Becky Conner On Roseanne
One of the oldest cases is the one involving Becky Conner. Becky was one of Roseanne’s daughter on the show _Roseanne._ She was played by Lecy Goranson, who left during the fifth season to go to Vassar College in New York. The role of Becky went to Sarah Chalke, but it wasn’t that simple.
Lecy came back again during the show’s eighth season and tried to get back into playing Becky. The thing is, she wasn’t always available. Lecy and Sarah alternated playing Becky until Lecy left the show for good.
Vivian Banks On The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
On the show’s first three seasons, Janet Hubert played the role of Aunt Vivian. But after that, the actress decided she had had enough and left, so the show cast Daphne Maxwell to replace her.
Janet told _TMZ_ that the reason she left the show was Will Smith! Apparently, she called him an egomaniac and hated him so much, she just quit. However, there are rumors she was fired. Which side of the story should we stick to?
Carol Willick On Friends
Ross’s ex-wife might not play a big role in the series, but she is the reason Ross and Rachel get together. After all, if she hadn’t left Ross for Susan, the iconic couple would’ve never happened. Anita Barone played Carol in the first season but for just one episode.
Anita left _Friends_ because she wanted to pursue larger parts in other shows. In hindsight, it wasn’t the best move after all. The show went on to become so successful that everyone remembers even the smallest roles.
Reggie Mantle On Riverdale
So far, _Riverdale_‘s cast has been very consistent, but there is one swap that everyone noticed. Reggie Mantle was played by Ross Butler in the first season, and admittedly, Reggie wasn’t a major character by then.
So when Ross had to decide between his role in _Riverdale_ and his role on _13 Reasons Why_, he obviously chose the latter. Charles Melton was cast as Reggie for season two and he seemed to fit in perfectly with the rest of the cast.
Greg On Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Greg left _Crazy Ex-Girlfriend_ early on the second season and it seemed like he wasn’t going to return any time soon. The role of Greg was played by Santino Fontana, who left the show to pursue his acting career.
So fans were bewildered when they announced that Greg would be coming back for the fourth season. Skyler Astin was cast to play Greg this time and the show took a bold decision of writing in the swap! There’s a subtle comment about how our perceptions of people change as we change too.
Robin Hood On Once Upon A Time
Robin Hood was played by Tom Ellis when the character first appeared on the show on season two. After it’s popularity, the show decided to bring him back but the actor was already working on other projects and scheduling the filming proved difficult.
Sean Maguire had to step in as Robin Hood but in reality, the show didn’t suffer at all. Actually, the character was so popular that he was promoted to a series regular by the show’s fifth season.
Laurie Forman On That 70s Show
Lisa Robin Kelly played Eric Foreman’s sister for the first three seasons. After that, the character completely disappeared. It was later revealed that the reason why Laurie didn’t appear in the fourth and fifth season was that Lisa had been struggling with addiction.
Laurie was recast on the sixth season. Cristina Moore played the role of Eric’s sister on for the rest of the show and she did quite a good job. Lisa tragically passed away in 2013 and she’ll remain forever in our hearts.
Daario Naharis On Game Of Thrones
_Game of Thrones_ had its fair share of recastings over its years, but I believe the most annoying one was the change in the role of Dario. The character was introduced in season three and was played by Ed Skrien.
The show then returned for a fourth season but by that time, Ed had been replaced by Michael Huisman. The worst part is that the only explanation we got was that Ed had left the show for “political” reasons. At least they styled the character to look more like he was in the book.
Harriette Winslow On Family Matters
The show’s most famous character, Steve Urkel, started out as a side character, although the show’s star was supposed to be Harriette Winslow. The thing is,_ Family Matters_ was actually a spin-off of _Perfect Strangers_ and Harriette was first introduced in the latter show.
JoMarie Payton played the character through the first half of season nine and then left the show. Judyann Elder was cast to play Harriette for the nine remaining episodes. Payton actually wanted to quit sooner but she didn’t want to be sued for breach of contract.
Jesus Adam Foster On The Fosters
In the season two finale, Jesus Foster got into a car crash. Shortly after, it was announced that Jake T. Austin was leaving the show. But the weird thing is that the show didn’t kill Jesus off, they just replaced him.
This recasting was so memorable because Noah Centineo stepped in to play Jesus and he did it like a pro. Jake went on to pursue other projects because he didn’t want to have a minor role in the show.
Chapheus “Van Damme” Onyango On Sense8
Despite being so popular, the show was canceled by Netflix after two seasons. But after the complaints from legions of heartbroken fans, Netflix did a holiday episode and a two-hour series finale.
The role of Capheus Onyango was originally played by Amil Ameen, but Toby Onwumere stepped in for the second season and the Christmas special and finale. It was announced that Amil left the show because of creative differences.
Cousin Marilyn On The Munsters
The actress who initially played Cousin Marilyn hated the job because her fiancé lived in New York and the show was filmed in Hollywood. It turns out that Beverly Owen was under contract and she felt like she was being forced to play the role the entire first season.
Universal ended up releasing Beverly from her contract and after a season of feeling miserable, she was able to return to New York. She was replaced by Pat Priest for the rest of the series.
Lois Lane On The Adventures Of Superman
_The Adventures of Superman_ was one of the first superhero TV series and it aired from 1952 to 1958\. The show starred George Reeves and Phyllis Coates was cast as Lois Lane. The co-star was a popular B-movie actress and had a really interesting and different take on the character of Lois.
But Phyllis had other commitments and couldn’t come back for the second season. Luckily, Noel Neill took over the role. Neil had already played Lois in the serials in the 1940s, so this was her second time playing the superhero’s love interest!
Mandy Milkovich On Shameless
Mindy, one of the sisters of Ian Gallagher’s boyfriend, was played by Jane Levy. However, by the time the second season started shooting, she had left to star on the comedy series _Suburgatory_.
As a result, Emma Greenwell stepped into the role, and it happened to be her acting debut! And she did so well that she ended up as a series regular. Way to go, Emma!
Mason Verger On Hannibal
The character of Mason Verger was played by two different actors, but most people never really noticed! Michael Pitt had the role in the first season but he decided not to return for the second one.
But luckily, when Mason was last seen in the first season, his face had just been deformed, which allowed Joe Anderson to step in without much trouble. Still, we could notice the difference by the voice.
James Kent On True Blood
Jess’s Boyfriend on season six was originally played by Luke Grimes. The actor left the show after the season ended, saying he was going to pursue bigger roles. But fans would later find out that had just been an excuse.
It was later revealed by _Buzzfeed_ that he was uncomfortable making out with guys. Luckily, he was replaced by Nathan Parsons, who had fewer masculinity issues than Grimes, apparently!
Jackie Geary On The Golbergs
The role of Jackie Geary was played by Rowan Blanchard, but by season six, Alexis G. Zall had stepped in her place. Of course, fans were outraged when Adam Goldberg’s love interest was recast.
Jess’s Boyfriend on season six was originally played by Luke Grimes. The actor left the show after the season ended, saying he was going to pursue bigger roles. But fans would later find out that had just been an excuse.
Allison Stark On ‘Til Death
Can you believe the show had to recast the role of Allison Stark not one, not two, but _four_ times? The character was the daughter of the lead characters Eddie and Joy Stark. Allison was played by Krysten Ritter and then by Laura Clery in the third season.
In the fourth season, she was played by Lindsay Broad and Kate Micucci! The last recast was actually a deliberate choice, just to make a joke about the multiple recastings of the character.
Darrin Stephens On Bewitched
Dick York played Darrin Stephens for the first five seasons of the show, but he was replaced by Dick Sargent for the remaining three seasons. The actor playing the mortal husband of the witch Samantha suffered an accident while filming and couldn’t go on doing his part.
After the recast, the rating of the show plummeted, but there was no other way out. Many characters simply disappear after cast members suffer accidents or pass away, but Darrin was too important to just write him off the series.
Mandy Baxter On Last Man Standing
This sitcom had a lot of recasts. When the show was canceled, many actors went on to pursue other roles. So when _FOX_ picked up the show, Molly Ephraim wasn’t available.
Molly McCook stepped in as Mandy, the middle Baxter child, and it worked out perfectly. Although she may have been a little taller and blonder, fans still loved her.
Catelyn Stark On Game Of Thrones
The role of Catelyn Stark was played by Michelle Fairley, but she wasn’t the original choice for the character. The role was first offered to Jennifer Ehle, but the actress left the show after filming the pilot episode.
It was confirmed that she quit because she had just given birth to a daughter and didn’t want to commit to a long-running series. It’s a shame, cause she really did nail it in that first episode.
Phoebe Halliwell On Charmed
Phoebe Halliwell was played by Alyssa Milano on all eight seasons of _Charmed,_ from 1998 to 2006\. But she wasn’t the original choice to play the role. Originally, Lori Rom was cast as Phoebe in the unaired pilot, but she quit.
Allegedly, her departure from the show might have been because of her Christian beliefs, but she might have had problems with castmate Shannon Doherty. Crazily enough, the pilot had to be reshot with Alyssa.
Sarah Braverman On Parenthood
Sarah Braverman was played by Lauren Graham, most famous for her lead role in _Gilmore Girls,_ but she was stepping in for Maura Tierney. The _ER_ actress had to leave the role due to a breast cancer diagnosis.
_Parenthood_ ran for six seasons and the recasting turned out to be for the best. Maura started her own series, _The Affair_, but what about Lauren? She ended up marrying Peter Krause, her co-star in _Parenthood._ It all worked out for the best, didn’t it?