Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "show-within-a-show"

1. Full House (1987–1995)

TV-G | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

A widowed sportscaster raises his three daughters with assistance from his rock and roll brother-in-law and madcap best friend.

Stars: Bob Saget, John Stamos, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure

Votes: 63,079

2. Home Improvement (1991–1999)

TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Family

The daily trials and tribulations of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, a television show host raising three mischievous boys with help from his loyal co-host, loving wife, and eccentric neighbor.

Stars: Tim Allen, Earl Hindman, Taran Noah Smith, Zachery Ty Bryan

Votes: 49,101

3. Bolt (2008)

PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

The canine star of a fictional sci-fi/action show that believes his powers are real embarks on a cross country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real.

Directors: Byron Howard, Chris Williams | Stars: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton

Votes: 228,875 | Gross: $114.05M

4. Barton Fink (1991)

R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller

A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner

Votes: 128,938 | Gross: $6.15M

5. The Muppet Show (1976–1981)

TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Musical

Kermit the Frog and his fellow Muppets put on a vaudeville show at their theatre, bringing in a famous celebrity to help out for each episode.

Stars: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz

Votes: 26,231

6. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004)

TV-MA | 24 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

This parody series is an unearthed 80s horror/drama, complete with poor production values, awful dialogue and hilarious violence. The series is set in a Hospital in Romford, which is situated over the gates of Hell.

Stars: Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Matthew Holness, Alice Lowe

Votes: 20,135

7. A Star Is Born (1954)

Passed | 154 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

A film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral.

Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford

Votes: 19,673 | Gross: $14.93M

8. The Comeback (2005–2014)

TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy

An ex A-list celebrity attempts to rekindle the flame of her once prominent acting career with nothing but a camera crew and some determination.

Stars: Lisa Kudrow, Lance Barber, Robert Michael Morris, Laura Silverman

Votes: 7,811

9. Henry's Crime (2010)

R | 108 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

Released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, an ex-con targets the same bank he was sent away for robbing.

Director: Malcolm Venville | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Judy Greer

Votes: 21,360 | Gross: $0.10M

10. The Longest Week (2014)

PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Conrad (Jason Bateman) is helped by his old friend Dylan (Billy Crudup) and returns the favor by falling for Dylan's girlfriend Beatrice (Olivia Wilde).

Director: Peter Glanz | Stars: Jason Bateman, Olivia Wilde, Billy Crudup, Tony Roberts

Votes: 13,438

11. Sonny with a Chance (2009–2011)

TV-G | 23 min | Comedy, Family, Romance

Sonny, a talented Midwestern girl, has won a nationwide talent search to move to Los Angeles and star in a popular television series. Sonny's home and work life is documented along with her adjustment to life in the spotlight.

Stars: Demi Lovato, Tiffany Thornton, Sterling Knight, Brandon Mychal Smith

Votes: 13,098

12. Dead Set (2008)

TV-MA | 28 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror

During a fictional series of Big Brother, a zombie outbreak occurs, but the house-mates are unaware of the impending doom outside of the Big Brother House.

Stars: Paul 'Bubble' Ferguson, Jaime Winstone, Andy Nyman, Riz Ahmed

Votes: 20,909

13. The Famous Jett Jackson (1998–2001)

TV-G | 30 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

After spending years in California working as the TV action hero Silverstone, Jett Jackson decides to move the show to his hometown hoping to pursue a more normal life.

Stars: Lee Thompson Young, Kerry Duff, Ryan Sommers Baum, Gordon Greene

Votes: 2,061

14. Let's Make Love (1960)

Not Rated | 119 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.

Director: George Cukor | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Tony Randall, Frankie Vaughan

Votes: 8,026 | Gross: $6.54M

15. Grosse Pointe (2000–2001)

TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy

Satire centers on the off-camera antics of five actors who star in a fictional high school drama called "Grosse Pointe".

Stars: Irene Molloy, Lindsay Sloane, Bonnie Somerville, Kohl Sudduth

Votes: 792

16. Greg the Bunny (2002–2004)

TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy

Greg the Bunny is one of the 3.2 million fabricated Americans living in the United States. Wanting a job that doesn't involve working only on Easter, he finds a job on a kid's show.

Stars: Eugene Levy, Seth Green, Bob Gunton, Sarah Silverman

Votes: 1,827

17. Call Me Mister (1951)

Approved | 96 min | Musical, Romance

A G.I. in occupied Japan tries to re-woo his old love, who's putting on a show for the troops.

Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Danny Thomas, Dale Robertson

Votes: 279 | Gross: $2.70M

18. Cult (2013)

60 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

Tracks the investigation of a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances surrounding the show-within-a-show.

Stars: Matthew Davis, Jessica Lucas, Alona Tal, Robert Knepper

Votes: 4,584

19. Love Monkey (2006)

TV-PG | 345 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

A music scout gets fired from his corporate job and gets a job at a smaller indie label.

Stars: Tom Cavanagh, Judy Greer, Larenz Tate, Christopher Wiehl

Votes: 919

20. Body Swap (2019)

72 min | Comedy, Romance

CJ (played by Ella Jordan) is a high strung business woman working at the Versa Corporation on the biggest deal in her company's history. Casey (Jimmy Kustes) is a laid-back slacker who ... See full summary »

Director: Timothy Morton | Stars: Ella Jordan, Jimmy Kustes, Gunner Willis, Kayte Giralt

Votes: 110

21. Curly Top (1935)

Approved | 75 min | Family, Musical, Romance

Wealthy Edward Morgan becomes charmed with a curly-haired orphan and her pretty older sister Mary and arranges to adopt both under the alias of "Mr. Jones." As he spends more time with them, he soon finds himself falling in love with Mary.

Director: Irving Cummings | Stars: Shirley Temple, John Boles, Rochelle Hudson, Jane Darwell

Votes: 2,109

22. Song lang (2018)

101 min | Drama, Romance

An unlikely bond forms between an underground debt collector and a cai luong "Vietnamese opera" performer against the backdrop of Saigon in the 90s.

Director: Leon Le | Stars: Kim Chi, Isaac, Vu T. Le Thi, Phuong Minh

Votes: 849

23. Charger Girl Ju-den Chan (2009)

TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Comedy

Plug is a Charger Girl from a parallel dimension. Her job is to find people on Earth that are depressed and charge them up to restore their energy.

Stars: Vic Mignogna, Kira Buckland, Felecia Angelle, Matt Shipman

Votes: 159

24. The Pickle (1993)

R | 103 min | Comedy, Drama

Harry Stone (Danny Aiello), a formerly top notch director, has had three disastrous movies in a row. Facing dismissal from the top perch of Hollywood and financial ruin from back taxes, he ... See full summary »

Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Danny Aiello, Dyan Cannon, Clotilde Courau, Shelley Winters

Votes: 713 | Gross: $0.08M

25. Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)

Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

Romantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer.

Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady

Votes: 2,958

26. Happy Go Lovely (1951)

Approved | 97 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

A chorus girl gets a ride from millionaire Bruno's driver. The cash-strapped theater director thinks, she's Bruno's girlfriend and makes her the lead. She meets Bruno, thinking he's a reporter. More confusion follows.

Director: H. Bruce Humberstone | Stars: David Niven, Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, Bobby Howes

Votes: 876

27. It Happened in Hollywood (1937)

Approved | 67 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

While hospitalized young Billy meets his silent movie idol Tim Bart but then the talkies came, destroying Bart's career. Now Bart must convince his young friend he is still a star.

Director: Harry Lachman | Stars: Richard Dix, Fay Wray, Victor Kilian, Charles Arnt

Votes: 700

28. Lookwell (1991 TV Movie)

30 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

The former star of a cancelled cop TV show solves crimes. Pilot episode for a TV series that was never picked up.

Director: E.W. Swackhamer | Stars: Adam West, Ron Frazier, Ann Weldon, Todd Field

Votes: 560

29. Kappa Mikey (2006–2008)

TV-Y7 | 22 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Parody of Japanese anime, featuring a guy named Mikey who travels to Japan to star in an anime, where he discovers his new co-stars are all basically walking anime clichés.

Stars: Jesse Adams, Michael Sinterniklaas, Sean Schemmel, Gary Littman

Votes: 1,228

30. Here Come the Girls (1953)

Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Musical

A clumsy, full-of-himself chorus boy gets a chance at Broadway stardom when he's a stand-in for a leading actor threatened by an infamous killer.

Director: Claude Binyon | Stars: Bob Hope, Tony Martin, Arlene Dahl, Rosemary Clooney

Votes: 434

31. Sensations of 1945 (1944)

Approved | 86 min | Music, Romance

Father and son press agents fail to see things eye to eye, in the final screen appearance of comedian W.C. Fields.

Director: Andrew L. Stone | Stars: Eleanor Powell, Dennis O'Keefe, C. Aubrey Smith, Eugene Pallette

Votes: 184

32. Sing and Like It (1934)

Passed | 72 min | Comedy

A gangster becomes enamored of a dowdy amateur off-key singer and tries to force a producer to put her in his Broadway production.

Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Zasu Pitts, Pert Kelton, Edward Everett Horton, Nat Pendleton

Votes: 461

33. Running Scared (2019)

Not Rated | 22 min | Short, Drama, Music

'Running Scared' is a short film that tells the story a life-altering "moment in time" on the football field for one young boy that changed his life.

Director: Zac Gates | Stars: Jackson Lynch, Dylan Gassner, Tara Madison, Rachel D'Ambrosio

Votes: 9

34. Nobody's Watching (2006 TV Movie)

Not Rated | 166 min | Comedy

Two best friends challenge the WB to let them create a new sitcom - they're surprised when they're left to live on a sound stage and have their every move recorded while working on the project.

Director: Gail Mancuso | Stars: Taran Killam, Paul Campbell, Lauren Bittner, Mircea Monroe

Votes: 425

35. Amor sin maquillaje (2007)

40 min | Drama, Romance

This is a love story made in one of the best categories of the telenovelas: the one that evolves parallel to real life. This is Televisa's tribute to commemorate 50 years of telenovelas in ... See full summary »

Stars: Lucía Méndez, Marlene Favela, Sergio Goyri, Alejandro Ibarra

Votes: 33

36. .hack//G.U. Last Recode (2017 Video Game)

T | Animation, Action, Drama

Add a Plot

Director: Hiroshi Matsuyama | Stars: Yuri Lowenthal, Bridget Hoffman, Jamieson Price, Johnny Yong Bosch

Votes: 49

37. The David Steinberg Show (1972– )

30 min | Comedy

Years before "The Larry Sanders Show" came this Canadian-made sitcom taking place behind the scenes of the fictional "David Steinberg Show," starring real-life comic David Steinberg. Like ... See full summary »

Stars: David Steinberg, Martin Short, Joe Flaherty, John Candy

Votes: 190

38. Cue! (2022– )

TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Music

16 aspiring voice actresses aim to achieve their dreams to become seiyuu stars.

Stars: Ayaka Takamura, Aya Suzaki, Satsuki Miyahara, Mayu Iizuka

Votes: 70

39. Star Quality (1985 TV Movie)

75 min | Comedy

In 1940's England, a young playwright is getting his first play produced by an important director. But the director wants to get a temperamental actress for the lead. And when Lorraine ... See full summary »

Director: Alan Dossor | Stars: Susannah York, Ian Richardson, Peter Chelsom, David Yelland

Votes: 65

40. Vegas Showgirls: Nearly Famous (2003– )

Music, Reality-TV

Reality-series detailing the the lives of Las Vegas dancers both onstage and off.

Stars: Nicol Paone, Trevor Richardson, Alix Agar, Ritchie Allen

41. That's Right - You're Wrong (1939)

Passed | 94 min | Comedy, Music, Romance

Radio sensation Kay Kyser and his band are lured to Hollywood to make a movie, but the screenwriters assigned to the project have difficulty tailoring a script to Kyser's persona.

Director: David Butler | Stars: Kay Kyser, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Lucille Ball

Votes: 373

42. Kiki (1926)

108 min | Comedy, Drama

Kiki, a poor young woman who sells newspapers on the street corners of Paris, is able to land a job singing and dancing at a nearby theater. While she is there, she invites herself into the... See full summary »

Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Norma Talmadge, Ronald Colman, Gertrude Astor, Marc McDermott

Votes: 461 | Gross: $0.41M

43. Barry Welsh Is Coming (1997–2003)

Comedy, News

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Stars: John Sparkes, Kim Wall, Gareth Edwards, Howard Marks

Votes: 34

44. New Cops (2016)

52 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

An ordinary man (played by Tim Morton) lives a dull life till his friend Chet (played by Jimmy Kustes) comes over to stay for a few days. His friend ropes him to various schemes and ... See full summary »

Director: Timothy Morton | Stars: Alex Adams, Greg Cushing, Jimmy Kustes, Chris Maggio

Votes: 19

45. The Girl in the Show (1929)

Passed | 82 min | Comedy

Add a Plot

Director: Edgar Selwyn | Stars: Bessie Love, Raymond Hackett, Edward J. Nugent, Mary Doran

Votes: 138

46. The Night Rider (1962 TV Movie)

Approved | 26 min | Drama, Music, Western

Tim is the boss of a trail-herding crew consisting of Kentucky, a cook who plays the guitar, Joe, and Marty, a young, impressionable cowhand who longs for the glamorous life of a gunfighter... See full summary »

Director: Michael Hinn | Stars: Johnny Cash, Dickie Jones, Johnny Western, Merle Travis

Votes: 36

47. Wolf Canyon (2009 TV Movie)

22 min | Comedy

Isolated from any urban contact, the dysfunctional TV cast and crew of a third-rate syndicated action series "Wolf Canyon", fight spirit numbing boredom and madness in their makeshift trailer town on a Native reservation.

Director: Allan Harmon | Stars: Kevin Sorbo, Lorne Cardinal, Nikki Payne, Barbara Tyson

Votes: 75

48. The Medicine Man (1930)

Not Rated | 66 min | Comedy, Romance

The son and daughter of an abusive shopkeeper turn to a medicine show salesman for help.

Director: Scott Pembroke | Stars: Jack Benny, Betty Bronson, George E. Stone, Tom Dugan

Votes: 279

49. Bob & Ray, Jane, Laraine & Gilda (1979 TV Movie)

75 min | Comedy

A series of skits feature the Finley Quality Network and its many quality TV shows.

Director: Dave Wilson | Stars: Bob Elliott, Ray Goulding, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman

Votes: 45

50. Santa Claus' Punch and Judy (1948)

9 min | Short, Comedy, Fantasy

Santa Claus puts in a Punch and Judy show for kids. Hilarity ensues.

Votes: 36