# TV Show From The Last Decade Or So Where Character(s) Broke The Fourth Wall **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712 "2017-12-06T15:47:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/1 "2017-12-06T15:47:01Z")
I’ve been watching _Chewing Gum_ on Netflix, where the main character often talks to the audience. The other characters go on about their business in the background, then resume their dealings with her when she’s done. I seem to recall a show from the past ten years or so that did the same thing, only moreso. The lead character would give long talks to the audience, to the point where the other characters would simply wait for him or her to finish, at times glancing briefly at the camera as if to acknowledge that the other character was talking to the audience. Is this ringing a bell for anyone? I want to say it was _Raising Hope_ that used that conceit, but another part of brain says that’s not it. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/2 "2017-12-06T15:52:04Z")
Mr. Robot’s main character, Elliot, talks often to the audience… ---
**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:** [December 6, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/3 "2017-12-06T15:54:40Z")
Maybe a little past the decade mark, but are you thinking of\* Malcom in the Middle\*? ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/4 "2017-12-06T15:57:24Z")
Doesn’t Modern Family do that sometimes? ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/5 "2017-12-06T15:58:30Z")
Oops, sorry, I thought the OP was looking for examples of shows that do it, not a show from the past. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/6 "2017-12-06T16:03:28Z")
Going from memory, but didn’t AnnaSophia Robb’s Carrie Bradshaw address the audience frequently on _The Carrie Diaries_? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/7 "2017-12-06T16:05:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Maybe a little past the decade mark, but are you thinking of\* Malcom in the Middle\*? Also its unabashed knockoff _The Middle,_ which shamelessly copied every conceivable detail right down to the title itself. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/8 "2017-12-06T16:11:03Z")
_30 Rock_ did this a number of times. ---
**Author:** ![witzel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/edb3f5/32.png) [@witzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/witzel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/9 "2017-12-06T16:19:16Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Also its unabashed knockoff _The Middle,_ which shamelessly copied every conceivable detail right down to the title itself. :mad: Not to spin this thread wildly off-topic, but this isn’t remotely true. “Three children” and “not well-to-do” are about the only similarities. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/10 "2017-12-06T16:26:02Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The lead character would give long talks to the audience, to the point where the other characters would simply wait for him or her to finish, at times glancing briefly at the camera as if to acknowledge that the other character was talking to the audience. IIRC, they didn’t take it _that_ far on HOUSE OF CARDS; but long talks, yeah, plenty. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/11 "2017-12-06T16:28:39Z")
Zack Morris did it a lot on _Saved by the Bell_ but I don’t recall the other characters waiting for him to finish before going on. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/12 "2017-12-06T18:15:44Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Zack Morris did it a lot on _Saved by the Bell_ but I don’t recall the other characters waiting for him to finish before going on. Actually, I remember the other characters not even being aware of what he was saying; everybody else would freeze while Zack broke the fourth wall and come back to life when he was done. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/13 "2017-12-06T18:21:01Z")
I think _Modern Family_ definitely fits. I’m not sure “in universe” who they’re all supposed to be talking to, but there have definitely been scenes where somebody (Haley or Clare I think) has been impatiently waiting for Phil to finish talking to “us”. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/14 "2017-12-06T18:21:35Z")
Scrubs doesn’t have him talk to the audience, but they did have characters react to JD after he “drifted away” for a while during one of his dream/fantasy sequences. Frank Underwood talks to the camera, but the characters are unaware of it and he waits until he is alone usually. ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/15 "2017-12-06T18:40:08Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > I think _Modern Family_ definitely fits. I’m not sure “in universe” who they’re all supposed to be talking to, but there have definitely been scenes where somebody (Haley or Clare I think) has been impatiently waiting for Phil to finish talking to “us”. I think that, technically, _Modern Family_ doesn’t fit. In the very first episode they established the premise that this was documentary-style show, so they moments when the characters appear to be breaking the fourth wall, they are actually talking to an “in universe” film crew. However, aside from those talking head moments in every episode, I don’t think the show has done anything to acknowledge that this is documentary being filmed since that first episode. So I understand that people may not be aware of that original premise. In contrast, _The Office_ also used the documentary-style, but it maintained that premise throughout the run of the show. I think there was one scene where Michael looked into the camera and said something to the effect of “Cut. Cut. Don’t film this!” There were time where the characters intentionally shut the door on the film crew. And I believe they even literally showed the “in universe” film crew a time or two. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/16 "2017-12-06T18:46:08Z")
Married with Children did it when they specifically mentioned the 4th wall and then showed it to us. Moonlighting. Cybil Sheppard mentioned to the camera that we the audience knew what gibberish designed to sound like motherfucker really meant. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/17 "2017-12-06T18:48:48Z")
I was (and am) looking for a specific show, not current examples. None of the ones mentioned so far are the one I’m thinking of, but thanks for trying! ---
**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:** [December 6, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/18 "2017-12-06T18:55:37Z")
[Other options](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/BreakingTheFourthWall/LiveActionTV). ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/19 "2017-12-06T18:59:51Z")
Better off Ted? > **[Better Off Ted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Off_Ted)** > > Better Off Ted is an American satirical sitcom series, created by Victor Fresco, who also served as the show's executive producer. The series ran on the ABC network from March 18, 2009, to January 26, 2010. > Better Off Ted focuses on the protagonist, Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington), a single father and the well-respected and beloved head of a research and development department at the fictional, soulless conglomerate of Veridian Dynamics. Ted narrates the series' events by regularly breaking the fou... ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-from-the-last-decade-or-so-where-character-s-broke-the-fourth-wall/803712/20 "2017-12-06T23:01:06Z")
> [@milquetoast](#): > > However, aside from those talking head moments in every episode, I don’t think the show has done anything to acknowledge that this is documentary being filmed since that first episode. So I understand that people may not be aware of that original premise. Well, whenever someone says something stupid or unwittingly embarrassing or the like (Phil), it’s not too uncommon for another character to look directly at the camera and grimace in acknowledgment of what just happened (Claire).