TV shows where a supporting character became a lead character by default - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

ThomasE · 03-11-2014, 07:45 PM

Name a TV show where an actor leaves the series and then a co star becomes the lead by default. It doesn't matter whether comedy, drama or talk show. Let's try to dig and see how many we can come up with.

The Royal Family: Redd Roxx passed on and while Della Reese was his lead co-star, she and Jackee became the head stars with Della Reese in front.

Jack Gomez · 03-12-2014, 05:10 PM

8 Simple Rules: Similar to The Royal Family. John Ritter's death caused Katey Sagal to become the lead of the show.

factsoflife · 03-12-2014, 06:33 PM

This happens fairly often on hour-dramas, particularly the kind with ensemble casts...

on "Beverly Hills, 90210": Kelly was originally a supporting character, but when Brenda proved to be less popular with viewers, Kelly quickly became one of the leads. Donna was a minor character in the early seasons, but eventually became one of the two female leads.

on "E.R.", Abby started as a minor character and became a leading character fairly quickly.
:

Ronny G · 03-13-2014, 12:11 AM

Good Times: After Esther Rolle and John Amos left, Ja'Net DuBois (Willona Woods) became top billed.

ThomasE · 03-13-2014, 12:16 AM

California Dreams: After Brentley Gore left, Kelly Packard was the head of the ensemble cast.

IllinoisTVFan · 03-13-2014, 12:50 AM

An obvious one would be Happy Days where Fonzie went from recurring to main cast to lead actor.

MacLeaper · 03-13-2014, 02:27 PM

Okay- I'll have to think on this one. What about "Good Times"? When John Amos left the show and his character was killed off, J.J. seemed to jump up even more as a lead character, along with Florida.

Retro4Life · 03-13-2014, 04:23 PM

On the UK Sci Fi classic, Blake's 7, the character of Avon, Blake's presumptive second in command, took over the lead role after Blake disappeared during the Andromedan War (in reality, Gareth Thomas ("Blake") decided to leave to pursue his craft with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

ThomasE · 03-13-2014, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacLeaper

Okay- I'll have to think on this one. What about "Good Times"? When John Amos left the show and his character was killed off, J.J. seemed to jump up even more as a lead character, along with Florida.

What I'm actually looking for is when a main character departs a series and which supporting actor gets the lead. Now, Janet DuBois took over with Jimmie Walker in that co star lead with her after Ms Rolle left.

Actually, I think I understand you, now. John Amos leaves and Jimmie steps in. Makes sense DISREGARD first paragraph.

BTW, its good to hear from you, Mac Leaper. I hope you're well.

McGillicuddy · 03-13-2014, 11:18 PM

The Waltons - When Richard Thomas left, Ralph Waite and Michael Learned became top billed.

Little House On The Prairie - When Michael Landon left, Melissa Gilbert got top billing.

ThomasE · 03-13-2014, 11:24 PM

Love that Girl: Tatyana Ali left and then supporting Bresha Webb became "that girl" and the lead character although she has not had a lot of front burner main storylines.

McGillicuddy · 03-13-2014, 11:34 PM

A Different World: Lisa Bonet quit the show and Jasmine Guy rose to top billing.

Tubehead · 03-14-2014, 12:09 AM

the family step by step once they added Cody kind of took over with the family.

MacLeaper · 03-14-2014, 12:08 PM

Quote:

What I'm actually looking for is when a main character departs a series and which supporting actor gets the lead. Now, Janet DuBois took over with Jimmie Walker in that co star lead with her after Ms Rolle left.

Actually, I think I understand you, now. John Amos leaves and Jimmie steps in. Makes sense DISREGARD first paragraph.

BTW, its good to hear from you, Mac Leaper. I hope you're well.

Okay- cool. Yep, doing well. Thanks. Hope all is good with you too.

MacLeaper · 03-14-2014, 12:16 PM

I don't know if this exactly counts, but I thought it might be worth mentioning one of my favorite shows- The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. This show is a little complicated in its history, but basically- it started as a mid-season replacement with a Hardy Boys episode and Nancy Drew episode alternating each week in the first season. When it came time for Season 2 [the only full season, by the way], apparently the producers decided The Hardy Boys were more popular in the ratings [I believe that's what it was]- in any case, for whatever reason, the setup changed and Nancy Drew now primarily showed up in crossover episodes with The Hardy Boys- though Nancy still got three solo episodes as well this season. Pamela Sue Martin got frustrated with the dimunization of her role (I guess you can't really blame her) and so she left the series midway through Season 2. Janet Louise Johnson (now known as Janet Julian) took over as Nancy Drew for a 2-part episode and then 2 more episodes- all of them crossover episodes with The Hardy Boys.
By Season 3 (which was a short-lived 10 episodes), Nancy Drew's character was dropped altogether and the show's name changed to simply "The Hardy Boys" and it now only featured Parker Stevenson as Frank Hardy and Shaun Cassidy as Joe Hardy.
I guess this may not fit as well, since Frank and Joe had always been lead characters anyway- but now they were the sole lead characters.

03-11-2014, 07:45 PM	#1
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	TV shows where a supporting character became a lead character by default Name a TV show where an actor leaves the series and then a co star becomes the lead by default. It doesn't matter whether comedy, drama or talk show. Let's try to dig and see how many we can come up with. The Royal Family: Redd Roxx passed on and while Della Reese was his lead co-star, she and Jackee became the head stars with Della Reese in front.
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03-12-2014, 06:33 PM	#3
factsoflife Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 11, 2000 Posts: 8,747	This happens fairly often on hour-dramas, particularly the kind with ensemble casts... on "Beverly Hills, 90210": Kelly was originally a supporting character, but when Brenda proved to be less popular with viewers, Kelly quickly became one of the leads. Donna was a minor character in the early seasons, but eventually became one of the two female leads. on "E.R.", Abby started as a minor character and became a leading character fairly quickly. :
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03-13-2014, 02:27 PM	#7
MacLeaper Child of the 80s Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 20, 2001 Posts: 3,359	Okay- I'll have to think on this one. What about "Good Times"? When John Amos left the show and his character was killed off, J.J. seemed to jump up even more as a lead character, along with Florida.
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03-13-2014, 04:23 PM	#8
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	On the UK Sci Fi classic, Blake's 7, the character of Avon, Blake's presumptive second in command, took over the lead role after Blake disappeared during the Andromedan War (in reality, Gareth Thomas ("Blake") decided to leave to pursue his craft with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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03-14-2014, 12:09 AM	#13
Tubehead Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 12, 2007 Location: chattanooga.tn Posts: 5,139	family matters the family step by step once they added Cody kind of took over with the family.

03-12-2014, 05:10 PM	#2
Jack Gomez Felipe's son Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 18, 2003 Posts: 614	8 Simple Rules: Similar to The Royal Family. John Ritter's death caused Katey Sagal to become the lead of the show.

03-13-2014, 12:11 AM	#4
Ronny G Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 14, 2001 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 540	Good Times: After Esther Rolle and John Amos left, Ja'Net DuBois (Willona Woods) became top billed.

03-13-2014, 12:16 AM	#5
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	California Dreams: After Brentley Gore left, Kelly Packard was the head of the ensemble cast.

03-13-2014, 12:50 AM	#6
IllinoisTVFan Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 22, 2011 Location: South of Chicago Posts: 4,072	An obvious one would be Happy Days where Fonzie went from recurring to main cast to lead actor.

03-13-2014, 11:18 PM	#10
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	The Waltons - When Richard Thomas left, Ralph Waite and Michael Learned became top billed. Little House On The Prairie - When Michael Landon left, Melissa Gilbert got top billing.

03-13-2014, 11:24 PM	#11
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	Love that Girl: Tatyana Ali left and then supporting Bresha Webb became "that girl" and the lead character although she has not had a lot of front burner main storylines.

03-13-2014, 11:34 PM	#12
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	A Different World: Lisa Bonet quit the show and Jasmine Guy rose to top billing.

03-14-2014, 12:16 PM	#15
MacLeaper Child of the 80s Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 20, 2001 Posts: 3,359	I don't know if this exactly counts, but I thought it might be worth mentioning one of my favorite shows- The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. This show is a little complicated in its history, but basically- it started as a mid-season replacement with a Hardy Boys episode and Nancy Drew episode alternating each week in the first season. When it came time for Season 2 [the only full season, by the way], apparently the producers decided The Hardy Boys were more popular in the ratings [I believe that's what it was]- in any case, for whatever reason, the setup changed and Nancy Drew now primarily showed up in crossover episodes with The Hardy Boys- though Nancy still got three solo episodes as well this season. Pamela Sue Martin got frustrated with the dimunization of her role (I guess you can't really blame her) and so she left the series midway through Season 2. Janet Louise Johnson (now known as Janet Julian) took over as Nancy Drew for a 2-part episode and then 2 more episodes- all of them crossover episodes with The Hardy Boys. By Season 3 (which was a short-lived 10 episodes), Nancy Drew's character was dropped altogether and the show's name changed to simply "The Hardy Boys" and it now only featured Parker Stevenson as Frank Hardy and Shaun Cassidy as Joe Hardy. I guess this may not fit as well, since Frank and Joe had always been lead characters anyway- but now they were the sole lead characters.