Some of the best <a href="https://comicvibe.com/10-best-western-tv-shows-based-on-books-ranked/” title=”10 Best Western TV Shows Based On Books, Ranked”>shows are successful specifically because they’re able to remain consistent throughout their entire run. Keeping up momentum amongst the same cast for multiple seasons is not an easy feat, and it sometimes leads to series that only last a few short seasons. But not every show suffered after losing talent. On the contrary, quite a few actually got better — especially in the ’80s.
Some of the most nostalgic shows came out of the 1980s, and many of them did flourish with the same actors throughout the seasons. But there were a few that, for whatever reason, lost a cast member or two. The characters they portrayed ranged from recurring neighbors to even the namesake stars of the show. Despite leading to some series’ downfalls, there were some outliers that powered through the loss.
Married… With Children
Fox’s first primetime series aired from 1987 to 1997. “Married… with Children” centered on Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill), a sarcastic and sleazy shoe salesman living in Chicago with his wife Peggy (Katey Sagal) and their children Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Bud (David Faustino).
Unlike most sitcom families at the time, the Bundys were dysfunctional and raunchy. Their stories often collided with their neighbors Steve Rhoades (David Garrison) and Marcy Rhoades (Amanda Bearse), Peggy’s best friend. Steve, a pretentious yuppie banker, countered Al’s working class frustrations, and their dynamic generally saw Steve as a grounding voice of reason.
In Season 4, Garrison left the show, wanting to focus on stage acting. Ted McGinley was then brought on as Jefferson D’Arcy, an underachiever whom Marcy married. Unlike Steve, Jefferson’s personality matched Al’s much more closely, and the two became best friends. Al’s off-color humor was made even funnier through his dynamic with Jefferson. Their hijinks included tying Jerry Springer up on live TV and running a fake psychic scam.
Cheers
The iconic NBC sitcom that led to the popular spin-off “Frasier” launched the career of Ted Danson, who played the ex-pro baseball player Sam Malone, owner of the titular bar. A classic example of a workplace sitcom, “Cheers” focused on the bar’s staff and patrons. For five seasons, one of the most prominent characters was waitress Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), an English grad student whom Sam was in a frequent on and off relationship with. She was functionally the series’ protagonist alongside Sam. At the end of Season 5, Long left the show to pursue a film career and spend more time with her family.
Kirstie Alley was then brought on as corporate liaison Rebecca Howe, who was sent to manage the bar by the corporation that bought it from Sam. Rather than replicate the romance shared between Diane and Sam, Alley’s chemistry with Danson was rooted in the constant power struggle over the bar. While Sam would hit on her, she generally rejected these advances. This dynamic led to memorable laughs, such as her attempted enforcement of ugly green uniforms she designed, much to Sam’s dismay. More importantly, though, taking the focus away from Sam and Diane’s will-they-won’t-they romance allowed the show to become more of an ensemble comedy with more opportunities for the whole cast to shine.
Night Court
From 1984 to 1992, Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson) presided over the evening criminal court proceedings of Manhattan. “Night Court” aired on NBC, and centered on the hilarious antics of an NYC nighttime courtroom staff. While the first season saw two different public defenders come and go, Season 2 had singer and actress Ellen Foley join as Billie Young.
Following that season’s end, producers replaced her with Markie Post in the role of Christine Sullivan. She would remain in the role for the rest of the original series. Post’s arrival signaled a shift for the show. The constant advances from womanizing prosecutor colleague Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) became a running gag. She also countered Harry’s whimsical styles with her more grounded but empathetic wisdom. Post was originally sought out for Season 2, but was unavailable due to her commitment to ABC’s “The Fall Guy.”
A Different World
Conceived as a spin-off of “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World” originally focused on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) attending Virginia’s fictional Hillman College.
After becoming pregnant, Bonet was written off the show, and the series shifted to focusing on multiple students at the campus. The new chief creative director, Debbie Allen, also added more authenticity to the show’s setting. A graduate of Howard University, Allen was familiar with life at a historically black college, and revamped the series to tackle serious topics like HIV and workplace harassment.
The Hogan Family
Years after playing Rhoda Morgenstern on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and its spin-off, Valerie Harper starred on two seasons of “Valerie.” The series was eventually retitled “Valerie’s Family” and later “The Hogan Family.” Her titular character was raising her three sons David (Jason Bateman), Willie (Danny Ponce), and Mark (Jeremy Licht) while her husband Michael (Josh Taylor), an airline pilot, was frequently away from home for work.
Following some contract disputes with the producers, Harper was fired from the series at the end of Season 2 — her character being killed off in a car accident. Sandy Duncan was brought on as Sandy Hogan to fill the void. The sister-in-law of the late Valerie, she took over the role as a surrogate mother to the boys and helped Michael raise them. It’s not universally agreed among fans whether Harper’s firing improved the show, but ratings certainly got better when Duncan replaced her.
Her removal also led to more screen time being devoted to the sons, which resulted in Bateman’s breakout in the industry. Originally a brash and typical teenager, a lot of David’s emotional maturity was only explored after his mother’s off-screen death.
