The original post: /r/television by /u/AporiaParadox on 2026-02-08 12:49:13+00:00.
Lots of TV shows, especially those part of big IPs, have their own “expanded universe” in other media like comic books, videogames, novels, audio dramas, etc. that continue or expand the story. However, as much as fans may claim otherwise, those works are only as “canon” as the people in charge of the franchise consider them to be, which most of the time is “I had no idea this thing even existed”, so usually these other works are ignored if not outright contradicted. It’s for the best really, you can’t really expect casual audiences to follow a bunch of comics, novels, and stuff.
But sometimes, elements from expanded media become so iconic or catch the attention of the people in charge enough that they end up being acknowledged and sort of canonized. The Star Wars universe is well known for this, and the Star Wars shows constantly use characters and lore introduced in the comics, novels, videogames, guide books, etc. much more than the movies do. This is also the case to a lesser extent with Star Trek and Doctor Who. It helps that the people making these shows grew up as fans of the IP and now that they’re in charge they want to reference stuff they liked even if it wasn’t part of the “main” canon.
So what other elements or characters from “expanded universe” works were acknowledged and sort of “canonized” in the show?