Ryan & Beth/Tropes

Ryan & Beth is an animated series created by Xavier Mosley and produced by Paramount Television Animation, being the second non-Disney series shown on Disney XD, with Right Now Kapow being produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The series premiered on Disney Channel on April 23, 2023, followed by moving to Disney XD for its second and final season that premiered six months after the first season wrapped up production. The show ended on May 20, 2024 with an hour-hong episode.

The series follows the titular characters everyman slacker Ryan Ferd (Xavier Mosley) and genki and optimistic Beth Percy (Eden Sher) living their typical everyday lives and socializing with their friends. Throughout the course of the series, Ryan has a crush on popular school girl Eve van Helen. Near the end of the first season, Beth wants to admit her true feelings to Ryan.

In June 2025, a comic book series was released and continues the titular duo's adventures. A feature film was in talks by the creator.

Tropes
Beth: (watching TV) Hey, maybe I should be on that show. Ryan: (sarcastically) You are on that show. Beth: I am?! Ryan: No! Beth: Aw. Ryan: Go ahead. You're just gonna feel guilty after this. That's all you are: You're soft. You're weak! You care about me. You never will stand up for yourself. [she lets him go from her grip] Yeah, that's what I'd thought. Beth: Why? I'll tell you why. It's because you're the most selfish, mean, self-centered person I've ever met in my life. Throughout my life living with you, I'd expected you to show a little empathy, but no. You treated me as know-nothing know it all, as your foil, as your only person you can call names at! And I took it. I took it like a failure. You're always nice to everybody, but not me. No matter how many times you cheer me up, the next week, you go back to being selfish. And I wanted to stand up to your condescending-ness, but I didn't. Because I stayed loyal to you. Maybe someday you'll change, but until then, I don't think we should see each other anymore. [as Beth leaves, Ryan looks on after listening to her] Ryan: Why is it that you sometimes wear that black dress at times? Beth: Eh. It's a fashion statement to me. [beat, deadpan] Also, it's the only other pair of clothes I have.
 * Abusive Parents: Beth's father fits this trope as her mother is more "abrasive".
 * Animation Bump: The show first used Rough Draft Studios to animate the first season, then Sugarcube takes its place in the second season.
 * Back in the Saddle: Beth helps Roseanne date again in the episode "Double Date".
 * Berserk Button: Ryan most of the time raises his voice at Beth for whatever shenanigan it is.
 * Big Eater:
 * Maria is usually this.
 * Ryan becomes one in "Ryan's Weigh In" to spite Beth who starts losing weight.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Eve at the series finale.
 * Brilliant, but Lazy: Ryan may be smarter than Beth, as well as have priorities. But all in all, he's your average slacker.
 * Brutal Honesty: Ryan and Roseanne are the only ones that give it.
 * Butt-Monkey: Ryan. He's usually crushed by Beth's hugs and tends to receive the best of his backlash which bites him back.
 * Christmas Episode: "Ryan's First Christmas".
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Beth, can you blame her?
 * Comic Trio: Ryan, Beth and Maria, mostly.
 * Freudian Trio: The Id/Beth, the Ego/Ryan, and the Superego/Maria.
 * Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Respectively Beth, Ryan and Maria.
 * Company Cross References: The show does a few references to other media from Paramount.
 * At the beginning of "Never Say Uncle", the theme song from The Brady Bunch is heard on Ryan and Beth's TV.
 * In "Ryan's Date with Destiny", the Mission: Impossible theme plays during Ryan's attempt to put his love letter in Eve's locker.
 * In the "Double Date" episode, Roseanne's date asks the titular characters if they've traveled the world, whereas Beth claims that they've traveled to "Space. The final frontier...", in which Ryan retorts that was from Star Trek.
 * In a subplot of the episode "Bad Hair Day", Ryan searches for a new jacket in place for his old one that was ruined. The first jacket he finds is a leather jacket. When trying it on in the fitting room, he quips, "I don't wanna look like Fonzie."
 * Curse Cut Short: This happens to Ryan in almost every episode.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Ryan.
 * Determinator: Ryan. Beth fits in this trope as well.
 * Did Not Get the Girl:
 * Beth was rejected by exchange student Jacob Malvin in "New Student".
 * Ryan breaks up with Eve in the series finale after realizing she wanted him only for his father's inheritance.
 * Diet Episode: "Ryan's Weigh In"
 * Distracted by the Sexy:
 * Ryan can't resist the look of his crush Eve van Hellen.
 * Beth gets turned on when Ryan's shirtless.
 * Does This Make Me Look Fat?: Beth asks Ryan this question in three episodes.
 * Formerly Fat: Maria was once overweight like Beth when working at a family restaurant.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: The show tends to do a few innuendo jokes from episode-to-episode.
 * Hartman Hips: Maria has quite a pair. This is downplayed with Eve.
 * Heavy Voice: Ryan's voice gets deep when he puts on weight in "Ryan's Weigh In".
 * High School: Ryan and Beth attend their soon-to-be named high school.
 * Hypocritical Humor: Beth's prone to this.
 * Improbable Age: Beth may be a teenager, but has the personality of a little girl.
 * Insomnia Episode: "Night Time Walk" has Ryan staying up to prevent Beth from sleepwalking at night.
 * Jerkass: Even though Ryan's selfish, his rival Terry Martin is a huge one.
 * Jerk Jock: Terry. See Jerkass above.
 * Jerk With A Heart of Gold: Ryan, obviously.
 * Large Ham: Ryan tends to yell and scream in most episodes. His laugh also counts for it.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Done in "Never Say Uncle".
 * Love Triangle: This happens between Beth, Ryan, Eve at the end of "Graduation After Party" when Ryan kisses his girl of his dreams Eve. Beth encounters it before she could tell him her feelings. This trope ends in the series finale.
 * Malaproper: Beth is this.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Ryan for the win.
 * My Beloved Smother: Beth's mother. She greets her with hugs and documents her life through a photo album.
 * Narcissist: Ryan doesn't like it when his hair's messed up.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: Invoked by Beth, and mostly Ryan.
 * Oh, Crap!: Whenever Ryan gets himself in a situation he can't get out of, or whenever he realizes what he had done.
 * Oh, God, What Have I Done?: Beth does this a bunch while Ryan gets a fair share. See Oh, Crap! above.
 * Only Sane Man: Ryan, to the oblivious, perky, narrow-minded Beth.
 * Pass the Popcorn: Happens in school episodes whenever there's a fight between the main characters or with them and someone else.
 * Popping Buttons: In "Bye Bye, Big Beth", the button on Ryan's pants flies across the school cafeteria after his huge belly couldn't stay detained, due to his junk food spree causing him to become so obese.
 * Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: A good way to describe Ryan and Beth's dynamic.
 * <p itemprop="headline" class="entry-title">Slice of Life: Very down-to-earth and has episode plots focused on everyday problems.
 * <p itemprop="headline" class="entry-title">Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Beth seems to take in more screentime than Ryan in most episodes. And you'd expect the creator's character to hog it.
 * Stylistic Self-Parody: The looks of the characters resemble what its main universe characters look like.
 * Temporary Bulk Change: This happens to Ryan once in "Ryan's Weigh In".
 * The Klutz: Beth.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
 * Ryan gives one to Beth in "Put to the Limit", when she's about to punch him.
 * Beth hits Ryan with one in the series finale "The Big Chance", when the latter kicks the former out of his house.
 * Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Eve's about an extra inch taller than Ryan.
 * Took a Level in Kindness: Ryan after the series finale.
 * Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Beth's dad's with a hunch in his back, a potbelly, and is missing two teeth, while her mom is completely slim and good looking.
 * Unlimited Wardrobe: Downplayed with Beth, as she will sometimes wear a black dress (which is also her funeral dress) in most episodes. This also serves as an allusion to her VA's role as Star Butterfly.
 * Lampshaded in "Bad Hair Day".
 * Verbal Tic: Ryan addresses Beth or anybody else as "Dude", with the exception of Petirage.