10 TV Characters That Appeared Outside Their Own Shows

Have you ever been watching your favourite show when suddenly a new character comes into the scene and you wonder "have I seen this person before?"

Well, you're not alone, and you're not wrong. Famous television shows have done crossovers for years now, and although many crossover events may be synonymous with the shows in question, like the countless Disney Channel crossover events that see your favourite kid show characters meet in unlikely ways, some are more subtle and nuanced.

It is crazy to think that sometimes all it takes is one character to bridge the gap between multiple shows and make it so the worlds within become one. Sometimes it can be done well, serving up an iconic episode that people talk about for years and years, sometimes it can done terribly, creating all sorts of plot inconsistencies and making likable characters from their own shows unbearable in another.

This list compiles the good and the bad in a way that makes you go: "I can't believe I forgot that one" and "why didn't I notice that!"

Community is an incredible show. It is five seasons of pure gold (only five), full of surreal episodes based on nerdy parodies and meta, self-referential comedic bits. The heart of the show belongs to Danny Pudi's wacky and lovable Abed Nadir, who has a serious obsession with pop culture.

Abed starts the show as a lover of Cougar Town, the first time a reference is made to it is during the season 2 episode Aerodynamics of Gender when Abed's Robocop vision displays a memo telling him to record the show. Two episodes later Jeff makes another reference to Abed's addiction when he says "[Annie] took to deception like Abed took to Cougar Town."

It is in the season 2 episode Critical Film Studies however, when Abed's love of Cougar town takes centre stage. The episode revolves around Jeff and Abed at a fancy dinner on Abed's birthday while the boy stoically tells the story of how he pooped himself on the set of his favourite show. We eventually find out that Abed was just doing a bit from the film My Dinner With Andre; oh Abed.

That would have been the end to that unusual story but behind the scenes the producers of both shows were close friends. So, as a sort of inside joke between the men, Danny Pudi was sent down to the set of Cougar Town to film a scene that was eerily similar to what Abed described in his Dinner With Andre-esc monologue. Pudi even took it upon himself to run off mid scene as if he had in fact, pooped his pants!