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%% Before adding examples, check the guidelines in the Expy cleanup thread (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13983140170A37263400) and make sure your example fits the criteria to qualify as an Expy. Don't just list minor or coincidental similarities. Also, explain why the character is an Expy - don't just say "X is an expy of Y" and leave it at that.
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[[index]]
* ''Expy/{{Arrowverse}}''
* ''Expy/DoctorWho''
* ''Expy/SaturdayNightLive''
* ''Expy/StarTrek''
* ''Expy/TheBoys2019''
[[/index]]
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* ''Series/SixHundredSixtySixParkAvenue'': The Dorans for the Castevets from ''Film/RosemarysBaby''.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Doyle is rather similar to Whistler, a character who appeared in the Season 2 finale of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Both are demons, both help Angel out, both serve [[spoiler: (or served, in Doyle's case)]] as intermediaries for The PowersThatBe, both are frequently sarcastic... WordOfGod in fact says Whistler was originally intended as Angel's sidekick, but schedule conflicts with the actor caused them to use Doyle instead. Which creates a certain amount of overlap with SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute. In "City of" Doyle even wears a hat similar to Whistler's iconic hat.
** Izzerial ("Izzy") the Devil from the Circle of the Black Thorn, a very obvious one for Satan. Aside from the name, he's a red demon with a forked tail.
** Illyria has some strong similarities to Eldrad from the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E2TheHandOfFear The Hand of Fear]]", although it might be a coincidence. Both are former [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evils In A Can]] eldritch entities who manifest as pretty blue women in skintight catsuits and have autocratic but sympathetic personalities.
** Angel himself is very much an expy for Batman. Handsome good looks? Check? Heroic nature? Check. Endless courage? Check. It’s so blatant that other characters even make comparisons between the two.
* ''Series/AntFarm '':
** Chyna Parks is expy of [[Series/ThatsSoRaven Raven Baxter]] , [[Series/{{ICarly}} Carly Shay ]] ,and [[Series/{{Victorious}} Tori Vega]].
** Olive Doyle is expy of [[Series/HannahMontana Lilly Truscott]] and [[Series/ICarly Sam Puckett]].
** Fletcher Quimby is expy of [[Series/ICarly Freddie Benson]] , complete with being the Butt Monkey (but more worse than Freddie's). Though their personalities differ, as well as liking a specific subject (Freddie's Tech knowledge to Fletcher's Art). Also, of Isaac Mendez of Heroes, to an extent.
** Angus Chestnut is expy of [[Series/ICarly Gibby]]
** Paisley Houndstooth is expy of [[Series/{{Victorious}} Cat Valentine ]] minus mentioning her brother.
** Gibson is expy of [[Series/{{ICarly}} Spencer Shay]].
* ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'': Carl the Wizard from "Cobraman!" is a live-action version of Strong Bad from ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', including the mask, the phony Mexican accent, and the fact he's played by Matt Chapman.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** Marcus pointed out ''on-screen'' that how they are all similar to characters from Arthurian legend. WordOfGod is that this was meant to foreshadow the [[spoiler: reappearance of Anna Sheridan.]] It worked to some degree, [[spoiler: as Marcus' wondering aloud at the end who was supposed to be Morgan [=LeFay=] had people on Usenet opining that Anna Sheridan wasn't really dead.]]
** One episode also features two comedians who are clear expies of Creator/PennAndTeller. Being played by Penn and Teller.
* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'':
** Betsy Kettleman is very similar personality wise to Marie Schrader from ''Saul'' parent series Series/BreakingBad in that they are both stubborn, self-righteous characters with dubious morals. In fact, Betsy Kettleman was named after the actress who plays Marie Schrader, Betsy Brandt.
* ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'': Every character in this show has an almost perfect parallel character in the sequel series, ''Series/NineOhTwoOneOh''. Kelly is now Naomi, Dylan is Liam, and so on into infinity.
* ''{{Series/Bottom}}'' by Creator/RikMayall and Ade Edmondson features the same basic characters as all of their acts; Rick and Vyvyan from ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', Rich and Catflap from ''Series/FilthyRichAndCatflap'', their stage act "the Dangerous Brothers" and their feature film ''Film/GuestHouseParadiso''.
* ''Series/TheBridge2011'': Saga Norén is so remarkably similar to Kathleen Mallory from Carol O'Connell's prose detective novels that it's hard to imagine there wasn't an influence. About the only difference between them is that Kathy is apparently asexual while Saga picks up random guys in bars for sex (and then freaks them out by starting her laptop up and looking at autopsy photos as soon as they've finished).
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Der Kindestod, of Freddy Krueger from ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet''.
** Ted, and Film/TheStepfather.
** Buffy, as a character, is largely based on ComicBook/KittyPryde, a character in ''ComicBook/XMen''. It's been theorized she was inspired by Regina and Samantha Belmont of ''Film/NightOfTheComet'': blonde, Californian morons who find themselves battling the undead.
** Lothos is one for Dracula because of his pale skin, style of clothing, aristocratic background and vampirism.
** Season 4's BigBad Adam is a pretty clear one for Frankenstein's Monster. There's even a scene where he meets a child and ends up killing them, as in the original novel.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':
** Cole is clearly an expy of Angel in ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}''. Reformed demon starts a love affair with female hero, then reverts to evil. Then good again. Then semi-evil (see Season 2 ''Angel'' series). Aaron Spelling obviously agrees with the saying 'good writers borrow from other writers; great writers steal from them outright'.
** The feuding '''Mon'''tana and '''Ca'''lloway families from Season 6 are the '''Mon'''tague and '''Ca'''pulet families from ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', complete with StarCrossedLovers '''R'''ichard Montana and Olivia Calloway.
* ''Series/ChicoAndTheMan'' Main characters Ed Brown and Chico Rodriguez are basically white and Latino versions of [[Series/SanfordAndSon Fred & Lamont Sanford]], who themselves are Black version of [[Series/{{AllInTheFamily}} Archie Bunker and Mike Stivic.]]
* Season 4 of ''Series/{{Community}}'' has Reinhold, an expy of his brother, Juergen, the annoying German foosball player from Season 3.
* Episode 6 of Tommy Cooper's 1975 series 'Cooper', has Russell Hunter playing police informant Sneaky. He is identical to Lonely, Hunter's character from ''Series/{{Callan}}'', right down to his unendurable body odour.
* ''Series/CougarTown'': Has Ellie, an Expy of Jordan from Creator/BillLawrence's earlier show ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''. They are even played by the same actress.
* ''Series/DangerMan'': Patrick [=McGoohan's=] character was John Drake. (The series name was changed to ''Secret Agent'' in the USA after the first season.) Then [=McGoohan=] went on to play the unnamed Number Six on ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'', who is clearly an Expy of Drake. In both series, Drake/6 had a colleague called Potter, both played by Christopher Benjamin.
* ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'' features characters clearly inspired by characters from ''Film/TheDarkCrystal''.
** Of all main Gelflings, Deet is clearly modeled the most after Kira. They both have long platinum hair, are a FriendToAllLivingThings and SpeaksFluentAnimal, and are in a ShipTease with a brown-haired Gelfling lad who functions as TheHero.
** Likewise, Rian is pretty clearly modeled after Jen. A strapping young Gelfling lad with long brown hair who is functionally TheHero yet often needs help from the female Gelfling(s) he travels with, and is in a ShipTease with a white-haired female Gelfling who is a FriendToAllLivingThings and SpeaksFluentAnimal. All that said, he's much more effective in combat than Jen.
* ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'': J.T. and Toby are updated versions of Arthur and Yick from ''Series/DegrassiJuniorHigh'', while Sean is an updated version of the earlier show's Rick. (Both Sean and Rick are TroubledButCute, but the similarities go further -- both live with their adult brother, both had an edgy relationship with a social-activist girl, etc.)
** Rick, in turn, is an expy of Griff on ''Series/TheKidsOfDegrassiStreet'', who lived with his adult brother after his parents died. Wheels is also a partial expy of Griff, having been orphaned as well, having a nickname based on his last name, and being played by the same actor.
** Now that most of the cast were [[PutOnABus put on buses]] or just [[CommutingOnABus commuting,]] most of the characters introduced in Seasons 7 and 8 are Expies filling in the ro.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': [[Characters/DexterDexterMorgan Dexter Morgan]] is similar to ''Literature/SergeStorms'': Serge A. Storms: both are south Florida-based serial killers who only target bad guys, with the first Serge novel ''Florida Roadkill'' published in 1999 and the first Dexter novel ''Darkly Dreaming Dexter'' published in 2001. Per Tim during his 2013 book tour for ''The Riptide Ultra-Glide'', Showtime was even offered a Serge TV show two years before they were offered ''Dexter''.
* ''Series/DontTrustTheBInApartment23'': Chloe is basically a human, female [[WesternAnimation/AmericanDad Roger]] (it should be noted that the creator of the former wrote for ''American Dad''). Both characters even used foster children for their own personal gain.
* ''{{Series/Farscape}}'': The fourth season villain Grayza has massive similarities, including a near-identical hairstyle and dress sense, to ''Series/BlakesSeven'' BigBad Servalan. In the first season, Crais had lesser but still clear similarities to the ''Blake's 7'' villain Travis, although the two characters became completely different after Crais's HazyFeelTurn.
* ''Series/FargoSeasonOne'' has expies of characters in ''{{Film/Fargo}}'' - Lester Nygaard is basically a more psychopathic and slightly more adept Jerry Lundegaard, Molly Solverson is a stand-in for Marge Gunderson. Lorne Malvo is an expy of Anton Chigurh from ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'', another Coen Brothers film.
* ''Series/FatherTed'' creators Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan typically have a trio of characters that fit similar archetypes. Compared to other series ''Series/BlackBooks'' and ''Series/TheITCrowd'', there's the (flawed) [[OnlySaneMan sane one]],[[note]]Ted, Fran, and Jen.[[/note]] [[TheDitz the idiot]],[[note]]Dougal, Manny, and Roy.[[/note]] and the [[NoSocialSkills unsociable one]].[[note]]Father Jack -- violent and alcoholic, Bernard -- hates everyone, and Moss -- socially awkward.[[/note]]
* The main characters of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' are based on the crew of the ''Betty'' from the original draft of ''Film/AlienResurrection'' – both written by Creator/JossWhedon. Most of them ended up altered significantly in the final film (for example, the film version of Hillard bears none of the resemblance to Zoe that the original-draft version does), but it's still obvious that Jayne is based on Johner. The ship ''Serenity'' herself is also based on the ''Betty''.
* ''Series/FreshMeat'': Kingsley is the same character as Simon from ''Series/TheInbetweeners''. Both were played by the same actor and Fresh Meat could even plausibly follow on chronologically from The Inbetweeners. Especially plausible because Kingsley never talks about his life before he became a university student. It's not implausible that he is Simon, and simply chooses to go by Kingsley because he wants to distance himself from his past life.
* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' premiered in September of 1990. That same year, two long-running Creator/{{NBC}} shows--''Series/{{Amen}}'' and ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', brought on CousinOliver characters who were prototypes of him--a streetwise kid taken in by wealthy relatives/friends.
* The four main characters ''Series/GameShakers'' shares some similarities as previous Creator/DanSchneider shows ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' and ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' with Kenzie being a BrainyBrunette like Tori, Babe being the GenkiGirl like Carly, Hudson being a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} like Spencer and Cat and Trip being the OnlySaneMan like Freddie and Andre.
* Eclipse from ''Series/TheGifted2017'' is based off of ComicBook/{{Sunspot}} from the ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' (particularly as he appeared in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''), being a Latino mutant with solar powers.
* Shawn from ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' is an expy of Kevin from ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' -- both are dry-humored, completely deadpan men who generally dress in droll office wear. Both are played by Creator/MarcEvanJackson, and both shows share a co-creator, as well as several writers, directors, and actors.
* In ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', Jerome Valenska and his identical twin brother Jeremiah are the Joker in all but name, to the point that the showrunners left it ambiguous on whether either twin becomes the Clown Prince of Crime, which the latter eventually fulfills the role in the finale.
* ''Film/TheGreatWhiteHype'': Creator/SamuelLJackson playing the Reverend Fred Sultan, an {{Expy}} of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_King_(boxing_promoter) Don King]], if Don King had ''style''.
* ''Series/HellOnWheels'': Cullen Bohanan has the exact backstory of Film/TheOutlawJoseyWales.
* ''Series/HotInCleveland'': In both cast and premise (Four single, sexually active women, one of whom is played by Creator/BettyWhite, sharing a house), of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls''. To wit:
** Melanie = Rose, the naive, ditzy one.
** Joy = Dorothy, the bitter one.
** Victoria = Blanche, the diva.
** Elka = Sophia, the sardonic, immigrant mother figure.
* ''Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown'', the last SaturdayMorningKidsShow on Creator/{{ITV}}, had two hyena puppets called Scratch and Sniff, played by John Eccleston and Don Austen, whose main interest was eating the kids in the audience. They were very similar to Bro and Bro, two wolf puppets played by Eccleston and Austen whose main interest was eating the kids in the audience of the Saturday morning show ''What's Up Doc?'' ten years earlier.
* ''Series/TheHour'': Hector Madden is basically the 50s British [[Series/MadMen Don Draper]].
* ''Series/{{House}}'': Considering how much the show was based on the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' stories, clearly the expies are there. House is Sherlock, obviously, the InsufferableGenius with his DeadpanSnarker side and substance abuse issues. Wilson is Watson, the Straight Man to House's Wise Guy. Stretching it a little further, Dr. Cuddy is Inspector Lestrade, who used to do House's legwork and has the same "I hate you, but you're too valuable to get rid of" tone we see in Lestrade.
* ''Series/TheJoeSchmoShow'' intentionally made its characters reality show archetypes as part of its premise. Gina "The Schemer" was based on Richard Hatch from the first season of ''Series/{{Survivor}}''. Hatch was inauspicious early on to the point of Creator/DavidLetterman turning him into a ButtMonkey, but it turned out he was CrazyPrepared psychologically and physically (although overweight at the start of the show, he'd lost a substantial amount of weight in preparation) and played the game expertly and went on to win. Ironically, Gina was voted out at the end of the first Joe Schmo episode, and guess who she quoted verbatim in her parting speech.
** The first season also included an extremely obnoxious character Steve Hutchinson, played by Creator/DavidHornsby, who liked to be called "The Hutch" and was constantly picking on a gay Hispanic character called Kip. He was obviously based on ''Series/TheRealWorld'''s most famous season, Season 3, where an extremely obnoxious {{Narcissist}} who went by "The Puck" picked on the gay Hispanic man Pedro. Pedro had AIDS, which [[DudeNotFunny they obviously didn't replicate with Kip]], but otherwise that conflict was obviously based on that season.
** The second season had Ambrosia, who was quite clearly based on Omarosa from ''Series/TheApprentice''.
* The titular ''Series/KamenRider'' is one of these of the main character of a previous Creator/ShotaroIshinomori work, ''Manga/SkullMan''. Ishinomori had originally wanted to do a live action adaptation of ''Skull Man'', but because of how mature it was it ended up being altered into ''Kamen Rider'', who was essentially a family-friendly version of Skull Man. This later came full circle with [[Series/KamenRiderDouble Kamen Rider Skull]].
** Besides partially borrowing Skull Man's design, ''Kamen Rider'' also took a lot of character elements from the titular lead of another Ishinomori work, ''Manga/Cyborg009''. Both 009 and Kamen Rider were kidnapped by a mysterious organizations (Black Ghost and SHOCKER) that converted them into {{Cyborg}}s, only to escape and fight against said evil organization.
** Ironically, Kamen Rider himself would receive [[FountainOfExpies a number of expies]] in other {{Toku}} heroes such as Series/HenshinNinjaArashi, Series/{{Kikaider}} and Series/Akumaizer3.
* ''Series/KamenRiderStronger'' The show was basically [[Series/KamenRiderKabuto Kabuto]]'s prototype in terms of the suits.
* The cast from ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'' were intended as call-backs and homages to the five original rangers from ''Mighty Morphin'', right down to their colours and personalities. This included:
** Troy the Red Ranger, a disciplined, focused and skilled martial artist (Jason).
** Emma the Pink Ranger, who was athletic yet girly, a flower lover, has a hidden talent of singing, and once borrowed her predecessor's complaint of the helmet messing up her hair (Kimberly).
** Jake the Black Ranger, who was enthusiastic, upbeat and athletic (Zack).
** Gia the Yellow Ranger; tough and confident, yet still fits in with the girly Pink Ranger, and smart enough to keep up with the Blue Ranger on most occasions (Trini).
** Noah the Blue Ranger, a TVGenius and NonActionGuy (Billy).
* ''Series/TheLAComplex'': Abby was originally planned to be [[Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration Manny Santos]]. When they made the choice not to make a SpinOff, she gained a new name but kept the same actress and the same background down to [[UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} hometown]] and her boyfriend back home's of job.
* ''Series/LandOfTheGiants'': Creator/IrwinAllen's series features Alexander Fitzhugh, a ConArtist who is definitely similar to Zachary Smith, the BreakoutCharacter from Allen's previous series ''Series/LostInSpace''.
* Every episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'' was based on an episode of the original series--episodes that Dick Wolf considered among his favorite and/or the best, and the characters were as well:
** Snarky, world-weary, twice-divorced alcoholic Ronnie Brooks was obviously based on Lennie Briscoe.
** Young, handsome, hot-tempered Matt Devlin was based on Mike Logan, as was his replacement Sam Casey, but ''his'' replacement Joe Hawkins is based more on Ed Green.
** Natalie Chandler = Anita Van Buren
** James Steel= both Ben Stone and Jack [=McCoy=], but his replacement Jacob Thorne appears to be solely based on [=McCoy=].
** George Castle and Henry Sharpe= Adam Schiff
** Phyllis Gladstone=Danielle Melnick
** The only two characters who aren't clearly based on original characters are Alesha Philips and Kate Barker, yet they still fall into the "pretty young woman" role that became a staple of the original once Robinette left.
* ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'': Geoff Tipps, Ollie Plimsoles and subsequently Mr. Jelly from ''Series/{{Psychoville}}'', all of which were written performed by Reece Shearsmith.
* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': According to [[WordOfGod Sophia Nomvete]], Disa is partially inspired by Lady Macbeth from ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' and she is playing her a more joyful version of the character.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': An expy of Mac (''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'') appeared in two episodes as [[spoiler: a member of the Others]]; he was even played by Rob [=McElhenney=]. It was [[HilarityEnsues pure genius]]. The first time he appeared as just an extra who was [[spoiler: knocked unconscious by Kate]]. The next time was his slight [[AscendedExtra ascension]] in which he displayed very Mac-like qualities, such as his manner of speech when talking about the Smoke Monster and complaining that [[ActionGirl Kate]] didn't remember [[spoiler: attacking him in his first appearance]]. Of course this being Lost and not [[PlotArmor Philly]], [[AnyoneCanDie he didn't]] [[TooDumbToLive last long]].
* ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'': In the [[ReunionShow Reunion Movie]] ''"The Return of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair"'', [[Film/JamesBond George Lazenby]] shows up during a car chase in a tricked-out Aston Martin.
* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'': To the first series of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': the superpowered teenager who can't reveal his secret (Merlin and Clark); his father figure who knows his secret (Gaius and Jonathan); his best friend who will one day learn his secret (Chloe and Arthur), his first love interest whose destined to end up with a friend of his (Gwen and Lana); his future enemy pre-FaceHeelTurn (Morgana and Lex); said enemy's antagonistic father (Uther and Lionel). And later, his ally who knows his secret (Lancelot and Oliver) with a team of warriors (Knights of Camelot and the Justice League). And the dark, supernatural mentor with morally grey intentions (Jor-El and the Dragon)
** Writer Julian Jones has admitted that their version of [[Literature/TristanAndIseult Tristan and Isolde]] are based on ''Film/MrAndMrsSmith2005''.
** Queen Annis bears more than a passing resemblance to Boudicca, and there's some speculation that Princess Mithian was based on the more familiar characterization of Guinevere, being both high-born and in a (temporary) ArrangedMarriage with Myth/KingArthur (the show's ''real'' Guinevere being a servant girl widely known as Gwen).
** Though not strictly a character, the Mage Stone in ''[[Recap/MerlinS01E12ToKillTheKing To Kill The King]]'' is clearly the Philosopher's Stone, presumably changed in order to avoid comparisons with ''Literature/HarryPotter''.
** The Cup of Life is clearly the Holy Grail.
* ''Series/MonarchLegacyOfMonsters'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseUSGovernmentAndMilitary General Puckett]] takes over the role that the fictionalized version of General UsefulNotes/DouglasMacArthur originally had in the Franchise/MonsterVerse[='s=] previous, now [[CanonDiscontinuity de-canonized]] account of Godzilla's past with Monarch in TheFifties; of the U.S. Army officer who authorized the Castle Bravo atomic bombing in an attempt to kill Godzilla in 1954, over protests from [[BenevolentConspiracy Monarch]], and who contributed to Monarch's growth in its early days.
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'':
** BadassBookworm Murdoch is one for Sherlock Holmes.
** Creator/MichaelSeater has stated in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvp7Cq9YUWE this featurette]] that James Gillies is the Moriarty to Murdoch's Holmes.
** Sally Pendrick can be read as one for Irene Adler Norton, the only woman to defeat Sherlock Holmes. Both women were singers, both had scandalous pasts that involved photographic evidence, and both initially defeated their sleuths (before the sleuths ultimately figured things out). (The difference is that Irene wasn't really a criminal, and Sally very definitely was.)
* ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily'': Lucas Winnick's animal based powers, slightly scraggly appearance, and eagerness to inflict violence with his new claws and teeth make him an expy of Sabretooth from the ''ComicBook/XMen''.
* ''Series/TheOldGuys'': Roy and Tom are expies of Mark and Jeremy of ''Series/PeepShow'', with the same writing team.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Captain Hook is an expy of Captain Jack Sparrow from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''.
* ''Series/OpenAllHours'': Creator/KathyStaff's character, Mrs. Blewitt, is, as Staff herself noted in a making-of documentary, essentially the same character as the one she plays in ''Series/LastOfTheSummerWine'', Nora Batty (also written by Clarke).
* The titular character in ''Series/ParkerLewisCantLose'' was pretty brazenly based on [[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff Ferris Bueller]]; Website/TheOtherWiki even describes the series as "strongly influenced by the feature film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off."''
* ''The Pizza Head Show'' was a series of commercials for Pizza Hut made in TheNineties by Walter Williams, creator of Series/MrBill. Pizza Head was basically Mr. Bill as a talking slice of pizza, suffering all sorts of AmusingInjuries thanks to the meddling of Steve the Pizza Cutter (standing in for Sluggo).
* In ''Series/{{Powers}}'' a number of characters are based on characters from DC and Marvel comics, just as their counterparts from the ComicBook/{{Powers}} comic, most notably, Triphammer, who's based on [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]].
* ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'': Alison is an expy of [[Series/TwinPeaks Laura Palmer]]. Both are beautiful, popular high-school girls with dark secrets well beyond their years, both are [[PosthumousCharacter Posthumous Characters]] remembered fondly by their towns despite their true ByronicHero natures, and their passing leaves their friends with more questions than closure. Alison even has an FBI agent named Cooper (a woman, in this case) investigating her death, and she leaves behind a video that's very similar in content and plot-relevance to one left by Laura.
** She can also be seen as a darker version of both [[Series/GossipGirl Blair Waldorf]] and [[Series/VeronicaMars Lily Kane]].
** Spencer is basically a darker [[Series/VeronicaMars Veronica Mars]]. She can also be ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' (she even has his initials)!
* ''Series/{{Rawhide}}'': Wishbone, the bearded cook, is an expy of Charlie Wooster, the bearded cook of ''Series/WagonTrain'' fame.
* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Aaron seems to be this to [[Series/{{Lost}} Hurley]], but with a RaceLift. Rich guy whose money is now worthless? Check. Big guy who is a vast source of comic relief? Check. Apparent aversion to physical tasks (at least partially due to his size)? Check.
* ''Series/RhymeAndReason'', an ABC game show from 1975, was an expy of ''Series/MatchGame'' on CBS in that entailed two contestants and a panel of six celebrities. The panel must finish a poem and match the rhyming word the contestants had written down. While ''Match Game'' was still riding the ratings crest, ''Rhyme And Reason'' was cancelled a year later.
* ''Series/RobinHood'': Creator/RichardArmitage's portrayal of Guy of Gisbourne in the BBC's show: give him an eyepatch, and he'd ''be'' [[Series/BlakesSeven Space Commander Travis]].
* ''Series/SavedByTheBellTheNewClass'': Most of the original cast were basically the ''old'' class with different actors. Apparently it didn't go over well, because the cast was largely overhauled early on.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': Some of the new interns in Season 8 seem to be Expies of the main cast.
** Katie Collins is explicitly nicknamed "Mini Elliot" (and is even caught making out with another intern in a pink bra in one scene, similar to what often happens to [[MsFanservice Elliot]], who often takes her shirt off for one reason or another and is always wearing a different coloured bra every time).
** Derek Hill has some similarities to Turk, but Turk realizes that he acts in a serious and arrogant manner.
** Howie Geller is a mixture of JD, Doug and The Todd.
** Dr. Sonja "Sunny" Dey is almost exactly like the short Indian girl with the squeaky voice, only taller.
** Nurse Roberts friggin dies... and then the actress Aloma Wright comes back like five episodes later to play Nurse "Shirley". J.D. Lampshades this by calling her Lavern-again. She is never seen after this.
* ''Series/SchittsCreek'' has Twyla, who is an expy of Ursula, the ditzy waitress from ''Series/MadAboutYou''.
* ''Series/{{Schmigadoon}}'' bases its characters on musical theater archetypes and characters, some more blatant than others. GenreSavvy Melissa is on-hand to [[LampshadeHanging identify the more obvious ones]].
** Emma to [[Theatre/TheMusicMan Marian Paroo]], an intelligent, forward-thinking small-town woman who works in a "smart" job (Marian is a librarian, Emma is a schoolmarm). Like Marian, she has a much-younger brother with a lisp who acts as the town crier. She even cites the same "dirty" authors expunged in ''The Music Man'': Creator/GeoffreyChaucer, Francois Rabelais, and Creator/HonoreDeBalzac. Lampshaded by Melissa, who recognizes her character as being right out of ''The Music Man'' (and ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', another musical with a forward-thinking schoolteacher heroine) and tells Josh how to progress Marian's story.
** Gabriele to [[Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic Baroness Elsa Schraeder]]. Like the Baroness, she is a beautiful, rich blonde of noble descent who is supposed to marry the cold, perfectionist widow love interest (Jorge). She even shows up in a similar outfit to the Baroness in the film (coiffed hair, dangling earrings, gold dress, white gloves). Lampshaded by Melissa, who recognizes their situation as being right out of ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'', and expects her to be a GracefulLoser. Melissa even mentions that the original Baroness may or may not have been a Nazi; "Blerky" [[spoiler:says ''of course'' she's a Nazi.]]
* ''Series/SomeAssemblyRequired'' has characters who are obviously based upon characters from ''Series/MrYoung'', Dan Signer’s previous YTV sitcom. Note that this only applies to the teenage characters, and that Aster doesn’t have a counterpart as there are six main teens on SAR compared to only five on ''Young''.
** Jarvis is based upon Adam, as both are the protagonists, who are teenagers put into an adult job and quickly use their youthful brains to their advantage.
** Piper and Echo are both the [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl tomboy]] of the two lead female characters and are the main love interest of the protagonists. The main difference is that Piper is a PerkyGoth while Echo is a ManicPixieDreamGirl, and that while Adam likes Echo, Piper is into Jarvis.
** Bowie and Derby are both the goofballs of their respective group and childhood friends of the protagonists. While they’re not dumb, they aren’t smart either and have poor common sense.
** Knox and Slab are DumbMuscle characters who are [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname known by nicknames derived from their last names]] (Knoxford and Slabinsky). While Slab is a [[TheBully bully]], Knox is a SurferDude.
** Geneva is a successor to Ivy, as they are DumbBlonde characters who play a [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl girly counterpart]] to Piper and Echo. Geneva tends to be dumber and nicer than Ivy, who is somewhat of an AlphaBitch. While Ivy is presented as a love interest only to Derby, all of the boys in SAR (except for the presumably gay Aster) are shown as having crushes on Geneva, which underscores the fact that she was only hired for her looks.
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': Rodney [=McKay=] is basically Gary Meyers from the original ''{{Film/Stargate}}'' with a different profession. They even look similar.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Sam Winchester is modelled after Luke Skywalker and Dean Winchester is modelled after Han Solo from ''Franchise/StarWars''.
** The Trickster is a mischievous RealityWarper who enjoys screwing with the heroes while also trying to teach them a lesson and sometimes outright helping them. Essentially he's Q transplanted from the sci-fi setting of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' into a dark fantasy universe.
** The writers acknowledge that Castiel is modeled off of ComicBook/{{John Constantine}}.
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai''/''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger''/''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': Daizyuzin/Dino Megazord was based on Anime/{{Golion}}[=/=]Anime/{{Voltron}} (mecha designer admitted his inspiration), while Dragon Caesar/Dragonzord was based on the King of Monsters himself, Franchise/{{Godzilla}}.
** ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'': Iron Faced Chouryou and his superior Archbishop Saw are clearly based on Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine respectively. Chouryou is a black armored knight who[[spoiler: is actually the father of the red ranger, who defected to evil]] and Saw uses electricity to torture is enemies, causing Chouryuo to pull a HeelFaceTurn. Chouryou even debuts with a music theme resembling the Imperial March from Star Wars.
** The mecha of ''Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger'' are an expy to the ones from ''Series/ChoujuuSentaiLiveman''. Both Liverobo and Senpuujin consist of a red eagle, a yellow lion and a blue dolphin. Like Liveman before it, Hurricaneger also introduces a second CombiningMecha consisting of two land vehicles, which can also combine with the primary robot.
* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'':
** London Tipton is an expy of Paris Hilton (who was extremely relevant at the time this was being filmed in 2005-2008).
--->'''Teacher:''' No, I'm talking to the spoiled airheaded heiress in the front.\\
'''London:''' Gasp! Paris Hilton is here?
* ''Series/{{Terrahawks}}'' had Winsdor Davies essentially reprise his role of Battery Sergeant Williams from ''Series/ItAintHalfHotMum'' as Sergeant Major Zero, the major difference being Williams was human and Zero was a spherical robot.
* ''Series/TerraNova'': Nathaniel Taylor is Colonel Miles Quaritch from ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', down to being played by Stephen Lang. Being nicer doesn't make him any less badass.
* ''Series/TheTick2001'' couldn't use the animated characters Die Fladermaus and American Maid, so they were replaced with expies Batmanuel and Captain Liberty.
* ''Series/TheTonightShow'':
** Answer Man (Steve Allen) => Carnac the Magnificent (Johnny Carson) => Beyondo (Jay Leno) => In The Year 3000 (Creator/ConanOBrien).
*** And Allen's "Answer Man" was said by some to be [[strike:stolen from]] inspired by Ernie Kovacs' "Mr. Question Man" during the period when the two split hosting duties on the show.
** Green Car Challenge => [[Series/TopGearUK Star in a Reasonably Priced Car]].
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'':
** Davies seems to have brought in a lot of influences from earlier works. Gwen bears a resemblance to [[Series/DoctorWho Rose]] in her role. Captain Jack comes across as a hybrid of the Doctor and Stuart from ''Series/QueerAsFolkUK'', while Ianto became more and more like Vince, especially in his relationship to Jack, as the series progressed.
** A BadassLongcoat who is ReallySevenHundredYearsOld that investigates the paranormal with a FiveManBand, which is a more adult {{Spinoff}} of a previous show? [[Series/{{Angel}} Wait, what show are we talking about?]] Just check the main images for ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Creator/RussellTDavies WAS pretty heavily inspired by Creator/JossWhedon.
** Captain John Hart, Captain Jack Harkness's EvilCounterpart is clearly an Expy of Spike from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and is even played by the same actor, Creator/JamesMarsters. He acts a lot like pre-BadassDecay Spike (if not even ''more'' unhinged), and Jack even acts a lot like ''Series/{{Angel}}'' around him.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Cold Reading", the UBS radio adventure series ''Dick Noble, African Explorer'' is based on ''Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy'', which ran on Creator/{{CBS}} and later Creator/{{NBC}} and Creator/{{ABC}} [[LongRunners from 1933 to 1951]]. In the final scene, it is mentioned that next week's episode will pit Dick Noble against [[AlienInvasion invaders]] from UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}, a reference to Creator/OrsonWelles' 1938 [[Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds radio adaptation]] of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone2002'': In "Azoth the Avenger is a Friend of Mine", the title character is one for Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian.
* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'': Judith is a clear Expy of Lillith from ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. She's a vindictive ex-wife, is quite neurotic, and speaks in a very similar manner.
* ''Series/UnhappilyEverAfter'': The main characters were obvious expies of those in ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''. The main difference was that UEA replaced the family dog with a puppet. Since the two shows were created by the same people, they basically sold the same idea to two different networks.
* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'': April Young has a few things in common with Season 1 Caroline, right down to winning Miss Mystic Falls like her.
* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': More than a few viewers have noticed the resemblance between Glenn and Short Round of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''. Both Glenn and Short Round are young Asian male {{Guile Hero}}es who wear baseball caps. They're also the sidekicks to older white badasses who love their distinctive hats. Even [[http://www.backstage.com/interview/walking-dead-star-steven-yeun-resisting-asian-stereotypes/ Steven Yeun]] has noticed this.
* ''{{Series/Wings}}'': Joe, Brian and Helen's representations during the first season are quite similar to that of Chip, Dale and Gadget from ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' (which premiered a couple of years before ''Wings''). Joe and Chip were the smart, responsible pilots with the cool jackets, Brian and Dale were the goofy, fun-loving brothers who wore Hawaiian shirts, and Helen and Gadget were the cute blondes that the brothers fought over.
* Creator/BudSpencer (real name Carlo Pedersoli) last role was in an Italian TV series called ''I Delitti del Cuoco'' ("The Chef's Murders") where he played a former police commissioner with a passion for cooking, who now owned and ran a restaurant in Ischia, an island near Naples. Given that he played Neapolitan commissioner "Piedone" Rizzo in four movies during the '70s, this later character may be Rizzo after he retired from active duty.
* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'':
** Given how many {{kaiju}} there are in the franchise, it's no surprise some of them are expies of each other or the giant monsters of other Japanese franchises, such as the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' series. Listing even half of them would triple the size of this page, but the main thing one should know is that many times, the Ultra Series' expies are a deliberate ShoutOut, a MythologyGag, or even a WholePlotReference to previous Ultra series episodes or a famous kaiju movie.
** Expying extends to some of the human characters as well. For example, Ultra Garrison's BigGuy Furuhashi from ''Series/UltraSeven'' is a very blatant copycat of Arashi from the previous series, the original ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' -- right down to being played by the same actor.
** On ''Series/UltramanX'', Ultraman X resembles Franchise/{{Digimon}} species when he uses [=MonsArmor=] functions. As shown, Gomora Armor is [=WarGreymon=], Eleking Armor is Omnimon (or [=MetalGarurumon=] X), Bemstar Armor is Crusadermon, Zero Armor is [=MagnaAngemon=], and Zetton Armor is Kabuterimon.
* InUniverse in ''Series/{{Westworld}}. Shogun World contain as major characters a dishonoured{{Ronin}}, his female partner with a dragon tattoo and the head geisha of the local okiya, who the lead writer admits he just recycled from Hector, Armistice and Maeve; complete with regular robberies of the okiya. When they all wander into Shogun World the Westworld originals [[ExpyCoexistence]] meet their duplicates.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'': [[TheSymbiote The Black Oil or Black Cancer]] has a striking resemblance to the Venom symbiote from ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. Both are evil black alien liquid lifeforms resembling oil that have the ability to attach themselves to people, taking over their bodies and granting them superhuman powers. And just like most incarnations of the symbiote, the Black Oil was originally discovered in a meteorite. The introductory scene of the Black Oil even has resemblances to the symbiote's introduction in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''. FBI Agent Dana Scully has more than a hint of Clarice Starling from 'The Silence of the Lambs', an imprisoned Mulder even riffing the whole "Hello Clarice" gag in the final episode.

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