History ShowWithinAShow / LiveActionTV

* The Bluth family takes part in a mock trial during the aptly named ''Mock Trial with J. Reinhold'' in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''.

** There's also ''Scandalmakers'', a shoddily narrated and acted programme which does a [[StylisticSuck hilariously bad]] episode about the Bluth family.

* An episode of ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' has Amanda win a chance to be on the soap opera ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' and the rest of the cast end up there when someone tries to kill the cast of the TV show. A running gag involved the cast of the soap commenting on how Amanda looks like their co-star Victoria Rowell(Rowell played both Drucilla on YR and Amanda on ''Diagnosis'').

* The PanelGame ''Series/AtMidnight'' had a running gag involving guests (particularly those wearing a tuxedo) claiming that they had recently filming for another game show called ''Tuxedo Guys'', with everyone subsequently adding more bizarre details about the show as it progressed, as well as information on apparent spin-offs such as ''Cowboy Guys'' and ''Matador Guys''.

* In one episode of ''Series/{{UFO}}'', Cmdr. Straker was under the influence of an alien crystal and hallucinated that he was actually the head of a movie studio (his cover in the show's "real life"), and stepped out of the set and onto the real-world sound stage where ''UFO'' was filmed, addressed the series actors by their real names, etc.

* A mixture of the two first types, plus meta-references, has occurred on ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Nikki turns out to be an actress who has just completed an arc on a show called ''Exposé''. The show is about a duo of [[{{Fanservice}} strippers/detectives]] [[TheyFightCrime who fight crime]] with the help of their club-owner/mentor (played by Billy Dee Williams) [[BigBadFriend who is actually The Cobra]], the show's BigBad. Hurley is a fan of the show, and it plays on TV sets in a Locke flashback (that aired before the episode fully introducing it), briefly in a Sun flashforward, and was watched by Hurley's dad in the real-time action of "The Lie". In the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' episode "Exposé", Nikki's ''Exposé'' character is killed off in a flashback -- and then Nikki is killed off in ''Series/{{Lost}}''.

** As a teenager Robin was on the kids' show ''Space Teens'', which had InnocentInnuendo turned UpToEleven.

* ''The Dennis DuPree'' show in ''Hope and Gloria''.

** Also ''Film/TheWeddingBride'' in another episode. This was made by Tony the [[spoiler: ex-husband of Ted's ex-fiancée, Stella]], and other characters in the show are a fan of the movie and it is a plot point. It's a twisted version of what actually happened to Ted.

* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', ''Film/TheWeddingBride''. This was made by Tony the [[spoiler: ex-husband of Ted's ex-fiancée, Stella]], and other characters in the show are a fan of the movie and it is a plot point. It's a twisted version of what actually happened to Ted.

* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', ''Film/TheWeddingBride''. This was made by Tony the [[spoiler: ex-husband of Ted's ex-fiancée, Stella]], and other characters in the show are a fan of the movie and it is a plot point. It's a twisted version of what actually happened to Ted.

* Apparently, a TV movie featuring two characters who look and act suspiciously like bad copies of Mulder and Scully exists ''within'' ''Series/TheXFiles'' and ''Series/{{Millennium}}'' universe. In the ''X-Files'' episode "Hollywood A.D." (s07e18), Mulder and Scully meet their "actor" counterparts on the set (Those would be Garry Shandling and Tea Leoni.) A scene of what looks like this fake ''X-Files'' movie is running on a TV screen in the background during one ''Series/{{Millennium}}'' episode. In both cases, the show-within-the-show was made to be deliberately cheap-looking and campy.

* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Christopher Moltesanti aspires to be a writer. He eventually completes ''Film/{{Cleaver}}'', a supernatural horror / mafia movie, with Little Carmine as executive producer. The mobsters attend the premiere in season 6. However, this gets Christopher in trouble when Tony realizes that the film, in which the protagonist graphically splits his Boss' head in two, is Christopher's revenge fantasy for Tony and Adriana almost having had an affair.

!!Examples of type 1 (characters involved in production)

* In ''Series/{{Community}}'', super-meta Abed writes and directs a campus TV show called ''[[http://www.greendalecommunitycollege.com/av_dept/ The Community College Chronicles]]'' with characters based on his study group. Abed's so well-versed in TV Tropes that he can use the show to predict what's going to happen to the study group next, down to Shirley being chased through the library by a werewolf - also making this a type 4.
** "Troy and Abed in the Morning" is an example, and subversion of, Type 1 in that it doesn't actually exist.

** Also ''Film/TheWeddingBride'' in another episode. This was made by Tony the [[spoiler: ex-husband of Ted's ex-fiancée, Stella]]. This is also an example of 2 and 3 as the other characters in the show are a fan of the movie and it is a plot point.
*** Since it's a twisted version of what actually happened to Ted, it's also an example of type 4!

* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' had ''Estrada Or Nada'', a game show where contestants could challenge Erik Estrada to any talent. Knife-throwing, ventriloquism, and "bendy singing" are just a few. Overlaps with Type 3.

!!Examples of type 2 (characters are fans)

* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', ''Film/TheWeddingBride''. The other characters in the show (other than Ted) are fans of the movie. This is also an example of Type 1 and 3 as it was made by a character in the show and it is a plot point.
** Since it's a twisted version of what actually happened to Ted, it's also an example of type 4!

* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', ''Film/TheWeddingBride''. An episode revolves around Ted seeing the movie with his newest girlfriend. This is also an example of 1 and 2 as a character in the show wrote the movie and the other characters are fans of the movie.
** Since it's a twisted version of what actually happened to Ted, it's also an example of type 4!

* In ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'' episode "The Nighmare of Milky Joe", Vince and Howard become stranded on a desert island while on their way to perform on ''The Pieface Showcase''. This intention, combined with Milky Joe's later appearance, also make it a Type 1.

** ''Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton'' also has a bit of the first variety in it as well. Mostly ''Captain Proton'' was Type II, but became Type III in the episode where extradimensional aliens mistook it for reality because in THEIR dimension life is photonic.

!!Examples of type 4 (PlotParallel)

* ''Invitation to Love'' within ''Series/TwinPeaks''. See above under Type 3.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' has three televisual examples of this - the recurring but not regularly-featured 'Sue's Corner', which is part of a local late-night news show, Britney's web talk show 'Fondue for Two' in which she talks with various of her classmates, and the one-off 'Glee Holiday Spectacular' from Episode 3x09 ('Extraordinary Merry Christmas'), in which Artie, with the help of New Directions, stages an homage to both the Judy Garland Christmas Special and the ''StarWars'' Christmas Special for a local TV station (though in this case, despite how it sounds, StylisticSuck really does not apply except when Finn is expected to act, and it's all utterly charming). The show also has several theatrical examples in the musicals the students produce (or attempt to produce) each year - in order, ''Film/{{Cabaret}}'', ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' and ''Theatre/WestSideStory''.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' had ''Androids'', a soap opera about robots which Kryten was addicted to, and ''Mugs Murphy'', a cartoon about a gangster gorilla which Lister enjoyed, including having a T-shirt with a picture of Mugs and his CatchPhrase "D-D-Don't shoot!"

** There was also that time they got TrappedInTVLand by the Trickster and were sent through a number of different shows, many of which were obvious digs at real shows, such as ''Series/KnightRider'' and ''Series/GreysAnatomy''.

* The PanelGame ''Series/AtMidnight'' had a running gag involving guests (particularly those wearing a tuxedo) claiming that they had recently been on a game show called ''Tuxedo Guys'', with everyone subsequently adding more bizarre details about the show as it progressed, as well as information on alleged spin-offs such as ''Cowboy Guys'' and ''Matador Guys''.

** Abed talked about appearing as an extra on real life show-within-a-show ''Series/CougarTown''.

* ''Series/TwinPeaks'' has ''Invitation To Love'' which was created as a place where the soapier aspects that ABC wanted included in the show could be contained.

* ''Invitation to Love'' within ''Series/TwinPeaks''.