# Movies and TV shows named for a non-lead character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [January 30, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049 "2023-01-30T11:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/41 "2023-01-31T05:51:04Z")
[Killing Bono](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535101/reference/) Vaguely based on the story of Ivan McCormick who, in high school, was a member of the band that became U2. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2023, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/42 "2023-01-31T06:09:44Z")
_The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_. Roger dies early on. _The Woman in White_. The woman appears sporadically, but is not the lead character. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/43 "2023-01-31T08:04:05Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The entire Thin Man series of movies and the TV show. > > The “Thin Man” was not the William Powell character but the person of interest in the first movie. My husband compared this to the new “Glass Onion - a Knives Out Mystery” when it’s really a Benoit Blanc mystery. And of course there were all the Pink Panther movies featuring Inspector Clouseau - the Pink Panther was a diamond, stolen in the first movie. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/44 "2023-01-31T11:22:54Z")
_Bend it Like Beckham_ ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/45 "2023-01-31T11:30:30Z")
The Death of Stalin ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/46 "2023-01-31T12:43:58Z")
Abigail’s Party - Mike Leigh play and a british tv classic MiM ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/47 "2023-01-31T13:00:12Z")
I have mentioned this show previously but it evolves to fit the OP. Scottish TV had a police show that started in 1983 called **Taggart** based around police officer Jim Taggart. The actor portraying Taggart, **Mark McManus** , died in 1994 and the decision was made to have the character die as well. However the show itself continued until 2010 still called **Taggart** but now with no one of that name in it. The dramatic focus simply switching to other members of what had been Taggart’s team. Those team members themselves regularly changing over the years. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/48 "2023-01-31T13:26:25Z")
_Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean_ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/49 "2023-01-31T13:37:40Z")
Harvey ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/50 "2023-01-31T13:41:57Z")
Where’s Poppa? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/51 "2023-01-31T16:02:34Z")
When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/52 "2023-01-31T16:23:42Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/53 "2023-01-31T16:38:11Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Harvey Ding ding ding. Winner ! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/54 "2023-01-31T18:58:24Z")
Another example of a show that lost the character it was originally named after: _Valerie’s Family_. > [@](#): > > Under the title "_ **Valerie** _ " the show originally centered around [Valerie Harper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Harper) in the titular role as a mother trying to juggle her career and raising three sons with an absent airline pilot husband. After the first two seasons, Harper was replaced, following contractual disputes over salary and disputes about the direction her character was going. Her character was killed off at the start of season three and [Sandy Duncan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Duncan) joined the cast as Valerie’s sister-in-law and the boys’ aunt. The series was initially retitled _ **Valerie’s Family** _ , but for season four the series was again retitled _The Hogan Family_ . I know we’re looking for movies and TV shows, but if we cheat and include newspaper comic strips, there’s _Barney Google and Snuffy Smith_. > [@](#): > > Barney Google himself, once the star of the strip and a very popular character in his own right, was at one point almost entirely phased out of the feature. An increasingly peripheral player in his own strip beginning in the late 1930s, Barney was officially “written out” in 1954, although he occasionally returned for cameo appearances, often years apart. During a period between 1997 and 2012, Barney Google was not seen in the strip at all. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/55 "2023-01-31T19:13:43Z")
“Happy Birthday Wanda June” ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/56 "2023-01-31T19:44:48Z")
A bit of a stray but the cartoon (and toy property) Inhumanoids is titled after the group of antagonists. The Inhumanoids aren’t the lead characters really but one or more of them are featured in each episode. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/57 "2023-01-31T19:55:02Z")
Rebecca ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/58 "2023-01-31T20:49:36Z")
I wonder if _Rosemary’s Baby_ might fit the criteria. Rosemary is indeed a lead character, but Rosemary’s baby doesn’t arrive until the last five minutes. I’ve said before that the film should more accurately be titled, _Rosemary’s Pregnancy_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/59 "2023-02-01T15:05:21Z")
I think we’ve had a thread in the past about movies and plays where the named lead barely appears. Count **Dracula** , for instance, gets very little “screen time” in Stoker’s novel. The movies and plays give him a bit more, but the real main characters are the vampire hunters. Similarly, **The Hound of the Baskervilles** only shows up at the very beginning and the very end of both novel and the film adaptations. I saw a stage adaptation once where my main thought throughout was how the heck they were going to show the creature and make it look scary. It showed up – a stage-sized puppet – for one scene at the end. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049/60 "2023-02-01T15:13:54Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Dr No is barely in, erm, Dr No. There’s a lot of Auric Goldfinger in “Goldfinger,” but he isn’t the lead character, James Bond is. Roger Rabbit isn’t the main character of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Rachel isn’t the main character of “Rachel Getting Married.” There are three Heathers in “Heathers” but the main character is Veronica. Veronica is played by Winona Ryder, who was in “Beetlejuice,” and Beetlejuice is not the main character of that movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-named-for-a-non-lead-character/979049.md?page=4)