25 Times A TV Show Replaced A Departing Star With A New Character — Was It An Upgrade Or A Flop?

Cast changes on a long-running TV show are inevitable... but some work out better than others.

Plenty of classic series have had to fill a gaping void left by a main cast member leaving the show, whether due to contract dispute, firing or untimely tragedy. And often, they bring in a new character who's clearly meant to play the same type of role the departing star did. Sometimes it leads to small-screen magic, like when Woody filled in seamlessly for Coach on Cheers. Other times... well, remember Coy and Vance on The Dukes of Hazzard?

So with Javicia Leslie's first season replacing Ruby Rose as Batwoman well underway, we're taking a look back at a couple dozen more instances where TV shows attempted to replace a departing star with a new character. (To be clear, we're not talking about recasts here, where a new actor plays the same character. That's a whole other list.) Then we went ahead and gave each replacement a letter grade, based on how well they filled in for the original. Some may have even been an upgrade... and some are better left unmentioned.

Read on to see our list of the most memorable TV cast replacements and find out how we graded them. Did we forget a big one? Be sure to scroll down to the comments and remind us.

Season 2 kicked off with Leslie's Ryan Wilder stumbling across the Batsuit in a fiery plane crash, setting the stage for an overarching mystery that begs the question, "Whatever happened to Kate Kane?" It was a clever way to get around Rose's departure after Season 1 and breathed fresh new life into the Gotham-based story. Leslie's Batwoman is curious, determined and fun, and offers a unique perspective as a Black lesbian homeless woman just wanting to make her city better. A

Doherty's exit from the Fox soap was filled with drama off-screen, but Thiessen's introduction in Season 5 as Valerie Malone brought the drama on-screen. When Valerie — the daughter of the Walshes' Buffalo friends — came to live with Brandon and his family, she became the show's first true "Bad Girl," lighting up a joint in Brenda's old bedroom and badmouthing the Beverly Hills teens in her very first episode. In fact, Thiessen was so good at adding a much-needed dose of edge and spice, while also juggling her character's traumatic past, that she stayed on the series until Season 9. B+

After the first season made an overnight sensation of Fawcett, she wanted to spread her wings and fly. ABC and EP Aaron Spelling moved heaven and earth to keep her on as private eye Jill Munroe. They even raised hell, filing a lawsuit that cited her five-year contract. But in the end, they only got her to agree to a series of subsequent guest appearances. Suddenly short an Angel, they recruited Ladd to play Jill's kid sister Kris, and she proved to be such a hit — except, legend has it, with castmate Kate Jackson — that she remained a part of the ever-changing titular trio until the show wrapped in 1981. A

Much of the success of this WB gem hinged upon the chemistry between its three titular sisters, so Doherty's departure after Season 3 — allegedly the result of behind-the-scenes friction with co-star Alyssa Milano — could have spelled disaster. But rather than trying to recreate the magic of its original trio, Charmed went in a decidedly different direction with Doherty's successor, conjuring a fresh energy via newcomer McGowan as Paige and keeping the train running for five more seasons. Additional kudos to the show's writers for making the long-lost sister trope work without feeling like too much of a stretch. A

After Colasanto passed away from a heart attack during the production of Season 3, Cheers suddenly had very big shoes to fill. In the Season 4 premiere, a pen pal of Colasanto's Coach named Woody Boyd arrived in search of his friend, allowing the bar (and cast) to grieve the passing of their friend on screen, while simultaneously introducing us to its new employee. Harrelson fit into the ensemble with ease, taking on the "simple-minded nice guy" role with his dim-witted nature and heart of gold. While Coach was forever missed (especially in light of the real-life tragedy), Harrelson's Woody was a worthy stand-in. A

Sam and Diane's will they/won't they relationship was one of the NBC comedy's main highlights, but when Long departed after Season 5 to pursue a career in movies, Cheers was in dire need of a female lead. As the bar's new manager, Alley's Rebecca Howe served up a new kind of zaniness thanks to her slew of neuroses and insecurities, which were not only hysterical to watch, but influential to the bar's dynamic. Although Rebecca was certainly no Diane, that was exactly the point. And it worked. A-

Whereas Patinkin's unit chief Jason Gideon was intensely cerebral and even a bit haunted, Mantegna's David Rossi was warmer and fancied himself a bit more of a detective — which was in keeping with his side gig as a true crime novelist. Because of his significantly longer time on the series, Rossi was better fleshed out and had time to develop specific relationships with his BAU colleagues. B-

In one of the most infamously shoddy casting swaps in TV history, CBS' action hit brought in Bo and Luke's cousins Coy and Vance when stars Schneider and Wopat sat out for more money in Season 5. The writers didn't even bother pretending that Coy and Vance were anything more than Bo and Luke clones — they actually used already-written scripts with just the names changed! — but fans noticed, and ratings drove right off a cliff. By season's end, Bo and Luke were back, and Coy and Vance were relegated to the TV junkyard. F

NBC's long-running medical drama swapped one hunky doctor (Clooney's Doug Ross) for another (Visnjic's Luka Kovač) at the start of Season 6. (Those not convinced Visnjic was meant to be Clooney's heir apparent needn't look any further than Luka's short-lived relationship with Julianna Margulies' Carol.) Luka eventually escaped Dr. Ross' shadow and became a fully realized character, complete with a harrowing backstory (his first wife and two small children were casualties in the Croatian War of Independence) and a beloved on-again/off-again romance (with Maura Tierney's Abby) of his own. He remained a fixture (and fan favorite) at County General until Visnjic's departure at the beginning of Season 15. A-

As the '80s NBC sitcom approached Season 8, Rae — who played kindly matriarch Edna Garrett — wanted out, and the show obliged, with "Mrs. G" getting married and moving to Africa. Enter Leachman, who joined the cast as Edna's sister Beverly Ann Stickle and took over the role of resident den mother. The girls were pretty much grown up by this point, though, and didn't need as much sage advice. Leachman was a comedy legend, but she didn't have Rae's natural warmth, and the show ended two seasons later. C-

It was hard saying goodbye — so abruptly, explained away in dialogue following their absence — to original team members Kono Kalakaua (Park) and Chin Ho Kelly (Kim), who rode alongside Steve and Danny for seven of the CBS drama's 10 seasons. Rath's Tani (previously ousted from the HPD academy) and Koale's Junior (a SEAL with no policing experience), in turn, both had to be shoehorned into the team, and while they brought a fresh and flirty dynamic, it didn't make up for the two lost legacy characters. C+

During Season 2 of the Fox dramedy, Crawford was disciplined multiple times over complaints of creating a hostile environment on set; though he later claimed some accounts of those incidents were "blatant f—king lies," Crawford was fired — and his Martin Riggs succumbed to a gunshot wound in the Season 3 premiere. Scott's Wesley Cole, a LAPD rookie partnered with grizzled vet Roger Murtaugh, was an earnest yet ultimately unsatisfying substitute for the roguish Riggs, and the whole thing fizzled out, ending in a cancellation by the season finale. D

Swapping in Tran's Desi, a former Army Ranger, for Eads' Jack, a former Delta Force team leader, maintained the considerable muscle at Mac's side, while also adding a romantic dynamic (and ultimately a triangle, with Riley). Jack's exit, alas, robbed Riley of an important fatherly figure that had enriched the hacker character. B-

The Korean War comedy pulled off numerous switches over its run — Trapper became B.J., smarmy Frank became the officious Charles Winchester — but the transition from Stevenson's over-the-top dopey Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (R.I.P.) to the drier, gruffer Colonel Sherman T. Potter was an upgrade, giving bad boys Hawkeye and B.J. a truly respectable C.O. while introducing a different comedic rhythm. A

To be clear, this isn't Lovitz's fault: He had impossibly big shoes to fill when Hartman's shocking death ended his brilliant run as pompous newscaster Bill McNeal on NBC's underrated gem. (Lovitz even said in interviews that he only joined the show to honor his late SNL castmate.) But sadly, his character Max was just annoying... and not in an endearing way like Andy Dick's Matthew. Lovitz did his best, but the show never recovered and was cancelled one season later. D-

The role of Sipowicz's partner on the acclaimed ABC cop drama became a bit of a revolving door after Caruso infamously left to pursue a movie career. But Smits was the first through that door, and his stoic, decent Bobby Simone was a perfect match for the crass, volatile Sipowicz, with the two becoming great friends. Later, Simone's declining health led to some of the series' most heart-wrenching moments. It's hard to say what NYPD Blue would've become had Caruso stayed, but Smits made sure we didn't miss him too badly. A-

Spader had an enormous World's Best Boss mug to fill as Carell's replacement, but his unnerving Robert California contained none of Michael Scott's warmth, humor or nuance. Instead, Robert was an utterly bizarre, joyless boss who mostly intimidated his employees, making Season 8 a bleak stretch of the post-Carell era. What's more, as detailed in Andy Greene's 2020 oral history of The Office, Carell apparently didn't want to leave the NBC comedy when he did; rather, NBC (allegedly) never contacted Carell with an offer to stay on the show. "I really think that he would've stayed on longer," producer Randy Cordray speculated, "but if you're not respected and don't even get offered a contract or a discussion of a future contract, then you move on." C-

When Masterson was fired following several allegations of rape, the Netflix series completed its transformation from sitcom to soap opera. Rooster Bennett was killed off in a freak motorcycle accident, and Ashton Kutcher's former Punk'd cohort came aboard as Colt's PTSD-addled cousin Luke Matthews. Shepard was more than up for the acting challenge (he had already proven himself a fine dramatic actor on Parenthood), but he and Kutcher just didn't have the same chemistry that Masterson had with his onetime That '70s Show co-star. C

When biblically foretold Witness Abbie Mills shuffled off this mortal coil at the end of Season 3, it was because series star Beharie had exited the building for good. "It's been such a gift to have taken this wild ride," she said in a statement to TVLine at the time. "Alas, 'Abbie Mills has done all she was meant to do.'" The show brought in True Blood alum Gavankar as Diana Thomas, Ichabod Crane's new partner in supernatural affairs, but the fans never loved the character, and the series was cancelled at the end of Season 4. C

A decade before he was fired from Two and a Half Men (read on for that one!), Sheen was actually the one doing the replacing, stepping in here for original star Michael J. Fox, who unfortunately had to leave the ABC sitcom as his Parkinson's disease worsened. Spin City was built around Fox's personality, though, and the Sheen years — with him playing new deputy mayor Charlie Crawford — felt like a different show altogether, accompanied by a sweeping cast overhaul. Sheen can certainly deliver a punchline, but it's hard to argue that the Fox years weren't superior. C

When Grace left Wisconsin high (heh) and dry, Meyers stepped in as replacement nerd Randy Pearson for the Fox sitcom's eighth and final season. Taking on personality traits of both Eric and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher also departed early), Randy was often found at the record store working with Hyde and hitting on the unsuspecting girls who shopped there. But why the powers that be ever felt Grace could be replaced remains a mystery, as Meyers' turn as Randy was just as half-cooked as the rest of the season. D

Following Somers' squabble with producers and subsequent exit, Harrison joined Season 5 as Chrissy's sweet yet accident-prone cousin Cindy. But when the one-note carbon copy proved to be a flop just one season later, the show introduced yet another roommate with Barnes' Terri Aldren. Departing from the "dumb blonde" stereotype, Terri brought fresh energy with her intelligence and own brand of unique quirks. She was a better fit by leaps and bounds, and of course, she was never immune to Jack Tripper's wily antics and the heaps of misunderstandings and sexual innuendos that permeated the apartment. Harrison: C-; Barnes: B+

When Sheen's services were "terminated" for reasons well-documented, the powers that be made the somewhat surprising choice to replace him with the That '70s Show alum. The writers never quite knew what to do with tech billionaire Walden Schmidt — he started out as a sober man-child who came out of a decades-long marriage, then devolved into a stoner who couldn't maintain a relationship — but Kutcher's first two seasons were quite strong (by Two and a Half Men standards, anyway). With Kutch at the helm, the already long-running sitcom ran another four seasons and 85 episodes. Now that's "winning!" B

After a heated contract dispute, NBC abruptly killed off Harper's title character and brought in Duncan to play Sandy, the sister of Valerie's widowed husband Michael and the family's new matriarch. (Awkwardly, the show was retitled Valerie's Family for a season before the name switched to The Hogan Family.) Duncan was OK, we guess, but the show mostly revolved around a teen Jason Bateman and nosy neighbor Mrs. Poole at that point anyway. It ended up running longer with Duncan than with Harper, so that's a win in our book. C+

After Duchovny sued Fox for allegedly shady accounting practices ahead of Season 7 (the suit eventually was settled), he chose not to stay with the show when his contract ended at the end of that season. Fox Mulder's absence — explained via alien abduction — allowed for the introduction of a new FBI agent: Patrick's John Jay Doggett, who became Scully's new partner. Doggett was... perfectly fine? But audiences sighed in relief when Duchovny returned (part-time) for Season 8. B