History VerySpecialEpisode / LiveActionTV

** "Next Stop, Nowhere", which was a VSE but quite ridiculous, since it was half Quincy solving a murder in LA's punk scene and half Quincy [[TheNewRockAndRoll warning about the moral scourge of punk rock]].

* ''Series/RaisingDad'' has an episode where Sarah decides she wants a nose job. In a twist, it's the other characters who learn AnAesop; Stuart and Emily discover that a perfectly nice-looking girl like Sarah can have a bad self-image and that constant teasing can push her over the edge, and Emily is horrified when she finds out exactly what happens during plastic surgery. The episode is resolved by Sarah learning a DoubleAesop when a popular girl she wanted to be like talks about all the surgery she still wants to get.

** Stephanie and a friend lie about their age to go joyriding with sixteen-year-old boys, who engage in all sorts of risky maneuvers on the road. DJ thwarts her plan to go again, and they later find out that the other kids were in a serious car accident -- and the only reason they survived with relatively minor injuries was [[AnAesop because they were all wearing seat belts]].

** One episode was about VD, complete with a disclaimer at the beginning. A then-unknown Jay Leno tells JJ that if people weren't ashamed to come to the clinic to get treatment, then VD wouldn't be so rampant. [[TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed It would have helped if they told people how VD was spread and how it could be prevented]]. They didn't even put up a hotline number.

* The episode of ''Series/OneTreeHill'' where Lucas' estranged friend Jimmy decides to [[AxesAtSchool shoot up the school]]. You'd think it would address the gun control debate, but it really focused on Jimmy's relationship with his friends, which left it somewhat less impactful.

* ''Series/ReadyOrNot'', a Canadian series for tweens that aired in the 1990s, had many episodes of this type:

* In the ''Series/TheJamieFoxxShow'' episode "Too Much Soul Food" [[TheDanza Jaimie King]] drags his uncle Junior to the doctor for a routine physical. Jaime then has to tell his aunt, and the other employees at the hotel that Junior had to stay in the hospital pending additional tests to make sure whether or not he has cancer. Junior is adamant that he's perfectly healthy, insisting that the doctors have no idea what they are talking about, and after a tearful debate with his wife, Junior accepts that he was too stubborn to admit he was scared, and tells her that he will try and fight the cancer. The tests come back negative, and Junior promises that he will take better care of himself, both for his and his wife's sake.

'''Judge''': Mr. Griffin, did you learn ''your'' lesson?

-->'''[[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter]]''': And everyone learns a valuable lesson.
-->'''Judge''': Mr. Griffin, did you learn ''your'' lesson?
-->'''Peter''': Oh, yeah! Stay the hell away from ''that'' bike shop!

* ''Series/TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'' is practically a Very Special Series (not surprisingly, it was created by Brenda Hampton - who also created ''7th Heaven'' and it features much of that show's former writers), to the point where every episode ends with a message telling teens to talk to their parents about sex and avoiding teen pregnancy (later replaced with a sexual abuse help hotline message). However, some episodes are very centered on a specific issue, including:

* ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' has "Rex Dies", in which Robbie's puppet Rex is injured. While Tori tries to make amends, Jade and the rest of the gang attempt to make Rex die so Robbie will move on from him. In the same episode, Cat gets put into a mental ward. The Victorious Wiki called it the most serious and emotionally toned episode the show had to date.

* ''Promised Land''. Middle daughter Dinah is assaulted while walking home from her hospital job. Aside from the traumatic ordeal, she suffers SurvivorGuilt after learning that another girl was raped that same night, likely because her attacker was frustrated by his failed attempt on her.

* ''Raising Dad'' has an episode where Sarah decides she wants a nose job. In a twist, it's the other characters who learn AnAesop; Stuart and Emily discover that a perfectly nice-looking girl like Sarah can have a bad self-image and that constant teasing can push her over the edge, and Emily is horrified when she finds out exactly what happens during plastic surgery. The episode is resolved by Sarah learning a DoubleAesop when a popular girl she wanted to be like talks about all the surgery she still wants to get.

** The second was near the end of the series where Mark has one drink on Prom night and promptly crashes his car leaving his date hospitalised and him guilty and potentially not graduating. It was anvillicious even by the standards of this trope.

** The season 8 opener, "Indelible," aired eleven days after the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and dealt with all the main characters' memories of where they were on that fateful day. It included Mac Taylor participating in the dedication of the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance (much like Creator/GarySinise had done in real life), and family members of the first responders lost that day were part of the crowd. Sinise also did a PSA about the Wall following the episode.

* ''Series/TheFlash2014'' had "Trajectory," a MonsterOfTheWeek episode that was essentially an aesop about steroid use. The episode's titular character, who is also an addict of the speed force steroid she reverse-engineered, [[spoiler:dies and is never mentioned again]]. Aside from having no apparent government involvement, the episode plays out like any VSE from the 1980s.

** One episode features a blatantly racist Klansman who woves into the building. He uses racial epithets and plans to kick every black tenant out of the building. He then has a heart attack and George and Tom save him, but when he realizes who saved his life, he tells his son, "You should've let me die." The episode is saved from falling into {{Narm}} territory by injecting humor about the Klan's ridiculousness, including one scene where a [[PoorCommunicationKills miscommunication]] leads Tom to think they're just planning to evict a couple of thieves -- and crash their Klan meeting looking to help.

** "Crossing the Line" dealt with sexual assualt.

** "The Outcast" tackles the subject of homosexuality through metaphor (the subjet was apparently still too spicy for prime-time television) by way of a PersecutionFlip. A member of a OneGenderRace brings down the wrath of her society when she tries to identify as female and enter into a heterosexual relationship with Riker. Viewed by today's lens, the aesop is muddled by the fact that gender identity is now itself a part of the greater LGBT movement.

* In light of the withdrawl of US troops from Afghanistan, ''Series/UnitedStatesOfAl'' told the story through its characters. Made even more real by the fact that a few people involved in the show ended up stuck in the counry.

* Creator/TylerPerry's ''Series/HouseOfPayne'' loved this trope, tackling drug addiction, cancer scares, [=STDs=], TeenPregnancy, postpartum depression, gun violence, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Some episodes ended with an actor telling viewers that they can get help for the Very Special Problem through an 800 number or a website.

** An episode during Black History Month had Raven and Chelsea apply for a job at a clothing store. [[TheFashionista Raven]] is clearly in her element, while [[CloudCuckooLander Chelsea]] is not. Chelsea gets the job, and Raven has a vision of the manager flat out stating, "I don't hire black people." Raven then goes undercover to expose the racism. Meanwhile, Cory has a dream that teaches him how important black history is after he complained about having to write an essay on it.

** "Archie and the KKK", where Archie runs into an old buddy, who invites him to the Kweens Kouncil of Krusaders. Archie doesn't get (at first) that said organization is actually the local Klu Klux Klan chapter taking on a very misleading name. Not only does Archie get a chance to reflect on his own viewpoints about people with backgrounds or ethnicities outside his comfort zone, it showed viewers that Archie does have a touch of decency in him and that his views reflected the times in which he grew up, not pure racism. In the end, Archie thwarts a planned cross-burning when he realizes that Mike is the target of the intended act.

* Practically every episode of the ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' franchise is a very special episode. From abortions to suicide to events [[RippedFromTheHeadlines ripped from Canadian headlines]] to rape to lesbianism to abuse to unwanted pregnancies to neglected friends to pedophilia to online stalkers to self-worth to HIV/AIDS to environmental awareness, it's all here. In fact, the "Degrassi Classic" franchise emphasized this in a series of short documentary features co-produced by the Canadian government called "Degrassi Talks," in which cast members talked about disturbing events that happened in their lives.

* ''Series/BlackIsh'' is practically a Very Special Series, with episodes tackling everything from [[ComingOutStory coming out]] to gun control to [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbation]] to NWordPrivileges, but "Hope," their episode about [[RippedFromTheHeadlines police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement]], is notable in that it was even advertised as such. Given its mostly black cast, many episodes dealt with racial identity and prejudice.

* ''Series/RavensHome'' has an episode where middle schoolers Booker's friends try to coerce him into vaping.

* In season 8, ''Series/ModernFamily'' had one with the female characters, as well as Manny and Luke, attending a Women's March in the wake of the [=#MeToo=] movement and the Trump administration's poor treatment of women. This episode was poorly received by fans and critics alike and is the show's lowest-rated episode on IMDB because it focuses more on Manny and Luke trying to flirt with female protestors and the comedic B-plot with Phil and Jay trying to build a parking lot rather than the challenges the women faced and why they were participating in the march.

** The show tried dealing with divorce twice, but it's a particularly tricky subject to explain to young children. The first saw an episode produced where Snuffy deals with his parents' divorce; after negative test screenings, it [[MissingEpisode was never aired and remains lost to this day]] [[note]] The episode was screened at "The Museum of the Moving Image in New York" as part of the "Lost And Found" event honoring Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary in 2019. Footage of the episode was also shown for the ABC Special celebrating the show's 50th Anniversary [[/note]]. The second did air years later, and it involved Abby Cadabby revealing that her parents were divorced; the fact that she still gets to see them both and was on good terms with them softened the blow. Abby's mother later began dating another man, giving Abby a step-brother.