If a universe has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, and got a Live Action TV adaptation, what's the best way to deal with it?

For example, a fictional universe (perhaps, a superhero or Post Cyber Punk one_ could have Loads And Loads Of Characters (perhaps, 90 regular characters across the whole universe), but if it was to get a Live-Action TV adaptation, perhaps splitting into several shows as a Series Franchise rather than all 90 characters in one show would work?

Perhaps Game Of Thrones (which has 28 actors listed in the opening credits), and according to the Loads And Loads Of Characters page for Live-Action TV, it says that there is over 200 characters, although now it's down to 50 characters (37+13, according to the page).

For Live-Action TV or a film medium based off a fictional universe with over 90 characters, how would you deal with it?

Would you:

- Adapt out characters (simply because they don't fit in with the show for some reason)

- Exile characters from continuity for various reasons (not legal or creator reasons, since it's one individual creating this universe)

- Merge characters together - for example, you have a Little Miss Badass FBI Agent called Alice, and a Girly Girl FBI Agent called Sandra, so merge them into Alessandra who's a Little Miss Badass Girly Girl?

What would you do in this sort of situation?

Multiple simultaneous series. But when does that ever happen? I can't think of any series that's done it. At least, not for this reason.

Isn't that why superhero comics create loads and loads of characters in the first place? To have multiple series running simultaneously?

Either way, if you adapt something with a ton of characters, deal with the ones affecting the plot you're writing about. Sometimes you have to add more material to get the right amount of running time, in which case it's usually easy to fit everyone in, and sometimes more characters. Sometimes, which is more frequent, you have to compress a lot of story into a shorter narrative, and then you need to cut some characters out, just like you cut scenes and events out. There's no one answer, though.

It is noteworthy that one advantage of TV series have over movies is that they have more time to tell their stories.

• If is a movie
  • Reduce the number of villains and secondary characters to a reasonable number

• If is TV Serie
  • You can use the secondary villains as Monsters of the Week.
  • You must start with a small group of characters, and add more characters in a gradual way.

edited 25th Oct '17 10:16:44 AM by DragonBallLevel3000

Introduce a few characters each episode, including some in bit parts and fully fleshing them out later. It's tricky to do, but it's possible. Soap operas and other long-running shows might have a small cast that builds up as actors come and go. For a situation where there is always a large number of characters, it helps to remember that not every character can be the main character. Otherwise, you end up with Four Lines, All Waiting and an unhappy fan base, or a series where people have to take notes to figure out what exactly is going on.

A note-taking show can be interesting, but it requires a very specific audience and so, so much planning.