanon}}. {{Reunion Show}}s involving characters who knew her have never mentioned anything bad had happened to her.

*** The Mandarin is often considered a controversial character in a modern context, as he was a YellowPeril villain created back when East Asians were considered AcceptableTargets because of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. ''Film/IronMan3'' acknowledged this and subverted it by revealing that [[spoiler:the Mandarin is actually a DecoyLeader created by the real villain, who is a white American. It turns out he literally crafted the Mandarin as an over-the-top character to act as a scapegoat for his crimes]]. Unfortunately, this means that [[spoiler:with [[Film/AvengersEndgame his final film]], and barring any Multiverse shenanigans, the Sacred Timeline's Iron Man died without ever encountering his ArchEnemy from the comics]].

** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS1E12MechaStreisand Mecha-Streisand]]", Barbara is portrayed as an egotistical, elitist, and power-hungry maniac, but this was because Matt and Trey truly hate her, after she publicly criticized the people of Colorado over a law which prevented gays from being a protected minority. Her response to the episode, claiming it only "contributed to the negativity of our culture" only solidified her as an AcceptableTarget for the South Park creators.

** An issue focusing on a what-if of ''ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}'' had ComicBook/{{Nova}} acting utterly incredulous upon learning of the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'', angered that at a time when the cosmic side of Marvel was fighting for its collective life in a war that saw the deaths of countless billions and the destruction of multiple planets, its Earth-bound heroes were at each other's throats over the passage of some law involving their secret identities. Once the heroes of Earth become aware of the events of ''Annihilation'' (which proved even more apocalyptic in this universe), they more or less forget the entire question of hero registration in favor of banding together to protect Earth from Annihilus. This echoed a gripe brought up very frequently at the time: ''Annihilation'' was perceived as a BatFamilyCrossover at most and received relatively lesser treatment and promotion, whereas ''Civil War'' received tons of promotion and proved almost inescapable across Marvel's line for some time. Meanwhile, within the fanbase, ''Annihilation'' quickly proved a CultClassic and went on to define Marvel's cosmic stable for the next few years, whereas ''Civil War'', though financially far more successful, saw a substantial backlash to the point that Marvel spent the next few years trying to undo its impact.

** An issue focusing on a what-if of ''ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}'' had ComicBook/{{Nova}} acting utterly incredulous upon learning of the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', angered that at a time when the cosmic side of Marvel was fighting for its collective life in a war that saw the deaths of countless billions and the destruction of multiple planets, its earthbound heroes were at each other's throats over the passage of some law involving their secret identities. Once the heroes of Earth become aware of the events of ''Annihilation'' (which proved even more apocalyptic in this universe), they more or less forget the entire question of hero registration in favor of banding together to protect Earth from Annihilus. This echoed a gripe brought up very frequently at the time: ''Annihilation'' was perceived as a BatFamilyCrossover at most and received relatively lesser treatment and promotion, whereas ''Civil War'' received tons of promotion and proved almost inescapable across Marvel's line for some time. Meanwhile, within the fanbase, ''Annihilation'' quickly proved a CultClassic and went on to define Marvel's cosmic stable for the next few years, whereas ''Civil War'', though financially far more successful, saw a substantial backlash to the point that Marvel spent the next few years trying to undo its impact.

* In the final issue of ''[[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman, Inc]]'''s second volume, Talia al Ghul goes on a villainous rant to Batman about how little his whole crusade to keep Gotham safe actually matters, and declaring that he's wasting his life on pointless nonsense. This was after Creator/GrantMorrison, who wrote that issue, had spent years doing an extensive reworking of Batman and his mythos to make for a more worldly and complex vision of the character... only to see ComicBook/TheNew52'' undo a lot of the run's impact and reset as many things as possible back to square one. For instance, one of Morrison's main ideas was to make Dick Grayson the next Batman, hoping the change would stick for at least a decade--instead, despite Dick's time in the cowl being widely acclaimed and selling very well, he was reverted back to being Nightwing again. Hence, Talia's frustration at Batman's shortsightedness is essentially Morrison's own frustration shining through.

* At one point, Creator/MikeWieringo was drawing a ComicBook/WhatIf story for Marvel involving the New Fantastic Four (I.E. [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spidey]], ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/GhostRider and ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk in his Joe Fixit persona), which had the original FF die instead of simply being incapacitated, forcing the New FF to pick up their torch permanently. Tragically, though, [[DiedDuringProduction Mike suffered from a sudden heart attack in the middle of drawing the book]], having finished seven pages. His friends and coworkers then collaborated with the Hero Initiative to finish the book while receiving VERY little pay (sometimes as little as a dollar per page), and released the complete story as a tribute to him. In other words: A good man died, and his friends banded together to continue his legacy... by writing a story where [[LifeImitatesArt the exact same thing was happening]]. Naturally, there was a bit of crossover:

* Creator/OsamuTezuka first designed [[{{Unicorn}} Unico]] during a trip to Los Angeles, California on June 1976, while the manga begun publication on ''[[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Lyrica]]'' during November of that same year. A [[CentralTheme central theme in the manga]] is the importance of empathy, compassion, kindness, [[ThePowerOfFriendship and]] [[ThePowerOfLove love]]. At the same time, UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar ended which quickly became a hot topic with the general public (especially in the United States) along with the conclusion of Main/TheSixties, which was a decade that was [[UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement notably]] [[DarkerAndEdgier violent]] and cynical. Which explains why ''Manga/{{Unico}}'' carries a melancholy tone, but focuses on the titular protagonist's preferences of non-violence while encouraging compassion and kindness. The manga was also written [[CreatorBreakdown during a darker period in Tezuka's life]], with Unico being written the exact same time as his ''Manga/{{MW}}'' manga.

* The first issue of ''ComicBook/InvaderZim'' begins with Zim having disappeared for some undisclosed but apparently very long amount of time, playing on [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim the show's]] sudden cancellation and decade-plus SequelGap. Dib has become [[ThisLoserIsYou a gross, overweight shut-in]] as a result. [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZimEnterTheFlorpus The movie]] (apparently set in an AlternateContinuity from the comic) does the same thing.

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZimEnterTheFlorpus'' begins with Zim having disappeared for some undisclosed but apparently very long amount of time, playing on [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim the show's]] sudden cancellation and decade-plus SequelGap. Dib has become [[ThisLoserIsYou a gross, overweight shut-in]] as a result. [[ComicBook/InvaderZim The comic]] (apparently set in an AlternateContinuity from the film) does the same thing.

** The ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 2002]] Story'' of ''VideoGame/KOFAllStars'' is heavily implied to end with [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies Nameless's death]]]]. Occuring around the same time was the reveal of Krohnen in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' -- [[spoiler:better known as [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 K9999]], the very same character Nameless was [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute intended to replace]]]].

* Most of Music/{{Queen}}'s later songs are about the futility of life and the inevitability of death. At the time Music/FreddieMercury was dying of AIDS.

** This game's incident, the Ability Cards, bear some uncanny resemblances to cryptocurrencies, whoch are at the height of popularity when the game was released. The Ability Cards have their power if you follow the rules, but will turn into worthless scraps otherwise, just like how cryptocurrencies only work if people agree on their value. Additionally, the process of gathering more cryptocurrency is frequently called "mining" while here we have Momoyo literally mining the currency in a cave .As summed up by one forum user:

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Film/IronMan'':

*** When making ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier Winter Soldier]]'', Chris Evans had become so impressed with the combat gameplay for the [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger first film]]'s tie-in video game ''VideoGame/CaptainAmericaSuperSoldier'', he and the Russo brothers discussed adapting a similar, more acrobatic fighting style for Cap in the movies. The film ended up receiving praise from both critics and fans for its fight sequences and choreography.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'': During the climax, Migel's rant to Miles that he's "not supposed to be Spider-Man" [[spoiler:(because the spider that bit him wasn't from his own world)]] is a subtle reference to the racist backlash toward the [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse the first movie]] from Miles being a Spider-Man who is Afro-Latino, or just [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks not Peter Parker]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', a couple minor characters have insulin pumps on their arms because the film's technical supervisor Susan Fong lives with type 1 diabetes and wanted diabetic representation in the film.

* Advertisements for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'' heavily involved the line "The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for long enough." While it actually does involve the game's plot, it doubles as a reference to the ''Franchise/FabulaNovaCrystallisFinalFantasy'' project, which was originally designed to bring back crystals as a plot device in the series. Due to DevelopmentHell, ScheduleSlip, and general mission creep, ''FNC'' and its related projects ended up defining pretty much everything Square-Enix put out relating to ''Final Fantasy'' for the better part of a decade, between ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' (which started life as a spinoff of ''XIII''), and many different sequels and spinoffs between the two, to very mixed reception. Furthermore, ''XVI'' is mostly the work of the creative team of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the main new property of that era to have no connection to ''FNC''.

* Given it's a series personifying the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars, it's unsurprising the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' series is loaded with this. Actually gets PlayedForDrama in the backstory to ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaVictory'', where [[spoiler:the world of 80s Gamindustri is still picking up the pieces after the nation of [[Creator/{{Atari}} Tari]] was [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 so horrifically mismanaged it collapsed]], sending the [[CrapsackWorld entire world to hell]] until [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Lowee]] was founded and established some order again.]]
** Again PlayedForDrama in ''VideoGame/MegadimensionNeptuniaVII'', where [[spoiler: the BigBad is the failed UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast. Despite her best efforts to run Planeptune, her powers were far too immense to control (referencing how the actual Dreamcast was too costly to produce due to being far ahead of its time), leading her to seal herself in order to prevent any more chaos. However, years of isolation twisted her feelings into resentment, turning her into [[KnightOfCerebus the most dangerous villain in the franchise to date]].]]
* The knight training academy in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The game was released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series.
* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'': InUniverse, even. [[spoiler: Many aspects of the NMS universe are extrapolations of what the Atlas sees in the real world. For example, the Korvax are based on brain-scanning technology.]]

* ''VideoGame/SilentHills''[='=]s infamous ''P.T.'' demo, in many subtle ways, references Creator/HideoKojima's falling out with Creator/{{Konami}} over the development of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV'', and Konami corporate's treatment of him in his final months with the company.
** Every ''Franchise/SilentHill'' game has this subtext, the development team being composed of members "orphaned" from other projects suffering from ExecutiveMeddling under Japanese work culture.

** The company was in dire financial straits by 2000 and declared bankruptcy shortly after the release of ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2000''. How did they communicate this? By destroying South Town (setting of both ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'') via KillSat.
** The ''2002 Story'' of ''VideoGame/KOFAllStars'' is heavily implied to end with [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies Nameless's death]]]]. Occuring around the same time was the reveal of Krohnen in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' - [[spoiler:better known as K9999, the very same character Nameless was [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute intended to replace]]]].

* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}''
** [[https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1966/09/19 The 1966 story arc]] of Snoopy's doghouse burning down was the result of Schulz's own studio catching fire.
** [[http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/2000/01/02 Here.]] "It's getting dark..." "We had fun, didn't we, Marcie?" It's the last Sunday strip of the comic.
* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''

* Jim Davis once noted in an anniversary collection that whenever he has to go on a diet, [[DietEpisode so does]] ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''.

* When ''Series/TheMuppets2015'' returned from its midseason hiatus, it had a new showrunner, who had listened to the fans and decided to give it a bit of a ReTool to make it "more Muppety". In the first post-hiatus episode, ''Up Late With Miss Piggy'' is given a new showrunner who wants to give it a ReTool but ''doesn't'' listen to what anyone wants, prompting the Muppets themselves to make the show more Muppety.

* In an [[https://youtu.be/obiDOc2kM5Q episode]] of the Christian series ''Joy Junction'', Marty the puppet recounts how he once turned down an offer from some kids to look at dirty pictures, to which his puppeteer Ronald Brown reminds the children watching about how it's a sin to view such materials. Ron himself was already in possession of child pornography at the time of filming and wouldn't be caught for it until 2013, when the FBI learned of his plans on a cannibal forum to ''groom and eat a child.''

* When Barton Yarborough died, Ben Romero, his character on ''Radio/{{Dragnet}}'', died as well. Romero wasn't killed in the line of duty but rather died at home of a heart attack. The cast responds to his death and spends the next several episodes grieving.
* ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'', "The Triangled Web" features a reunion of a number of the original kids. It is mentioned that Jack and Lucy went to the same college in Texas and got married by the end of the episode, reflecting how their voice actors Donald Long and Genni Mullen got married and moved to Texas as well.
* Done many times in Radio/TheArchers: it's such a long-runner that a number of characters have been around long enough to become elderly - as have their actors. Dan Archer (the original patriarch), Tom Forrest and Mrs. Antrobus were all given radio deaths because the actor had died of old age. This hasn't always been played straight; when the actor playing Nelson Gabriel died, the character was PutOnABus instead and other characters continued to refer to him as alive for some months. (News of his death was eventually mentioned.) A non-death example is that sometimes actors become well-known and aren't often available: Tamsin Greig's character, Debbie, has moved abroad but comes back every so often. However, in a similar situation with Lucy Davies (Dawn from ''Series/{{The Office|UK}}'', ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'') her character, Hayley, was recast.

* Some [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] historians think the decidedly grim tone of his play ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' may stem from the recent death of his eleven-year-old son, Hamnet. (Note the name similarity.) Having numerous character deaths is par for the course in Shakespearean tragedies, but in the original play, Hamlet ''won'' and lived HappilyEverAfter. When one remembers that Hamnet had a twin sister, there's also a subtext to be seen in ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'', in which the heroine's twin brother, unlike in life, turns out to be alive after all.
* ''Theatre/MaratSade'' is about Creator/MarquisDeSade [[PrisonerPerformance getting inmates of Charenton, a mental institution, to put on a play]]. There's some truth behind this.

* ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'', [[Literature/TheBible about]] a man's triumph over his older siblings, was created for Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's older brother.
* Creator/HenrikIbsen had a serious fallout with his Norwegian audience in the early 1860s. He left Norway for good and moved to Italy, where he lived for 16 years, only sending his plays home for printing. The last play he wrote before leaving, ''Theatre/ThePretenders'', has the main antagonist giving a jarring TheReasonYouSuckSpeech pointed directly towards the audience. Later ''Theatre/{{Brand}}'' shows off the same attitude. Ibsen had a lot to stress about.
* During the runaway success of ''Theatre/HMSPinafore'', Creator/GilbertAndSullivan had huge trouble with [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil people pirating their works]] on the other side of the Atlantic. They arranged to have their next show produced simultaneously in America and in a small English village, in an attempt to get better legal protection from such pirates. And what was that new show? ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance''.
* ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'': Before leaving Austria, Captain Von Trapp sings "Edelweiss" as his last song at the music festival. "Edelweiss" was the last song Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein wrote together before Oscar Hammerstein's death.
* A 1995 production of ''Theatre/TheSchoolForScandal'' starred Creator/TonyRandall -- who had just married a woman 50 years his junior -- as Sir Peter Teazle -- whose first line is "When an old bachelor marries a young wife, what is he to expect?"

* ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' and ''Theatre/LoveNeverDies'' closely follow the relationship of Creator/AndrewLloydWebber and Music/SarahBrightman. The first one is more of a case of HarsherInHindsight, as it premiered in 1985 and the pair separated in 1990.
** In the first show, the Phantom fell in love with Christine when he heard her sing, made her the star of an existing opera, then wrote an opera for her to star in. But as Christine realizes he's a [[spoiler: murderer and stalker, she leaves him for the Viscount Raoul de Chagny.]] Lloyd Webber met Brightman when she auditioned for Cats and was cast in the role of Jemima. He wrote a successful classical song for her, Pie Jesu, and specifically wrote the part of Christine for her (keeping the character design close to her style, added dance moves in Hannibal so that she could show off her footwork, and the cadenzas in the title song and Think of Me for her vocal range). He left her for another woman after six years of their marriage, and as [[spoiler: Christine clearly still loves the Phantom but cannot stay with him, which the Phantom also acknowledges, the feeling is supposedly identical between Brightman and Lloyd Webber.]]
** In the sequel, Raoul [[spoiler: became an alcoholic and a gambler (metaphorically cheating on her with his addictions), and his marriage with Christine deteriorates. Christine gets fatally shot by a jealous Meg Giry after an accidental slight from the Phantom, professing her undying love for the Phantom with her last breaths. He gets acknowledged by his son with Christine, Gustave, who was previously thought to be Raoul's son. This mirrors the prevalent attitude of the fandom - that Erik (the Phantom) and Christine are the real crowd-drawer of the show, and that Christine should have chosen to stay with the masked composer in the first place.]] Raoul's character is completely out of line with his portrayal in the first show, as Erik/Christine shippers tend to turn him into RonTheDeathEater or make him DieForOurShip.

* The time gap between the release of the original ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' game in Europe and North America and the release of its sequel for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS, ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', is a whopping 25 years, month up month down. This is referenced in the plot of the sequel, which takes place 25 years after the events of the original. The ''very first thing'' Pit says as the game begins is "sorry to keep you waiting!" and it's directed at the audience as much as it is to Palutena.
* It was also a long time since the original ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' and the [[VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame video game]] released in 2011, but they managed to get much of the cast back. In the interim years, for instance, Creator/ChristopherLloyd had gone (mostly) bald. The plot involves Marty feeling lonely and depressed after Doc leaves at the end of ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', and he eventually meets an alternate version of Doc Brown, who's got the same balding as Lloyd in real life.

* As is ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime''. Yes, the game is about TimeTravel, but the title means this just as much as "after [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped 19 years]] it's about time we got a true sequel!"
* Given it's a series personifying the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars, it's unsurprising the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' series is loaded with this. Actually gets PlayedForDrama in the backstory to ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaVictory'', where [[spoiler: the world of 80s Gamindustri is still picking up the pieces after the nation of [[Creator/{{Atari}} Tari]] was [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 so horrifically mismanaged it collapsed]], sending the [[CrapsackWorld entire world to hell]] until [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Lowee]] was founded and established some order again.]]
** Again PlayedForDrama in ''VideoGame/MegadimensionNeptuniaVII'', where [[spoiler: the BigBad is the failed UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast. Despite her best efforts to run Planeptune, her powers were far too immense to control (referencing how the actual Dreamcast was too costly to produce due to being far ahead of its time), leading her to seal herself in order to prevent any more chaos. However, years of isolation twisted her feelings into resentment, turning her into [[KnightOfCerebus the most dangerous villain in the franchise to date]].]]
* The knight training academy in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The game was released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series.
* ''VideoGame/MissileCommand'''s chilling "[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt THE END]]" GameOver screen was, [[http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/8/15/4528228/missile-command-dave-theurer according to the developer, Dave Theurer,]] inspired by [[BasedOnADream the recurring nightmares of nuclear war he was having by that point in the game development process.]] (The six cities that the player defends were, in the original design, six RealLife cities along the Pacific coast of UsefulNotes/{{California}}: Eureka, UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, and San Diego.)

* The storyline to the ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}}'' games (which is dizzyingly detailed... [[AllThereInTheManual if you hunt down supplementary material]]) was often heavily influenced by fans. This is best seen between ''Fusion'' and ''Pure''. ''Fusion'' received a very mixed reception from fans, citing the game's heavier focus on combat over skillful racing, [[ReplacementScrappy new teams replacing old favorites]], and some subpar course designs. ''Pure'' was not only hailed as a return to form, but the backstory revealed that InUniverse, the change in focus was due to [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the shady Overtel Corporation]] seizing control of the race commission and doing what they liked in the name of profit, almost all of the new teams were in on the scandal or otherwise crooked and were dismantled during the league's collapse allowing the popular teams they absorbed to re-emerge, ThatOneLevel was the site of a catastrophic accident precisely because of [[FakeDifficulty shoddy course design]], and the new league harkened back to the old style of racing in an attempt to recapture the audience and distance itself from the scandals.

* ''VideoGame/SilentHills''[='=]s infamous ''P.T.'' demo, in many subtle ways, references Creator/HideoKojima's falling out with Creator/{{Konami}} over the development of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV'', and Konami corporate's treatment of him in his final months with the company.
** Every ''Franchise/SilentHill'' game has this subtext, the development team being composed of members "orphaned" from other projects suffering from ExecutiveMeddling under Japanese work culture.
* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2019'':
** Sakura Amamiya being a huge fan of Sakura Shinguji is a commentary on how the latter character was received in real life.
** Komachi Oba originating from Osaka is due to the fact that her actress, Creator/RyokoShiraishi, was born in the same location.
* Advertisements for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'' heavily involved the line "The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for long enough." While it actually does involve the game's plot, it doubles as a reference to the ''Franchise/FabulaNovaCrystallisFinalFantasy'' project, which was originally designed to bring back crystals as a plot device in the series. Due to DevelopmentHell, ScheduleSlip, and general mission creep, ''FNC'' and its related projects ended up defining pretty much everything Square-Enix put out relating to ''Final Fantasy'' for the better part of a decade, between ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' (which started life as a spinoff of ''XIII''), and many different sequels and spinoffs between the two, to very mixed reception. Furthermore, ''XVI'' is mostly the work of the creative team of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the main new property of that era to have no connection to ''FNC''.
* ''Jinsei Owata no Daibouken II'' (the sequel to the game that inspired ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'') was released in 2020, the last full year before UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash's discontinuation. The plot is about Owata's last adventure before the world ends, mirroring the fate of many Flash games and animations when Flash finally goes offline.

* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'':
** One of the main ways ([[GameBreaker and most useful ways]]) you can have your detective act is by making him become an Art Cop ("the worst kind of cop!") who sees art in everything, lords his Actual Art Degree over people, and is [[BileFascination savagely critical of all other attempts at art that don't fit his vision]]. This is perhaps a reference to how ZA/UM was previously famous for taking over an Estonian fine art magazine in the mid-2000s in order to (in ZA/UM's view) fight TrueArtIsIncomprehensible, "give a more normal view of this country to its residents" and cover more video games, or (in the view of the staff they replaced) mean-spirited, undemocratic and not taking the remit seriously. Creator/RobertKurvitz (the director of ''Disco Elysium''), was editor of the mag, and got into trouble for printing a poem written by one of the departing magazine staff with [[{{MST}} line-by-line commentary making fun of how bad it was]] (he did not have permission to print the poem).
** The storyline to do with Fortress Accident, a computer game developer trying to make a groundbreaking fantasy RPG, somewhat analogises the struggles the team had trying to put the game together, complete with the game having a staggeringly overambitious remit despite being based out of a tiny office in a ([[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane potentially literal]]) economic black hole.
* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': The ''New Blood'' arc {{retcon}}s Jesse [=McCree=] to having been the criminal alias of Cole Cassidy, [[MeaningfulRename which is eventually forsaken by the character]]. A few months before the ''New Blood'' event, Creator/BlizzardEntertainment had been engulfed in a massive sexual harassment scandal that had implicated, among other employees, [[{{Tuckerization}} the actual Jesse McCree]], forcing Cassidy to be RenamedToAvoidAssociation.

---> I still can't get over the fact that ZUN actually made a game about a bunch of people running a crypto scheme:
---> A powerful figure who try to turn their own TCG project into a crypto scheme under certain influences? Check
---> A legendary miner who literally mines the magical sauce from a mine to power the cryptocurrency? Check
---> A God with zippers (read: the block chain) and sky cape (read: the Cloud) who creates smart contract that makes the crypto scheme work in the first place? Check
---> A crypto shill that causes the above 3 to align? Check
---> NFT: The Game confirmed. Well played, ZUN.
* In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', the protagonist John Marston is voiced by actor Rob Wiethoff, who (somewhat famously) retired from acting immediately after the game was released, only temporarily returning for [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemptionII the sequel]] eight years later; despite being one of the most acclaimed and iconic voice performances in video game history, it ended up being [[OneBookAuthor his only major acting role]]. For many players, this adds an extra layer of poignancy to Marston's decision to leave his life as an outlaw behind and settle down with his wife and son. Particularly since Wiethoff (by his own admission) retired from acting for exactly the same reason: he wanted to focus on starting a family.

* While filming his ''WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd'' episode about the UsefulNotes/Atari5200, Creator/JamesRolfe had considerable trouble getting the console to work and was even tricked into buying an incompatible controller online that [[VeryFalseAdvertising falsely claimed it was for the 5200]] when attempting to replace the console's regular controllers that ''also'' didn't work. This became the plot of the episode, where he never once actually ''plays a game'' and instead spends his whole time fighting with getting the thing set up, as it was not only damned funny in its own right but also a very clear illustration of how poor the console was.
* Wonder why the penultimate episode of ''WebAnimation/BrawlOfTheObjects'' was a lot shorter than the rest? That's because in March 2016, creator [=Anko6theAnimator=] had been diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma and feared he was going to [[DiedDuringProduction die with the show incomplete]]. After he entered remission, the GrandFinale ended up becoming the show's longest episode.

* The ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheTalesOfBaSingSe Tales of Ba Sing Se]]" is a breather-episode made up of short sketches, each focusing on a different major character and how they interact with the city. Iroh's story featured him mourning his late son, Lu Ten. In reality, Iroh's voice actor, Creator/{{Mako}}, had coincidentally just died. The episode was even dedicated to him.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** Isaac Hayes, another member of the Church of Scientology, left the show after an episode ("[[Recap/SouthParkS9E12TrappedInTheCloset Trapped in the Closet]]") parodied it. The following episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS10E1TheReturnOfChef The Return of Chef]]" used splicing to ridicule it much much more, as well as [[ActorLeavesCharacterDies killing Chef off]].
** "[[Recap/SouthParkS5E5TerranceAndPhillipBehindTheBlow Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow]]" has a lot of hidden references to actual South Park fans' reactions to Terrance and Philip, such as people being confused whether they're supposed to be animated characters or real people and "[[Recap/SouthParkS2E1TerranceAndPhilipInNotWithoutMyAnus Terrance and Phillip in: 'Not Without My Anus]]'" preempting a popular TV show (see the entry on the AprilFoolsDay page for an explanation of that one).
** "[[Recap/SouthParkS1E6Death Death]]" was meant to satire how parents reacted when ''South Park'' first went on their air. The same thing goes to [[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut the movie]].
** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS13E5Fishsticks Fishsticks]]", Jimmy writes a joke that Cartman seeks to publicize as ''their'' joke, even though he sat on the couch and ate chips while Jimmy came up with the actual joke (although Cartman remembers it as being the other way around). Much of the episode is dedicated to this conflict, and the episode ends with Cartman apologizing to Jimmy - for not accommodating ''Jimmy's'' belief that he wrote most of the joke. The season that contains this episode was the first to not co-bill Matt Stone as a writer for the show, and during Jimmy and Cartman's interview with Ellen, Cartman is shown with the same hair and clothing that Trey Parker is seen wearing in interviews. However, nobody on the Internet has commented on this because everybody focused on the episode's treatment of Music/KanyeWest.
** Stan's whole final speech in "[[Recap/SouthParkS15E8AssBurgers Ass Burgers]]". The previous episode, "[[Recap/SouthParkS15E7YoureGettingOld You're Getting Old]]" had looked like it might change the show dramatically, and fans (mirroring Stan in-universe) were worried that the change would be bad for the show. So in-universe, Stan gets over his emo phase, gives a whole Aesop about how things can change for the better with the entire speech LeaningOnTheFourthWall... only to play StatusQuoIsGod, hit the ResetButton, and return the show to exactly where it was.
*** And note that it's not the original status quo but, the last episode where Stan was depressed. Meaning that Stan is still, even if more so, depressed while everything else is the same. Meaning, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny still hang out with Stan, he lives in the same house, goes to the same school, his parents still live together and all this with the added bonus that Stan turned to alcohol to try and be happy.
** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS1E12MechaStreisand Mecha-Streisand]]", Barbara is portrayed as an egotistical, elitist, and power-hungry maniac, but this was because Matt and Trey truly hate her, after she publicly criticized the people of Colorado over a law which prevented gays from being a protected minority. Her response to the episode, claiming it only "contributed to the negativity of our culture" only solidified her as an AcceptableTarget for the South Park creators.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'', in the episode "No Hope For Courtney", Mrs. Gordon dies. Originally, Mrs. Gordon was supposed to come out of retirement, but her voice actress (Kathlyn Freeman) died, so the writers redid the ending to reflect this (and dedicated the episode to Freeman).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' episode "Everything Is Wonderful" can be seen as a commentary on Creator/{{Disney}}'s controversial buyout of Creator/MarvelComics, with ComicBook/IronMan acting as Disney and ComicBook/WonderMan acting as Marvel (or the Marvel fans who accused the company of "selling out"). The most blatant bit is when Wonder Man angrily accuses Tony of having stolen his company, to which Tony replies by claiming he only bought the company to ''save it'' after its years of financial troubles.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** Several episodes have poked fun at Chris (Creator/SethGreen's character) about ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken.'' In "Something, Something, Something Darkside" Chris proclaims he won't let it get to him.
--->'''Peter:''' OK, I have another story. It's called ''Film/WithoutAPaddle''.\\
'''Chris:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck]] you, dad!
** In "Trump Guy", UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump tells Peter that people have gotten their favorite jokes about Jews, blacks and gays from his show, to which Peter responds "In fairness, we've been trying to phase out the gay stuff." A day later, the show's producers confirmed that the show will be phasing out the homophobic jokes that have long been an infamous aspect of the series.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', in the second season finale, one of the binomes makes a comment about how Megabyte's Armored Binome Carriers [=(ABCs)=] had betrayed them. This was after ABC, who have been creatively strangulating the show for two seasons, dropped them unceremoniously.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', the writers were forced to use the Hobgoblin before the more popular and iconic [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblin]] [[MerchandiseDriven in order to help sell Hobgoblin action figures]]. Producer John Semper ''hated'' this, so after finally introducing Green Goblin in Season 3, he did the "Goblin War" episode, which ended with Hobgoblin being permanently PutOnABus. As if that weren't enough, the episode also had Green Goblin belittle Hobgoblin by dismissing him as a cheap wannabe, clearly mirroring Semper's own feelings about the character.
* Possibly unintentional, but the [[WrongSongGag wrong anthem]] incident in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E24EquestriaGames Equestria Games]]'' had a real-life precedent in 2012, when the parody Kazakhstan anthem from ''Film/{{Borat}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2WH9HVJRFk was played at the Kuwait International Shooting Grand Prix]] when Kazakh Maria Dmitrienko won.
** A girl whom Creator/LaurenFaust used to babysit posted a [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/childhood-memories-of-alicorn-across.html thank you video]] for her. A month later, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 an episode]] came out where we meet Princess Cadance, who used to babysit Twilight Sparkle. Fans were quick to point out the parallel.
* At one point in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', director, Creator/FrizFreleng left the studio to work for [=MGM=]. After a miserable year, Leon Schlesinger gave him his old job back. It's believed that his cartoon, ''Film/YouOughtToBeInPictures'', where Daffy tricks Porky into quitting his job to go into feature films[[note]] Daffy wanted Porky's job as the star of the studio [[/note]], was his way of saying thank you to Schlesinger.

* The ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' episode [[Recap/Ducktales2017S2E16TheDuckKnightReturns "The Duck Knight Returns"]] had a boatload of this.
** Launchpad tells [[spoiler:Drake Mallard to become Darkwing Duck for real "For Jim [Starling]", the in-universe actor for Darkwing, who was also voiced by Darkwing's original voice (and a case of TheDanza), Creator/JimCummings]].
** Around the time the episode aired, Creator/JimCummings, who voiced the original WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck and voices the in-universe actor, Jim Starling, was involved in a nasty custody battle with his ex-wife, who levied accusations of rape and animal abuse against him.[[note]]The charges were later dropped, though the judge in the custody battle issued restraining orders against both Cummings and his ex-wife and chastised the both of them for putting themselves above their kids.[[/note]] Thus, this gives [[spoiler:an unexpected perspective on Launchpad's loss of respect for Starling after Starling snaps]].
** The episode address issues and questions involved with reboots, something the show itself had to deal with.
** Showrunner Frank Angones [[https://suspendersofdisbelief.tumblr.com/post/172619361896/on-a-scale-of-one-to-lets-get-dangerous-how-much once dressed up as Darkwing Duck at school as a kid]], [[spoiler:much like the 2017 reboot's Drake Mallard did.]]
* For the fourth season of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', executive producer Creator/DaveFiloni's father passed away during the production process, [[spoiler:which influenced the storyline with Kanan's death, as he'd been the TeamDad and a ParentalSubstitute to Ezra and Sabine. While he was always planned to die, Filoni noted that the story was a lot harder to write and there was more focus on the crew dealing with their grief.]]

* "I Was Born (A Unicorn)" by The Unicorns has a call-and-response bridge, presented as a musical argument between members Nicholas Thorburn and Alden Penner: This includes exchanges like "We're never gonna stop / I think I wanna stop!" and "I write the songs / ''I'' write the songs / You say I'm doing it wrong / You ''are'' doing it wrong!". Though it's played for laughs in the song, the band would break up a year after the song's release, citing CreativeDifferences and other tensions between Nicholas and Aiden.

* "I Was Born (A Unicorn)" by The Unicorns has a call-and-response bridge, presented as a musical argument between members Nicholas Thorburn and Alden Penner: This includes exchanges like "We're never gonna stop / I think I wanna stop!" and "I write the songs / ''I'' write the songs / You say I'm doing it wrong / You ''are'' doing it wrong!". The band would break up a year after the song's release, citing tensions between Nicholas and Aiden.