History Main / RealLifeWritesThePlot

* ActorLeavesCharacterDies: A character is killed off after the actor leaves the production.

The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic is a particularly prominent example; not only has it affected the ability to produce movies and TV shows, but it's also being incorporated into media that takes place in 2020 and further.

Specific instances:

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* WereStillRelevantDammit: Work tries to stay hip by referencing as many modern trends as possible.

* {{McLeaned}}: A character is killed off after the actor leaves the production.

The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic is a particularly prominent example; not only has it affected the ability to produce movies and TV shows, but it's also being incorporated into media that takes place in 2020-2022.

->''"Fundamentally, a ''Series/RedDwarf'' script is a battle plan for making a TV show, and as UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte[[note]]actually Moltke the Elder[[/note]] once remarked, 'No battle plan ever survived contact with the enemy'. In ''Red Dwarf''[='=]s case the enemy is what's possible, given a tight budget, a short production period, and the physical laws of the natural universe."''

->''"Fundamentally, a ''Series/RedDwarf'' script is a battle plan for making a TV show, and as UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte once remarked, 'No battle plan ever survived contact with the enemy'. In ''Red Dwarf''[='=]s case the enemy is what's possible, given a tight budget, a short production period, and the physical laws of the natural universe."''

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: When a story is influenced by contemporary events.

* AbsenteeActor: An actor's absence for an episode (or longer) causes their character to go conspicuously missing during that part of the story.

* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: A character's hairstyle is different because the actor changed it--either on a whim or for a different role.

The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic is a particularly prominent example; not only has it affected the ability to produce movies and TV shows, but it's also being incorporated into media that takes place in 2020-2021.

* DiedDuringProduction: The work is cancelled, put in DevelopmentHell or forced to make do with replacements because the creator or one of the actors died during the process.

The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic is a particularly prominent example; not only has it affected the ability to produce movies and TV shows, but it's also being incorporated into media that takes place in 2020-2021.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: The work is cancelled, put in DevelopmentHell or forced to make do with replacements because the creator or one of the actors died.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: A character abruptly vanishes from the show and is never mentioned again. Can be a result of the creators deciding to drop the character for whatever reason and not bothering to provide an explanation for the character's sudden absence.

* PutOnABus: A character is temporarily removed from the show by having them leave the setting in a way that they could eventually return if the writers willed it.

* AbsenteeActor: A common reason for a character to be noticeably absent in an episode could be that the actor playing the character wasn't available at the time the episode was in production.

* AuthorPhobia: The author's own fears come to fruition in their work.
* BottleEpisode: The episode limits the number of characters, locations, etc. that can be used in order to save budget money.
* BusCrash: A character who was phased out of the show gets killed off before they have a chance to return, which could be because it's impossible or at least unlikely for the actor to come back to the show.
* TheCastShowoff: An actor's talents other than acting are worked into the plot.
* CharacterAgedWithTheActor: Instead of replacing the actor when they become "too old" to play their character, the show simply has the actor's character age as the actor does.
* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: A character is killed off after the actor who played them passes away.