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Final Season Casting: Difference between revisions
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* In the final season of ''[[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.
* 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]])
* Eric and Kelso were no longer in the cast of ''[[That '70s Show]]'' during the final season, and were replaced by Randy. Both returned for the [[Series Finale]].
* 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.
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* 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.
* [[Laverne and Shirley]] is an infamous example. Shirley left and the show continued without her, [[Artifact Title|strangely keeping the title intact]]. The show compensated by bringing on weekly guest stars to assist Laverne in her schemes.
* ''[[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.
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