Sitcoms are a staple for most mainstream TV channels. Whether reruns of long-ago ended shows or scheduled episodes of new ones, sitcoms almost guarantee viewers. And as the years go by, fan theories pile up about shared universes, character crossovers and imagined scenarios. Some of these theories are decidedly dark and include The Fresh Prince being dead, Phoebe imagining all 10 seasons worth of Friends episodes and the foursome from The Big Bang Theory planning to start an apocalypse.

On this list are 10 more far-out theories that have seen the light since the airing of some of the most popular sitcoms in history.

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10 Welcome to Jurassic Park

26 years ago, viewers worldwide were handed one of the bleakest sitcom series finales of all time. Dinosaurs, a show that was admittedly strange but also funny, ended with some of the characters sparking an Ice Age that led to the inevitable extinction of their species. Why did it happen? Because of greed and ongoing ignorance. Looking back now, this sad ending to a popular show foreshadowed what is happening in our time: bad decisions taking an extreme toll on our environment and ever-decreasing resources. The final line, “Goodnight. Goodbye.” is especially haunting.

Dinosaurs ran from 1991 to 1994 and while it didn’t spark a lot of fan theories at the time, there is one theory still circulating the depths of the internet. It states that the show is set in a post-apocalyptic future in which genetically engineered dinosaurs have taken over the planet after wiping out most of human civilization. The remaining humans are mostly hunters and are dominated by the super-intelligent dinosaurs.

Sound familiar? The theory is based on a “Jurassic Park”-type scenario and became popular after the movie’s release in 1993.

9 The truth about aliens revealed on Frasier

Frasier gave us 11 seasons of hilarity centered around two brothers, Frasier and Niles Crane. Originally, the show wouldn’t have focused on Frasier Crane, to avoid ‘unfair’ comparisons to its predecessor, Cheers. However, Paramount hated the original idea of Crane being a paralyzed media mogul and insisted on the show building on the existing Cheers audience. There are a few homages to Cheers in the script that made their way into the show throughout the seasons, and a lot of guest appearances by Cheers cast members.

A show that runs this long is bound to have a few theories attached to it and Frasier is no exception. Once of the craziest theories involves the late John Glenn’s cameo role during one of the show’s earlier episodes. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth and he appears on Frasier Crane’s radio show as himself. He takes over the show and talks about his space experience. He then goes off on a humorous tangent about a government cover-up of the existence of aliens.

This let to many fans believing that Glenn wasn’t just playing a part on a show, but that he used the opportunity to reveal the truth about alien life.

8 Cheers is a rip-off

Cheers is where the above-mentioned Frasier Crane was first introduced, alongside a host of other beloved characters. Cheers ran for 11 seasons and premiered way back in 1982. It almost didn’t see its second season, however, as it was very nearly cancelled during its first airing.

There have been a multitude of theories surrounding the show including that the bar was a perfect place for Norm and Cliff to set up prostitutes with prospective clients. Another theory that gained a lot of traction is the one that claims the show is a rip-off of a lesser known sitcom called Park St. Under. This sitcom was produced for a local Boston audience and premiered three years before Cheers. Its focus was on an underground Boston bar owned by an ex-Red Sox player. The rest of the cast included a cheeky dark-haired employee, civil servant, token “old-timer” and a local psychiatrist.

Those who bought into the theory of Cheers being a rip-off of Park St. Under feel that these similarities are too obvious to ignore.

7 The Melmacians may have sparked a war

ALF, also known as Gordon Shumway, crash-landed on TV screens in September 1986. ALF is an alien from the planet Melmac with an appetite for cats to fill his eight stomachs. The show ran for 99 episodes and ended with a cliff-hanger that was only resolved when a TV movie was released in 1996. There were short-lived plans for a reboot in August 2018, but the idea was quickly scrapped.

There was also ALF: The Animated Series that aired between 1987 and 1989. This gave rise to a theory that connects ALF and the Melmacians to the tragedy that befell the ThunderCats from Thundera. The theory goes that the aliens of Melmac would have sent ships to planets other than Earth, including Thundera. Considering the Melmacians’ appetite for cats, they would have seen the ThunderCats as a food source. The ensuing conflict then led to a war giving rise to the evil Mumm-Ra.

6 Steve Harrington’s son

Parks and Recreation aired between 2009 and 2015 and had a reunion special on 30 April 2020. It is a political satire sitcom and have sparked a host of wild fan theories including Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) being extremely rich and Jerry Gergich being a cult leader. And who could forget the lasting theory that Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) is Andy from Toy Story because they share the same first name, love guitars and are both ‘childish’.

One of the crazier rumors however is the one that maintains Jean-Ralphio Saperstein (Ben Schwartz) is the son of none other than Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) from Stranger Things. Both shows are set in Indiana, and the two characters do resemble each other in an uncanny way. Some fans have taken the theory even further by claiming that Pawnee, the town in which Parks and Rec is set, is an inversion of the Upside Down and that Jean-Ralphio is its resident Demogorgon.

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5 Balki was a sleeper agent

Perfect Strangers featuring Larry Appleton and his distant cousin, Balki Bartokomous, ran for 8 seasons. It spawned a successful spin-off, Family Matters, that aired between 1989 and 1998. Perfect Strangers introduced the “Dance of Joy” that co-stars Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot performed one last time off-screen for the studio audience after the closing credits of the series finale in 1993.

This light-hearted sitcom attracted a very dark fan theory as some mused that Balki may have been a sleeper agent for a terrorist cell. This theory was built around the storyline that saw Balki arrive from the fictional island of Mypos, find a job at the Chicago Chronicle alongside his cousin, befriend a policeman and marry a flight attendant.

This all means, according to the theory, that Mypos could have been a part of Al Qaeda and that Balki could have garnered valuable information from the prominent newspaper, his police officer friend and his flight attendant wife whilst planning ‘the perfect terrorist attack.’

4 The Tanners are in limbo

One can’t think of Full House without picturing Jesse Katsopolis and his picture-perfect smile or the adorably cute Michelle Tanner played by both Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The show didn’t come without real-life controversy, though. Amongst other things, John Stamos was convicted of a DUI and entered a rehab facility. Jodie Sweetin admitted in 2006 that she had become addicted to meth shortly after the show ended in 1995. The adult actors sometimes got high on set and John Stamos wanted Mary-Kate and Ashley fired at one point.

The fan theories about the show are as dark as the controversies. Some believe that ‘Uncle Joey’ is the real father of Danny Tanner’s three daughters. Others claim that Michelle Tanner never existed, due to her noted absence in the reboot Fuller House. The theory has it that Michelle was invented as an imaginary daughter by Danny to cope with the grief of losing his wife.

The creepiest theory perhaps is the one that claims Pamela Tanner was the only one to survive the fatal car crash and that the Tanners are stuck in limbo with a demon in the form of Michelle keeping them from moving on. The ‘evidence’ comes in the form of Michelle convincing Jesse to stay at the Tanner’s house because she’s ‘sick’ and Danny’s love interests always disappearing to prevent him from moving on from Pam.

3 Susan faked her own death

Seinfeld is a love-it or hate-it kind of sitcom, but a list like this would be incomplete without mentioning at least one of its persistent fan theories. Once of the stranger rumors surrounding the show is the one that compares the characters to grown-up versions of the Peanuts characters, George as Charlie Brown, Elaine as Lucy, Jerry as Linus, and Kramer as either Pig-Pen or Snoopy.

There are theories that claim Kramer is a widow living off an inheritance from his deceased wife and coming up with outlandish business ideas to keep his mind off his grief. Or, according to fans, he could just be a drug dealer.

A dark theory involving George Costanza alleges that his fiancé, Susan, faked her own death with the help of her parents to escape a life with George. Her death on the show comes after she licked the toxic adhesive on cheap wedding invitation envelopes chosen by George.

2 Unofficial prequel

Married… with Children was once called the crudest comedy on primetime television by a parents’ advocacy group, because of the show’s outrageous and sometime shocking moments. This includes a drunken Santa parachuting into the Bundy family’s back yard and causing quite a stir by dying. There is also an episode dedicated to PMS and during another episode Al and Peggy are videotaped while getting busy in a motel. All of this added to the show’s ‘trashy’ reputation, but audiences loved it regardless.

Ed O’Neill, who played Al Bundy, went on to star in another sitcom: the hugely popular Modern Family. This soon led to a fan theory suggesting that Married… with Children is an unofficial prequel to Modern Family. Al Bundy, now Jay Pritchett, is divorced from Peggy and in a second marriage with Gloria Delgado-Pritchett. He had a son and daughter in Married… with Children and also has a son and daughter in Modern Family who some fans believe share similar traits across the two shows.

1 Organized crime syndicate… of old ladies

The Golden Girls premiered in September 1985 and received critical acclaim for the largest part of its 7-season run. The sitcom won several awards including an Emmy Award for each of its four main characters. The show ended after Bea Arthur made the decision to leave, and the finale was watched by more than 27 million viewers in May 1992. The heart of the show is the group of four older ladies, Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia, who share a home in Miami. Many hijinks and adventures ensue.

Michael Harriot from The Root has shared his own hilarious fan theory on Twitter, digging further into the show’s characters and its ‘hidden agenda’. Which, according to Harriot, is that the ladies were part of an organized crime syndicate.

His ‘evidence’ includes The Golden Girls debuting in 1985 which was the beginning of the crack cocaine epidemic. He also theorizes that Rose was the head of the organization and that she murdered her own husband for insurance money. Blanche’s father could have easily been a pimp, considering his outfits, mannerisms, and way of speaking. To top it all off, Blanche’s job as an art dealer could have provided the perfect cover for drug dealing.

Dorothy would have been the handler of day-to-day business and Sophia kept the police off their trail by burning down the nursing home she lived in.

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Put on your movie conspiracy theory tinfoil hat for a minute…

What if sweet, blank-faced Danny Torrance was to blame for the horrors that befell his family in the Overlook hotel. A popular theory says that because Danny’s imaginary friend ‘Tony’ lived in his mouth and hid away in his stomach, it was a clear sign that Danny suffered from psychosis and may have used his ‘shine’ to drive his father insane by conjuring up hallucinations inside Jack Torrance’s head. This would also mean that Danny was never even slightly afraid of the creepy twins, because they were his own creations…

Convinced? No? Well, don’t remove the hat just yet…

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10 Titanic and The Terminator

There have been several weird fan theories about the 1997 epic, Titanic. The most well-known of these is the one that says Jack Dawson was a time-traveller who came from the future to prevent Rose from jumping into the icy Atlantic. This led to a change of course for the Titanic’s fate. How, you may ask? Well, if Rose had indeed jumped into the water, the ship would have stopped to allow for a search and rescue effort. This would have delayed the Titanic to the point where warmer weather showed up, meaning clearer visibility and ta-daa, no accident. This is all according to the same theory of course.

An expanded version of this theory says that Jack wasn’t only a time traveller who mentioned things that hadn’t existed in 1912 such as Lake Wissota and the roller-coaster on the Santa Monica Pier, but he was sent specifically from the same future in which Skynet took over Earth. His mission: to protect the ancestor of John Connor who was none other than Rose DeWitt Bukater. This apparently means that Jack hailed from the Terminator universe and that Rose was grandmother to Sarah Conner who eventually gave birth to John Connor who, in turn, became the leader of the Resistance.^[1]

9 Lefthanded Loki

Loki is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe, despite his penchant for betraying those closest to him and shapeshifting into other Marvel characters to mock them. Fans of the god of mischief have come up with interesting theories regarding Loki’s past appearances in Marvel movies and what he may be up to while waiting to return to the silver screen.

One of the most enduring theories is that Loki didn’t die at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, but instead appeared to the purple villain as a mirrored image of himself. He then flitted off to Valhalla to consult with Odin. Proof is provided in the scenes where the usually right-handed Loki uses his left hand to wield weapons. This includes the scene in Dark World when Loki fakes his own death as well as the scene in which he attempts to stab Thanos before the villain lifts him up and chokes him.

The Russo brothers have confirmed that Loki indeed succumbed to Thanos’ stranglehold, but diehard fans refuse to believe it, and prefer to hold on to the above theory instead.^[2]

8 Dorothy’s parallel counterpart

The Wicked Witch of the East is a character made famous by the popular children’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She was a middle-aged tyrant who wore Silver Shoes and forced the Munchkins into slavery. When the 1939 musical film, based on the story, was released, the silver shoes were changed to ruby slippers. The Wicked Witch famously met her end when Dorothy’s house landed on her after being swept up by a cyclone. Nothing remained of the Wicked Witch except the ruby slippers which Dorothy then started wearing.

A fan theory suggests that Dorothy had a parallel counterpart, which was none other than the Wicked Witch. This would also explain, according to the theory, why the ruby slippers fit Dorothy perfectly when she tried them on. The theory revolves around Dorothy not having had a dream, but instead having been sent to an alternate reality where she runs into the alternate version of herself: the Wicked Witch. Because the Witch was crushed at the beginning of the film, Dorothy just took her place in that particular reality.^[3]

7 E.T. is a Jedi

The beloved wrinkly extra-terrestrial, E.T. made for a record-breaking film in 1982, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time at the time. One of the overused misquotes originated from this film, namely “E.T. phone home”. E.T actually says, “E.T. home phone” after which Elliott and Gertie both say “E.T. phone home” which is where the confusion came in.

E.T. is also the source of many fan theories, including the far-out one that claims the cute little alien is in fact, a Jedi. The backstory of this theory includes Steven Spielberg and George Lucas being in film school together and becoming close friends. Furthermore, there are two references to Star Wars in E.T. Also, In Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace, released in 1999, the delegates of the Galactic Senate closely resemble E.T. In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, E.T. heads straight for a trick or treater dressed as Yoda while muttering ‘’home”. This, according to the theory, means that Yoda and E.T. came into being at the same time and since Jedi Knights consist of a variety of species, it is likely that E.T. is a Jedi as well.^[4]

6 Black Panther and The Lion King

Both Black Panther and The Lion King are awesome movies. And once fans started seeing similarities that ‘tied the two films’ together, a theory was born that said Black Panther could be a modern-day human version of The Lion King.

This theory mainly hinges on the above-mentioned similarities which include both main characters having a deceased father and feeling unworthy of ascending their waiting throne. Both also have an evil family member trying to usurp the throne. T’Challa and Simba both have strong mothers who take the lead during chaos, they both have love interests who tell them they are not to blame for their family tragedies and both characters fight for the throne at the end. Lastly, both films were huge blockbusters set in Africa (even though Wakanda is a fictional kingdom.)

And let’s not forget that John Kani who played T’Challa’s father in Black Panther also voiced Rafiki in the live action Lion King film released in 2019…^[5]

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5 Harry Potter has a lot of soul

The Harry Potter phenomenon started with a series of hugely popular books which spilled over into a series of equally popular movies. The movies brought a host of magical creatures to life alongside Harry and his friends, including goblins, ghosts, a three-headed dog, trolls, dragons, unicorns, pixies, singing toads and werewolves.

One of the scariest creatures came in the form of a dementor. These beings feed on the happiness of humans, leaving them in a depressed state. The dementors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban have the power to suck out a person’s soul through their mouth which leaves the unfortunate person in a vegetative state.

The dementors were highly attracted to Harry Potter himself, clinging to his scent at every opportunity. A fan theory suggests that Harry housed more soul that the average human (or wizard/witch) because he also held part of Voldemort’s soul. Therefore, there was a lot more to gain for the dementors as they would technically acquire two souls ‘for the price of one.’^[6]

4 Are the Cullens vampires or faeries?

The Twilight Saga isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but nevertheless the books and subsequent movies raked in millions, respectively. Twilight fever gripped the world when the first movie was released in 2008 and Team Jacob and Team Edward became a real thing.

Those who hate the movies, often base their feelings on the many inconsistencies (and weirdness) that they present, including the ‘Edward-got-Bella-pregnant’ scenario, the ‘we-glitter-in-the-sun’ fiasco and the over-all stalkery creepiness of Edward Cullen.

Fans of the franchise have taken it upon themselves to make up for the many plot holes and strange happenings in the movies by coming up with several theories. This includes Bella being part-werewolf, providing a reason for Jacob to imprint on Renesmee. Another theory surmises that Bella is descended from vampires because her mother’s name is Renee which comes from ‘Renatus’ of which the feminine form is ‘Renata.’ Renata is the name of a vampire guard with the special power of deflecting physical attacks.

As for the glittery vampire skin, yet another theory has it that the Cullens are not actually vampires, but faeries which apparently would explain their love for the woods and their sparkliness.

And have you heard the one that says Jacob Black is part of the Black family in the Harry Potter universe? The connection was made because Harry Potter’s godfather is Sirius Black and an Animagus. Jacob, who can control his transformation into a giant wolf, is theorized to be an Animagus as well and therefore a magical part of the Harry Potter world.^[7]

3 Pitch Perfect and 9/11

Pitch Perfect gave the world acapella mashups, Rebel Wilson in cringey scenes and the singing voice of Anna Kendrick. The first movie in the franchise became a sleeper hit and received mostly positive reviews. The two sequels that followed were also hits, even if the last movie received mostly mixed critic reviews.

Musical comedies are not usually dissected for hidden messages and so forth, but fans still made time to come up with specific theories for this particular film franchise. Of course, one of these theories say that because Kendrick sounds a lot like Kubrick there is a lot of parallels between Pitch Perfect and the documentary Room 237. Which obviously means that Pitch Perfect is an on-screen protest of 9/11.

Proof is provided via a parody YouTube video in which the narrator states that it is no accident that the first competition in the first film is held in New York. He points out that the Treblemakers do choreography that includes airplane motions and a sign in the crowd reads “A Capella is my Co-Pilot!” The narrator also darkly refers to the Barden Bellas being dressed in flight attendant uniforms when they enter the stage for their set. Furthermore, the Treblemakers consist of 9 members while there are 11 Barden Bellas.

George Bush gets a mention too, and things just get more convoluted (read: extremely weird) after that.

2 John Wick is set in a video game universe

John Wick is one of the coolest characters to have graced cinema screens in recent years. Fans couldn’t get enough of the first film and its popularity ensured a further 2 sequels with yet another 2 movies planned for 2022 and beyond.

Because Keanu Reeves also starred in The Matrix film franchise, it didn’t take long for a fan theory to rear its head. The theory says… wait for it… John Wick is in The Matrix. In the Matrix film, Neo tries to get out of the computer world, and in John Wick, John tries to get out of the criminal world. For most conspiracy theorists, that is more than enough proof that the character of John Wick was still in The Matrix during the course of the film/s.

Then there is the theory that says John Wick is literally set in a video game universe, which is said to explain the minimal reaction of bystanders and law enforcement to the brutal violence that takes place throughout the film/s.^[8]

1 Wonder Woman and Moana

The DC movie universe is rife with fan theories that attempt to fill plot holes and create origin stories for characters with obscure backgrounds. These theories include the one where Martha Wayne fakes her own death and becomes Martha Kent, The Joker and Harley Quinn having children that were killed by Batman and Superman eventually killing off Alfred Pennyworth.

Wonder Woman is an integral part of the DC universe and has not escaped speculation either. One of the most enduring theories about Diana Prince has it that she and Moana are the same person. Yes, that Moana. The theory is based on Diana and Moana both living on beautiful islands, wearing similar clothing and being under the thumb of overbearing royal parents. The family members that encourage and inspire them, die and both go from young girls, living life on an island, to warriors.^[9]

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