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Line 4: 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. In a nutshell, a [['''Final Season Casting]]''' is a rather common phenomenon when a show experiences unusual and significant cast changes for its final season. Expect core members of the show's central [[Five-Man Band]] or even the protagonist to leave. Sometimes [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute~~\|Suspiciously Similar Substitutes~~]]s or [[The Generic Guy\|new characters without much back story]] take over, sometimes the show continues with a reduced cast. The dynamic between the cast is very likely to change and if the show hasn't jumped the shark yet, it most probably will. This trope makes no distinction between the seasons that weren't supposed to conclude the show, but turned out to be the final seasons because of low ratings partially caused by the [['''Final Season Casting]]''', and the ones that were supposed to conclude the show, and the [['''Final Season Casting]]''' was either willingly invoked or was a mere coincidence. 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]]. Line 24: * ''[[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.}} * In the final season of ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)\|Home Improvement]]'', Randy was written out of the show by having him spend a year in Latin America. He wasn't replaced with anyone, but other characters were given increased roles and/or new dynamics to fill the absence. * 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. ** Heather Locklear, who had come on board a season before, shared top billing with Sheen. The remaining cast members all got their own title cards. Line 42: * 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. * Subverted - twice - in ''[[Blake's ~~Seven~~7\|Blakes Seven]]''. Gareth Thomas who played Blake left at the end of the second season, not the last, and wasn't replaced. Despite there being no change in title, there was no Blake for the next two seasons {{spoiler\|until the very last episode when he made a tragic return.}} This caused much ridicule among critics and some fans at the time, but can be justified in that although Blake was gone, the rest of the Liberator's crew were still products of his rebellion and, in a sense, still his creations, carrying on his fight. * 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. Line 52: [[Category:Real Life Writes the Plot]] [[Category:Characters and Casting]] [[Category:~~Final Season Casting~~{{PAGENAME}}]]