When TV worlds collide and characters travel to other shows, the results can lead to some truly outstanding episodes, as evidenced by TVLine’s ranking of the best small-screen crossovers.
Our list includes classic TV fare like Superman’s visit to I Love Lucy and a pop-in from Family Matters‘ Steve Urkel on Full House, as well as major crossover events from the biggest franchises (the NCISes, #OneChicago, Law & Order). Speaking of tentpoles, the Arrowverse’s annual crossovers were so impressive and ambitious that the CW juggernaut is represented not once but twice, with a pair of wildly different installments.
Then there are the shows that you wouldn’t think go together — Supernatural and Scooby-Doo?! The Simpsons and The X-Files?! — but somehow made the overlap work with ingenious creativity. These strange combos were so effective that they made our roundup of Best TV Crossovers and Weirdest TV Crossovers. But there’s also plenty of new additions in the below rankings, including a Batman/Green Hornet team-up and an appearance from Buffy on Angel that still has us crying.
Note: We did not include amusing but brief crossover cameos like Community‘s Abed popping up on Cougar Town or the Newhart series finale, which found Bob Newhart’s character waking up to his Bob Newhart Show wife.
Review TVLine’s ranking of the best TV crossovers, then hit the comments to share your favorites and any others that didn’t make the cut!