How to Name Your TV Show: 9 Tropes We See Way Too Often
Do all TV shows start to sound the same to you? Well, don’t worry. You’re not alone. With the recent premieres of Undateable, Secrets & Lies, and American Crime, we started to wonder if there might be some sort of wheel networks use to name their shows. And in so wondering, we realized that some networks even have their own little formula they think they use infrequently enough that we won’t notice. We noticed.
Here are 9 of the most common TV naming tropes:
1. Un_____
Samples: Undateable (NBC), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix), Unforgettable (A&E), UnReal (Lifetime), Unusually Thicke (TV Guide Network)
You know what’s un-derwhelming and un-original? Telling us exactly what a show is not.
2. Name & Name (aka the TNT trope)
Samples: Rizzoli & Isles (TNT), Franklin & Bash (TNT), King & Maxwell (TNT), Billy & Billie (DirecTV), Austin & Ally (Disney), Key & Peele (Comedy Central)
If a show is about a mismatched duo, there’s apparently no better way to show that than to join their names with an ampersand. This is also a great way to confuse viewers. Which one’s Rizzoli and which one’s Isles again?
Related: The Definitive Guide to TV’s ‘And’ Pairs
3. The Family Name
Samples: The Fosters (ABC Family), The Millers (CBS), The McCarthys (CBS),
The Millers = Normal, everyday white people! The McCarthys = Irish! The Fosters = Totally on-the-nose foster family with the actual last name Foster!
4. House of _____
Samples: House of Lies (Showtime), House of DVF (E!), House of Payne (TBS), House of Cards (Netflix)
People in glass houses should not be so lazy about naming their TV series.
5. Generic Ominous Word (aka the ABC trope)
Samples: Scandal (ABC), Revenge (ABC), Motive (ABC), Allegiance (NBC), Deception (NBC)
Nothing says DRAMA in all caps like a single word (or two) that implies people won’t be what they seem and evil doings are afoot. The good news is, a great show can overcome its meaningless one-word title: Olivia Pope could totally be fixing things on a Shonda Rimes show called Calumny and you’d still tune in every Thursday.
6. Plurals (aka the USA trope)
Samples: Suits (USA), Sirens (USA), Complications (USA), Legends (TNT),
Consider this the TV equivalent of every band called The Whatevers.
7. American Anything
Samples: American Crime (ABC), American Dad (TBS), American Horror Story (FX), American Idol (Fox), American Chopper (Discovery)
Be honest: If they were “European,” you’d never watch. Patriotism ho!
Related: Which ‘American’ Show Is Most Red, White, and Blue?
8. Idyllic Location Name
Samples: Broadchurch (BBC), Gracepoint (Fox), Sleepy Hollow (Fox), Twin Peaks (ABC)
If the name of your fictional town makes people say, “I want to go to there,” you have a winner.
9. Reality Show Questions
Samples: Are You Tougher Than a Boy Scout? (National Geographic), Are You the One? (MTV), Whose Line Is It Anyway? (The CW), So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
Spoiler alerts! Probably. Probably not. Aisha Tyler. Yes, and really well. Next!
