Fozzie: Nobody reads those names anyway, do they?
Kermit: Sure. They all have families.
Kermit: Sure. They all have families.
The credits! The chance for everyone who contributed to a production to have their moment in the limelight! Some people pay attention to them, some people ignore them completely.
When it comes to the big stars, however, there seems to be strange math at work. The actors have stipulations, the studio has stipulations, the agents have stipulations, the stipulations have stipulations... trying to make sense of the order of names in the main cast can really bust your noodle.
Tropes that have to do with credits:
- Action-Hogging Opening: The opening sequence is more action-oriented than the actual show.
- As Himself: An actor literally plays themselves and is credited as doing so.
- And Starring: The opening gives one of the actors an "And Starring" credit.
- Animated Credits Opening: A live-action work has an animated opening sequence.
- Bait-and-Switch Credits
- Billed Above the Title
- Billing Displacement: More noteworthy actors are credited upfront even though they are not playing the main characters.
- Character as Himself: Rather than credit the actual actor playing the character, a character is credited as being played by themselves.
- Close on Title
- Closing Credits: A credits sequence that appears after the work has ended.
- Copiously Credited Creator
- Credits Gag
- Credits Jukebox
- Credits Medley
- Credits Montage
- Credits Pushback: The end credits of a show are replaced by or shrunken to fit the network's advertisements for other shows.
- Credits Running Sequence
- Dancing Mook Credits: The end credits of a video game features animations of the game's enemies.
- Diagonal Billing
- Directed by Cast Member: The work is directed by one of the actors.
- Evolving Credits: The title sequence of a television series changes between episodes or seasons to reflect expansion of the cast and other significant changes to the story.
- False Credit: Someone is credited on a project they did not contribute to.
- Finale Credits: Rather than use the same old ending credits, the Grand Finale has its own unique closing credits.
- Framed Face Opening
- In Memoriam: The credits feature a dedication to someone who died before the work was released.
- Mini-Game Credits
- No Animals Were Harmed: A ubiquitous and oft-parodied disclaimer found towards the end of the closing credits.
- Not Named in Opening Credits
- Opening Credits Cast Party
- Posthumous Credit: The credits acknowledge the contributions of someone involved with the work's production who died before the work was released.
- Pre-Ending Credits: The credits are played before the climax takes place.
- Produced by Cast Member
- Real-Person Epilogue
- Silent Credits: The credits are not accompanied by music.
- Solemn Ending Theme
- Special Thanks
- Thanking the Viewer: The credits feature a message thanking the viewer.
- Theme Tune
- Through-the-Years Credits
- Title Sequence
- Unique Pilot Title Sequence
- Unspecified Role Credit: An animated work credits the voice actors but doesn't specify which characters they played.
- Variations on a Theme Song
- Video Credits
- Viewers Like You
- Written by Cast Member: A cast member writes or co-writes the episode.
