Five Sitcoms That Replaced A Character With Pretty Much the Exact Same Character
For ‘Three’s Company,’ producers figured that one dumb blonde was as good as another
Five Sitcoms That Replaced A Character With Pretty Much the Exact Same Character
Brian VanHooker
Brian VanHooker
When Roseanne Barr was fired from the rebooted Roseanne in 2018, the producers decided that, in order to continue, the series would need to change. Instead of the sarcastic loudmouth Roseanne Conner as the center of her family, John Goodman’s Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie Harris and Sara Gilbert’s Darlene Conner stepped in to fill the void, making it a show with a bit less attitude and an increased focus on grief in light of Barr’s character’s death. These changes allowed the show — now rebranded as The Conners — to last for seven seasons.
However, not all shows are smart enough to fully pivot after a cast departure. Instead, many just end up replacing that person with a new character who has pretty much the exact same personality. The hope, presumably, is to keep whatever dynamics a show already possesses.
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Here are some of the best — and worst — examples…
1
Three’s Company
When contract negotiations came up before the fifth season of the hit show, Suzanne Somers, who played ditzy blonde Chrissy Snow, demanded to be paid as much as her male co-star John Ritter. In response, the show’s producers fired her and replaced her character with Chrissy’s cousin Cindy Snow (Jenilee Harrison) — yet another “dumb blonde” who happened to be a bit clumsier than her cousin.
While the producers must have figured one dumb blonde was as good as another, the replacement didn’t work, and Harrison was booted off the show after just one season. She was then replaced with yet another blonde, Terri Alden (Priscilla Barnes). This time, however, they decided to make her a smart character (twist!) and the change helped sustain the show for three more seasons.
2
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The Dukes of Hazzard follows a couple of thrill-seeking good ol’ boys in Georgia who love driving around in their Confederate flag-decorated Dodge Charger named General Lee. But in Season Five, stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat, who played Bo and Luke Duke, demanded a raise, and rather than give it to them, Warner Bros. decided to replace them with two other thrill-seeking good ol’ boys who love driving around in the General Lee (the car didn’t have any salary issues).
Nearly identical to Bo and Luke in both looks and personalities, cousins Coy Duke (Byron Cherry) and Vance Duke (Christopher Mayer) filled in for most of Season Five, but when fans stopped watching, Warner Bros. caved and gave Schneider and Wopat more money, bringing Bo and Luke back while Coy and Vance were whisked off to wherever thrill-seeking good ol’ boys in Georgia go when their services are
3
The Office
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When the incompetent, egotistical, yet still somehow endearing boss of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch Michael Scott (Steve Carell) left The Office, the producers didn’t replace him with a Michael Scott clone right away. Instead, they tried out a few different dynamics. First there was the erratic Deangelo Vickers (Will Ferrell), followed by the sexually-charged Robert California (James Spader). Finally, they decided to move the office’s resident hothead into the role when Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) became branch manager. Unfortunately, this move caused the writers to turn Andy into another Michael Scott, complete with the same loveable-idiot demeanor. Overall, the change just didn’t work, which may explain why so many people dislike Andy Bernard — and the last two seasons of the show.
4
When actor Nicholas Colasanto, who played dim-witted bartender Coach, died during Season Three of Cheers, the writers must have had a lot of jokes leftover because they replaced him with yet another dim-witted bartender. Woody Boyd, played by Woody Harrelson, pretty much carried the exact same type of humor as Coach, with the only difference being that Woody was young and naive whereas Coach was old and confused.
This is the rare example of a change that worked pretty perfectly, most likely due to the show’s clever writers and Harrelson’s charm and talent.
5
Leave it to The Simpsons to mock the sitcom trope of replacing a character with essentially the exact same character. In Season 22, the writers killed off mob boss Fat Tony (Joe Mantegna) only to replace him with his skinnier cousin, Fit Tony (also Joe Mantegna). At the end of the episode, Fit Tony is fully in charge of the Springfield crime syndicate, but the stress of the job causes him to gain weight. He soon looks exactly like his deceased cousin, and everyone begins calling him Fat Tony. Everyone has treated him as though he was the same character ever since, which is pretty much what all of these other sitcoms wanted us to do too.
