# Crossovers between genres? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456 "2018-10-24T20:06:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/1 "2018-10-24T20:06:19Z")
Inspired by [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=864413) thread. Examples of this may be pretty thin on the ground because crossovers themselves are fairly rare, but I’m thinking of something similar to the _Bones_/_Sleepy Hollow_ crossover–_Bones_ being a somewhat serious show taking place in the real world with no supernatural elements and _Speepy Hollow_ being about magic. So shows of different genres, different bases of reality, or just very different “feels” to them. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/2 "2018-10-24T20:15:16Z")
“I Love Lucy” crossed over with “Superman” in such as way that children watching Lucy would see no reference to “George Reeves” (or any other indication that the Superman who showed up in the Ricardo’s apartment was not a Kryptonian). A character from Warehouse 13 (a wacky supernatural comedy-adventure) turned up on Alphas (a much more serious superhero-drama). ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/3 "2018-10-24T21:42:23Z")
Last season’s [ScoobyNatural](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6746190/) episode comes to mind… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/4 "2018-10-24T21:47:03Z")
I think my favorite is the crossover between _Dirty Jobs_ and _Sesame Street_. Mike Rowe did Oscar’s job. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/5 "2018-10-24T21:54:40Z")
John Munch crossed over not only to other detective shows, but also to _Arrested Development_ ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/6 "2018-10-24T22:43:00Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > A character from Warehouse 13 (a wacky supernatural comedy-adventure) turned up on Alphas (a much more serious superhero-drama). Also, characters crossed over in both directions between _Warehouse 13_ and _Eureka_ (a wacky pseudo-scientific comedy-adventure which was very explicit in every episode except the Warehouse 13 cross-over that the supernatural did not exist and all the weird occurrences on the show had rational, (pseudo) scientific explanations). ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/7 "2018-10-24T22:44:01Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > John Munch crossed over not only to other detective shows, but also to _Arrested Development_ And _The X-Files_(!) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/8 "2018-10-24T22:57:34Z")
And the X-Files, in turn, crossed over to the Simpsons. (I see that one as a crossover, not a parody, because the X-Files characters acted as themselves.) ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/9 "2018-10-24T23:16:59Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Last season’s [ScoobyNatural](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6746190/) episode comes to mind… I loved that episode, but…I don’t think it really counts for the purposes of this thread. Sam and Dean are transported to a magical alternate reality/pocket universe which is based on an episode of _Scooby-Doo_. In the type of cross-over (I think) the OP is referring to, a character from one show just shows up in a very different sort of show with no in-show explanation for the genre/mood jump - apparently two very different shows, such as _Bones_ and _Sleepy Hollow_, are somehow set in the same world. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/10 "2018-10-24T23:22:55Z")
The campy, 1960s Adam West _Batman_ crossed over with the much more serious _The Green Hornet_. While not really cross-overs, _Batman_ also featured a lot of cameos by characters from other ABC shows, regardless of genre or even time period (Col. Klink from _Hogan’s Heroes_, for example). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/11 "2018-10-25T02:09:26Z")
The drama _Lou Grant_ was a spin-off of the comedy _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/12 "2018-10-25T02:30:30Z")
The superhero genre as it currently exists is basically an example of this that has become a genre in itself. Arguably, it’s always been, to an extent, as were its pulp predecessors, but when supers started gaining prominence again, the companies started drawing in the war, western, space adventure, sword and sorcery, horror, etc, characters into all one universe with their superheroes. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/13 "2018-10-25T14:08:31Z")
The Practice was a dark serious drama about defense lawyers. Ally McBeal was a light musical comedy drama about a law firm. Both were David E. Kelly series on ABC and FOX respectively that crossed over. It was a big deal because cross network cross overs were and are rare. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/14 "2018-10-25T20:00:42Z")
**The Apprentice** crossed over with _House of Cards_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossovers-between-genres/823456/15 "2018-10-25T20:08:30Z")
Some of the doctors from St. Eligius visited Sam Malone’s bar.