Breaking the fourth wall is nothing new, but some TV shows find innovative ways to directly address their audience. The term “breaking the fourth wall” is used to describe a moment in a TV show, movie, or any other work of narrative fiction in which the characters address the fact that they aren’t real, and that they are being watched by an audience. The term comes from the theater, where the “fourth wall” is the invisible barrier which exists between the performers on stage and the audience.
There are countless TV shows andmovies which break the fourth wall. Some famous examples includeDeadpool, Ferris Bueller’s Day Offand dozens ofBugs Bunnycartoons. The technique is mainly used in comedy, since exposing the artifice of fiction often shatters the suspension of disbelief and reflects the absurdity of the situation back onto the viewer. While it can be tiresome if it’s used carelessly, the smartest TV shows can break the fourth wall in surprising and hilarious ways.
The 15 Most Meta TV Shows Of All Time
Meta TV shows are unique because they’re self-aware, break the fourth wall, or make reference to the wider world and society, and these are the best.
Only Murders in the Buildinghas a few intelligent ways of speaking directly to the audience.Mostly, the show references itself by referencing the podcast that takes place within the show.The podcast that the main characters work on has the same name, and it quickly amasses a fan base that gives live commentary on the show as it unfolds. By having Charles, Mabel and Oliver interacting with their fan club, it’s as if the writers of the show are talking to their audience.
By having Charles, Mabel and Oliver interacting with their fan club, it’s as if the writers of the show are talking to their audience.
The podcast fans theorize about each case, so the writers can show that they know how to manipulate their audience’s expectations. For fans of the mystery genre, just like for fans of true crime, the game of trying to solve each case usually conforms to a set of rules. The writers ofOMITBcreate the game, fudge the rules, move the players where they want them to be, and provide live commentary.Season 5 ofOnly Murders in the Buildingpromises another playful mystery.
Saved by the Bellshatters the fourth wall, with every episode playing out as if Zack is sitting and watching the show right next to the audience. He constantly talks to the audience, showing that he understands his role as a character in a TV show, but he’s still worried about his daily life.Saved by the Bellhas to perform a strange balancing act, as Zack is able to manipulate the show, but there are still personal stakes for him.
Zack doesn’t just talk to the audience inSaved by the Bell,he also uses the knowledge that he’s in a TV show to his advantage.
Zack doesn’t just talk to the audience inSaved by the Bell,he also uses the knowledge that he’s in a TV show to his advantage. He can freeze time simply by calling"Time out,“although he never uses this strange superpower to save lives or anything quite so heroic. His powers of time manipulation are loosely defined, and he only ever uses them to help himself in whatever low-stakes teen drama he’s wrapped up in.Saved by the Bellgets away with this flimsy logic because it’s a lighthearted comedy.
Doctor Whohas gone through countless changes during the decades it’s been on TV. Different eras of the show have slightly different tones, which means that there are many Doctors which never break the fourth wall, but others which make a habit of it. In most cases, these cheeky winks to the camera are just for comedic purposes, like the way the Eleventh Doctor says a personal farewell to the audience before he regenerates.
There are many Doctors which never break the fourth wall, but others which make a habit of it.
The Twelfth Doctor breaks the fourth wall more than most, and his addresses to the audience often get rather audacious. In one episode, he gives a monologue in the TARDIS about the “bootstrap paradox,” although by the end, he stares into the camera and demands that the audience simply Google it.Doctor Whohas continued breaking the fourth wallin the era of the Fifteenth Doctor, and the show is now more self-referential than ever.
Danny Pudi’sCommunitycharacter Abed often breaks the fourth wall to describe the tropes and plot structures being used in each episode. Abed is extremely socially awkward, but he understands the world through his love of movies and TV shows. He treats each day like a new episode, each year at college like a season, and each of his friends like a member of an ensemble cast. He also created one of the show’s most famous phrases,“Six seasons and a movie,“which is set to come true with theupcomingCommunitymovie.
Abed treats each day like a new episode, each year at college like a season, and each of his friends like a member of an ensemble cast.
Abed probably has a Letterboxd subscription and some strong opinions about physical media, but his obsession with storytelling structures mirrors the creator ofCommunity,Dan Harmon. AfterCommunity,Harmon went on to createRick & Morty,which possibly breaks the fourth wall even more frequently.Rick takes Abed’s place as the vessel for Harmon’s metacommentary, speaking about character arcs, hacky sci-fi tropes and themes.
Each episode ofSex and the Cityis structured around Carrie Bradshaw’s narration. Her voiceovers often show what goes into her weekly column, although there are plenty of things which she presumably wouldn’t be publishing, like intimate details of her friends' lives. Voiceovers obviously don’t necessarily mean that a show is breaking the fourth wall, butSex and the Citydoes a few things which take it further.
Voiceovers obviously don’t necessarily mean that a show is breaking the fourth wall, butSex and the Citydoes a few things which take it further.
Sex and the City’s first season is very different to the rest of the show’s run. The drama is dialed down, giving it more of a sitcom feel, and there are some more stylistic touches. One of the most divisive quirks is that there are segments in which random people around New York City give their own opinions on the hot topic of the week, which is usually one Carrie asks in her column. Many of these segments highlight the contrived structure of the show.
Not all mockumentaries break the fourth wall, butThe Officecertainly does, and it has inspired many other sitcoms to read from the same playbook. It doesn’t take much forThe Officeto interact directly with its audience. The artifice of the show is so apparent that a look to the camera is enough. Often, this comes from Dunder Mifflin’s most sarcastic worker, Jim Halpert, who balances out the more eccentric characters.
It’s breaking the fourth wall without ever truly disrupting the show, because the layer of conceit meansThe Officecan have its cake and eat it.
Whenever Michael says something blatantly incorrect or Dwight provides a window into his surreal worldview, Jim is on hand to shoot a look straight down the barrel of the camera that says more than words ever could.Other mockumentary shows have tried to copy this trick, but very few have ever managed to pull it off quite so consistently. It’s breaking the fourth wall without ever truly disrupting the show, because the layer of conceit meansThe Officecan have its cake and eat it.
Ron Howard’s narration inArrested Developmentconsistently delivers some of the biggest laughs of the show. His deadpan delivery goes a long way, but it’s also about the way he so often acts as a bridge between the audience and the bizarre world of the show. Howard’s voiceovers always make it seem as though he’s presenting a documentary on the dysfunctional Bluth family, gently elbowing the audience and saying"Get a load of this.”
Howard’s voiceovers always make it seem as though he’s gently elbowing the audience and saying"Get a load of this.”
Some moments in Howard’s narration go even further than usual. For example, whenArrested Developmentwas facing cancelation in its third season, the Bluth family brainstorm ideas to make enough money to save themselves from the brink of financial disaster. Howard interjects their conversation to make sure the audience can make no mistake about the metaphor being used by saying,“Please tell your friends about this show.”
J.D.’s daydreams show the way that he sees his daily life, although this is often contrasted with a much harsher reality. It becomes clear in some of thebest episodes ofScrubsthat his fantasies are a coping mechanism that helps him deal with the extreme stress of working at Sacred Heart. In the direst of moments, he realizes that he is unable to shield himself from the truth.
There are times when the show’s self-commentary becomes even more blatant, like in season 4’s “My Life in Four Cameras.”
J.D. regularly breaks the fourth wall, exaggerating the actions of the people around him to treat them as if they are all characters in the TV show of his life. There are times when this becomes even more blatant, like in season 4’s “My Life in Four Cameras.” This tongue-in-cheek episode sees J.D. imagining what his life would be like if Sacred Heart was the setting for a four-camera sitcom, and it’s filled with cheeky winks at the audience.
What We Do in the Shadowsis like many other mockumentary sitcoms in a way, with characters giving interviews directly to the camera and a shaky handheld style. Guillermo often serves as the conduit for the audience, since he’s the only character who shares the same broad frame of reference as the audience, and the only one who fully understands the idea of a documentary.What We Do in the Shadowscomments on its own absurd premise in many ways.
In the latest season ofWhat We Do in the Shadows, the show has ramped up its fourth-wall-breaking humor.
In the latest season ofWhat We Do in the Shadows, the show has ramped up its fourth-wall-breaking humor. In the first episode, Jerry awakens from his slumber to question how far the vampires have come in their plans to conquer the New World. He also questions the presence of the camera crew. When he asks the vampires why they have allowed humans to film them, where they think the footage is going, and how it has been going on for so long, he’s also asking the show’s audience how they have managed to put up with such a ludicrous conceit for so long.
It’s hard to talk about breaking the fourth wall in TV without mentioningFleabag.The British comedy-drama explores its relationship with the audience unlike any other show, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character repeatedly addressing the audience directly and stealing a few glances here and there. In the superb season 1 finale, she suddenly finds herself unable to escape the camera’s gaze, as the layers of artificiality she’s constructed to cocoon herself start to suffocate her.
It’s hard to talk about breaking the fourth wall in TV without mentioningFleabag.
Season 2 ofFleabagbuilds on the show’s already groundbreaking conceit.Tom Scott plays a priest who manages to peer into Fleabag’s world for a second. When she looks at her audience, he notices that she’s checked out, and he searches for the camera too. The show’s bittersweet series finale sees Fleabag finally leaving the camera behind, as she no longer needs the shelter that it represents. It’s the perfect ending to a show which breaks the fourth wall more thoughtfully and artistically than anything else on TV.
