Crossovers aren’t seen often on TV, and while some made sense thanks to the characters involved, the themes, and more, others were too weird. The world of TV is no stranger to connected universes, but for these to work, they have to have a clear link, such as a character or a setting.

Crossovers aren’t surprising when they happen within connected universes, and sometimes they are even expected. However, there have been some TV shows with little or nothing in common that, for some reason, crossed over at some point. While some of these crossovers were successful, others had very bizarre results.

New Girl / Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Two of the most popular sitcoms of the 2010s, New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, have a crossover – and what makes it a weird one is that, aside from being sitcoms, these two shows don’t have anything in common. The crossover happens in New Girl season 6 episode “Homecoming” and Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 4 episode “The Night Shift.”

In “Homecoming”, the group travels to New York as Schmidt is receiving a special award from his old high school. Jess is facing her fears of returning to New York, and she ends up having her car commandeered by Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Det. Jake Peralta. In “The Night Shift”, Jake is going after a thief by himself, and as he gets away, he takes Jess’ car.

The crossover isn’t even for an entire episode, and it doesn’t seize the comedy of both shows. The brief merger of New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine was disappointing, and it has become a forgettable episode in both shows.

Full House / Family Matters

Full House is a sitcom about a recently widowed father of three girls who enlists his brother-in-law and his childhood best friend to help him raise his daughters. Family Matters is a sitcom that follows the Winslows, a Black middle-class family in Chicago, but the most memorable character of this show was their neighbor, Steve Urkel.

In Full House season 4 episode “Stephanie Gets Framed”, Stephanie has to wear glasses, and she’s annoyed by it because she looks like a “geek.” Urkel, who happens to be the cousin of one of D.J.’s friends, meets the family, and they are all annoyed by him. However, he offers Stephanie advice on her glasses dilemma.

While the episode is generally considered a classic of sitcoms thanks to how it brought together the comedy of both shows, it’s still a weird crossover, as one would never expect Urkel to casually show up in the world of the Tanners.

Bewitched / The Flintstones

Some of the weirdest TV crossovers happen when a live-action show and an animated one cross paths, as happened with Bewitched and The Flintstones. Bewitched follows the daily adventures of Samantha, a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man, Darrin, and she does her best to be a typical suburban housewife.

The Flintstones, on the other hand, follows a family in the Stone Age, with all modern objects, jobs, and activities adapted to the era. The two shows have nothing in common, but in 1965, in The Flintstones’ episode “Samantha”, Bewitched’s main couple appears as the new next-door neighbors of the Flintstones.

It’s an interesting combination with Samantha’s abilities and a Stone Age setting, and the contrast between both worlds is key to the crossover’s comedy. It’s a strange combination, for sure, but it’s mostly effective.

Mr. Robot / ALF

The crossover between Mr. Robot and ALF might not be considered as such by many due to the specifics of it, but it was definitely a surprising appearance. Mr. Robot follows Elliot, a man working in cybersecurity and who struggles with his mental health and substance-use disorder.

In season 2, thugs break into Ellitot’s house and beat him, and in the next episode, “eps2.4_m4ster-s1ave.aes”, he finds himself in a twisted version of ALF. Elliot meets the iconic alien at a gas station, and ALF later drives over an officer and escapes. As strange as this combination is, it makes sense within the context of Mr. Robot, but don’t expect lighthearted humor here.

Bones / Family Guy

Another live-action/animated show crossover was thanks to Bones and Family Guy. Bones is a police procedural drama that follows a forensic anthropologist (Temperance “Bones” Brennan) and an FBI Special Agent (Seeley Booth) as they investigate different murders. Family Guy, on the other hand, is an animated sitcom focusing on the dysfunctional Griffin family.

In Bones season 4 episode “The Critic in the Cabernet”, Booth finds himself talking to Family Guy’s Stewie, who is on TV. It’s a weird crossover, but Bones explains it later on, as at that moment, Booth has a brain tumor, with the following episode catching up with him after his brain tumor operation.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch / Boy Meets World

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a fantasy sitcom that follows the title witch as she learns to use and control her powers. Boy Meets World is a coming-of-age sitcom that follows Cory, Shawn, and Topanga from childhood to young adulthood. Thematically, they are similar, but no one would have expected Boy Meets World to be involved with magic.

In Sabrina’s second season episode “Inna Gadda Sabrina”, Salem swallows a time ball that takes Westbridge back to 1967. This kicked off a time-travel crossover with Boy Meets World, You Wish, and Teen Angel. Over at Boy Meets World, in season 5, Sabrina goes on a date with Eric, and in the following episode, Cory is transported to the 1940s.

This weird crossover is part of a bigger and weirder TGIF crossover known as the “TGIF Time Warp”, but ultimately, the events in both Sabrina and Boy Meets World aren’t affected by this event, so it’s just for fun.

St. Elsewhere / Cheers

St. Elsewhere is a medical drama set in the fictional St. Eligius Hospital, and which has one of the most famous twists in its final episode. Cheers is a sitcom set in the title bar, and both shows are set in Boston… and that’s pretty much all they have in common. Even with that link, no one would have expected them to cross over.

St. Elsewhere’s season 3 finale saw doctors Westphall, Auschlander, and Craig visiting the Cheers bar to decompress after work. Once at the bar, they interact with Cheers’ Cliff, Norm, and Carla, with one wanting to get free medical advice, another being Auschlander’s former accountant, and the other sharing her bad experience at St. Eligius.

This crossover is as awkward as it sounds, and it’s not remembered fondly by viewers of both shows. In the end, this episode created a continuity problem, as in St. Elsewhere season 2, there was a reference to the bar that inspired Cheers.

Power Rangers In Space / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation

This is one of those cases where the crossover is weird but is remembered fondly, mostly due to nostalgia. The Power Rangers in Space episode “Shell Shocked” brought none other than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into its universe. The episode sees Astronema using her powers to make the Ninja Turtles evil.

Astronema then uses them to trick the Rangers into letting them on the Megaship so they can take it over for her. Both shows were widely popular back in the 1990s, and the crossover brought together the best of both worlds: action, comedy, and iconic heroes. It’s definitely a strange combination, but one that was a delight for 1990s kids.

I Love Lucy / Adventures Of Superman

I Love Lucy isn’t a TV show anyone would expect to cross over with other shows, and especially not with one of the most famous superheroes – and yet, that’s exactly what happened in 1957. I Love Lucy is a sitcom that follows Lucy and her husband, Ricky, in their daily lives, with Lucy getting into all types of humorous situations.

In the episode “Lucy and Superman”, Ricky and Little Ricky watch Adventures of Superman and learn that Superman will be in town. Lucy, worried that no one will go to Little Ricky’s birthday party as it’s on the same day as that of Little Ricky’s best friend, wants to get Superman to attend the party.

Lucy dresses as Superman so Little Ricky won’t be disappointed, but she ends up trapped on a window ledge while Ricky arrives with Superman (you know, George Reeves in his Superman costume). Superman helps Lucy, and he admits that the real Superman is Ricky for putting up with the chaotic Lucy.

“Lucy and Superman” is regarded as one of I Love Lucy’s best episodes, thanks to its story, humor, and the well-written way in which George Reeves’ Superman was included. It’s a weird one because it’s completely unexpected, but it’s a great crossover.