Just because Charlie Sheen was fired by Warner Bros. from Two and a Half Men doesn’t mean the CBS hit is doomed. Below, a list of famous TV replacements.
– Spin City (2000): Michael J. Fox is replaced by Charlie Sheen for seasons five and six after Fox announces he wants to spend more time with his family and raise funds for Parkinson’s Disease awareness.
– American Idol (2010): Steven Tyler replaces Simon Cowell after nine seasons so Cowell can launch his X-Factor in the U.S.
– The Office (2011): Steve Carell will be replaced on the NBC sitcom, although it has not yet been announced by whom. Will Ferrell has signed on for a guest arc.
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– NYPD Blue (1994): David Caruso is phased out after he asked for a major salary increase; Jimmy Smits — who had been offered the role originally — stepped in as Bobby Simone.
– Valerie (1987): After Valerie Harper leaves the show following a dispute with the producers about the second season’s direction (she was killed off in a car accident), Sandy Duncan replaces her and the series is renamed the Hogan Family.
– CSI (2008): William Peterson departs after eight years to focus on his role as an executive producer on the show and is replaced by Laurence Fisburne.
– Bewitched (1969): Dick Sargent replaces Dick York as Darrin Stephens in seasons six through nine after York collapsed on set and was rushed to the hospital. While dealing with chronic back pain, he developed an addiction to prescription painkillers.
– Roseanne (1992): Lecy Goranson (Becky) is replaced by Sarah Chalke after she leaves to go to college. There were also two D.J.’s on the show: Sal Barone and Michael Fishman, two actresses who played Dan’s mom Audrey Conner (Ann Wedgeworth and Debbie Reynolds) and three actors who played Crystal’s son Lonnie (Josh C. Williams, Luke Edwards and Kristopher Kent Hill).
– Charlie’s Angels: Farrah Fawcett is replaced by Cheryl Ladd as Kris Munroe, Shelley Hack takes over for Tiffany Welles and Tanya Roberts then replaces Hack as Julie Rogers. Only Jaclyn Smith wasn’t replaced.
– Criminal Minds (2007): Mandy Patinkin (FBI profiler Jason Gideon) leaves the show due to “creative differences,” and Joe Mantegna steps in as FBI special agent David Rossi.
– Cheers (1987): Kirstie Alley replaces Shelley Long — who was reportedly difficult on set, although she said it was her decision to go — in seasons six through 11. Woody Harrelson is added to the cast when Nicholas Colasanto (Ernie “Coach” Pantusso) dies.
– Fresh Prince (1993): Janet Hubert is fired and replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid as Will Smith‘s aunt Vivian banks. Hubert goes on to write a tell-all book called Perfection Is Not A Sitcom Mom in which she alleges “Smith had people around him who made sure no one outshone him.”
– The West Wing (2002): Lily Tomlin is named as President Josiah Bartlet’s (Martin Sheen) special assistant, Deborah Fiderer, replacing his prior aide Dolores Landingham (played by Kathryn Joosten), who had been killed off in a car accident.
– M*A*S*H (1977): David Ogden Stiers (Major Charles Emerson Winchester III, M.D.) steps in for Larry Linville (Frank Burns) as surgeon and rival to Hawkeye and BJ. Harry Morgan (Col. Sherman Potter) takes over for McLean Stevenson (Col. Henry Blake) after the third season. Mike Farrell (playing B.J. Hunnicutt) replaces Wayne Rogers (playing “Trapper” John McIntyre) as Hawkeye’s close friend and fellow surgeon after the third season.
– The Partridge Family (1971): Jeremy Gelbwaks is replaced by Brian Forster as Chris Partridge after just one season. Co-star Danny Bonaduce said he was a “brat,” but it has also been reported it was because the Gelbwaks family moved to Washington, D.C. from Los Angeles.
– Three’s Company (1981): Suzanne Somers is eventually replaced by a cousin Cindy Snow (Jenilee Harrison), and then nurse Terri Alden (Priscilla Barnes).
