New TV Roles For Cancelled Show Stars

ALANA DE LA GARZA

PAST GIG: Forever

NEW GIG: CBS' Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders is desperately in need of some girl power, now that Anna Gunn has exited the spinoff cast. De La Garza's turns on Forever and multiple Law & Orders make her more than qualified to continue laying down the (in this case, international) law.

Andrew Leeds

PAST GIG: Cristela

NEW GIG: Should Castle's Beckett opt for that senate run, he gets our vote to play a quirky, whip-smart campaign manager (even though he guested as a finance exec in a mostly forgettable Season 3 episode).

Becki Newton

PAST GIG: Weird Loners

NEW GIG: A fellow single mom who makes fast friends at community college with Mom's Christy — despite the fact that the former has an abiding love for happy hour, while the latter is in recovery.

Benjamin Stockham

PAST GIG: About a Boy

NEW GIG: Fresh Off the Boat's new kid in school, who instantly takes a liking to Eddie and latches on way too hard.

Billy Campbell

PAST GIG: Helix

NEW GIG: Grimm's newest member of the resistance, who'll spar with/challenge the authority of resident Wesen-slayer Nick.

CRISTELA ALONZO

PAST GIG: Cristela

NEW GIG: The comedian should most certainly be headlining her own show again, but for now we'd accept her as Rogelio's no-nonsense assistant on Jane the Virgin.

David Walton

PAST GIG: About a Boy

NEW GIG: It'd be too easy for Nick and Jess to get back together at the start of New Girl Season 5. Perhaps Dr. Sam returns to shake things up!

Dylan McDermott

PAST GIG: Stalker

NEW GIG: Across his recent runs on Stalker, Hostages and American Horror Story, McDermott has proven he can play someone physically imposing, even frighteningly intimidating. We hear Arrow calling for him to bring H.I.V.E. bigwig Damien Darhk to life.

Eliza Coupe

PAST GIG: Benched

NEW GIG: On Empire as an Iggy Azalea-type rap artist (with a Mariah-level ego) whose debut disc is raking in huge profits for Empire Entertainment — much to the chagrin of Cookie & Co.

Gabriel Mann

PAST GIG: Revenge

NEW GIG: Reprising his role as Nolan Ross... but on How to Get Away With Murder, as his latest mission from Emily ends up getting him caught in Annalise's web of lies. Note: Scenes with Connor are mandatory.

Ioan Gruffudd

PAST GIG: Forever

NEW GIG: Seeing the magnetic Welshman as Once Upon a Time's sought-after Merlin (aka the Sorcerer) would be quite a piece of casting magic.

Jessica Stroup

PAST GIG: The Following

NEW GIG: Orange Is the New Black's newest cellmate (who might just make a play for Piper's heart and/or commissary cash?).  

John Mulaney

PAST GIG: Mulaney

NEW GIG: We'd love to see the former SNL scribe and popular standup comedian return to Studio 8H and replace Colin Jost and Michael Che at the Weekend Update desk.

Judd Hirsch

PAST GIG: Forever

NEW GIG: With The Big Bang Theory's Mrs. Wolowitz no longer with us, now would seem as good a time as ever for Howard to reconnect with his estranged father.

Ken Marino

PAST GIG: Marry Me

NEW GIG: Reuniting with Veronica Mars and Party Down boss Rob Thomas on iZombie as a rival (fake) psychic to Liv. Or perhaps the show's heroine needs a TV dad?

Kevin McHale

PAST GIG: Glee

NEW GIG: It's time for TV's erstwhile Artie to (again) graduate to college, where on Modern Family he could play a brainiac TA who butts heads with (and maybe crushes on) freshman Alex.

Kris Polaha

PAST GIG: Backstrom

NEW GIG: To The CW's new Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, we say: Meet your own crazy, stalker-y ex-boyfriend. Bonus: Polaha can sing, too, and plays the ukulele!

Mae Whitman

PAST GIG: Parenthood

NEW GIG: Since Shameless' Fiona has been MIA at home, maybe Whitman – as a Planned Parenthood (see what we did there?) counselor – can talk some sense into eager-to-get-preggers Debbie?

Maggie Q

PAST GIG: Stalker

NEW GIG: The tough, sexy love interest that Chicago P.D.'s Antonio is desperately in need of.

Matt Ryan

PAST GIG: Constantine

NEW GIG: We know he can play down-and-dirty, but we'd love to see the Welsh actor take on Outlander's genteel Lord John Grey. (Yes, we know he doesn't show up until Book 3. No, we don't care.)

Nick Offerman

PAST GIG: Parks and Recreation

NEW GIG: Someone's gotta fill in for Holt as the new precinct captain on Brooklyn Nine-Nine!

Octavia Spencer

PAST GIG: Red Band Society

NEW GIG: A burnt out public-school principal who finds herself alternately invigorated by and infuriated with Girls' polarizing Hannah Horvath.

Omar Epps

PAST GIG: Resurrection

NEW GIG: After playing do-rights on House and then Resurrection, we'd love to see Epps pull a 180 and bring big chills to the role of Gotham's Mr. Freeze.

Peter Krause

PAST GIG: Parenthood

NEW GIG: An ex-lawyer on The Good Wife who put his career on hold for personal reasons and is now looking to re-enter the profession via potential love interest Alicia's new law firm.

Piper Perabo

PAST GIG: Covert Affairs

NEW GIG: An in-home yoga instructor — with secrets, natch — to one of the elite families on Devious Maids.

Scott Porter

PAST GIG: Hart of Dixie

NEW GIG: The comic book-loving actor simply has to be on a super show. We vote for him to play Supergirl's seemingly perfect new boyfriend – who turns out to be a villain.

Tyler Ritter

PAST GIG: The McCarthys

NEW GIG: The upcoming Coach revival finds Hayden Fox helping his grownup son coach an ivy league football team. Meet Coach Jr.!

Wilson Bethel

PAST GIG: Hart of Dixie

NEW GIG: Now that The Vampire Diaries' Matt is a newbie cop – and Sheriff Forbes is dead (RIP, Liz!), not to mention his last mentor turned out to be a crazy vamp-killer – Matty Blue Eyes and Mystic Falls sure could use a new authoritative figure. Enter Bethel's roguishly charming enforcer of the law.

Zoe Levin

PAST GIG: Red Band Society

NEW GIG: Levin has played the patient before; now, she can play the doctor(-to-be) on The Mindy Project, as a nightmarish med student completing her residency at Shulman & Associates.

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