Do actors & their old shows exist in a new show's universe?

[Vanilla Gorilla]

For example, in The Big Bang Theory, could they watch Roseanne? Do Johnny Galecki, Laurie Metcalf, and Sara Gilbert, the actors, exist in the BBT universe? I mean they mentioned getting the girl who played Blossom to join their Physics Bowl team and later cast Miyam Bialyk. So I guess. Yet, no one ever says, "Hey, Amy! You look just like the girl who played Blossom."

How about Modern Family? I bet Jay Pritchett would love Al Bundy. Kevin Hart inexplicably played Phil's friend, but could he also cameo as Kevin Hart like so many other celebs playing themselves did?

I guess each show follows its own logic on this, but is there a rule of thumb? I have always wondered and the thread about shows sharing universes made me think of this again.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

It depends on the show.

The King of the Hill characters watch Seinfeld, Smackdown! and the Jetsons.

Murphy Brown is a TV show in Seinfeld but Paul Reisers character from Mad About You sublets Kramer his apartment.

All depends on the show.

[Jiren]

The Fugitive is a Movie in "Scrubsverse"

[G✇JI☈A]

Here is a funny example:

Episodes- a show where Matt Le Blanc plays washed up actor Matt Le Blanc, and Friends does exist on this show (that is the point) and has featured cameos from David Schwimmer and the guy that played the coffee shop clerk. But also in the Episodes cast is John Pankow who was a regular on Mad About You which shared the same universe as Friends.

[Heartbreaker]

I like to imagine that in those show's universes, there's a different actor portraying a character.

[OGBoardPoster2005]

Sanford and Son had an episode where Sanford met Redd Foxx.

[Mozenrath]

iCarly had Drake and Josh being a show, with Carly commenting on the Megan character, both played by Miranda Cosgrove.

David Schwimmer also seemingly died in an episode of iCarly, offscreen. This is not related to the thread, it was just a funny gag I just remembered due to his role on Episodes being mentioned.

On Boondocks, John Witherspoon exists in the same world as Granddad and even played him in something. Witherspoon is of course his actual voice actor.

[Alice Syndrome]

30 Rock has mentioned Friends existing as a TV show and Jennifer Aniston as a real person, but also had David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston guest star as minor characters. For That matter, Alec Baldwin once guest starred on Friends.

In one episode of Better Call Saul, Murder She Wrote is mentioned, which would be fine in a universe where Bryan Cranston (Walter White), Michael McKean (Chuck McGill), Patrick Fabian (Howard Hamlin), Raymond Cruz (Tuco Salamanca), Dennis Boutsikaris (Rick Schweikert), and Miriam Colon (Tuco's grandma) hadn't been on Murder She Wrote.

[Sparvid]

There have been references to X-Files in the Simpsons, and a character watching/referring to the Simpsons in X-Files.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

May 27, 2017 0:07:35 GMT -5 Heartbreaker said:

I like to imagine that in those show's universes, there's a different actor portraying a character.

[Feyrhausen]

May 26, 2017 21:49:19 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

It depends on the show.

The King of the Hill characters watch Seinfeld, Smackdown! and the Jetsons.

Murphy Brown is a TV show in Seinfeld but Paul Reisers character from Mad About You sublets Kramer his apartment.

All depends on the show.

But Mad About You also existed as a show on Seinfeld that George hated and his fiance liked.

[Bo Rida]

Neighbours do it the other way around. Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbrulia, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie all started their careers as characters on the soap but are later mentioned as real famous people.

[jagilki]

In my Mind, House is still Prince George from Blackadder, just travelling through time.

[zrowsdower]

I think like 90% of television shows revolve around St. Eleswhere in some way or another.

[HisRoyalGreeness]

Somewhat along different lines but there was an episode of Sister Sister where the group Immature showed up. The girls were all on Marques Houston's jock yet his character on the show, Roger, couldn't get any play.

[Juice]

May 27, 2017 4:11:43 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave is Correct said:

May 27, 2017 0:07:35 GMT -5 Heartbreaker said:

I like to imagine that in those show's universes, there's a different actor portraying a character.

This is the way to go about it. When in Oceans 12? 13? They have Julia Roberts character recognized as someone who looks just like Julia Roberts I literally turned it off. More recently Rock calls Efron High School Musical in Baywatch and it bugged me.

[Hit Girl]

In my mind, all works of fiction exist in a gigantic shared universe, even the stuff that contradicts something else.

[Shy Guy]

i haven't figured it out, but i like to believe that bloodline and friday night lights are in the same universe

[Zombie Mod]

I've always thought the world of the walking dead was part of hell from supernatural.

[agent817]

May 27, 2017 0:18:29 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

iCarly had Drake and Josh being a show, with Carly commenting on the Megan character, both played by Miranda Cosgrove.

What I found really stupid is how Dan Schneider had included characters from Drake & Josh in episodes of iCarly and Victorious, when there were references to D&J being a TV show in respective episodes of those shows. Then you had the two nerd characters appear in an episode of iCarly, as well as Helen, the theater manager in D&J, appear in Victorious.

Of course, I remember Drake Bell appearing as himself in an episode of Zoey 101.