You made me look! TV shows may come and go, but what about characters … can they be replaced? Technically, yes.
In some cases, a casting change happens before fans even notice there’s a difference. Other shows, poke fun at the fact that an actor has left the show and they’ve added a new person in their place.
Season 1 of RiverdaleThe CW had to recast Reggie Mantle’s role as an actor. Ross ButlerThere was a conflict with the filming schedule.
“We love what Ross did with the role of Reggie, but because of his commitments to other projects, we couldn’t use him nearly as much as we would have liked,” series creator Roberto Aguirre-SacasaTVLine, April 2017: Statement Charles Melton filled the football player’s shoes beginning season 2.
In the case of The O.C.Some fans will always remember Big Little LiesStar Shailene Woodley as Marissa Cooper’s (Mischa BartonKaitlin Cooper is Kaitlin’s little sister. But others think of her. Willa Holland when they recall the early ‘00s drama.
“Shailene was really, really young when she was on the show,” creator Josh SchwartzRecalled in a Huffington PostInterview August 2013. “She was great in all of her scenes and we always loved her.”
By the end of season 1, however, Woodley’s Kaitlin was off at boarding school, and when she returned in season 3, Holland took over the role in order to better fit the character’s age.
“The version of Kaitlin Cooper that we were going to bring back to the show was a little bit older than Shailene would’ve been able to achieve on her own and was kind of a very different character, which Willa was great for,” Schwartz explained. “But obviously, Shailene is super talented and it’s awesome to see her take off.”
Comedy classics SeinfeldAnd FriendsAlso, minor character changes were made. Jerry Seinfeld and (Jerry Seinfeld) and George Costanza’s (Jason AlexanderAfter their initial appearances, ) fathers were changed.
Meanwhile, Ross Geller’s (David SchwimmerCarol, Carol’s ex-wife, was played by Anita BaroneWhen her first fans were introduced to her. Jane SibbettShe was however, her character in every episode.
Casting replacements can be caused by disputes between actors. This was the case with Bel-Air’s Fresh Prince.
According to Janet Hubert-Whitten, who played the show’s original Aunt Viv, Will Smith (who played Will) wanted to “replace her and act like nothing happened.”
She said omg! Insider in 2013 that she “felt demonized and beaten up and crucified for many, many years, no one came forward in my defense.” After an ongoing feud with Smith and other costars, the actress left the comedy in 1993 and was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid.
Scroll down to see which of the TV characters you like best were originally played, even ones from other countries. That ‘70s Show, RoseanneAnd Boy Meets World.
