Eight Sitcoms That Lost Their Main Star and Never Recovered
Most people with a cursory knowledge of television history know that the expression “jump the shark” was born the moment Happy Days’ Fonzie literally jumped over a shark while on water skis. What many don’t know, however, is that even amongst Happy Days fans, there’s no consensus as to when the show figuratively (not literally) jumped the shark.
Back in the early days of the internet, jumptheshark.com allowed fans to vote on the exact moment they thought a show overstayed its welcome. In terms of Happy Days, many viewers blamed the show’s format switch in Season Three, when it went from a single-camera show to one with a live studio audience, while others blamed so-called sitcom curse Ted McGinley’s addition to the cast in Season Eight. I, however, subscribe to the idea that it tanked at the end of Season Seven, when its star, Ron Howard, exited the show (nearly three years after Fonzie donned those fateful water skis).
When any sitcom loses its main star, it’s time to pack things up, yet a number of shows have tried to carry on afterwards nonetheless. There have been exceptions — The Conners has done okay since Rosanne Barr was fired, and Cheers was just fine after Shelley Long left — but for the most part, when a star makes their exit, the show rarely recovers.
This article not your thing? Try these...
Here are eight such examples…
The Office
When Steve Carell’s Michael Scott left The Office, the show lost its center of gravity. Much like Ricky Gervais’ David Brent in the original The Office, Michael Scott was intended to be an obnoxious, unlikable idiot, yet Carell transformed him into someone who was genuinely endearing (if often cringeworthy). After he left, the show threw all kinds of shit at the wall, though none of it really stuck. There was a rotating door of new bosses with varying results, but none of them had the staying power of Michael Scott. Perhaps most offensively, Ed Helms’ character turned into a new Michael Scott, complete with the exact same personality. Sure, the finale remains genuinely touching, but there’s no doubt the show should have ended when Carell drove out of the Dunder Mifflin parking lot the final time.
Laverne & Shirley
This Happy Days spin-off lost a lot of its mojo when the titular duo moved from Milwaukee to Burbank for Season Six, but it truly tanked when half of its title no longer applied. After Cindy Williams, who played Shirley, became pregnant between the seventh and eighth seasons, the idiotically intolerant show producers wouldn’t adjust her schedule, insisting she work right up to her due date and resume immediately afterwards. Rather than endure unnecessary trauma, pain and separation from her newborn while still healing from childbirth, Williams quit. This, of course, left Laverne alone, despite no change to the show’s title.
Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
The 2002 family-centered sitcom Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter saw beloved funnyman John Ritter enjoying another well-deserved television success. Unfortunately, Ritter died of a torn aorta early into filming the show’s second season. Admirably, the show sought to deal with his character’s death in a sincere, thoughtful way, but it never could find a new equilibrium — even with the help of new cast members James Garner and David Spade. After its third season, the show was officially canceled.
Chico and the Man
The 1970s sitcom Chico and the Man was also struck by tragedy two years into its run. The show centered around “the man,” a grumpy old garage owner played by Jack Albertson, and his hip Mexican-American mechanic, played by Freddie Prinze. Toward the end of Season Three, the 22-year-old Prinze, who had been battling drug addiction and depression, took his own life.
Despite Prinze’s death, the show attempted to continue — and even saw the garage-owning man adopt a 12-year-old Mexican boy. In the first episode with the kid, the man calls him “Chico” by accident and tells the boy, “You’re all Chicos to me.” Unsurprisingly, the tactless replacement didn’t sit well with fans, and the once-popular show tanked in the ratings. It was canceled after Season Four.
That ‘70s Show
That ‘70s Show was filled with funny characters, but Topher Grace’s Eric Forman was the glue that held it all together. After all, it was Eric’s parents’ basement where they were always hanging out and smoking weed. When Grace left to pursue his film career in the final season, the characters no longer seemed to relate to each other in the same way, making the entire series suddenly feel hollow. Plus, if Eric was gone, why were all his friends still chilling in his parents’ basement?
Two and a Half Men
I’m of the opinion that Two and a Half Men was always a dogshit sitcom, but a lot of people watched the show when it starred Charlie Sheen. After Sheen left and was replaced by Aston Kutcher, though, considerably fewer people tuned in.
Spin City
When Michael J. Fox’s battle with Parkinson’s advanced to the point that he could no longer serve as the star of Spin City, he insisted the show continue without him, as he didn’t want to put his co-stars out of work. However, Charlie Sheen was then hired to replace him. Trading in Fox for Sheen is like buying generic Oreos. You really think they’re going to be as good?
Happy Days
Like I said, Happy Days just wasn’t the same without Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham because it meant the show lost its earnestness in favor of quips and catchphrases. It’s time for people to stop blaming Fonzie and that shark. If anything, I’d argue the shark-jumping was maybe, kinda, just a little bit… cool?
Though that’s probably because Fonzie was doing it.