History GenreShift / LiveActionTV

* The first three seasons of ''Series/{{Jollitown}}'' were simple stories with morals. By the fourth season, Jollibee and company often travelled back in time to witness historical events. Season 5 had an overarching adventure, and the final season, ''The Jollitown Kids Show'' was a variety show.

* Series/TheAfterparty is largely a comedic murder mystery centered around one death at a high school reunion after party. However, as events are recapped by the suspects RashomonStyle, the show lapses into RomanticComedy, {{Thriller}}, and {{Musical}} genres, among others.
* Series/{{Arrowverse}}:

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' to ''Series/{{Caprica}}''. The former is a SpaceOpera that also happens to be a DarkerAndEdgier ContinuityReboot of a [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 70s action adventure show]]. The latter is a {{Cyberpunk}} story set in a setting similar to (though not actually) TwentyMinutesInTheFuture blended with a FamilyDrama.

* On ''Series/{{Community}}'', most episodes are comedic in tone, following the study group and their antics on the Greendale campus. However there are some switchups. "[[Recap/CommunityS2E10MixologyCertification Mixology Certification]]" keeps this up for the first five minutes, but as soon as things switch to the bar, things become more somber. The end of the episode isn't comedic, but poignant. Consuming alcohol doesn't make the characters do anything funny, but makes things ''sad'' (it's the [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek "Lifetime original movie of beverages"]] as Troy puts it). In short, it's been an action movie ("Modern Warfare"), a Rankin-Bass style Christmas Special ("Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas"), a spaghetti Western ("A Fistfull of Paintballs"), a single-camera documentary show ("Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking"), and a zombie movie ("Epidemiology"). The reason it can pull all of this off is because while each episode is a great example of the genre it's shifted to, it's also a great episode of ''Community'' at the same time.

* ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' was arguably one for the Heisei-era ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise as a whole. The creator even notes that before the show even aired, the fandom was up in arms about ''Kamen Rider'' "Being turned into a [[TeenDrama high school drama]]!"

* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': A subtle one. While ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' is a [[ThreeCameras three-camera sitcom]] with a StudioAudience, ''Young Sheldon'' is a one-camera sitcom shot on location, with more emphasis on family drama and a more grounded approach to its comed

* ''Baywatch Nights'' is one of the most infamous examples of this trope. Originally it was a ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' spinoff centered around Sgt. Garner Ellerbee and [[Creator/DavidHasselhoff Mitch Buchannon]] opening a detective agency and [[TheyFightCrime fighting crime]]. The show's low ratings coupled with the success of ''Series/TheXFiles'' caused the producers to ditch Ellerbee and have Buchannon battle ''the paranormal''.

** In 1980, the original show's last producer, Creator/JohnNathanTurner, came onboard, and the show settled into somewhat of a stable genre for its last decade. Somewhat more of a publicist than a sci-fi enthusiast, he kept the show in the news with slick updated visuals (for the time), big non-genre guest stars like Beryl Reid, frequent continental location shooting, and the shocking reappearances of old foes. But the writing suffered by going to grim, nasty, morbid little corners, without a capable writing staff or creative vision to make them work, resulting in some of the best-looking but worst-written stories of the show's history. By the end of his tenure, he finally found a story editor, Creator/AndrewCartmel, who could make it work, and for its final two seasons the show turned into a brilliant, conceptually-heady sci-fi show with strong themes and ideas influenced by Creator/AlanMoore. But it was too little, too late - especially with the series now scheduled in a "death slot" against juggernaut ''Series/CoronationStreet'' - and the show died an ignominious death in the middle of its creative resurgence.

* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': A subtle one. While ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' is a [[ThreeCameras three-camera sitcom]] with a StudioAudience, ''Young Sheldon'' is a one-camera sitcom shot on location, with more emphasis on family drama and a more grounded approach to its comedy.

* A {{downplayed}} example comes in the form of ''Series/OnceUponATime''. Yes, it's an UrbanFantasy, but for the first season, outside of flashbacks (which are set in a fantasy world), fantasy aspects like magic were seldom seen, more in a case of RealAfterAll than anything else, and it played out more like a SoapOpera than anything else. Then the finale came and TheMagicComesBack, cranking the UrbanFantasy UpToEleven to its proper trope.

* ''Series/{{Touch}}'' becomes a more actionized thriller in the second season, as Martin is faced with more dangerous tasks which involve him running into really dangerous people. The first season was very SliceOfLife.

* Although ''Series/{{Atlanta}} always dealt with some political issues, its third season shifts to more of an anthology about different facets of racism. These anthology episodes contain none of the main cast and deal with issues such as reparations, appropriation and what it means to be black.

** In 1980, the original show's last producer, Creator/JohnNathanTurner, came onboard, and the show settled into somewhat of a stable genre for its last decade. Somewhat more of a publicist than a sci-fi enthusiast, he kept the show in the news with slick updated visuals (for the time), big non-genre guest stars like Beryl Reid, frequent continental location shooting, and the shocking reappearances of old foes. But the writing suffered by going to grim, nasty, morbid little corners, without a capable writing staff or creative vision to make them work, resulting in some of the best-looking but worst-written stories of the show's history. By the end of his tenure, he finally found a story editor, Andrew Cartmel, who could make it work, and for its final two seasons the show turned into a brilliant, conceptually-heady sci-fi show with strong themes and ideas influenced by Creator/AlanMoore. But it was too little, too late - especially with the series now scheduled in a "death slot" against juggernaut ''Series/CoronationStreet'' - and the show died an ignominious death in the middle of its creative resurgence.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' can and frequently does change genres from one story to the next. A show whose premise is that the main character travels throughout time and space lends itself exceptionally well to this. One can convincingly argue that almost the entire series is basically the Doctor gatecrashing various genres and bringing trouble with him.
** All the way back in the 1960s, when the show first aired, it was meant to be an Edutainment show with a heavy focus on history and science. One of the reasons Creator/WilliamHartnell gave for leaving the show was that the producer wanted to drop most of the unpopular 'pure historical' and {{Adventure}} stories, and shift the show into DarkerAndEdgier science fiction horror aimed at the PeripheryDemographic of adult science fiction fans the show had, when Hartnell wanted to make a children's programme. There is a transitional period towards the end of Hartnell, but it's only Troughton's addition which fully sends the series into this, developing the stereotypical Second Doctor "base under siege" story type as a cheap way of doing claustrophobic monster-battling horror straight out of a 50's sci-fi B-movie on a limited budget.

** When Philip Hinchcliff started producing, during the beginning of Creator/TomBaker's tenure, the show became a straight-up Hammer horror series in space, with the Doctor battling evil mummies in Victorian crypts, Frankenstein-like monsters on Karn, and enormous rats on the streets of Victorian London.
** Alas, the Film/HammerHorror-in-space vibe was too much for the BBC, who removed Hinchcliff from the show. Incoming producer Creator/GrahamWilliams took inspiration from a somewhat-popular little movie called ''Franchise/StarWars'' and retooled the show into more lighthearted space fantasy, including the Doctor's own cute robot companion. With a capable assist from up-and-(in)coming writer Creator/DouglasAdams as story editor, the series took on an increasing comedic and absurdist flair that would later give birth to the wildly-popular ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''.
** In 1980, the original show's last producer, Creator/JohnNathanTurner, came onboard, and the show settled into somewhat of a stable genre for its last decade. Somewhat more of a publicist than a sci-fi enthusiast, he kept the show in the news with slick updated visuals (for the time), big non-genre guest stars like Beryl Reid, frequent continental location shooting, and the shocking reappearances of old foes. But the writing suffered by going to grim, nasty, morbid little corners, without a capable writing staff or creative vision to make them work, resulting in some of the best-looking but worst-written stories of the show's history. By the end of his tenure, he finally found a story editor, Andrew Cartmel, who could make it work, and for its final two seasons the show turned into a brilliant, conceptually-heady sci-fi show with strong themes and ideas influenced by Creator/AlanMoore. But it was too little, too late, and the show died an ignominious death in the middle of its creative resurgence.
** Fifteen years after its cancellation, Creator/RussellTDavies managed to revive ''Doctor Who'' to a modern audience by reinventing it as a drama series with sci-fi elements, shifting the focus of the show away from the "monster of the week" formula to some much needed character development for the Doctor and his companion.
** When Creator/StevenMoffat took over from Davies in 2010 and introduce Creator/MattSmith as the 11th Doctor, the show shifted to a more fantastical and comedic tone, with underlying themes of love and hope. His cliffhangers and story arcs get more 'epic' too, shifting the focus to the Doctor and the way they save the world.
** Creator/ChrisChibnall's tenure starting in 2018 introduced more of a KitchenSinkDrama approach while adding a more educational slant to the series while mainly keeping to Moffat's epic tone.

* Series/TheAfterparty is largely a comedic murder mystery centered around one death at a high school reunion after party. However, as events are recapped by the suspects RashomonStyle, the show lapses into RomanticComedy, {{Thriller}}, and {{Musical}} genres.

* ''Series/MidnightMass2021'' starts off as a religious-themed drama of community and forgiveness, with hints of a possible cult forming due to the odd nature of newly arrived Father Paul. Then "Book III: Proverbs" reveals that Father Paul is really a [[FountainOfYouth rejuvenated]] Monsignor Pruitt, who was bitten by a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire-like monster]] that he believes is an angel, and smuggled it back to the island so that it could "bless" his community. From then on, the show becomes a religious-themed horror story.

* ''Series/MidnightMass'' starts off as a religious-themed drama of community and forgiveness, with hints of a possible cult forming due to the odd nature of newly arrived Father Paul. Then "Book III: Proverbs" reveals that Father Paul is really a [[FountainOfYouth rejuvenated]] Monsignor Pruitt, who was bitten by a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire-like monster]] that he believes is an angel, and smuggled it back to the island so that it could "bless" his community. From then on, the show becomes a religious-themed horror story.

** Alas, the Film/HammerHorror-in-space vibe was too much for the BBC, who removed Hinchcliff from the show. Incoming producer Graham Williams took inspiration from a somewhat-popular little movie called ''Franchise/StarWars'' and retooled the show into more lighthearted space fantasy, including the Doctor's own cute robot companion. With a capable assist from up-and-(in)coming writer Creator/DouglasAdams as story editor, the series took on an increasing comedic and absurdist flair that would later give birth to the wildly-popular ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''.

** The program significantly revamped itself when Creator/JonPertwee (and producer Barry Letts) came on, which included but was not limited to changing to color, stranding the Doctor on Earth, and giving him a stable supporting cast. As the scientific advisor to UNIT, Pertwee's stories took on a more socially-conscious spy-fi flair, with the Doctor getting mixed up in conspiracies about international diplomatic conferences (sometimes in space) and evil corporations polluting the environment, and frequently resorting to fisticuffs and high-voltage action to save the day.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

* In-universe example in season 3 of ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Joey has a role in a play and the rehearsals show it as a gritty slice-of-life drama about a couple breaking up. Then when we see the actual performance, it turns out that it ends with Joey's character going off in a UFO to find an environmentally friendly energy source.

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' was initially presented as just a drama about people stranded on a desert island with only subtle supernatural occurrences, but increasingly became a sci-fi/fantasy show in disguise. The show went from being more subtle SF/F to full-blown science fiction in Season 3 when [[spoiler: Desmond started time-travelling]], and cemented that change in Season 4 with an episode written with the specific purpose of smacking the viewers around the head with the message "LOST IS SCIENCE FICTION". And then season six ditches the science fiction in favor of becoming a fantasy show.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' famously began drifting away from being a Black Comedy after the departure of Colonel Blake and Trapper John, and by the time Radar left in the 8th season, it had lost most of its dark humorous edge and had rebranded itself a "Dramedy".

* Season 1 of ''Series/PrisonBreak'' revolves around [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an honest-to-god prison break]] with a cast composed almost entirely of stock characters ripped from classic prison movies, and season 2 continues it with the escaped inmates on the run from the FBI. By the end of season 2, the escapees have all successfully evaded the law [[spoiler: (the few that survived, at least...)]] but the writers manage to justify the title by having the main characters all [[AssPull rounded up for random reasons]] and [[FromBadToWorse a new, even worse prison in Panama]]. Then the final season rolls around, and the whole series morphs into some weird cross between ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' and ''Film/TheBourneSeries'' about the main cast trying to take down some [[TheSyndicate evil shadow corporation]] using zany schemes whipped together with loot from the Dollar Store. When the show was rebooted in 2017, it started with another prison break, but that was over quickly and the rest of the season most closely resembled the previous one.

* Likewise, the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episodes "The Benders" and "Family Remains". The show's MythArc itself experienced a massive shift in the fourth season. Seasons 1-3 were a horror series focused on Sam and Dean fighting random monsters while also working to stop whatever BigBad was currently involved (Azazel in seasons 1-2; Lilith in season 3), and then with the fourth season the show transformed into an apocalyptic [[spoiler: angel and demon war]] with an ''occasional'' monster thrown in.

* Season 1 of ''Series/PrisonBreak'' revolves around [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an honest-to-god prison break]] with a cast composed almost entirely of stock characters ripped from classic prison movies, and season 2 continues it with the escaped inmates on the run from the FBI. By the end of season 2, the escapees have all successfully evaded the law [[spoiler: (the few that survived, at least...)]] but the writers manage to justify the title by having the main characters all [[AssPull rounded up for random reasons]] and [[FromBadToWorse a new, even worse prison in Panama]]. Then the final season rolls around, and the whole series morphs into some weird cross between ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' and ''Film/TheBourneSeries'' about the main cast trying to take down some [[TheSyndicate evil shadow corporation]] using zany schemes whipped together with loot from the Dollar Store.

* ''Series/FamilyMatters'' started off as a traditional DomCom, but the series began to incorporate ScienceFiction [[FantasticComedy elements]] as the focus shifted to Steve Urkel and his wacky inventions. Time travel, cloning, and teleportation were all used as the basis for episodes.