This Is Why Your Favorite Character Was Written Out of Your Favorite Series
by EG
Everything seems to be going great for your favorite character one day, and the next he or she is suddenly gone, having been written out of the show for one odd reason or another. Here's the story behind some of TV's most notable character disappearances. Are there other characters you miss? Let us know in the comments below.
1. Susan from Seinfeld
Remember George Costanza’s fiance Susan Ross? Her character tragically and comically died in Season 7 after licking all of the envelopes from their cheap wedding invitations. According to Jason Alexander (George) and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Elaine), Heidi Swedberg was extremely difficult to work with and Larry David decided to kill her off.
2. Charlie from Lost
If you booked the show Lost, your life would be set, right? Not for Dominic Monaghan. He eventually asked to be written out of the show because he wanted time to pursue other projects. Some say he really asked to leave because he was dumped by Evangeline Lily and he couldn’t deal with having to work with her anymore.
3. Carla's Husband Eddie from Cheers
On the show Cheers, Carla’s husband Eddie was played by Jay Thomas. He was written off the show after a few episodes because he made some rude comments on a radio show about his co-star Rhea Perlman. He made fun of her and made a tasteless joke about getting “combat pay” for kissing her. Perlman heard the interview and demanded he get the boot. The show runners were on board and had him killed off by a Zamboni.
Rumor has it, the network cancelled Punky Brewster because Soleil Moon Frye suffered from gigantomastia, a rare condition that caused excessive breast growth. Producers felt like they couldn’t help keep her looks young enough.
5. Robert Downey Jr. from Ally McBeal
Robert Downey Jr. played Larry Paul on Ally McBeal but was given the boot after his arrest for drug possession. The writers didn’t want their wholesome show to be associated with his reckless behavior.
6. Aunt Viv from Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Janet Hubert was the original Aunt Viv but when she became pregnant it violated the terms of her contract and she was forced to leave the show. Oddly, the character was never written off, just replaced by Daphne Reid.
7. Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace from That 70's Show
Both Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace asked to be written off of That '70s Show because they wanted to work on other projects and get out of TV land.
8. Shirley from Community
When her father fell ill, Yvette Nicole Brown asked if her character Shirley could be written out of season 6 so she could take care of him.
9. Tommy Chong from That '70s Show
Tommy Chong had to leave That '70s Show because he had to serve a jail sentence for selling bongs and water pipes through his company, Nice Dreams.
10. Steve from Blues Clues
Steve from Blue's Clues revealed that he left the show because he was going bald and refused to lose his hair on national TV.