Television writers spend a lot of time planning story arcs, but sometimes real life shows up with notes. An actor gets injured, someone needs maternity leave, the budget is suddenly gone, or production falls so far behind that an entire episode has to change shape. The solution is often to hide the problem. Sometimes, though, the writers lean directly into it and turn the logistical headache into part of the story. That can mean sending a character to jury duty, putting someone in a sling, inventing a suspiciously convenient medical procedure, or producing an entire clip show because there is simply no money left. Here are 15 TV episodes shaped by very real problems happening behind the scenes.IMDbJoey’s Sling Was Very RealMatt LeBlanc dislocated his shoulder while filming Friends, so “The One with the Jam” explained Joey’s sling by having him injure himself while jumping on his bed.IMDbJess Got Called for Extremely Convenient Jury DutyZooey Deschanel’s maternity leave meant New Girl needed Jess gone for several episodes, so “Jury Duty” sent her off to serve on a lengthy trial instead.IMDbLily Was Apparently That Offended by One JokeAlyson Hannigan’s maternity leave left How I Met Your Mother temporarily without Lily, so “Mosbius Designs” had her storm away after one of Barney’s jokes and stay gone for weeks.IMDbMeredith Donated a Liver for a Very Practical ReasonWhen Ellen Pompeo needed maternity leave during Grey’s Anatomy, “Tainted Obligation” had Meredith donate part of her liver, conveniently giving the character a reason to spend time recovering.IMDbAmy’s Undercover Pregnancy Wasn’t Entirely ActingMelissa Fumero was visibly pregnant while filming Brooklyn Nine-Nine, so “Maximum Security” sent Amy undercover as a pregnant inmate and turned the production problem into the disguise.IMDbKensi’s Assignment Started With Daniela Ruah’s PregnancyNCIS: Los Angeles had not originally planned Kensi’s extended Afghanistan storyline, but Daniela Ruah’s pregnancy prompted the writers to send her somewhere cold enough for plenty of concealing layers.IMDbStar Trek Ran Out of Money and Started Remembering ThingsAfter earlier Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes went over budget, the Season 2 finale “Shades of Gray” became a cheap clip show built largely from footage the series had already shot.IMDbMoonlighting Made Its Delays Part of the JokeMoonlighting became notorious for falling behind schedule, so “The Straight Poop” turned those production headaches into the premise, with Rona Barrett investigating why the show’s leads could never get along.IMDbBreaking Bad Needed a Much Cheaper EpisodeAfter an expensive stretch of production, Breaking Bad used “Fly” as a bottle episode, trapping Walt and Jesse almost entirely inside the lab and dramatically reducing what had to be filmed.IMDbCommunity Locked Everyone in One Room“Cooperative Calligraphy” openly embraced the bottle-episode format, keeping the Community gang inside the study room while they searched for a missing pen and saving the production from a more elaborate week.IMDbDoctor Who Barely Put the Doctor in BlinkDoctor Who regularly needed “Doctor-lite” episodes so two stories could be filmed at the same time, and “Blink” solved that scheduling problem by making the Doctor almost entirely absent from his own show.IMDbArrested Development Turned Cancellation Panic Into a PlotWith Arrested Development fighting for survival, “S.O.B.s” had the Bluth family stage a fundraiser called Save Our Bluths, turning the show’s very real cancellation anxiety into one long meta joke.IMDbLost Killed Off the Characters Nobody WantedWhen viewers reacted badly to newly introduced Nikki and Paulo, Lost responded with “Exposé”, an episode that abruptly explained their backstory and then removed both characters from the series.IMDbDaphne’s Sudden Weight Problem Hid a PregnancyJane Leeves’ real pregnancy could not simply become Daphne’s on Frasier, so the series built an escalating weight-gain storyline around her before sending Daphne away to a health spa while Leeves took maternity leave.IMDbParks and Recreation Had to Race Amy Poehler’s PregnancyAmy Poehler’s pregnancy forced Parks and Recreation to begin Season 3 production early and shoot extra episodes in advance, turning the show’s schedule into a logistical sprint before her maternity leave.The post 15 TV Episodes Built Around a Real Problem Happening Behind the Scenes appeared first on Den of Geek.