The show's style is easily recognizable and attracts parodies.
- In the Regular Show episode "Bad Portrait", "Painting Is Great" is a shout-out for The Joy of Painting.
- The Boondocks: In the episode "Riley Wuz Here", the Art Teacher is a blonde, beardless Bob Ross.
- In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "What About Discord?", Discord twice takes on the appearance of Ross to explain himself, at one point using Ross's frequent "happy little" language.
- The first trailer for Deadpool 2 has Ryan Reynolds dressed up like Bob Ross (over his Deadpool costume) while doing a parody, including the show's theme song and numerous other Memetic Mutations from Ross's show like "happy trees".
- In Archer, Krieger spends an episode with his beard neatly combed and hair puffed into an afro, making him look much like the man himself... albeit in a skintight white Disco Dan outfit, complete with gold male-symbol pendant on a gold chain necklace. In one scene, Archer lampshades it, yelling at Krieger to 'move your giant, Bob Ross-ian head!'
- PAYDAY 2 also got in on this when they released a trailer in 2015 for the holidays entitled "The Joy of Heisting"
. It also features Chains playing the part of Bob Ross. - The Nostalgia Critic parodies Ross at the opening of the review for Ghostbusters II, ending up doing a collage of the picture of the first film, to illustrate how much the sequel is a rehash (with a baby added).
- Ralph Breaks the Internet features Ralph doing a Ross-style painting video during the BuzzTube montage.
- When GrayStillPlays plays The Sims 4, one of his recurring Sims is a female with a blonde afro named Bab Ross, who is essentially a female version of Bob.
- In one episode of Doug, one of Doug's Imagine Spots has him sporting a Ross-style 'fro and hosting a parody of The Joy of Painting.
- Read Only Memories has the robot co-protagonist Turing reveal that their interest in art and painting came from Bob Ross and the show.
- Super Danganronpa Another 2 has Ultimate Painter Iroha Nijiue dress up as Bob during, of all things, her Terminate Talk Shooting.
- Referenced in the 2019 HD video "Channel Surfing."
- Young Sheldon: In "The Yips and an Oddly Hypnotic Bohemian", Sheldon watches the show to clear his mind.
