ENSEMBLE CAST

An 'ensemble cast' is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production.
This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows for flexibility for writers to focus on different characters in different episodes. In addition, the departure of players is less disruptive to the premise than it would be if the star of a production with a regularly structured cast leaves.
Some films have ensemble casts, usually ones that revolve around one large theme, like the ''The Lord of the Rings'' or ''Star Wars'' movies, or ones that revolve around interrelated themes persistent throughout individual subplots of the characters, like ''Love Actually''.
The only known film awards regarding ensemble casts are the National Board of Review for Best Acting by an Ensemble and the Screen Actors Guild's award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Contents

Plays with ensemble casts

Television series with ensemble casts

Movies with ensemble casts

Operas with ensemble casts

References

Plays with ensemble casts

★ '''Art'

★ ''A Chorus Line

★ ''Cats''

★ ''Godspell''

★ ''Rent''

★ ''Rumors''

★ ''Noises Off

★ ''The Importance of Being Earnest''

★ ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''

Television series with ensemble casts

24

''30 Rock''

''7th Heaven''

''Ally McBeal''

''Arrested Development''

''Babylon 5''

''Battlestar Galactica''

''Beverly Hills, 90210''

''Boston Public''

''Brotherhood''

''Brothers & Sisters''

''Cheers''

''Chicago Hope''

''Crossing Jordan''

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''Dallas''

''Dawson's Creek''

''Deadwood''

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''Desperate Housewives''

''Earth 2''

''Entourage''

''ER''

''Firefly''

''Friends''

''Grey's Anatomy''

''Heroes''

''Hill Street Blues''

''Home and Away''

''House MD''

''John from Cincinnati''

''Knots Landing''

''L.A. Law''

''Las Vegas''

''Law & Order''

''Lost''

''Malcolm in the Middle''

''M ★ A ★ S ★ H''

''Meteor Garden''

''My So-Called Life''

''Neighbours''

''Newsradio''

''Northern Exposure''

''Oz''

''Picket Fences''

''Prison Break''

''Reba''

''Scrubs''[1]

''Six Feet Under''

''Sports Night''

''St. Elsewhere''

''Stargate SG-1''

''Stargate Atlantis''

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''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip''

''Super Sentai''

''The Cosby Show''

''The Office''

''The Sopranos''

''The West Wing''

''The Wire''

''Trailer Park Boys''

''Third Watch''

''Thirtysomething''

''Will & Grace''

''Weeds''

''WKRP in Cincinnati''

Movies with ensemble casts

;Pre 1960s ★ ''Grand Hotel'' (1932) ★ ''The Women'' (1939) ★ ''And Then There Were None (film)'' (1945) ★ ''Seven Samurai'' (1954) ★ ''12 Angry Men'' (1957);1960s ★ ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960) ★ ''How the West Was Won'' (1962) ★ ''The Longest Day'' (1962) ★ ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1967) ★ ''The Great Escape'' (1963) ★ ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963) ★ '' Casino Royale'' (1967);1970s ★ ''Kelly's Heroes'' (1970) ★ ''The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972) ★ ''Earthquake'' (1974) ★ ''The Towering Inferno'' (1974) ★ ''A Bridge Too Far'' (1977) ★ ''The Warriors'' (1979);1980s ★ ''The History of the World, Part 1'' (1981) ★ ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982) ★ ''Clue'' (1985) ★ ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986) ★ ''The Untouchables'' (1987) ★ ''New York Stories'' (1989)

;1990s ★ ''JFK'' (1991) ★ ''Night on Earth'' (1991) ★ ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992) ★ '' Sneakers'' (1992) ★ ''Dazed and Confused'' (1993) ★ ''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' (1993) ★ ''Matinee (1993) ★ ''Heat'' (1995) ★ ''Higher Learning'' (1995) ★ ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995) ★ ''Mars Attacks!'' (1996) ★ ''Mad Dog Time'' (1996) ★ ''The Birdcage'' (1996) ★ '' Sleepers'' (1996) ★ ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997) ★ ''Cop Land'' (1997) ★ ''Boogie Nights'' (1997) ★ ''Happiness'' (1998) ★ ''Playing by Heart'' (1998) ★ ''The Thin Red Line'' (1998) ★ ''Cradle Will Rock'' (1999) ★ ''Magnolia'' (1999)

;2000s ★ ''Duets'' (2000) ★ ''Requiem for a Dream'' (2000) ★ ''Amores Perros'' (2000) ★ ''Snatch'' (2000) ★ ''Rat Race'' (2001) ★ ''The Anniversary Party'' (2001) ★ ''Waking Life'' (2001) ★ ''Zoolander'' (2001) ★ ''Black Hawk Down'' (2002) ★ ''Love Actually'' (2003) ★ ''Timequest'' (2002) ★ ''Masked and Anonymous'' (2003) ★ ''Mystic River'' (2003) ★ ''21 Grams'' (2003) ★ '' (2003) ★ ''Crash'' (2004) ★ ''Syriana'' (2005) ★ ''Nine Lives'' (2005) ★ ''Serenity'' (2005) ★ ''The Chumscrubber'' (2005) ★ ''Sin City'' (2005) ★ ''Rent'' (2005) ★ ''The Family Stone'' (2005) ★ '' Fast Food Nation (2006) ★ ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006) ★ ''Paris, je t'aime'' (2006) ★ ''Lucky Number Slevin (2006) ★ ''Babel'' (2006) ★ ''Bobby'' (2006) ★ ''The Departed'' (2006) ★ ''Smokin' Aces'' (2007) ★ ''The Ten'' (2007) ★ '' Stardust'' (2007) ★ '' Evening'' (2007) ★ '' Beowulf'' (2007) ★ ''Southland Tales'' (2007) ★ '' Vantage Point'' (2008)

;Franchises ★ '' Star Wars franchise'' (1977), (1980), (1983), (1999), (2002), (2005) ★ ''The Lord of the Rings trilogy'' (2001), (2002), (2003)

;Robert Altman films ★ ''MASH'' (1970) ★ ''Nashville'' (1975) ★ ''The Player'' (1992) ★ ''Short Cuts'' (1993) ★ ''Prêt-à-Porter (film)'' (1994) ★ ''Cookie's Fotune'' (1999) ★ ''Dr. T & the Women'' (2000) ★ ''Gosford Park'' (2001) ★ ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (2006);Francis Ford Coppola films ★ ''The Godfather'', ''The Godfather, Part II''& ''The Godfather, Part III'' (1974), (1972) & (1990) ★ ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979) ★ ''The Outsiders'' (1983) ★ ''Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992)

;Steven Soderbergh films ★ ''Traffic'' (2000) ★ ''Ocean's Eleven'', ''Ocean's Twelve'' & ''Ocean's Thirteen'' (2001), (2004), (2007) ★ ''Full Frontal'' (2002);Quentin Tarantino films ★ ''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992) ★ ''True Romance'' (1993) ★ ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994) ★ ''Jackie Brown'' (1997)

Operas with ensemble casts

★ ''Le Nozze di Figaro''

★ ''Cosi Fan Tutte''

★ ''The Barber of Seville''

★ ''Amahl and the Night Visitors''

References

1. Although narrated by J.D. in most episodes, other characters have also narrated one-off episodes and almost all episodes focus around all characters equally.