History Main / OnceASeason

** Every season includes at least one scene that reveals new information from the books that, due to being told from the limited perspective of point-of-view characters, were unable to portray or could only hint at. The first season confirms that [[spoiler:Renly and Loras]] are in a homosexual relationship, the second season reveals how Melisandre and Stannis conceived a shadow assassin, and that [[spoiler:Joffrey]] sent Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion, the third season confirms that Ramsay [[spoiler:castrated Theon]], the fourth season reveals that Craster's sons are [[spoiler:turned into new White Walkers]], the fifth season reveals [[spoiler:the massacre at Hardhome and existence of the Night King]], the sixth season confirms that [[spoiler:Balon Greyjoy was murdered by his brother Euron]], and that [[spoiler:Melisandre is actually centuries old and hides her true form under a magical glamour]]. From the sixth season onward it remains to be seen if revelations will be included in the books eventually.

* ''Franchise/PrettyCure'', for its first five seasons, had a number of traditions: infighting in episode 8, new mascot introduced just before the midseason powerup, new mascot runs away from home shortly after, just to name a few. Most of these were done away with along with the ArtShift and the name-based mascot [[VerbalTic sentence enders]] come ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure''.

** For the first four seasons, in early March, Scott uploads a video discussing the Nintendo Switch. All but the first of these videos[[note]]''Nintendo Switch: 3 Days In''[[/note]] follow incredibly similar formats.[[note]]This ended in season 5 as the premiere was delayed past early March.[[/note]]
** Every season except Season 4 has a video covering that year's E3 [[note]]Season 4 was uploaded in 2020, and there was no E3 that year.[[/note]]. You can also count on at least one video about an older E3 each season, though the first two seasons actually had two of these.
** An AprilFoolsDay episode (and usually one of the rare cases where the Sunday release schedule is almost always broken for reasons unrelated to Schedule slip).

* ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'', starting from Volume 5 onwards, will have the team stay at a house for a number of episodes while the plot happens outside of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad!'' has a non-canonical Christmas episode every season, as well as non-canonical episodes parodying a film or TV show. Most episodes have the main story focus on Stan or Roger, but there are always a few per season that focus on Steve or Francine as well.

* On ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' there is a CAKED episode every season.

* Series/GilmoreGirls: While several Stars Hollow annual arrangements only happened once and were never heard of before or after, such as the season three dance marathon, two occured every season of the original run: the winter festival, and the Civil War reenactment.

** Q notably didn't appear in season 5 (though he ''did'' appear, that same season, in an episode of ''Deep Space Nine'' for the first and only time), so season 6 made up for it by having him appear twice.

** For the first four seasons, in early March, Scott uploads a video discussing the Nintendo Switch. All but the first of these videos[[note]]''Nintendo Switch: 3 Days In''[[/note]] follow incredibly similar formats.[[note]]This hit a BrokenStreak in season 5 as the premiere was delayed past early March.[[/note]]

** Reakumatizations played a little part in seasons 1 [[note]]Stoneheart[[/note]] and 2 [[note]]Queen Wasp and Heroes Day[[/note]]. The writers took this element Up to Eleven in season 3 when many characters like Lila, Juleka, Kagami, and Max got reakumatized into identities, both old and new, possibly to avoid creating countless new characters. This element is very likely to return in season 4.

* Every season of ''Series/KirbyBuckets'' has featured a cameo from an NBA player. The first season had Chandler Parsons, the second had Zach [=LaVine=], and the third had John Wall.

** Every season in early March, Scott uploads a video discussing the Nintendo Switch. All but the first of these videos[[note]]''Nintendo Switch: 3 Days In''[[/note]] follow incredibly similar formats.

** Their annual ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'' episodes, starting with season 2.

** Musa/Riven and Morgana/Klaus [[note]]including Nabu/Aisha in flashbacks[[/note]] in Ice and Fire from season 4

** Even ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' launched a fairly long-lived one for the entire franchise; The Romulans made appearances once a season through the 3 ''[=TOS=]'' seasons, both seasons of ''Series/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'', and the first two seasons of ''[=TNG=]''. The streak was finally broken when they began to play a larger role in the storyarc beginning in season 3.

** ""Carry On Wayward Son" is always played every season and has become the show's unofficial theme song. In season 1, it is played in the recap of the penultimate episode. From seasons 2 to 14, it plays in the SeasonFinale recap. In the GrandFinale, it doesn't play in the recap, but rather in the episode itself (named "Carry On" as tribute), where it gets a LampshadeHanging.

* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' always has an episode set in TheWildWest each season, where they always meet with ComicBook/JonahHex, whose sole seasonal appearance is ''also'' only in that episode.

** Every season finale begins with an extensive recap set to Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son", the show's unofficial theme song. There's also at least one episode featuring pagan gods per season (though there were two in season 5), and, from season 4 onward, one time travel episode per season.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
** Every season has one episode (episode 14 or 15) which inverts the show's usual narrative strategy by focusing heavily on the flashback narrative of Oliver's five years away from home, and only briefly touching upon the present-day narrative. These episodes have a similar naming structure (starting with ''The'' followed by one word). Also, all these episodes too date have featured the character of Slade Wilson, either in the past or the present-day. Season 4 was the first season to break with this pattern...it remains to be seen if Season 5 (the last season to follow the flashback narrative) will reinstate it.
** Every season has one episode which begins with Oliver's POV of running through wilderness. For the first four seasons, it was the pilot/season premiere, while in the fifth season, it was the series' 100th episode, part of a four-series crossover event.
** Every season thus far has seen [[spoiler: the death of a major character - Tommy Merlyn in Season 1, Moira Queen in Season 2, Laurel Lance in Season 4]]. Season 3 is somewhat of an anomaly in this regard - [[spoiler: It begins with the death of Sara Lance, an important recurring character from the previous season but not a series regular - moreover, Sara's death was eventually reversed, unlike the others, though admittedly only because she was to star in a new spin-off series]].
** Also, every season ends with [[spoiler: Oliver killing the BigBad by impaling him, either with an arrow or sword]]. Season 2 plays with this - [[spoiler: Oliver spares the life of BigBad Slade Wilson in the present-day, but in the flashback narrative, he does stab Slade with an arrow, with the intent of killing him]].

* ''Series/TheFlash2014'':

** Musa/Riven[[note]]inculding Nabu/Aisha in flashbacks[[/note]] in Ice and Fire from season 4

** Bloom/Sky, twice (in The Wizards Downfall from season 1 and The Phoenix Revealed from season 2)

*** Season 3: [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E08AnInsideMan "An Inside Man"]], twice this time, because [[spoiler:Kallus has [[HeelFaceTurn turned]] ReverseMole and they have to MakeItLookLikeAStruggle]].

*** [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E19ZeroHour "Zero]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E20ZeroHourPartII Hour"]]: [[spoiler:Kallus]], the ReverseMole, gets unmasked and subsequently beaten up, resulting in a few cuts and a black eye.