History Main / PromotionToOpeningTitles

* ''FamilyMatters'': Several instances:

* ''FullHouse'':

* ''TheHoganFamily'': Although Edie [=McClurg=] is given her own credit when she begins appearing in the second season, she does not get her own credit clip – stock footage of her greeting the Hogans with tea and other refreshments – until Season 3.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' / ''{{Angel}}'':

* Kelsey Grammer was originally hired to play Fraiser Crane for seven episodes of ''{{Cheers}}''. Not only did he [[EnsembleDarkhorse stay on]] and get promoted to the opening titles, his character was given a hugely successful {{spinoff}}. Bebe Neuwirth originally only had a three-minute guest spot in the middle of season four; she wound up getting added to the opening titles, winning two supporting actress Emmys for the show and making frequent appearances on ''{{Frasier}}'' over the ensuing decade.

* Speaking of ''{{Frasier}}'', Dan Butler got his name into the Opening Credits in seasons four through six, but, ironically, he appeared in ''fewer'' episodes, and after that his character for a long while vanished.
* Near the end of her first run on ''LawAndOrder'', Carolyn Mccormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet managed to get mention in the opening credits, however, a photo of her in character was not created, as is L&O tradition.
** B. D. Wong (Huang) and Tamara Tunie (Warner) on ''LawAndOrderSVU.'' In Season 15, Raúl Esparza (Barba) got added.
* Michael Emerson was contracted for just a few episodes of ''{{Lost}}'' in the second season as "Henry Gale" (Ben). He was so loved/loved to be hated that he became a cast member in the third season, where he served as the BigBad.

* ''ICarly'': Noah Munck (Gibby) in season 4.

* Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Louise Lombard, and now Wallace Langham on ''{{CSI}}''. Wheee!

* On ''{{CSI NY}}'', Robert Joy and AJ Buckley were both promoted to regulars in the last couple of seasons.
* Jason Kravits on ''ThePractice''.
* Neil Flynn on ''{{Scrubs}}'', but only in the extended title sequence that was used for a few episodes of the second series until it was discarded after fans complained.

* Saverio Guerra on ''{{Becker}}''.
* ''MST3K'' added whatever {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s had appeared recently.
* Christopher Marquette and Becky Wahlstrom on ''JoanOfArcadia'', both of whom were originally intended as one-episode characters.

* ''{{ER}}'''s revolving door of doctors generally allowed one or two promotions per season, especially in the later seasons. A few that were notably ''not'' promoted included Laura Ceron as Chuny and Deezer D as Malik.
* The cast members deemed important enough to rate the ''SeventhHeaven'' opening credits change too often and too randomly to attach an adequate adverb to.
* Autumn Reeser first appeared at the beginning of the third season of ''{{The OC}}'' as a minor ''villain''. She soon turned into the PluckyComicRelief and a friend of the main characters. When the fourth season started she was not only promoted, but ended up as the romantic interest of the protagonist.

* During the course of ''ThirdWatch'''s run, Amy Carlson, Chris Bauer, Tia Texada, Nia Long, Bonnie Dennison and Cara Beuno were promoted to the opening titles.
* In season two of ''Grey's Anatomy'', Kate Walsh was originally listed as a special guest star but was later added to the opening titles as it became clear that her character would be staying in Seattle. (Which, of course, she didn't...but she [[PrivatePractice got her own spin-off]]...

* Season 6 of ''BurnNotice sees Coby Bell (Jesse) finally moved into the opening. Though Gabriel Anwar has been in the credits since episode one, it bears noting that her character's relationship with Michael gets promoted as well: the narration now refers to her as "a trigger happy girlfriend" instead of "a trigger happy ex-girlfriend." It took more than a full season for Sam to be promoted from "friend who's informing on you" to "friend who used to inform on you" after he stopped informing on him. This show is very conservative with its opening title.
* In the last season of ''VeronicaMars'', much was made of recurring character Sheriff Lamb's ascension to the the status of regular character and a place in the opening titles. Then he was promptly KilledOffForReal.

* ''IronChef'' Italian Masahiko Kobe was eventually put into the opening title sequence.

* ''BoyMeetsWorld'': Danielle Fishel (Topanga) in season 2, Lindsay Ridgeway (Morgan [[TheOtherDarrin #2]]) in season 4, and Trina [=McGee=]-Davis (Angela) in season 6.

* ''{{Tinsel}}'': Ireti Doyle is finally included in the main cast in the last quarter of Season 4, which takes the wind out of any fan speculation that her character, Sheila, will be living the show any time soon.

* ''{{Sons of Anarchy}}'': Jimmy Smits (Nero) has been announced to be this in Season 6. Prior to that, Ryan Hurst (Opie), William Lucking (Piney), and Theo Rossi (Juice) were this in Season 2, and Creator/DaytonCallie (Unser) was this in Season 3.

** After guest starring on the series for years, Creator/SamAnderson, L. Scott Caldwell, Francois Chau, Creator/FionnulaFlanagan, John Terry, and Creator/SonyaWalger finally got their names in the main cast credits...for the final episode. Said episode also added back all of the former regulars appearing, making it so the episode credits an amazing ''twenty-eight people'' as starring.

** Nestor Carbonell (Richard) appeared in several season 3, 4 and 5 episodes and got a semi-centric episode in season 5 before becoming a main cast member for season 6 (complete with a completely centric episode).
** Jeff Fahey actually turned down the same regular contract offered to the other actors playing members of the science team (Jeremy Davies, Rebecca Mader, and Ken Leung) but has later became a regular for season 6.
** After guest starring on the series for years, Sam Anderson, L. Scott Caldwell, Francois Chau, Fionnula Flanagan, John Terry, and Sonya Walger finally got their names in the main cast credits...for the final episode. Said episode also added back all of the former regulars appearing, making it so the episode credits an amazing ''twenty-eight people'' as starring.

* ''{{Sons of Anarchy}}'': Jimmy Smits (Nero) has been announced to be this in Season 6. Prior to that, Ryan Hurst (Opie), William Lucking (Piney), and Theo Rossi (Juice) were this in Season 2, and Dayton Callie (Unser) was this in Season 3.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Six recurring characters in Season 1 got promoted for Season 2: John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), James Cosmo (Lord Commander Jeor Mormont), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Conleth Hill (Varys), Creator/SibelKekilli (Shae), and Creator/CharlesDance (Tywin Lannister). Creator/OonaChaplin (Talisa Maegyr), Rose Leslie (Ygritte), and Joe Dempsie (Gendry) are promoted in season 3. Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane), GwendolineChristie (Brienne of Tarth), Creator/IwanRheon (Ramsay Snow), and Hannah Murray (Gilly) are promoted in Season 4.

* After having the exact same opening titles for 8 seasons (aside from adding Robert Patrick in season 8), ''TheXFiles'' updated them for the 9th season, since the original titles looked outdated due to cast changes, cast aging, and new developments in the MythArc. This was when Assistant Director Walter Skinner, who was introduced back in the latter half of the 1st season, finally got clips and an actor credit in the opening titles.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', a number of background and side characters got added to the intro starting with the third episode of season 2, though most of them are blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearances.
** Starting in season 4, they added more characters, most being fan favorites. The additions are far more noticeable, and mostly of the (in some cases, rather delayed) ContinuityNod variety. [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn Discord can be seen inside Fluttershy's cottage]]]], [[FanNickname the Mane Six]] are joined by a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters small crowd of side characters]], and Celestia is now accompanied by her sister Luna.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', a number of side- and background-characters got added to the intro starting with the third episode of season 2, including Big [=McIntosh=] (replacing a PaletteSwap of him who only appears in a few episodes of the show proper), [[EnsembleDarkhorse Derpy, Berry Punch]], and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Oh, yeah, and that train [[ExecutiveMeddling Hasbro demanded be shown in every episode]] was shoehorned in too.
** Starting in season 4, they added several more prominent fan favorite characters, including Princess Luna, Zecora, Mayor Mare, Snips & Snails, Mr. & Mrs. Cake, and Discord.

* ''GilmoreGirls'' had plenty of these changes.

* Richard Kline on ''ThreesCompany''. Jenilee Harrison was also promoted for season 6 after being Suzanne Somers' "temporary" replacement during her infamous salary dispute during season 5. Ironically, though, Harrison was seen less frequently in season 6 than season 5, and she was dropped from the show at the end of season 6.
* Sean Murray (Tim [=McGee=]) Cote de Pablo (Ziva David), Lauren Holly (Director Jenny Shepard), and most recently Rocky Carroll (Leon Vance) of ''{{NCIS}}''.

** After spending five seasons as a recurring character, MarkSheppard (who plays Crowley) was promoted to regular for the 10th season.
* The final season of ''EverybodyLovesRaymond'' included [[spoiler:Monica Horan (Amy)]] in the opening credits. [[spoiler:After marrying Robert, she appeared in almost every episode.]]

* While it doesn't have opening titles as such, ''{{Greek}}'' added Tiffany Dupont (who played [[AlphaBitch Frannie]]) to the "Starring" credits midway through Chapter 2. Given that the show is being cancelled at the end of the 4th season, she will likely hold the somewhat unusual honor of being the only character to be promoted to regular status and the only regular character to be written out during the entirity of the show's run.

* Garcia gets bumped up to the credits when Lola Glaudini left the ''CriminalMinds'' cast.

* Rico From ''HannahMontana'', Staring in the 2nd Season.
** In the same way, Tinka from ''ShakeItUp'' got it too in the same season as Rico's.
* Ron Glass, Jack Soo, Steve Landesberg, and Ron Carey in ''BarneyMiller''.
* Rex Lee (Lloyd) got promoted to opening-credit status on ''{{Entourage}}''.
* Greg Proops (Mr. Madigan), Ron Butler (Oscar) and Rob Arnell (Jimmy) on ''TrueJacksonVP''.
* Jon Cypher finally got promoted to the opening credits about midway through season 2 of ''MajorDad''.

* MaryMcDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor in the final season (7) of ''Series/TheCloser''. She now leads the SpinOff show ''MajorCrimes'', with most of the cast from ''The Closer''.

* On ''TheCosbyShow,'' Sondra, Cliff and Clair's eldest, only showed up in a few episodes of the first season, but she was promoted to a regular character in the second season, although she was not often seen. Other characters followed in subsequent seasons.

** Specifically, the four unlockable characters are originally silhouettes in the first ''Smash'' game, and in ''Brawl'', unlocked characters are added to the line of characters standing over a cliff near the end of the opening (though [[FireEmblem Marth]] and [[EarthBound Ness]] make appearances in the Subspace Emissary movie clips, and the [[SonicTheHedgehog Green Hill Zone]] stage makes an appearance in the opening.)

* RufusHound got this in ''CelebrityJuice'' after two series of being a regular panellist.

** Shawn Harrison as resident idiot Waldo Faldo, starting with Season 3. This was another case of rewarding the popularity of a breakout character -- the bully's sidekick to dumb-but-loveable best friend -- by adding him to the opening credits.

** Across the BuffyVerse in Angel, Andy Hallett took two and a half seasons to get promoted, and Mercedes [=McNab=] was promoted for the final six episodes only and she rarely ventured out of {{Garfunkel}} territory. (Though it was intentional, as well as lampshaded). Another ''Series/{{Angel}}'' example: Nearly everyone added to the opening credits [except David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter and Glenn Quinn, since they starred in the Pilot] guest starred in at least one episode before they were promoted. A common theme included the character appearing at the end of the previous season and returning in the fall as a new star.

** Across the BuffyVerse in Angel, Andy Hallett took two and a half seasons to get promoted, and Mercedes [=McNab=] was promoted for the final six episodes only. Another ''Series/{{Angel}}'' example: Nearly everyone added to the opening credits [except David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter and Glenn Quinn, since they starred in the Pilot] guest starred in at least one episode before they were promoted. A common theme included the character appearing at the end of the previous season and returning in the fall as a new star.

** Colin O'Donoghue (Hook/Killian Jones) also gets promoted halfway through season two, after his few appearances early on that season earned him EnsembleDarkhorse and DracoInLeatherPants status among the fans. Neal is also meant to be promoted to series regular when season 3 premiers.

* Yun (Kaori Nazuka) on ''{{Simoun}}''.
* Milk in ''YesPrecure5''.

* The JPN Pokemon openings regularly change to effect new captures/releases, and much speculation is made on upcoming captures based on empty space in the titles.
* [[spoiler:Hanyuu]] in ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'', promoted directly from TheVoice to one of the heros. Ironically, Keiichi too. Despite the fact he was arguably the most important character in season one, he didn't appear in the opening to that season.
* ''KeroroGunsou'' has done this to numerous characters, the first being The Ghost who was added into the first season credits about halfway through. The trope has also been played in reverse as characters have also been removed from the opening credits.
* When the YuYuHakusho opening changed at some point in the Chapter Black Saga (it only does in the Three Kings Saga of the English version), it included characters like Kaito, Yana and Kido, as well as arc antagonists Sensui and Itsuki, and the third opening included Yomi, Mukuro and six former opponents from the Dark Tournament. The lineup at the end of the second opening expanded to include Kaito, Yana and Kido, added Shizuru (who was in the first opening, but not at the lineup at the end). In an inversion, [[DemotedToExtra Atsuko]], who lacked the few scenes she had in the late manga in the anime adaptation, was removed in the second version of the lineup at the end.
* ''Anime/OnePiece'' often mentions characters long before they appear or play a truly significant role, and leaves them out of the openings until they do. Blackbeard first appears in the sixth opening, despite having appeared in the series and being mentioned several times before that. Dragon, despite appearing in Loguetown and being mentioned on some occasions after that, became important enough to get in the opening after momentarily appearing in the Post-Enies Lobby arc and [[spoiler:being revealed as Luffy's father]]]. He also appeared briefly in the second opening, which began running during the Loguetown arc.

* After [[spoiler:Kamina's death]] in GurrenLagann, Nia replaces him in the second title sequence. They each get their own place in the third.

* After Yamada is introduced in the seventh episode of ''{{Working}}'', she is quickly added to the end credits of the episode, and then also included in the opening of the following episode.
* In ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'', Cameron, Ash's new rival, replaces Dawn in the Japanese opening after her guest stint on the show ends.

** In 2008, "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" had a total of six actors (compared to the usual two) credited during the title sequence, forcing the names to rush past noticeably faster than normal. You can also see [[spoiler: Gareth David Lloyd and Eve Myles from ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' and Tommy Knight from TheSarahJaneAdventures]]'s names appear after opening titles as a kind of AndStarring. The appearance of secondary roles are only seen in the end credits apart from this circumstance.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Jon Bradley (Samwell Tarly), James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Conleth Hill (Varys), Creator/SibelKekilli (Shae), and Creator/CharlesDance (Tywin Lannister) are promoted in Season 2. Creator/OonaChaplin (Talisa Maegyr), Rose Leslie (Ygritte), and Joe Dempsie (Gendry) are promoted in season 3.

* After [[spoiler:Kamina's death]] in GurrenLagann, Nia replaces him in the first season's title sequence. They each get their own place in the second season's opening.