History Main / TeasingCreator

* Creator/NimbusLlewelyn seems to consider this a primary form of entertainment, judging by his A/N's in ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', hinting, with varying degrees of vagueness, about what is to come and occasionally outright [[TrollingCreator trolling]] the audience, stating the difference between [[LyingCreator a hint and a red herring largely depended on his mood]] and occasionally letting people guess entirely the wrong thing.

* In January 2018, Creator/{{Nintendo}} fans were anxiously awaiting the announcement of a rumored January 11th Nintendo Direct.[[note]]Nintendo Directs are online videos that detail upcoming content for Nintendo systems[[/note]] Yes, not the video itself, but the announcement that there would be one. The fanbase threw themselves into an absolute fervor, with cries of "Reset the clock!" occurring every hour for ''days'' in anticipation. Eventually, Nintendo of America acknowledged this on January 10th... by posting a picture of ''VideoGame/ChibiRobo'' [[https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/951144137352396800 on fire]]. That other video game PR accounts soon responded to with pictures their own characters being immolated. This caused the fanbase to go even ''more'' insane. Video game forum [=ResetEra=] in particular had amused mods changing the site's logo and relaxing thread restrictions to further encourage the chaos of members screaming about [[MakesSenseInContext cleaning robots, hot dog men, and anime characters]]. [[https://streamable.com/xe0cd This video provides a little taste]]. A Nintendo Direct would end up being quietly dropped the following morning.

* In January 2018, Creator/{{Nintendo}} fans were anxiously awaiting the release of a rumored Nintendo Direct on January 11th.[[note]]Nintendo Directs are online videos that detail upcoming content for Nintendo systems[[/note]] Or rather, the ''announcement'' that there would be one, as Nintendo only alerts their audience about them no more than two days in advance. The fanbase threw themselves into an absolute fervor waiting for an announcement that no one was certain would even come, with cries of "Reset the clock!" occurring every hour for ''days'' in anticipation. Eventually, Nintendo of America acknowledged this on January 10th... by posting a picture of ''VideoGame/ChibiRobo'' [[https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/951144137352396800 on fire]]. That other video game PR accounts soon responded to with pictures their own characters being immolated. This caused the Nintendo fanbase so go even ''more'' insane. Video game forum [=ResetEra=] in particular had amused mods relaxing thread restrictions to further encourage the chaos of members screaming about [[MakesSenseInContext cleaning robots, hot dog men, and anime characters]]. The whole event was cleverly summed up in [[https://streamable.com/xe0cd a Willy Wonka parody video]]. The Nintendo Direct would turn out to be a shorter "mini Direct" that quietly dropped the following morning.

* In January 2018, Creator/{{Nintendo}} fans were anxiously awaiting the release of a rumored Nintendo Direct on January 11th.[[note]]Nintendo Directs are online videos that detail upcoming content for Nintendo systems[[/note]] Or rather, the ''announcement'' that there would be one, as Nintendo only alerts their audience about them no more than two days in advance. The fanbase threw themselves into an absolute fervor waiting for an announcement that no one was certain would even come, with cries of "Reset the clock!" occurring every hour for ''days'' in anticipation. Eventually, Nintendo of America acknowledged this on January 10th... by posting a picture of ''VideoGame/ChibiRobo'' [[https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/951144137352396800?ref_src=twsrc^tfw on fire]]. That other video game PR accounts soon responded to with pictures their own characters being immolated. This caused the Nintendo fanbase so go even ''more'' insane. Video game forum [=ResetEra=] in particular had amused mods relaxing thread restrictions to further encourage the chaos of members screaming about [[MakesSenseInContext cleaning robots, hot dog men, and anime characters]]. The whole event was cleverly summed up in [[https://streamable.com/xe0cd a Willy Wonka parody video]]. The Nintendo Direct would turn out to be a shorter "mini Direct" that quietly dropped the following morning.

** The fans worked themselves into an absolute tizzy over season 2, and what did they send us? A picture of a single scene with Twilight reading a book. SPOILERZ GUIS! Then, just for extra [[TrollingCreator Trolliness]], when the fandom exploded over that picture, they posted another picture. What can you see in the background of the second picture? The post of the first picture.
*** A [[http://youtu.be/jMi1JRvW9E4 commercial]] showing previews of the fall lineup included literally 2 seconds worth of footage from the show, including a bit with Princess Celestia that had fans wildly speculating as to the circumstances of the particular scene.
** Before season 3, people who worked on the show posted spoilers on their Twitter accounts such as the fact that season 3 would be cute and would contain ponies.
** Shortly after Saberspark uploaded a Youtube video in which one fan of the show told another (both portrayed by Saberspark) he was leaving the fandom because the show's creators were, among other things, "throwing pandas at us"[[note]]His friend explained that he surely meant to say "pandering to us"[[/note]], [=Meghan McCarthy=] tweeted a photo of a panda munching on bamboo.

** As is the norm for creators of ongoing series, the writers and producers don't read fanfics associated with the series; however, they aren't immune to PopCulturalOsmosis. In response to a Zap2it TV listing for "Friendship Is Magic Part 1, Strawberry Elves", Meghan [=McCarthy=] tweeted that the elves were actually blueberry, and that "[[{{Fanfic/Cupcakes}} Pinkie Pie kills them all and bakes them into cupcakes]]".[[note]]The listing was actually a composite of the series premiere and a short feature aired between shows on Treehouse.[[/note]]

** M.A. Larson is the absolute king of this, going far enough to even ''[[TheCameo pop up]] in [[https://derpiboo.ru/493948 fan videos]]'' to make fun of [[BitingTheHandHumor the show]] and ''[[TakeThatMe himself]]''. He loves to [[https://derpiboo.ru/1064112 poke fun]] at things like {{Shipping}}, the [[https://derpiboo.ru/451663 fan reaction to Alicorn Twilight]], and the [[https://derpiboo.ru/590424 bad taste Flash Sentry left in most fan's mouths]]. He's also quite popular for it, since he's a hell of a nice guy in real life as well as a [[BunnyEarsLawyer very good writer]].
** Their tendency to post trolling comments on Twitter is actually referenced in the show, as in the Season 5 premiere the Mane Six's special abilities are taken away, and Fluttershy says after discovering she can't talk to birds, "Even tweets don't make sense anymore!"

** Once, he attempted what was perhaps his biggest joke on the readers at the time, when he appeared to end the ''entire comic'' on a [[AllJustADream horrible anticlimax]], expecting to get a ton of hate mail and rile up his fans. This backfired when he got a ton of mail sincerely ''thanking'' him for the years of great comics, and assuring him that the anticlamix was horrible, and thus, [[StealthInsult the perfect ending for the particular comic]]. He [[https://web.archive.org/web/20081216015553/http://www.nuklearpower.com appreciated the irony;]] his favorite joke, a joke on the reader, [[InsultBackfire whipped right back around]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny and became a joke on HIM.]]

** Another teaser for ''Ultimate'' shows Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong lounging around when their house starts rumbling. They look outside and see the silhouette of a crocodile wearing a crown - which turns out to be [[VideoGame/{{Kirby}} King Dedede]] in a mask. [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Dedede looks into the camera]] [[TrollingCreator and laughs uproariously]] [[spoiler:before being knocked aside by the ''real'' King K. Rool]].

** Moffat's successor as showrunner, Creator/ChrisChibnall, got into the act before even officially ''starting'' the job: when asked if [[http://www.eadt.co.uk/what-s-on/broadchurch-writer-chris-chibnall-creates-laughs-at-the-new-wolsey-1-4906577 his run of the show would include a female Doctor]], he replied "Nothing is ruled out but I don’t want the casting to be a gimmick and that’s all I can say," which was widely interpreted as a "no". Come July 2017, and Creator/JodieWhittaker was officially announced as the Thirteenth Doctor. Indeed, it was later revealed that not only had Chibnall intended to cast a female Doctor in the first place, being allowed to do so was a condition he insisted on before he would take the job of showrunner at all.

** When he posted a panel that he didn't want spoiled, he made a fake panel and asked the readers that if they ''had'' to post an image on their blogs, post the fake.

** Moffat's successor as showrunner, Creator/ChrisChibnall, got into the act before even officially ''starting'' the job: when asked if [[http://www.eadt.co.uk/what-s-on/broadchurch-writer-chris-chibnall-creates-laughs-at-the-new-wolsey-1-4906577 his run of the show would include a female Doctor]], he replied "Nothing is ruled out but I don’t want the casting to be a gimmick and that’s all I can say," which was widely interpreted as a "no". Come July 2017, and Creator/JodieWhittaker was officially announced as the Thirteenth Doctor.

* The editors of Creator/DCComics (notably their boss, Dan Didio) purposely misled fans that the 2005 CrisisCrossover series, ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', would get rid of the DarkerAndEdgier approach the company had taken with its characters in recent years. Writer Mark Waid himself said that was the point (though he got censored later). The story itself directly hints at this since the main characters were in fact trying to [[CosmicRetcon change reality back]] to its previous, nicer state (altered during ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''); but it was all a BaitAndSwitch, as those same characters turn out to be ''responsible'' (both directly and indirectly) for all the tragic events, and the series ends in a bloody battle.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' showrunner Creator/StevenMoffat (also mentioned above in the ''Doctor Who'' section, revels in this.

->'''Q''': ''Do you particularly enjoy being deliberately vague?''\\
'''A''': ''Maybe?''

* Jim Butcher, author of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', is this. It's like crack for wizar... ur, authors. After the ending of "Literature/{{Changes}}" where [[spoiler:Harry apparently died at the end]] he very promptly stated on his website that the next book will be called [[spoiler: Literature/GhostStory. Yeah, while his many fans are consumed with debate over whether Harry is dead or not. Not to mention whether or not he'll be back in some form or another.]]

*** [[spoiler: Turns out he's OnlyMostlyDead, and now back in the land of the living.]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* Creator/JossWhedon is notorious for this.
* [[Series/{{Lost}} Darlton]]. Their podcasts are infuriatingly hilarious.
* Creator/RussellTDavies traditionally drops random words from upcoming ''Series/DoctorWho'' stories in his ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' column, some of which could (he knows) spur on EpilepticTrees-type theories. (This apart from his [[LyingCreator outright lying]] about future stories)
** Most notably, "The Next Doctor". The title was revealed around the time David Tennant was confirmed to be leaving the show, and fandom began guessing who the next Doctor would be, with the production team treating it as if the episode would be introducing the new actor. As it turned out, [[spoiler:the eponymous character wasn't the Doctor's next incarnation at all, the ruse being explained away halfway through the episode]].
** The cliffhangers at the end of "Last of the Time Lords" [[spoiler:the Titanic crashes through the wall of the TARDIS]] and "The Stolen Earth" [[spoiler:the Doctor begins regenerating]] were both easily and effortlessly resolved within the first minute of the following episode, seemingly designed specifically to whip the audience into a frenzy in the meantime.
** Absolutely everything about the episode "The Doctor's Daughter", beginning with the title and ending with the... ending.
* Creator/StevenMoffat, in charge of ''Series/DoctorWho'' and ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', outright says he routinely lies about things, encourages people to give out fake spoilers, and is generally good at trolling the fandoms.
** From his [[http://twitter.com/#!/steven_moffat/status/122210599601057792 Twitter]]: "Apparently I "confirmed" a romantic relationship between Sherlock and Irene Adler. Despite my 140 character limit can I be very clear that I"
** On the subject of the Sherlock series 2 cliffhanger: "We're going to be complete bastards about it."
* In late 2013, Creator/PaulMcGann started making tweets ''about'' rumours he was going to be in the 50th aniversary episode of ''Series/DoctorWho''. He followed this up by suggesting, in the same way, that "[[Creator/DavidTennant Dame Tennant]]" ''wasn't''. It may depend [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialsTheLightAtTheEnd which anniversary episode]] he's talking about.
** It turned out [[spoiler: to be [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor this one]].]]
* Moffat's successor as ''Series/DoctorWho'' showrunner Chris Chibnall has gotten into the act before even officially ''starting'' the job: when asked if [[http://www.eadt.co.uk/what-s-on/broadchurch-writer-chris-chibnall-creates-laughs-at-the-new-wolsey-1-4906577 his run of the show would include a female Doctor]], he replied "Nothing is ruled out but I don’t want the casting to be a gimmick and that’s all I can say.", which was widely interpreted as a "no". Come July and Jodie Whittaker is officially announced as the Thirteenth Doctor.
* Shane Brennan, the current showrunner over at ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', only seems to talk to the media if he wants to stir up shipping drama in the fandom.
* Creator/DanSchneider became this when he joined the internet fandom a season into the airing of ''Series/{{iCarly}}''. He's heavily pushed his 2 current shows ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' and ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' online and they have some of the best tie-in websites of any media, television or otherwise. He become aware of fandom and the almost exclusive {{Shipping}} focus. He then turned what was a relatively non-explosive online community into a Sam/Freddie vs Carly/Freddie [[ShipToShipCombat Ship War]] that rivalled anything Nick had ever seen including [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Kaatang/Zutara]]. The usual method was inserting lines into his blogs referencing whatever pairing was ''not'' the focus of the episode. Caused something of a backlash when the fans figured out what was happening.
** With the launch of new show ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' he remained pretty low key on the teasing. Then the [[LesYay Jade/Tori]] fandom exploded. Now he can't stop teasing them.
* The creator of ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'', Todd J. Greenwald, is known to joke about the Justin/Alex pairing, recently stating that if he ever runs out of ideas, he'll do a ''whole season'' of Jalex-filled episodes.

* The authors of ''Fanfic/GameTheoryFanFic'' are outright gleeful about dropping tantalizing hints about future plot threads, and answering questions in such a manner as to be [[HalfTruth technically truthful and utterly deceptive]].

** He doesn't even bother to be subtle about it, either. When viewing a few people attempt to play ''Double Spoiler'' (NintendoHard even by ''Touhou'' standards) he [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCEh0yQIKzA openly mocks their pain]]. Addictive laugh, though.

* An unofficial motto of the Creator/BeeTrain fandom actually is "[[http://www.beetrainfan.org/wiki/index.php?title=MiaHT [Kouichi] Mashimo is a huge tease]]".

* [[LyingCreator Lying]], [[TrollingCreator trolling]] creator [=ThatPersonYouMightKnow=] is, naturally, fond of this in all of his works. Especially ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures''.

[[quoteright:346:[[FanFic/MyFamilyAndOtherEquestrians http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/captura_de_ecr_9.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:346:[[http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/512515/a-sequel-to-my-family-and-other-equestrians Blade Star invoking this trope.]]]]

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* Creator/KenAkamatsu loves doing this, especially in ''MahouSenseiNegima''. It's still impossible to tell it's a HaremSeries, a subversion thereof, a DoubleSubversion, a parody, or whatever. Then there's the massive amount of ShipTease in the story, much of which seems to exist solely to mess with the heads of the readers. Especially Negi/Asuna. Naturally [[spoiler:Asuna seems to be Negi's aunt.]]

** The Switch incarnation pulls a trailer out at the tail-end of the ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' portion of a Direct, disguising itself as a revamped trailer for [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} the first game]] while implying it would be remade for the system. Then the big flaming Smash symbol shows up behind the Inklings, revealing the silhouettes of several mainstays. (and freaking out the Inkling Girl immensely).

->'''Q''': ''Do you particularly enjoy being deliberately vague?''
->'''A''': ''Maybe?''

* [[LyingCreator Lying]], [[TeasingCreator teasing]], [[TrollingCreator trolling]] creator [=ThatPersonYouMightKnow=] is, naturally, fond of this in all of his works. Especially ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures''.

* This trope could apply to genre expectations as well as to fans of a series. If you look at the message board for any mystery, no matter how wild a twist it employs, there are always jaded fans who say "I saw the ending coming a mile away". ''Film/APerfectGetaway'' is written with great [[GenreSavvy situational awareness]] regarding this tendency, and gives no indication as to which of three possible directions the film is going to go. Then it has multiple screenwriter characters, who lampshade the whole thing by discussing [[RedHerring red herrings]], while awash in them.