Editing Fourth wall (section)

===Television===
On television, the fourth wall has broken throughout the history of the medium.

Fourth wall breakage is common in comedy, and is used frequently by [[Bugs Bunny]] and other characters in ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and other later animated shows,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Batkin | first = Jane | title = Rethinking the rabbit: revolution, identity and connection in Looney Tunes | journal = [[Animation Studies Online Journal]] | volume = 11 | date = 2016 }}</ref> as well as the live-action 1960s sketch comedy of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', which the troupe also brought to their feature films.<ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Langley|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10948113/Monty-Python-Will-the-wrinkly-revolutionaries-have-the-last-laugh.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10948113/Monty-Python-Will-the-wrinkly-revolutionaries-have-the-last-laugh.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Monty Python : Will the wrinkly revolutionaries have the last laugh?|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London, England|date=5 July 2014|access-date=15 May 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> With animated characters, this typically involves pretending that the characters are played by real actors, rather than acknowledging their true nature as animated drawings. George Burns regularly broke the fourth wall on ''[[The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]'' (1950).<ref>{{cite journal | last = Barth | first = Josie Torres | title = Sitting Closer to the Screen: Early Televisual Address, the Unsettling of the Domestic Sphere, and Close Reading Historical TV | journal = Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies | volume = 34 | issue =  3  | date = 2019 | pages = 31–61 | doi = 10.1215/02705346-7772375 | s2cid = 211651602 }}</ref>

Another convention of breaking the fourth wall is often seen on [[mockumentary]] sitcoms, including ''[[The Office (UK TV series)|The Office]]''. Mockumentary shows that break the fourth wall poke fun at the documentary genre with the intention of increasing the satiric tone of the show. Characters in ''[[The Office (US TV series)|The Office]]'' directly speak to the audience during interview sequences. Characters are removed from the rest of the group to speak and reflect on their experiences. The person behind the camera, the interviewer, is also referenced when the characters gaze and speak straight to the camera. The interviewer, however, is only indirectly spoken to and remains hidden. This technique, when used in shows with complex genres, serves to heighten the comic tone of the show while also proving that the camera itself is far from a passive onlooker.<ref>Savorelli, Antonio. Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. North Carolina: McFarland, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-5992-6}}</ref>

Another approach to breaking the fourth wall is through a central [[Narration|narrator character]] who is part of the show's events, but at times speaks directly to the audience. For example, [[Francis Urquhart]] in the British TV drama series ''[[House of Cards (UK TV series)|House of Cards]]'', ''[[To Play the King]]'' and ''[[The Final Cut (TV serial)|The Final Cut]]'' addresses the audience several times during each episode, giving the viewer comments on his own actions on the show.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cartmell|first=Deborah|title=The Cambridge Companion to Literature on Screen|year=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521614863|page=244}}</ref> The same technique is also used, though less frequently, in the American adaptation of ''[[House of Cards (U.S. TV series)|House of Cards]]'' by main character [[Frank Underwood (House of Cards)|Frank Underwood]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Macaulay |first=Scott |url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/69368-breaking-the-fourth-wall-supercut/ |title=Breaking the Fourth Wall Supercut |magazine=[[Filmmaker (magazine)|Filmmaker]] |date=24 April 2013 |access-date=5 July 2013 |archive-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601140736/http://filmmakermagazine.com/69368-breaking-the-fourth-wall-supercut/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Netflix]] series ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV series)|A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'', based on [[Daniel Handler]]'s book series [[A Series of Unfortunate Events|of the same name]], incorporates some of the narrative elements from the books by having Lemony Snicket as a [[Narration|narrator character]] (played by [[Patrick Warburton]]) speaking directly to the television viewer that frequently breaks the fourth wall to explain various literary wordplay in a manner similar to the book's narration.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/01/13/a-series-of-unfortunate-events-netflix-2004-film-comparison/96533010/ | title = How Netflix's 'Series of Unfortunate Events' outshines the 2004 film | first = Kelly | last = Lawler | date = 13 January 2017 | access-date = 13 January 2017 | work = [[USA Today]] | archive-date = 6 March 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200306214827/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/01/13/a-series-of-unfortunate-events-netflix-2004-film-comparison/96533010/ | url-status = live }}</ref> The protagonist of ''[[Fleabag]]'' also frequently uses the technique to provide exposition, internal monologues, and a running commentary to the audience.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Benji|title=Fleabag, episode 4 review: another superb, poignant episode that was both shocking and shockingly good|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2019/03/25/fleabag-episode-4-review-another-superb-poignant-episode-shocking/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2019/03/25/fleabag-episode-4-review-another-superb-poignant-episode-shocking/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=31 March 2019|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=25 March 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Every episode of the sitcom ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'' breaks the fourth wall during the introduction by the character [[Zack Morris (Saved by the Bell)|Zack Morris]]. Most episodes have several other fourth wall breaks. This is similar to how ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]'', ''[[Clarissa Explains It All]]'' and ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' use fourth wall breaks to set up stories or have characters comment on situations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/best-television-shows-characters-break-fourth-wall/|title=10 Best Shows Where Characters Break The Fourth Wall, Ranked|first=Matthew|last=Wilkinson|date=January 21, 2020|accessdate=May 11, 2021|work=Screen Rant|archive-date=2 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002140253/https://screenrant.com/best-television-shows-characters-break-fourth-wall/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]'s [[Shameless (American TV series)|Shameless]] has a main character breaking the fourth wall at every episode beginning to deliberately criticize and threaten the viewers to emphasize the morally deficient plots and characters likely in an deliberate attempt to turn away any naïve viewers to maintain the exclusiveness of the series, only to add to its popularity.

Furthermore, breaking the fourth wall can also be used in [[Meta-reference|meta-referencing]] in order to draw attention to or invite reflection about a specific in-universe issue. An example of this is in the first episode of the final season of the show [[Attack on Titan (season 4)|''Attack on Titan'']], where a newly introduced character, [[Falco Grice]], starts to hallucinate about events that took place in the last 3 seasons. This [[literary device]] utilises [[Self-reference|self-referencing]] to trigger media-awareness in the recipient, used to signpost the drastic shift in perspective from the Eldian to the Marleyan side, and can be employed in all sorts of media.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/AzHdMVyRE6E Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201218043221/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzHdMVyRE6E Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=TVアニメ「進撃の巨人」The Final Season放送記念生放送 スタッフ兵団座談会#1| date=18 December 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzHdMVyRE6E|language=en|access-date=2021-09-06}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The use of breaking the fourth wall in television has sometimes been unintentional. In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[The Caves of Androzani]]", the character of Morgus looks directly at the camera when thinking aloud. This was due to actor [[John Normington]] misunderstanding a stage direction,<ref>Doctor Who Magazine #279, 30 June 1999, Archive: The Caves Of Androzani by Andrew Pixley, Marvel Comics UK Ltd.</ref> but the episode's director, [[Graeme Harper]], felt that this helped increase dramatic tension, and decided not to reshoot the scenes.<ref>The Caves Of Androzani, DVD commentary</ref>

[[Interactive television (narrative technique)|Interactive]] children's show characters also commonly break the fourth wall to "help" the audience with the episodes of the shows.