# TV shows that replaced several actors simultaneously **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199 "2016-03-07T13:46:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/41 "2016-03-08T09:07:22Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Okay, my take on the OP is they want situations where the characters remained but the actors who played them was replaced. Exactly. But it seems like many of the people posting here haven’t read the OP or any subsequent posts where this is explained… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/42 "2016-03-08T11:41:17Z")
Not what the OP is looking for, but in the TV Series 'Til Death, the daughter is played by several actresses. [QUOTE=IMDB] The Ally character is portrayed by 4 different actresses in four seasons. In the character’s first 4 appearances in season 1, and a single appearance in season 2, Ally is portrayed by Kristen Ritter. Ally is portrayed by Laura Clery in a single episode in season 3. Ally becomes a regular character in season 4. However, for the first half of season 4, the role of Ally goes back and forth between Lindsey Broad (10 episodes) and Laura Clery (5 episodes) Kate Micucci portrays Ally in her last 12 appearances on the show. [/QUOTE] At the time (before she was a regular), I thought Ally should be played by a different person at every appearance (perhaps even by people who do not even look alike) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/43 "2016-03-08T12:29:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It’s Jim Gaffigan. Who he? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/44 "2016-03-08T12:58:13Z")
ER had several sudden changes in cast. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/45 "2016-03-08T18:11:17Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > Who he? He standup comic. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/46 "2016-03-08T19:27:35Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > ER had several sudden changes in cast. But they never swapped actors playing the same role, which is what this thread is about, minus the “Charles in Charge” and “Hazel” references. ER may have had different actors playing the various children of the doctors and nurses at various times. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/47 "2016-03-08T19:55:01Z")
Depending on whether recurring characters count, the ITV series _Jeeves & Wooster_, starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, often had multiple changes among the supporting cast from series to series. See this list of [recurring characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jeeves_and_Wooster_characters#Recurring_characters). Note, just as an example, that in Series 3, the actors playing Madeline Bassett, Stiffy Byng, Aunt Dahlia, Gussie Fink-Nottle, and Bingo Little all changed. There were further changes in Series 4 (including Stiffy Byng going back to her original actress), and perhaps most notably, there was a different Aunt Dahlia every year. Meanwhile, the actress who played Madeline Bassett in Series 1 returned to play a completely different role in Series 4. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/48 "2016-03-08T20:25:43Z")
_Law & Order_ was almost the opposite. It was practically a repertory theater. It reused performers all the time in different roles. I’m not sure what the record is, but there must be dozens of actors who played at least four different characters on the main series, and were also on _CI_ and _SVU_. Also, nearly all of the major actors who took over lead roles after the first season had played a one-off character in a previous season. Probably this had to do with _L&O_ actually being filmed in New York City, and not Hollywood. They used actors who lived in New York, or who held Actor’s Equity in addition to SAG cards, and happened to be in NYC working on another project, or had some other reason to be in NYC-- most of the actors from _Sesame Street_, which is filmed in Queens, appeared on _L&O_ at least once. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/49 "2016-03-08T20:29:05Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > **Doctor Who** , but perhaps the biggest were: > At the end of Season 6 (classic series), Patrick Troughton decided to leave, so the Doctor was forced to regenerate by the Time Lords as part of his exile to 20th century Earth. His two human companions, Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) were sent back to the native times. Yes, but the OP asked about replacing actors, but not characters. In most cases of **Doctor Who** , the characters were replaced along with the actors. The only exceptions are the Doctor, Romana (who changed from Mary Tamm to Lalla Ward), and the Master. The only time two of these changes were made at once was in Peter Capaldi’s first season; both had their first appearance in the same episode (though the Master’s change was not revealed until toward the end of the series). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/50 "2016-03-09T20:20:14Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > In Mad About You, they used different actors for Jamie’s parents and Paul’s sister, but they were barely recurring characters so no one really noticed the change. Actually, they replaced Jamie’s parents TWICE. And pretty much everyone noticed the second time, given they did it as idiotic stunt casting to replace the main set (who’d been playing the roles other than in their very first appearance) with Carol Burnett and Carol O’Connor, and completely and utterly changed their personalities to fit the famous stars. That was a big shark jump, IMO. I don’t remember them recasting Paul’s sister, but I do remember him having more than one sister, one of which did later become a fairly big part of the show. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/51 "2016-03-09T20:23:28Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > But they never swapped actors playing the same role, which is what this thread is about, minus the “Charles in Charge” and “Hazel” references. ER may have had different actors playing the various children of the doctors and nurses at various times. They changed the actress playing Dr. Greene’s daughter Rachel when they decided instead of being a little kid they wanted to write her as a troubled teen. ---
**Author:** ![p4poetic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@p4poetic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/p4poetic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/52 "2016-03-11T21:55:22Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > \*Spartacus \*replaced both the lead actor and a pretty important supporting actor at the same time. > > After Season 1, the actor playing Spartacus, Andy Whitfield, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Instead of going straight to shooting Season 2, they did a prequel series to give him time to get treatment. Everything seemed to be going well…but then he relapsed. The network recast Spartacus and went ahead with Season 2. Andy Whitfield died a few months later. He was only 39. > > Meanwhile, after the prequel series, Lesley-Ann Brandt (who played Naevia, a major character) dropped out - I think it was an argument over pay. They recast the role. > > And yeah, we found it really jarring. Yeah she dropped out shortly after the prequel. [Lesley-Ann Brandt Would Stay With ‘Spartacus’ — for a Price](http://www.thewrap.com/lesley-ann-brandt-would-stay-spartacus-price-24836/) But I wouldn’t consider Naevia an important or major supporting character. While she was a love interest for Crixus, as a standalone character, she generally stood in the background and doing slave duties. The casting change wasn’t jarring for me because of this. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/53 "2016-03-12T01:29:30Z")
The Australian children’s show, [Round the Twist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_the_Twist) had four series made over 11 years. All the kids were recast 3 times and the adults at least twice. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/54 "2016-03-12T02:06:50Z")
Grace in **Grace Under Fire** had four children, played over time by seven different actors. An older son was added, three different boys played Quentin (including a way-intense blonde kid in the pilot ep.), and the baby was played by twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse, the hardest-working kid actors _ever_! The only jarring changes involved Quentin. Hard to say if the villains on **Batman** count as principal characters, but the Riddler and Catwoman changed during the run. Eartha Kitt replaced Julie Newmar for five episodes and John Astin replaced Frank Gorshin for two. Not sure if these happened in the same season, though. On **Mad Men** , Bobby Draper was replaced at least twice, possibly a couple times in one season. IMDB is less than forthcoming about the details, though, as few viewers gave a crap about this character. The pilot episode of **Gillian’s Island** had a notably different cast than the released series. Kit Smythe played Ginger and John Gabriel played the Professor. Nancy McCarthy played “Bunny,” renamed as Mary Ann later. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199/55 "2016-03-18T03:00:10Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > _Law & Order_ was almost the opposite. It was practically a repertory theater. It reused performers all the time in different roles… When big stage shows come here, the actors’ short bios in the program very often mention appearances on the show. I laughed when I saw one bio almost brag, “Mr. Smith has never appeared on _Law & Order_.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-replaced-several-actors-simultaneously/748199.md?page=2)