The 20 best crossover episodes in TV history

Everything about the iCarly and Victorious crossover episode, “iVictorious,” was well done. The plot worked great for both shows. The writers snuck in a joke about Victoria Justice having already played a different guest role on iCarly. The episode ended with an epic song between the two casts. 

Kids who watched the That’s So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Hannah Montana crossover episode, otherwise known as “That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana,” watched it live. It was appointment TV. And it was awesome.  

Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia are proof that the crossover episode is still a great idea. Their collaboration on Abbott Elementary was perfect. More shows that take place in the same city need to cross over. 

New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s crossover episodes were fun because they both relied on quick cameos rather than full interaction from both casts. It was a welcome change to the format and made for episodes that are fun to stumble upon in rewatches. 

The Jetsons and The Flintstones were the perfect shows to team up for a crossover episode (or made-for-TV-movie, in this case). One family lives in the future, and the other in the Stone Age. Perfect premise. The TV writes itself. 

The Friends and Mad About You crossover set up Friends to have one of its best recurring characters. Before joining the cast of Friends, Lisa Kudrow played Ursula on Mad About You, so Kudrow transferred the character to Friends and reprised the role as Phoebe’s twin sister every now and again. 

Why Shonda Rimes hasn’t ordered more crossover episodes within her TV universe is a mystery that’ll never be solved. The How to Get Away with Murder and Scandal crossover episodes were exceptional examples of powerhouse women sharing the screen. 

Full House and Family Matters doing a crossover episode was a ‘90s sitcom dream. Who would’ve thought that Steve Urkel would be the one to reassure Stephanie Tanner that she had nothing to worry about when getting glasses?

The trick with animated crossover episodes is that animated shows often have different animation styles, and it can be difficult to transfer the characters from one style to another. But that’s also what makes animated crossover episodes, like the one between The Fairly OddParents and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, so fun — seeing familiar animated characters in different styles. 

Who would’ve thought that Phineas and Ferb, of all shows, would get legitimate Marvel cameos? That’s the power that Disney has. They can get Marvel to do anything. 

The crossover episode between Family Guy and The Simpsons raked in over eight million viewers. Those are numbers any TV executive would kill for. All it took was Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson teaming up. 

There haven’t been enough crossover episodes between animated and live-action shows. Sure, it poses a logistical difficulty, but the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and Supernatural crossover episode proved how exciting it can be. 

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Jeffersons teamed up for a couple of different crossover episodes. In one episode, Will and Lisa meet George and Louise at couples counseling, and in the Fresh Prince series finale, the audience learns that the Jeffersons bought the Banks’ home. 

Before superheroes were showing up on Phineas and Ferb, they were showing up on I Love Lucy. The beloved sitcom had a crossover episode with Adventures of Superman back in the day, featuring a visit from Superman at Little Ricky’s birthday party. 

Soap operas cross over quite often. Even though the All My Children and One Life to Live crossover episodes have featured bizarre plot developments, like the baby switch, it's all part of the fun. Besides, what soap opera has completely believable plots in every episode anyway?

The Simpsons has done multiple crossover episodes in its decades-long tenure, and it had another good example of an animated series taking on a live-action series when it teamed up with The X-Files. The Simpsons need to take on more live-action series. 

It can be tricky for dramatic shows to do crossover episodes when their plot development hangs in the balance, but it’s a lot easier when a spin-off show teams up with its original show, like Angel did with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unsurprisingly, the shows collaborated beautifully. 

Who would’ve thought that a scripted series and a reality series could cross over? Vince Gilligan, that’s who. The Breaking Bad creator wrote a spectacular episode that made for a unique and memorable moment in TV history. 

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles crossover episode is a great example of how bonkers things were in the ‘90s. The episode is wild, but that’s what makes it so special. 

Superhero fans were not disappointed when Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow teamed up for the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover episode. Icons from across the Arrowverse teamed up for the crossover episode of the decade.