Line #95 ShowWithinAShow/LiveActionTV


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6	[[ShowWithinAShow Shows Within Shows]] in live-action TV.
7	----
8	!!Characters involved in production
9	!!!In general:
10	* Some shows are set in a radio station and have ''multiple'' shows on the schedule.
11	** ''Series/ImAlanPartridge'' follows the fallen former TV talk show host Alan Patridge and his radio show ''Alan in the Morning'' on Radio Norwich in the UK.
12	** ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'' -- It's a music station, so all the "shows" are DJ patter.
13	*** Although two actual shows air, Reverend "Little Ed" Pembrook's ''Church of the Mighty Struggle'' and Sparky Anderson's short-lived sports talk show.
14	*** Herb Tarlek and family also appear in an episode of ''Real Families''.
15	** ''Series/{{NewsRadio}}'' -- Various news segments.
16	** ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' -- Frasier's call-in psychiatric show, and more rarely, Bulldog's sports and Gil's food criticism. And a variety of one-timers. One episode even has a TenLittleMurderVictims murder mystery, "Nighmare Inn", which members of the station are performing in. However Frasier's over-directing and changing of the script turns it into a farce, especially when Niles gets sick of it and kills of most of the characters and him, leaving Frasier the only one left.
17	** ''Chris in the Morning'' and Maurice's show in ''Series/NorthernExposure''.
18	** Martin's show in ''Series/{{Martin}}'' (and his ''Word on the Street'' TV program in later seasons).
19	** Larry's show on ''Hello Larry''.
20	* ''The Big Leap'' show in ''Series/TheBigLeap''.
21	* ''The Dennis [=DuPree=]'' show in ''Hope and Gloria''.
22	* ''The Alan Brady Show'' within ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow''.
23	** Which also exists, albeit long off the air, in ''Series/MadAboutYou''.
24	* ''Wake Up, San Francisco'' within ''Series/FullHouse''.
25	* ''Tool Time'' within ''Series/HomeImprovement''.
26	* The eponymous ''[[Series/TheLarrySandersShow Larry Sanders Show]]''.
27	* ''The Morning Show'' in ''Series/TheMorningShow''.
28	* ''Sports Night'' within ''Series/SportsNight''.
29	* ''Series/{{Lateline}}'' was another example where the show and the show within the show have the same title. The show within the show was a nighttime news program similar to ''Series/{{Dateline}}'', only less professionally done.
30	* ''The WJM Six O'Clock News'' (and also ''The Happy Homemaker'') within ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow''.
31	* ''Vermont Today'' within ''Series/{{Newhart}}''.
32	* ''Franchise/TheMuppets'' have had multiple shows about the production of a show, with backstage disasters being the focus of what was shown. And while there isn't a "Puppet show" category, they do have live action guest stars.
33	* ''FYI'' within ''Series/MurphyBrown''.
34	** And ''Murphy In the Morning'' in the 2018 revival.
35	* ''News Night with Will [=McAvoy=]'' and ''TMI'' on ''Series/TheNewsroom''.
36	* The newscast on Ken Finkleman's ''The Newsroom'', implied to be the Creator/{{CBC}}'s Toronto supper-hour newscast.
37	* Another David Lynch/Mark Frost show, ''On the Air'', revolved around the production of the fictional ''The Lester Guy Show''.
38	* ''Series/{{SCTV}}'', a.k.a. ''Second City Television'', an early-1980s sketch-comedy series set in a low-budget TV station that mainly produced and showed rip-offs or spoofs of real TV shows and films -- such as ''High-Q, Chariots of Eggs, The Days of the Week, Mel's Rock Pile, Monster Chiller Horror Theatre'', etc.
39	* ''Series/YouCantDoThatOnTelevision'' has a show-within-a-show that shares the same title.
40	* ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' (originally ''The Girlie Show'') within ''Series/ThirtyRock''.
41	** Also from ''Series/ThirtyRock'', the episode and reality show 'MILF Island' provides an example of all 4 types - Jack is the executive producer, the TGS staff are all huge fans, it's a major plot point as Jack attempts to coerce Liz into writing the pilot for the show's [[BreakoutCharacter breakout star]] Deborah, and parallels between Liz and Deborah are made throughout the show, much to Liz's dismay.
42	** One episode shows a few clips of an Creator/{{ESPN}} parody called ''Sports Shouting'', on which Tracy is apparently a frequent guest. It's just [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin four sports commentators]] [[ShoutingFreeForAll yelling at each other all at once]].
43	** One episode has a sleep deprived Tracy Jordan outright shout "[[BreakingTheFourthWall We're all on a Show Within a Show! My real name is Tracy Morgan!]]"
44	* There was a short-lived American {{sitcom}} named ''Series/AllIsForgiven'', which was about the writers and actors of a soap opera. The soap opera was also named ''All Is Forgiven''.
45	* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'':
46	** The Bluth family takes part in a mock trial during the aptly named ''Mock Trial with J. Reinhold''.
47	** There's also ''Scandalmakers'', a shoddily narrated and acted programme which does a [[StylisticSuck hilariously bad]] episode about the Bluth family.
48	!!!Individual series:
49	* Spanish sitcom ''7 Vidas'' had Diana Freire (Anabel Alonso's character) starring in amusingly bad teen-oriented soap opera ''Aulas vacías, corazones llenos'' ("Empty classrooms, full hearts").
50	* The PanelGame ''[[Series/AtMidnight @midnight]]'' had a running gag involving guests claiming to have been filming for another show called ''Tuxedo Guys'', with everyone subsequently adding more bizarre details about the show as it progressed, and apparent spin-offs such as ''Cowboy Guys'' and ''Matador Guys''.
51	* ''Series/{{Barry}}'': Sally creates an autobiographical series called ''Joplin'', named after the city in Missouri she grew up in.
52	* ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' has the episode "Rescue Bay" in its 4th season. A writer/producer is inspired by watching lifeguards on the beach saving people and decides to shoot a [[SelfParody tacky]] {{Pilot}} sequence with characters based on the in-verse characters.
53	* ''Series/TheBoys2019'': There are multiple films and at least one TV show in the series universe starring or just about superheroes. Most are superhero movies akin to real ones you'd see. Another though was a {{police procedural}} with a young superhero named Mesmer who used his mind reading power to help solve crimes.
54	* Creator/{{GSN}} (formerly Game Show Network) briefly had a series called ''Burt Luddin's Love Buffet'' which was a real relationship game show (much like ''Series/TheNewlywedGame'') which after each segment, would go backstage to show host Luddin (played by John Cervenka) talking to his jaded, often highly sarcastic staff...it didn't last too long.
55	* ''Series/Castle2009'': The title character is a DetectiveLiterature author who has two major series that we know of that play significant roles in the plot. The series begins shortly after he killed off his previous protagonist Derrick Storm after getting bored with writing him, then, after a SerialKiller stages three murders to look like scenes from the Derrick Storm novels, he gets involved with the police investigation as a consultant and uses Detective Kate Beckett (a fan of his other books, [[{{Tsundere}} though just try getting her to admit it]]) as the inspiration for his new protagonist Literature/NikkiHeat (which was [[{{Defictionalization}} turned into]] a TieInNovel series). This book series in turn was adapted into a film later in the show, though it ultimately went DirectToVideo due to TroubledProduction.
56	* 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.
57	** "Troy and Abed in the Morning" is an example, and subversion in that it doesn't actually exist.
58	** Abed talked about appearing as an extra on real life show-within-a-show ''Series/CougarTown''. And indeed, Abed's actor Danny Pudi is a very visible extra in the background of one scene in ''Cougar Town''.
59	* ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm''. They have a season where they're producing a reunion show for ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', which used to be a real show. Another season has Larry David star in ''Theatre/TheProducers'', which, as mentioned below, has a show within a show (''Springtime for Hitler''), and Creator/MelBrooks is secretly trying to make ''Theatre/TheProducers'' a flop in itself. Furthermore, the second season deals with Larry trying to get a show off the ground (first starring Creator/JasonAlexander and later Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus) that would revolve around the star [[AsHimself playing a version of themselves]] [[ActorAllusion trying to find success after the end of]] ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''.
60	* ''Robbin' Hood'' in ''Series/{{Curtains}}''.
61	* ''Series/DeadSet'' is a miniseries in which the entire plot is about zombies attacking the real ''Big Brother'' house while the show is being filmed. All the survivors are contestants or employees of ''Big Brother''.
62	* 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 Creator/VictoriaRowell(Rowell played both Drucilla on YR and Amanda on ''Diagnosis'').
63	** In another episode, a TV show is being filmed in the hospital.
64	** Another episode involved the murder of the "Masked Magician" on the set of his reality-TV show where he revealed how stage magicians perform their tricks.
65	* Simon Brimmer's radio program ''The Casebook of Simon Brimmer'' features prominently in several episodes of ''Series/ElleryQueen''.
66	* ''When The Whistle Blows'', Andy Millman's sitcom in series 2 of ''{{Series/Extras}}''.
67	* ''Silverstone'' within ''Series/TheFamousJettJackson''. Gets weird in the wrap-up TV movie where a freak accident causes Jett and Silverstone to swap places, revealing that Silverstone's reality exists but is dependent on the show in Jett's world (i.e. a teen actor is trying to be a superspy, while a superspy who never had a childhood is trying to be a regular teenager). And the producers of the show have just decided to kill off the star character in the GrandFinale.
68	* The first series of ''Series/FrenchAndSaunders'' followed the (fictional) unbelievably low-budget cringey 'French & Saunders Show' that consisted of frequent [[EpicFail epic fails]].
69	* A real show-within-a-show: ''Series/{{Friends}}''' Joey Tribbiani was a cast member on the soap opera ''Series/DaysOfOurLives''.
70	** Along with several less real examples (like ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.'' and ''Freud!'').
71	* ''Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace'' is a strange sort-of inverted example. The focus of the show is on the eponymous TV show ''Darkplace'', while occasionally cutting away to commentary from the (equally fictional) Garth Marenghi and the actors playing the characters.
72	* ''Series/GlassMask'' is a series about acting, so naturally includes a large number of these, some real plays, some created for the story (and one created for the story which was later turned into a Noh play of its own). Also includes a performance of ''A Midsummer's Night Dream'', so technically includes an example of a show within a show within a show.
73	* ''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 ''Franchise/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''.
74	* ''Series/GLOW2017'' is a multiple example of the trope. The show itself is about creating a fictionalized version of the real ''Wrestling/{{GLOW}}'' TV show. One of the stars, Debbie Eagan used to be in a soap opera called "Paradise Cove" until being written out during pregnancy. The director hired for GLOW, Sam Sylvia is a director of a number of B horror movies, which also often starred Cherry Bang and her husband Keith who work on the GLOW production as well, and we see clips of two of them; "Death Disco" and "Gina The Machina". At the end of season one, Cherry Bang is hired for a lead role in a new police procedural, "Chambers and Gold", but as she has trouble oing dialogue, Sam pulls her back to GLOW, while pitching the network to rework "Chambers and Gold" to be just about the other partner and "call it something like "Good As Gold"". Season two, episode eight "The Good Twin" is a broadcast version of the in-universe GLOW [[spoiler:being watched by the mother and step-brother of teenage runaway Justine who spot her in one of the comedy skits]]
75	* ''Series/GrossePointe'' has show-within-a-show as its central premise, and advertised it as "''Grosse Pointe'' is a comedy about a drama called ''Grosse Pointe''" or something to that effect.
76	* ''[[Series/{{Highlander}} Highlander the Series]]'': The episode "The Return of Amanda" is set partly in Berlin, Germany in the mid-1930s, where Amanda is working as a singer in a sleazy nightclub.
77	* In ''Series/HimitsuNoHanazono2007'', this is a given since the rom com focuses on the life of an overworked manga editor, but the most prominent is Ninpo Arabesque, an action manga about a MagicalGirl kunoichi that uses ballet while wearing a maid outfit.
78	* The ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' episode "Imi loko ka 'uhane" is presented as an episode of an Creator/OprahWinfrey-esque program known as ''The Savannah Walker Show'' filming on-location in Hawaii, in which Walker (Aisha Tyler) presents a behind-the-scenes look at Five-0 that gets sidetracked by a murder investigation.
79	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' had Lily's terrible terrible play with allegorical characters such as Greed. Apparently this play somehow then became a Show Within A Show itself.
80	** Also ''JustForFun/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.
81	** Robin works on/anchors assorted news programs throughout the series, which are semi-frequently shown--''Metro News One'', the Japanese news show, and now ''Come On, Get Up New York!'' are all in-universe shows.
82	** As a teenager Robin was on the kids' show ''Space Teens'', which exaggerates InnocentInnuendo.
83	* ''Series/ICarly'' -- Friends Carly, Sam and Freddie run their own webshow.
84	* Ricky Ricardo's band stage shows in ''Series/ILoveLucy''.
85	* On ''Series/{{Intimate}}'', main characters Bruno and Oskar star in the crime drama ''SOKO Undercover'', a fictional spin-off of the real ''Series/{{SOKO}}'' franchise (SOKO stands for Sonderkommission, special investigative team) that airs on the German public broadcasting channel ZDF. The real ''SOKO'' shows are always named after the cities they take place in, however (e.g. ''Series/SOKOPotsdam'', also known as ''Luna and Sophie'' in English).
86	* ''Series/IrmaVep'': The series is about remaking a classic French serial, ''Film/LesVampires''.
87	* RealityShow example: The eponymous show of ''Series/ISurvivedAJapaneseGameShow'' is given its own title, ''Hai! Majide'', just for effect.
88	* In season 4’s "War Stories" of ''Series/{{JAG}}'', Admiral Chegwidden while on leave gets persuaded by a Hollywood producer to act as technical advisor on the movie “Fields of Gold” which is a navy-themed action adventure with a court-martial. Chegwidden is a FishOutOfWater as the [[ThisIsReality “real navy”]] differs quite a lot from the [[SelfParody “reel navy”]], and HilarityEnsues.
89	* ''Series/{{Justice}}'' has ''American Crime'', which seems like it's half ''America's Most Wanted'' and half celebrity gossip show.
90	* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' had an episode that opened on the set of a "Jerry Springer"-esque TV talk show. The show became the setting for the murder-of-the-week, broadcast live on the air.
91	* ''Series/TheLWord'': ''Lez Girls'', Jenny's movie based on her life along with the other main characters. Many of them are very annoyed by their unflattering fictional counterparts.
92	* ''Mama Malone'', a short-lived CBS comedy that was scheduled to air in 1982, but got pushed back to early 1984, had Lila Kaye (an English actress) in the title role of a cook who hosted a cooking show called ''Cooking with Mama Malone'' (the title character's name was pronounced [[PretentiousPronunciation Malo-nee]]) on the fourth floor of her Brooklyn apartment; it was also one of the few shows that were produced by people who were not known for such shows (Jack Barry and Dan Enright were the producers here, in association with Columbia Pictures Television).
93	* ''Series/MimpiMetropolitan'':
94	** Bybyr Agency sends extras (including Prima) to several soap, most prominently ''Ada Azab Dalam Cerita'' where Juna and Alexi manage to get recurring roles.
95	** Melani works at Hits TV where she is involved in the production of the talk show ''Alexi Show'', cooking show ''Outdoor Chef'' and reality show ''The Proposal''.
96	* A slightly odd version of this trope was the short-lived British show ''Series/MovingWallpaper''. It was set in the production offices of a show entitled ''Series/EchoBeach''. What sets this one apart is that ''Echo Beach'' was actually shot as well, and an ''Echo Beach'' episode would air after the ''Moving Wallpaper'' episode concerned with the production of that episode. ''Moving Wallpaper'' actually outlived ''Echo Beach'', being the only one of the two to get a second series, which centred around the making of a "zombie show" called ''Renaissance''. ''Renaissance'' was also broadcast in its own right, but only as a single half-hour pilot.
97	* ''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.
98	** Don't forget several appearances of the characters on in-universe episodes of ''Series/{{COPS}}''.
99	* In ''Series/TheNewNormal'', Bryan is co-creator and showrunner of a teen show called ''Sing'', which is implied to be very similar to ''Series/{{Glee}}''.
100	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'':
101	** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S3E18ASpecialEdition A Special Edition]]", the journalist Donald Rivers presents a news magazine show called ''The Whole Truth''.
102	** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S6E1JudgmentDay Judgment Day]]", the titular ImmoralRealityShow airs on the Justice Channel and features the relatives of murder victims being given 24 hours to hunt their loved one's killer. Declan [=McMahon=], who was framed for murder by the producer Jack Parson, described it as "voyeuristic" and a "moral outrage".
103	* The play written by the Marquis de Sade and performed by the asylum inmates in ''Film/{{Quills}}''.
104	* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' is framed as a men's advice and magazine show, with the men of Possum Lodge offering "helpful" advice, only to usually end up with disastrous results.
105	* Season 4 of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' had Jerry and George writing a sitcom pilot called ''Jerry'', in a parody of the creation of ''Seinfeld'' itself by Jerry Seinfeld and Creator/LarryDavid, which starred (fictional) Jerry as (even more fictional) himself. The season finale showed a variety of main and supporting characters watching the pilot.
106	* ''Series/SlingsAndArrows'' is about the actors and production personnel at a Canadian Shakespeare festival. Each season they put on a different play (''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', and ''Theatre/KingLear''), and the themes of the play [[PlotParallel relate back to]] the main backstage plots.
107	* This is the whole point of the NBC show ''Series/{{Smash}}'', which is about the behind-the-scenes aspects of writing, producing, and performing a new Broadway musical. Naturally scenes from said musical make it into the show.
108	* ''Series/SoRandom'' and ''Mackenzie Falls'' within ''Series/SonnyWithAChance''. After the actual show's 2nd season ''So Random'' overtook it with Sonny having left and Chad taking her place.
109	* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Christopher Moltesanti aspires to be a writer. He eventually completes ''JustForFun/{{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.
110	* A recurring character in ''Series/StargateSG1'' who knows about the Stargate Program creates a campy science fiction series called ''Wormhole X-Treme!'', based on SG-1, which the US Air Force decides to allow because it creates PlausibleDeniability in the event of a security leak. As the real show is centered around SG-1, the "fake" show is eerily similar to the real one, and this allows the show to poke fun at itself and at the television industry in general. It also includes numerous cameo performances from the crew.
111	* A short-lived 1989 ABC series called ''Studio 5-B'' was about a fictional morning show of the same name; it only lasted for 3 episodes, from Jan. 24 to Feb. 5, 1989.
112	* Creator/AaronSorkin's one-season drama ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' is about the lives of the producers of a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''-style SketchShow.
113	* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' they got caught up in another group of ghost hunters show "Ghostfacers".
114	** 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''. "Doctor Sexy" is a long running example mentioned in several episodes.
115	** 6.15 "The French Mistake", in which Sam and Dean get sent [[spoiler: into an alternate universe where they are actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who subsequently play the characters Sam and Dean in Supernatural. Their castmate is Misha Collins, their bosses are Eric Kripke and Sera Gamble, their director is Bob Singer...]]
116	* A short-lived semi-documentary UK Saturday Morning Kids' Show on the subject of TV production, ''Series/TeleGanticMegaVision'', featured its obligatory game show section as if it was an independent production for the channel TGMV, and not a segment within the main programme.
117	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'':
118	** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E4TheSixteenMillimeterShrine The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine]]", Barbara Jean Trenton starred in ''Farewell Without Tears'' in 1933 and ''A Night in Paris'' in 1934.
119	** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E23AWorldOfDifference A World of Difference]]", Gerald Raigan plays the title character in the film ''The Private World of Arthur Curtis''.
120	** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E20ShowdownWithRanceMcGrew Showdown with Rance McGrew]]", the title character stars in a popular [[TheWestern Western TV series]] about [[TheDanza a heroic marshal of the same name]].
121	** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S4E18TheBard The Bard]]", Creator/WilliamShakespeare writes the script for a television film called ''The Tragic Cycle'', which is credited to Julius Moomer.
122	** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S5E23QueenOfTheNile Queen of the Nile]]", the immortal woman starred in the SilentMovie ''Queen of the Nile'' in about 1920, under the name Constance Taylor, and in its [[TheRemake 1940 remake]], under the name Pamela Morris. In the interim, she starred in ''Trails West'' in 1935.
123	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E18 Cold Reading]]", Milo Trent is cast as the title character's younger brother Timmy in the UBS radio series ''Dick Noble, African Explorer''.
124	* ''Series/Unreal2015'': They produce on a dating reality show called ''Everlasting'' that is obviously ''inspired'' by ''The Bachelor''.
125	* ''Series/WildPalms'': The ''Church Windows'' show Codie plays in.
126
127
128	----
129	!!Characters are fans
130
131	* In the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Birthday", Cordelia is shown an AlternateTimeline where she didn't meet Angel and has her own TV show, the ''Series/{{Friends}}''-a-like ''Cordy!''
132	** Also, the kids' puppet show ''Smile Time'' in the episode of the same name.
133	* Soap opera ''La despechada'' had fans in both ''La sopa boba'' and ''Series/AquiNoHayQuienViva''.
134	* ''Rebo and Zooty'' and ''ISN News'' on ''Series/BabylonFive''.
135	* The residents of ''Series/{{Brookside}}'' would often watch ''The Magic Rabbits''.
136	* ''Series/{{Community}}'': ''JustForFun/InspectorSpacetime'', an affectionate Doctor Who parody - and ''Cougarton Abbey'', a fictional British progenitor of ''Cougar Town'' in the style of Downton Abbey were mentioned on the season 3 premiere.
137	** WordOfGod has stated that ''Series/DoctorWho'' exists in the Community universe, but is an inferior rip off of Inspector Spacetime.
138	** Community also has the notoriously terrible Kickpuncher movies.
139	* ''Series/DearWhitePeople'' has ''Defamation'', a parody of ''Series/{{Scandal}}'', and ''Prince O'Palities'', a parody of ''Series/{{Empire}}''.
140	%%* ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'' has several. Actually it has examples for each of all four types of this trope.
141	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has a superhero called the Karkus, from the ''Hourly Telepress'' in Zoe's home era, the 21st century. He appears in [[TrappedInTVLand the Land of Fiction]].
142	* ''Series/EerieIndiana'': In "Scariest Home Videos", Simon's younger brother Harley watches ''Bloody Revenge of the Mummy's Curse''.
143	* ''Series/{{House}}'': Greg House is a fan of the medical soap opera ''Prescription Passion''.
144	* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', ''JustForFun/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.
145	* Each season of ''Series/{{Insecure}}'' has a new fake show, with the first season having a reality show about prison. The second season has the SoapWithinAShow ''Due North'', which appeared to be ''Scandal'' during slavery, and the third season technically has two, with ''Kev'yn'' (a parody of 90s {{black sitcom}}s such as ''Series/{{Martin}}'') and its reboot.
146	* ''Series/IZombie'' features zombie medical examiner, Liv Moore, as a major fangirl of the supernatural teen drama ''Zombie High'' ever since becoming a zombie herself.
147	* The ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' episode "Tomorrow" has two nanny sisters and suspects be fans of a soap opera named ''In The Shadow of Tomorrow''. [[spoiler: Several plotlines are reenacted by the girls, including poisoning one of their young clients and manipulating a another's employer in a father-daughter bond.]]
148	* 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]] 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}}''.
149	** It's mentioned that she's a guest star and "we all know what happens to guest stars". Strangely, this meta joke falls flat, because while they were originally planned to be guest stars the actors who played Nikki and Paulo were instead billed as main cast [[spoiler:until their characters died]].
150	** Hurley describes the show and mentions a villain whose "identity has been shrouded in mystery for four seasons," who turned out to be someone the audience thought was a good guy. This inspired fans of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' to hypothesize that an original Lostie will turn out to be the BigBad.
151	** Which is, in a way, what happened.
152	* The ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'' has Resistance Radio, which is the voice of the resistance, broadcasting an alternate viewpoint to that of the Nazi and Japanese propaganda. Fans can listen to it at the Resistance Radio [[http://www.resistanceradio.com/ website]].
153	* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'':
154	** Al Bundy is a big fan of ''Psycho Dad'', and went so far as to travel to Washington D.C. to complain to Congress when [[StrawFeminist Marcy]] had it cancelled.
155	** Peggy Bundy is seen watching ''Psycho Mom'' in a later episode.
156	* ''The Valley'' within ''Series/TheOC''.
157	* On ''Series/{{OZ}},'' the prisoners are often shown watching ''Miss Sally's Schoolyard'' and lusting after the buxom children's show host. Also a type 3 in that stalking the buxom show host is why Busmalis [[spoiler: gets caught and returned to Oz after an escape attempt.]]
158	* Young Sam Beckett who grew up to travel through time on ''Series/QuantumLeap'' watched ''Time Patrol'' as a boy, and in fact got his idea of the string theory of time travel from its star, Captain Galaxy. (Also counts as types 1 and 3.)
159	* ''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!". A later episode gives us 'Victory South', a drama set after a Southern victory in the American Civil War. Rimmer apparently enoyed for having a character which was just a blonde woman with no personality and was disappointed when told that she would have been killed in the season he was planning to watch.
160	* Various fake movies are mentioned in ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' the most [[MemeticMutation memetic]] being ''Rochelle, Rochelle'' ("a young girl's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk") and the thriller ''Chunnel'' ("EVERYONE OUT OF THE CHUNNEL!").
161	* ''Tides of the Heart'' was a soap opera that was originally just watched by the characters on ''Series/ShortlandStreet'', at least until it was revealed that a character who had previously been PutOnABus was now the star of the show. The aforementioned character's best friend eventually received a gig on the show as a writer, though this all occurred offscreen.
162	* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', several characters, including Lex Luthor, are fans of a superhero comic called ''Warrior Angel''. In the episode "Action", Clark Kent allows a film crew working on a live-action adaptation of ''Warrior Angel'' to film on location on his farm, but then has to save the day when a disgruntled fan tries to murder the female lead. In the episode "Warrior", a young fan gets transformed into Warrior Angel himself thanks to an enchanted comic.
163	* Dean Winchester of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' is a big (though secret) fan of the medical show ''Dr. Sexy, MD'' which is somewhat like ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' or ''Series/{{House}}''.
164	* ''Series/TrainMan2004'' featured a TV show called ''Anime/GetsumenToHeikiMina'', which eventually [[{{Defictionalization}} became its own anime series]].
165	* ''Series/TwinPeaks'' provides an example of this in its "Invitation to Love" soap opera that is seen in many of the earlier episodes. It also serves as an example of type 4, as Lynch used the soap opera to comment on the larger storyline.
166	* Every episode of ''Series/TwitchCity'' was titled after that episode's subject of ''The Rex Reilly Show'', a TakeThat on Jerry Springer that shows up at least in a short promotional.
167	* The soap opera watched by the Suarez family in ''Series/UglyBetty''.
168	* ''Donshine'', an in-universe {{Toku}}satsu show in ''Series/UltramanGeed'', which Geed's human form Riku Asakura happens to be an avid viewer of. He even borrowed his {{Catchphrase}} from it!
169	* ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' invokes this with a ''manga'' instead, ''Love Touch'', with the Pink ranger and two ''non-human'' characters following it. [[spoiler:And one's a villain, which leads to a HeelRealisation (where will your manga come from after you TakeOverTheWorld?)]] Also dips into Type 1 when the manga artist makes a one-shot appearance.
170
171	----
172	!!Examples of type 3 (SWAS is plot point)
173
174	* George Micheal Bluth in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' is obsessed with the scandalous French movie "Les Cousins Dangereux", about two cousins in love.
175	* ''ISN News'' from ''Series/BabylonFive'' will be a Type 3 from time to time, typically when the news centers around the station itself, or in season 4, [[spoiler: To show how [[NewSpeak EarthGov]] was spinning the news to [[HeroWithBadPublicity villanize Babylon 5]] as much as possible after they seceded from the Earth Alliance.]] Also in the finale, "Sleeping in Light", [[spoiler: where it is implied that the episode, and by extension the entire series, was an ISN documentary]].
176	** Also the VoiceOfTheResistance, which was used to counter Clark propaganda. It also was used in a BatmanGambit by Sheridan.
177	* ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' has the episode "Rescue Bay" in its 4th season. A writer/producer is inspired by watching lifeguards on the beach saving people and decides to shoot a [[SelfParody tacky]] {{Pilot}} sequence with characters based on the in-verse characters.
178	* The first season of ''Series/ChannelZero'' is built around the mystery of the puppet show ''Candle Cove'', which is only visible to children.
179	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
180	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]] has the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack find themselves [[TrappedInTVLand trapped]] in lethal versions of popular British reality shows ''Series/BigBrother'', ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' and ''Series/WhatNotToWear''. The Doctor's reaction when he finds himself on the ''Big Brother'' set: "You have ''got'' to be kidding!"
181	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode "The Shakespeare Code"]]: Lost Shakespeare play ''Love's Labours Won'' is part of an evil alien plot.
182	* ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'':
183	** Episode "The Subscription Racket" depicts Friday as a guest on the ''Jerry Dexter Show'' discussing fruads and cons. This leads the detectives to a magazine subscription con being perpetrated on one of the wife of a TV station employee. The actor playing the host, Jerry Dexter is a case of Main/AsHimself. Dexter was a character actor that also had a career as a radio presenter.
184	** Episode "Public Affairs: DR-07" Friday and Gannon are guests on the ''Speak Your Mind'' show, arguing the need for a strong police force.
185	* ''Series/{{Ghostwriter}}'':
186	** The mystery of the week in "Am I Blue?" revolves around a sci-fi series called ''Galaxy Girl'' when the model spaceship prop from the show is stolen. It's also a Type 2, since Gaby is a major fan of the show.
187	** There's also ''Caught Ya'', a news show hosted by a reporter named Fannie Mae Banner, featured in "Over a Barrel". It's a plot point because the Ghostwriter Team enlists Fannie Mae's help to expose the villain on TV.
188	* An early ''Series/HappyDays'' episode had Richie appearing on a TV quiz show where, reflecting the Quiz Show Scandals of the time, he is fed answers. As his contest progresses, when he comes to the pivotal moment of victory, he throws the game. (This is probably a nod to Kristen Falke, a 16-year-old contestant on ''TicTacDough'' who was fed answers. She deliberately lost the game and told a Congressional hearing she was fed answers and was told to lie about it.)
189	* In the ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "Shot in the Dark", the host and cameraman of a ''Series/GhostHunters''-type show called ''Darkside Seekers'' enter Haven, Maine and try to investigate it, completely unprepared for Haven's very real supernatural dangers and almost get killed. The heroes find them annoying (especially since they often film people without asking for their permission), but they pull their weight and actually help defeat the MonsterOfTheWeek. They return in the episode "Exposure" and help out when people start being turned into ghosts.
190	* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', ''JustForFun/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.
191	** Robin considers becoming a "Currency Rotation Specialist" on ''Million Dollar Heads or Tails'', hosted at various times by Regis Philbin and Creator/AlexTrebek.
192	* ''Series/ILoveLucy'' was a fan of this: Ricky's nightclub performances were frequently discussed...and Lucy was ''always'' trying to get to perform in the acts.
193	* In the ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' episode "Mister Parker's Cul-de-Sac", the characters get magicked into Ray's favourite children's show, which is an obvious spoof of ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'', complete with the return of the Puppets of Tomorrow in "The Land of Make-Em-Ups".
194	* 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.
195	* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': In "Here Is Your Past", Miss Brooks is unwittingly made a contestant of the titular show.
196	* ''Series/SchittsCreek'' has multiple references to Moira's various tv, film and theatre appearences, but she's involved in two productions during the run of the show:
197	** Moira stars as Dr. Beatrice Mandrake in the Bosnian-made ''The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening'' and she throws herself into the part, including making rewrites to the script.
198	** Moira directs a community theatre production of ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'' starring Patrick, Stevie, Alexis, and Twyla.
199	* ''Wormhole X-Treme!'' within ''Series/StargateSG1''. It's designed to look as cheap, campy and tacky as possible.
200	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
201	** ''Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton'' also has a bit of the 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.
202	** Likewise ''Insurrection Alpha'' had I, II and III. It started as a program created by Tuvok to train security officers against a Maquis mutiny, but got CutShort when the Maquis became FireForgedFriends. The crew then discover the program and mistake it for a holonovel which becomes widely popular, so Tuvok and Tom Paris are ordered to finish writing it for entertainment purposes. On entering the program however, they discover an old enemy has turned ''Insurrection Alpha'' into a DeadlyGame, and the rest of the crew have to get them out.
203	** Captain Janeway's relaxation program with Leonardo da Vinci abruptly turns to this when he ends up wandering on his own in The Doctor's holoemitter. A major element of the story is her attempts to retrieve him and how his inventions are essential to their mutual escape.
204	** ''A Briefing With Neelix'' in "Investigations" was used to investigate who was the spy on board ''Voyager''.
205	** Captain Janeway finds characters from her Gothic Romance holonovel (designated as "Janeway Lambda One") are appearing outside the holodeck in "Persistence of Vision". Although appearing in two more episodes, the holonovel became an AbortedArc due to fan disinterest -- TheCaptain pretending to be a MagicalNanny just didn't seem relevant to their plight of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant.
206	* ''Series/{{Swarm}}'': In a bizarre example, there is not only a documentary on the supposed story of Dre and the murders she committed, but the Prime video series gets mentioned as based on them too. So apparently it's also a show in the ''documentary'''s reality as well.
207	* In one episode of ''Series/UFO1970'', 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.
208
209	----
210	!!PlotParallel
211
212	* In ''Series/AbsolutelyFabulous'', Saffron writes an autobiographical play entitled ''The Self-Raising Flower'', which uses actual dialogue from previous episodes.
213	* In one episode of ''Series/BlackBooks'', Bernard reads an advertisement for a film called ''Blue Tunes'', which is basically ''Black Books'' set in a record shop instead of a bookshop. The main characters all agree [[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs it sounds terrible]].
214	* ''Rosie -- C.H.I.M.P.'' on ''Series/{{Blossom}}'' (well, it ''started out'' similar, before the ExecutiveMeddling).
215	* Abed's college film series on ''Series/{{Community}}'' which is both based on the other members of the study group and also predicts what will happen to them with such spooky accuracy that Shirley calls Abed a "Middle Eastern Magic 8-Ball".
216	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks "Remembrance of the Daleks"]] ''almost'' breaks the FourthWall with one (unseen) show-within-a-show. There is a scene with a television in the background, on which a {{continuity announce\|ment}}r can be heard saying "This is [[Creator/TheBBC BBC television]], the time is quarter past five, and Saturday viewing continues with an adventure in the new science fiction series Doc-" at which point the scene ends.
217	** The ExpandedUniverse novels claim this series was called ''Professor X''. The similarities between the Professor (who travels through time and space in a pillar box, and battles Cybertrons) and the Doctor have never been explained, and are rarely noticed by the characters, even when they're fans.
218	* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' has Drew And Jerry, which was Drake and Josh's life being put into a TV show. As an aside, it also opens up the potential for a universe busting aversion of CelebrityParadox, by making ''Drake & Josh'', ''Series/ICarly'', ''Series/{{Victorious}}'', ''Series/Zoey101'', and ''Series/SamAndCat'' all 'real' and existing in the same 'universe' as the actors who play all the characters. For example, this means in that universe, there are four versions of Creator/MirandaCosgrove.
219	* ''Father Ben'' is pretty popular with Father Ted and Father Dougal on ''Series/FatherTed''.
220	* Diane's play in ''Series/{{Frasier}}''.
221	** Though in this case, it's eerily similar to ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' rather than ''Frasier'' itself.
222	* ''The Bloody Hand'', the play Arya goes to see in Braavos during two episodes in Season 6 of ''Series/GameOfThrones''. It's a humorous exaggeration of the events of Seasons 1–4.
223	** Also qualifies as a Type 3 since Arya is supposed to kill one of the actors.
224	* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', In Numenor, the children watch a performance satirizing the arrival of Galadriel in Numenor. Galadriel fights Sauron to defend Miriel from him, than she is shown bowing her head to the crowd at the end of the play. This foreshadows that [[spoiler:Sauron is indeed with them in Numenor in that very moment]].
225	* Similarly, there was an episode of the TV show ''Series/NowhereMan'' that featured a cheaply produced, poorly acted cable-TV-esque version of the main events of the series, which included the events of the episode itself.
226	* ''The Valley'', Summer's favourite show on ''Series/TheOC'', had suspicious similarities to ''Series/TheOC'' itself. This was really played up when the characters got to meet the "actors". Seth and Summer found out that two of them were dating (as Creator/AdamBrody and Creator/RachelBilson were at the time), and Ryan was amazed that the male lead could still "play high school" at his age (Ben [=McKenzie=] was ten years older than his character).
227	** Further played up when the show mentions the RealityTV version of it ''Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley'', spoofing ''[[Series/LagunaBeach Laguna Beach: The Real O.C.]]''
228	* The ''Series/OddSquad'' Season 1 finale "O is Not For Over" features a show-within-a-show known as ''The Bizarre Brigade'', which is basically ''Odd Squad'' but with its main characters being adults instead of kids. Olive and Otto advise the director that it would be a better show if it had kids as the main characters, which all but confirms the fact that ''Odd Squad'' is a show that is known in-universe by various characters.
229	* The final season of ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' features Andy Dwyer as the star of ''The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show''.
230	* ''Series/MaskedRider'' has been [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] to be a show-within-a-show when Nadira in ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' was shown watching it.
231	** [[CelebrityParadox Strangely]], it's worth noting that Dex Stuart ''is'' established as canon in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', since the PoorlyDisguisedPilot in season 3 of ''Mighty Morphin'' isn't affected by the aforementioned retcon.
232	* One episode of ''Series/QueerAsFolkUS'' features the rather farcical ''Gay as Blazes'', which sarcastically parodies common criticisms of the show.
233	* The second-season Christmas episode of ''Series/RaisingHope'' has Jimmy inadvertently signing away the rights to their story, enabling a movie called "The Chances of Natesville" to be made, which grotesquely sends up the entire family as morbidly too stupid to be alive. Not surprisingly, the family is mortified when the trailer runs at their night out at the movies, triggering drunken regret and ItsAWonderfulPlot for Jimmy.
234	* ''Jerry: The Sitcom'' within ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''.
235	* ''Series/TheSiflAndOllyShow'': Sifl and Olly were big fans of the show ''Peto & Flek'', which seems to be a complete distillation of the concept: two faces in a void, screeching to a phantom audience. Peto was the "straight man" while Flek only ever said "Guh-guh-guh-guh!"
236	* ''Wormhole X-Treme!'' within ''Series/StargateSG1''.
237	* ''Ghostfacers'' within ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''.
238	** But much more so with the '''book'''-within-a-show. The book series ''Supernatural'' introduced in the episode actually ''is'' the first few seasons of the show, and its {{Take That}}s at the fans are exquisite. [[spoiler:Turns out the series was written by the ''prophet'' Chuck, chronicling what will eventually become the Winchester Gospel. That title is incredibly ambiguous as to whether it will feature one or both of them.]]
239	** Even more so with 6.15 'The French Mistake', in which Sam and Dean get sent [[spoiler: into an alternate universe where they are actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who subsequently play the characters Sam and Dean in Supernatural. Their castmate is Misha Collins, their bosses are Eric Kripke and Sera Gamble, their director is Bob Singer...]]
240	** And there's the 200th episode special "Supernatural:The Musical", where a group of Ghostfacer fans at an all-girls school put on a play. One of the characters says "I hate the meta-episodes". When Sam and Dean walk into the show's rehearsal, they pull out their fake FBI badges, and the actresses playing Sam and Dean then do the same.
241	* In the ''Series/Switch1975'' episode "The Late Show Murders", Pete occasionally reads aloud from a detective novel called ''The Saracen Horse''. The events of the novel match up suspiciously well with whatever the villain, a corrupt private eye, happens to be doing at the moment.
242	* ''Invitation to Love'' within ''Series/TwinPeaks''.
243	* ''The Adventures of FATMAN'', the show-within-a-show in ''Series/TheWeirdAlShow'', tells of a man who can change into a fat man with the power to lift heavy objects, withstand scalding liquids, and fly, though [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway slower than cars]]. Harvey the hamster can stand and talk in this show, and is generally [[HypercompetentSidekick cleverer]] than Music/WeirdAlYankovic.
244	-->'''Announcer:''' Due to a rare GLANDULAR PROBLEM, an ordinary, jelly-filled, glazed donut turns mild-mannered Donut World employee AL YANKOVIC into the crime-fighting superhero known as FATMAN.
245	* 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/Millennium1996'' 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/Millennium1996'' episode. In both cases, the show-within-the-show was made to be deliberately cheap-looking and campy.
246

Context ShowWithinAShow / LiveActionTV