When the American sitcom Cheers was dubbed for the German market, they renamed the character of Norm “Helmut” and retitled the show “Prost Helmut” (meaning “Cheers, Helmut”):
This was a strange decision, since Norm isn’t by any stretch the main character of the show (even though he may indeed be the most popular). The new title might have made sense if they had re-edited the show, or rewritten the dialogue, to make Norm the main character, but they didn’t even do that…
What other movies and TV shows are named for a character who isn’t one of the leads?
Sure, you can say, “Huh? Of course Gilligan was the main character!” But in the context of the show, the egos of the Skipper, Thurston Howell and the Professor all clashed with each other for dominance, and the women performed their own plot manipulations, while Gilligan simply bumbled along, doing his own thing and minding his own business. He was a passive presence- he caused plot elements to take place, but only unintentionally through his bumbling. Other than that, he simply allowed himself to be acted upon by events.
I feel like this phenomena is a lot more common in movies than in TV shows. It’s easy enough for a movie to be about some goal, and that goal is a character. You can’t really stretch that too much for an entire show.
“Raising Hope”? I don’t remember the daughter, Hope, being too prominently featured in the show. There weren’t very many adventures of Hope or any episodes from Hope’s perspective. She existed, like the furniture.
HIMYM notwithstanding, titles with I and another character’s name are almost always about the other character. I Love Lucy (and it’s 1950s knockoffs I Married Joan and My Little Margie) were not about the “I” character.
