Top 10 Moments of Foreshadowing in Sitcoms We Can't Believe We Missed

No one would accuse Sheldon Cooper of being open to new things. When his friend Penny takes him to a psychic in season 7, he is not into it. He is also not there for personal advice about his partnership with longtime girlfriend Amy. Not to mention he has some professional issues to work out. However, the psychic annoys him when she says his goals, professional included, will only come to fruition once he commits to his relationship. That actually turns out to be incredibly true. Sheldon and Amy not only get married, but they win a joint Nobel Prize in the series finale.

Kenneth Parcell is the devoted NBC page whose optimism and eccentric worldview make him a standout among a cast of oddballs. But throughout the series one running joke about him stands out. Though implied many times that Kenneth is an immortal being, it isn’t actually confirmed until “30 Rock”’s series finale. Indeed, in the episode “Last Lunch”’s epilogue, all these jokes pay off. It takes place in the distant future. Kenneth is still at NBC, and hasn’t aged a day in many, many decades. While it’s not exactly a shocker, it is a gratifying reveal that puts the running gag into a whole new perspective.

In Tim Burton’s 1988 classic, “Beetlejuice,” the titular demon is summoned when his name is spoken thrice. Throughout the first three seasons, the writers of “Community” find inconspicuous pieces of dialogue to shove the moniker into across three separate episodes. By the third time (it’s a lot of 3s, we know), fans may not even realize what they had been set up for. But sure enough, an actor playing Beetlejuice then passes by. Here’s another running joke that pays off in an unexpected and truly ridiculous way. Then again, unexpected and ridiculous jokes have always been what “Community” does best.

It’s arguably the defining moment of Ross and Rachel’s relationship. Well, technically, they were on a break, but the point stands. Early in this classic season 3 episode of “Friends,” Joey and Chandler discuss their shared attraction to Chloe, who would become known to fans as the Xerox girl. This is not the first time we’re hearing about her, either. But what we didn’t realize was how integral to the plot she would be – well, it’s now clear the writers had big plans. As we now know, in a bit of dramatic irony, it’s Ross who drunkenly hooks up with her. After he and Rachel have a fight, he goes out with the two guys, meets the now-infamous woman, and the rest is history.

The first season of this Kristen Bell-led sitcom features some pretty incredible lampshading on the part of the writers. The incongruous and impractical elements of “The Good Place” are written off as a side effect of the manipulative Eleanor’s unearned presence in the utopian afterlife. However, it turns out the glitches aren’t actually glitches. In other words, Michael punting someone’s dog into the sun isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. When we finally realize this is actually the Bad Place and Michael is a demon intent on torturing our cast of characters, moments of casual cruelty like this take on new meaning.

In a lot of ways, this Canadian classic is about a (formerly) rich family having to get used to living as a bunch of regular people. This makes for some hysterical moments, like when Alexis, who is incredibly privileged, goes through the childhood rite of passage that is having head lice. But what’s remarkable is that this development is hilariously foreshadowed the season before. In the “Estate Sale” episode, Alexis reveals she doesn’t know how to ride a bike. When told that most kids learn how to do so, she counters that they also get head lice. Well, they do say new experiences broaden your horizons.

Foreshadowing in a sitcom never seems like that in the moment. Sometimes, a weird, throwaway joke can suddenly become incredibly meaningful in retrospect. Take this weird blind date Leslie Knope goes on in season 2. Amy Poehler’s real-life (now ex-)husband, Will Arnett, plays a very inappropriate MRI technician who insists on giving her her first ever scan. At the time, his comment about her having enough room in her womb for triplets just reads as creepy (and it is). But lo and behold, it also turns out to be a sign of things to come. Indeed, the sixth season of “Parks and Rec” sees Leslie and her husband Ben learn that she’s pregnant with – you guessed it – triplets.

Brendan Fraser is unforgettable in his three appearances as the beloved Ben Sullivan, whom Dr. Cox diagnoses with leukemia in the first season. Two seasons later, Ben returns, but their reunion is short-lived. Early in the episode, the duo talk about how Sullivan will be the kooky guy carrying a camera around until the day he dies. Well, less than ten minutes in, the character no longer has his prized object. This is pointed out in his last scene, and suddenly, that little back-and-forth exchange makes so much sense. He actually passed away off-screen, and Dr. Cox has merely been imagining his presence since. The final revelation is an emotional gut punch, made all the more poignant by this foreshadowing.

Fans have gone back and forth between feeling satisfied and cheated by the fact that the titular mother, Tracy, is formally introduced late in the game, just to pass away not long after in a twist reveal. But it turns out the signs, while subtle, are there for the reading. Perhaps no episode gets our antennae up more than “Vesuvius.” In it, Ted and Tracy are discussing Robin and Barney’s wedding day, and the surprise appearance of the bride’s mother, in a flash forward. A comment about a mom never missing her daughter’s wedding prompts a tense and emotional moment between the two. Of course, we know now it’s because Tracy is terminally ill, and wouldn’t see her own daughter’s nuptials unfold.

The way this show goes out of its way to foreshadow Buster losing his hand to a seal is actually a level of unhinged rarely seen on TV. There’s that hilarious chair in the shape of a hand he’s so fond of. That just seems like the kind of weird thing Buster would have before you know his fate, though. But that’s not all. There’s a news story about a different seal attack that seems a lot more intentional in hindsight. And let’s not forget the very well-placed army ad that reads “arm off” when Buster sits in front of it. Those are just some examples. The amazing thing is how none of them really feel out of the ordinary for “Arrested Development.”

Which instance of sitcom foreshadowing did you catch when you first saw it? Tell us in the comments.