TV Shows That Recast Characters: ‘Riverdale,’ ‘Friends,’ More

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TV Shows That Recast Characters: ‘Riverdale,’ ‘Friends,’ ‘The O.C.’ and More

Made you look! TV reveals might come and go, however what about characters … can they get replaced? Technically, sure.

In some instances, a casting change occurs earlier than followers even discover there’s a distinction. Other reveals, poke enjoyable at the truth that an actor has left the present and so they’ve added a brand new particular person of their place.

Following season 1 of Riverdale, the CW was pressured to recast the function of Reggie Mantle when actor Ross Butler had a battle 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,” collection creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa mentioned in an announcement to TVLine in April 2017. Charles Melton crammed the soccer participant’s footwear starting season 2.

In the case of The O.C., some followers keep in mind Big Little Lies star Shailene Woodley as Marissa Cooper’s (Mischa Barton) little sister Kaitlin Cooper, however others consider Willa Holland once they recall the early ‘00s drama.

“Shailene was really, really young when she was on the show,” creator Josh Schwartz recalled in a Huffington Post interview in August 2013. “She was great in all of her scenes and we always loved her.”

By the tip of season 1, nevertheless, Woodley’s Kaitlin was off at boarding faculty, and when she returned in season 3, Holland took over the function as a way to higher match the character’s age.

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“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 defined. “But obviously, Shailene is super talented and it’s awesome to see her take off.”

Comedy classics, Seinfeld and Friends additionally noticed minor character switch-ups. Both Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld) and George Costanza’s (Jason Alexander) fathers have been modified after their preliminary appearances.

Meanwhile, Ross Geller’s (David Schwimmer) ex-wife, Carol, was performed by Anita Barone when followers have been first launched to her. Jane Sibbett performed her, nevertheless, in each different episode.

Some casting replacements are attributable to disputes between actors, as was the case on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

According to Janet Hubert-Whitten, who performed the present’s authentic Aunt Viv, Will Smith (who performed Will) needed to “replace her and act like nothing happened.”

She informed 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 different costars, the actress left the comedy in 1993 and was changed by Daphne Maxwell Reid.

Scroll right down to see which of your favourite TV characters have been initially performed by another person, together with ones from That ‘70s Show, Roseanne and Boy Meets World.

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‘Superman & Lois’

Australian actor Michael Bishop took over the function of Jonathan Kent in Season 3 of the CW present after Jordan Elsass’ departure.

“It’s been a tough few weeks, as you might imagine, with everything going on with the show,” Elsass, who performed the function of Superman’s son for the primary two seasons, mentioned in a video recorded for a fan by way of Cameo in August 2022. “It’s sad, it’s a real shame. I know that I was pumped for season 3, for sure, but what are you going to do? Anyway, mental health is definitely 100-percent priority. It’s pinnacle. It’s got to take precedence. And mine has been … the last couple of years … it’s been rough.”

He continued: “I’m still debating whether I’m even going to act for a while. I may go in a different direction. I know that’s definitely going to be disappointing to some people.”

Viewers received their first have a look at Bishop as Jonathan in a January 2023 trailer for brand new episodes.

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‘The Witcher’

Henry Cavill performed Geralt of Rivia within the first three seasons of the Netflix hit, however he confirmed he’d step down in an October 2022 assertion. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf,” Cavill said in a statement at the time. “As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”

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‘Step Up’

In February 2021, the Starz collection introduced that Christina Milian will take over the function of Collette when the present returns for its third season. The function was initially performed by Naya Rivera, who died in July 2020 at age 33 following a drowning accident.

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‘Arrested Development’

Throughout the comedy, it was a operating joke that Ann Veal (initially performed by Alessandra Torresani) was forgettable. So, when the present swapped Mae Whitman into the function in season 2, followers didn’t assume a lot of it.

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‘Boy Meets World’

Eric (Will Friedle) and Cory Matthews’ (Ben Savage) little sister, Morgan, was initially performed by Lily Nicksay earlier than she left the present in 1995 after season 2. When Lindsay Ridgeway appeared in her place in season 3, she joked that she’d had “the longest timeout ever.”

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‘Family Guy’

Although the character of Meg Griffin has all the time regarded the identical on Family Guy, she’s been voiced by two actresses. Lacey Chabert voiced the character from 1999 to 2000, earlier than Mila Kunis got here onboard.

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‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’

After three seasons of taking part in Aunt Viv on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Janet Hubert-Whitten was fired from the present. According to a number of retailers, there was a feud with the present’s lead, Will Smith. “There will never be a reunion, as I will never do anything with an ass like Will Smith,” Hubert-Whitten informed TMZ in 2011. “This constant reunion thing will never ever happen in my lifetime unless there is an apology, which he doesn’t know the word.”

Smith acknowledged the problems between the 2 in a 1993 radio interview, saying, “I can say straight up that Janet Hubert needed the present to be The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show as a result of I do know she goes to canine me within the press. She has mainly gone from 1 / 4 of one million {dollars} a 12 months to nothing. She’s mad now however she’s been mad all alongside.” Her function was crammed by Daphne Maxwell Reid.

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‘Friends’

Ross Geller’s (David Schwimmer) spouse, Carol, who divorced him after falling in love with a girl, is a memorable character on Friends. The actress who performed her, nevertheless, wasn’t all the time the identical particular person. When Ross found he was going to be a father in a 1994 episode — and followers first met Carol — she was portrayed by Anita Barone. Throughout the remainder of the present, she was performed by Jane Sibbett.

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‘Last Man Standing’

When the comedy first aired in 2011, the Baxters’ eldest daughter, Kristin, was performed by Alexandra Krosney. In season 2, the character started being portrayed by Amanda Fuller.

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‘Last Man Standing’

Nick Jonas briefly performed Ryan Vogelson, the daddy of Kristin Baxter’s (Amanda Fuller) youngster, on Last Man Standing earlier than Jordan Masterson took over the function.

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‘Monk’

Melora Hardin is remembered by most Monk followers as Adrian Monk’s (Tony Shalhoub) late spouse, Trudy, however she wasn’t the one actress to fill the function. Seasons 1 and a couple of featured Stellina Rusich because the detective’s love.

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‘Pretty Little Liars’

In the pilot episode of Pretty Little Liars, Toby Cavanaugh was referred to as Toby Marshall and was performed by James Neate. He was changed by Keegan Allen, who portrayed the character of Spencer Hastings’ (Troian Bellisario) love curiosity the remainder of the collection.

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‘Private Practice’

Before Audra McDonald took on the function of Dr. Naomi Bennett on Private Practice in 2007, Merrin Dungey performed Addison Montgomery’s (Kate Walsh) faculty BFF on Grey’s Anatomy. When the spinoff started, nevertheless, McDonald portrayed the fertility specialist.

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‘Riverdale’

When Riverdale premiered in 2017, soccer star Reggie Mantle was performed by Ross Butler. Butler in the end walked away from the collection forward of season 2 as a result of he was additionally starring on 13 Reasons Why. Charles Melton then joined the forged and has performed the function ever since.

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‘Roseanne’

For 5 seasons, Lecy Goranson performed Becky Conner on Roseanne. She left the present in 1993 to go to varsity and was changed by Sarah Chalke. Goranson briefly returned to the present in 1996, earlier than leaving once more and being changed by Chalke for a second time. Both actresses appeared within the present’s reboot in 2018, with Goranson reprising Becky and the Scrubs alum taking part in a wealthy lady who employed Becky to be her surrogate. The pair additionally appeared within the present’s second revival, The Conners.

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‘Seinfeld’

Fans would possibly discover that the primary season of Seinfeld encompasses a totally different structure for Jerry’s (Jerry Seinfeld) condominium, amongst different massive modifications — like a completely totally different actor as his father, Morty Seinfeld. The character was initially portrayed by Phil Bruns earlier than Barney Martin crammed his footwear.

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‘Seinfeld’

Jerry Stiller’s portrayal of Frank Costanza earned him an Emmy nomination, however the character’s first look featured John Randolph within the function. After Stiller landed the function of George’s (Jason Alexander) father for the rest of the collection, creator Larry David had him re-shoot Frank’s first scenes to maintain it constant in syndication.

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‘Shameless’

Mandy Milkovich was initially performed by Jane Levy on Shameless. In season 2, Emma Greenwell took over the function till the character was written off the present in 2016.

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‘Supergirl’

Smallville alum Erica Durance stepped in for Laura Benanti in 2017 as Kara Danvers’ (Melissa Benoist) late mom, Alura Zor-El, on the CW collection Supergirl. Benanti portrayed each Alura and her twin sister Astra all through season 1 and into season 2, earlier than Astra was killed off because of the actress’ Broadway schedule.

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‘That 70s Show’

Christina Moore took over the function of Laurie Forman on That ‘70s Show in season 6 after Lisa Robin Kelly walked away from the collection. Kelly later informed ABC News that she was “guilty of a drinking problem” on the time and that she “ran” from the present. Kelly died in 2013 on the age of 43 after checking right into a remedy heart for substance abuse points.

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‘The O.C.’

In season 1 of The O.C., Shailene Woodley performed Kaitlin Cooper, Marisa Cooper’s (Mischa Barton) little sister. Willa Holland changed the actress in season 3, as a result of in line with creator Josh Schwartz, “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.”

Photo Editor: Liz Abts