[[SuperPrincessPeach http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princess_peach_01.jpg]]
[[caption-width:300:Her moment to shine.]]

->''"You know, I've rather enjoyed having my own episode. It almost makes up for being thoroughly neglected for the past two and a half years."''
-->-- '''Yami Bakura''', ''YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries''

A secondary or [[{{Ensembles}} Ensemble]] character gets the primary focus for an episode in an atypical fashion. This can be used to either give various cast members a rest, both for the actor and for the audience or to allow different episodes to be shot simultaneously to save on time or costs. It can also be used to explore the possibility of an expanded role for a {{Recurrer}} or secondary character, or to [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot set up a]] ''{{Spinoff}}''.

While often times this trope only applies to secondary or background characters, in an ensemble cast with fairly equitable time sharing, any episode that shines the spotlight on one particular character can be considered a Limelight Episode even if that character is top billed.

[[{{Fanfic}} Fanfics]] frequently do this as well, exploring minor characters to flesh out their backstory and their contribution to the overall story.

Expect the rest of the regular cast to chip in a MandatoryLine at the very least, however.

A SubTrope to SupportingProtagonist, a SuperTrope to TheGreatestStoryNeverTold.

HostileShowTakeover is the most extreme version.

Compare to LowerDeckEpisode, VillainEpisode; contrast with DayInTheLife, ADeathInTheLimelight.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

*Quite common in [[{{Anime}} anime]], although some studios (notably {{Gainax}}) loath to do so.
* The ''OnePiece'' manga features "mini-arcs" on the title pages of issues. These detail the fates of villains and minor characters. Only two of them have been animated: Buggy's search for his crew and body and Coby's and Helmeppo's marine training.
* ''{{Gundam}}'' is infamous for this, with a cruel twist: [[ADeathInTheLimelight a day in the limelight usually ends in your death]]. When a minor character suddenly gets a episode focused on him and characterization, he usually will not be alive by the end of the episode.
* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' has so many ''main'' characters, it tends to have ADayInTheLimelight chapters/episodes for them between (or even within) major story arcs.
* ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'': Seto Kaiba got an entire ''arc'' (half a season) in the limelight- the Virtual Nightmare Arc that explored his BackStory and featured a face-off with his step-father. Too bad it [[OvertookTheManga didn't happen in the manga]].
** Common in ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh GX}}'': In Season 1, Manjyome got his own episode and an abridged [[TheHerosJourney Heroic Journey]] at the North School. Kaiser got his own episode (culminating in his FreakOut) in Season 2, and Sho stepped into the spotlight once in Season 3.
*** Since ''GX'' is ostensibly an ensemble piece (although Judai tends to hog the spotlight by the end of the show), it arguably doesn't really qualify for this trope. Sho, Manjoume and Kaiser have all had their fair share of episodes.
* Sometimes, ''TokyoMewMew'' padded out its episode count by recycling scripts for different characters. For example, Minto and Zakuro both got TenMinuteRetirement episodes. It also occasionaly had episodes more or less focused on relatively minor characters -- such as Keiichiro and [[RobotBuddy Masha]].
* ''FullMetalAlchemist'' spent one episode focusing on the travails of Roy Mustang and his five aides (and [[http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb161/NGR_album/fma_37_07.jpg Black Hayate]]).
* ''GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' devoted an entire episode to one of the Tachikomas, its sentient [[RobotBuddy robot tanks]].
** Other episodes (and in the subsequent series ''2nd Gig'') have spotlighted the members of the team who don't usually get it such as Saito and Pazu. Unfortunately, they never got around to flesh out Borma.
* In the second season of ''MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'', this was generally the ''only'' way the OutOfFocus characters got any attention.
* {{Naruto}}'s [[EnsembleDarkhorse Shikamaru]] became the ''de facto'' main character of the series for most of the Immortal's arc.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the anime ''Naruto Shippuden'' with an aftershow omake where Shikamaru jokes that the show will be renamed ''Shikamaru Shippuden''.
*** Don't forget about ''Asuma Shippuden''. He even made his own logo!
* Urahara Kisuke from {{Bleach}} became the focus of a flashback arc set one hundred years prior to the series proper. Other characters prominantly featured include: Yoruichi, Tessai, Aizen, Gin and [[spoiler:The Vizards]].
** Also, in {{Bleach}}, around the time the vice captains were defending the towers, Ikkaku lampshades this. When a captain asks if he needs help, he says "no way! this is like the one time where the vice captains get the spotlight!"
*** In fact, ''Bleach'' the anime is very fond of this trope, having to produce so many fillers that do not hinder a wrong turn for a developing character's canon storyline. Ikkaku, Yumichika, Matsumoto, Don Kanoji, Kon, Ichigo's sisters, and Hitsuguya all have at least one episode dedicated to them in some way. Kubo does this in the manga, but nowhere near as often as the anime.
* SuzumiyaHaruhi's Yuki Nagato [[strike:will]] might have her spotlight in the [[strike:second]] third season... [[RuinedForever contrary to what KyoAni announced BEFOREHAND!!!!!!!!]] In fact, its more of a HostileShowTakeover, even ''after'' that arc. And Mikuru in the novel chapter "The Melancholy Of Mikuru Asahina". Also, just as the fourth book could be considered Nagato's {{Day In The Limelight}}, the seventh book could be considered Mikuru's. [[{{IsntItSad}} Koizumi doesn't get one.]]
* Matsuda gets one of these in ''DeathNote''. The episode is even named after him.
** So does Teru Mikami.
* When ''HayateTheCombatButler'' does these with recurring minor characters, the fact is usually stated enthusiastically by said charaters. Sometimes with the main characters complaining that they've been pushed to the sidelines. Of course, this is a given since the series has NoFourthWall.
* The ''FullMetalPanic: The Second Raid'' OVA focuses on Tessa Testarossa, in a humorous DayInTheLife story with no advancement of plot.
* ''GashBell'' had these episodes from time to time, which usually began with Gash wondering what a particular demon was up to, and cut to said demon doing something interesting. Brago, Ted and Wonrei have had episodes centered around them in this fashion.
* Very common in {{Shinkon Gattai Godannar}}. There are 4 teams of pilots belonging to bases in other countries that occasionally show up to help Goh, Anna, and company. Each of those teams get at least an episode centered mostly around them. Most semi-major characters around the main base get an episode or two dedicated to them as well.
* Knuckles and Rouge receive their own episodes early on in ''SonicX.''
* [[KareKano His and Her Circumstances]] has an episode near the end which focuses on Yukino's two little sisters that takes a delightful turn away from the romantic melodrama toward a very light hearted comedy.
* Pretty much the entire point of the Chronicles sideseries of {{Pokemon}}.
* About five episodes in ''{{Baccano}}'' work as such (although, with [[ThirdLineSomeWaiting three plots going on]], nobody gets the episode ''entirely'' to themselves), usually indicated by the title with a general statement about the character in question. The most memorable of these episodes is probably "Ladd Russo likes [[LargeHam talking a lot]] and [[AxCrazy killing a lot]]"
* ''SchoolRumble'' does this a lot.
* RevolutionaryGirlUtena had a ''season'' of this, where pretty much every minor character gets their own episode, has their backstory explored, and then has that backstory exploited by the villains in an attempt to destroy Utena.
* The CowboyBebop episode "Mushroom Samba" was this for Ed (and Ein). "My Funny Valentine" is Faye's episode. "Hard Luck Woman" is basically a Day in the Limelight for both of them - Spike and Jet only show up to get angry when the girls leave, get beat up by Ed's dad, and [[spoiler: hide their sadness when they realize both girls have left the crew]].
* Very common in ''{{Monster}}''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In {{Watchmen}}, each of the six main characters get an issue in the limelight, which illustrates their backstory and relations with other characters. The Comedian's is in Chapter 2, Dr. Manhattan's is in Chapter 4, Rorschach's is in Chapter 6, Nite Owl II's is in Chapter 7, Silk Spectre II's is in Chapter 9 and Ozymandias' is in Chapter 11. They vary from being an in-depth look at their origins, to showing various important events from their lives, to simply being a way of getting better to know a character. The reason for the inclusion of the issues was the fact that Alan Moore plotted the story for six issues, but was contracted for twelve. So he mixed in six character based issues.
* ''{{Batman}}'' does this quite a bit:
** An issue of ''Legends of the Dark Knight'' focused on virtually forgotten c-lister "the Spook" after his release from Arkham. He winds up being so paranoid that Batman is stalking him that he commits a crime just to go back to Arkham where he has peace of mind.
** "Mr Freeze": a retelling of his origin with narrated by Freeze himself. Written, of course, by Paul Dini, who ''created'' the modern Mr Freeze.
** "Scarface: A Psychodrama" focuses on the Ventriloquist as he attempts to go straight and also, creepily, on the puppet that still causes death and pain even without him.
* Jim Crowe received one of these in ''TheInvisibles'' which also doubled as his debut appearance.
* Jubilee got more than a couple over the course of her original appearances in X Men and Wolverine.
* In the [[ComicBook/SonicX Sonic X comic]], most of the later issues star Dr. Eggman.
* The "Lulu's War'' mini-arc of ''NikolaiDante'' followed Lulu Romanov as she fought to protect Venice from an army of vampires allied to Tsar Vladimir. Dante himself only appeared in a few panels at the very beginning, talking to Lulu.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Fic ]]

* In the French AlternateUniverse Pokémon FanFic PokemonXTerra, pretty much every chapter does this for some character or another. At first, Lucas was the lead, but because there are so many other characters that all have relevance to the plot somehow, and the fact that they all do different things and go at different places from each other, each chapter is split into sub-chapters, focusing on one character/group of characters. And most of the time, one of them gives a chance to the focused chracter to show what he/she can really do if he/she hasn't been able to prove him/herself before. Somehow subverted with Palmer, whose running gag is that he always want to be useful, but when given the occasion, fails for reasons like showing up when the emergency is already over or simply because his opponent his too powerful for him, which is easy since he himself isn't really a good fighter.
* The ''HarryPotter'' fandom is so large that for any significant character, there is a complete saturation of limelight fics. No one even thinks of, for example, a Ginny fic as shedding light on her character since she has already been so thoroughly explored in previous fics that every possible interpretation of her has already been used thousands of times (maybe ''literally'' thousands of times). In fact, by now the process is mainly viewed as simply choosing your favorite pre-existing interpretation (slut!Ginny, innocent!Ginny, tomboy!Ginny, etc.) and running with it. Even when all that's known about the character is a name, a house and a plot point, expect several fics focusing on them and expanding on what little canon tells us.
* In ''NeonGenesisEvangelionR'', [[IJustWantToBeSpecial Kensuke]] is the central character of an episode during the ''Prime'' sequence of events, in which he even gets shipped with a [[DisabledHottie beautiful but blind Chinese girl]]. He also [[spoiler:has the last scene at the end of the story all to himself and her]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In the webfiction ''WhateleyUniverse'', there are over a dozen canon authors, so this is becoming typical. There has been an entire story on the side character The Grunts (the superpowered kids who are in a version of JROTC and plan to go into military service); one with them, plus Folder, plus one of the school sociopaths; a Combat Final featuring a student who's the daughter of a notorious supervillain, ...
*''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead''.
* ''{{Remnants}}'' #13, ''Survival.'' Kinda-sorta {{Recurrer}} Tate was friends with Jobs and Mo'Steel and had passages from her POV, but remained firmly in the background until the second-to-last book. She [[spoiler:ends up saving the entire world, making the 're-greening' of Earth possible by going back in time and crashing Mother into the Earth, killing herself instantly. Jobs and Echo named their second daughter after her.]]
* Story sections within the books of DanAbnett's ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'': ''[[GauntsGhosts Gaunt's Ghosts]]'' often focus on one of the Ghosts, such as Larkin or Bragg.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* While the ''{{CSI}}'' episode "Lab Rats" brings background lab techs Archie Johnson, Mandy Webster, Henry Andrews, and Wendy Simms to the fore and gives them each some time in the spotlight, the episode is actually ADayInTheLimelight for Trace Evidence expert David Hodges. It was, after all, his lucky day.
** And was later done again with the Lab Rats in the episode "You Kill Me". Fitting one reason for doing such an episode the actor playing Hodges is now a main character with title credit.
* "Harm's Way" from ''{{Angel}}'' season five.
* "The Zeppo" from ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' season three, where Xander gets the limelight.
** He also gets it earlier in "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".
** There's also "Selfless" from season seven, which is Anya-centric.
** And "Superstar" in season four, which is so Jonathan-centric it even features a new {{title sequence}}.
** Don't forget Doppelgangland in series three for Willow, and Giles' 'A New Man' in season four.
** JossWhedon seems to enjoy giving these to minor villains. Andrew ("Storyteller") and Harmony ("Harm's Way") each had one, in ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Angel'', respectively.
** The DreamEpisode 'Restless' gave each of the four main characters a ten-minute dream which focused solely on their characters.
** Dawn gets two; "Real Me" in season 5, and "Potential" in season 7.
*''TheXFiles'' did a number of ADayInTheLimelight episodes later in its run, including "Zero Sum" (focused on Skinner), "Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man" (CSM), "Unusual Suspects", "Three of a Kind" and "Jump the Shark" (Lone Gunmen).
*''{{Scrubs}}'' has done this on multiple occasions, in the episodes "His Story" (I-IV), "Her Story, (I-II) and "Their Story". These episodes feature the inner monologues of characters other than JD, often alluded to in-character with phrases like "Now that I have this tape recorder, I won't need to be in my head as much". They also include a whooshing sound as JD makes physical contact with the focus character right before the voice over switches, as though the ability to narrate is the result of some sort of communicable disease.
** This also works backwards near the end of the episode, often including similiar phrases.
* ''DegrassiTheNextGeneration'', "Don't Believe the Hype." This episode took Hazel, who was previously just a flunky for TheLibby, and revealed her secret: she's a Somali Muslim immigrant who was bullied at her previous school for being a "terrorist." She's been pulling an elaborate {{Masquerade}} so the popular girls will accept her. While TheReveal was well-done, it never answered the question of how she got into the in-crowd when she could never let them visit her house. And none of this came up in any other episode, [[SnapBack ever again]], aside from an offhand comment by Paige in "Holiday".
*Happens at least once a season on ''[[LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Law and Order: SVU]],'' when Stabler and Benson, the lead detectives, step aside and allow the secondary team of Munch and Fin to be the primary focus of the episode.
** Or the time when Fin got an entire episode to himself.
* Even ''MySoCalledLife'' had one: "Life of Brian".
* The TV show ''{{JAG}}'' was known for giving each of the supporting characters an episode of their own once a season.
* Subverted in the ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Lower Decks" where one guest character, who'd appeared in a single episode in an earlier season, was the focus of the show. It seemed to be setting her up as a recurring character, right up to the point where [[spoiler:she dies at the end]].
** It was originally planned that the character would return on [[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine DS9]], but the writers decided that would "diminish" the ending of ''Lower Decks''.
* The modern ''StarTrek'' series all have had limelight episodes for various characters, but ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' was the clear champion in this category thanks to its large cast of secondary, minor, and recurring characters. By the end of the series the recurring villains were getting as much screen time and focus on their problems and schemes as the heroes were.
*''{{Lost}}'', despite having a huge main cast, does this occasionally, giving recurring characters full spotlight episodes:
**"SOS" focused on Rose & Bernard.
**"Live Together, Die Alone" (a ''season finale'') focused on Desmond, who was made a main character next season
**"Expose" focused on Nikki & Paulo, who were ''meant'' to be major in the series' arc and were billed as main characters, but instead ended up [[TheScrappy being universally despised]] and only appeared in about five episodes each before [[spoiler:dying in their lone centric]].
**"Confirmed Dead" unusually gave a day in the limelight to four characters (three main, one recurring) who had ''just been introduced'' in that episode, plus a ''dead'' minor character.
**"Follow the Leader" focused on Richard.
**"The Incident", though containing flashbacks from almost every living character, focused on [[spoiler:Jacob]] and also featured a [[spoiler:Ilana]] flashback (both characters were also the focus of one of the episode's two plotlines).
* ''{{Supernatural}}'' had ''Ghostfacers'', which featured two characters from a first season episode and their friends. You either loved it or loathed it.
** And ''The Rapture'', which told the backstory of Castiel's vessel.
* ''BabylonFive'' with "A View From The Gallery" , which centers upon repairmen Mack and Bo and how they interact with all the main characters over the course of a usual Babylon 5 day of disaster. Mack and Bo were played by guest actors who were not in any other episodes, showing that even the unknown extras have tales to tell. Usually the lesser recurring characters got B-plots rather than eps of their own, but Vir got "Sic Transit Vir".
* ''{{Torchwood}}'' had perhaps several of these- "Cyberwoman" for Ianto, "Greeks Bearing Gifts" for Tosh, and in season two, [[spoiler:"A Day in the Death" for Owen. Of course, this was after he died. But it was also before he [[DeaderThanDead stopped moving]].]]
* The Doctor-lite episodes that tend to happen once per season in the new series of ''DoctorWho'' could be examples of this. ''Turn Left'' is definitely one.
** "Love and Monsters" may not count as the character it focuses on had never appeared until that episode. Same goes for Blink which again focused on an original character (albeit one who may become recurring if the fans get their way).
* In a show that wavers between TwoLinesNoWaiting and FourLinesAllWaiting, the episode ''"Company Man"'' in Series/{{Heroes}} Volume 1 almost ''completely'' focused around HRG (aka Mr. Bennet) and his very messed-up relationship with his job and family. Up to this point, he was just an OverprotectiveDad [[MenInBlack In Black]], but this greatly expanded backstory and explanation of his motives permanently cemented his EnsembleDarkHorse status.
** HRG gets another one in "Cold Wars" while both Tracey and Sylar are going to be getting a few in Volume 4. And "The Year of Our Lord" focused more or less entirely on Peter/Future Peter. ("Five Years Gone" did the same for Hiro/Future Hiro.)
* The ''[[MASHTheSeries M*A*S*H]]'' episode "Hey, Look Me Over" centers on Nurse Kellye, who's usually strictly a background character.
** That's actually a rather nice story...actress Kellye Nakahara's "Nurse Kellye" had more appearances and lines over the years than any of the other nurse characters (strictly bit parts, though), and she was well-liked by the cast. Alan Alda felt she deserved an episode where she could really shine, and surprised her with the script for "Hey, Look Me Over."
** "Dear Sigmund", which is told from the point of view of psychiatrist Sidney Freedman, a recurring guest character.
** There's also the other "Dear" episodes, when not told by Hawkeye, technically.
** Depending on whether you consider Hawkeye to be the show's lead character or just one part of the ensemble, than any number of episodes centering on the other regulars - Margaret, Radar, Father Mulcahy, etc. - could be regarded as this.
* The new ''BattlestarGalactica'' has done this a few times, especially in its third season:
** 3.10 "The Passage" is about Kat's past.
** In 3.14 "The Woman King", Helo investigates a potential murder among civilian refugees.
** In 3.16 "Dirty Hands", Chief Tyrol becomes the focus of a labour dispute.
* ''{{Power Rangers RPM}}'' features 5 episodes named after the titular characters ("Ranger [color]"), as well as their mentor, Dr. K. Each elucidates a character's backstory. Dillon, Ranger Black, does not have his own episode, attributable to LaserGuidedAmnesia.
** Though Dillon's character episodes are more or less the two first, where he's made to choose between becoming a ranger, or jail. And a bunch of episodes trying to solve his amnesia.
* ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' had a minor moment. [[spoiler:The daytime host, Meredith Vieira, asked the Primetime host Regis Philbin a question for charity.]]
* Each episode of ''Skins'' focuses on a particular member of the cast, with each cast member getting an episode (or sometimes two) to themselves each season.
* ''{{Band of Brothers}}''. Each of the 10 episodes focuses on a specific character to some degree. The lead is Lt/Capt/Maj Winters who is in the limelight for episodes 2, 5, and 10. The other episodes focus on (1) Capt. Sobel, (3) Pvt. Blithe (a case of ADeathInTheLimelight), (4) Sgt. Bull Randleman, (6) "Doc" Roe, (7) Sgt. Lipton, (8) Pvt. Webster, and (9) Capt. Nixon. If the episode has narration, it's by the character in the limelight from their {{Point of View}}.
* ''BlakesSeven'' gives Vila a chance to shine in "City at the Edge of the World".

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Music ]]

*HelloProject members sometimes only get to lead a single once. An example is ''Morning Musume''`s ''Namida ga Tomaranai Houkago'', but there are plenty more.
* "I Drive Myself Crazy" is one of the few [=*NSYNC=] songs where someone other than Justin or JC sings the lead-in (in this case, it's Chris.)

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* '''In General''': {{GaidenGame}}s tend to take this idea and run with it, for obvious continuity reasons.
* ''DragonQuestIV: Chapters of the Chosen'' has 5 chapters -- 4 of which are Days In the Limelight for the various henchmen and side-characters that join you in chapter 5.
*''SuperMarioBros'' usually has Luigi as player two or absent completely, until ''[[LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion]]'' gave him a starring role.
** LuigisMansion was Luigi's ''second'' day in the lamplight. [[strike:[[{{Discontinuity}} His first was 8 years ealier in an educational game called]] ''[[{{Discontinuity}} Mario Is Missing!]]'']]
*** No, that was [[MemeticMutation Weegee]].
*** On the subject of Luigi, all three of the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBros.'' cartoons had an episode starring him. One of them ("Life's Ruff") didn't even have Mario in it!
** Same with Peach in ''Super Princess Peach'' (she and her [[ParasolOfPain magic parasol]] are pictured above).
** Don't forget [[YoshisIsland Yoshi]] and [[WarioLand Wario's]] games. Kind of funny that Bowser still hasn't had a game yet.
*** MarioAndLuigi: Bowser's Inside Story has Bowser as the main protagonist, being forced to take back the Mushroom Kingdom from Fawful (with a bit of aid from the Mario Brothers, who spend most of the game inside his body futzing around with his internal systems to occasionally power up the big lug).
* Gau's lost father and Strago's hunt for the Hidon sidequests on ''FinalFantasyVI''.
* Knuckles from the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' games got his own game called ''Chaotix'', which was also a day in the limelight for the titular Chaotix group. Interestingly, despite [[EvilCounterpart Metal Sonic's]] presence in the game, [[spoiler:Sonic does not appear until the very end.]] Tails has also gotten two games of his own, ''Tails[='=] Adventures'' and ''Tails[='=] Sky Patrol'', but both were very obscure GameGear games. Dr. [[strike:Eggman]] Robotnik's game was actually a [[DolledUpInstallment cleverly-hidden clone]] of the Japanese-only Puyo Puyo (likewise, ''{{Kirby}}'s Avalanche'' is just an Kirby-fied version of Puyo Puyo). [[EvilTwin Shadow]] also got [[ShadowTheHedgehog his own game]], which went in a different direction by being primarily a ThirdPersonShooter with only some of the more familiar Sonic elements mixed in.
** Uhm. How can Game Gear games be more obscure than one for the total failure that was the [[OtherSegaSystems Sega 32X]]?
** In ''Sonic Heroes'', each of the four teams gets an arc, so many of the characters (notably 'all'' of Team Chaotix, who hadn't been seen since ''Chaotix'', mentioned above) get far more focus than in their other appearances.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Animation ]]

* The KingOfTown's Very Own Quite Popular Cartoon Show in ''HomestarRunner''. Initially subverted in that when it was originally released, it was just a well-disguised Strong Bad Email, but they actually released one a year later. There's also No Hands on Deck, which is fanservice to those who think Strong Bad is hogging Homestar's spotlight (not only does neglected Pom Pom appear, but Strong Bad doesn't appear ''at all'').

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* RedPandaAdventures introduced Harry Kelly in "When Darkness Falls" in this manner.
* Ferr of the [[LetsPlay Freelance Astronauts]] recently got to do a live webcast all by himself on the day of his birthday, choosing to deliver a very surreal LP of Civilization IV, in a narration style bordering on that of Bob Ross. [[HilarityEnsues Quite funny]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* ''SluggyFreelance'' has done this several times. Zoe got the [[http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=050710 "28 GEEKS LATER"]] storyline all to herself, as well as most of [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=020114 "Fire and Rain."]] Bun-Bun took center stage for the epic [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=021230 "Holiday Wars"]] and [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=050124 "Oceans Unmoving"]] arcs. Oasis went from being an occasional guest star to the focal character during the [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060814 "Phoenix Rising"]] arc. And the BSideComics [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=030118 "Meanwhile in the Dimension of Pain"]] and [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=070106 "No Content On Saturdays"]] focused on the adventures of the Dimension of Pain demons and Kiki, respectively. Oddly enough Sasha did ''not'' get one of these, even in the [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=070514 "Bikini Suicide Sasha Days"]] arc.
* ''TheWotch'' had [[http://www.thewotch.com/index.php?epDate=2007-02-12 an arc]] focusing on Ally Taverner, the centaur shopkeeper.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' with "Zuko Alone", "Appa's Lost Days" and "Sokka's Master". The first showed what the main antagonist (well, by that point, he [[EnsembleDarkhorse wasn't quite that anymore]]) did and thought about when he wasn't, well, antagonizing; the second told a story that explained where the main character's pet had been and who he met along the way since his four-week disappearance following his kidnapping; and the third depicted PluckyComicRelief character Sokka [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]] through sword training.
**There was also "The Beach" for the Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, which served as a means of exploring the dynamics between the four and what makes them tick cleverly disguised as a BeachEpisode.
* ''HeyArnold!'' deserves props for having several stories where a secondary character is spotlighted ("Timberly Loves Arnold" with Gerald's younger sister and "Career Day" with the neighborhood ice cream man, for example).
*''KidsNextDoor'' also did this with "Op TRAINING", focusing on Numbuh 2's younger brother, Tommy, going through training at the KND Arctic base, without the regulars appearing at all. In fact, the only other character who had appeared in a previous episode was the villain, Father.
* 80's cartoons that [[MerchandiseDriven had heavy merchandise and toy lines behind them]] (''GIJoe'', ''[[{{MASK}} M.A.S.K.]]'', ''{{Transformers}}'') did this all the time, devoting episodes here and there to otherwise minor or gimmicky characters. Obviously, kids won't buy an action figure for a character that never does anything on the show except stand in the background.
** The G.I. Joe example is marvellously parodied in a ''RobotChicken'' episode - angry that he's left out of all of the missions because his white costume is too noticable in a jungle environment, Snowjob is called up by the "President of Switzerland" to help flush out some yeti in the Swiss Alps. After a transport montage include ski-sleds, dog sleds and tobogganing, it turns out the yeti claim was a hoax for the normal G.I. Joes to throw snowballs at and mock Snowjob.
* Several ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episodes, most notably BoosterGold's "TheGreatestStoryNeverTold"
* ''What It's Like Being Alone'' often got up to this sort of thing over its mercifully short run, and, if "Sammy's Episode" was anything to go by, was well aware of it.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'': The 2003 series had an episode entitled "Hun on the Run", centering around Shredder's minion [[BattleButler Hun]]. Although the Turtles also appear, Hun is the main focus of the episode, giving hints as to his background.
*''DannyPhantom'' had the episode "Girls' Night Out" which focused heavily on the major female cast while main character Danny is out fishing, though not without his problem.
** "Girls' Nite Out" was also the name of such an episode for [[{{Batman The Animated Series}} Batgirl]] and [[{{Superman The Animated Series}} Supergirl]]. It was one of the many {{Crossovers}} that led to the foundation of the {{DC Animated Universe}}.
* The ''{{Pucca}}'' television series has several of these. The one for SantaClaus is probably the most notable, solely for establishing the... unique character history that he was a former ninja thief that, after realizing it was wrong to steal things out of people's houses, decided to use his skill in stealth and infiltration for bringing presents ''into'' people's houses instead.
* ''{{South Park}}'' has had a few, such as "Pip" (which was about Pip) and "Butters' Very Own Episode" (which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Butters' very own episode]]). Other examples include "Erection Day" and "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset", which focused on Jimmy and Wendy, respectively.
* While ''KimPossible'' is the main character of the series, the sidekick Ron Stoppable gets many episodes focusing on him while leaving Kim as a background character. One of the worst examples of this is the episode where Ron goes to a Japanese Ninjutsu school where he meets this really cute girl, learns Kung Fu, learns Mystical Monkey Kung Fu, battles with the villain of the episode, being all heroic and stuff. Kim on the other hand spends the entire episode at home doing nothing more than crushing on some random Japanese PuritySue. Doy...
** Ron might be the "sidekick" but he's clearly equal in status in the actual show, especially in Season 3 and 4. Better examples of this trope would be the episode where Ms Dr Possible goes on a mission against Shego, ones where the Tweebs save the day after Kim gets mind controlled. Wade comes out of MissionControl a few times, and a atrociously poor episode involving Ron's father.
*** The villains often get a few episodes to shine in as well. in fact Drakken and Shego, the two most well known villains on the show arguably end up the real heroes of the series finale as they're the ones who supply the means to thwart the alien invasion.
* Most ''AmericanDad'' episodes either focus on Stan or at the very least feature him prominently. Two major exceptions are "The One That Got Away", whose plot focuses exclusively on Roger, with the rest of the family getting only a token B story. They don't even get ''that'' in "Escape from Pearl Bailey"; the plot is driven entirely by Steve, while the rest of the family has a grand total of [[MandatoryLine two lines]] in the entire episode.
** [[LampshadeHanging "It sure was nice that Steve acknowledged us at all this week, even though it was just once."]]
* ''TheFairlyOddparents'' had a couple of these. "The Secret Origin of Denzel Crocker" focused heavily on Timmy's fairy-obsessed teacher and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin explains how he became the way he is]], and shortly afterwards, "The Big Scoop!" revisited first-season episode "A Wish Too Far!", but from [[ThoseTwoGuys Chester and AJ]]'s perspective.
* ''PhineasAndFerb'' devoted a recent episode to Isabella and the Fireside Girls obtaining an ingredient for the title character's Project of the Day.
** "Vanessassary Roughness" focuses on Doofenshmirtz's daughter Vanessa trying to obtain a rare chemical to impress him.

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