Final Season Casting: Difference between revisions

Now imagine what happens to the ratings if the actor in question was the main character. Or if more than one actor quit at the same time. Or both. You're stuck with a show that no longer has a protagonist and/or half of its cast and is steadily losing its viewership. Either you try to bring new characters to fill the void, rewriting the scripts accordingly, or you can try to function with what you have left. Either way, even if you do it right, the show just won't be the same now and the chances to be renewed for another season after this are slim to none.

 

 

 

A very common effect of this trope is [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]] and common attribute of a [[Post Script Season]]. See also [[Jumped the Shark]], [[Replacement Scrappy]].

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' had this happen in the final season. JD, Elliot, Carla, and the Janitor were all written off.

* In the final season of ''[[Sliders]]'', the main character Quinn was replaced by an alternate universe version who looked nothing like him, but was apparently melded with his personality, and Colin was lost forever, and replaced by someone else from the same universe as the second Quinn. Thus the show lost both the protagonist ''and'' half of the cast for its final season. Also, {{spoiler|only one member of the original cast went all the way until Season 5.}}

* Partial example in ''[[Spin City]]''. When Michael J. Fox could no longer do the show, he was replaced by Charlie Sheen. The characters of Nikki, Janelle, James, and Stacy also disappeared. But the show lasted for two more seasons with this cast, not one.

* In ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', Jadzia Dax was replaced by Ezri Dax for the final season when Terry Farrell left for ''[[Becker]]''. It was a particularly curious case as her departure was a real surprise to everyone involved, as Farrell admitted to loving the show and the character but was just interested in expanding her career. She later regretted the decision because while she enjoyed her new character, Dax was a "super hero." To the writings credit, Ezri managed to fit into the series well and wasn't just Jadzia with a new face (although that ''would'' [[The Nth Doctor|be justified]])

* In the final season of ''[[News Radio]]'', Bill was replaced by Max after Phil Hartman's death. Also, Walt, a character introduced late the previous season, [[Brother Chuck|disappeared without a trace]].

** Catherine left in season 4 as well, and wasn't replaced, meaning that there was a 25% turnover from one season to the next. It was noticeable and was probably the last straw for the show which, despite it's quality, had been hanging by a thread for most of its existence.

* Inverted with ''[[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]]''. The 10th (and final) season brought the ''[[And the Fandom Rejoiced|return]]'' of Vincent D'Onofrio to the role of Bobby Goren, and Kathryn Erbe (Alex Eames) back as well.

* ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]]'' had a big problem with this during its last season. Both the nominal star (Mr. Kotter) and the most popular character (Barbarino) all but quit the show. Mrs. Kotter, of all people, took up the slack for Mr. Kotter, and the show brought in a replacement for Barbarino named Beau. Many viewers found Beau to be a pale imitation of Barbarino, and were not impressed with the "twist" of Beau being a Southerner.

* ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' deliberately killed off {{spoiler|Marian}} for cheap shock value in series two, and the actors playing Will and Djaq left as well. Furthermore, Keith Allen could only sign on for half of series three, leading to the absence of Vasey for several episodes. To compensate for this loss of the original cast, the show introduced the characters of [[Derailing Love Interests|Isabella]], [[Creator's Pet|Kate]], [[Magical Negro|Tuck]] and [[Large Ham|Prince John]] - Prince John being the only one who went down at all well with fans. Later on, Robin and Guy's long-lost half-brother [[Jerkass Stu|Archer]] appeared and was equally unpopular. The show ended with the deaths of {{spoiler|Robin, Guy, Vasey, Isabella and Allan}}, with Sam Troughton (Much) also quitting. A planned fourth series was thankfully not commissioned, but it would have left Little John as the ''only'' remaining original cast member.

* ''[[The Practice]]'' replaced half its cast in the final season, at least the replacements were fairly interesting.

* Ivan Dixon left the cast of ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' when his contract expired, leading to Newkirk taking over some of Kinch's duties and Kenneth Washington playing the new communications officer, Sgt. Baker.

* ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'' presents a curious case. The intended final episodes were filmed with the entire regular cast, including a [[Grand Finale]] where the teens graduated. Problem is, afterwards, more episodes were ordered, but no one was under contract. Most returned, but Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley chose not to. Leanna Creel was hired to play new character Tori and her tenure was interspersed with the previously produced episodes.

* Main character Joel never quite disappeared from ''[[Northern Exposure]]'', but in the last season his role was drastically reduced and the town got a different doctor.

* Prior to the filming of season 4 of'' [[Hannah Montana]]'', Mitchel Musso (who played Oliver Oken) left the series to star in [[Pair of Kings]] and work on his music. He and his character appeared only in a few episodes as a guest, including the series finale. He was replaced by Australian actress Tammin Sursok, who played Jackson's bikini model girlfriend, Sienna.

[[Category:Real Life Writes the Plot]]

[[Category:Characters and Casting]]