10 TV Character Replacements That Just Didn't Work

Sometimes, the absence of a TV character was so great that the showrunners had no option but to bring in a replacement to fill the void. There are many reasons this can happen, from actors wanting to move on before interest in the show has started to wane or even behind-the-scenes controversies that mean a vital character must be written off without warning. Occasionally, character replacements, such as the addition of Winston replacing Coach in New Girl, work out well. However, they’re often complete disasters that frustrate viewers who long for the return of the original star.




TV character replacements are different from when a part gets recast, as rather than trying to push a different actor into a previously established role, this is when a new character is created to fill the void. While they often share similarities with their predecessor, this is not always necessary, as some shows try to bring something different to the table with their new characters, only for them to not fit in with the world of the show. Introducing replacement characters is always tricky, and it’s rare for a show to pull it off without pushback from viewers.


10 The Office (2005 – 2013)

Robert California replaced Michael Scott


The Office was one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, and a major contributing factor to this was Steve Care’l’s portrayal of Michael Scott. While it took a few episodes for Carell to find his footing with the character, Scott’s bumbling ineptitude and heartfelt sentimentality became central to the series as his love for his co-workers and his socially unaware nature made him oddly likable. When Carell exited The Office at the end of the seventh season, his absence was sorely felt for the final two seasons, and the showrunners struggled to fill the gap he left.

One new character who was brought in as an alternative to Scott was Robert California, the enigmatic and often intimidating new CEO of Dunder Mifflin, played by James Spader. California was an interesting character who injected some new energy into a series suffering from a decline in quality due to the absence of its former protagonist, but he was not enough to save the final two seasons of The Office. It seemed that when it came to The Office, Michael Scott was truly one of a kind.


9 Dragon Ball Z (1989 – 1996)

Goten replaced Goku

Goku with Goten in Dragon Ball Z in a collage style image.

The entire Dragon Ball franchise has always revolved around the martial artist Son Goku, who viewers and readers of the original manga watched grow up to become Earth’s hero. As the main protagonist through countless sagas that took Goku off the earth to battle intergalactic villains and discover his heritage as an alien member of the Saiyan race, following the conclusion of the Cell arc, Dragon Ball Z went through big changes. This was because the series creator Akira Toriyama wanted to move away from the story of Goku and let his son Gohan take his place as Earth’s protector.


This change in vision for the franchise meant that there would be a Goku-sized hole in the series, and another character would be introduced to fix this issue. Following Goku’s death attempting to defeat Cell, there was a seven-year time skip, and Goku’s young son Goten was introduced; however, Goku’s death didn’t last long, and he was soon brought back as the lead character. This meant that Goten’s character was without purpose, and although he often teamed up and occasionally fused with Trunks, he felt like a mostly irrelevant character throughout the rest of the series and its spinoffs.


8 The Conners (2018 – Present)

Darlene Conner replaced Roseanne Conner

The conners Darlene Roseanne

This Roseanne spin-off show had a truly difficult challenge as it was forced to continue without the series’ former protagonist. This was due to behind-the-scenes controversies involving Roseanne’s actress Roseanne Barr, whose actions meant the revival of her beloved sitcom was canceled due to a racist Twitter rant that led to her character being killed off. This meant The Conner had a serious void to fill, and it attempted to do this through Roseanne’s daughter, Darlene Conner, who shared many of her mother’s adversarial characteristics and wicked sense of humor.


While the series was successful and Sara Gilbert gave a great performance as Darlene Conner, The Conners admitted in Season 6 Roseanne’s replacement character didn’t work. Although Darlene was given many of the same characteristics as her mother, to try and simply redo an already beloved sitcom character was never going to work, as audiences were consistently reminded that no matter how great Darlene was, she wasn’t Roseanne. With this realization, The Conners tried to focus more on the entire family rather than continuous Darlene-centric stories.

7 House Of Cards (2013 – 2018)

Claire Underwood replaced Frank Underwood

Kevin Spacey As Frank Underwood & Robin Wright As Claire Underwood In House Of Cards.jpg


There was no denying that Kevin Spacey’s performance as Frank Underwood was central to the appeal of House of Cards, and the original plan was to continue telling his story right up to the series conclusion. However, following allegations of sexual misconduct against Spacey, the sixth and final season was produced without his involvement. This meant that House of Cards was without its main character, and Robin Wright, as Claire Underwood, stepped up to lead the final installment.

While Claire was always an incredible character in House of Cards, and her importance should not be understated, the truth was viewers were invested in how Frank’s narrative arc would be resolved. By shifting the focus to Claire’s presidency after Frank was killed off, House of Cards lacked its most interesting dynamic. The absence of Spacey was sorely felt, and Season 6 of House of Cards received mostly negative reviews.


6 South Park (1997 – Present)

Butters Stotch replaced Kenny McCormick

Kenny as an angel in South Park

South Park is one of the most acclaimed adult-oriented animated sitcoms ever made. For nearly three decades, it has hilariously parodied the social and political landscape of the United States. Through the characters of Stan, Kyle, Cartmen, and Kenny, South Park became a cultural phenomenon that effectively represented the unique comedic vision of its creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. However, this dynamic was briefly tampered with after Kenny was supposedly killed off permanently in Season 5.


The many deaths of Kenny were a running joke on South Park from the beginning, but the creators then decided to make it stick in the episode “Kenny Dies” when he passed away of muscular dystrophy. This left a major gap among South Park’s ensemble, and characters like Butters and Tweek were given larger roles and joined the gang as Kenny’s replacement. However, these replacements never truly stuck, and Kenny returned at the end of Season 6, remaining a part of the show ever since.

5 The New Pope (2020)

Pope John Paul III replaced Pope Pius XIII

Jude Law and John Malkcovich in The New Pope HBO


The Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino explored themes of power, corruption, faith, and religion in his excellent miniseries The Young Pope starring Jude Law. This fascinating satirical drama saw Law portray Pope Pius XIII, a 47-year-old Pope whose religious beliefs were questionable and whose morality seemed to go against most ideas of a godly man. As a unique melodrama that was unlike anything else on television, it was exciting to hear Law was returning for the continuation series The New Pope.

However, rather than continue following the strange papacy of Pope Pius XIII, Law’s character fell into a coma and was quickly replaced by John Malkovich as Pope John Paul III. This change in protagonist was a bold decision from Sorrentino, and although Malkovich gave a strong performance and the show continued its strange exploration of power dynamics, the series didn’t work as well without Law. Thankfully, Pope Pius came out of his coma and returned in the latter part of the season, but this shift in dynamics within the series did a disservice.


4 Saved By The Bell (1989 – 1993)

Tori Scott replaced Kelly Kapowski

A blended image features Tori, Kelly, and Jessie in Saved By The Bell

Saved by the Bell was a teen sitcom that showcased the lives of students and faculty at Bayside High School in Los Angeles. With a mix of lighthearted comedy and touching on relevant social issues like drinking and driving, drug use, and environmental issues, Saved by the Bell originally followed the characters Screech, Slater, Lisa, Mr. Belding, Jessie, Zack, and Kelly. However, after Kelly and Jesse left the show in Season 4, Tori Scott was brought in as a last-minute replacement to fill the void left by their characters.


Unfortunately, Tori’s character just didn’t work. Her actress, Leanna Creel, was miscast as a tough biker, and her relationship with Zack felt unbelievable. It’s clear the writers knew that Tori’s character didn’t fit in with Saved by the Bell, and when the show was later revived as Saved by the Bell: The College Years, she was nowhere to be found. Tori’s last appearance was in the Season 4 episode “School Song,” and after that, she was never seen again.

3 Scrubs (2001 – 2010)

Lucy Bennett replaced J.D.

Kerry Bishé waving as Lucy in Scrubs season 9


The medical sitcom Scrubs always showcased its world through J.D.’s experiences and was known for Zack Braff’s signature narration. This meant that when it was decided that the series would continue after Braff’s departure, there was a stylistic gap left by his character’s absence, which was filled by the new medical student Lucy Bennett. With Scrubs’ final ninth season, subtitled Med School, Kerry Bishé had big shoes to fill as she took over as the primary protagonist, and audiences instead heard Lucy’s narration.

This, more so than any other aspect, was what signaled the failure of Scrubs’ disastrous final season. The entire series identity was intrinsically linked to J.D.’s internal monologue and outrageous cutaway gags that gave insight into his strange psychology. By trying to pass the torch and recreate these aspects with Lucy, Scrubs felt like a parody of itself, and it was unable to keep things engaging enough to continue without Braff at the helm.


2 Two And A Half Men (2003 – 2015)

Walden Schmidt replaced Charlie Harper

Alan Harper and Walden Schmidt in Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men was a sitcom that worked primarily due to the innate charisma of Charlie Sheen as the main character, Charlie Harper. As a hedonistic bachelor who gained riches as a jingles songwriter, Charlie’s love-hate relationship with his brother and nephew was the driving force behind Two and a Half Men’s comedic appeal as the character butted heads in each episode. This dynamic carried the show through eight seasons before offscreen controversies related to Sheen led to him being seemingly brutally killed off.


While the absence of Sheen may have signaled it was time to call it a day on Two and a Half Men, Charlie’s character was instead replaced with Ashton Kutcher as the internet tycoon Walden Schmidt. Two and a Half Men had to jump through some logical hoops to reestablish the dynamic and keep Charlie’s brother and son living in the house with him, yet the show still continued for four more seasons. However, Two and a Half Men never truly overcame the absence of Charlie, and these final seasons feel strange and unnecessary.

1 That ’70s Show (1998 – 2006)

Randy Pearson replaced Eric Foreman

randy that 70s show


While That ‘70s Show was an ensemble sitcom about teenagers during the 1970s, everything revolved around the life of Eric Foreman. With Eric’s home being the primary setting for the series, this was a show that had very little glue holding it together without the presence of Topher Grace as Eric. However, Grace exited the show at the end of Season 7, and rather than just continue with the already established cast, they added a new character, Randy Pearson (Josh Meyers), to replace him.

There was a chance this could have worked if That ‘70s Show had not so obviously tried to push Randy as the new Eric by having him practically step into Eri’s old life and become a love interest for Eric’s girlfriend, Donna. Randy was badly received as a character, as it felt that, by the eight seasons of That ‘70s Show, it was wrong to mess up the group’s dynamic so much. It’s a testament to Randy’s unpopularity that, despite being the show’s main character in the final season, his existence was ignored in the sequel series That ‘90s Show.


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