History Main / StrictlyFormula

* [[Music/{{Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]] used to say that all his sins followed the same format: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo, [[SelfDeprecation Bad Solo]], Verse, Chorus

* [[Music/Nirvana Kurt Cobain]] used to say that all his sins followed the same format: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo, [[SelfDeprecation Bad Solo]], Verse, Chorus

* In the over 30 years that Music/CannibalCorpse has been releasing albums, they have had no real meaningful stylistic shifts. When someone buys a Cannibal Corpse album, they know what they're getting: a bunch of fast, thrashy death metal songs plus a few slower, more groovy or atmospheric tracks, and (depending on what Pat O'Brien was feeling during the writing process) maybe a TechnicalDeathMetal song or two. While most albums have some sort of individual motif or feel to distinguish them, that largely depends on who did the bulk of the writing, and they won't feature any major deviations from their established style. They have been accused of being formulaic due to this, but the typical fan response is that while they may be predictable, they're so good at what they do and have such strong chemistry as writers that it doesn't matter.

* ''Sesame Tree'', the Northern Ireland co-production of ''Series/SesameStreet'': Potto and Hilda have a problem (or in season two, Archie arrives with a problem). The Big Whizzing Machine recieves a message from a kid asking about something related to the problem. The Bookworms find a book that sends Hilda to visit a school. Potto uses his computer to watch a relevant ''Series/SesameStreet'' "kids around the world" segment and Muppet sketch. Potto gets a phone call from Hilda leading to a segment about how the kids at the school she's visiting deal with the problem. They realise they can now solve their problem, and answer the question.

* Website/GoAnimate "grounded" videos: a person gets into trouble, and the viewer always knows how it turns out: "OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH! [troublemaker's name]! How dare you [troublemaker's misdeed]! That's it! [[YouAreGrounded You are grounded, grounded, grounded]] for [[[GroundedForever abnormally long period of time]]]! Go to your room now!" "[[DullSurprise Wah-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-ah.]]"

* AnalogHorror videos follow the exact same basic formula: a mundane [=VHS=] recording that quickly turns into NightmareFuel-inducing horrors with tons of cryptic imagery. Many involve an EmergencyBroadcast, tend to be MaybeMagicMaybeMundane about what's going on, and nearly every video includes many a OminousVisualGlitch and many a FreezeFrameBonus.
* WebVideo/{{Kitboga}} is a scammer popular on Website/{{Twitch}} and Website/YouTube. Among the scams he covers are tech support scams. These scams are considered so formulaic that for a long time he had a ticker at the top of each video displaying various elements of the scam. It would show where the scammer was currently within the particular scam alongside with a comparison against a previous call and read as follows: "Initial Bait, Connect to PC, Find Virus/Hack, Explain, Pricing/Options, Payment Details, Transfer To Boss and Reaction," with an overall clock showing the total time of the call on the right. However, as he began branching out into exploring more types of scams, as well as specializing more often in "refund scams," he eventually dropped all elements of this ticker except for the clock at the far right. During the Adam and Alex saga, "Baited," in which he wasted over 36 hours of scammer time, he still had this ticker but eventually stopped bothering with the various elements, such that by the end the entire 36+ hours was displayed under "Initial Bait."
* Some Website/YouTube channels about people's working lives can be very repetitive, because a lot of work involves doing the same stuff every day.

** ''Film/CelesteAndJesseForever'' has the couple already broken up when the film starts, but still living together and being almost in denial about it. They both develop as people with the guy becoming less immature and the woman becoming less of a control freak, but ultimately grow too far apart to rekindle things and move on to different people.

* As a rule, even avowed non-fans of the genre can effortlessly summarize the plot of any modern RomanticComedy (eg. ''Film/HowToLoseAGuyIn10Days'', ''Film/{{Hitch}}'', et al), purely on the basis that it's... a RomanticComedy. After just enough setup to introduce our couple and whatever negligible flaws they might [[InformedFlaw (supposedly)]] have, they'll MeetCute, then some misunderstanding will drive them apart just long enough to raise the WillTheyOrWontThey question, which is answered at the end of the film with a definite and invariable [[ForegoneConclusion They Will]]. The most critically well-regarded movies in the genre are those that break from the formula in some way, like ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer'', which features romantic leads with flaws much deeper than simply being charmingly clumsy or comically workaholic, deconstructs many of the genre's common devices, and ends with both main characters breaking it off and choosing other partners. ''Film/CelesteAndJesseForever'' has the couple already broken up when the film starts, but still living together and being almost in denial about it. They both develop as people with the guy becoming less immature and the woman becoming less of a control freak, but ultimately grow too far apart to rekindle things and start different relationships.

** '''Chapter 4/4th murder''': [[spoiler:BigGuyFatalitySyndrome is in full effect (Sakura, Nidai, Gozu (though he was only the second death) and Juzo, Gonta), with TheBigGuy accepting their death. The trial ends in a TearJerker and the death was committed for a noble cause (end the internal conflict of the group, get the group out of the funhouse, save Kokichi's life and protect everyone from [[AwfulTruth the truth about the outside world]]). In addition, TheBigGuy can count as both a victim and a culprit of the case, as Sakura commits suicide, Nekomaru becomes the victim as a part of a SuicidePact duel with Gundham, and Gonta, in spite of murdering Miu, is merely an UnwittingPawn of Kokichi, the true mastermind behind the murder, with the game making it clear that Gonta was a victim as much as Miu was.]]

** '''Chapter 4/4th murder''': [[spoiler:BigGuyFatalitySyndrome is in full effect (Sakura, Nidai, Gozu (though he was only the second death) and Juzo, Gonta), with TheBigGuy accepting their death. The trial ends in a TearJerker and the death was committed for a noble cause (end the internal conflict of the group, get the group out of the funhouse, save Kokichi's life and protect everyone from [[AwfulTruth the truth about the outside world]])]].

* ''WebOriginal/GeographyNow'': Paul first talks about the flag[[note]]As of May 2016, this has been moved to a separate "Flag Friday" video series[[/note]], and then in order political geography, physical geography, demographics and international relationships.

** 2023 saw its releases slip into this as well. Not only do most books star an {{always female}} protagonist (with only three new releases featuring a gender customizable protagonist) and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based, this time there is ''only one'' love interest who is gender customizable (even in the new releases with gender customizable protagonists, with only two new releases featuring more than one love interest). Also, most books are rated 17+ for sexual content, especially in the second half (with only four not having this rating) and the plot for most books with gender-locked protagonists mostly revolve around ForbiddenLove.

** The releases in 2019 have turned into this, especially from April onward. Each new series is released every month, always stars a female protagonist (with only three new releases featuring a gender customizable protagonist) and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based. There are three love interests for the main character: a white male [[CreatorsPet that is usually forced on our protagonist and receives the most screentime]], a less prominent second male love interest that usually fits the role of "best friend" and a [[GayOption token female love interest]] that receives the least screentime (and when she ''does'' appear, she's usually paywalled). The plot revolves about something generic involving the protagonist (reporting for a news station, being a singer, visiting family for a summer vacation, attending a bachelorette party, parenthood etc.) that could have worked just as well with a male protagonist (but every "gender-locked" book always has to have a female protagonist for some reason). Each book has reused character designs for many characters (even the ''main character'') and each book is a standalone (with only two new releases ending up being serialized).
** 2023 saw its releases slip into this as well. Not only do most books star an {{always female}} protagonist (with only three new releases featuring a gender customizable protagonist) and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based, this time there is ''only one'' love interest who is gender customizable (even in the new releases with gender customizable protagonists, with only two new releases featuring more than one love interest). Also, most books are rated 17+ for sexual content, especially in the second half (with only four not having this rating) and those with gender-locked protagonists mostly deal with ForbiddenLove.

** 2023 saw its releases slip into this as well. Not only do most books star an {{always female}} protagonist (with only three new releases featuring a gender customizable protagonist) and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based, this time there is ''only one'' love interest who is gender customizable (even in the new releases with gender customizable protagonists, with only two new releases featuring more than one love interest). Also most books are rated 17+ for sexual content, especially in the second half (with only four not having this rating) and those with gender-locked protagonists mostly deal with ForbiddenLove.

** The releases in 2019 have turned into this, especially from April onward. Each new series is released every month, always stars a female protagonist (with only three new releases featuring a gender customizable protagonist) and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based. There are three love interests for the main character: a white male [[CreatorsPet that is usually forced on our protagonist and receives the most screentime]], a less prominent second male love interest that usually fits the role of "best friend" and a [[GayOption token female love interest]] that receives the least screentime (and when she ''does'' appear, she's usually paywalled). The plot revolves about something generic involving the protagonist (reporting for a news station, being a singer, visiting family for a summer vacation, attending a bachelorette party, parenthood etc.) that could have worked just as well with a male protagonist (but every "gender-locked" book always has to have a female protagonist for some reason). Each book has reused character designs for many characters (even the ''main character'') and each book is a standalone.
** 2023 saw its releases slip into this as well. Not only do most books star an {{always female}} protagonist (with only three new releases featuring a gender customizable protagonist) and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based, this time there is ''only one'' love interest who is gender customizable (even in the new releases with gender customizable protagonists, with only two new releases featuring more than one love interest) and those with gender-locked protagonists mostly deal with ForbiddenLove.