History TheChosenOne / LiveActionTV

** Oddly enough for the idea, is that Emma fulfills her destiny at the end of Season 1, but still has a ton of work to do protecting the town now. Justified by Season 6, which reveals that breaking the curse was just part of Emma's destiny. She's also fated to [[FinalBattle face down]] with the curse's original creator, the [[GreaterScopeVillain Black]] [[UltimateEvil Fairy]].

* Captain Dylan Hunt on ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' started out as a normal human (albeit genetically upgraded, which is standard for 90% of human characters in that series), but as seasons wore on he was [[RetCon retconned]] to be a half-human/half-SufficientlyAdvancedAlien of the Master Race, then became the ''Paradine'', spoken of in ancient prophecy, with his own prescient alien seeress by his side. (Trance Gemini, who started out as an (seemingly) innocent [[PerkyFemaleMinion perky alien girl]] with hints of unusual powers, but in later seasons was transformed into a GodModeSue.) [[Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys Hercules]] in Space, indeed.

** In an incredibly cruel twist, [[spoiler: it seems his special role, his destiny was to die off Island and return so that Jacob's currently unnamed rival could pose as him and kill Jacob]]... and [[spoiler:despite being said to be chosen by Jacob, he never even ''met'' the '''real''' Jacob while alive, implying that maybe the whole "chosen one" thing was just crap thought up by Jacob's nemesis (whose current FanNickname is Esau) so that he could return to life.]]

* ''Series/NirvanaInFire'': Mei Changsu, formerly known as Lin Shu, [=AKA=] the Divine Talent. In Lin Chen's word, "To have the Divine Talent is to have the World." Played with because Lin Chen is Mei Changsu's best friend and likely gave out this "prophecy" as part of his master plan. Add to that Langya Hall's "prophecies" are actually just statements of fact derived from carefully compiled information, and essentially Lin Shu chose himself.

** The title character Buffy Summers -- at least until the end of season one where it becomes subverted when Buffy was drowned and quickly resuscitated. She is replaced by Kendra Young, then Faith Lehane, but for all intents and purposes, Buffy is still the Slayer. All Slayers before Buffy (Nikki Wood, the First Slayer, etc) play this trope straight. They rarely live to see their 20s, and tend to be ''chosen'' when they're extremely young, at 15-17 if they're exceptionally lucky, and do not get discovered by the Watcher's Council particularly quickly (as appears to be the case with both Buffy and Faith and many of the Potential Slayers during season 7, but not the case with Kendra, who gets an even shorter end of the stick: she is abandoned by her parents and raised by her Watcher). The "One" part of the Chosen One is very literal - "One girl in all the world." (At least until the end of Season One)

* In ''Series/TheNineLivesOfChloeKing'', the title character was a prophesied 'Chosen One' destined to unite the prides of the cat beings called the Mai, of which she is one.

** In an incredibly cruel twist, [[spoiler: it seems his special role, his destiny was to die off Island and return so that Jacob's currently unnamed rival could pose as him and kill Jacob]]...and [[spoiler:despite being said to be chosen by Jacob, he never even ''met'' the '''real''' Jacob while alive, implying that maybe the whole "chosen one" thing was just crap thought up by Jacob's nemesis (whose current FanNickname is Esau) so that he could return to life.]]

* In ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'' both Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin are chosen ones on opposing sides, following in a long line of both good and evil avatars. Also, [[spoiler: Sofie]] is revealed to be the final avatar late in the series.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Clark Kent in is referred to as a sort of 'chosen one' by the local Indian tribe, who call him 'Naman', the prophesied warrior who would destroy his worst enemy, Sagith. In fact this prophecy was [[spoiler:implanted in the tribe (along with metahuman [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] powers) by a Kryptonian visitor centuries ago.]]
** A look into the past reveals that Jor-El was once aided by Jonathan Kent's father Hiram. Before Jor-El left, Hiram assured him that the Kents would always be there for him if he needed them. Clark tells his parents that he doesn't believe him being sent to Smallville was a coincidence. Jor-El chose the Kents.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'' there is not just 'One' Chosen One but three of them! Or, alternately (and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything significantly]]), one with three parts (as Zathras puts it, The-One-Who-Was, The-One-Who-Is, and The-One-Who-Will-Be).
** The trio of Chosen Ones was probably (at least partially) a {{Retcon}} to explain how the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute could replace the previous Chosen One.
*** {{Retcon}} doesn't even begin to describe B5. JM Straczynski practically deserves to be listed under the CrazyPrepared trope for his contingency planning. From the very beginning, ''every single major character'', in ''all five seasons'' had an "out" written into the story so that they could be removed without affecting the storyline, and indeed, could be reintroduced later if necessary.
*** And he specifically stated in interviews that it was intentional to remove Sinclair (a popular character on B5) during the height of the series. Straczynski designed the show to have a beginning, a middle, and an end (plus 20,000 contingency plans) unlike most shows. But Sinclair leaving at the end of the first season (rather than sometime in Season 2 or 3) and coming back in later seasons was not a contingency plan - it was forced by actor Michael O'Hare's mental health issues (he had schizophrenia; his paranoid delusions weren't helped by the fact that his character was having less-paranoid delusions, as well). This led to JMS bullshitting for several years about how he had "realized Sinclair's arc had played out too quickly" and the character needed to be written out for story reasons; in reality, he had promised O'Hare to keep the circumstances of his departure from the show a secret until O'Hare died (JMS revealed it in May 2013, O'Hare having passed the previous September).
** The trope is also subverted in "Comes the Inquisitor." During this episode, the Inquisitor (on behalf of the Vorlons) tortures Delenn and Sheridan until they both proclaim that they're nothing special, that if they're killed others will just take their places, and that they most likely will die pointlessly and without glory.
*** That is revealed to be true. Sheridan [[spoiler:[[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends]] and leaves beyond the Rim]], while Delenn [[spoiler:dies of old age.]]
* The new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' is swimming with them.
** Dr. Gaius Baltar is 'chosen' by the hallucinatory vision of the Cylon Number Six (which vision is usually called "Head-Six") to serve the One True God, and she manipulates him to that end over the course of the entire run of the series, from scientist to political leader to champion of the downtrodden underclass to religious icon. She actually calls him 'the chosen one' on several occasions. Interestingly, no matter what happens, the things Baltar must do as the chosen one also get him laid--and even more interestingly, "Head-Six" is eventually shown to be an actual angel of God (although she doesn't especially care to be called an angel, and God isn't particularly enamored of that title, either), ''and'' it turns out that this whole time the physical Six model Baltar had had an affair with on Caprica has a "Head-Baltar" who is also an angel. We're not entirely sure what this reminds us of, but it seems like something.
** In the second instance, President Laura Roslin comes to believe that she is the dying leader who will lead the people to Earth, based on her interpretation of ancient religious texts. Her role is questioned when she is cured of her supposedly terminal cancer, and reassessed when she suffers a relapse.
** The third possibility is Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace, who is told early on by the Cylon Leoben that she is important and has a destiny. Unlike the other two, she actively denies it and works against it, before embracing it shortly before her 'death' in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Upon her return, she comes to passionately believe she is now the one destined to lead the human race to Earth, unaware of a Cylon prophecy that she will actually lead the human race to the apocalypse.
** The fourth example (is that a record?) is the Cylon Number Three (D'Anna Biers), who becomes obsessed with seeing the faces of the Final Five and what lies between life and death. She declares herself to be a chosen one who will lead the Cylons into a new age, but instead her hubris kills her and leads to her entire line being boxed. It turns out her experiences were actually more important to furthering Baltar and arguably Starbuck's positions as 'chosen ones' (by putting Baltar in a position where he found his way back to the fleet, and by enabling Starbuck to find Earth).
** Really, when it comes right down to it, ''Battlestar Galactica: Reimagined'' doesn't really have a Chosen One - it has a Chosen FiveManBand, each with a specific purpose in [[spoiler:"God's"]] plan.
*** By comparison, the original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' series is a bit more reserved. The Beings of Light, a mysterious race that go around the universe [[WeHelpTheHelpless helping civilizations in distress]] developed an interest in Apollo. They think that the good captain has already done a fine job saving many innocent lives and will continue to do so in the future.
* Captain Dylan Hunt on ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' started out as a normal human (albeit genetically upgraded, which is standard for 90% of human characters in that series), but as seasons wore on he was [[RetCon retconned]] to be a half-human/half-SufficientlyAdvancedAlien of the Master Race, then became the ''Paradine'', spoken of in ancient prophecy, with his own prescient alien seeress by his side. (Trance Gemini, who started out as an (seemingly) innocent [[PerkyFemaleMinion perky alien girl]] with hints of unusual powers, but in later seasons was transformed into a GodModeSue.) [[Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys Hercules]] in Space, indeed.

** [[spoiler: Dean Winchester]] as of season 4. Unfortunately, the guy's gone through so much BreakTheCutie trauma by this point, that it's doubtful if he can actually fulfill this role. In season 5 it's revealed that he's the intended vessel of the Archangel Michael, which he [[ScrewDestiny doesn't agree to]].

* Referred to as the "Golden One" in ''Series/KrodMandoonAndTheFlamingSwordOfFire'' because it's [[GenreSavvy "slightly less cliche"]] than the Chosen One.
* The eponymous hero in ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker''.
** He's also ''a'' Seeker. There were others before him, whenever situation was grave enough to warrant one. Each one is implied to have had his own Confessor and a wizard (at least the one before did). Unfortunately, the one before ended up sleeping with his Confessor and going mad after the wizard convinced her to commit suicide. The wizard ended up killing the Seeker with the Sword of Truth and putting an enchantment on his body to keep his spirit out of the underworld. He then hid the truth (claiming that both the Seeker and the Confessor died in the final battle against the enemy) in order to keep the people's faith in the Seeker.
** In the series of books the series is (very) loosely based on, Literature/SwordOfTruth, it is suggested with hints spread out over the different books that the titular sword was actually made for the main character and the whole line of seekers was a tool just to get the function and authority to him.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' deconstructs this with [[TheWoobie River Tam]]. Her exceptional intellect and implied latent [[PsychicPowers psychic ability]] got her "chosen" - to go straight to [[SchoolForScheming the Academy]]. She came out the other end a [[MindRape traumatized]] [[AxeCrazy mental wreck]] who [[ThereAreNoTherapists can't be treated]] and suffers from both schizophrenia and [[PowerIncontinence uncontrolled mind powers.]]
** She does get better in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', though at considerable cost, and plays the trope straighter by leading the gang to a secret of galactic importance... and then saving most of their lives.
* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' parodies this in the first sketch of season 3, which features a father telling his son that he's the Chosen One just to get him out of the house.
* ''Series/TheCollector'': [[spoiler: Morgan was God's chosen instrument to discover the cure for Plague, centuries ahead of reality. The Devil successfully distracted him from this role]].
** One episode involves a great spirit periodically guided to an Amerindian tribe, the latest being their needed savior, [[spoiler: whom the Devil also tries to distract from her role.]]
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Emma Swan, the daughter of Literature/SnowWhite and PrinceCharming is prophesied to one day save all of the fairy tale characters trapped by the Evil Queen's curse which has them living out mundane lives in our world with no memory of who they really are, and no chance to reclaim their happy endings on their own. Played with in that the only one in-universe who actually believes this is Henry, Emma's son (at least, on the surface).
** Oddly enough for the idea, is that Emma fulfills her destiny at the end of season 1, but still has a ton of work to do protecting the town now. Justified by Season 6, which reveals that breaking the curse was just part of Emma's destiny. She's also fated to [[FinalBattle face down]] with the curse's original creator, the [[GreaterScopeVillain Black]] [[UltimateEvil Fairy]].
** Also in season six, it is revealed that [[spoiler: Rumple was supposed to be the Savior. [[DeconstructedTrope However,his mother intervened when she read up on the whole prophecy because she didn't want him to die. In the end, she stole his destiny from him, and ironically turned herself into the villain that he was supposed to fight. Even more ironically, Rumple himself turned into one of the show's biggest villains.]]]]
** In the third season it's implied that Henry is also a chosen one, although given his pedigree it shouldn't come as a surprise. [[spoiler: Fulfilled at the end of Season 4, when he becomes the new Author.]]
** A central plot point in Season 7 is the search for the Guardian, a person with a [[IncorruptiblePurePureness totally pure heart]], who can take the powers of the Dark One without being consumed by them, thus putting an end to its evil permanently.
* The title character of ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', who was chosen, we haven't a clue by who exactly, to help Arthur become the king he is destined to be and help him unify Albion.
** Actually, it's Arthur who's the Chosen One. He's just such a Chosen One that fate gave him his own Chosen One to keep him alive and sane throughout being a Chosen One. His wife Guinevere is a Chosen One too, with a destiny so sure that the most powerful healing artifact in the Five Kingdoms could not stop a dream of her becoming queen, because fate had decreed it. In other words, he's such a powerful Chosen One that all the people in his life become {{Chosen One}}s just by being around him.
* Duncan [=MacLeod=] in the ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' TV series. First there's Cassandra's prophecy (not the mythological Cassandra) about a "Highland child born on the winter solstice, who has seen both darkness and light and who will defeat the voice of death" and then there's the whole Ahriman/immortal champion thing. A few fans think that might be what the prophecy meant, rather than referring to Kantos, but it was all still really bad anyway.

* In ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}'', [[spoiler: Eve, the newborn daughter of George and Nina, is the Chosen One, who is going to save the world from the vampires.]]
** Subverted: [[spoiler: the prophecy is incomplete. Eve is actually responsible for the vampires' survival! It's implied that relying on Eve to save them undermined the humans' resistance and won the battle for the vampires.]]
** It is also said that TheChosenOne has a 'nemesis', marked by a [[spoiler: burn on their arm]]. It's implied to be [[spoiler: Hal]] but turns out to be [[spoiler: Eve herself]].
* Daniel Jackson of ''Series/StargateSG1'' appears to have been considered this by the ascended Ancient Oma. But the others kicked him out of the 'Ascended Fan Club' for being too much of an AllLovingHero and wanting to actually help people when they needed it instead of ignoring them. This aspect seems to have diminished somewhat around Season 7.
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Captain Sisko is the Emissary to the Prophets, the Wormhole entities that the Bajorans worship as gods. It takes a little while for the science-loving Sisko to embrace his role as the messiah of another race, but he manages. Sisko later learns that he is actually a Prophet's ''son'': his bio-mom was ''possessed'' by one of the Prophets for months if not years, [[TimeyWimeyBall in order to make sure Benjamin would be born and able to fulfill his destiny]] (when the energy being left her, Sara was not happy to have had her life taken over and ran off, leaving Ben to be raised by his father). Over the course of the series Sisko, in his dual roles as Starfleet officer and Bajoran Emissary, saves Bajor from military and spiritual threats.
* Despite him never being called this, [[spoiler: Hiro]] of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' kind of becomes this when his destiny is to [[spoiler: SaveTheWorld and "kill" Sylar.]]
* Troy Barnes in ''Series/{{Community}}'', whose destiny is to be... the greatest air conditioner repairman ever. Yes, it is apparently SeriousBusiness, for the Truest Repairman will repair Man.
* Nina Martin in ''Series/HouseOfAnubis''. Sarah Frobisher-Smythe, too, as she was the chosen one before Nina was born. Both are descendants of Amneris who were born at a special hour on a special day; July 7th at 7:00 AM, or January 1st at 1:00 AM, respectively. In this series, all it really means is being able to build the Cup, wear the Mask of Anubis, and [[DeadPersonConversation communicate with ghosts.]] The first two abilities are what caused the drama in the first two seasons.
** Joy was ''believed'' to be chosen due to her birthday, but was born at the wrong hour- 7:00 ''PM'', rather than 7:00 ''AM''.
** Eddie Miller too. He is not a chosen one, but is still important as the chosen one's destined protector- the Osirian. He gets his own powers in season 3, specifically visions of the future. [[spoiler: Rufus Zeno is one as well, despite being a villain. [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Actually, this power is what caused it.]]]]
* In ''Series/{{Atlantis}}'', Jason is the Chosen One. We know this because the Oracle makes sure to cryptically mention it OnceAnEpisode. She is somewhat more [[VaguenessIsComing vague]] what he is chosen for.
* ''Series/{{Dominion}}'' is the TV sequel to ''Legion'' (mentioned in the Film section above), and as such is all about Alex, the baby born at that movie's climax, coming into his destiny as humanity's savior. [[RefusalOfTheCall Whether he wants it or not.]]
* In the second ''Series/FirstWave'' episode, Cade finds out that he is predicted by Nostradamus to be the "twice-blessed man" who will [[EitherOrProphecy either die with everyone else or save Earth]] from an AlienInvasion. Cade immediately calls himself "twice-cursed".
-->"On the seventh dawn of the seventh day,\\
A twice-blessed man will roam the fields.\\
Doomed to shadows with his brethren,\\
Or savior to all who walk the ground."
* ''Series/SleepyHollow'': Ichabod realizes pretty quickly that he and Abbie are the two Witnesses of the Apocalypse foretold in the Book of Revelation, and as such are the only ones who can stop [[BigBad Moloch]] from bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* Subverted in the series finale of ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles''. [[spoiler: John Connor travels to the future, where not only has no one ever heard of him, but the resistance is still alive and well without his leadership.]] Although an alternate interpretation of the finale is that the original John Connor was erased by all the time travel, and John's leap forward in the finale cemented his future role as leader of the resistance. They hadn't heard of him yet, but on his arrival they learn much more about the machines and how to stop them, from John.

* ''Series/{{Mortified}}'': After listening to a lecture on Buddhism, Taylor becomes convinced that she is the chosen one. However, this turns out to be just another manifestation of her IJustWantToBeSpecial tendencies.
* In ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'', the Sancturary Tree chooses Deet to warn the surface Gelflings of the Darkening that ravages the Caves of Grot. Later, he gives her his ability to see visions and channel energy.
* In ''Series/PersonOfInterest''[[spoiler: Root becomes]] this, as she gains direct access to The Machine as its analog interface.

** Season 7 introduces Kevin Tran, a bright teenager who is not at all happy that he has been chosen as a profit. Dean briefly commiserates with the boy, making it clear that being The Chosen One sucks and is going to ruin your life.

* In ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'', the Sancturary Tree chooses Deet to warn the surface Gelflings of the Darkening that ravages the Caves of Grot. Later, he gives her his ability to see visions and channel energy.