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When it comes to pop culture, the lottery is often portrayed as a tempting dream or cautionary tale. We have seen this play out many times in episodes of popular TV shows. Shows from Full House to My Name Is Earl have woven lottery wins (or near-misses) into their storylines, using the chance of instant riches to bring out hilarious, heartfelt, or chaotic moments with beloved characters.
For many people, the lottery offers them this irresistible “what if” fantasy. With TV shows, they can amplify that fantasy by making viewers feel like they are part of the drama, joy, and sometimes the chaos that can happen when winning a quick fortune. Whether it's the gang from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia going to an arbitrator who's the rightful owner of a scratch-off lottery ticket or the family pranking Joey with a $50 million winning lottery ticket on Full House, these moments bring the thrills and pitfalls of the lottery to life. These lottery-themed episodes show viewers the characters' hopes, flaws, and the wild, unpredictable twists of fate that winning a jackpot can bring — making for classic episodes that are both entertaining and shockingly relatable.
Introducing the lottery to American television
Television viewers first saw the lottery theme appear in TV shows as early as the 1960s. However, it didn't become popular until the 1970s and 1980s, which is when the lottery became a common part of life in the United States. One of the earliest popular TV shows to incorporate the lottery into their show was All in the Family, where fans of the show watched Archie Bunker humorously buy lottery tickets, reflecting the hope and obsession that many viewers felt toward the lottery.
As the 1980s went on, more sitcoms and dramas started to feature lottery storylines. By the 1990s, we started to see shows like Friends, Roseanne, and The Simpsons use the lottery as a plot device to explore themes of hope, greed, and the unpredictability of life. These storylines resonated with viewers, as they tapped into the universal dream of instant wealth, and they made both comedic and dramatic moments that the audience loved.
Today, we are still seeing lottery storylines worked into TV episodes and shows. They are often used to highlight character aspirations, moral dilemmas, or simply show the thrill of a long shot.
9 TV episodes that rolled the dice with lottery fever
30 Rock (“College,” 2010)
In this 30 Rock episode, Liz Lemon gets pumped when she finds out there is an office lottery taking place. While she is warned against participating in it, she still enters the game and actually ends up winning it.
After winning the lottery, Liz suddenly becomes cool and popular. She is now the office superstar but doesn't put two-and-two together, that her sudden rise in popularity is because of the celebratory drinks she offered to buy her colleagues.
Eventually, the lottery buzz starts to die down, and so does Liz's popularity, which proves that fame is fleeting and that the dynamics of high school never really change.
Cheers (“Coach in Love: Part 1 and 2,” 1984)
The comedy turned sad in this episode of Cheers. The two-part episode featured Coach spotting Irene for the very first time, and he tells everyone that he is going to marry her before he even talked to her. When he does talk to her, it turns out she likes him as well.
The pair dated for a few weeks, and then Coach asked her to marry him, and Irene said yes. However, a bump in that plan took place when Irene suddenly won $2 million in the lottery. A few weeks pass, and Irene has postponed the wedding several times and even moved, but Coach has faith that they will still get married in the end.
Sam tries to talk to Coach about the situation, but he is blinded by love. Eventually, we see Irene show up at the bar, and she tells Coach that winning the lottery changed her life and that she now has other goals.
Coach is convinced this is a phase and Irene will show up on their wedding day. However, that never happens, and it leaves everyone in tears during a very dramatic and sad episode.
M*A*S*H (“The Birthday Girls,” 1982)
It was no Powerball, but this episode of M*A*S*H featured a different kind of lottery — a betting pool the entire company joined to guess when a calf would be born. Margaret was planning a romantic weekend in Tokyo for her birthday, and she had Klinger drive her. However, they took a risky shortcut on the way there, which led to them having an accident and not making it to the airport.
Margaret is very upset that she didn't make it to Tokyo and her birthday plans were ruined. However, when they make it back to camp, they discover the calf has been born, and Margaret won the lottery. Klinger was only able to collect $10 of the $50, but Margaret gladly took the $10 as a birthday present.
Married… with Children (“Weenie Tot Lovers & Other Strangers,” 1991)
A whole episode revolved around Weenie Tots, but the Bundys made it work. The episode starts with Bud getting the chance to go on a class trip to Washington, where he will meet the President. However, Al Bundy decides to take the money for his son's trip and give it to his daughter Kelly, who wants to audition to be the Miss Weenie Tot spokesperson.
Kelly gets the job, which happens to come with a year's supply of Al's favorite food, Weenie Tots. However, his wife, Peggy, finds out that Winnie Tots is offering a lottery with every box. So, she opens every single box to find the scratcher tickets hidden inside.
The tots are now spoiled, which upsets Al, but then he forgets all about that when the last scratcher in the very last box Peggy opened is worth $50,000. The family is ecstatic until Bud reminds them that Kelly is now a Weenie Tots employee, which means she is not eligible to win the lottery.
They decide to enlist the help of their neighbors to claim the prize and agree to split half with them. Of course, because this is the Bundys, it doesn't go as planned, and Al ends up on a trip to jail, where they serve Weenie Tots for dinner every day.
Scrubs (“My Big Bird,” 2006)
For this episode of Scrubs, there are a lot of different side stories going on. Turk and J.D. are trying to get a thank you out of Mr. Sutton after J.D. saved his life. The lottery aspect was Carla convinced everyone to pool their money together to buy lottery tickets together.
Then we also saw Elliot accidentally kiss a man, thinking he was single, but then she is chased around the hospital by his wife. With everything going on, the interns are left alone to deal with a patient who suddenly becomes critical.
Everything works out in the end, but no big lottery wins take place!
My Name Is Earl (2005-2009)
My Name Is Earl was an entire sitcom based on the fact that the main character, Earl Hickey, had won $100,000 playing the lottery. Hickey was a small-town thief who ended up losing his winning lottery ticket after he was hit by a car while celebrating his big win.
While in the hospital, he learns about karma and is convinced he has to turn his life around to be happy. To do this, he makes a list of every bad thing he has ever done and every person he has wronged and he intends on fixing them all.
After doing his first good deed, Hickey finds the $100,000 lottery ticket. He takes that as a sign and proceeds to use his new-found wealth to do more good deeds and right some wrongs on his list, which he does over the next four seasons.
Lucky 7 (2013)
While My Name Is Earl had a four-season run on NBC before it was canceled, Lucky 7 didn't have that much luck when it came to viewers.
The ABC drama debuted in 2013 and had the worst premiere ratings for a drama in ABC history. The show focused on the stories of seven lottery winners, but it seemed like no one truly cared.
After even lower ratings in the second episode, ABC pulled the plug after only two episodes and ran repeats of Scandal instead in that time slot.
Full House (“Love on the Rocks,” 1994)
This episode of Full House featured an attempt by the family to pull some pranks on the prank master himself Joey. The first attempt at a prank fails, as Joey catches on to what they are doing, and they end up waking up three hours earlier after he changes the time on all the clocks and watches in the house.
The second prank involves the lottery, as they pretend to accidentally throw his $50 million winning lottery ticket into the burning fire. However, the family taped the lottery drawing from the week before and then swapped out his ticket with this winning ticket. Joey tries to mess with them, claiming there was no tape in the machine, but it doesn't work — there was a tape in the VCR. Adding insult to injury, Joey gets drenched with water when he walks into the kitchen.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (“Hero or Hate Crime?,” 2017)
In this episode, the gang finds themself fighting over who is the rightful owner of a winning scratch-off lottery ticket. The fighting is non-stop, so they decide to go see an arbitrator to settle the beef between them all.
The gang fights it out and ends up having to use three different arbitrators before Mac was officially named owner of the winning ticket. They scraped the ticket and found out the ticket was worth $10,000.
While Mac goes to enjoy his winnings, the others are presented with the bill from the arbitrators. After three arbiters and 17 hours, they owe $9,986. They decide Mac will pay that bill, leaving him with $14!
The real prize: What TV's lottery episodes taught us
The lottery has long been a recurring theme in TV shows. It often brings drama, humor, and wild moments to beloved characters. From Full House to My Name Is Earl, lottery storylines have allowed characters to explore the highs and lows of instant riches (or near-misses), often capturing the “what if” fantasy that viewers themselves experience.
While the first TV lottery storylines appeared in the 1960s, they remain a popular theme on TV still today. They are adding thrills to character arcs and giving viewers relatable, moral dilemmas around luck and fortune.
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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