Are we allowed to make a episode based of a TV Show or Movie?

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So are we allowed to make an episode series based of a Tv show or Movie? Like I’ve seen a few people incorporate it in there episodes but change it up a bit… There used to be a series on episode called Factionless. It was based of the series divergent but the author posted and said it was removed for copyright, but I just wanna know if we are allowed too???

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No, we can’t. Sadly because of the issue of copyright. It will cause a mess. You can’t put any recreation or celebrity.

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The short answer is no… You can be inspired by a movie or show, but obviously can’t use the same names, places, dialogue and plots. It’s more just like… If you’re inspired by the TV show friends, for example, you could make an episode story about 6 friends living in New York, but everything else would have to be up to your imagination

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Better than how I explained it!

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Hahaha, I just added an example. We basically had the same response lol

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Thanks ladies that helped alot.

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I hope this is not off-topic because I didn’t want to open a thread for this, but I read a story a few days ago which was obviously “inspired” by a movie. The names and the places are different, but the plot is so unique and the female MC has some really memorable personal traits, that I’m sure this is not a coincidence. I noticed this in about 2 minutes after I started reading it but I continued reading because of curiousity. It is really well-written and I’m still debating with myself whether I should send a message to the author regarding this issue. I know she is not obliged to reply me but I don’t know if I should interfere at all. The story has a very few reads at the moment, but I’m sure it will get noticed soon, because well, the plot is very intriguing. I believe it will be removed as soon as Episode reviews it and I don’t know whether she is aware of this.
What do you all think about this? Should I warn the author about this or just leave it?

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Another half off topic response that would not actually affect my reply to you: I’m just curious: How well-known is the movie is based off of?

Actual reply: I would pm/DM (whatever platform you can find them on) them to give a heads up. I’ve actually done it a couple of times. Most times people have replied and thanked me and changed a lot around to make it unique. On the other side of the spectrum, I’ve seen tv shows floating around on the app and checked the fanmail, seen other people tell the author that they aren’t allowed to do it, then the author’s replied and basically says they won’t change it.

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It is not a mainstream Hollywood movie, but it is still quite well-known…
Thank you, I was not sure if I would do the right thing by messaging her, but knowing that some authors don’t care about this at all, I guess I won’t do any harm.

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Interesting…

But yes, I think the author will likely be grateful you told them privately, as it could be an innocent mistake and if not, you won’t have to feel guilty about reporting it haha

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I suppose you could only to a certain extent!!!

I say that because if you loosely base your story off of a show, you can pull it off. If the plot is roughly similar, let’s use the show Black Mirror as an example. This is an anthology and dystopian series, however, if one was to be inspired by it - I would appreciate that BUT one has to be able to add a unique twist, a lot more plot points that deviate from the original.

The main body of the plot as Amber suggested with Friends for instance of 6 friends living in New York, you would need to make it stand out/add some aspects that differ greatly from the original. For instance, these friends freshly graduated and they are looking for work. Half of these friends are competing for the same job but the humour, the commonplace like Central Perk and the characteristics of each of the original characters could be emulated (but again, add your own flavour to it).

I have read an excellent story called Anna and the Beat which is based off of a TV show but the author added her own twists, as well as changing up the plot.

Would love to see an edgy modern day adaptation of Hamlet or Macbeth.

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Hey there @SqltyEpi1, this is Sydney the Moderator! I’ve moved this topic to Episode Fan Community since it’s an Episode-related question. :wink: Make sure to check out our Forum Tutorial for more info about where to correctly create topics. :wink: Also our Content Guidelines. :smile: