Have you ever thought that I Love Lucy was missing a superhero cameo? Did you hold tight to a dream where the worlds of Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers were one? Where George Jetson (George O'Hanlon) and Fred Flintstone (Alan Reed), somehow, someway, meet? Maybe hoped that a certain vacated home in Bel-Air is picked up by a beloved television couple from the past?
Then you, friend, are a fan of the TV crossover.
TV crossovers, where the characters in one show intermingle with the characters of another, are a tricky beast. If they go wrong, then both shows suffer a setback. But when it's right, both shows benefit as viewers are rewarded with what typically becomes one of the most memorable episodes of either series. Crossovers also have been known to include more than two series, run for multi-episode arcs, or even a simple cameo, and broadens the fictional world that each series inhabits. Here are 20 of the most memorable.
The Arrowverse
In December 2019, the CW Network launched "Crisis On Infinite Earths," a crossover event based on the iconic 1985 DC Comics limited series, that spanned over all the DC programming on the network at the time. The Arrowverse was certainly no stranger to crossover events, which by this time were must-see television, but "Crisis "was truly epic, unlikely to ever be topped. Not only did you have the heroes from the Arrowverse, but characters from The Flash (1990), Lucifer, Titans, Doom Patrol, and Birds of Prey would show up as well. Kevin Conroy, the long-admired voice of Batman in numerous projects, would bring a cynical, old Bruce Wayne to the project, while Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) would get a chance to redeem his portrayal of Superman, successfully so. To top if off, fans were treated to the Super Friends theme in the soundtrack, and a shot of a cage that had held Gleek, the space monkey.
Power Rangers in Space / Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
Astronema (Melody Perkins) wants to get her hands on the Astro Megaship, so she brainwashes the Ninja Turtles to take over the Space Rangers ship. Thankfully, they hit an electric storm that frees the Turtles from the brainwashing, and both groups get together and expel Astronema from the ship. Then they do some Galaxy Gliding before heading home. Sometimes it was just great to be a kid in the 90s.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air / The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons would make two appearances on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In "Will is from Mars," Will and Lisa go to couples counseling, where they encounter George and Louise Jefferson, another couple in the group. Will and George get along great, until George mistakenly believes that Will insulted his beloved Weezy. They fight, prompting Louise and Lisa to fight, and ultimately bringing Will and Lisa closer together. In the series finale "I, Done (Part 2)," it's revealed that the Jeffersons buy the Banks’ former home, movin' on... down, and cross-country? Episodes that honor both pioneering African-American shows.
Phineas and Ferb / The Avengers
Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s (Dan Povermire) Power-Draininator hits Iron Man (Adrian Pasdar), Spider-Man (Drake Bell), Hulk (Fred Tatasciore) and Thor (Travis Willingham), rendering them powerless. This allows Red Skull (Liam O'Brien), Whiplash (Peter Stormare), Venom (Danny Trejo) and M.O.D.O.K. (Charlie Adler) to escape. Various silliness ensues, the heroes get their powers back, and the villains are stopped. Nick Fury (Chi McBride) thanks the kids... and Candace (Ashley Tisdale) still doesn’t bust the boys.
I Love Lucy / Adventures of Superman
Lucy (Lucille Ball) asks Ricky (Desi Arnaz) to ask Superman (George Reeves) to come to little Ricky’s (Richard Keith) birthday party. When it appears that he can’t, Lucy makes a Superman costume in order to fool the party guests, but gets stuck out on the ledge. The real Superman shows up and rescues Lucy, who is then berated by Ricky for the craziest stunt Lucy has done in their fifteen years together, prompting a classic line from Reeves: "And they call ME Superman!"
Supernatural / Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
In what surprisingly is not the strangest crossover on this list, the Winchesters get sucked into a tv, more specifically an episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. They team up with the Scooby gang, trap a ghost, and return to the real world. You might say that as far as action goes, they were pretty animated.
Mad About You / Friends
Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay, one of the main characters in Friends and Ursula, a recurring role as a waitress at a local restaurant, in Mad About You. In order to keep both characters, the Friends creators suggested Kudrow play twin sisters, which worked as the two were both NBC shows, set in New York. The twin sisters would often meet up on Friends, perhaps the most notable on the two-part episode "The One With Two Parts" (mind=blown), where Joey (Matt LeBlanc) dates Ursula.
That's So Raven / The Suite Life of Zack & Cody / Hannah Montana
If you were a tweener in the mid 2000s, the Disney Channel original That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana was literally the bomb. There is a story, but did it matter?
The Jetsons / The Flintstones
In the made-for-tv movie The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones, the Jetsons travel to the past in Elroy’s (Daws Butler) time machine, where they meet the Flintstones. Hilarity ensues. The Flintstones are brought to the future. More hilarity. The Jetsons come back to the future. No hilarity. Kidding, hilarity. The Flintstones go home.
New Girl / Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Characters from each show cameo on the other. Jake (Andy Samberg) commandeers a car driven by Jess (Zooey Deschanel), leading to a humorous exchange in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, while the New Girl characters travel to NY, where Jake commandeers a car driven by Jess, again. Jess meets Gina (Chelsea Peretti) and Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) at the precinct while Nick (Jake Johnson) and Winston (Lamorne Morris) meet Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio).
Family Matters / Full House
In the episode "Stephanie Gets Framed," Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) meets Steve Urkel (Jaleel White), and shares with him that she hates her new glasses. Steve tells Stephanie to "make them laugh before they laugh at you." Surprisingly, the advice only gets Stephanie into more trouble, but she comes to accept she’s beautiful even with the specs. The struggle is real.
The Simpsons / Family Guy
The two Fox animated powerhouses come together. The Griffins meet the Simpsons and stay with them after their car is stolen. Things go south when Peter (Seth MacFarlane) defends the Pawtucket brewery in court from claims that Pawtucket Patriot Ale is an imitation of Duff Beer (both of which are imitations of Bud Rock). This crossover works out better than one would think, with the crass Family Guy humor toned down.
The X-Files / Cops
The episode "X-Cops" brings together representatives of two very disparate genres: the reality TV, home video style of Cops and the sci-fi scripted The X-Files. It's a pairing that shouldn’t work, but "X-Cops" marries the monster-of-the-week X-Files formula - a creature that could sense one's greatest fear and make it real - with the anarchy of the unscripted Cops. It's like a precursor to Wellington Paranormal.
How To Get Away With Murder / Scandal
A two-episode crossover where Murder's Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) teams up with Scandal's Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) to work on a class action suit regarding the mass incarceration of black people in the US. Two powerful actors that own the screen.
Chicago Med / Chicago Fire / Chicago PD
The Chicago franchise crosses over so often that it's easy to overlook just how impressive it is to happen seamlessly. It's rarely an event and more like a logical meeting of emergency services you would actually find in any municipality. Even more impressive is how the three shows - Med as a prime-time soap, Fire as a lighter day-in-the-life and PD as a procedural - manage to intermingle without adjusting the feel of their own niche.
Station 19 / Grey’s Anatomy
Like the Chicago franchise, the two Shondaland hits cross over regularly, with Station 19 a welcome addition to the Grey's Anatomy world, infusing some fresh ideas and blood into the long-running show.
The Simpsons / Futurama
Bender (John DiMaggio) is sent to the past to kill Homer (Dan Castellaneta) in an effort to stop rabbit-shaped creatures, which have evolved from Simpson DNA, from destroying New New York, but can't bring himself to kill a man who likes beer as much as Bender does. But it’s actually Bart's (Nancy Cartwright) DNA that the creatures evolved from, thanks to a sandwich that he blew his nose in before putting it in a time capsule. The Simpsons help save New New York and return home from the future (how very Jetsons/Flintstones…). Fans of Matt Groening's work could not be happier, thrilled to see his two most popular ventures together at last.
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
In this epic animated drug-abuse prevention television special from 1990, cartoon characters from Alf, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Ducktales, Garfield, The Real Ghostbusters, Looney Tunes, Muppet Babies, The Smurfs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Winnie the Pooh help teenager Michael see the risks and consequences of drug abuse. Yes, because nothing make teens quit drugs quite like thinking they are on such a bad trip that cartoons are alive and talking to them.
Batman / The Green Hornet
The two shows, both produced by William Dozier, meet over the course of two episodes. The campy Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) would fight the more grounded Green Hornet (Van Williams) and Kato (Bruce Lee), only to realize they’re on the same side against Colonel Gumm (Roger C. Carmel), a stamp fanatic who loves alphabet soup. Fun fact: Bruce Lee flatly refused to lose to Robin, so the original plans for Batman and Robin to win was changed to a draw between the duos.
Newhart / The Bob Newhart Show
In what is hailed as one of the greatest series finale twists in television history, the entire run of Newhart would turn out to be a strange dream of Bob Newhart's Dr. Bob Hartley from the 1970s The Bob Newhart Show. Waking up from the dream, Dr. Bob turns to his wife from that show, Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), to explain it, after which she tells him, "no more Japanese food before bed."