In media, filler is material that is added to pad out other material.

Episodic television

In television, filler episodes in a continuity-based series are episodes that are not required to understand the basic story arcs. Fans often believe that filler episodes have been made to pad out a weak story, especially if they are perceived to be of poor quality. However, filler episodes are sometimes used to give background to characters and events, or to give writers a chance to show off creativity and deviate from the standard mood of the series. The most common type of filler episode is a 'character episode' which focuses on the backstory or motivations of a single character. Such episodes are useful in series which have large ensemble casts who cannot always be featured simultaneously.

Filler may also refer to a subplot within an episode that serves to increase the running time to the program's usual time. It may also refer to an obscure or old program shown at the bleak hours of night to fill broadcast time without going off air. Often, in the United States, infomercials are shown during these hours.

Filler is tolerated to a certain degree by fans. Common complaints about filler episodes may include contradictions to the main storyline, out of character situations, and events or characters which should have a larger impact of a storyline but which are never brought up again. Filler is more apparent in series in which producers are required to have a specific number of episodes per season.

Sometimes, filler material can be unexpectedly popular and even overshadow the main material. A major example was the creation of the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie of Second City TV fame. The characters were created to fulfill and ridicule CBC's request for 2 minutes of identifiably Canadian content on the show. However, the characters became the most popular on the show and the signature characters of it.

Filler can also refer to a term regarding some episodes of manga-based anime. Filler episodes are usually used to give the manga storyline time to get ahead of the anime story, as a single anime episode may use several chapters of manga as storyline material. Fillers have been met with some aggravation from fans, as they are usually of less quality than the source material, may offer little to no development of the story and have been known to get shows canceled (See Rurouni Kenshin).

Filler in other media

Filler has a similar connotation nearly everywhere; for instance, in music it refers to songs written and included for the express purpose of completing an album, while the songs themselves are not expected to achieve or sustain much relative commercial success.

In webcomics filler is often posted when the artist cannot make a scheduled update. It is often sketches or preliminary art, reader question and answer or characters acting in situations out of continuity.

Television terminology | Narratology

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