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People Who Have Been On Game Shows Share Their Best Behind The Scenes Secrets

People Who Have Been On Game Shows Share Their Best Behind The Scenes Secrets
Photo by Krissia Cruz on Unsplash

TV game shows are fun because they are not just passive entertainment programs.


Home viewers can play along with the contestants and shout out answers in the hopes that the person they are rooting for can somehow channel your barking through the television screen.

You may not win the cash prize, but the adrenaline rush is a satisfactory equivalent for those living vicariously.

But what viewers are missing out on are the fascinating behind-the-scenes moments reserved for those who participate.


While I have not personally played on a game show or did reality TV, I have been in a live studio audience situation on various talk shows.

The excitement of being on a set is undeniably thrilling and dramatic.

Redditor u/olymp1a wondered about the experiences of former TV game show contestants and asked:

"People who have been on t.v. game shows, what are some 'behind the scenes' secrets that regular viewers don't know about?"
Those who tested their wills on shows like Wheel of Fortune, Cash Cab, and even reality dating shows answered the call with their amusing anecdotes you never would have suspected happened off-camera.

Wheel Of Weight

"I was on Wheel of Fortune. You have to get there at 5 AM where you draw straws with other contestants to decide when you will film. They film the entire week of episodes in 1 day. Pat Sajak is incredibly friendly and interacted with us on every break. The wheel is HEAVY."

Pickitline

Lucky Passenger

"I was on Cash Cab. You can't just hail a cab in New York which turns out to be the Cash Cab. There is a vetting process, but you don't know you are going to be on the show so the reaction is genuine. Also, there is alot of awkward silence time while he is listening to the producer in his ear. There is a cameraman riding shotgun unseen on TV. The money he gives is prop money for TV. They mail you a check after the show airs. Ben Bailey was genuinely a nice guy."

hockeyfn16

A Priceless Experience

"I was in the audience at the price is right. You wait like 4+ hours just to get into the taping. They come by and give you a short interview to see if you are a good prospect to make it to contestant row. I was with a group of 4 and none of us made it. The studio audience is significantly smaller than it appears on tv. Drew Carey told jokes between filming. The set is tiny. The wheel is tiny. No secrets to reveal except that they must use some serious lenses and angles to make it appear bigger. It was a long day but it was a cool experience."

dpchemd1

System GIFGiphy

Un-aired Scenes

"They let the other girl in the Showcase Showdown (Price is Right) rebid after the audience booed her original bid (something silly low like $10,000). When it aired, they cut her original bid and showed only her second, winning bid. I lost."

pumpkinspicerabbit

"I remember seeing that in a Showcase on an episode but it was the exact opposite — she originally bid something insane like $73,000, then revised it to $40,000 or so; she was still incredibly off, as her showcase was less than $20,000. The other contestant bid $32,000 on a showcase that was less than half of that, so I think combined it was the worst Showcase I had ever watched."

ooboh

A Generous Prize

"My teacher was on wheel of fortune Australia and he won a life supply of wd40. It turns out with average usage a can of wd40 lasts twenty years, so a life's supply is four cans."

DobbyDun

"What an awful prize. Even if it was more than 4 cans, how is wd40 a game show prize? 'I won a car' 'I won $500' 'I won $100k' 'I won... some lubricant. And not the fun kind.'"

cornicat

Butterfinger Trauma

"When my wife was a kid she won a lifetime supply of butterfinger candy bars. It was 2 cases. Not the cardboard flats you can buy at bulk stores but 2 actual factory crates like a grocery store would get so several hundred candy bars. She said when she first got them she felt ripped off because while it was a lot, she was only a kid so there was no way it was a 'lifetime' supply."

"She made it thru half the first case before she started giving them away to anyone that would take them. By the end of the 2nd case she was throwing them away."

"Now as an adult several decades later, she still won't eat butterfingers. So I guess it really was all the butterfingers she would ever need for the rest of her life."

DeaddyRuxpin

The Spectator And Fudge

"Was in the audience at a Food Network taping and Iron Chef America really is a 60-minute competition. That's not fudged. The judging on the other hand takes foreeeeever."

gambalore

Failing On Purpose

"Was on a MTV game show called 'fist of zen' on MTV. Basically a group of people subjected to painful and nauseating tasks for cash. We won every round but the producer asked us to purposefully 'fail' one to change things up. Despite losing one round we were still paid the full prize money."

JackRabbitSkimzzz

A "Horrible Experience"

"A work colleague of mine was one of the couples in married at first sight."

"She had a horrible experience, needed counseling afterwards and is still receiving an 'appearance fee' (read hush money) even though her season aired like 5 years ago."

"Her words: unReal may as well be a documentary."

W2ttsy

Reasoning For Counseling Explained

"Mainly emotional fall out."

"Producers would extract personal info about the people being paired up prior to the coupling and then do the opposite for dramatic tension."

"So if you had someone that had been a victim of domestic violence in the past, they'd get paired with someone with a hot temper."

"Also, producers would leak information to others to set up a stand off. So perhaps one person might say something over drinks to another in confidence. The producers then take that and plant it with another person so that over dinner it comes out and drama ensues."

"And of course out of context filming to create the character tropes: the victim, the villain, the winner, etc.

"My work colleague had an irrelevant story about a past relationship come out during a group dinner and apparently it triggered a very angry response for the person she was paired with and for the rest of the season she was goaded by him and the producers."

"They also weren't too interested in her leaving mid way through, so kept stringing both people along to get what they needed on the contracted filming period."

"Unrelated to this, but channel 9 got into huge hot water on last years season of their renovation show the block after one contestant couple broke their NDA and exposed a bunch of stuff about the sh*t editing and poor treatment of contestants."

"Interestingly enough, a lot of the triggers that caused that have disappeared from this season."

"Edit: I won't be revealing the person, season, hints about this person."

W2ttsy

Appointing A Villain

"My cousin was one of the contestants on My Kitchen Rules. She was targeted to be the 'evil' person for the season and it ruined her career for awhile after. This was nearly 10yr ago. A lot of people I talked to said they don't believe the producer edit it to purposely target one person and she must just be a nasty person. I couldn't believe people were that naive. There was a fair bit of drama around it all, not sure if anything came of it."

MrHobbes14

The Truth About Prizes

"I was a winner on The Price is Right. After the show, you're taken into a small room where you do paperwork. Some of the items that I won onscreen (iPads, movie tickets and snacks for a year) were instead awarded as the cash equivalent (I had no say in the matter). Also, contrary to popular belief, the contestant does not have the option to request money instead of specific prizes. The only choice you have is to outright decline any of the prizes."

"Edited to add: Winners of CBS game shows are not permitted to be contestants on CBS game shows for ten years. Former Price is Right winners may still attend a taping, but a big diagonal line is drawn through their name on their name tag."

BladeBronson

Small Sets

"Yes the Millionaire set is small, worn-out and looks shoddy up close. It's in an island of light in a corner of a dark warehouse. But onTV it looks great, glamorous and shiny."

onzogo

Product Placement

"My wife got a tattoo on a tattoo competition show. They gave her headphones to wear while she was being tattooed, but she wasn't allowed to actually plug them in and listen to music. Pure product placement lol"

"Other than that it was a really good experience! Producers worked with her for several weeks leading up to and made sure she got a tattoo subject and style that she wanted."

byfuryattheheart

Once More With Feeling

"They tell the audience to clap and cheer and they film that to edit it in during appropriate events. If we didn't cheer or clap loud enough, they had us retake it. The same goes for grimaces/negative reactions and shock/surprise."

zee714

"Useless" Audience

"I was on 'Who wants to be a millionaire', and its all scripted. The filming took half a day for 30 minutes of film. When you win the intro round, you are taken out to get your make up on, and then they instruct you how to act when you celebrate."

"The reason the audience is so completely useless (And why you see so many press wrong on obvious answers) is because 20-30% of the audience is friends and family to the other 7 contestants who are waiting for their turn. We spent two days in the studio, and if the initial contestant loses, the others get their chance. If one contestant goes far and takes a lot of time, no one else gets a chance, so the audience tells the wrong answer on purpose."

RandomPunktSucks

People Reveal What Their Significant Other Did That Made Them Think 'F**k This, We're Done'

Reddit user The_King_Of_Spades_ asked: 'What is something that an S/O has done that made you go, 'F**k this, we're done?'

Young man looking defeated with face to palms
Christian Erfurt/Unsplash
Maintaining romantic relationships takes work, and if the people are invested enough in them, they will be willing to do everything they can to stay together.

After all, the honeymoon phase is not forever.

Eventually, reality sets in for those who want to be in it for the long haul as the lovebirds gradually start discovering weird idiosyncrasies that can either be perceived as cute quirks or aggravating annoyances.

Is it worth it?

That depends.

Curious to hear of make-it-or-break-it moments in relationships, Redditor The_King_Of_Spades_ asked:

"What is something that an S/O has done that made you go, 'F'k this, we're done'?"

These exes had no regard for the lives of others, some literally.

Serpent Murderer

"She unplugged the heater on my red tail boa's tank. Since the tank was in the spare room I only checked it every couple days. It was winter and I had just fed it so I would always leave it alone for a few days after so it wouldn't stress and have issues digesting. She went in right behind me an unplugged it after arguing with me for weeks to rehome it, which I refused to do."

"I went to check on it a few days later and noticed it froze to death. I asked her if she knew anything about it and her response was 'oh bummer, now I guess you can throw all that sh*t out.'"

"The next day when she was at work I packed all her sh*t and threw it all over her sister's front yard, since her sister was always the one telling her to just do things if I don't give her her way and had told me numerous times to get rid of my snake or else."

"RIP Doobie. I'm sorry buddy."

– burkechrs1

Funeral Brawl

"She started a fight with someone at my gran's funeral."

– LapOfHonour

"That's odd. Nobody is looking at ME for some reason..."

– VAShumpmaker

"Ummm...ex-CUSE me! I'M the ALIVE one here!"

– PicaDiet

Family Comes First

"Gave me sh*t for skipping a minor league ballgame with her family so I could go visit my grandfather in the hospital."

"It was the last time i saw him alive."

"Edit - ok i get it, the last sentence is confusing. I’m referring to gramps."

– chickentimesfive

You never know about a person's true colors.

Dodging A Bullet

"Physically barricaded me in the bedroom and forced me to change into the exact outfit he wanted me to wear before we could go out to meet his friends. I put it on just so he would let me leave and then ran a couple blocks away while he was locking up and called an Uber to my friend's house."

– Particular-Natural12

The Freeloader

"My ex drove my truck and returned it with a drop of gas in the tank. Then she took my bank card from my wallet and filled up her SUV and went to work. I started my truck and got to the gas station, opened my wallet and my card was missing. This was back when I was kind of poor and didn't have any credit cards, just a debit card. I had no cash in my wallet, so no gas. I tried to make it back home but I ran out of gas. I called her asking for help, she refused."

"My buddy picked me up on the side of the road. I went home and packed up my stuff and immediately moved out. I stayed on my friends sofa for a couple weeks while I worked out new living arrangements."

– macmac360

The kids will always be priority number one.

Scared Child

"My 12 year old son was struggling emotionally and it was causing issues with his grades. Boyfriend told him he could go live with his dad if he was going to be a loser. My son called me scared because he thought he was going to have to move to his dad’s. I was out of town at the time. I broke up with him the moment I got back and my son and I moved out."

"F'k you Chris."

– Fickle_Freckle

You Don't Go After The Children

"Called my daughter (not hers) a 'f'king b*tch that ruined our relationship'. Hard no from me."

– javawong

"Thank you for prioritizing your daughter. So many single parents don’t."

– CowboyLaw

Those who abuse animals are not relationship material.

The Last Straw

"Kicked my (our) cat."

"He pushed and pushed to get a cat. I wanted one but didn't really want to spend the next 10 years cleaning litter boxes every day. I eventually gave in because he was so persistent."

"After a few months, he came home from work in a mood one day and the cat got under his feet - as cats tend to do. He kicked her and screamed at her, and she ran and hid under the bed for hours."

"Things had been pretty sh*t between us anyway, but this was the last straw. I told him that if he can't watch where he's f'king going, he shouldn't live with a cat. He responded with something along the lines of 'well f'king get rid of her then!', and I told him I'd rather get rid of him."

"I told him to pack a bag and find somewhere else to stay. He went to stay with his mum, and I only saw him once after that day when he had to sign some paperwork to confirm that he'd moved out of our flat."

"P.S. Still got the cat. She's perfect and I love her so much. She still trips me up almost every day."

"Edit: I do feel like I should clarify (even though ex doesn't deserve it) - he didn't like, kick the cat across the room or something, but he did kick her a lot more aggressively than just tapping her out of the way with his foot. She wasn't hurt at all, but was scared. Had it been any worse, I probably would have flipped out on him even more."

– aerialpoler

Always listen to your gut when it comes to being in a bad situation.

Vulnerable individuals who are deep in love have the tendency of ignoring warning signs and realize until too late that they are with someone they never should've been with in the first place.

That's the tricky thing about pursuing love.

You don't really know a person until you spend more time with them, which is all the more reason to not rush into things.

Man on bke wearing an American flag with a woman running behind him holding an American flag.
Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

When studying or learning about different countries and cultures, many Americans find themselves fascinated and/or perplexed by some of their customs and traditions.

Up to and including Canada having their Thanksgiving celebrations in October, Guy Fawkes night in England, or spitting on the bride for good luck at Greek weddings.

Many of these same Americans who scoff at the very idea of these customs might not stop to think that the tables can be easily turned, and visitors from abroad often find themselves in an equal state of confusion at some of our customs and traditions.

Redditor thunderpower1999 was eager to hear which American customs foreigners found to be the most baffling, leading them to ask:

"Non- Americans, what is an American custom that you find unusual or odd?"

The Only Thing More Ridiculous, Are Most Of The Candidats

"I find the length of your election campaigns so crazy."- Olivia123321

Presidential elections seem to be some sort of two year affair. It's out of control.

Most Meteorologists Would Agree

"My friend from India once asked me (an American) to explain Groundhog Day to her."

"I had no explanation- it’s just weird."- marmosetohmarmoset

Groundhog Day Winter GIFGiphy

Slowly Becoming Extinct Though...

"The waiter taking your card away to pay."- Vlakob

Trick Or Treat!

"I’ll never forget when a college schoolmate from China asked me 'is it true that you have a holiday where children dress up and go around asking for candy?'"

"I had never thought about it before but all I could say was 'yes, I guess we do…'"- EverLong0

They Think That's Strange, Ask Them What They Think About Our Health Care System...

"The Canadians I worked with in the oilfield were blown away by all of the television commercials for medicines."- rufneck-420

Happy Mental Health GIF by Jimmy ArcaGiphy

Gobble Gobble!

"Pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving."

"Cracks me up every time, and I've lived here 20 years now!"- sandithepirate

Strange Isn't Always Bad

"Let me pull the Uno reverse card on this."

"I am an immigrant, living in the US for a very long time."

"Getting your leftovers to go at the restaurants was a surprise to me."

"But my reaction was, 'yeah, why is that not the norm?'"

"Rather than “Americans are strange'."- BobTheInept

When You Think You Have Exact Change...

"Not including tax in the price tag."- klc81

The Simpsons Animation GIF by FOX TVGiphy

So Much For Camaraderie...

"The obsession with college sports…and in some places even high school or middle school!"

"I just came back from a work trip to Texas and one of my colleagues told me the football stadium for his daughter’s middle school held 20,000 people!"- Speedbird223

Valuing Children? The Very Thought!

"That new parents, especially fathers, are expected to show up to work within days of having a newborn."- kellygrrrl328

How Long Have You Got?

"Some things I found strange in America:"

"Lack of recycling bins everywhere."

"That homeless people have tents everywhere like streets (Washington really surprised me)."

"Ice filled to the brim of the cup."

"Anything and everything having a tipping option."

"Tipping in general."

"Tax not included in the price."

"Massive lawyer billboards on every highway."- effypom

The Office Yes GIFGiphy

Civic Duty, But No Civic Holiday.

You have holidays for everything but a day off for election is too much

Just Plain Gross

"Child beauty pageants."

"Just stop it."- LoadedGull

It should be said that most Americans are equally confused, if not downright horrified, by many of the abovementioned customs.

Which begs the question, what keeps us living here?

Perhaps Americans desire to stay put, in spite of a heavily flawed electoral process, a convoluted healthcare system, and winter being dictated by a groundhog's shadow is the strangest American custom of them all...

A young man with orange tinted sunglasses fans out a large amount of one hundred dollar bills
Photo by Shane

Who among us hasn't wondered about how our rich buddies have made their fortunes?

Some people work really hard actually.

They're in an office or in the field all day and night.

They have their noses to the grind.

And yes some people just collect an inheritance.

That's ok too, but how do you make it bigger?

Redditor h3llofaRide wanted to hear about how the rich make a living, so they asked:

"What does the wealthiest person you know do for work?"

My rich friends are all investment people.

They know when to buy and sell.

It's a gift.

Fancy Services

Coding Looney Tunes GIF by Looney Tunes World of MayhemGiphy

"The wealthiest person I know (and hang out with regularly) built a company (IT services) and then sold it for several hundred million dollars."

"He now runs a company that does the same kind of IT services in a different field. (He figured out a winning business formula and is just repeating it in a different market)."

omniumoptimus

Name It

"A family friend retired after being a COBOL programmer for 30 years. About 2 years after his retirement, a company came to him and said 'Name your salary' and he requested around $1.5 million/year. He was hired on the spot and still works there."

bbbbbthatsfivebees

"A family member worked at various companies, he told me this is very common. It's not obscure programming languages, just that they know what's going on. And don't let anyone else near it or something."

chabybaloo

Oink Oink

"Pig farmer. I kid you not. He's my father's old friend. I visited him once when my father and I were passing through the state. He lives in a modest classic farmhouse with his wife, both in their seventies. I mentioned I was starting a school in West Africa as we were catching up."

"A few weeks later I got a text asking how much it would cost. I told him 40k, thinking it was really nice of him if he wanted to send a few dollars."

"I got a check for 40k. I thought it would take me years to raise that. I'm typing this from Sierra Leone because he also paid for the house I thought would take years to raise funds for."

LadyCordeliaStuart

That Dude

"It's a guy I work with. He started with one Jimmy John's franchise and turned it into 10 franchises. Ran them for 10 years then sold them all and dumped the money into the stock market and real estate. He did this all while working as an airline pilot, currently still working at the airline. This dude owns and flies his own private jet on top of all that."

OT-35

Every day...

Proliferate Charlie Chaplin GIF by nounish ⌐◨-◨Giphy

"Inherited a small factory from his father. Developed it into a huge nationwide company. Still goes to work there everyday despite being worth hundreds of millions."

ShipJust

Factory work. That is where so much greatness begins.

On the Road

Happy Go Crazy GIF by DAF Trucks NVGiphy

"Truck driver. Starting his own trucking company."

Apprehensive-Crow-96

"Tons of money in the trucking business. An owner of one in my city drives a Porsche 918."

ForgottenPercentage

In the End

"Own their own conveyor belt business. Makes almost 2 mil a year after it’s all said and done."

TakeMe_To_Eisengard

"I was a control systems engineer who started contracting on the side. Now I build out crazy manufacturing systems like this. All it takes is getting one project to build a conveyor system and if you end up good at it then boom, you build conveyor systems for the rest of your life. Conveyor systems are actually really expensive and complex in the manufacturing world."

PleasantProgram7572

Life-Changing

"Both in tech. A friend is in a company about to IPO and is VP level so will do well there. Her husband just sold his company (gaming company) to the biggest gaming company in China for, as she put it 'life-changing money.' Both are very intelligent, super nice, and crazy hard-working. They worked for it, and it couldn't happen to nicer people."

BonePGH

The Little Things

"I was a fly fishing guide for many years, and one of my regular clients year after year owned a factory on the East Coast that is one of the top suppliers of O-rings and small plastic machine parts in the world. I never asked how much they made obviously out of respect. But they always tipped absurd amounts ($1500 was my biggest tip for 3 days) they flew private and drank and shared $600 bottles of wine like they were nothing."

The_Kinetic_Esthetic

Let's Play

gamer GIF by TotorialGiphy

"He's the founder and CEO of a very successful games company. I met him over a decade ago when the company was successful but nowhere near what it is now. He's also one of the most approachable and friendly people I've ever met, to the extent that it sometimes feels like an act."

Lauantaina

Games and gaming.

Who knew?

Can I count all of my hours of Nintendo for tax exemptions?

Content Warning: alcoholism, sexual assault, harassment, and violence against women in entertainment

The entertainment industry is constantly changing and generally reflects what the public finds interesting and believes in.

Fortunately, this means that some problematic tropes, storylines, and messages are being retired from the writers' room, and viewers are embracing the more inclusive characters and stories they're seeing on screen.

Redditor midnightsonofab***h asked:

"What TV trope was common in the not-so-distant past but is completely unacceptable today?"

Connected At All Times

"Misunderstandings that can now be cleared up by a text or cell phone call. Entire episodes used to be built around people not being able to find or communicate with each other and just having to figure stuff out."

- OccasionallyWright

"I read a story from a horror writer and he said cell phones changed how they have to write because 99% of the stuck-in-a-murder town or house situations would be solved by phones now."

- Cleets11

"Oh yeah, for sure! I write thrillers for a living, and the idea of a 'MacGuffin' that is hidden is a lot harder to pull off when the now-dead character hiding it could've just called the right people and told them, or sent them the data in an email, etc."

"I have a very good editor (he's BAFTA nominated) and had this exact one in my latest story outline, with them 'finding' a report he's hidden. But... he could've just sent it to his daughter by email."

"As I'm older, I have to adjust my mindset constantly to deal with stuff like that."

- jloome

Security Before Love

"Running through the airport to confess one's love for the protagonist. Or the 'Home Alone' premises. These wouldn't happen today with current security measures."

- flawedmentalist69_

Women's Panic Attacks

"Not really TV trope but slapping women that were supposedly having a panic attack was almost a trope in westerns and noire movies."

- Sufficient-Eye-8883

Unresolved Amnesia

"People walking around with amnesia."

"Every freaking show, someone hit their head and had amnesia and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Like, hello, brain injury?"

- darkmatternot

Stalking Love

"Stalking a woman long enough and constantly will eventually make her fall for you."

- SuvenPan

"This was probably the most confusing thing growing up in the late 80s and early 90s."

"This odd thing was sold to both genders: the guy was supposed to keep on going after being told to be uninteresting. This led to guys thinking 'no means ask again' and girls saying 'no' to guys that they were interested in, but thought this is how the game was played in real life."

"Even in my early 20s, I saw girls in my party crew doing this, quite often harshly rejecting a drop-dead handsome guy, then being all p**sy about it when the guy just f**ked off as being told to and didn't instead start the rom-com mating ritual."

- aamurusko79

Voyeurism Was Not Okay

​"Spying on naked women or women changing clothes as an innocent boy or teen rite of passage."

- coagulatedfat

"'It’s Always Sunny' does a great episode called 'The Gang Hits the Slopes' or something. They go to a ski resort and live out 80s tropes from their childhood before realizing how f**ked up it all was, including spying on women and skiing without helmets."

- tman291

Homophobia "Humor"

​"Gay panic. I love 'Friends,' but how often the joke was AT any of the guys doing anything feminine?"

- HazeAbove

"The flamboyant gay character whose sexuality is either intended for the audience to laugh and make fun of or becomes a joke with other characters."

- DimesyEvans92

"Or in the case of 'Friends,' the straight character who everybody thinks is gay and is the butt (pun intended) of the joke."

- Friesenplatz

The Dark Side of the Town Drunk

"Comedic town drunk. Think Otis from 'The Andy Griffith Show.'"

- dominationnation

"I think part of the problem is the 'comedic town drunk' is something so many people can relate to because every small town seems to have one."

"My town growing up certainly did. His name was Silas. He drove a lawnmower everywhere because he lost his license, and would shout, 'Yee-Haw!' when it reached max speed. The man could consume an impossible quantity of alcohol and just as quickly piss it all out."

"He was homeless and on a first-name basis with every police officer in the county. He could tell the funniest, dirtiest jokes, and in late autumn would commit some minor harmless crime to spend the winter in jail (where he'd put on a lot of weight) instead of spending it in his tent."

"He was also a very reliable handyman, our family hired him a few times to remove massive trees, and he'd drop them right where he said he would."

"But that's where the comedy and trope end. I've referred to him in the past tense because he died of liver failure."

"He was ill with an addiction and desperately needed help to get past it, and that's what the TV tropes fail to discuss. Consequently, it's funny to the audience because it conveniently ignores the harsh reality of the situation."

- Kent_Knifen

Smoking Bans

"'Mind if I smoke?' in places where people would instantly object today, like cars, airplanes, spaceships, the baby's nursery, etc."

- crooked-v

​Anti-Tomboy and Androgyny 

"'Fixing' the 'tomboy' who likes to wear boys' clothes, no makeup, and do boy things."

"There's an 'Andy Griffith Show' episode that would be considered an over-the-top parody if it came out now."

- Visible_Scallion_489

No Locked Doors

"People living in NYC and L.A. who never lock the front door."

- KAG25

"Pretty sure 'Friends' lampshade this with an episode where they all get locked out and Monica even asks, 'Who locked the door? That door is never locked!'"

- rhapsody98

Questionable Family Dynamics

"An overweight, lazy husband with a smoking hot, nagging wife. Add in one rebellious teen and one nerdy kid and boom. The family sitcom recipe."

- chewedupshoes

The Hate for Wives

"The running joke in sitcoms is that every average American man hates their wife and is always complaining about her 'nagging' and just wants to hang with the boys and dreams about the single life or having more freedom but he’s a dad now."

"I think too many are sick of seeing that. It wasn’t really funny in the first place. And now society is trying to push many to see marriage as the ultimate goal anyway and vilifies people for wanting to be single."

- BellaBlue06

Minorities As Targets

"Black dude dies first. It's basically never done nowadays and the trope is almost always pointed out if there's even the possibility of it happening."

- CoolGuy69MLG

When we look through this thread, we can all think of examples of these old tropes, from smoking to consent, and fortunately, most of these shows are older.

As terrible as it might be that these tropes were once popular, it's at least refreshing to see that we are learning, that the entertainment industry is reflecting that, and some of these tropes are fading away.