When a main character leaves a TV series, that’s usually a bad sign that it’s not going to be long before it’s canceled. After all, a large part of a show’s appeal is its characters – and that’s especially the case where the protagonists are concerned.
With the hero gone, it can be hard for audiences to connect with the series on an emotional level. We grow so attached to these fictional people, it’s as if we’ve lost someone in real life!
Indeed, television history is littered with programs that experienced a fatal ratings drop in the wake of a lead character’s departure. And the thing is, it’s rarely the showrunners’ fault either – as it’s seldom their decision to show these characters the door.
No, more often than not, it’s actually the actors playing these roles who decide to move on, leaving the creative team to replace them, or wrap-up the series entirely.
Yet not every exit by a lead character ends in disaster. On the contrary, sometimes this kind of shake-up winds up making – rather than breaking – the show in question.
With this in mind, here are 10 Main Character Exits That Ended Amazing TV Shows (And 10 That Saved Them).
Ended – Charlie Harper (Two And A Half Men)
Love it or hate it, there’s no getting around the fact Two and a Half Men was a certifiable ratings winner in its heyday. Despite Jon Cryer nabbing two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Alan Harper, a massive ingredient in the show’s winning recipe was Charlie Sheen as Alan’s older brother, Charlie.
Fans of Two and a Half Men got a real kick out of watching Sheen effectively play a fictionalized version of himself.
A wealthy playboy whose lifestyle revolves around getting as many women as possible, Charlie Harper is a near-perfect duplicate of his real-world counterpart – and just as much of a male wish-fulfilment figure, too.
When a highly-publicized feud between Sheen and series creator Chuck Lorre led to the star being fired from the show, Two and a Half Men was clearly in trouble. After all, how do you replace such a perfect fusion of character and performer?
The obvious answer is “you can’t” – as Ashton Kutcher found out the hard way. Drafted in to plug the gap left by Sheen’s exit, Kutcher was introduced in season 9 as oddball billionaire Walden Schmidt.
In fairness, Kutcher and Lorre wisely opted not to create a carbon copy of Charlie when developing Walden’s personality – but unfortunately, the character never really won fans over. Fast forward three more seasons, and CBS called time on this former primetime powerhouse.
Saved – The Ninth Doctor (Doctor Who)
Doctor Who is perhaps unique in all of television, as the show is built around the idea that its main character exits regularly. This was initially borne out of necessity: the ill health of original series star William Hartnell meant that the veteran actor’s days playing the Doctor were rapidly drawing to a close.
Rather than simply re-casting the part or inventing a new hero to take the Doctor’s place, the creative team devised a more novel solution to their problem. Capitalizing on the Doctor’s alien heritage, they established that when he’s mortally wounded, he “regenerates” with a new appearance and personality.
This allowed for a seamless in-universe transition from Hartnell’s stately First Doctor to Patrick Troughton’s more impish Second Doctor. Since then, Doctor Who has relied on the regeneration concept to substitute in new incarnations of the Doctor a staggering 12 times!
Of these change-ups, we’d argue one in particular has been instrumental to the show’s success since it was revived in 2005 – the handover from Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor to David Tennant’s Tenth.
This isn’t meant as a slight on Eccleston’s performance or the Ninth Doctor’s characterization – thanks to both, Doctor Who’s return to TV was a hit. Yet even if it’s not quite fair to say that the arrival of the fan-favorite Tenth Doctor – and the youthful, charismatic Tennant – saved the show, it was a huge factor in the series’ explosion in popularity, especially overseas.
Ended – Marissa Cooper (The O.C.)
If you grew up during the mid-2000s, you when The O.C. was the TV series to watch. The teen drama resonated with young audiences right out of the gates – not least of all because of the romantic tension between lead characters Ryan Atwood and Marissa Cooper.
Portrayed by the beautiful duo of Benjamin McKenzie and Mischa Barton, Ryan and Marissa set many a heart aflutter – right up until Marissa was written off at the end of Season 3. This was done in accordance with the wishes of Barton – fully ed by The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz – who felt that the character had nowhere left to go, storytelling-wise.
And so it was that Marissa was fatally injured in a car crash during the climax of “The Graduates” – and sadly, the series basically perished with her.
Although The O.C.’s ratings were already a shadow of what they once were, the removal of a well-liked, core member of the cast didn’t help things at all.
Similarly, the subsequent decision to bring Marissa’s “wild child” sister Kaitlin home from boarding school backfired, as many fans disliked this replacement member of the Cooper clan. Ultimately, subtracting Marissa and adding Kaitlin to the O.C. equation proved disastrous, and the show only managed to limp on for one more season.
Saved – Doctor Izzie Stevens (Grey’s Anatomy)
TV audiences can be a fickle bunch, especially when it comes to which main characters they love. One minute, a character is an absolute fan favorite – the next, they’re widely reviled. This was the case with Doctor Izzie Stevens, who initially won over viewers and critics alike with her warm-hearted, idealistic approach to medicine in the first three seasons of Grey’s Anatomy.
Fast forward to season 4, however, and much of that affection had begun to evaporate. It seems like almost everyone (including actress Katherine Heigl) was unhappy with the direction Izzie was moving in. Several storylines were handled poorly – a romance with George stands out most of all – leading many to question the character’s future.
When Heigl requested to be released from her contract midway through season 6, it was arguably a blessing in disguise.
ittedly, in the short-term, it didn’t exactly allow for the degree of closure Izzie’s character arc deserved. Even Heigl herself would later request (and be denied) the opportunity to return to Grey’s Anatomy just long enough to properly wrap-up Izzie’s story.
Yet in the long-term, Izzie’s departure was almost certainly a good thing. It allowed the creative team to jettison a character that wasn’t really clicking with audiences anymore, which – given the series is still going strong nearly 10 seasons later – obviously needed to happen.
Ended – Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries)
For its first six seasons, The Vampire Diaries followed the story of girl next door Elena Gilbert, who finds herself in a love triangle between siblings Stefan and Damon Salvatore – who are vampires, naturally.
At the end of the sixth season, actress Nina Dobrev decided her days of diarizing N3osferatu were over, and Elena was written out of the series after entering a coma-like slumber. Some shows might have withstood the exit of their lead character, but for Vampire Diaries, this moment effectively staked its future prospects.
It turns out Elena truly was the heart of the series, and the creative team seemed genuinely unsure of how to forge on ahead without her.
Over the course of the two seasons that followed Elena’s quasi-demise, the writers worked irably to maintain the quality of the series, but things were never the same again.
In the end, The Vampire Diaries just didn’t work without Elena – and not even compelling new storylines or clever character re-shuffles could make up for this. That’s probably why season 8 wound up being the show’s last, after which – like a vampire exposed to sunlight – it crumbled into dust, or was canceled by The CW, at any rate.
Saved – Eddard Stark (Game of Thrones)
Although Game of Thrones has diverged significantly from the narrative in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels in recent seasons, the show initially hewed quite closely to the source material.
Nowhere is this more apparent than the shocking elimination of ostensible series lead Eddard “Ned” Stark, who has his head removed from his shoulders in the penultimate episode of season 1!
Of course, fans of the book saw this coming a mile away, but Westeros newbies were caught totally off-guard, not least of all because Sean Bean (who played Ned) was the biggest name in the cast.
So much of what follows in both the books and show is motivated by Ned’s brutal end that’s hard to imagine showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss not including this particular plot development.
All the same, we still applaud the pair for doing so, as this moment doesn’t just make for an unforgettable viewing experience – it sets the tone for Game of Thrones itself going forward. By writing off such a prominent character early on, Benioff and Weiss (like Martin before them) sent a clear message to fans: anything can happen, and none of your favorite characters are safe.
Ended – Peyton Sawyer & Lucas Scott (One Tree Hill)
Can you have a teen drama without a smouldering romance at its core? The answer, of course, is “no” – and One Tree Hill is a perfect example of this. One of the major aspects of the show that had viewers tuning in each week was watching the sparks fly between sensitive writer Lucas Scott and cliché-destroying cheerleader Peyton Sawyer.
This made the announcement that stars Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton would not be returning for One Tree Hill’s seventh season very bad news indeed for fans of the series. Worse still, the writers arguably fumbled the departure of Peyton and Lucas, granting the couple a happy ending that seemed to cut against the grain of the tragic nature of their relationship.
The bigger problem here concerned whether One Tree Hill was even viable without its hottest pairing. With so much of the show reliant on the dynamic between these two main characters, it seemed impossible to imagine how it could go on without them – and in the end, it couldn’t.
The impact of Murray and Burton’s exit was felt immediately, with viewer numbers plummeting in their absence. One Tree Hill was able to cling to life for three more seasons post-Lucas/Peyton, but it was no surprise when The CW canned it after season 9.
Ended – Paul Hennessy (8 Simple Rules…For Dating My Teenage Daughter)
Comedian John Ritter was a beloved actor, and his untimely ing in 2003 sent shock waves through the film and TV industry. Nowhere was this more apparent than on the set of the 8 Simple Rules…For Dating My Teenage Daughter, where the cast and crew faced the unpleasant prospect of continuing on without their leading man.
Ritter starred as over-protective dad Paul Hennessy in the show’s first season and had completed filming three episodes of its second before he had to abandon rehearsals after feeling unwell. Several days and one misdiagnosis later, Ritter lost his life on the operating table – less than a week away from what would’ve been his 55th birthday.
After the decision was made to push ahead with 8 Simple Rules… season 2 regardless, creator Tracy Gamble was forced to make several tough creative decisions. The first was to address the ing of her real-life friend within the fictional reality of the show – which she did, in the heartfelt, hour-long episode “Goodbye” (as well as several subsequent episodes).
The second was to shift the focus of the series onto Paul’s wife, Cate, played by Married…with Children alumnus Katie Segal. Despite Segal’s considerable comedic talents – and provided by incoming stars James Garner and David Spade – the show’s ratings steadily declined, and it was axed after season 3.
Saved – Prue Halliwell (Charmed)
With its witchcraft-wielding trio of heroines, Charmed is a show that gives true meaning to the term “cult series.” Chronicling the efforts of the “Charmed Ones” – siblings Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell – to protect the world from evil supernatural forces, Charmed developed a dedicated following, lasting eight seasons on The WB.
That said, despite the entire premise of the show relying on the so-called “Power of Three” bond formed between the Halliwell sisters, not all of these gals made it through to the series finale!
When actress Shannon Doherty decided not to return for Charmed’s fourth season, her character Prue was taken out by a demon at the end of season 3.
This left showrunner Brad Kern in something of a bind, though – how could he fill the void left by Prue, without breaking the Charmed mythology? The solution was simple, if not a little hackneyed: the discovery of the Halliwells’ long-lost half-sister Paige Matthews, played by Rose McGowan.
Paige’s more light-hearted demeanor contrasted with Prue’s more sombre nature, and ushered in an increasingly fun, campy tone. As a result, Charmed fans are divided on whether they prefer the Prue or Paige eras of the series – nevertheless, the show lasted five more seasons after Paige’s arrival, so she clearly did something right!
Ended – Doctor Doug Ross (ER)
George Clooney’s major breakthrough came when he was cast as Doctor Doug Ross on ER in 1994. Likewise, ER’s number one spot in the ratings relied heavily on Clooney’s appeal – as well as his chemistry with Julianna Margulies, who played his love interest Nurse Carol Hathaway.
By 1999, however, Clooney’s film career was starting to take off, and this – coupled with the feeling that Ross’ storytelling potential had been exhausted – prompted the star to quit the show.
Ross was given a fitting send-off at the tail-end of season 6, settling down with Carol and their twin daughters in Seattle.
Unlike most of the entries on this list, rather than replace the good Doctor with a radically different character, the creative team behind ER pretty much just introduced Doug Ross 2.0, instead! Seriously: Goran Visnjic’s Doctor Luka Kovač ticked all the same boxes as Ross. Devastating good looks? Check. Flawed yet kind-hearted personality? Check. Troubled past? Check.
All the same, even with Kovač offering a perfectly acceptable substitute for Ross, ER was never really the same after the latter’s exit. True, the series endured for a whopping eight additional seasons, but the show’s ratings continued to slide until its life plug was pulled by NBC.