Sometimes a TV show can make big cast shifts and not suffer too many consequences, but
others aren't so lucky.
These major TV shows just couldn't recover from the loss and replacement of a major character,
or the actor who played them.
Dallas had its fair share of character replacements during its run from 1978 to 1991, as any show
that airs for 14 seasons inevitably does.
But one that still stands out with fans to this day is the role of Miss Ellie Ewing.
Barbara Bel Geddes originated the part and played it right up until 1984, when she left
in order to have a quadruple bypass heart surgery.
At the time she was replaced by Donna Reed, and fans were not into it.
In fact, fans were so not into it that six months later, when Bel Geddes had recovered,
she was asked back onto the show.
Reed didn't go down without a fight, though — she tried to sue and halt production.
In the end, the judge didn't agree with her and the series carried on.
Bel Geddes continued playing Miss Ewing for the remainder of the series, bringing life
to the character for over 300 episodes.
When Suits hit airwaves in 2011, critics had positive but somewhat mixed reviews on the
premise, which turned the tired legal drama format on its head with the introduction of
Mike Ross, a wannabe lawyer without a degree, and Harvey Specter, the hotshot attorney who
mentored him.
Shot in Toronto, the series wound up being a massive hit for the network, and was considered
the last of its blue-skies era.
"Hey, you ready for this?"
"Yeah, I am."
However, that all ended in 2017, when Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle, who played Mike
Ross and his love interest Rachel Zane respectively, announced they were leaving the show after
seven seasons.
At that point another original series star, Gina Torres, also exited, leaving the cast
down three members.
As a result, the show brought on Dulé Hill and Katherine Heigl, while upping Amanda Schull
from recurring to full-time status in season 8.
However, the new mix of characters didn't resonate as well as the old school ones, and
the show wrapped for good in season 9.
It seems like networks have been trying to recreate the soapy primetime success of Desperate
Housewives ever since that show went off the air in 2012.
ABC thought it came close with the 2013 entry Mistresses, which failed to earn critical
praise but still snagged a second-season renewal following its steamy first-season summer run.
Fans continued to bake in the hotness of it all the following summer, but when the show
was renewed for a third season, ABC revealed it was moving production from Los Angeles
to Vancouver.
That was bad news for star Alyssa Milano, who couldn't be that far from her family.
Milano stepped away as a result, and the show recruited Jennifer Esposito to fill that void
with her Calista Raines character.
That lasted one season and then Esposito also left the series in order to pursue other projects.
Surprisingly, the show was renewed for one more season, but without Milano fans just
didn't seem that into it and the series was axed for good after a very dramatic season
4 finale.
It's no secret that Julie Benz did not want to exit Dexter.
After she was killed off in the show's fourth season, she admitted to reporters that she,
quote, "bawled" and said it was the worst thing to ever happen to her in her career.
It seems as though fans felt the same way.
While the decision was purely a creative one, the salt in the wound for passionate viewers
came in season 5 when Julia Stiles was cast as Lumen Pierce, a new love interest for Dexter.
The character lasted the entire season, and finally exited ahead of season 6.
For many it was a turning point, especially as they watched the show go on to cast other
guest stars, like Colin Hanks and Yvonne Strahovski, to fill the void.
Then, writers eventually went so far as to almost pair Dexter up with his adoptive sister
Deb.
Now, with the belated Showtime revival on the way, fans are hoping that the series finally
doles out a much more satisfying series finale.
Chemistry is particularly important when casting a family sitcom, so fans were a little concerned
when Julia Butters left American Housewife as the youngest Otto child ahead of its fifth-season
premiere.
Butters brought a notable charm to the character of Anna-Kat Otto, so much so that when Quentin
Tarantino saw her on his screen he cast her as serious young actress Trudi in Once Upon
A Time in Hollywood.
That gig wound up being a game-changer for the young actor, because all kinds of subsequent
offers came in and she left the ABC series to pursue them.
In turn, American Housewife snatched up Giselle Eisenberg, fresh from her four-season run
on the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces.
While Eisenberg is undeniably talented, it's been hard for fans to adapt to the change
following the show's return in 2020.
"Yeah...kids change."
All the witty meta jokes in the world won’t convince viewers to keep watching.
The season 5 finale ended up being a series finale -- ABC canceled American Housewife
in 2021.
It's no secret that the children on Tim Allen's Last Man Standing changed pretty drastically
over the show's run.
Amanda Fuller joined the project in season two as Kristin Baxter, replacing Alexandra
Krosney, who originated the role.
Then there's the fact that four different actors have played the part of Kristin's son
Boyd as the character has aged over the years.
But it was Molly Ephraim's exit from the series following season six that really threw Last
Man Standing fans for a loop.
As middle child Mandy, Ephraim had her share of meaty storylines that made her a show fixture.
But when ABC canceled Last Man Standing in 2017 and Fox revived it for a seventh-season
run, Ephraim didn't go with it.
She had signed up for new projects, and was unable to return.
Molly McCook was cast in her place, and although the series lasted three seasons on Fox before
its cancelation in 2021, the character was just never the same.
Now this is a story all about how the casting on Fresh Prince got turned upside down.
Fans everywhere are familiar with the behind-the-scenes strife that went down between Will Smith and
original Aunt Viv actress Janet Hubert, who played the role for three notable seasons
before refusing to renew her contract under what she considered to be a bad deal.
As a result she exited the show, and she was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid — an actor
who was originally considered for the role but refused to audition because a TV show
starring a young rapper didn't sound like her thing.
"There are a lot of sick, demented perverts out there."
"Greetings, all."
Although The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air went on for three more seasons with the new Aunt
Viv, there was no replacing Hubert's comedic timing.
Later, when Smith got the gang back together for the 2020 reunion, he and Hubert sat down
for the first time to finally iron things out.
The result was the two Aunt Vivs meeting for the very first time, as many fans wondered
what the show could have been had Hubert stayed on after all.
When the sixth season of this comedy kicked off in 1969, viewers were left twitching harder
than Samantha and her magical nose when Emmy nominee Dick York was suddenly gone as Darrin
Stephens.
In his place was Dick Sargent, and fan speculation as to what happened kicked into overdrive.
As it turned out, York had previously injured his back pretty badly while shooting a movie,
and the pain led him down a dark path of prescription pills.
Eventually he realized he had to leave the show, and his career never really recovered.
As for Sargent?
He stayed in the role until the series finale in 1972.
Many fans felt the series wasn't the same, though, and it's worth noting that although
Sargent won a Most Irreplaceable Replacement TV Land Award in 2006, he was never nominated
for an Emmy Award like his predecessor.
Have you heard the one about the two Beckys?
When Roseanne kicked off its first iteration back in 1988, it was actor Lecy Goranson who
originated the role of Becky, the eldest child to Dan and Roseanne.
Fast forward to season five, though, and Goranson had enrolled in college, and as a result she
was only available to film part-time, usually for a phone conversation.
The following year producers wanted Becky back in a more permanent role, so they recast
her with Sarah Chalke.
That was fine, but things got complicated when Goranson briefly returned in Season 8
after finishing school.
The following year Chalke was back in the role, and "the two Beckys" became a running
thing that frustrated some viewers.
To their relief, both actors were asked back for the Roseanne revival in 2018, but only
Goranson returned to play Becky.
Producers hired Chalke to instead play a character named Andrea, who asked Becky to be her surrogate
in a clever wink to the whole situation.
For five and a half seasons, Nashville fans followed Connie Britton's superstar character,
Rayna Jaymes, as she balanced motherhood, singing, and reconnecting with her one true
love, Deacon Claybourne.
But that all came crashing down when Britton shocked fans and exited the series in 2017
with a devastating storyline that left her family all alone.
It turned out Britton was ready for a change, but she was having a hard time letting go
of the people she worked with.
So when CMT revived Nashville for a fifth season after ABC axed it at the end of its
run in 2016, Britton decided it was finally time to move on.
After the fictional singer's death there were plenty of other characters to root for, and
the show may have ultimately survived.
But then the writers introduced Kaitlin Doubleday as Jessie Caine, a new love interest for Deacon,
and loyal fans were definitely not happy.
The series took a bit of a dive, and season 6 ultimately wound up being the last.
Throughout its eight-season run, House had a history of replacing characters to switch
up the storyline and keep things fresh, but Season 7 is when the casting situation really
got out of control.
That year, Olivia Wilde took a leave of absence from her fan-favorite gig as Thirteen to film
Cowboys & Aliens, while original actor Lisa Edelstein announced her departure as Dr. Lisa
Cuddy.
Considering the shakeups, it seemed pretty clear to longtime fans that the series was
nearing its expiration date.
To try and inject new life into the show, producers hired Odette Annable and Charlyne
Yi to play the latest fellows alongside Amber Tamblyn, but the new crew never quite lived
up to the original cast, and as season 8 was in progress, Fox announced that it would also
be the show's last.
Today Beverly Hills 90210 is also known as TV's most famous zip code.
But before the show earned that status, its original cast had to win over primetime fans
with its older actors and soapy storylines.
Enter Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty as the famous Walsh twins, Brandon and Brenda.
From the start, fans were into their chemistry with the show's other original cast members,
but behind the scenes it was a different story.
Reports of on-set tension between Doherty and the rest of the cast — specifically
Jennie Garth — surfaced, and in 1994, Doherty was axed from the show for good.
That year she was replaced by Tiffani Thiessen, who had her own fanbase from her days as Kelly
on Saved by the Bell.
But not all fans were into the new character, Valerie Malone, a family friend of the Walshes.
It was clear Val was meant to replace Brenda, but Saved by the Bell fans weren't sure how
to receive this new, adult version of the actor.
Meanwhile, the character had her moments, but she was no Brenda, and the tone of the
series changed with her casting.
She stayed on for most of the rest of the series, but to this day you can ask any 90210
fan which character they relate to most, and you probably won't find many Valerie stans
out there.
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