Like the Ropers on Three's Company, Gregory Sierra left for another show from the same creator, although A.E.S. Hudson Street wasn't a spin-off. When that flop was quickly cancelled after just 6 episodes, Chano should have been allowed back on Barney Miller. While Dietrich is one of the best ever sitcom additions and I wouldn't change a thing with him, Chano being on Barney Miller in more than the first two seasons with Fish retiring and Yemana dying would have been preferable to way too much of irritating Luger, and Levitt being made a regular. No explanation at all for Chano leaving in the season 3 premiere also seems suspicious, although he did make it in some series finale clips.

There may or may not be any truth to this, but didn't someone make a post on here not very long ago stating that Gregory Sierra and Hal Linden didn't get along very well?

There may or may not be any truth to this, but didn't someone make a post on here not very long ago stating that Gregory Sierra and Hal Linden didn't get along very well?

This thread has them working together again in ‘86

https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=270487&highlight=Sierra

There may or may not be any truth to this, but didn't someone make a post on here not very long ago stating that Gregory Sierra and Hal Linden didn't get along very well?

https://jacksonupperco.com/2021/10/27/ask-jackson-november-2021/

From my understanding and research, Gregory Sierra never wanted to do Barney Miller. He was under contract with ABC and coerced into staying on the series for a few years while Danny Arnold developed a starring vehicle for him — A.E.S. Hudson Street. But the impatient Sierra clashed with Arnold right from the start about both the quantity and quality of his material, and their tension on Barney Miller escalated so much that Sierra decided to quit (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=83435) in 1976. (I suspect that the network’s interest in developing a spin-off for Abe Vigoda’s Fish first was also a factor in his anger.) Over the next year, ABC’s contract with Sierra lapsed and Arnold went forward on A.E.S. Hudson Street, replacing Sierra with F. Murray Abraham. Then, after the Abraham pilot was rejected, Sierra apparently reconciled with both Arnold and ABC, and they decided to revisit their original conception of the series, which was produced and had a short run in early 1978. So, yes, Sierra didn’t leave Barney Miller in 1976 to go directly to 1978’s A.E.S. Hudson Street, and yes, there was bad blood with Arnold at the time that could have colored the way Chano’s departure was handled. But, frankly, I don’t find it out of step with how Arnold wrote other cast exits — outside of Fish, whose spin-off he was promoting, Arnold clearly sought to avoid contrived exposition, preferring realistic casual mentions over made-for-TV platitudes. I think Chano’s leave proves more congruous with the show’s style than not.

There was a two year gap between Sierra leaving Barney Miller and the premier of AES Hudson Street, which premiered on March 16, 1978.

So why would he be allowed back over two years later when his show flopped?

these days, with the push for more diversity, he might have been welcomed back after 2 years away.

I didn't really care for Chano. I wasn't too upset when he left.

Gregory was promised his own show when he signed with ABC. He wasn’t fond of how Chano was written, and didn’t get along with Hal. It’s too bad, he was great and Chano was a great character.

Im assuming he was replaced which is why he didnt return like Norman Fell

Did Chano just vanish? Was it mentioned on air what happened to him?

Did Chano just vanish? Was it mentioned on air what happened to him?

No because his last appearance was the season 2 finale

Did Chano just vanish? Was it mentioned on air what happened to him?

Not really. I think a couple years later, when Dorsey comes in, Barney finds out that Dorsey is replacing Chano, but he doesn't say where Chano went.