Over the course of television history, numerous actors and actresses have been fired from
prominent roles on television series for one reason or another. Whether these reasons have to
do with controversies or excessive salary demands, there has often come a point where networks have
decided that losing a star is a better option than keeping them on. Sometimes these stars are
replaced in their roles, while other times their characters are simply written off of the show.
Join Facts Verse as we take a look at actors who got fired from their roles, and who replaced them.
Shannen Doherty Shannen Doherty is a notable celebrity figure
because not only has she been fired from one hit television series, but she has actually been fired
from two! Throughout Shannen's television career, the star has been fired from both Beverly Hills,
90210 and Charmed. The actress’s characters were written off of both series upon her firing,
and new characters were brought onto the shows to help fill the void. Despite being fired from
two hit television series, Shannen continues to find work in the industry today and even recently
performed a stint as a fictionalized version of herself on a reboot of Beverly Hills, 90210.
Beverly Hills, 90210 was the series that turned Shannen into a star,
though she ended up being fired from her role on the series due to her poor attitude on set.
Upon Shannen's firing, her character was written off of the series and actress Tiffani Thiessen
was brought on to keep audiences interested. Tiffani had recently come off of working on
another hit series, with that being Saved by the Bell. She premiered on Beverly Hills,
90210 at the beginning of the show’s fifth season.
Given the fact that Shannen Doherty had been fired from Beverly Hills, 90210 so many years back,
perhaps the creators of the television series Charmed should’ve known better than to hire the
diva onto their new show. However, Shannen’s star status had persevered despite her controversies
in the early 90s, and the supernatural series arguably wouldn’t have been nearly as big of a
hit without the starlet’s starring role. Despite Charmed’s popularity, a feud with costar Alyssa
Milano on the show’s set caused Shannen to be fired. Although fans were disappointed,
producers felt that keeping Alyssa was more important than keeping Shannen Doherty. Shannen’s
character was written off of the series and was replaced with a new character written for
actress Rose McGowan. The change occurred at the start of the show’s fourth season.
Lynn Redgrave Shannen Doherty was fired from
the aforementioned two series for her diva-like behavior, but beloved actress Lynn Redgrave was
fired from a television series just for trying to breastfeed her kid! Lynn performed the role of Ann
Anderson for the first two seasons of the hit 1979 show House Calls before being fired before
production of the show’s third and last season began. According to the network, Lynn was fired
because she had made excessive salary demands. However, it later turned out that the real reason
Lynn was fired from the show was because she was adamant about breastfeeding her newborn on set.
Following Lynn’s departure from the program, actress Sharon Gless filled the void left in
her wake by portraying the new character of Jane Jeffries for the show’s last season.
Selma Blair Actress Selma Blair played the main character
on the FX series Anger Management during the show’s first season before being unceremoniously
let go from the program after a feud developed between her and costar Charlie Sheen. Apparently,
Selma Blair had complained to executives in charge of the series about her problematic
behaviors of Charlie on set. Charlie had already become known for his problematic behaviors, having
been fired from his own hit show previously. The network knew that Charlie was a gamble,
but he was also popular with audiences at the time. Charlie proved the bigger star between
him and Selma Blair, so FX fired Selma. Selma’s character was written off the series and actress
Laura Bell Bundy was brought onto the show to be the new love interest for Charlie’s character.
Charlie Sheen Since we’re on the subject,
it can’t hurt to mention the show that Charlie Sheen was fired from for his problematic
behavior a few years before getting Selma Blair fired from Anger Management. Charlie Sheen’s role
on the series Two and a Half Men had made him a bigger star than ever before, and it shocked
audiences when he was fired from the hit CBS sitcom for his strange public behaviors. The
main reason Charlie was fired from the show was a bizarre interview where he had offered his strange
perspectives on such topics as 9/11. Charlie had previously come under controversy for substance
abuse issues and a history of domestic violence, and he apparently often intimidated series creator
Chuck Lorre on the show’s set. After Charlie Sheen was fired from the series in 2011,
his character was written off and actor Ashton Kutcher was brought on to play a brand new
character written to fill the void. Ratings decreased significantly after Charlie’s firing.
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Danny Masterson In 2017, Danny Masterson was one of two actors
fired from hit Netflix series as a result of sexual abuse allegations. Prior to taking his role
on hit Netflix series The Ranch, Danny Masterson was best known for his time on That ‘70s Show.
During Danny’s time on The Ranch, a number of women came forward with allegations of sexual
abuse against the actor. The allegations also fingered the Church of Scientology,
of which Danny is a member. According to the allegations, Danny has raped multiple women,
and the Church of Scientology has helped cover it up. The accusers sued Danny,
and the lawsuit is still ongoing. It remains uncertain whether the courts will determine
the actor is guilty or innocent, but Netflix long-since made the decision to replace Danny
on The Ranch with Dax Shepard. After Danny’s character was written off,
a new character was brought on portrayed by Dax to keep audiences involved in the show.
Kevin Spacey Of course,
the other actor who was fired from a hit Netflix series in 2017 was Kevin Spacey.
After allegations came out that Kevin Spacey had assaulted a minor many years previously,
Kevin was fired from the hit series House of Cards. House of Cards was a more successful
series than The Ranch, and Kevin Spacey played a more prominent role on the prior program than
Danny Masterson did on the latter. Because of this, filling the void left by Kevin
Spacey after his firing from House of Cards proved much harder for Netflix than filling the
void left in the wake of Danny’s firing. Still, the writers of House of Cards managed to come up
with a plot for a fifth and final season of the show without Kevin. Kevin played the president of
the United States, who was killed off and replaced in the role by his wife. Robin Wright played
Kevin’s on-screen wife, and she subsequently became the lead of House of Cards’ last season.
Jeremy Clarkson Longtime reality television host Jeremy Clarkson,
known for his work on the series Top Gear, was fired from the program after assaulting one of
its producers. The assault reportedly forced the producer to have to go to the hospital,
and Jeremy was let go with decades of experience under his belt.
Jeremy took responsibility for his firing, claiming that he had made a huge mistake.
Actors Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans came onto the show to perform as hosts following his release.
Lisa Bonet Lisa Bonet was a big
hit on The Cosby Show, playing the daughter of Bill Cosby’s character. Lisa’s character was so
popular on the series that she was eventually given her own spin-off series in the form of A
Different World. However, Lisa becoming pregnant only a season into the show’s run
caused her to be fired from the series. Following Lisa’s firing, the show’s other characters were
given more time on the screen in order to fill the void left in her wake. Lisa returned to The Cosby
Show for a period of time following this, but ended up leaving the series again before its end.
Dana Plato Dana Plato was one of three child stars
that helped make the show Diff’rent Strokes a major success with television audiences. However,
all three of the show’s child stars ended up getting into some trouble behind the scenes. It
was Dana who got into the most trouble, with her having turned to drugs and alcohol early in the
show’s run. Dana’s substance abuse habits weren’t the reason she was fired from the series, however.
Instead, the reason Dana was fired was because she became pregnant late into the show’s run.
The producers knew there was no way to make the show work with Dana pregnant,
so she ended up being written out of the series in 1984. She came back the following year after
giving birth, though ended up having a lot of trouble in her personal life after the
series came to an end. Sadly, Dana Plato lived a life of tragedy after Diff’rent Strokes’ end and
eventually died of a drug overdose in the late 1990s. Prior to her death, the
disgraced actress had apparently made headlines after being arrested for robbing a video store.
All of these actors were fired from their hit series and replaced in one way or another, whether
by a fresh new face or by increased time on the screen for already established characters. Now
it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Lynn Redgrave was fired from the series House
Calls for wanting to breastfeed her newborn child on set, and did you know that
Shannen Doherty has been fired from two separate series throughout her career? As always, like this
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