30 of the Most Iconic Shows Within Shows and Movies Within Movies

There are other universes that exist alongside ours, and the people in them also really like TV. Entertainment options can seem endless as it is; now multiply that by infinite parallel worlds and you’ll understand the daunting task of keeping up with all the maybe shows and could-be movies.

Fortunately, there’s help: Nestflix is a new website that aspires to become the definitive catalog of all those fake shows within shows and the movies within movies that have given us a peek into neighboring realities—sort of like a wiki for inter-dimensional cable. Inspired by that massive effort, here are some of the best and most memorable shows and movies that we’ll probably never get to watch for real.

Abed from Community’s favorite show is not entirely unlike Doctor Who, though viewers from this side of the pond might fine the American spin-off, Epochs of Eternity, more palatable.

Those white cops are gonna find that lost Toyota.

Scandal is great. But Defamation has 40% more Oval Office Eagle action.

The longest running show-within-a-show in TV history. Now let’s see that long-gestating Poochie spin-off.

Your notions of diversity are sadly human-centric. Binary love is love, and this soap opera from the year 3000 is enough to make HAL 9000 cry.

Fuck you, John.

Twin Peaks was conceived as a straight-ish parody of, and homage to, daytime soaps. Invitation to Love is, perhaps, the show’s truest expression of that goal.

As a nation, will we ever tire of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck? Will we ever get the chance to?

Scream 2's appropriately meta opening sequence takes place during an opening night screening of Stab, the film adaptation of the plot of Scream 1. By the fourth Scream movie, we’re on our seventh Stab movie (got that?), continuing the roundabout of movies-within-movies until you’re not entirely sure which is the actual movie you’re meant to be watching.

Christopher Moltisanti died as he lived: dumb.

I suppose that this is more of a fake trailer within a movie, but Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s clever ‘70s-era horror movie homage still gets a spot. Hey, I’d watch it.

So cleverly constructed was this gangster-movie parody that many people still think that Kevin was watching an actual old movie on TV when he pulled off his pizza delivery scam, rather than just a subtle parody. Home Alone 2 has a clip from the (also made-up) sequel: Angels with Even Filthier Souls.

Eat your heart out, Kenneth Branagh. (I’m genuinely surprised that this isn’t a real movie.)

When there’s no more cable, will there be no more porn? (Just kidding, there will always be porn.)

Dirk Diggler’s talents never lay in acting, but bless ‘im for trying.

I’m not sure that you have to really get the silent film references to laugh out loud when you hear Jean Hagen’s accent.

I’ve seen Canadian films with less impressive production values. 10/10 would watch.

This is just a really incredible piece of animation, full-stop—an homage to the classic era of theatrical animated shorts that could go rabbit’s foot to rabbit’s foot with any of them.

How this didn’t win every single Oscar I’ll never understand.

Is this movie-within-a-movie making fun of Simple Jack? Or is it a clever parody of Hollywood’s treatment of disability? Is Tropic Thunder, a fine but otherwise unexceptional comedy, really worth having a debate over?

This came out in 1999, when America still had the capacity to be shocked, but only mildly. And so, we were all mildly shocked by the very catchy tune about frequent casual sex with one’s uncle.

I’m not sure why James Cameron insists on doing 15 new Avatar movies when all we really want is this.

This came out before Hamilton premiered. I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure Lin-Manuel Miranda owes Tracy Jordan money.

He’s a duck who’s also a detective. That may or may not be your cup of tea, but it’s very popular with the cast of Gravity Falls.

This one works because it’s always been clear that Bert was one bad day away from completely losing it.

BoJack Horseman would totally star in the film version of Secretariat’s life, and, let me tell you, it is not a happy story.

Sauerkraut is an underrated delight, but otherwise I’d watch the hell out this.

Galaxy Quest, the movie, is about the fictional Galaxy Quest, a TV show. With real (in the movie) aliens who mistake the actors from the show (who are actually actors in the movie), for the real characters they played in that beloved, but fictitious (both fictitious in that it tells fictional stories, but also in that it, uh, doesn’t exist) TV show.

So, yeah, this is meta enough to qualify.

Back in the day, we didn’t have to wait years for a good remake. Sometimes they’d reboot before you even left the theater. Case in point: the end of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, which delivers a sexier and more action-packed version of the movie we literally just watched. Fortunately, they were kind enough to give Paul Reubens a cameo.