Sitcom Cast Departures That Didn’t Hurt the Show One Bit
When Steve Carell left The Office, the show never recovered. And when Chelsea Peretti left Brooklyn 99, a critical part of its cast’s dynamic was lost, which cost the show some of its edge. Usually, when a sitcom loses a character, no matter the reason, the show suffers. Sometimes, however, a departure is more akin to when a butcher trims the fat; the show is tightened up and, because time is no longer wasted on them, it’s an overall improved result, if anyone even notices at all.
Here are five such times where a character was removed from a sitcom, arguably for the better…
Mark Brendanawicz on ‘Parks and Recreation’
While actor Paul Schneider didn’t do anything wrong as the character Mark Brendanawicz on Parks and Recreation, he was meant to be a love interest for Leslie Knope, yet there was absolutely no chemistry between them. And when Mark started dating other characters in chemistry-free ways — like Rashida Jones’ Ann Perkins — he seemed even more pointless. Getting rid of him at the end of Season Two — and adding Rob Lowe and Adam Scott — is exactly what Parks and Recreation needed to flourish.
John Burns on ‘Taxi’
Even in the very first episode of Taxi, John Burns seemed redundant. Played by Randall Carver, John Burns is a naive young guy from the country who, in the pilot, begins to drive a cab to pay for college. He then disappears without explanation after Season One, which leaves room for the much funnier Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd). The actor later claimed he got the axe because his character was too similar to Tony Danza’s, but he also has some overlap with Merilu Henner’s Elaine Nardo, who is also just starting out as a cabbie in the pilot.
Hot take: Taxi also doesn’t really suffer when Jeff Conaway leaves in Season Four.
Cheryl David on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
Cheryl Hines was a solid member of the cast of Curb Your Enthusiasm for years. Her character wasn’t as funny as Larry David’s, Jeff Garlin’s or Susie Essman’s, but she had good chemistry with all of them, and you’d think that removing her from that formula would hurt the show — it didn’t, though.
Beginning in Season Seven, Larry and Cheryl’s characters get divorced. While Hines wasn’t removed from the show completely, her role was drastically reduced and Cheryl (the character) was largely replaced by the much funnier Leon Black (J.B. Smoove). Most significantly, though, by allowing Larry to date — instead of just annoying his wife all the time — new avenues of comedy opened up for the show, which helped it last six more seasons.
Catherine Duke on ‘NewsRadio’
On NewsRadio, Khandi Alexander played no-nonsense news anchor Catherine Duke and, when given a good story, the character shines, particularly when played opposite of Phil Hartman’s character. The problem is that Catherine Duke rarely gets a decent story and all the funniest lines go to other characters. She also has this very unfunny running gag in which she just slaps her coworkers — making it look like the writers had nothing better for her (and it seems like they really didn’t). This is also why Alexander left during Season Four.
I don’t blame Alexander for the character’s mediocrity, but the show didn’t lose anything when she left, and her departure allowed the show to tighten up the comedy with one less character to service.
Chef on ‘South Park’
I love Chef. He’s a fantastic character and Isaac Hayes played him brilliantly. Without Chef, the early seasons of South Park wouldn’t be nearly as good or as funny. But by the time he unceremoniously leaves the show, South Park had already outgrown him.
The story goes that Hayes, a Scientologist, departed South Park in 2006 because the show made fun of Scientology. Hayes’ son has disputed this, saying that the Church of Scientology quit South Park for him without Hayes’ consent and Hayes had little power to contest it because he’d had a stroke and was unable to speak.
Regardless of what the truth is, by the time the Season Nine episode that mercilessly lampoons Scientology aired, South Park hadn’t been using Chef much for a long time. As South Park became more topical and driven by plot — as opposed to gags — there wasn’t as much time, or reason, for the kids to ask Chef for advice only for him to not offer it and sing a funny song about sex instead.
Again, Chef was key to the show’s early success, and as a dedicated fan, there are definitely moments when I miss his chocolate salty balls. But by the time the character exits, the boys just don’t need him anymore.
