Basic Trope: One character is told by another character that they are their parent.
- Straight:
- Hailey tells Oscar that he is her long-lost dad, surprising him.
- Cassie is told by Michael that she is his mother.
- Exaggerated:
- Almost every character has a long-lost child they didn't know about and all of those children tell them at about the same time.
- Oscar has dozens of long-lost children who reunite and tell him together of their parentage.
- Downplayed:
- Oscar knew that he had a child with an ex, but didn't meet Hailey until she was old enough to tell him herself.
- Cassie gave birth to a son when she was a teenager and gave him up for adoption. So, when Michael shows up, she’s surprised that Michael decided to search for her but is completely aware she has a biological child.
- Justified:
- Oscar and Emily, Hailey's mother, had a short-lived affair (maybe even a One-Night-Stand Pregnancy) and the two separated before Emily knew she was pregnant. By the time Emily found out, Oscar was long gone with no forwarding address. On Emily’s deathbed, she reveals to her daughter that Oscar is her father, resulting in Hailey deciding to research Oscar and finding out where he lives to inform him.
- Oscar donated some sperm during college. Michael is the result of a couple conceiving him from this sperm, with him learning years later and deciding to seek out Oscar.
- Oscar is The Casanova who goes through women like tissues, leaving them as soon as the encounter is over, and as such he doesn’t know if any of his exes have ever gotten pregnant from their liaisons.
- Inverted:
- Oscar tells Hailey he's her long-lost father. Cassie reveals to Michael that she is his biological mother.
- Hailey tells Oscar that he isn't her father.
- Subverted:
- Hailey tells Oscar that she's his daughter, but then learns he had a vasectomy shortly before her conception.
- Hailey learns that Oscar isn't her father as she believed but rather his identical twin brother Noah.
- Oscar dies before Hailey has the chance to tell him.
- Hailey comes to Oscar's door and slowly and awkwardly explains that he had a relationship years ago that left "unexpected results", with Oscar expecting her to tell him that she's his child. Hailey immediately tells him that she isn't his child.
- Hailey is not Oscar's daughter. She's just extorting him for money by playing into his guilt.
- Michael is not Cassie’s son.
- Michael is informed that Cassie is infertile and has never been able to have children, thus Cassie cannot be his biological mother.
- Double Subverted:
- However, Hailey's older brother Campbell tells Oscar that he's his son, being conceived before Oscar had the procedure. Or alternately, Oscar had sperm frozen and stored at a sperm bank, which Emily got to conceive another child, meaning Hailey is his daughter after all.
- It turns out Noah is asexual and has never had sexual relations with Emily; it was a lie told by Oscar to avoid responsibility of his daughter.
- Hailey somehow manages to resurrect Oscar and tells him the truth.
- Hailey's friend Amber is the one who is actually Oscar's daughter. She's just too shy to tell him herself, so Amber has Hailey inform Oscar of the news.
- Hailey then learns that her mother Emily had a relationship with Oscar around the time Hailey was conceived. The man Hailey thought was her father was actually her stepfather; Oscar is Hailey's father. Hailey then drops her scheme, tells Oscar about it, and reveals that Oscar is her biological father after getting a Daddy DNA Test.
- Michael’s sister Jeanne, on the other hand, tells Cassie that she is her biological daughter through egg donation.
- However, Cassie reveals to Michael that her identical twin sister Kerry gave birth to a baby boy the same day Michael was born and gave him up for adoption. Michael then tells Kerry this news.
- Parodied:
- Hailey randomly tells Oscar that he's her father and that her mother was an ex-girlfriend of his. Oscar points out that he has never had a relationship in his life, let alone one that could have conceived a child, but still believes her because Hailey said he has her father.
- Michael tells Cassie that she is his biological mother despite his parents having detailed documentation that say otherwise (including videos that show every single day of life). Cassie nevertheless believes it and welcomes Michael into her family.
- Zig Zagged: Hailey tells Oscar that she is his daughter. He learns the identity of her mother, Emily, who was an ex of his. However, when Oscar learns when Hailey’s birthday is about eleven months after he ended his relationship with Emily, meaning that Hailey can't possibly be his daughter. Hailey admits that she’s not sure who her father is but genuinely believed that Oscar was a likely candidate. Then, Hailey's older brother Campbell comes forward and reveals that he's Oscar's son. Oscar is surprised since he thought that Campbell’s father was Emily’s ex-husband but then realizes he had sex with Emily about nine months before Campbell’s birth (shortly after Emily’s husband left her), thus there’s a strong possibility of him being Campbell’s biological father. A DNA test confirms Campbell’s statement. Then, it's revealed that Oscar had sperm frozen and stored at a local sperm bank, where Emily underwent artificial insemination. Yet another DNA test confirms that Hailey is Oscar's daughter, meaning that Oscar now has two children he didn't know about until then.
- Averted:
- Oscar always knew Hailey was his daughter and vice versa. Michael and Cassie always knew their relation with each other and are living together as son and mother.
- Hailey never learns her father's identity nor does she actively search for him.
- Enforced:
- Lampshaded:Hailey: Oscar, I have something important to tell you.Oscar: You're not going to tell me that you're my long-lost daughter or something, are you?
- Invoked: Mindy is The Gadfly and often pulls prank phone calls, including one where she tells Oscar that her name's Hailey and that he's her father before hanging up.
- Exploited: Hailey is a con artist who decides to extort Oscar, a wealthy author, for money by claiming he's her daughter from a relationship with her mother, a past girlfriend, knowing he would be too guilt-filled to refuse his daughter.
- Defied: Oscar makes sure that he has protection every time he has sex to make sure a situation like this doesn't occur in the future. Whether he has a Freudian Excuse or simply being paranoid is up to the writer.
- Discussed: "How did Oscar not know he had a daughter for 22 years?" "I guess she was shy."
- Conversed:Jamie: Hailey finding her dad and telling him about it is just like in those movies where the dad is a slacker or something and has to adapt to responsibility.Mindy: You've been watching way too many movies, my dude.
- Played For Drama: Hailey never knew her dad and found her mother Emily's secrecy over the matter to be frustrating, causing a rift in their relationship. When Hailey meets Oscar for the first time, Oscar initially rejects her, not because she's his daughter but rather because he's not very good at handling the news he's a dad. However, Hailey is saddened by this kneejerk reaction and thinks that Oscar hates her for simply existing.
- Played For Laughs: Hailey comes to Oscar's door and tells him that she is his daughter. Oscar accepts her instantly and introduces her to his dozens of our children, all of whom had recently told him that he's their dad.
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