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*** The Capellans from "Friday's Child" also run their society like this, and a subordinate assassinates the leader and takes over for him during the negotiation with the Enterprise crew and the Klingons.
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* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Adar killed Sauron off-screen and took control of the Orcs, who are very loyal to him.
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* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Lilah Morgan does this to her boss in the premiere episode of Season 4. With the permission of the Senior Partners, of course.
--->'''Linwood:''' This is outrageous! Are you actually telling me that you went over my head?\\
''[Lilah touches her palm-pilot; a blade whips out of the backrest on Linwood's chair [[OffWithHisHead slicing quickly and neatly through his neck]]]''\\
'''Lilah:''' [[BondOneLiner Just under it, actually.]]
** Wesley became Illyria's de facto consort after shooting the first one.
* In a late Season Two episode of ''Series/BabylonFive'', Vir and Londo receive a prophecy that both of them will become Emperor of the Centauri at some point in the future, with one of them being the other's successor. At the end of the episode, they're each visibly wondering if the other is going to kill him for the title. [[spoiler:In the following season, it is revealed that Vir takes the throne after Londo's assisted suicide.]]
** In another example, both of them follow the reign of the mad Emperor Cartagia, who died at [[spoiler:Vir's hand as a result of Londo's plotting.]]
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'': [[spoiler: Zarak, believing Adama has been derelict in his duties by becoming too close to the rebel Cylons, leads a mutiny to give himself a Klingon Promotion. It doesn't end well for Zarak, as he and poor Mr. Gaeta who'd been trying to keep everyone alive ends up in front of a firing squad.]]
* Deconstructed when ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''[='s=] cousin [[ViolentGlaswegian MacAdder]] announces he'll kill the Prince Regent and take his place. Blackadder points out he'd simply be arrested for regicide.
* Defied in ''Series/BreakingBad'', when Mike warns Walt, after the latter has arranged the murder of drug lord Gustavo Fring, that "Just because you killed UsefulNotes/JesseJames, don't make you Jesse James." He is, in the end, right. After taking over Gus' meth operation, Walt's drug profits take a huge nosedive, and it's not long at all before [[spoiler:Walt has alienated or murdered most of his co-conspirators (including Mike himself), and Hank and the DEA catch up with him and force him to go on the run]].
* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Faith kills [[TheDragon Mr Trick]], and then goes directly to [[BigBad the mayor]] to point out he now has "a job opening".
* This trope is an inherent rule of the ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'' universe. One of the rules of being an [[TheChosenOne Avatar]] (no, [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender not that one]]; [[Film/{{Avatar}} or that one]]) is that one generation's Avatar can only [[PassingTheTorch claim the full measure of his power]] after personally murdering the previous generation's Avatar--even though an Avatar frequently serves as TheMentor to his successor, and [[{{Patricide}} an Avatar's successor may be his own son]]. Interestingly, a generation's [[MessianicArchetype Avatar of Light]] is just as subject to this rule as his generation's [[DarkMessiah Avatar of Darkness]], reinforcing that LightIsNotGood.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' uses this a few times.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians "Doctor Who and the Silurians"]]: The Leading Elder Silurian is killed by the Young Silurian, who becomes Leader, apparently with no opposition among the rest.
** The Fifth Doctor becomes President of Gallifrey by default at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]] when Borusa's quest for immortality isn't what anyone (except the First Doctor) thought it would be. Of course, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere the Doctor runs off in his TARDIS... again]].
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E2GhostLight "Ghost Light"]]: The not-very-bright initial alien villain Josiah assumes that killing Queen Victoria will automatically make him ruler of the British Empire.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]]: The Master invokes this, pointing out that if the Doctor kills PresidentEvil Rassilon he could lead the Time Lords.
* Invoked in an episode of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' by Zhaan in an effort to stop an aggressive alien from attacking Moya.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Heavily implied in the episode "Safe":
-->'''The Patron:''' ''[in a calm, kindly voice]'' You're not a witch, are you? I'm the patron here. Do you know what that means?\\
'''[[WaifProphet River]]:''' Yes. You're in charge. Ever since the old patron died.\\
'''The Patron:''' That's right.\\
'''River:''' He was sick. And he was getting better. You were alone in the room with him-- ''[cue BurnTheWitch]''
* In an episode of the short-lived ''Series/{{Flash Gordon|2007}}'' TV series, [[MagnificentBastard Ming]] forces Flash and Barin to fight to the death for Princess Aura. Barin easily beats Flash (Flash isn't much of a fighter) but then turns around and throws the poisoned weapon at Ming. Ming falls over and is presumed dead. Both combatants are imprisoned, but Aura (who is currently in charge) lets them go and reveals that she had replaced the poison with a sedative that temporarily mimics death, so Ming will soon wake up. After Ming comes to, he's disappointed that Aura hasn't followed this trope, claiming she's unworthy to be a leader. In the last episode before the series cancellation, Aura and [[spoiler:her brother]] have captured Ming, and he's being led to a gas chamber to be executed. As he speaks with his daughter for the last time, Aura (with tears in her eyes) tells him that it's necessary. Ming's last words? He tells her he can finally be proud of her. [[spoiler:He doesn't die]].
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Daario Naharis kills his captains Mero and Prendahl to take control of the Second Sons.
** House Bolton, House Frey, and [[spoiler: House Tarly]] betray their liege lords to seize their former titles.
* ''Series/MacGyver1985'': Anyone who screws up their duties in the highly competitive and murderous assassin's guild of H.I.T. (Homicide International Trust) is subject to be killed by someone more adept at doing their job then they were.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Attempted in ''Series/LukeCage2016''. After Shades becomes a liability by questioning him a few times too many, Willis "Diamondback" Stryker decides to have him removed. So he promises Zip an opening in his gang, which he will fulfill by killing Shades. Diamondback then has Shades bailed out of police custody. Zip and two of Diamondback's new hires pick up Shades and haul him into a freight elevator, at which point [[TooDumbToLive Zip decides to try strangling Shades while his two henchmen stand by and do nothing]]. Shades manages to grab a gun, kills both of Zip's men, and then Zip after getting him to confess to acting on Diamondback's orders.
** ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': After sending Elektra off ostensibly to kill Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen (whoever he is), Alexandra is reminding Madame Gao, Bakuto and Murakami that she's kept the Hand's most important operation running while they were so busy infighting among each other...until she's cut off mid-sentence by Elektra abruptly impaling her from behind with one of her sais.
--->'''Elektra Natchios:''' His name is Matthew. \\
''[pulls her sai out of Alexandra's back, letting her body fall to the floor]''\\
'''Elektra Natchios:''' And my name... is Elektra Natchios. [[TyrantTakesTheHelm You work for me now.]]\\
''[She swiftly decapitates Alexandra's corpse with her remaining katana, then looks up to face the remaining Fingers]''\\
'''Elektra Natchios:''' Any questions?
* In ''Series/TheMandalorian'' whoever wields the Darksaber has the right to rule Mandalore. Defeating the current owner in a duel confers ownership of the weapon but there doesn't seem to be any requirement that the original owner needs to die. Though there is no rule against it either.
* ''Series/MurderInTheFirst'': Sugar Cascade's second in command tries to take control of his gang this way.
* Used for a comedic effect in Disney's ''Series/PairOfKings''. Cousin Lannie would have become king of the island nation of Kinkou, had not the eponymous brother kings have been found. He keeps trying to set up their deaths (or sometimes just abdication) so he can advance to king. Once, he succeeded by making it so they were going back to Chicago, but they came back and were re-instated (ItMakesSenseInContext).
* Non-lethally subverted, by the ''heroes'', no less, in ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'': The season's Rangers are the "B-Squad" of the eponymous galactic police force, and after they defeat and capture [[spoiler:the "A-Squad", who were thought missing in action [[FaceHeelTurn but had actually switched sides offscreen]] to work for the BigBad]], their commander offers the entire team promotion to "A-Squad". [[spoiler: They decline.]]
* ''Series/RedDwarf'''s episode "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVHoloship Holoship]]" had this; the eponymous vessel had a full complement, and the only way for Rimmer to join is "dead man's boots" by defeating another crew member in intellectual combat. [[spoiler: His opponent had fallen in love with him and she resigned from the combat to give him his dream, effectively committing suicide. When he found out, he promptly resigned from the ship and returned to Red Dwarf to bring her back to life.]]
* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ComicBook/LexLuthor finally goes from AntiVillain to BigBad by throwing [[spoiler: his father]] out a window.
** Interestingly, the AlternateUniverse version of Lionel Luthor expresses disappointment that his adopted son, Clark, has ''not'' done this to him.
* [[spoiler: How Clay became President in]] ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy''.
* ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}'':
** ''Series/StargateSG1''
*** The series has the rite of ''joma secu'', where a Jaffa commander can be challenged by another Jaffa to a duel to the death. The victor gets the commander's position. First seen in "The Warrior".
*** In "Bounty", SG-1 points out to BountyHunter Odai Ventrell that Netan's position as leader of the Lucian Alliance is tenuous at best and that if somebody managed to kill him they could probably take over the entire organization. Three guesses what Ventrell does next. Of course, Ventrell is never seen again after last seen pointing his gun at Netan. When we see the Lucian Alliance in ''Series/StargateUniverse'', there is another member of the Alliance played by the same actor with no relation to Ventrell.
** In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', Major John Sheppard became the military leader of the Atlantis expedition by shooting his immediate superior, Colonel Sumner. However, Sheppard wasn't looking for a promotion; he shot Colonel Sumner as a MercyKill since he was being fed on by a Wraith Queen and was almost dead anyway.
** This is how Wraith promotions work. So, in "The Queen", when [[spoiler:the Wraith "Todd" kills the Primary Queen and gives the credit to Teyla, who's currently disguised as a lower-ranking Wraith queen, Teyla becomes the new Primary. This allows Todd to take over the entire hive by giving orders on behalf of his "reclusive" queen who doesn't actually exist.]] It's limited in that this only works for Queens. A male can't take a Queen's place by killing her, especially since they'd lose their reproductive line.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
*** [[OlderThanTheyThink This actually started]] for the franchise with the MirrorUniverse episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E4MirrorMirror Mirror, Mirror]]". Chekov is planning to kill Kirk for treason (because he balked at destroying a helpless planet's cities, as per standard procedure), and he mentions everyone else would advance in rank. It's later mentioned that the mirror Kirk killed Pike to get the captaincy.
*** Mirror-Spock specifically mentions that he doesn't want to become captain of the ''Enterprise'' over Kirk's body, as Mirror-Kirk has many friends in the fleet, and Spock's command (and life) would be extremely short. He does, however, state that he will kill Kirk if he fails to take decisive action against the Halkans, but only because these are his orders from Starfleet Command.
*** Mirror-Spock also cautions Sulu, who rightfully points out that the order would fall on him next should Spock fail to carry out his orders. Mirror-Spock's operatives [[ThreatBackfire would certainly avenge his death]]. "[[GoThroughMe And some of them are Vulcans]]." Klingon promotion is definitely not as simple as it sounds.
*** This actually happens very briefly in the episode "Amok Time", though not on purpose. We are led to believe that Spock has killed Kirk, and [=McCoy=] tells him that, as strange as it seems, he's in command now. Of course, Spock doesn't ''want'' to be the captain, and is planning to hand over command to Scotty and turn himself in to the authorities until he finds out Kirk is alive after all.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is the Trope Namer and has many examples among the Klingons.
*** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E7Reunion Reunion]]," the current Chancellor is poisoned, and Picard must help investigate the murder as well as ceremonially choose the successor to the High Council. The whole reason there's controversy in the Klingons' eyes is that the Chancellor's killer used a cowardly method like poison, instead of fighting him in a duel.
*** In the TNG episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E8AMatterOfHonor A Matter of Honor]]," where Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship in an officer exchange program, the subject of Klingon Promotion comes up; it's the accepted way to remove a captain who is unsuitable for command. Later, when the Klingon captain's misunderstanding threatens the ''Enterprise'', Riker finds a way to exploit this rule, though in a rather more humane and less bloody manner. [[spoiler:He contrives a way to get the captain transported off the ship, then engages in a standoff so they can force the ''Enterprise'' to "surrender" and stop the hostilities. When the captain is beamed back, Riker [[MyFistForgivesYou takes a punch from him to let them save face]], getting the crew's respect for understanding Klingon proprieties.]]
---->'''Riker:''' Let me get this straight: as first officer, one of my duties is to ''assassinate'' the captain?
*** In a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, in the episode "Skin of Evil", Worf actually ''bristles'' at the idea of being made head of security when Armus kills Tasha Yar. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation However, this may have been because he honestly felt she was more qualified for the position]], not to mention being a friend that he genuinely respected.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
*** In the episode "Tacking into the Wind," the new Chancellor from TNG "Reunion," Gowron, is screwing things up during the Dominion War, mismanaging the Klingon battle efforts due to his jealousy of the glory that General Martok is gathering on the battlefield. [[ChallengingTheChief Worf decides to challenge Gowron.]] [[spoiler:He wins and becomes the next Chancellor, but almost immediately passes the torch to his friend and mentor, General Martok.]]
*** In "Soldiers of the Empire", Dax explains the intricacies after hearing O'Brien and Bashir talk about the trope, canonizing the caveats previously established in the Expanded Universe. Only a direct subordinate can make the challenge, and only after a severe infraction (cowardice, extreme failure, dereliction of duty). In the same episode, Worf challenges Martok for fleeing the Jem'hadar. It's a ploy not unlike Riker's, as Martok had been badly affected by his experience as a Dominion prisoner--being challenged and defeating Worf restores Martok's fighting spirit and that of the demoralized crew. Once he realizes that [[CruelToBeKind Worf was trying to help him]], Martok declares him a sworn brother of his House.
*** Ferengi society really frowns on taking power this way, as shown in one episode. Quark is made leader of the Ferengi, and the last leader's son tries to take power this way. The capitalistic Ferengi, who would have respected him if he undermined Quark's power-base and accumulated all the real power behind the scenes (becoming TheManBehindTheMan), just call him an idiot for thinking it would work. [[spoiler:The whole thing is a setup, as the previous leader is still alive, having faked his death to test his son's worthiness to be his real successor. Needless to say, his son fails.]] Interestingly, Quark is impressed by Rom's ruthlessness (he helps Zek's son), even commenting that their father would have approved. [[spoiler:Zek seems to be impressed as well... which is why he names Rom the new leader when he retires.]]
*** Quark managed to end up the head of a Klingon House when the former leader accidentally died while drinking in Quark's bar, and in his attempts to not get knifed, he had to play up the idea that he accomplished this.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
*** In the episode "Coda", [[TheCaptain Janeway]] jokes that [[NumberTwo Chakotay]] could try WilliamTelling with a phaser as a talent demonstration.
---->'''Chakotay:''' Sounds great! If I miss, I get to be Captain.
*** In another episode, a Kazon boy wishes to become a man by killing Chakotay. He fails. He then explains that killing a person is the rite of passage for the Kazon. Apparently, killing a clansman is also acceptable in some cases. At the end of the episode, instead of killing Chakotay (who hopes that the Doctor can make him better), he turns the weapon onto his maj (clan leader). Before the maj's NumberTwo can execute him, the boy swears loyalty to him as the new maj. After a few seconds, the new maj accepts.
** The ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' Mirror Universe episode has Mirror!Archer deposing Mirror!Forrest, who is the captain of the ISS ''Enterprise'', then assassinating Admiral Black. [[spoiler:Subsequently, Mirror!Hoshi poisons him, and not only moves on to Captain but also takes the recovered Prime-Universe's 23rd century ''Defiant'' and uses it to declare herself the new Terran Empress. Talk about a promotion...]]
** In ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', Mirror!Connor attempts to kill Michael Burnham, who is pretending to be her Mirror Universe double, hoping that this would prevent her taking back the ISS ''Shenzhou'' and will finally get the crew to respect him. Despite him getting the drop on her, Burnham manages to kill him, which only serves to solidify her status in the eyes of the crew. And, of course, there's [[spoiler:Lorca trying to kill Emperor Phillipa Georgiou to claim the Terran throne]].
* On ''Series/TeenWolf'', the most common way for a Beta or Omega werewolf to ascend to the status of Alpha is to kill an existing Alpha.
* ''Series/ToddAndTheBookOfPureEvil'': In the season 1 finale, [[spoiler: Atticus, having [[VillainousBreakdown snapped]], kills his father [[BigBad the Hooded Leader]] and seizes control of the [[{{Cult}} Satanic Society]] by force]]. He then spends most of season 2 proving just how [[BigBadWannabe inadequate]] he is at the position he now has.
* Diana pulls this off twice near the end of the second ''Series/{{V 1983}}'' miniseries, killing both Pamela and John within a day to usurp control of the alien fleet. What makes it stand out in particular is that she's clearly breaking protocol -- while intrigue and political scheming is expected among the Visitors' higher ranks, flat-out murdering superiors in cold blood is not. Neither target even saw it coming.
* In ''Series/TheWestWing'' episode "[[LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics]]", it becomes necessary for political reasons to remove the ambassador to Bulgaria (he's having an affair with the Prime Minister's daughter). To remove him requires a sequence in which the ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia is promoted to be ambassador to Paraguay, so that the ambassador to Paraguay can be promoted to be the ambassador to Bulgaria, easing out the troublemaker. President Bartlett is quite keen on the plan because, as he comments, "Hey, I like this. Of course, if everybody keeps moving up one, then I get to go home."
----
** Lilah Morgan does this to her boss in the premiere episode of Season 4. With the permission of the Senior Partners, of course.
--->'''Linwood:''' This is outrageous! Are you actually telling me that you went over my head?\\
''[Lilah touches her palm-pilot; a blade whips out of the backrest on Linwood's chair [[OffWithHisHead slicing quickly and neatly through his neck]]]''\\
'''Lilah:''' [[BondOneLiner Just under it, actually.]]
** Wesley became Illyria's de facto consort after shooting the first one.
* In a late Season Two episode of ''Series/BabylonFive'', Vir and Londo receive a prophecy that both of them will become Emperor of the Centauri at some point in the future, with one of them being the other's successor. At the end of the episode, they're each visibly wondering if the other is going to kill him for the title. [[spoiler:In the following season, it is revealed that Vir takes the throne after Londo's assisted suicide.]]
** In another example, both of them follow the reign of the mad Emperor Cartagia, who died at [[spoiler:Vir's hand as a result of Londo's plotting.]]
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'': [[spoiler: Zarak, believing Adama has been derelict in his duties by becoming too close to the rebel Cylons, leads a mutiny to give himself a Klingon Promotion. It doesn't end well for Zarak, as he and poor Mr. Gaeta who'd been trying to keep everyone alive ends up in front of a firing squad.]]
* Deconstructed when ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''[='s=] cousin [[ViolentGlaswegian MacAdder]] announces he'll kill the Prince Regent and take his place. Blackadder points out he'd simply be arrested for regicide.
* Defied in ''Series/BreakingBad'', when Mike warns Walt, after the latter has arranged the murder of drug lord Gustavo Fring, that "Just because you killed UsefulNotes/JesseJames, don't make you Jesse James." He is, in the end, right. After taking over Gus' meth operation, Walt's drug profits take a huge nosedive, and it's not long at all before [[spoiler:Walt has alienated or murdered most of his co-conspirators (including Mike himself), and Hank and the DEA catch up with him and force him to go on the run]].
* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Faith kills [[TheDragon Mr Trick]], and then goes directly to [[BigBad the mayor]] to point out he now has "a job opening".
* This trope is an inherent rule of the ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'' universe. One of the rules of being an [[TheChosenOne Avatar]] (no, [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender not that one]]; [[Film/{{Avatar}} or that one]]) is that one generation's Avatar can only [[PassingTheTorch claim the full measure of his power]] after personally murdering the previous generation's Avatar--even though an Avatar frequently serves as TheMentor to his successor, and [[{{Patricide}} an Avatar's successor may be his own son]]. Interestingly, a generation's [[MessianicArchetype Avatar of Light]] is just as subject to this rule as his generation's [[DarkMessiah Avatar of Darkness]], reinforcing that LightIsNotGood.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' uses this a few times.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians "Doctor Who and the Silurians"]]: The Leading Elder Silurian is killed by the Young Silurian, who becomes Leader, apparently with no opposition among the rest.
** The Fifth Doctor becomes President of Gallifrey by default at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]] when Borusa's quest for immortality isn't what anyone (except the First Doctor) thought it would be. Of course, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere the Doctor runs off in his TARDIS... again]].
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E2GhostLight "Ghost Light"]]: The not-very-bright initial alien villain Josiah assumes that killing Queen Victoria will automatically make him ruler of the British Empire.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]]: The Master invokes this, pointing out that if the Doctor kills PresidentEvil Rassilon he could lead the Time Lords.
* Invoked in an episode of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' by Zhaan in an effort to stop an aggressive alien from attacking Moya.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Heavily implied in the episode "Safe":
-->'''The Patron:''' ''[in a calm, kindly voice]'' You're not a witch, are you? I'm the patron here. Do you know what that means?\\
'''[[WaifProphet River]]:''' Yes. You're in charge. Ever since the old patron died.\\
'''The Patron:''' That's right.\\
'''River:''' He was sick. And he was getting better. You were alone in the room with him-- ''[cue BurnTheWitch]''
* In an episode of the short-lived ''Series/{{Flash Gordon|2007}}'' TV series, [[MagnificentBastard Ming]] forces Flash and Barin to fight to the death for Princess Aura. Barin easily beats Flash (Flash isn't much of a fighter) but then turns around and throws the poisoned weapon at Ming. Ming falls over and is presumed dead. Both combatants are imprisoned, but Aura (who is currently in charge) lets them go and reveals that she had replaced the poison with a sedative that temporarily mimics death, so Ming will soon wake up. After Ming comes to, he's disappointed that Aura hasn't followed this trope, claiming she's unworthy to be a leader. In the last episode before the series cancellation, Aura and [[spoiler:her brother]] have captured Ming, and he's being led to a gas chamber to be executed. As he speaks with his daughter for the last time, Aura (with tears in her eyes) tells him that it's necessary. Ming's last words? He tells her he can finally be proud of her. [[spoiler:He doesn't die]].
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Daario Naharis kills his captains Mero and Prendahl to take control of the Second Sons.
** House Bolton, House Frey, and [[spoiler: House Tarly]] betray their liege lords to seize their former titles.
* ''Series/MacGyver1985'': Anyone who screws up their duties in the highly competitive and murderous assassin's guild of H.I.T. (Homicide International Trust) is subject to be killed by someone more adept at doing their job then they were.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Attempted in ''Series/LukeCage2016''. After Shades becomes a liability by questioning him a few times too many, Willis "Diamondback" Stryker decides to have him removed. So he promises Zip an opening in his gang, which he will fulfill by killing Shades. Diamondback then has Shades bailed out of police custody. Zip and two of Diamondback's new hires pick up Shades and haul him into a freight elevator, at which point [[TooDumbToLive Zip decides to try strangling Shades while his two henchmen stand by and do nothing]]. Shades manages to grab a gun, kills both of Zip's men, and then Zip after getting him to confess to acting on Diamondback's orders.
** ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': After sending Elektra off ostensibly to kill Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen (whoever he is), Alexandra is reminding Madame Gao, Bakuto and Murakami that she's kept the Hand's most important operation running while they were so busy infighting among each other...until she's cut off mid-sentence by Elektra abruptly impaling her from behind with one of her sais.
--->'''Elektra Natchios:''' His name is Matthew. \\
''[pulls her sai out of Alexandra's back, letting her body fall to the floor]''\\
'''Elektra Natchios:''' And my name... is Elektra Natchios. [[TyrantTakesTheHelm You work for me now.]]\\
''[She swiftly decapitates Alexandra's corpse with her remaining katana, then looks up to face the remaining Fingers]''\\
'''Elektra Natchios:''' Any questions?
* In ''Series/TheMandalorian'' whoever wields the Darksaber has the right to rule Mandalore. Defeating the current owner in a duel confers ownership of the weapon but there doesn't seem to be any requirement that the original owner needs to die. Though there is no rule against it either.
* ''Series/MurderInTheFirst'': Sugar Cascade's second in command tries to take control of his gang this way.
* Used for a comedic effect in Disney's ''Series/PairOfKings''. Cousin Lannie would have become king of the island nation of Kinkou, had not the eponymous brother kings have been found. He keeps trying to set up their deaths (or sometimes just abdication) so he can advance to king. Once, he succeeded by making it so they were going back to Chicago, but they came back and were re-instated (ItMakesSenseInContext).
* Non-lethally subverted, by the ''heroes'', no less, in ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'': The season's Rangers are the "B-Squad" of the eponymous galactic police force, and after they defeat and capture [[spoiler:the "A-Squad", who were thought missing in action [[FaceHeelTurn but had actually switched sides offscreen]] to work for the BigBad]], their commander offers the entire team promotion to "A-Squad". [[spoiler: They decline.]]
* ''Series/RedDwarf'''s episode "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVHoloship Holoship]]" had this; the eponymous vessel had a full complement, and the only way for Rimmer to join is "dead man's boots" by defeating another crew member in intellectual combat. [[spoiler: His opponent had fallen in love with him and she resigned from the combat to give him his dream, effectively committing suicide. When he found out, he promptly resigned from the ship and returned to Red Dwarf to bring her back to life.]]
* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ComicBook/LexLuthor finally goes from AntiVillain to BigBad by throwing [[spoiler: his father]] out a window.
** Interestingly, the AlternateUniverse version of Lionel Luthor expresses disappointment that his adopted son, Clark, has ''not'' done this to him.
* [[spoiler: How Clay became President in]] ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy''.
* ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}'':
** ''Series/StargateSG1''
*** The series has the rite of ''joma secu'', where a Jaffa commander can be challenged by another Jaffa to a duel to the death. The victor gets the commander's position. First seen in "The Warrior".
*** In "Bounty", SG-1 points out to BountyHunter Odai Ventrell that Netan's position as leader of the Lucian Alliance is tenuous at best and that if somebody managed to kill him they could probably take over the entire organization. Three guesses what Ventrell does next. Of course, Ventrell is never seen again after last seen pointing his gun at Netan. When we see the Lucian Alliance in ''Series/StargateUniverse'', there is another member of the Alliance played by the same actor with no relation to Ventrell.
** In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', Major John Sheppard became the military leader of the Atlantis expedition by shooting his immediate superior, Colonel Sumner. However, Sheppard wasn't looking for a promotion; he shot Colonel Sumner as a MercyKill since he was being fed on by a Wraith Queen and was almost dead anyway.
** This is how Wraith promotions work. So, in "The Queen", when [[spoiler:the Wraith "Todd" kills the Primary Queen and gives the credit to Teyla, who's currently disguised as a lower-ranking Wraith queen, Teyla becomes the new Primary. This allows Todd to take over the entire hive by giving orders on behalf of his "reclusive" queen who doesn't actually exist.]] It's limited in that this only works for Queens. A male can't take a Queen's place by killing her, especially since they'd lose their reproductive line.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
*** [[OlderThanTheyThink This actually started]] for the franchise with the MirrorUniverse episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E4MirrorMirror Mirror, Mirror]]". Chekov is planning to kill Kirk for treason (because he balked at destroying a helpless planet's cities, as per standard procedure), and he mentions everyone else would advance in rank. It's later mentioned that the mirror Kirk killed Pike to get the captaincy.
*** Mirror-Spock specifically mentions that he doesn't want to become captain of the ''Enterprise'' over Kirk's body, as Mirror-Kirk has many friends in the fleet, and Spock's command (and life) would be extremely short. He does, however, state that he will kill Kirk if he fails to take decisive action against the Halkans, but only because these are his orders from Starfleet Command.
*** Mirror-Spock also cautions Sulu, who rightfully points out that the order would fall on him next should Spock fail to carry out his orders. Mirror-Spock's operatives [[ThreatBackfire would certainly avenge his death]]. "[[GoThroughMe And some of them are Vulcans]]." Klingon promotion is definitely not as simple as it sounds.
*** This actually happens very briefly in the episode "Amok Time", though not on purpose. We are led to believe that Spock has killed Kirk, and [=McCoy=] tells him that, as strange as it seems, he's in command now. Of course, Spock doesn't ''want'' to be the captain, and is planning to hand over command to Scotty and turn himself in to the authorities until he finds out Kirk is alive after all.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is the Trope Namer and has many examples among the Klingons.
*** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E7Reunion Reunion]]," the current Chancellor is poisoned, and Picard must help investigate the murder as well as ceremonially choose the successor to the High Council. The whole reason there's controversy in the Klingons' eyes is that the Chancellor's killer used a cowardly method like poison, instead of fighting him in a duel.
*** In the TNG episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E8AMatterOfHonor A Matter of Honor]]," where Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship in an officer exchange program, the subject of Klingon Promotion comes up; it's the accepted way to remove a captain who is unsuitable for command. Later, when the Klingon captain's misunderstanding threatens the ''Enterprise'', Riker finds a way to exploit this rule, though in a rather more humane and less bloody manner. [[spoiler:He contrives a way to get the captain transported off the ship, then engages in a standoff so they can force the ''Enterprise'' to "surrender" and stop the hostilities. When the captain is beamed back, Riker [[MyFistForgivesYou takes a punch from him to let them save face]], getting the crew's respect for understanding Klingon proprieties.]]
---->'''Riker:''' Let me get this straight: as first officer, one of my duties is to ''assassinate'' the captain?
*** In a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, in the episode "Skin of Evil", Worf actually ''bristles'' at the idea of being made head of security when Armus kills Tasha Yar. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation However, this may have been because he honestly felt she was more qualified for the position]], not to mention being a friend that he genuinely respected.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
*** In the episode "Tacking into the Wind," the new Chancellor from TNG "Reunion," Gowron, is screwing things up during the Dominion War, mismanaging the Klingon battle efforts due to his jealousy of the glory that General Martok is gathering on the battlefield. [[ChallengingTheChief Worf decides to challenge Gowron.]] [[spoiler:He wins and becomes the next Chancellor, but almost immediately passes the torch to his friend and mentor, General Martok.]]
*** In "Soldiers of the Empire", Dax explains the intricacies after hearing O'Brien and Bashir talk about the trope, canonizing the caveats previously established in the Expanded Universe. Only a direct subordinate can make the challenge, and only after a severe infraction (cowardice, extreme failure, dereliction of duty). In the same episode, Worf challenges Martok for fleeing the Jem'hadar. It's a ploy not unlike Riker's, as Martok had been badly affected by his experience as a Dominion prisoner--being challenged and defeating Worf restores Martok's fighting spirit and that of the demoralized crew. Once he realizes that [[CruelToBeKind Worf was trying to help him]], Martok declares him a sworn brother of his House.
*** Ferengi society really frowns on taking power this way, as shown in one episode. Quark is made leader of the Ferengi, and the last leader's son tries to take power this way. The capitalistic Ferengi, who would have respected him if he undermined Quark's power-base and accumulated all the real power behind the scenes (becoming TheManBehindTheMan), just call him an idiot for thinking it would work. [[spoiler:The whole thing is a setup, as the previous leader is still alive, having faked his death to test his son's worthiness to be his real successor. Needless to say, his son fails.]] Interestingly, Quark is impressed by Rom's ruthlessness (he helps Zek's son), even commenting that their father would have approved. [[spoiler:Zek seems to be impressed as well... which is why he names Rom the new leader when he retires.]]
*** Quark managed to end up the head of a Klingon House when the former leader accidentally died while drinking in Quark's bar, and in his attempts to not get knifed, he had to play up the idea that he accomplished this.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
*** In the episode "Coda", [[TheCaptain Janeway]] jokes that [[NumberTwo Chakotay]] could try WilliamTelling with a phaser as a talent demonstration.
---->'''Chakotay:''' Sounds great! If I miss, I get to be Captain.
*** In another episode, a Kazon boy wishes to become a man by killing Chakotay. He fails. He then explains that killing a person is the rite of passage for the Kazon. Apparently, killing a clansman is also acceptable in some cases. At the end of the episode, instead of killing Chakotay (who hopes that the Doctor can make him better), he turns the weapon onto his maj (clan leader). Before the maj's NumberTwo can execute him, the boy swears loyalty to him as the new maj. After a few seconds, the new maj accepts.
** The ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' Mirror Universe episode has Mirror!Archer deposing Mirror!Forrest, who is the captain of the ISS ''Enterprise'', then assassinating Admiral Black. [[spoiler:Subsequently, Mirror!Hoshi poisons him, and not only moves on to Captain but also takes the recovered Prime-Universe's 23rd century ''Defiant'' and uses it to declare herself the new Terran Empress. Talk about a promotion...]]
** In ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', Mirror!Connor attempts to kill Michael Burnham, who is pretending to be her Mirror Universe double, hoping that this would prevent her taking back the ISS ''Shenzhou'' and will finally get the crew to respect him. Despite him getting the drop on her, Burnham manages to kill him, which only serves to solidify her status in the eyes of the crew. And, of course, there's [[spoiler:Lorca trying to kill Emperor Phillipa Georgiou to claim the Terran throne]].
* On ''Series/TeenWolf'', the most common way for a Beta or Omega werewolf to ascend to the status of Alpha is to kill an existing Alpha.
* ''Series/ToddAndTheBookOfPureEvil'': In the season 1 finale, [[spoiler: Atticus, having [[VillainousBreakdown snapped]], kills his father [[BigBad the Hooded Leader]] and seizes control of the [[{{Cult}} Satanic Society]] by force]]. He then spends most of season 2 proving just how [[BigBadWannabe inadequate]] he is at the position he now has.
* Diana pulls this off twice near the end of the second ''Series/{{V 1983}}'' miniseries, killing both Pamela and John within a day to usurp control of the alien fleet. What makes it stand out in particular is that she's clearly breaking protocol -- while intrigue and political scheming is expected among the Visitors' higher ranks, flat-out murdering superiors in cold blood is not. Neither target even saw it coming.
* In ''Series/TheWestWing'' episode "[[LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics]]", it becomes necessary for political reasons to remove the ambassador to Bulgaria (he's having an affair with the Prime Minister's daughter). To remove him requires a sequence in which the ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia is promoted to be ambassador to Paraguay, so that the ambassador to Paraguay can be promoted to be the ambassador to Bulgaria, easing out the troublemaker. President Bartlett is quite keen on the plan because, as he comments, "Hey, I like this. Of course, if everybody keeps moving up one, then I get to go home."
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