History UnexpectedCharacter / LiveActionTV

** The Master is a frequent subject of this, appearing halfway through to turn out to be TheManBehindTheMan on one alien scheme after another. During Anthony Ainley's tenure, the production team sometimes went so far as to conceal his presence in a story by using his current alias as the character name and turning his actor's name into an anagram. This was deliberately inverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace "Frontier in Space"]], however, when [[spoiler:the Master turned out to be working for the Daleks.]]

* ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'' has the appearance of the ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'' costumes outside of Kibaranger (who was our White Ranger), along with the assumption that the costumes of the series from ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'' to ''Series/ChoujinSentaiJetman'' are just alien powers that weren't brought to Earth.

** The Master is a frequent subject of this, appearing halfway through to turn out to be TheManBehindTheMan on one alien scheme after another. During Anthony Ainley's tenure, the production team sometimes went so far as to conceal his presence in a story by using his current alias as the character name and turning his actor's name into an anagram. This was deliberately inverted in "Frontier In Space", however, when [[spoiler:the Master turned out to be working for the Daleks.]]

-->'''[[spoiler:Eighth Doctor]]:''' I'm a doctor. [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Though probably not the one you were expecting]]!

** For Series 10, it's [[spoiler:John Simm's Master]], who hadn't been seen in seven years and was in ''no'' way expected to return. Especially given the implications: [[spoiler:there's ''never'' been a multi-Master story before]]. It would have been even more unexpected, however, had the BBC publicity department not interfered by announcing his appearance early (although this was to head off the tabloid newspaper The Sun, which was about to leak the story).

* Let's be honest: Who expected Kelley Wentworth, Kimmi Kappenberg, and Jeff Varner to appear on another season of Series/{{Survivor}} despite how none of those three made it to the merge in their original seasons?

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' is about "story book characters", which the creators consider to be all fictional characters, but the show puts a ''heavy'' emphasis on FairyTale ones, particularly Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs. So it surprised quite a few people when [[{{Literature/Frankenstein}} Dr. Frankenstein]] showed up. And the ''last few seconds'' of Season 3 suddenly introduce [[spoiler: Queen Elsa from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'']] (although admittedly [[spoiler:Elsa]] is an adaptation of the title character of the Creator/HansChristianAndersen story ''[[spoiler:Literature/TheSnowQueen]]'').
** The season 5 finale adds [[spoiler: Jekyll and Hyde]] plus the implication of a whole world full of literary characters outside of fairy tales and fantasy. It also reveals that [[spoiler: Violet's father is Hank Morgan from "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."]]
* ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland'' does something similar; upon hearing it was about Wonderland, who would ever expect ''[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} Jafar]]'' as a main character?

** In the second to last episode, "Prophecy", Black Manta, Captain Cold and Solomon Grundy.

** For Series 10, it's [[spoiler:John Simm's Master]], who hadn't been seen in seven years and was in ''no'' way expected to return. Especially given the implications: [[spoiler:there's ''never'' been a multi-Master story before]]. It would have been even more unexpected, however, had the BBC publicity department not interfered by announcing his appearance early.

** The Master is a frequent subject of this, appearing halfway through to turn out to be TheManBehindTheMan on one alien scheme after another. During Anthony Ainley's tenure, the production team sometimes went so far as to conceal his presence in a story by using his current alias as the character name and turning his actor's name into an anagram.

** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', no one expected the Reverse-Flash to be running from something... namely, the Black Flash, the abomination that used to be Zoom before the Time Wraiths got to him.

** The Master is a frequent subject of this, appearing halfway through to turn out to be TheManBehindTheMan on one alien scheme after another. During Anthony Ainley's tenure the production team sometimes went so far as to conceal his presence in a story by using his current alias as the character name and turning his actor's name into an anagram.

** Even though he's a mainstay of the series today, when he first appeared Castiel took everyone for a loop. In spite of all the mythical creatures and monsters Sam and Dean have run across nobody ever imagined apocalyptic angels would be something they'd encounter.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' is a major offender. While [[TropesAreTools sometimes the cool and unexpected DCU characters who have never appeared in live action television may be awesome to watch]] and being a LongRunner may justify some of it, other times it is out of nowhere and somewhat jarring when they were never involved with Superman before. It reached an all time high [[JumpingTheShark after season eight]] in attempts to restore plummeting audience figures.

** Also from Series 10 is Nardole. First appearing as a bumbling ComicRelief character in [[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheusbandsOfRiverSong "The Husbands of River Song"]], the thought he would become one of the Doctor's companions never crossed anyone's mind; especially since all promotion of companions for this series was given to Bill with no hint up until his reveal there was a second one.

* Let's be honest: Who expected Kelley Wentworth, Kimmi Kappenberg, and Jeff Varner to appear on another season of Series/{{Survivor}} despite how none of those three made it to the merge in their original seasons?

** Season 2 featured the reappearances of Wilson Fisk, Madame Gao, and Nobu, plus the appearance of Jeri Hogarth from ''Series/JessicaJones2015''. In these cases, Fisk and Gao had been sent away the previous season (in fact, Fisk's return was quite a major twist due to the fact that it was a complete surprise despite the intense scrutiny every MCU property has been put under these days; it helped that a lot of the marketing for season 2 revolved around the addition of The Punisher and Elektra), Nobu was seemingly killed, and Jeri Hogarth was from a different show, making them all a bit of a surprise to many viewers.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime "The Invasion of Time"]], no-one was expecting the ''Sontarans'', of all races, to be the masterminds behind the plot.

** The end credit stinger in the Series 8 finale [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E12DeathInHeaven "Death in Heaven"]], by way of teasing the [[Recap/DoctorWho2014CSLastChristmas 2014 Christmas special]], has [[spoiler: ''Santa Claus'']] entering the TARDIS!

** For Series 10, it's [[spoiler:John Simm's Master]], who hadn't been seen in seven years and was in ''no'' way expected to return. Especially given the implications: [[spoiler:there's ''never'' been a multi-Master story before]].
** Also from Series 10 is Nardole. First appearing as a bumbling ComicRelief in "The Husbands of River Song" the thought he would become one of the Doctor's companions never crossed anyone's mind; especially since all promotion of companions for this series was given to Bill with no hint up until his reveal there was a second one.

* '' [[Series/Legion2017 Legion]]'' has an unexpected ''main character''. When a series set in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' universe was announced, few expected it to star Professor Xavier's son David Haller, an [[StoryBreakerPower immensely powerful and flexible]] mutant who is relatively obscure and known for MindScrew plots about [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind mindscapes]] and multiple personalities.

** Nobody expected that the brothers would ever [[http://screenrant.com/supernatural-scooby-doo-episode-season-13/ team up with]] [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo the Mystery Inc. gang]] of all characters, especially considering they're from a show targeted toward a completely different demographic.

* ''Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}'':

* The second season of ''Series/{{Sense8}}'' had Nomi assisted in her hacktivism by none other than Troper/Anonymous, appearing in his/her/their familiar Guy Fawkes mask. It's safe to say no one saw that coming!

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' is a major offender. While [[TropesAreTools sometimes the cool and unexpected DCU characters who have never appeared in live action television may be awesome to watch]] and being a LongRunner may justify some of it, other times it is out of nowhere and somewhat jarring when they were never involved with Superman before. It reached an all time high [[JumpingTheShark after season eight]] in attempts to restore plummeting audience figures.
** The Persuader, whose sole purpose is to teleport in, [[RuleOfDrama smash a crystal to make Clark's life harder]], then getting flattened by the Legion who sent him back to the future in the matter of seconds.
** Some of the Injustice League. Parasite is a long-time enemy, Livewire is from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', but Neutron, a lesser known character from the comics, definitely counts. His role on the show was so minor, he doesn't even have a page on the wiki.
** Some members of the Justice Society is slightly more well-known, but they are usually in an alternate dimension or something.
** ComicBook/BoosterGold. Website/TelevisionWithoutPity sums it up nicely.
-->''"With just three episodes left till the series finale, let's spend some time getting to know Booster [[GoshDangItToHeck Freaking]] Gold."''
** In the second to last episode, "Prophecy", Black Manta, Captain Cold and Solomon Grundy.
** The friggin' Wonder Twins from Super Friends had their own episode.
* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'':
** At the end of series 4, Literature/TristanAndIsolde were introduced. It felt a little random considering a) they bore no resemblance whatsoever to their legendary counterparts, b) they didn't actually contribute much to the plot, and c) they disappeared entirely after their two episode appearance (Isolde being KilledOffForReal and Tristan disappearing without explanation).
** The GrandFinale saw the return of [[spoiler:Balinor, Merlin's father]] who hadn't been seen since the end of season two (and had been killed off in the same episode he was introduced).
** In season three a character calling himself Taliesin has a minor role; an odd inclusion given that the legendary/historical Taliesin is only tangentially related to Arthurian legend.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' is about "story book characters," which the creators consider to be all fictional characters, but the show puts a ''heavy'' emphasis on FairyTale ones, particularly Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs. So it surprised quite a few people when [[{{Literature/Frankenstein}} Dr. Frankenstein]] showed up. And the ''last few seconds'' of Season 3 suddenly introduce [[spoiler: Queen Elsa from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'']] (although admittedly [[spoiler:Elsa]] is an adaptation of the title character of the Creator/HansChristianAndersen story ''[[spoiler:Literature/TheSnowQueen]]'').
** The season 5 finale adds [[spoiler: Jekyll and Hyde]] plus the implication of a whole world full of literary characters outside of fairy tales and fantasy. It also reveals that [[spoiler: Violet's father is Hank Morgan from "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."]]
* ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland'' does something similar; upon hearing it was about Wonderland, who would ever expect ''[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} Jafar]]'' as a main character?

--> '''[[spoiler:Eighth Doctor]]''': I'm a doctor. [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Though probably not the one you were expecting]]!

** The end credit stinger in the Series 8 finale "Death in Heaven", by way of teasing the 2014 Christmas special, has [[spoiler: ''Santa Claus'']] entering the TARDIS!
** The production team can pull this off all the time these days by not listing important characters and actors on pre-released cast lists and only crediting them on the episode itself!

* ''Series/DaVincisDemons'' has the titular character meeting none other than Vlad the Impaler (a.k.a. Dracula).
* ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'' has the appearance of the ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'' costumes outside of Kibaranger (who was our White Ranger), along with the assumption that the costumes of the series from ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'' to ''Series/ChoujinSentaiJetman'' are just alien powers that weren't brought to Earth.
* ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24: Live Another Day]]'' has [[spoiler: [[HijackedByGanon Cheng Zhi]] as the main antagonist.]] Although fans were expecting some familiar faces to show up other than Jack, Chloe, Audrey, and James Heller, he was genuinely the last person anyone was expecting to see.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', continuing the tradition of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. These include minor comic characters like [[spoiler:Deathlok, Graviton, Lorelei, Blizzard, Blackout, and some of ComicBook/TheInhumans, most notably Mister Hyde and Quake, who was main character Skye all along.]]

* ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'' combines this with NotHisSled, as the Hank Henshaw we're introduced to turns out to be [[spoiler:the ComicBook/MartianManhunter in disguise]] rather than a cyborg supervillain.
** Though it was announced beforehand, those familiar with canon were probably surprised that Non would appear as a major villain, sans his usual boss Zod. (And this is before he's reduced to DumbMuscle.)
* Let's be honest: Who expected Kelley Wentworth, Kimmi Kappenberg, and Jeff Varner to appear on another season of Series/{{Survivor}} despite how none of those three made it to the merge in their original seasons?
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
** Most had Rosario Dawson pegged as Echo, White Tiger, or even Elektra. Nobody considered the possibility of her playing an obscure character like Claire Temple.
** The introduction of the Punisher in season 2 was initially a surprise considering the poor reception to every previous attempt to bring him to the screen.
** Season 2 featured the reappearances of Wilson Fisk, Madame Gao, and Nobu, plus the appearance of Jeri Hogarth from ''Series/JessicaJones2015''. In these cases, Fisk and Gao had been sent away the previous season (in fact, Fisk's return was quite a major twist due to the fact that it was a complete surprise despite the intense scrutiny every MCU property has been put under these days; it helped that a lot of the marketing for season 2 revolved around the addition of The Punisher and Elektra), Nobu was seemingly killed, and Jeri Hogarth was from a different show, making them all a bit of a surprise to many viewers.
* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', no one expected the Reverse-Flash to be running from something... namely, the Black Flash, the abomination that used to be Zoom before the Time Wraiths got to him.
* '' [[Series/Legion2017 Legion]]'' has an unexpected ''main character''. When a series set in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' universe was announced, few expected it to star Professor Xavier's son David Haller, an [[StoryBreakerPower immensely powerful and flexible]] mutant who is relatively obscure and known for MindScrew plots about [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind mindscapes]] and multiple personalities.

* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', no one expected the Reverse-Flash to be running from something... namely, the Black Flash, the abomination that used to be Zoom before the Time Wraiths got to him.

** Season 2 featured the reappearances of Wilson Fisk, Madame Gao, and Nobu, plus the appearance of Jeri Hogarth from ''Series/JessicaJones2015''. In these cases, Fisk and Gao had been sent away the previous season (in fact, Fisk's return was quite a major twist due to the fact that it was a complete surprise despite the intense scrutiny every MCU property has been put under these days; it helped that a lot of the marketing for season 2 revolved around the addition of The Punisher and Elektra), Nobu was seemingly killed, and Jeri Hogarth was from a different show, making them all a bit of a surprise to many viewers.

* Let's be honest: Who expected Kelley Wentworth, Kimmi Kappenberg, and Jeff Varner to appear on another season of Series/Survivor despite how none of those three made it to the merge in their original seasons?

* Let's be honest: Who expected Kelley Wentworth, Kimmi Kappenberg, and Jeff Varner to appear on another season of Series/Survivor despite how none of those three made it to the merge in their original seasons?

** Though it was announced beforehand, those familiar with canon were probably surprised that Non would appear as a major villain, sans his usual boss Zod. (And this is before he's reduced to DumbMuscle.)

** The friggin' Wonder Twins from {{Superfriends}} had their own episode.