From behind-the-scenes feuds to ambition and shock firings, here are the reasons why your favourite character really left. Photo / Getty images, Netflix
From behind-the-scenes feuds to ambition and shock firings, here are the reasons why your favourite character really left. Photo / Getty images, Netflix
Nothing stinks of betrayal more than your favourite character leaving your favourite TV show - here’s looking at you Marisa Cooper.
It feels like a breakup, like you’ve lost a friend who understood you in ways your real friends couldn’t. And while sometimes they give a statement on why they’ve left (you and the show) or their departing storyline makes so much sense you can’t help but find peace in it, other times you feel unsettled and like you need closure from your boo.
So if you’re still reeling over Izzie Stevens leaving Grey’s Anatomy or Eric Forman’s random That 70s Show season seven departure, then grab your popcorn and sit tight as we break down exactly what went down.
From behind-the-scenes feuds to ambition and shock firings, here are the reasons why your favourite character really left:
Kevin Spacey played Frank Underwood in the award-wining series 'House of Cards'.
Kevin Spacey was the star of Netflix’s White House drama, House of Cards but when news of his sexual misconduct made headlines, all of that changed.
The 63-year-old, who played Frank Underwood, was removed from the series in the fifth season after news he would face allegations that he had preyed on boys and sexually assaulted multiple young men – including a House of Cards production assistant.
Despite the actor maintaining he was innocent, the production company MRC fired the star from the show and killed off his character. The sixth and final season of the show then followed the characters as they dealt with the loss of the Democrat who was poisoned to death offscreen.
Shannen Doherty – Charmed
Alyssa Milano, Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs in Charmed. Photo / Getty Images
If you didn’t watch Charmed in the early 2000s with butterfly clips in your hair, while sitting on a blue inflatable chair, what were you doing?
And if you didn’t have at least one theory on why Shannen Doherty left her role as Prue Halliwell in 2001 after just three seasons, were you really thriving?
The mysterious decision was quickly followed by reports of a cast feud and Doherty herself telling Entertainment Tonight “There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work.” Then finally, years later the truth would emerge.
Speaking to the US news outlet in 2021, Alyssa Milano revealed she felt competitive with her former co-star which ultimately contributed to the tension on set. “You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had,” she said.
“I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about. And I have some guilt about my part in that.”
Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men
Charlie Sheen (left), Jon Cryer (right) and Angus T. Jones (middle) starred in the television comedy Two and a Half Men. Photo / Getty Images
After a lengthy stint of playing the beloved – bar problematic – TV character Charlie Harper between 2003 to 2011, Charlie Sheen’s time on Two and a Half Men came to an end.
In January 2011, the show went on a brief hiatus so the actor could receive medical assistance for his multiple drug and alcohol issues. It appeared to be a good plan until February 2011 when Sheen appeared on the Today Show claiming he was clean and sober however he made multiple brow-raising comments suggesting otherwise.
Shortly after the interview - where he claimed “tiger blood” and “Adonis blood” were helping him fight his addiction - the star was fired from the show and his character killed off.
He was later replaced by Ashton Kutcher before the comedy wrapped in 2015.
Mischa Barton – The O.C
Peter Gallagher, Tate Donovan, Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Melinda Clarke, Kelly Rowan, Ben McKenzie, Chris Carmack, and Rachel Bilson in The O.C. Photo / Warner Bros Television
At just 17 years old, Mischa Barton was catapulted to stardom for her role as Marisa Cooper in one of the most defining shows of the early 2000s, The O.C. However she didn’t stay there for long. After just three seasons, the actress made the decision to leave the show that made her.
In a tragic end to her character’s story, Cooper was involved in a fatal car accident and died in her boyfriend, Ryan Atwood-Cohen’s (Ben McKenzie) arms. The scene ultimately marked the start of the end of the show but for Barton, it was the “best thing” for her health.
“It just felt like it was the best thing for me and my health and just in terms of not really feeling protected by my cast and crew at that point,” she said.
She also told ABC News in 2016 while competing on Dancing With the Stars, “I think I just got to the point where I was like, ‘I’m not sure I’m enjoying this anymore’,” she said. “I just felt like I was in a machine and I couldn’t really get off.”
George Clooney – ER
George Clooney and the cast of ER.
He played the dreamy Dr Doug Ross and became one of the biggest television stars in the late 90s, but George Clooney’s small-screen career came to an end in season five of the hit show for one expensive reason.
Speaking to SF Gate after Clooney’s departure, the show’s executive producer, John Wells, praised the star for staying on the show as long as he did and claimed Clooney “lost literally millions of dollars” by doing so. Ultimately the actor left the show to pursue Hollywood and has since landed multiple blockbuster roles and become one of the most well-known actors in the industry.
But despite leaving ER and going on to bigger things, the Oscar winner has remained close with his former co-stars. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show last year, the actor said, “I had [Anthony] Tony Edwards at the house in Italy three weeks ago — he and Mare came.
“They’re really good friends,” he continued. “And so I feel that [show] was a job of a lifetime. And it changed my career.”
T.R Knight (George O'Malley) and Katherine Heigl (Izzie Stevens) on the set of Grey's Anatomy. Photo / Getty Images
Katherine Heigl played Izzie Stevens for five years telling many heartbreaking stories and even won an Emmy in 2007, but after six seasons she made the tough decision to leave. Reports at the time suggested it was due to tension with executive producer and creator Shonda Rhimes but a new interview suggests otherwise.
After recently appearing on Variety’sActors on Actors series with former co-star Ellen Pompeo, Heigl spoke highly of the creator and instead alluded to her mental health being the reason she left, “I was up here in my head, in my gut, in my mind, in my life. I was just vibrating at way too high of a level of anxiety,” she said.
Heigl wasn’t the only star to leave the show early on though. Elsewhere T.R. Knight - who played George O’Malley - left in season six with many rumours circulating after his departure.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly shortly after his decision to leave the show in 2009, the actor cited a gradual “breakdown of communication” with Rhimes as the reason for leaving. He also said he struggled with where his character’s storyline was heading. However, his reason for leaving appeared to intertwine with the previous departure of his co-star Isaiah Washington.
Isaiah Washington in Grey's Anatomy.
Washington played Preston Burke for four seasons of the hit show and was reportedly fired after calling Knight a homophobic slur and ultimately outing him as gay.
While he initially denied ever using the slur at first, he later said it happened in the heat of the moment and followed up with an apology. “I can neither defend nor explain my behaviour,” he said in a statement at the time. “I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I’ve asked for help.”
Knight reportedly didn’t like the way the situation was handled behind the scenes which contributed to his decision to leave the show.
Topher Grace - That 70′s Show
Laura Prepon and Topher Grace in That '70s Show (1998).
It didn’t take long for Topher Grace to win over audiences in That 70′s Show, so when he suddenly left the show in 2005, fans were understandably confused. Was there a secret feud behind the scenes? Was he ready to give up acting for good? Thankfully, it was neither thing but rather ambition that pulled the star away from the show.
As well as playing the adorable Eric Forman for seven seasons, the star also featured in a few films including Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven and Mona Lisa Smile and once he had a taste of the big screen, it seems he was ready for more.
He went on to star as Venom in Spider-Man 3 and white supremacist David Duke in BlacKkKlansman, but he never forgot his roots and not only returned for the show finale in 2006 but also reprised his role for the 2023 reboot That ‘90s Show.
SEXUAL HARM
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