Why Every TV Series Ever Exists In A Shared Universe

Every story you've ever watched unfold on television happened in the same universe, and we can prove it. These days, the terms "shared universe" and "expanded universe" are commonplace, thanks in large part to the stupefying success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and would-be competitors like the DC Extended Universe and the MonsterVerse. But the concept dates back much further than any current trend. In the near century of television history, many shared universes have arisen and, in some cases, even bled into others.

Thanks to phenomena like programs sharing props manufactured by fictional companies, character crossovers, and spinoff series, television has spun itself a canonical web that ensnares every fictional fly it encounters. You'd be surprised at many of the weirdest linked TV continuities, which join franchises you would never expect to fit together. With all these connections to consider, we must conclude that we've all been watching one gloriously diverse and melodramatic existence unfold purely for our entertainment. In this article, we'll point out some of the strongest evidence in support of this theory and prove beyond a doubt that every TV series ever exists in one shared universe.

The '90s was a totally unique period in TV history. An almost unbelievable number of TV's greatest all-time hits overlapped, competed, and crossed over. In their fervent bid for broadcast dominance, NBC connected a number of its biggest series from the "Best Night of Television on Television" and "Must See TV" eras. ABC likewise connected many series from its "TGIF" block.

On the NBC side, the mega-hit "Cheers" spun off into "Frasier," which crossed over with "Caroline in the City," which in turn crossed over with "Friends," which crossed over with "Mad About You," which crossed over with "Seinfeld." 

Turning to ABC and their TGIF series, we find crossovers between "Family Matters" — specifically its breakout character, Steve Urkel — appearing on "Step by Step," "Full House," and canonically mentioning "Boy Meets World," which itself once featured Sabrina from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," who also appeared in "Clueless." More examples remain, but the point is illustrated.

With all due respect to perennial heavyweight "The Simpsons," "Scooby-Doo" reigns supreme as the animated franchise that connects the most TV worlds into one. To begin with, it's a Hanna-Barbera property, meaning it's already connected with "Harvey Birdman," "Space Ghost," "Yogi Bear," and dozens of others. But the tendrils of "Scooby-Doo" reach out much further than that. The Mystery Machine's ghost-hunting quintet have teamed up with the Addams Family, Elvira, multiple animated versions of the DC Universe, the Looney Tunes, Johnny Bravo, Godzilla, and a seemingly endless list of others. They've even made forays into live-action series like "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," which connects them — and by extension, all the aforementioned animated shows — to the TGIF Universe.

The Scooby-Doo gang also have a few unique connections of their own, having shared a special with the guys from "Supernatural" and starred in multiple movies with WWE wrestlers. Those WWE crossovers, "Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery" and "Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon," are one of the oddest additions to our hypothesized shared TV universe, as the line between fiction and reality occasionally gets blurry in pro wrestling. Regardless, the role that Mark Calaway played for 33 years, The Undertaker, is now as real within the context of the fictional universe as Spider-Man or King Kong thanks to his friendship with Scooby Doo and his human pals.

Like comic books, video games operate within their own universes, but occasionally bring in characters from TV in order to generate some crossover fun. Fighting games play host to the most crossovers by far, likely due to how comparatively easy it is to license a character without any need to develop a new story. One of the strongest connections is between the DC and Mortal Kombat universes. DC characters appear in "Mortal Kombat 11," while Raiden and Sub-Zero show up in "Injustice 2."

The two games share characters and acknowledge their place within multiverse realities. Let's keep in mind the many previously established TV connections to the DC Universe, and the fact that the myriad iterations of the DC Universe all exist within a single omniverse. Thanks to Mortal Kombat, we can link several other beloved characters and, by extension, their home universes. These include the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hellboy, Rambo, Robocop, the T-800, and Spawn, who all bring their respective realities into the fold. In fact, the presence of the extremely crossover prone TMNT links up a number of transitive realties.

Some connections between TV universes feel pretty tenuous compared to characters from different programs interacting with each other directly. Dream sequences, for instance, might come across as a wee bit dubious. But the ubiquity of fictional products — food, drinks, cigarettes, and other items used by TV characters from multiple, supposedly separate universes — make a compelling case for the single TV omniverse theory. 

One of the most famous fictional brands is Morley cigarettes, the cancer-stick of choice for the Cigarette-Smoking Man from "The X-Files." But Morleys are far from unique to "The X-Files." Characters from "Friends," "The Twilight Zone," "Burn Notice," and others have smoked Morleys. The implications of so many disparate characters patronizing the same company should be clear by now. There's also Let's Potato Chips, which appeared in "Arrested Development," "NCIS," "Grey's Anatomy," and more. The chips also made a prominent appearance in "Community" because of course they did. You've likely seen characters from dozens of movies and TV shows, ranging every genre you can imagine, drinking Heisler Beer. The prop drink suggests a common continuity in which the Heisler corporation dominated the alcoholic beverage industry.

There is one character from one TV series that has inspired more analysis and theory than any other in the pursuit of proving the existence of a shared TV universe – Tommy Westphall from "St. Elsewhere." Westphall spent the vast majority of the series as a minor character — the rarely seen son of Dr. Donald Westphall, and only appeared in 17 out of the show's 137 episodes. Tommy's exceptional claim to fame came in the series finale, when the show heavily implied that the entire series had taken place in his mind. Given the number of crossovers between "St. Elsewhere" characters and fictional people from other shows — and those characters' crossovers, in turn — the Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis suggests that all of TV exists within the mind of the young Tommy Westphall, played by accomplished TV actor and apparent Aquaman fan Chad Allen.

The hypothesis first came about via an innocuous blog post from writer and DC animation luminary Dwayne McDuffie in 2002 and has since become a central fixture in hundreds of shared universe hypotheses. A multitude of fans and professionals have added their touch to the hypothesis, to the point where multiple outlets keep continually updated lists on the universe's many inclusions. One of the "St. Elsewhere" producers, Tom Fontana, told the BBC that "Someone did the math once and something like 90 percent of all television took place in Tommy Westphall's mind. God love him."