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| 7 | * ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred'': In "The Marked" and "Ghost in the Machine", Drew Imroth, the billionaire CEO of the computer giant Ubient Software and one of the Marked, is very clearly based on Bill Gates. |
| 8 | * Deepak Chopra guest-stars on an episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}''... in a manner of speaking. In "[[Recap/AngelS01E04IFallToPieces I Fall to Pieces]]", Angel tracks down a thinly disguised motivational guru who served as inspiration to a killer [[PsychicSurgery Psychic Surgeon]]. He explains that he quit teaching after his pupil mastered the [[QuantumMechanicsCanDoAnything quantum-cellular control]] theorized in his book. In other words, the guru never believed in his own wild theories and was severely traumatized when they came true. |
| 9 | * An episode of ''Series/ANTFarm'' has an obvious one of Music/LadyGaga called "Madame [=GooGoo=]". |
| 10 | * ''Series/BeakmansWorld'' based a few of its Famous Dead Guys on celebrities. A few that stick out are Ben Franklin as either a clean Andrew Dice Clay or Rodney Dangerfield, and Charles Goodyear as Jim Backus as Thurston Howell from ''Series/GilligansIsland'', complete with calling the female assistant "Lovey". (Not coincidentally, they also show clips from old Mr. Magoo cartoons.) |
| 11 | * ''Series/{{Beetleborgs}}'' has Flabber the phasm who, according to the producers, was based on Music/ElvisPresley but to some resembled Creator/JayLeno, but has the mannerisms of Creator/JimCarrey. In one episode of ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJayLeno'', a picture of Flabber was sent to Leno during the Monday headlines segment. It got laughs from the audience, but Leno was not too pleased. |
| 12 | * ''Series/BlackMirror'': |
| 13 | ** The plot of [[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem "The National Anthem"]] revolves around a beloved Royal Princess getting kidnapped. Depending on who you ask, it's either Princess Diana or Kate Middleton the princess is modeled after. |
| 14 | ** The game designer Shou Saito from [[Recap/BlackMirrorPlaytest "Playtest"]] has more than a few similarities with Creator/HideoKojima. |
| 15 | * In ''Series/BostonLegal'', Gracie Jane is a thinly-disguised Nancy Grace. |
| 16 | * ''Series/TheBoys2019'': Representative Victoria Neuman. |
| 17 | ** A young, AmbiguouslyBrown congresswoman with a liberal platform, who supposedly had a dance video online; the Boys' answer to Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. |
| 18 | ** The negative reaction to Neuman's anti-Vought stances also mirrors some incidents involving Ocasio-Cortez, though they also resemble the backlash to the ideologically-similar Representative Ilhan Omar (for instance calls to "Send her back" by the anti-immigration protesters mirror attacks on the Somalian-born naturalized citizen Omar more than the native-born Ocasio-Cortez). |
| 19 | * ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'''s DC Parlov bears an undeniable resemblance to Creator/GeorgeRRMartin. |
| 20 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': |
| 21 | ** Spike owes a lot to Music/BillyIdol, or -- as Buffy says in one episode -- "Actually, Billy Idol stole his look from... never mind." There's a flashback sequence to the last slayer Spike killed set in 1977 where it's a lot more blatant. |
| 22 | ** A couple of episodes flashback to New York in 1977, where we meet Robin Wood's mother, who seems heavily modeled after Creator/PamGrier. |
| 23 | * Madame Ybarra from ''Series/CafeAmericain'' was a thinly-veiled spoof of Imelda Marcos. |
| 24 | * Baxter Sarno in ''Series/{{Caprica}}'' is essentially an amalgamation of Jay Leno and [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]] - with a little bit of an emphasis on the latter. Also played by Creator/PattonOswalt. |
| 25 | * ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'': |
| 26 | ** "Pretty Dead" features a rich beauty pageant organizer with a comb over that [[{{Trumplica}} looks suspiciously like Donald Trump]]. |
| 27 | ** The episode "An Embarrassment of Bitches" includes a self-obsessed, rich reality tv star Kay Cappuccio, who seems suspiciously similar to Creator/KimKardashian. Of course, she was also portrayed as a pretty nice person being exploited by her sleazy boyfriend, so it was pretty tame, all things considered. |
| 28 | ** In the episode "Reality Star Struck" there was a Mike Chilean, who hosted a show called Shark Pool, he's called a crazy billionaire. Now, look at [[Series/DragonsDen The Shark Tank]] with Mark Cuban and say that name was original. |
| 29 | ** There's also an episode with a totally-not Creator/MileyCyrus FormerChildStar whose signature role consisted of concealing a secret identity with sunglasses, not [[Series/HannahMontana a wig]], see, totally different. |
| 30 | * The ''Series/{{CHIPS}}'' episode [[BattleOfTheBands "Battle of the Bands"]] sees the boys going after a [[TheQuincyPunk punk band]] who is antagonizing their new-wave rival in an upcoming rock-off. The new-wave band is called Snow Pink, as is their lead singer, a sexy [[RoseHairedSweetie rose-haired]] siren with a Joisey accent and plenty of attitude. Possibly [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] the similarity when asked where her band’s name came from, she replies "The rock world’s already got Music/{{Blondie|Band}}." |
| 31 | * The ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "One Fall," set in the world of ProfessionalWrestling, has two main suspects who are thinly-veiled versions of Wrestling/VinceMcMahon and Wrestling/RicFlair. |
| 32 | * The ''{{Series/Columbo}}'' episode "Murder With Too Many Notes" features an award-winning film composer who's noted for his apprentices and his use of ghostwriters. Now have a look at what some people have to say about Music/HansZimmer... |
| 33 | * ''Series/ConversationsWithFriends'': InUniverse, Frances creates a character that Bobbi feels is clearly based on her. She's so offended by the portrayal that she ends their friendship (temporarily). |
| 34 | * ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' brought Criss Angel on to play an illusionist named Luke Blade in a season 3 ep. If not for Blade turning out to be the heinous Culprit of the Week, Angel coulda just played himself. |
| 35 | * One episode of ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'' featured [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Edward_R._Hero Edward R. Hero]], a pastiche of real-life journalist Edward R. Murrow, as a commentator in a political election between two horrible candidates. [[spoiler:In the end, the voters get fed up with both candidates and elect Edward by a landslide.]] |
| 36 | * ''Series/{{Damages}}'' did this a couple of times due to its fondness for RippedFromTheHeadlines plots. In particular, Louis Tobin is Bernie Madoff and Channing [=McLaren=] is Julian Assange. |
| 37 | * Practically the entire premise of the short lived FX series ''Series/Dirt2007''. Amongst some of the more notable ripoffs was a gold-digging blonde drug addict (Anna-Nicole Smith), an actor couple with a blended nickname (who bore resemblance to Jennifer Garner/Ben Affleck), and a cast of actors working on an insanely successful sitcom (the cast of ''Friends''). |
| 38 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 39 | ** The villain of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E2TheHappinessPatrol The Happiness Patrol]]", Helen A, is a controversial (at the time) swipe at UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher. This was later confirmed by star Creator/SylvesterMcCoy, who gloated ever after of [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny beating Thatcher in a fair fight]]. |
| 40 | ** In the very next story, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E3SilverNemesis Silver Nemesis]]", "de Flores", the elderly ex-Nazi hiding out somewhere in South America, is overtly (even more so in DVD deleted scenes) inspired by Martin Bormann, head of the Nazi Party Chancellery and one of the most senior Nazis not accounted for after 1945. He was widely suspected at the time to be [[ArgentinaIsNaziland hiding out in South America]], although most historians now accept that he was killed in battle trying to fight his way out of Berlin. |
| 41 | ** Harriet Jones (yes, we know who she is) the Prime Minister briefly might be partially based on a prominent Labour politician Harriet Harman, from the name and appearance. However she also seems to blend in elements of Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher. She could be meant as a dig at New Labour in general, initially being popular before becoming turning out flawed and war-mongering, her destruction of a retreating alien ship likely based on an incident where Thatcher gave the order to fire on a ship during the Falklands War. |
| 42 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E10LoveAndMonsters "Love & Monsters"]]: Victor Kennedy/the Abzorbaloff is based on Ian Levine, a FandomVIP who served as an unofficial consultant to the series in the '80s and was instrumental in finding many lost episodes. He's also fairly notorious in fandom circles for his unpleasant behaviour. |
| 43 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums "The Sound of Drums"]]: American President Winters, who was strikingly reminiscent of UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush, tries to take over the situation and eventually gets vaporized by the BigBad, who was likely meant as a parody of at the time outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair. After the ResetButton gets hit on the villain's epic evil, this is the one thing to not be undone. |
| 44 | * ''{{Series/Euphoria}}'': [[AvertedTrope Obliterated.]] Episode 3 not only namedrops [[Music/OneDirection Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles]] when Kat [[RealPersonFic writes about]] [[SlashFic Harry giving Louis a blowjob]] before a concert, but the story is then fully animated with anime character likenesses of them both. |
| 45 | * ''Series/FatherTed'': Several one-episode characters are based on real Irish celebrities: BBC TV host Henry Sellars (based on Henry Kelly), sickly sweet balladeer Eoin [=McLove=] (Daniel O'Donnell), militant feminist anti-Catholic singer Niamh Connolly (Sinéad O'Connor) and the terrifying Bishop Brennan (Bishop Éamon Casey) -- both bishops having a secret son. |
| 46 | * ''Series/FellowTravelers'': Senator Wesley Smith (D-Pennsylvania) was obviously inspired by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_C._Hunt Lester Hunt]] (D-Wyoming). Both are opponents of Senator UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy, although Hunt wasn't on the same committee. [[spoiler:Like Hunt, Smith shoots himself in his office after he gets blackmailed into giving up his seat over his son's "morals" arrest, although the exact details differ a bit.]] |
| 47 | * ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Dr. Nora, an unusually thin parody of Dr. Laura and the small controversy about her qualifications. Dr. Nora's advice mostly consisted of telling her callers that they're sinners who are going to hell, and Frasier eventually learns her doctorate is in P.E. The station keeps her on because her polarizing personality is attracting listeners, until an attempt at goodwill by Frasier drives her away. |
| 48 | * ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' introduces a man named Brent in its last season as a new addition to the afterlife. Brent's a thinly veiled pastiche of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh due to: his name, Ivy League education, misogyny, "HR complaints", drinking issues, and angry-middle-aged-white-guy-who-can't-take-criticism schtick. |
| 49 | * ''Series/TheGoodWife'' had an episode where Music/MirandaCosgrove guest starred as an off-the-rails teen starlet, who was based on Music/MileyCyrus or Creator/LindsayLohan (or a combination of the two). |
| 50 | * ''Series/{{Hanna}}'': One of the young activists who Utrax has been ordered to assassinate is a Czech environmentalist who resembles real activist Greta Thunberg (who's Swedish). |
| 51 | * ''Series/HolbyCity'' has had a nurse who is a SpearCarrier character who is modelled on Music/OliviaRodrigo appearing since July 2021. She's a RecurringCharacter, but not a major one. |
| 52 | * ''Series/HouseOfCardsUS'': A few, but most notably in Season 3 -- Balding, fairhaired Russian President '''V'''ictor '''P'''etrov is ''definitely'' not UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin. They even have real-life members of Pussy Riot chew out Not Putin in untranslated Russian in a episode. |
| 53 | * ''Series/ICarly'': |
| 54 | ** "iFix a Popstar" with Ginger Fox, who is a rather obvious parody of Music/BritneySpears. |
| 55 | ** "iCook" has Ricky Flame, a parody of Bobby Flay. |
| 56 | ** Terry Dingo is a parody of Walt Disney. |
| 57 | * In ''Series/{{Jessie}}'', the Ross family is a clear parody of Creator/BradPitt and Creator/AngelinaJolie's family. The Rosses have 3 adopted children, two of which are adopted from foreign countries and one biological one. All they need is biological twins. |
| 58 | * An episode of ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'' has a one-off gag involving two American pop stars who look suspiciously like Lady Gaga. She's apparently very recognizable across the globe. |
| 59 | * ''Series/KickinIt'' has Ricky Weaver, who's a very obvious parody of Music/JustinBieber. He also probably counts as a TakeThat to Bieber, since he turns out to secretly be a jerk. |
| 60 | * ''Series/LasVegas'': |
| 61 | ** In "Die Fast, Die Furious", Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme plays himself filming a movie at the Montecito hotel, and gets killed in a stunt gone wrong. The episode ends with the disclaimer "No actual Jean-Claude Van Dammes were killed in the filming of this episode." |
| 62 | ** Gavin Brunson, the first in the Montecito's revolving door of owners, is basically a {{Race Lift}}ed version of Howard Hughes. |
| 63 | * ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'': |
| 64 | ** District Attorney Adam Schiff (he of the [[SchiffOneLiner end-of-episode one-liners]]) was loosely based on real-life Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau. Later ''L&O'' DA Arthur Branch bears a strange resemblance to former Sen. Fred Thompson... waitaminute. |
| 65 | ** Given that "RippedFromTheHeadlines" has become ''Law and Order'''s raison d'etre over the years, this is another show with too many to list specifically, even if the "celebrities" are often defendants or victims in famous cases. |
| 66 | ** A few episodes of the spinoff ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' feature the reporter Faith Yancy, a thinly veiled version of Nancy Grace. The actual Nancy Grace appeared on ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''. |
| 67 | ** Larry King has appeared on ''SVU'' and ''Criminal Intent''. Talk show host "Barry Bishop" has appeared on the original show. |
| 68 | ** There was that one guy in ''SVU'', an eccentric billionaire toymaker, whose behavior resembles that of Music/MichaelJackson. |
| 69 | ** There was Jake Berlin, a "look but don't touch" pedophile that runs a website who seems to be based on real-life pedophile Jack [=McClellan=]. |
| 70 | ** Another ''SVU'' example: Oliver Gates, a defense attorney who tried to argue that his client was not responsible for committing a murder because he had been brainwashed into killing by a violent video game that resembled ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto''. Quite reminiscent of former Florida attorney Jack Thompson. |
| 71 | ** There's recurring character Gov. Donald Shalvoy, who started off as a thinly veiled version of Elliot Spitzer. |
| 72 | ** Then Chevy Chase as an [[Creator/MelGibson aging actor who goes on a drunken anti-Semitic tirade towards a female cop while being arrested.]] Then [[FromBadToWorse It Gets Worse]]... |
| 73 | ** In an episode based on the Pizzagate hoax, SVU encounters a scumbag internet conspiracy monger who cynically publishes BlatantLies to make advertising revenue off gullible wackos. The character's name was Don Ruca, but might as well have been "Alec Bones". |
| 74 | ** In one episode, a rapist who impregnates his victim calls in a Congressman and former doctor to testify that a woman cannot get pregnant during rape. Depicted as a politically motivated pseudoscience-peddling buffoon, he was a thinly veiled analogue for Todd Akin, even spouting Akin's infamous "legitimate rape" soundbite. |
| 75 | ** Lampshaded with an [[Music/ChrisBrown R&B singer accused of domestic abuse]] [[Music/{{Rihanna}} towards his girlfriend]]. Munch compares them. |
| 76 | ** The [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villain of the Week]] in one episode of ''SVU'' is a news anchor who has maintained a decades-long campaign of sexual harassment against multiple female coworkers, combining elements of Creator/BillOReilly and Roger Ailes. |
| 77 | ** Anna Nicole Smith inspired at least three ''Law and Order'' episodes. |
| 78 | *** Mariel Hemingway in "Remains of the Day" on the parent show. |
| 79 | *** Arija Bareikis in "Matrimony" on the parent show. |
| 80 | *** Creator/KristySwanson in "Bombshell" on ''Criminal Intent''. (And, as a bonus, Peter Bogdanovich as a Hugh Hefner clone who had already appeared in an earlier, unrelated episode.) |
| 81 | *** Let's not forget that Smith herself is an imitation of Creator/MarilynMonroe, making this a twofer. In "Bombshell", there's even a scene with Swanson performing a white-skirted MarilynManeuver. As [[Film/TropicThunder Kirk Lazarus]] might say, Swanson is a chick playing a chick based on a chick inspired by a chick. |
| 82 | * ''Series/LazyTown'' villain Robbie Rotten is clearly based on Creator/JimCarrey in some way, right down to his mannerisms. |
| 83 | * S'more-headed DJ "S'More Money" in the ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' episode "[[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS5E4AHeadOfHerTime A Head of Her Time]]" is Music/{{Marshmello}}, plus chocolate and graham crackers. |
| 84 | * ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': Played straight in one sense, averted in another. Series writer Creator/JohnRogers makes no secret of the fact that many of the cases of white-collar crime and political corruption that the heroes' targets are guilty of are based on real-life and usually very contemporary cases. However, since politicians, tycoons, and other public figures at that level are notoriously litigious and have all the money they need to fund their lawsuits, he's never actually identified who any of his villains are based on. (That's not even getting into the truly dangerous examples: the arc villain for Season 3 was an underworld banker who provided financing and money-laundering services for half the world's dictators, warlords, terrorists, and crime syndicates. Rogers explicitly stated him to be a composite of "two or three real people," but did not identify any of them, understandably given that such people would have much worse than lawyers on retainer). |
| 85 | * ''Series/LeverageRedemption'': In "[[Recap/LeverageRedemptionS1E2ThePanamanianMonkeyJob The Panamanian Monkey Job]]", [=COM4R4T=], the DJ who performs in a rat mask, is an obvious {{Expy}} of Music/{{Deadmau5}}. |
| 86 | * Creator/JasonAlexander played a not-at-all-disguised-but-not-well-pulled-off Tony Kornheiser in ''Series/ListenUp''. Malcolm Jamal-Warner did a better job doing Michael Wilbon. |
| 87 | * ''Series/MadamSecretary'''s title character Elizabeth [=McCord=] has a number of similarities with UsefulNotes/HillaryRodhamClinton (both middle-aged blonde professional women, serving as Secretary of State in a Democratic administration), though she comes off as somewhat more personable and populist. She also very clearly [[HappilyMarried has a very strong relationship with her husband Henry]], whereas Hillary's relationship with UsefulNotes/BillClinton is... questionable. {{Reconstruction}}, perhaps? |
| 88 | ** One episode featured a state visit from a brash, tough-talking Philippine president named Datu Andrade … which, as followers of current events at the time might have guessed, is a bit less than loosely based on the (since 2016) RealLife Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte. Naturally, Philippine government spokespersons filed a complaint, something a bit of a tradition in a country known to take very real offence at ill portrayals in foreign media. |
| 89 | * ''Series/TheMagician'': "The Illusion of Black Gold" features a reclusive oil billionaire named Victor Paradine who no one has seen in person in years. The character is very heavily based on Creator/HowardHughes. |
| 90 | * In the ''Series/MagnumPI'' episode "Round and Around", T.C. is listening to a radio talk show where [[http://www.drruth.com/ a cheerful German-accented old lady]] advises a frustrated wife to watch football with her husband, totally nude. |
| 91 | * ''Series/MimpiMetropolitan'': |
| 92 | ** Paranormal Limbong from episode 5 is clearly based on Indonesian magician Limbad. |
| 93 | ** ''Beset'' host Nikita Misahin from episode 23 is named after Nikita Mirzani. |
| 94 | ** The paranormal Roy Kogitushi who briefly appears in episode 54 is an obvious parody of real-life paranormal Roy Kiyoshi. |
| 95 | * ''Series/MissionImpossible'': Most spy fiction from this era leans heavily into the fantastical and escapist, with the heroes usually battling [[MadScientist mad scientists]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil capitalists]], or [[NebulousEvilOrganization Nebulous Evil Organizations]]. In contrast, ''Mission: Impossible'' adopted a heavily RippedFromTheHeadlines approach, which means many of the crew's targets (and some of their allies) were based on real-life figures. For a few examples: |
| 96 | ** Expies of UsefulNotes/FidelCastro and UsefulNotes/CheGuevara appear in multiple episodes, appropriately enough given how much of a bogeyman they were for the U.S. government at the time. Rollin and Paris each impersonate one of these expies in their respective introductory episodes. |
| 97 | ** On the other hand, the mark in the episode ''The Bargain'' was a deposed Caribbean dictator up to his eyeballs in ties to TheMafia, which is interested in using his island as a magnet for the gambling industry. A background that evokes [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgencio_Batista Fulgencio Batista]], the Cuban leader that Castro overthrew. |
| 98 | ** A benevolent example, Cardinal Vossek from the episode ''Old Man Out'' is a senior Catholic cleric who's been imprisoned by the communist government of his country for leading political opposition. The episode was based on the highly public imprisonment of Hungarian [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zsef_Mindszenty Cardinal Josef Mindszenty]]. |
| 99 | ** One that probably flew over most American viewers' heads even when the episode aired: the mark in ''Squeeze Play'', "Albert Zembra," is the most powerful mob boss in Marseille and the biggest supplier of narcotics to the American underworld. In other words, real-life Marseille kingpin Tani Zampa. |
| 100 | * Creator/NormMacDonald's title character in the short-lived ''A Minute with Stan Hooper'' is an obvious expy of [[Series/SixtyMinutes Andy Rooney]]. |
| 101 | * In ''Series/ModernFamily'', Haley starts working for a New Age snake oil lifestyle brand called NERP run by a vapid blonde actress. It's a clear parody of GOOP and Creator/GwynethPaltrow. |
| 102 | * In ''Series/MozartInTheJungle'', the backstory of chief conductor Rodrigo bears striking resemblances to that of Gustavo Dudamel, chief conductor of the LA Philharmonic: they're both musical prodigies from Latin American countries who went through a strict pedagogical system, and have become famous in the US and Europe, and they're both trained violinists. Beyond that, it breaks down. PlayedForLaughs in the show: whereas many famous musicians have appeared in the show as themselves (notably Lang Lang, Emanuel Ax and Joshua Bell), when Rodrigo in the show had a spot as guest conductor for the LA Philharmonic, Dudamel played a cameo as a stage manager, who joked with Rodrigo about how their current conductor was rubbish. |
| 103 | * Done to Series/MurphyBrown in-universe with a sitcom character blatantly based on her, a brassy female investigative journalist called Kelly Green. Murphy agrees to cameo on ''Kelly Green'' as an in-joke (despite advice not to from a cameoing Creator/ConnieChung). |
| 104 | * Creator/HaydenPanettiere plays what appears to be a parody of Music/TaylorSwift (complete with curls) in ''{{Series/Nashville}}'', although the lady herself says Taylor's "[[https://twitter.com/haydenpanettier/status/205413220096294912 a little nicer]]." [[spoiler: And Taylor doesn't have a drugged-out mother, a shoplifting charge, a shortlived marriage or a sex tape.]] She has, however, admitted to partly basing Juliette (her character) on Music/CarrieUnderwood - which eventually got the latter to say words to the effect of "[[http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/carrie-underwood-denies-hayden-panettieres-nashville-character-is-modeled-after-her-2013151 I don't see it.]]" Juliette's boyfriend[[spoiler:/brief husband]] Tim Tebow - er, ''Sean Butler'' is a God-fearing footballer with questionable skills. |
| 105 | * ''Series/NecessaryRoughness'' partially centers on temperamental showboat Terrence "T.K." King, a pro football wide receiver for the (fictional) New York Hawks. The similarities to temperamental showboat Terrell "T.O." Owens, a wide receiver best known for his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, are hard to ignore. Since the series is said to be based on a true story, this is probably by design. T.O. actually guest stars in the first season finale as T.K.'s biggest rival, providing ample LampshadeHanging. |
| 106 | * ''Series/TheNightmareYears'' is a mini-series about US journalist William Shirer in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. At one point Shirer sees a woman [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_%281938_film%29 setting up a movie camera in the Olympic stadium]] and asks if that's Leni Riefenstahl; he's told it's another female director -- who happens to parallel Riefenstahl exactly, including her adulation of Hitler, rivalry with propaganda minister Goebbels, and presence during the massacre of Polish civilians at Końskie. |
| 107 | * ''Series/TheNoddyShop'': Johnny Crawfish is a crawfish who likes to tell jokes and is commonly introduced with "Here's Johnny!" by an offscreen announcer. [[Creator/JohnnyCarson Sound familiar?]] |
| 108 | * ''Series/OdysseyFive''. At one stage the Odyssey team consult an abrasive sci-fi writer who is clearly based on Creator/HarlanEllison (who conceived the series). As they can't tell him the truth (that they've travelled back in time five years to avert the destruction of the Earth) the team pretends they're writing a science fiction novel. The sci-fi writer goes into detail on how cliched and scientifically implausible their 'novel' is. |
| 109 | * For some reason, Creator/TheBBC drama ''One by One'', based directly and officially on the memoirs of the well-known zoo vet David Taylor, names its main character Donald Turner. |
| 110 | * ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S4E18Monster Monster]]", the UsefulNotes/{{Serbia}}n dictator Slob Krupchek, who is described as the "[[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]] of the Balkans" due to his policy of ethnic cleansing resulting in the deaths of thousands, is one for UsefulNotes/SlobodanMilosevic. Krupchek's first name is presumably short for Slobodan. |
| 111 | * ''Series/{{Passions}}'': |
| 112 | ** An episode featured a character called Hanna Nicola Smythe, a female character who was clearly based on Anna Nicole Smith. |
| 113 | ** Grace Nancier, a transparent stand-in for Nancy Grace. Reportedly, Nancy Grace herself (a fan of the show) was approached to play the character, but didn't have the time to do so. |
| 114 | * The Creator/USANetwork miniseries ''Series/PoliticalAnimals'' has several of these with politicians. |
| 115 | ** Elaine Barrish Hammond is a thinly-veiled {{Expy}} of UsefulNotes/HillaryRodhamClinton and her husband former President Bud Hammond of UsefulNotes/BillClinton, with a dash of [[UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson LBJ]] for good measure, while the family dynamic is based on popular perceptions of the [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy Kennedy family]]. Bud is seen at one point having dinner with a certain bald, bespectacled adviser of his who bears a resemblance to James Carville. |
| 116 | ** Furthermore, ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers The Atlantic]]'' has drawn clear parallels between reporter Susan Berg, a fierce critic of Elaine Barrish Hammond, and Maureen Dowd, who famously used her column in ''The New York Times'' to call Hillary out on not calling out Bill on his infidelity. |
| 117 | * ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' |
| 118 | ** There were a few ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters of the week]] like this. Fang and Vampirus were both Creator/PeterLorre impressions, the Lizzinator was Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, and Dischordia was Creator/EthelMerman. |
| 119 | ** Radstar in ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'' who was a lot like Music/ElvisPresley. (Same pompador, with the King's distinctive accent and syntax.) |
| 120 | ** In ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'', we find out that the Pink Ranger is a fan of "[[Creator/JackieChan Frankie Chang]]" movies, and they go to see a filming (which ends up being a trap by the bad guys). |
| 121 | ** Sergeant Silverback in ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'': "SWAT" is a very bad impersonation of R. Lee Ermey. |
| 122 | * Several of the {{Whammy}}s in the game show ''Series/PressYourLuck'', as well as the [[Series/WhammyTheAllNewPressYourLuck 2002]] and 2019 revivals, are takes on famous figures. |
| 123 | ** The original had Whammy versions of Music/MichaelJackson, [[Music/CultureClub Boy George]], and Music/TinaTurner, among others. |
| 124 | ** The 2002 version, ''Whammy!'', had several, including a Whammy version of televangelist Tammy Faye Baker. |
| 125 | --->"Hi, this is Whammy Faye Baker here. I just wanted to thank you for your generous donations." *''fake blubbering''* |
| 126 | ** The 2019 version includes one who is based on [[Film/ThePrincessBride Inigo Montoya]]. |
| 127 | --->"Hello. My name is Whamigo Montoya. I stole your money. Prepare to cry." |
| 128 | * In ''Series/{{Quantico}}'', Claire Haas, the corrupt, well-connected Vice-President, is so obviously based on Hillary Clinton that the showrunners began to fear that they had contributed to Clinton's defeat in the 2016 election. |
| 129 | * ''Series/RadioEnfer'': |
| 130 | ** One episode features a talent agent named Ronnie Angello, whose name was inspired by René Angélil (Music/CelineDion's late husband and manager). |
| 131 | ** Another episode has Camille being able to get an interview with Marie-Thérèse Schmout, a world-renowned anthropologist who spent 30 years studying primates in Africa and who brings to mind Jane Goodall. |
| 132 | * ''Series/RoboCopTheSeries'' had a character named Umberto Ortega, who was basically a stand-in for Geraldo Rivera. The plot of the episode "Prime Suspect" features Bob and Bambi Taker, parody versions of the then-recently divorced Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, and revolves around [=RoboCop=] being framed for the murder of the former after the couple launch a crusade against Robo. |
| 133 | * An episode of the Flemish children's series ''Series/{{Rox}}'' features a scene in which the villainess ties up and gags a flamboyant pop diva named "[[Music/LadyGaga Lady Rock]]" in order to [[MuggedForDisguise impersonate her]]. |
| 134 | * It's pretty damn hard to believe that Elliot from ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' was ''not'' intentionally based on Creator/SylviaPlath. |
| 135 | * ''Series/SesameStreet'' has famous actress Meryl Sheep, country'n'western singers Polly Darton and Hammy Swynette, game show host Pat Playjacks, opera singer Placido Flamingo, Grouch business tycoon Donald Grump, and many more. They also did music video spoofs with instantly recognizable Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and Billy Idol lookalikes. |
| 136 | * In the ''Series/ShakeItUp'' episode "Age It Up", the 16-year-old pop sensation Justin Starr is an obvious {{Expy}} of Music/JustinBieber. |
| 137 | * ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' has a tendency to do this with its villains. Media magnate and sadistic blackmailer Charles Augustus Magnussen is blatantly media magnate UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch and celebrity serial killer Culverton Smith is even more obviously celebrity serial rapist Creator/JimmySavile. |
| 138 | * ''Series/ShiningTimeStation'': The mayor's opponent in "The Mayor Runs for Re-Election" is a parody of Richard Nixon. |
| 139 | -->'''Mr. Conductor:''' I just wish I knew more about the mayor's opponent. He's a very mysterious figure.\ |
| 140 | '''Stacy:''' I know. I've seen his picture, [[LampshadeHanging and he looks awfully familiar]]... |
| 141 | * In ''Series/{{Shooter}}'', Junior Bama, the StupidEvil, overeager son of Red Bama, who keeps trying to help his dad and usually ends up making things worse, seems to be a thinly-veiled expy of Donald Trump, Jr. |
| 142 | * The billionaires on ''Series/SiliconValley'' are very similar to real life figures in the tech industry. Russ Hanneman's three commas motif and his story about finding out he'd made his first billion are from Mark Cuban; Peter Gregory's scorn for college and his investing in a company that can track phones are similar to Peter Thiel (and his involvement in Palantir); Gavin Belson's comparison of billionaires to Jews in Nazi Germany comes from a statement made by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tom Perkins. |
| 143 | * ''Series/SisterBonifaceMysteries'' has one episode, "Queen of the Kitchen" featuring obvious caricatures of TV cooks Fanny and Johnny Cradock. Another, "Don't Try This at Home", revolves around a children's TV show based on ''Series/BluePeter'' and while the hosts are fairly generic, the show's editor (who ends up as BodyOfTheWeek) is more obviously based on ''Blue Peter'''s longtime editor Biddy Baxter. |
| 144 | * ''Series/{{Sliders}}'': In "[[Recap/SlidersS05E07ACurrentAffair A Current Affair]]", the U.S. President is Jefferson Williams, as in [[UsefulNotes/BillClinton William Jefferson Clinton]]. Making it even more obvious, Williams, like Clinton, was first elected in 1992. |
| 145 | * The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E21TheDrumhead The Drumhead]]" features the sociopathic father-fixated narcissistic Admiral Nora Satie, who was based on either Nancy Reagan ''or'' Margaret Thatcher, depending on which side of the Atlantic you live... |
| 146 | * The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E18AuthorAuthor Author, Author]]" has an InUniverse example with The Doctor's holonovel about the crew of the starship ''Vortex'', whose identities are clearly based on those of his fellow crewmates. The ''actions'' of his characters, which are absurdly evil, are not at all reflective of the ''Voyager'' crew, but The Doctor's friends are understandably concerned that readers back home will fail to grasp the distinction. |
| 147 | * ''Series/StElsewhere'': In "Family Ties", "Family Feud" and "Family Affair", the Endicotts, a famous, wealthy, political family from Massachusetts who are considered American royalty, are basically the Kennedys with a different name. Gordon Endicott is a senator who is seeking his party's nomination for the 1988 presidential election. There is NoPartyGiven but he is hinted to be a Democrat. However, the senator is assassinated, in the presence of his son Michael, in the St. Eligius chapel by a crazed man named Lennox who hates the Endicott family. His mother and the much loved family matriarch Augusta Endicott, who receives a quadruple bypass at the hospital, is based on Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Like the Kennedys, the Endicotts have suffered many tragedies. Gordon is the third of Augusta's children whom she has outlived as Richard died of pleurisy in 1936 and Franklin committed suicide in 1979. In "Family Ties", Gordon's son Douglas mentions that the family has a compound on Cape Cod. |
| 148 | * ''Series/{{Succession}}'': |
| 149 | ** The central Roy family are stand-ins for the Murdochs, with Logan and Kendall having clear Murdoch counterparts (Rupert and James, respectively). Daughter Shiv, meanwhile, is an amalgamation of Ivanka Trump and Elisabeth Murdoch, and Connor is a {{Trumplica}}. |
| 150 | ** Gil Eavis is the show's version of Bernie Sanders: a Jewish liberal senator who focuses on wealth inequality. |
| 151 | * London Tipton from ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' has a passing resemblance to Creator/ParisHilton, being an [[BrainlessBeauty airheaded, vain, image-obsessed]] hotel heiress named after a European capital. However, there are obvious differences; being a kids' show, there is no mention of... well... you know. London is also presented as a much more sympathetic character than some more direct parodies of Paris, with her negative traits being more down to stupidity and being spoiled than being a RichBitch. |
| 152 | * ''Series/TheSunnySideUpShow'': Queen Bee, played by host Kaitlin Becker, is a parody of Music/{{Beyonce}}. |
| 153 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': |
| 154 | ** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS04E12CrissAngelIsADouchebag Criss Angel Is a Douchebag]]", Criss Angel never shows up, but the show makes fun of him through a character named Jeb Dexter, an incredibly arrogant magician who bears an incredible resemblance to Criss Angel and does card tricks that are staged like fake demon possessions (which really upsets Dean). He dies horribly, of course. The show also makes fun of him, quietly, by ''naming the episode [[TakeThat Criss Angel Is A Douche Bag]]'' |
| 155 | ** In season 6, there's a vampire named "Creator/{{Robert|Pattinson}}" and the teenage girl named "Creator/{{Kristen|Stewart}}", as well as a series of totally-not-''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' books that Sam and Dean [[YourVampiresSuck rip the living bejeezus out of]]. The episode is (brilliantly) titled "[[Recap/SupernaturalS06E05LiveFreeOrTwiHard Live Free or Twihard]]". |
| 156 | ** Supposedly, Ruby was a character who was written for Creator/KristenBell, but she denied the role, which is why the first Ruby looks ''very'' similar to her. |
| 157 | * ''Series/{{Swarm}}'': Ni'Jah, the subject of fan Dre's obsession, is a fictitious version of Music/{{Beyonce}}. They wear similar clothing; there are references to her having a wealthy rapper husband and a famous if underrated singer sister. The show's bee motif may also be a reference to Beyonce's {{Fan Community Nickname}}, the Beyhive. |
| 158 | * In the French Canadian series ''Series/{{Temps de chien|2023}}'', Pierre-François Legendre plays the role of Hugo Rivard, the host of a morning show titled ''Soleil Matin'' ("Sun Morning"). His name sounds like Gino Chouinard, the then-host of the Quebec morning show ''Salut Bonjour'' ("Hi Hello"). |
| 159 | * ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': |
| 160 | ** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E6TheMirror The Mirror]]", Ramos Clemente is a not-so-subtle {{Expy}} of UsefulNotes/FidelCastro while Tabal's appearance is clearly based on that of UsefulNotes/CheGuevara. The entire episode, which was made between the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, is one long TakeThat at Castro. In his closing narration, Rod Serling even says that "any resemblance to tyrants living or dead is hardly coincidental." Funnily enough, General De Cruz mentions both Castro and his predecessor General Fulgencio Batista, the former right-wing dictator of UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}} on whom De Cruz himself is based, in the first scene. |
| 161 | ** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S4E18TheBard The Bard]]", Rocky Rhodes, a temperamental [[MethodActing Method actor]] who is well known for starring in ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'', is a parody of Creator/MarlonBrando. Creator/WilliamShakespeare is disgusted by his manner and appearance and punches him when Rhodes asks him what he has against Stanislavski. In playing the character, Creator/BurtReynolds imitated Brando's distinctive voice and speech patterns. |
| 162 | * ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S3E18 Street of Shadows]]", Frederick Perry is dating the famous film star [[Creator/LanaTurner Lana]] [[Creator/ElizabethTaylor Taylor]]. |
| 163 | * In the chapter "That Wrestling Show" of the Season 1 of ''Series/That70sShow'' there's a [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] show in the town where the protagonists live. The great star invited was Rocky Johnson, played by his son [[Wrestling/TheRock Dwayne Johnson]]. Also, the other wrestlers in ring (all of them uncredited) are Wrestling/KenShamrock, [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Jeff and]] Wrestling/MattHardy. |
| 164 | * ''Series/Tyrant2014'': [[{{Qurac}} Abuddin]] and the Al-Fayeed dictatorship are largely based on the Syrian Al-Assad dictatorship and its civil war (at one point, Abbudin is said to be bordering Syria). Bassam is a doctor living abroad who only becomes the new President after the unexpected death of his older brother Jamal, much like Bashar al-Assad and his older brother Bassel. Meanwhile, Jamal and Bassam's personalities, with Jamal as the impulsive, violent brother and Bassam as the calm, responsible one seem to be modelled after Uday and Qusay Hussein. |
| 165 | * ''Series/TheUndeclaredWar'': Russia Global Today is clearly based on Russia Today, or RT, a Russian news outlet that in real life has also been accused of being nothing more than Putin's propaganda, just like what's shown here. |
| 166 | * In the fourth season opener of ''Series/TheUnit'', the team has to save President-Elect Benjamin Castille, who appears to be a Latino version of Obama. By this logic, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden are killed by terrorists. |
| 167 | * [[BlackShirt Lady Persie]] from the 2010 revival of ''Series/UpstairsDownstairs'' was very likely inspired by Unity Mitford. |
| 168 | * ''Series/UpstartCrow'': |
| 169 | ** Will Kemp is a clear parody of Creator/RickyGervais, especially Gervais's portrayal of [[Series/TheOfficeUK David Brent]] and Gervais's outspoken dislike of the traditional multi-cam SitCom. |
| 170 | ** Wolf Hall is a clear parody of Mark Rylance and his performance in the series ''Series/WolfHall''. The series parodies Rylance Anti-Stratfordian beliefs with Greene convincing Hall that Shakespeare didn't write his plays. Privately Greene remarks that "Just because an actor can look intelligent, and act intelligent does not mean he IS intelligent!" |
| 171 | * ''Series/{{Voyagers}}'': Mary Murphy, who appears in the pilot, is obviously a stand-in for Mary Pickford, given that she's the most famous actress of the silent era. She was also a close friend of Douglas Fairbanks, to whom Mary Pickford was married from 1920 to 1936. (Funnily enough, Mary Pickford was later mentioned in "Destiny's Choice".) |
| 172 | * ''Series/TheWestWing'' |
| 173 | ** In the fourth season, Jed Bartlet is challenged for the presidency by Robert Ritchie, a conservative Republican and governor of Florida who bears a resemblance to [[StrawCharacter parodical exaggerations]] of a certain President of the United States -- populist tendencies, right-wing views and catchy slogans coupled with a tendency to garble his words and stick his foot in his mouth when speaking. ''Series/TheWestWing'' production team being somewhat on the political left, he was promptly trounced by the intellectual, shrewd Bartlet. This approaches TruthInTelevision -- Bartlet is essentially an idealized Clinton, and Clinton did win handily in both of his races. Remove the sex scandals and add a Nobel prize, and this is wholly reasonable. |
| 174 | ** Also, the writers based late-season presidential candidate Matt Santos partially off of Barack Obama (combined with other sources, as Obama had never served in the military, unlike Santos) and Republican Candidate Arnie Vinick has been admitted to be a thinly veiled version of John [=McCain=]. As the writers were explicit in pointing out during the real-world election, they were aiming more for the 2000 version of [=McCain=] than the 2008 one, however. Which makes a whole lot of sense considering the last episode aired in 2006. |
| 175 | ** Several other celebrities/politicians are given analogues in the ''West Wing'' universe; the list is probably too extensive to bother enumerating in detail. However, Josh Lyman more or less being [[MemeticBadass/RealLife Rahm Emanuel]] is worth mentioning. |
| 176 | * ''Series/WhoIsAmerica'': [=OMGWhizzBoyOMG's=] depiction as a seemingly friendly and childlike Nordic [=YouTuber=] with neofascist political views pegs him as an unflattering riff on WebVideo/PewDiePie, who became embroiled in controversy the year before the show started production over a stunt where he paid a couple of Fiverr users to say an antisemitic epithet and an incident where he called another player the n-word on-stream. |
| 177 | * ''Series/WithoutATrace'' features a blonde heiress known for her partying and sex tape as a VictimOfTheWeek. This was in 2005, when every TV show had a Paris Hilton ripoff. |
| 178 | * During the second season of the 1990s newer version of ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'' featured an appearance from an ultra-conservative radio personality named Lash Rambo, a thinly-veiled Expy of Rush Limbaugh. |
| 179 | * ''Series/TheXFiles'' has an episode, "[[Recap/TheXFilesS06E19TheUnnatural The Unnatural]]", about a power-hitting Negro League baseball catcher who plays for the Grays, is compared to Babe Ruth, and is named Josh. Any similarities to Josh Gibson are not coincidental at all. Mulder even wears a replica of his real Homestead Grays jersey in the final scene. |
| 180 | * Sam from ''Series/YoureTheWorst'' is based on Tyler, The Creator. |
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