Why are the casts of tv shows referred to the way they are?
July 6, 2009 9:59 AM

What determines how people get referred to in tv credits?

To clarify, usually in the credits that come before a show, after the teaser, it just lists people's names. But then sometimes towards the end it will say "With [actor x]" or "...And [actor y]". Who gets a "with" or an "and" before their name? Is it determined by the size of the role, the fame of the actor, or some other factor? Or is it completely random?

This obviously is not a matter of life and death, I just always wondered.
posted by Dormant Gorilla to Media & Arts (3 answers total)
All of the above, including the negotiation skills of the actor's lawyer/agent. The ever-informative Cecil Adams addressed this in one of his columns.
posted by katemonster at 10:02 AM on July 6, 2009


Also, tvtropes.org seems to be broken right now, but they've got an interesting page about "also starring". Here's the Google cache of it.
posted by katemonster at 10:07 AM on July 6, 2009


Asked and answered, thank you!
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:15 PM on July 6, 2009


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