Shows with major character changes that still succeeded?

[jgln]

...or failed.

I am wondering how one of my favorite sitcoms, 2 1/2 Men, will do after Charlie Sheen will be gone. Will it succeed?

Got me thinking what other shows survived this big of a change.

Here are 2 I can think of that did fine...

MASH (ok, losing Alan Alda might have ended it)
Cheers (Loss of Ted Danson here might have)

 

[dfc]

The Three Stooges seemed to continue on nicely.

 

[jgln]

The Three Stooges seemed to continue on nicely.

Oh right, that is going way back.

 

[Homercidal]

Threes Company. Not just with Chrissy Snow, but also Mr. Roper.

 

[jgln]

Threes Company. Not just with Chrissy Snow, but also Mr. Roper.

Didn't 8 Simple Rules continue for a while after John Ritter died?

 

[Homercidal]

Didn't 8 Simple Rules continue for a while after John Ritter died?

Heck if I know. I remember Chrissy's cousin, who replaced her on the show, had a nice rack... :cross:

 

[commonsenseman]

Dunno about 2 1/2 men, but The Office is doomed!

 

[FromZwolle]

Dr. Who!

 

[captwalt]

The Brady bunch was nothing until Oliver showed up

 

[captwalt]

How about Married with children. Seven saved that show from nothingness

 

[KayaBrew]

Cheers-first when Coach died, then when Diane left.

How about when Becky #1 left Roseanne? Becky #2 was way hotter (and still is).

 

[skyebrewing]

Spin city did alright after Michael j fox left and sheen took over. Also Rosanne changed older daughters and no one even noticed

 

[skyebrewing]

Damn. Beat me to it. Rosanne daughter went on to be elliott in scrubs. Much nicer looking

 

[brettwasbtd]

Fresh Prince of Bel air - The show went on and was still solid, however I was not a fan of the new "Vivian."

 

[brewingmeister]

Good list already.
Charlies Angels. Didn't Farrah only do one year?
Morty, Seinfeld's dad was a different guy earlier on.
The Dukes of Hazard, Bo and Luke (were having contract arguments I think) some other cousins Coy and Vance filled in for some episodes.
Medical shows like ER and Greys Anatomy seem to have a revolving door on characters.

Didn't Becky on Roseanne switch twice?

 

[Evets]

Darrin on Bewitched. But I don't really know how long it lasted after the switch.

 

[jgln]

Funny how they do it too sometimes. Sometimes they just swap out actor as if nothing happened (like Bewitched, Roseanne), sometimes they kill off or have them move and replace the spot with new character for balance (Dianne/Cheers).

 

[bob1852]

The biggest example - NYPD Blue.

The show was supposed to kill of Dennis Frantz' character in the first season and it was supposed to be David Caruso's series.

Well, we all know how that worked out!

 

[Homercidal]

Dr. Who!

Brilliant! What a "timeless" example!

And not just the doctor, but his almost always beautiful young companions as well.

 

[kjung]

The Three Stooges seemed to continue on nicely.

The ONLY Stooges that mattered were Moe Larry and Curly. All of the rest were imposters!


Oh, yeah...Iggy Pop and his band, too!!!!!

 

[jfowler1]

Personally, I think it is tougher on a series to eliminate a key character than it is to change the actor playing the character. It is a little weird when the actor changes, but it doesn't neccessarily have to effect the dynamic of the show.

Spin City was an interesting example because MJF played such a great character on the show. It is kind of amazing that they didn't really miss a beat when Charlie Sheen came in. I am also a fan of the office, but I agree that as good as Spader may be, Michael Scott made the show, and it will be very different without him. I hope I am wrong.

Kind of OT, but some of the biggest movie franchies really embrace and celebrate changing the actor for a specific character. Bond and Batman come to mind quickly.

 

[JonM]

Swapping Trapper for Bj Honeycutt, Frank Burns for Maj. Winchester, and Col. Blake for Col. Potter?

 

[KayaBrew]

Jane Lynch left "Party Down" and was replaced by Megan Mullaly. This is a great show. For anyone who has not seen it, check it out!

 

[McGarnigle]

I think The Office suffered as much for Jim and Pam getting married as anything else. Someone once made the point that once they were happily married, they came across as a**holes once they got what they wanted. Sort of like how Frasier suffered once Niles and Daphne finally got together.

Of course there are shows like The Sopranos and The Wire which killed off lots of people. But The Sopranos couldn't have withstood the departure of James Gandolfini.

 

[bob1852]

Swapping Trapper for Bj Honeycutt, Frank Burns for Maj. Winchester, and Col. Blake for Col. Potter?

Yes, but M*A*S*H = Hawkeye Pierce

 

[CGVT]

Law and Order went through about a hundred different characters and stayed pretty strong throughout.

 

[shanecb]

Cheers-first when Coach died, then when Diane left.

Was going to say the same thing. I've been on a Cheers bender on Netflix.

 

[SarahMatt]

Also Rosanne changed older daughters and no one even noticed

Becky switched and switched back.....the son also changed once. I think there was one DJ for the first 2 or so episodes and one for the rest.

 

[jafo28]

Happy days, Richie Cunningham. I think one of the guys on CHiPs left.

 

[TxBrew]

Swapping Trapper for Bj Honeycutt, Frank Burns for Maj. Winchester, and Col. Blake for Col. Potter?

In all fairness Honeycutt was far superior.