How TV Shows Handle the Death of a Cast Member

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re breaking down some of the ways TV shows have historically navigated the death of a series regular.

What Happens When an Actor Dies?

Finding the right cast is an essential part of any successful TV series. It requires a lot of auditions, time, and scheduling commitments. Most importantly, though, it also requires the right chemistry between many different performers. But what happens when an actor passes away during a show’s run? That’s a sad reality many ensembles have had to grapple with over the years. However, the way the situation has been dealt with differs from series to series. These are some of the ways popular shows have approached this delicate issue.

And They Lived Happily Ever After … Off-Screen

Some shows choose to go on without an actor they’ve lost, but don’t have the heart to kill off or replace the character. The long-time mystery-solving lawyer Perry Mason was said to be on vacation in later TV movies under the character’s banner. Co-star Barbara Hale suggested this was what late actor Raymond Burr wanted in order to keep the show’s crew employed. In 2022, Leslie Jordan’s sudden death in a car accident saw his “Call Me Kat” character, Phil, written out. The character was given a happy ever after, and was said to have moved overseas with his husband. However, the cast broke character at the end of an episode to say goodbye to Jordan himself.

Replaced by a Similar Character

The chemistry of an ensemble can be tricky to maintain. Facing an actor’s premature death, some shows have opted to create a new character to fill a similar role as the previous one. “Cheers,” for example, was rocked by the death of Coach actor Nicholas Colasanto. The next season, Woody Harrelson joined the cast as Woody Boyd. Despite their different backgrounds and ages, both fulfilled the function of the bar airhead. Another example was Freddie Prinze of “Chico and the Man” fame. Prinze’s presence was missed when the young actor died tragically and suddenly at the age of 22. The solution was the addition of a younger Latino character named Raul. The show’s ratings didn’t recover from losing its original star.

Recast Before the Next Season

For one reason or another, several shows have decided to recast a role after the original actor passed away. Andre Braugher had already shot scenes for the Netflix series “The Residence” when he died in 2023. “Breaking Bad” star Giancarlo Esposito assumed the role and reshot several of Braugher’s scenes. “The Wire” actor Lance Reddick passed away after completing season one of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Courtney B. Vance takes over the role of Zeus in the second season. Both roles were able to be recast in time, as “The Residence” had paused for the 2023 Hollywood strikes, and Reddick passed between the first and second seasons of “Percy Jackson.”

“South Park” Had to Recast Mary Kay Bergman Mid-Season

Here is a cast member who was so integral to the show, it took several performers to replace her. For the first few years of “South Park,” the voices of almost all the female characters were provided by one very talented artist named Mary Kay Bergman. Co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone credit Bergman with coming up with several details for the characters that they hadn’t originally written. After Bergman’s tragic and sudden death in the middle of the show’s third season, Parker and Stone were devastated. Her massive talent would be missed and impossible to replicate. They opted to recast her roles, divvying up voice duties among multiple different actresses over the years.

Giving Actors a Swan Song

Some shows get advance notice of an actor’s declining health, and they decide to make the most of it. Actress Kathryn Joosten was given a fittingly heroic send-off on “Desperate Housewives.” Soon after finishing her final scenes, Joosten died of lung cancer, just as her character did. “The Sopranos” featured a particularly uncanny version of an actor’s final scene. Actress Nancy Marchand died between the show’s second and third seasons. The show’s storylines had to be rewritten, but through the use of CGI, a body double, and previous footage, Livia Soprano made one final appearance. The scene sees James Gandolfini playing against Marchand’s superimposed head, spouting dialogue that’s suspiciously similar to things she said in the previous two seasons.

Death as a Teaching Moment

Since 1969, “Sesame Street” has been teaching children the essentials. But in 1982, the death of actor Will Lee gave the show a chance to have a real, heartbreaking, and necessary conversation about the reality of loss and grieving. Lee played Mr. Hooper, the cranky and lovable storekeeper. Watching Big Bird realize that his friend isn’t coming back is enough to pull at the heartstrings even now. Great care went into the entire episode. The writers consulted with experts in child psychology and development to craft a delicate, age-appropriate, but deeply powerful message about loss and grief.

Tribute Episodes

The first episode produced after an ensemble member passes away can often be a somber and deeply emotional one. Some episodes act as if they are funerals in themselves, giving us a chance to grieve right along with the characters and the actors who play them. Often in these tribute episodes, it’s hard to draw the line between actors and their characters. “Glee”’s 2013 episode “The Quarterback” is one long tribute to both Finn Hudson and his actor, Cory Monteith, who died at 31. The entire fourth season premiere of “Riverdale” was dedicated to honoring both the fictional Fred Andrews and the actor who played him, Luke Perry. In both cases, there’s a genuine, heartbreaking reality to the grief on screen.

The Whole Show Changes

A lot of shows can continue on without one of their stars, but some are irrevocably transformed. It was hard not to notice John Ritter’s absence from “8 Simple Rules.” Its title and point-of-view were based completely on the columns written by his character, Paul Hennessy. What started out as a show about a dad’s perspective on raising teenagers soon turned into one about a single mother and her children grieving their deceased patriarch. “NewsRadio” made a similar pivot after the shocking, headline-grabbing deaths of Phil Hartman and his wife. Their pain was fresh and palpable in the first episode back, which has been referred to as a televised funeral. Suddenly, something dark now hung over the workplace comedy and it never quite recovered.

There Is No One Way to Address an Actor’s Death

Losing a character you love is always tough. When that loss is magnified by the real-life sadness of the actor behind them dying as well, it can be hard to imagine how a series can recover. That loss suddenly becomes very real. Storylines can remain unfinished, the cast dynamics can be altered, and no matter what, something will always be missing. Ultimately, the way writers and actors deal with an actor’s death doesn’t just say a lot about the show itself. It also can have a profound effect on whether or not a series can last without them. But, in a strange and touching way, it can also help viewers come to terms right alongside an actor’s colleagues.

Which of these late actors had the most profound effect on you? Let us know in the comments.