The devil is in the details. Whether you’re writing a book, painting a picture, or filming a movie, any large creative project has the potential to go viral and become a global phenomenon. However, you’re only increasing your chances of success if you put in as much effort as you can into fleshing out the world you’re creating and making it as believable as possible (even if it’s a fantasy or sci-fi universe). Really, it’s the tiny details that can make or break a show.
That’s where the r/TVDetails subreddit comes in. It’s an online community that unites perceptive TV lovers who share the most “interesting and unnoticed details” that they’ve spotted in their fave shows. We’ve collected the most intriguing details to show you just how genius some of these creators are. Scroll down and get ready—you won’t be able to think about these series the same way ever again.
#1 In The 1st Episode Of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Will Asks Geoffrey Not To Use The Master Title. Geoffrey Says It's Necessary For A Butler
Throughout The Entire Series He Uses The Master Title. It's Not Until The Final Episode, After He Is Relieved Of His Duty, That Geoffrey Says "Goodbye..Will."
Image credits: toksic316
#2 In The Spongebob Squarepants Halloween Special, Sandy Dresses Up As A Pet Goldfish In A Bowl And Squidward “Doesn’t Get It” Because He’s Unaware Of What Life Is Like Beyond The Sea
Image credits: MILFHunter2001
#3 In Got, Daenerys Gets More Braids In Her Hair As She Wins More Victories - Following The Dothraki Tradition And Proving Her Valour As A Khaleesi
Image credits: MildlyAlcoholic
In our experience, even the smallest details contribute to the overall atmosphere of a TV show or film. But the thing is that they can’t be random. They need to make sense in the context of the show and the universe that the show’s creators are lovingly crafting. It’s the details that reveal how much effort someone’s put into crafting the world that the story’s protagonists inhabit.
However, if they’re messy or clash with the rest of the story (instead of adding to it), they can break our immersion. And if your audience is no longer willing to suspend its disbelief for the sake of the spectacle, then you’re really in hot water. Barely anybody is going to stick with your story if they know you’re just winging it.
#4 In Friends S08e17 The One With The Tea Leaves, Ross' T-Shirt Has An Image On It Which Means "Friends" In Sign Language
Image credits: RideHomeJet
#5 In Killing Eve (2018- ), During Opening Credits, Sandra Oh's Name Is Often Accompanied By Lines Including The Word "Oh"
Image credits: leaudissey
#6 Hbo's Lovecraft Country Recreated This Famous Photograph Of African Americans Lined Up Outside A Relief Agency After The Louisville Flood Of 1937
Image credits: lawless77
A while ago, Bored Panda spoke about the willing suspension of disbelief and immersion with writer, teacher, and webcomic creator Christopher Burke. He explained to us that audience members sometimes stumble across details on the silver screen that completely take them out of the story and make them realize that the entire spectacle is fake. It can be something completely minor.
"There can be a dragon. The dragon can swear, smoke cigars, and drink whiskey if it wants to. But if it starts talking about cigars and whiskey and gets basic facts (which are easily found) wrong, someone's going to notice, and that will pull them out of the moment. The audience will willingly accept the big stuff or they wouldn't watch the movie. It's the small stuff that's distracting, and sometimes you wonder if they could've avoided it” he said.
#7 Arthur And Buster Are Such Good Friends That They Each Have Slippers Of The Other!
Image credits: dontthrowmeinabox
#8 In The Last Season Of Modern Family, Claire Asks Gloria If She's Hiding A Pregnancy Behind The Laundry Basket
It's A Reference To The Pilot Episode Where Julie Bowen (Claire) Had To Be Behind Several Object When In Front Of The Camera To Hide The Fact That She Was 8 1/2 Month Pregnant At The Time
Image credits: OthmanT
#9 In This Shot From The Pilot Episode Of The Sopranos Tony Is Depicted As Having A Sixth Finger On His Left Hand Which Is Considered An Omen Of Bad Luck
Image credits: reddit.com
"Information is readily available. I would rather that the movie makers created a fictitious train, such as the T line, than use a real line and have it go where it doesn't belong (and no one has a problem with this). Using Vancouver or Toronto for Brooklyn is fine. I accept that. Using Hoyt–Schermerhorn as a stand-in for City Hall is fine, too,” he explained.
#10 In Community (S3e7), Troy Says Blanket Forts “Aren't Just For When Uncle's Die”
In (S2e10), Troy Says His Uncle Died Recently, And Just The Episode Before, (S2e9), Abed And Troy Build A Blanket Fort. Implying Abed And Troy Made A Blanket Fort As A Coping Mechanism
Image credits: BlackKnight6660
#11 [frasier] Chair Goes In, Chair Goes Out. 11 Years Later. Same Actor, Same Shirt
Image credits: thenewyorkgod
#12 In The Adventure Time Episode “What Was Missing?” (S03e10), Jake Breaks His Violin In Half So For The Rest Of The Series His Violin Is Duct Taped Together
Image credits: reddit.com
"They'll never get all of it, especially the specialized stuff," he said that the basics have to be there, even if perfection is impossible. "Say, putting the 4 train on the Brighton line will leave a lot of New Yorkers scratching their hands more than King Kong or Godzilla on the Boardwalk."
#13 In Black Mirror’s “Hang The Dj”, Amy Realizes She’s In A Simulation When She Notices She Can Only Skip The Rock 4 Times. She Does This At The 44th Second Of The 44th Minute. It’s Also The 4th Episode Of The 4th Season
Image credits: yakayummi
#14 In Derry Girls S02e01 Michelle Talks About Liz Hurley Paper-Clipping Her Dresses Together. In S02e05 She Paperclips Her Prom Dress Together
Image credits: garycag
#15 In The 1990’s Version Of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Her Biology Teacher Was Mr. Poole. His Full Name Is Eugene Poole, But He Goes By Gene. That Means Her Biology Teacher Was Gene Poole
Image credits: hailey_q
Created nearly 6 years ago, in late June of 2017, the r/TVDetails subreddit has carved out a sizeable niche for itself over the years. At the time of writing, it was home to 171k members who couldn’t get enough of discussing all the hidden and subtle details in their top TV shows.
#16 [community] When Britta Recites Her Horror Story To The Group, She Imagines Herself Reading “War And Peace” But She Britta’d The Title
Image credits: RadiCal-Coff
#17 In Adventure Time S5e34 We See The Candy Kingdom Hundreds Of Years In The Past. The Banana Guards Are All Green Because They Aren't Ripe Yet
Image credits: Dilldan22
#18 In The Big Bang Theory Finale Penny Is Wearing The Same Shirt She Wore In The Pilot Episode
Image credits: originalmonchi
According to the team running the sub, all of the details posted on the sub have to be “obscure, specific, and intentional.” Though obscurity is obviously subjective, community members should strive to ignore posting about ones that are very in-your-face and something that most corners of the internet are already aware of.
#19 In Bob’s Burgers We Know The Intro Credits Show A New Pun For The Retail Space And Exterminator Van. But Did You See Jimmy Pesto (Bobs Nemesis) Appearing In The Reflection On The Exterminator Vans Driver Window?
Image credits: Blarghish
#20 In Mad Men, During A Solar Eclipse, You Can See The Eclipse Happening In The Reflection Of Don’s Sunglasses
Image credits: BB_DarkLordOfAll
#21 In S5 E3 Of Bojack Horseman, In Her Podcast, Diane Interviews Laika Who In Actual History Was A Female Soviet Space Dog Who Became One Of The First Animals In Space, And The First Animal To Orbit The Earth
Image credits: thegear1061
Meanwhile, if the detail you want to share is a spoiler, you have to add a spoiler tag. That way, you won’t ruin any surprise twists and turns for anybody who wants to experience the story blind. Though research shows that spoilers can genuinely make you enjoy the story more, it’s still better to let each individual decide what they want.
#22 Lost, Season 2, Episode 4, Hurley Is Drinking Milk From A Carton He Found In The Hatch, With A Missing Child Photo Of Walt, Michael’s Son, Who Was Abducted In The Last Episode Of Season 1
Image credits: fishbeardwastaken
#23 In The Handmaid's Tale, The Stop Signs Have A Hand Signal Instead Of The Word "Stop" Because The Women Are Not Permitted To Read
Image credits: ADocksideBar
#24 In S7e10 Of Futurama, The Professor Returns To His Childhood Home Where He Has "Transformers" Bedsheets
Image credits: fred1840
It’s clearly mentioned in the subreddit’s name, but the community is dedicated solely to TV shows. If you want to talk about movie or video game details, there are separate online groups for that. Namely, r/MovieDetails and r/GamingDetails. This way, the r/TVDetails sub can focus on one particular niche without becoming a medley of different interests.
#25 In S1e35 Of Batman: The Animated Series, The Villain “Two-Face” Is Seen Pouring Half And Half In His Coffee
Image credits: darski13
#26 In Steven Universe, Nightmare Hospital, One Of The Plaques On The Wall Says “Dr Gero Patient 20,” This Is A Reference To Dragon Ball Villain Dr Gero, Also Known As Android 20
Image credits: Tactical_Genuis
#27 In An Early Season Of The Office, Michael Crawls Past Recycling Bins Labeled “Whites” And “Colors.” I’m A Later Season, You See Him Separating The Recycling
Image credits: hipopper
The moderator team also asks its members to mention the name of the TV show in the title of their post and to explain the detail either in the title or in the comments. If you choose to do the latter, add ‘(explanation in the comments)’ to your title so that all the other redditors know where to look.
Members of the community should also try to avoid reposting popular details and ought to be civil in the comments. What’s more, redditors should avoid posting memes or meta comments. Meanwhile, the subreddit really isn’t the place to ask for advice on what TV you ought to buy or how to fix your electronics. Again, there are other communities dedicated to just that, r/hometheater and r/TVRepair.
#28 I Just Stumbled Upon This Easter Egg In Season 9. It's Written In Aurebesh, The Main Language In The Star Wars Universe And It Says "Delorean". I Love Doctor Who
Image credits: StonyTark3000
#29 Powerpuff Girls S2e9 “Imaginary Fiend” Blossom Crashes Into A Pile Of Coats And Comes Out Dressed As Cartman From South Park
Image credits: mikelray91
#30 [batman]'s Famous Dutch Tilt Angle Was Only Ever Used In Villains' Lairs, As A Visual Cue That They Were "Crooked"
Image credits: zeromig
We'd love to hear which of these TV show details surprised you the most, dear Pandas, so feel free to drop by the comment section to share your thoughts. We'd also like to know what series and genres you enjoy the most. And if you've spotted some interesting details in your fave shows that nobody else has, don't be shy and share them with the rest of the crowd.
#31 In The Scrubs Episode "His Story Iv", The Janitor Makes This Joke, Over Four Years Before Bin Laden Was Discovered In Pakistan
Image credits: genericstudent1
#32 In Spongebob S3e3, Squidward Eats Krabby Patties In The Same Way That Sea Cucumbers Eat Micro-Organisms. Spongebob Was Made By Stephen Hillenburg, Who As A Degree In Marine Biology
Image credits: PeterPorky
#33 In The Spongebob S1 Episode "Boating School" We Hear Fred Screaming 'My Leg!' For The First Time
19 Years Later In The S11 Episode "My Leg!" During A Compilation Of Him Screaming My Leg, We See The Exact Same Moment But From Fred's Perspective
Image credits: 12thDoctorIsABadass
#34 In The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009), When Spider-Man First Gets The Symbiote It Matches The Design From Spider-Man 3. However, As It Begins To Exert More Control Over Him, It Gradually Morphs Into The Classic Comics Design
Image credits: an_ordinary_platypus
#35 In The Stranger Things Episode ‘Chapter Three: The Pollywog’ (S2e3), If You Look Closely At Mr. Clarke’s Town Model, You Can See The Betelgeuse Tombstone From Beetlejuice (1988)
A Nice Little Nod To Series Star Winona Ryder, Who Had Her First Breakout Role As Lydia Deetz In That Film
Image credits: VictorBlimpmuscle
#36 (Spoliers!) Several Scenes In Arrested Development Hint At Buster Losing His Arm To A Seal
Image credits: Jumkey_Mones_2
#37 In Avatar: The Last Airbender, During The Fight Between Zuko And Aang At Zuko's Family's Beach House, You Can See A Scar On Aang's Left Foot
This Is Where The Lightning Azula Attacked Him With Would Have Exited His Body When He Was Struck!
Image credits: PmMeUrSingingVoice
#38 In The Family Guy Intro, The Sheet Music On Lois' Piano Is Accurate
Image credits: trashablanca
#39 In The Good Omens TV Show, A Soldier At The Gate Is Reading American God's, Which Was Written By Neil Gaiman Who Also Co Wrote The Book Good Omens
Image credits: betrayedof52z
#40 In Season 3 Of Shameless Kevin Randomly Has A Broken Leg. In Episode 3 Vee Says He "Snapped It Falling In The Bathtub". This Really Is How Steve Howey Broke His Leg And They Just Wrote It Into The Show
Image credits: darkespeon64
#41 In S9:e4 Of The Office “Work Bus” Kevin Can Suddenly Do The Math To Figure Out The Time To The Pie Shop Based On Distance And Speed
When Oscar Quizzes Him With A Division Problem (But Phrases It In Pies), The Answer Is 314
Image credits: rbrink13
#42 In The Twilight Zone S01 E08, The Mask That's Hooked Up To The Protagonists Face Pays Homage To The Episode Of The Original Show, Eye Of The Beholder
Image credits: MonkeeFeat
#43 The Hydra Base Where Wanda Gained Her Powers In ‘Age Of Ultron (2015)’ Is Featured In Wanda Vision E2
Image credits: DCGMechanics
#44 I Noticed The Same Set On Both Hannibal And Umbrella Academy. Wonder Which One Is Using Cgi?
Image credits: LegendofThomas
#45 Chip & Dale Were Actually Dressed Like Indiana Jones And Magnum P.i
Image credits: dwartbg1
#46 In The Simpsons, Season 25, Episode 6, Maggie Is Seen Playing With 'Play-Annoyed Grunt'. Annoyed Grunt Is The How Homer's Catch-Phrase, D'oh, Is Represented In The Show's Scripts
Image credits: szekeres81
#47 The Office Se5ep28, In The Time Prank, Dwight Runs To The Car In Socks So His Footsteps Don't Wake Michael
Image credits: thugliphe
#48 Malcolm In The Middle Episode Standee, Craig's Been On Probation So Many Times He Has A Non-Faded Circle On His Uniform Where The "Help Me Learn" Badge Goes
Image credits: scubaian
#49 In The Office Benihana Christmas Episode The Waitresses At The Restaurant Are Not The Same Waitresses That Are Brought Back To The Party
Image credits: BakedBeanQueen
#50 In The Simpsons Episode “Catch ‘Em If You Can” (S15e18, 2004), When Homer And Marge Are At Lackluster Video Looking For A Movie To Rent, There Is A Futurama Poster On The Wall
Image credits: VictorBlimpmuscle
#51 In Pinky And The Brain S3e13, Brain Exerted Mind Control Over The Audience!
Image credits: Dlatrex
#52 In The Office When Creed “Translates” The Chinese For Andy, He Actually Reads Out “Do Not Consume With Alcohol”, Which Is Exactly What Andy Does That Makes Him Sick
Image credits: BlackKnight6660
#53 Some Math From Futurama
Image credits: Icy_Chemist
#54 In Breaking Bad, There Is A Shot Showing A Picture Of Walt That Is Attached To The Cancer Charity Jar Hank Is Showing Of In The Police Station. This Angle Lines Up Perfectly To Show “Wanted” Above His Picture In The Background, Foreshadowing What’s To Come
Image credits: CompileThisPlease
#55 Daily Reminder That When The Makers Of Amazing World Of Gumball Found Out A Chinese Company Started Making A Rip Off Version, They Just Made An Entire Episode Roasting Them Called “The Copy Cats”
Image credits: Gun-nut0508
#56 Not Sure How Many People Watch Either Show But One Of The Stores The “Good Girls” Go To Is Cloud 9, The Same Chain Store From “Superstore”
Image credits: BIGD0G29585
#57 In Codename: Kids Next Door, The Real Name Of Each Main Character Is A Clever Reference To Their Codename
Image credits: Tokyono
#58 In The Simpsons (S30 E15), In The Opening Credits Is A Game Show Where Homer Has To Guess What’s On The Screen. Marge Says “You Haven’t Changed Me Since 1989”, And Homer Gets It Right
The Simpsons Was Created In 1989, And This Is A Subtle Nod To The Couch Gag
Image credits: GeoffB94
#59 In Snl, Idris Elba Hosted And In This Office Setting, His Name Tag Reads Charles. The Last Time Elba Was On A Nbc Show, The Office, Where He Had The Same Name
Image credits: MuskieFan18
#60 The Good Place S4e13, Michael's Apartment Is Number 322, The Same Number Of People Selected To Live In The Good Place Neighbourhoods, According To The Pilot
Image credits: Travianw135
#61 Schitt's Creek: Season 5, Episode 6. Very Briefly Antonio Can Be Seen In The Background (While David And Patrick Are Distracted) Scoping Out The Products He Later Scams In Season 5, Episide 10
Image credits: flyspagmonster
#62 In 2.14 Of Greys Anatomy Izzie Tried To Give Away Their Dog Doc And And Hangs Up Flyers. In 12.1, When Arizona Wants To Find Roommates, The Same Flyer Appears
Image credits: likewhoresontequilia
#63 In American Horror Story: Asylum, The Woman About To Give Lana An Abortion Calls Her Jane. Jane Was The Name Of An Illegal Abortion Providing Group In The Mid 1960s - Early 1970s, And Jane Was Their "Everyday Woman" Name To Keep The Providers Anonymous
Image credits: duckyduh
#64 In Season 1, Episode 3 (Touch) Of The Haunting Of Hill House, When Theo Talks To Kelsey, She Says That She Knows Mr. Smiley Is Coming Out Of The Basement Because She Hears The Third Stair Creak
When Theo Later Goes Down To The Basement Herself, The Third Stair Creaks When She Steps On It
Image credits: Tiger106700
#65 In The Netflix Original "Big Mouth" S2e3, Connie Loses Her Temper While Discussing Greg Glaser (Stoner And Father Of Jessi Glaser), She Causes The Microwave To Explode With 4:20 On The Timer. This Occurs At 4 Minutes 20 Seconds Into The Episode
Image credits: Chakota
#66 In S04e07 Of ‘The Wire’, Omar (Michael K. Williams) Explains To Bunk That “A Man Gots To Have A Code”. In S03e17 Of ‘Community’, Michael Plays A Biology Professor Who Says The Same Line When Ruling Over A Crushed Yam Investigation In His Classroom
Image credits: koliveira15
#67 In Community [s2e19] Abed Mentions Being An Extra On Cougar Town. Actor Danny Pudi Actually Does Appear As An Extra On Cougar Town [s2e21]
Image credits: mattcoady
#68 In Community, Donald Glover's Character Is Angry At Zach Braff For Leaving Scrubs Mid-Season Before Donald Glover's Character Leaves The Show Mid-Season
Image credits: i-like-yogurt
#69 In True Detective S01 E03 When Rust First Meets The Yellow King, The Sign When Walking By Spells Out "Notice King."
Image credits: DlfJB
#70 Fore The Character Model For Obi-Wan In The Clone Wars, They Even Included Ewan Mcgregor’s Blemish On His Forehead
Image credits: Paran0id_Andr0id_
#71 In Season 3 Of She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power, Shadow Weaver Manipulates And Lies To Catra To Escape From Her Prison, Grabbing Her Hair Tufts As She Does So. Catra Is Seen Without Her Tufts In Season 4, Implying She Cut Them Off In Response
Image credits: Darksynth2
#72 In Breaking Bad, Hank Has A Breaking Bad Dvd On His Shelf. Nice To Know The Man Had Taste!
Image credits: FirmOnion
#73 In Season 2 Episode 12 Of Craig Of The Creek, Bernard Is Eating A Cookie Cat. This Is A Reference To Steven Universe
Image credits: Tokyono
#74 Snowfall Season 3 Finale Honors Show's Co-Creator And Legendary Director John Singleton, Who Passed Away In April. A Young, Pre-"Boyz N The Hood" Singleton Was Written Into The Episode After His Death. [oc]
Image credits: rasta4eye
#75 Tom Wears A 'The Book Was Better' Shirt In The Last Scene Of Alex Rider S1. It's Adapted From The Books
Image credits: ProfessionalNobody0
#76 In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dr. Mae Jemison Plays The First Astronaut To Appear In The Show. She Is Also The First Black Woman To Go To Space
Image credits: k0ella
#77 In Almost Every Incantation Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Raphael’s Sai Have Always Been Depicted As Having A Sharp Point, Like A Three-Pronged Dagger
However, Sai Were Traditionally Blunt Weapons, Used As Batons. The Prongs Were Used To Catch The Blade Of An Opponent’s Sword
Image credits: I-Identify-Guns
#78 In The First Episode Of Animaniacs (2020), During The Catch-Up Song, There Is A Literal Iron Man And A Literal Black Panther On The Wb Water Tower With The Warners
Image credits: benabramowitz18
#79 In How I Met Your Mother (S1e9), Ted Jokingly Tells His Kids That He Met A Stripper Named Tracy And That Was How He Met Their Mother, Much To Their Shock
It Turns Out Later In The Series That Their Mother Actually Is Called Tracy, Which Explains Why The Kids Believed It
Image credits: 8-tentacles
#80 In The Show Dinosaurs, Most Of The Characters’ Names (Sinclair, Richfield, Philips, Hess, Ethyl, B.p.) Are References To Petroleum Companies, A Nod To The Now-Rejected Belief That Petroleum Deposits Were Formed During The Age Of The Dinosaurs
Image credits: VictorBlimpmuscle
#81 The Good Place (2016) "Jianyu Li", The Name Jason Assumes When He Is Forced To Pose As A Buddhist Monk, Is Mandarin Chinese For "In Jail" (监狱)
Image credits: absolutdisgrace
#82 Oitnb S4:e13 - Rewatching And I Noticed Watson Makes A Nod To The Theme Song “You’ve Got Time” By Regina Spektor
Image credits: samtastic0633
#83 Back To The Future’s Thomas F. Wilson, Who Played Classic Bully “Biff Tannen,” Voices Several Antagonists In Classic Spongebob Episodes
Image credits: TheReySkywalker
#84 Childish Gambino Album Cover Bottom Right In His Show Atlanta
Image credits: timedrifting
#85 [the Boys: Season 2] Stormfront's Cup Has Her Name Spelt Wrong, Having It Spell Out "Storefront"
Image credits: Kuhney
#86 The Spacesuit Worn In Spaceforce Is A Reused One From Stargate
Image credits: picard47at
#87 In S6 E5 (2011) Of Dexter You Can See Dexter Using A Sabre Brand Printer. The Same Brand And Company That Buys Dunder Mifflin In The Office S6 (2009)
Image credits: JustAnOctopus
#88 [key And Peele] Vincent Clortho Public School For Wizards Is A Nod To Vinz Clortho, The Keymaster In Ghostbusters
Image credits: necromundus
#89 In Silicon Valley (2014), Jian Yang’s Chinese Knock Off For Reddit Is Tagged “The Front Page Of China” In Chinese
Image credits: redpandarox
#90 How I Met Your Mother Season 3 Episode 20. The Bus That Hits Barney Is Coming Up The Wrong Way On A One Way Street
Image credits: 4780159
