45 TV Characters Who Disappeared Without A Trace, From Friends To Grey's

It's a stubborn scourge that plagues even the best TV shows: One day, a character is a key part of a show's ensemble, and the next, they just... vanish.

We're not talking about characters who were killed off or written off in some other easily explainable way. No, these poor characters — whether they didn't mesh with the rest of the cast, or the writers just got bored of them — left their shows with no grand goodbye, never returned and were barely mentioned again, as if they never existed. This phenomenon happens so often throughout TV history, there's even a name for it: "Chuck Cunningham syndrome," in honor of Richie's lost brother on Happy Days.

Well, they may not have gotten the send-off they deserved at the time, but we here at TVLine are paying belated tribute to these forgotten characters, from a Friends son and a Family Matters daughter to a Grey's Anatomy doctor and a Mindy Project BFF. Some of these stuck around for a few seasons before their unceremonious exit, while others only got a single episode before getting the boot. (Anybody else remember The Golden Girls had a gay housekeeper named Coco?)

Read on to see our list of TV characters who went missing and never came back. (We even ranked each disappearance on a scale of one to four milk cartons, based on how jarring and inexplicable the exit was.) Did we forget one of your favorites? Hit the comments below and jog our memory with your own suggestions.

When the character of Steve Urkel began to take off, Carl and Harriet's youngest daughter, Judy, took a backseat with minimal lines and non-existent plots. She was eventually axed with zero explanation. Legend has it that she walked upstairs and never returned, but her actual final scenes can be found in Season 4's "Mama's Wedding," where she walked down the aisle at Mother Winslow's nuptials. Soon after, the entire family acted as if she never even existed. Justice for Judy!

We can understand the FNL writers wanting to forget all about Season 2 — the whole "Landry and Tyra cover up a murder" subplot was a real low point — but that's no excuse for how dirty they did Santiago, the reformed juvenile delinquent played by Benny Ciaramello. Santiago cleaned up his act, went to live with Buddy Garrity and joined the Dillon Panthers football team... and when the show returned for Season 3, he was nowhere to be found and never mentioned again. Is he still living with Buddy, we wonder?

Leanna Creel's tough-girl character was brought in as a replacement for both Kelly and Jessie, after Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley negotiated to appear in fewer episodes during SBTB's final season. And though she was fully integrated into the friend group and even dated Zack for some time, she was unaccounted for in the series finale when Kelly and Jessie returned for graduation. When Zack referred to Tori in 2020's tongue-in-cheek revival, Kelly had no recollection of her.

The sarcastic city planner played by Paul Schneider was a full-fledged member of the Pawnee gang for Parks and Rec's first two seasons: He was a semi-love interest for Leslie, and he dated Ann for a while. But he never really fit in, and the writers abruptly sent him off with a new job at the end of Season 2, with the rest of the characters never mentioning his name again. And to be fair, with the addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe to the cast, we never really missed him, did we?

Brittany Daniel's character was introduced in Season 3 as a seductress-type who famously, um, blew Dawson's mind on a boat. While that initial storyline was less than stellar, Eve later made some interesting waves on the creek with the reveal that she was Jen's half-sister. But that big episode would also be her last, after which Eve just disappeared from Capeside with no resolution to the sibling twist.

Even die-hard fans might not recall that Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia had a flamboyant live-in housekeeper named Coco, played by Charles Levin, in the pilot. It would've been groundbreaking to have a gay character as part of the main cast, but Estelle Getty's Sophia turned out to be such a breakout character — she was only meant to be recurring — that she bumped Coco out, and we never heard from him or his enchiladas again after the premiere.

In one of the most infamously anticlimactic exits in TV history, Brooke Smith's doctor scrubbed out for the day, headed for Seattle Grace's parking lot and... was never seen nor heard from again. But her portrayer wasn't, as was theorized in 2008, abruptly canned over gay panic stemming from Erica's burgeoning relationship with Callie. Series creator Shonda Rhimes insisted at the time that the powers that be just "did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run." Ouch.

The poster child for TV's Suddenly Missing Characters, Richie and Joanie's older brother was played in Season 1 by Gavan O'Herlihy, though recast Randolph Roberts was on hand for Chuck's final appearance in the Season 2 premiere. Though the show established he was off to college, Chuck was never heard from again. In fact, the Season 11 episode featuring Joanie's wedding to Chachi saw Howard noting in his toast, "Both of our children are married now," effectively erasing the existence of his and Marion's eldest.

Moira Kelly's feisty media consultant (who used to date Josh Lyman) was a fixture in the NBC drama's first few episodes, but her appearances got less frequent as the freshman season wore on, and by Season 2, she was gone completely. "Moira is a terrific actress," series creator Aaron Sorkin later said, "but we just weren't the right thing for her."

We saw Ross' son enter the world as a baby in Season 1 and watched him grow into an inquisitive tyke played by future Riverdale star Cole Sprouse. But he was mystifyingly written out of the show as soon as Rachel gave birth to Ross' daughter Emma — to the point that Ross' father claimed that Emma was his first grandchild! Rude!

Fans of the '80s NBC sitcom remember Markie Post as public defender Christine Sullivan, of course. But before Post joined the cast full-time in Season 3, two other actresses played the show's main defense attorney. Paula Kelly's Liz Williams only lasted a season before Ellen Foley was brought on to play Billie Young, who would double as a love interest for Harry Anderson's Judge Harry Stone. Producers found their chemistry lacking, though, and when Post became available after her contract with The Fall Guy ended, Billie's stint on Night Court was also summarily dismissed.

Josie and the Pussycats were an integral part of Riverdale's freshman season, which meant we saw a lot of Josie's fellow band members. (Valerie even dated Archie for a while!) But alas, they both faded away midway through Season 2 as Josie's storylines dried up. Josie eventually hit the road (and joined spinoff Katy Keene), but Valerie and Melody are still MIA.

You may have entirely forgotten that in just one single episode, Donna Pinciotti had a younger sister. Tina's sole appearance was in the Season 1 episode "Eric's Burger Job," but her intended recurring role was permanently deleted afterward. No explanation was given — as evidenced by Kitty referring to Donna as Bob and Midge's only child in Season 7.

The Cosby Show spinoff got completely revamped after its freshman season, with star Lisa Bonet leaving after she became pregnant and eventually returning to Cosby. Dwayne Wayne and Whitley survived the purge, but lost in the shuffle was Denise's friend and roommate Maggie, played by future Oscar winner Marisa Tomei. Let's just hope she got her diploma from Hillman at some point.

Roseanne and Dan's fourth child was said to be on a cargo boat in Alaska when Roseanne was revived in 2018, but didn't return when Mom died in The Conners — and was apparently retconned in Season 3. Meanwhile, the powers that be made the "conscious decision" that Jackie's son Andy never actually existed, and was "part of the dream that was revealed at the end of the original Roseanne," even if that makes little to no sense.

Mindy Kaling's Fox/Hulu sitcom had an infamous revolving door of supporting characters — remember Shauna the receptionist? Or Betsy the receptionist? — but the most egregious exit had to be Anna Camp's character Gwen, who was billed as Mindy's best friend when the show began... and then wasn't seen again after the freshman season. Hmph, so much for best friends.

Of course we remember Dr. Beverly Crusher as the Enterprise's chief medical officer, but she was briefly replaced in Season 2 of TNG by Dr. Katherine Pulaski, played by L.A. Law's Diana Muldaur. "That never quite worked," executive producer Rick Berman later admitted, adding that Pulaski's character "just never really quite solidified." Crusher returned to helm sick bay in Season 3, Muldaur left the show... and Pulaski was barely mentioned again.

The family dynamics on the Fox series got way complicated when Ryan's Season 2 girlfriend (played by Shannon Lucio) discovered that Caleb is her father, making Ryan's "mother" Kirsten her half-sister. But after just half a season and some attempts at bonding with her new brood, Lindsay moved to Chicago with her mother and was never seen or heard from again, even when Caleb died. Some people just aren't cut out for O.C.-level drama.

Call it a failed chemistry experiment: The lusty divorcée played by Ann Wedgeworth was introduced in Season 4 as a romantic foil for Jack, and was even added to the opening credits. But watching her chase Jack around and constantly get rejected got old in a hurry; she didn't even get to finish out the season before she vanished.

Like many an '80s sitcom, Who's the Boss? brought in a cute kid late in its run to up the "aw" factor, and so five-year-old munchkin Billy came to live with the Bowers in Season 7 when Tony's grandma left the boy in Tony's care. The cuteness wore off quickly, though: Billy didn't return for Season 8, with the show explaining that he went back to live with Tony's grandma.

The writers must've worried that a sitcom about happy newlyweds could get a little stale, so in Season 1, they gave Paul a swinging single pal named Selby, played by Tommy Hinkley. But he clashed with the show's cozy Noo Yawk aesthetic (and with the producers, allegedly), and so Selby was gone before the freshman season ended. Guess you do lose touch with your old friends once you get married.

A late-in-run addition to the ensemble, Jonathan Banks' curmudgeonly criminology professor fit in perfectly during the NBC comedy's fifth season. But when the college-set series was revived at Yahoo Screen the following year, Hickey was unaccounted for — at least at first.  He was eventually killed off via a blink-and-you-missed-it sight gag involving the lunch lady's hacked emails (subject line: "Buzz Hickey Memorial Services").

When we last saw Christy's son, he was 12 years old and already experimenting with drugs. It's unclear whether Baxter and Candace — who also vanished — nipped that in the bud, or whether Christy — who's now off at law school — continued to play an active role in her son's life.

Richie was one of Doug's three best friends — and perhaps his oldest friend, having attended the same high school and shared an apartment before either of them was married. But come Season 3, portrayer Larry Romano was offered a bigger role on another sitcom — NBC's short-lived Kristin Chenoweth vehicle Kristin — and he took it. Richie vanished, and Doug was never called "Moose" again.

It's a tale as old as (day)time: At some point in 1970, during the ABC soap's first year on the airwaves, Joe and Helen Martin's 12-year-old son Bobby went up to the attic to fetch his skis for summer (?) camp... and he never came down. Tara and Jeff's brother was not so much as mentioned again until decades later, when in the first of at least two jokey nods to the infamous absentee, Opal Cortlandt found in the Martin attic a skeleton alongside a pair of skis, with the name tag "Bobby" attached.

This dorky "web site creator" played by Ben Weber was a friend of Carrie's and a sometime love interest for Miranda — he was way more into her than she was into him — during the saucy HBO comedy's freshman season. But after a single Season 2 appearance, he never showed up again, and we never heard Carrie or Miranda mention him, either. Kind of a shame... he's definitely a multi-millionaire by now, right?

Memorably played by Elizabeth Perkins, Nancy's neighbor Celia was a snarky standout... which made it all the more strange when she completely vanished for the Showtime drug dramedy's final two seasons. Her absence was never explained on screen, but the producers revealed in a DVD commentary that she moved down to Mexico to sling drugs and (yikes) was killed by the cartels.

When she was introduced in the Season 2 premiere, we thought the new junior agent — played by a pre-Suits (and pre-Harry) Meghan Markle — would be a member of Peter, Walter and Olivia's team going forward. Alas, she lasted just two short episodes before exiting the series, never to be heard from again. Things turned out OK for Markle, though, we think.

Very early in the CBS sitcom's run, Carrie had a wannabe actress half-sister, played by Lisa Rieffel. She even moved in with Carrie and Doug in the pilot, but she wasn't seen or heard from again after the first season. In fact, later on, Carrie referred to herself as an only child. Ouch.

The cast of David E. Kelley's Fox high school drama was a wide-ranging ensemble, but if it had a lead character, it was the by-the-book social studies teacher played by a pre-Glee Jessalyn Gilsig. So it was strange, to say the least, when Season 3 began and Lauren was nowhere to be found. She left to teach at a private school, we were told, and the school continued on without her for two more seasons.

Kelley's quirky legal dramedy — no, not Ally McBeal; the other one — was headlined by James Spader and William Shatner, but Constance Zimmer made a big impression in Season 3 as flirty attorney Claire Simms, joining the firm along with Craig Bierko's Jeffrey Coho. (They would later reunite as lovers on UnREAL!) Both unceremoniously left the show later that season, but at least Jeffrey got a proper send-off. Claire left without any explanation, and didn't even merit another mention.

This lovable private investigator played by Jess Weixler won fans' hearts when she popped up beginning in Season 4 of the CBS legal drama. Everybody at Lockhart & Gardner (and later, Florrick & Agos) seemed to like her, too — so why did she vanish early on in Season 6, with Kalinda taking over investigative duties? Seems like we'd need a good P.I. to solve this case.

Despite his, um, not very enlightened nickname (he was a javelin champion, OK?), the Black neurosurgeon played by Timothy Brown was a key part of the classic CBS drama's ensemble when it debuted in 1972. After just six episodes, though, Spearchucker was never seen again. A number of reasons have been floated since — budgetary concerns; fears that his nickname would draw controversy; the (false) belief that there weren't any Black surgeons in the Korean War — but whatever it was, Hawkeye and Trapper didn't seem to miss their pal much in the 10 seasons that followed.

Fox's proudly crass sitcom got meta in Season 7 when it introduced a new kid for Al and Peg named... well, Seven. Played by Shane Sweet, the tyke was dropped in the Bundys' laps by Peg's cousins and functioned as the typical cute sitcom kid for most of the season. But the joke got old quickly, and suddenly, the Bundys were minus Seven, with no explanation for the boy's absence. The writers snuck in a wink-wink reference in Season 8, though, with Seven's face appearing on a milk carton.

During the MTV supernatural drama's first three seasons, Danny (played by Keahu Kahuanui) was one of the gang, hanging out with Scott and Stiles and dating werewolf Ethan in Season 3. But after those two broke up, Danny didn't return for Season 4... and fans were left to wonder where he went. Much later, series creator Jeff Davis said that Danny just graduated early. Oh well, congratulations, then!

Kelly Hu was hot off roles on The Vampire Diaries and Arrow when she popped up in the pilot of The CW's sci-fi drama as Abby's best friend Cece, so we expected her to play a big part in the series. Imagine our surprise, then, when Cece didn't appear again after the pilot. She was killed off-screen, a move that series creator Jason Rothenberg later said was for budget reasons. This show was never shy about killing characters on screen, though!

Paula Patton was all set to join the cast of NBC's long-running procedural full-time as new assistant district attorney Mikka Von in Season 10. But then Patton landed a role opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol and had to drop out of the series, meaning we only got to meet Mikka in one measly episode before she vanished. (Melissa Sagemiller took over as the show's ADA in the very next episode.)

Nicholas Brody's wife and kids played a significant role in the Showtime thriller's first three seasons. (Too significant, some might say.) Even after Brody was sidelined as a main character, we still followed teen daughter Dana as she toiled away as a housemaid. But when Brody was executed at the end of Season 3, his family's time on the show was killed off, too. (Carrie was in love with Brody, but she never bothered to check in on his kids in the five seasons that followed?)

This was another Judy Winslow situation, on another TGIF sitcom: Brendan, played by Josh Byrne, was one of the many tykes running around on ABC's Brady Bunch-esque family comedy for the first six seasons. But in Season 7, as the show moved to CBS, Brendan didn't make the move with it. Even stranger, the show kept referring to parents Frank and Carol as having seven kids... so we know Brendan was there in that house somewhere, at least.

NBC's #OneChicago shows shuffle cast members in and out every season, but the departure of P.D. officer Vanessa Rojas, played by Lisseth Chavez, was particularly abrupt. In Season 7, she joined the Intelligence team and even became roommates with Upton, but during the current Season 8, she's nowhere to be found, without even a mention. Chavez has landed on her feet, though: She joined the cast of The CW's Legends of Tomorrow for the current sixth season.