Top 10 Exact Moments TV Shows Became Entirely Different Shows

HBO’s philosophically-rich science fiction epic is about a theme park populated by humanoid robots playing out western gunslinger scenarios for paying guests. By the final moments of its first season, it had already strayed far from its much simpler source material. Dolores Abernathy, the oldest robot host in the park, has discovered her true nature. She ends the first season by sparking a host uprising against the humans, beginning with the park’s founder, Dr. Ford. This ending launches the show into new territory. The hosts begin their takeover, and finally, the real world and Westworld begin to collide more than ever.

The real-life star of this mid-90s sitcom came out in the press in mid-April of 1995. Now it was time for her character’s long-hinted-at sexuality to be made explicit. Ellen DeGeneres’ fictionalized self came out in style at the end of that same month. Guest stars Oprah Winfrey and Laura Dern were even there to commemorate the occasion. Despite making the hilarious announcement over the airport PA system, not everyone was ready to hear about Ellen Morgan’s coming out. While it inspired a huge amount of real world controversy, it also allowed the show to explore its character’s reckoning with her newfound confidence in her true self. “Ellen” would only run one more season, but it made its mark.

There was always one constant in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Lorelai and her daughter Rory Gilmore were best friends. So, when a disillusioned Rory decides not to return to Yale, the thing they had worked and planned for all those years, it signals a shift in their relationship and a change in the show. Rory moves in with her grandparents, and Lorelai has to watch her daughter pull away from her and become the spoiled rich girl she never wanted her to be. In some ways, it’s inevitable. The thing that Lorelai feared most comes true. It’s the great tragedy of the show, especially given how special Rory was always supposed to be.

The unassuming chemistry teacher who turned to the drug trade after a cancer diagnosis could only pretend to be the good guy for so long. His efforts to provide for his family once he’s gone change Walter White for the worse. As he finds his footing as a drug kingpin, he also becomes greedy and consumed with power. His point of no return comes near the end of season two, when his young associate Jesse takes up with Jane, a fellow person with substance use disorder. Walking in on the two as they sleep, Walt sees Jane aspirating and chooses not to save her. The act cements his power over Jesse, and completes his transformation into the show’s ruthless, self-serving antihero.

John Ritter was the original star of this show about a father preoccupied with his teenage daughters’ personal lives. His unexpected death during production of its second season forced the series to change course. The show lost its star, the fictional Hennessy family lost its patriarch, and the show had lost its point of view. Its irreverent tone became softer and less funny. Stories about dating and strict parenting became tempered by the family’s grieving process, and star Katey Segal’s character getting acclimated to being a single parent to three children. Although the show tried to move on, it would only last another full season after Ritter passed away.

When Sandra Oh announced her exit from the ABC medical drama after ten seasons, it was seen as a major shakeup. She wouldn’t be the first of the original cast to leave. The show had already proved it could survive without characters like Izzie Stevens and George O’Malley. But Cristina was Meredith Grey’s person. She was often the only person who could remind Meredith who she is. What’s more is that Oh was incredible as the sardonic surgeon. There were more shake-ups to come. Meredith would lose her longtime love Derek Shepherd the very next season, but losing Cristina irrevocably shifted the dynamics between Meredith and the entire staff.

The longer its eccentric and sarcastic ensemble of Army doctors stayed in Korea, the more they had to change. For all their adolescent antics, the team at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital became incredibly close. “M*A*S*H” wasn’t exactly a bloodbath of a show, so the sudden death of Lt. Col. Henry Blake was a shocker. In the episode “Abyssinia, Henry,” Blake is on his way back to the States when his helicopter is shot down, and the scene where his colleagues find out isn't played for laughs or tears. It’s played to a hollow and haunting silence. It marked a notable shift in the tone of the show as the realities of war began encroaching more and more.

From the start, the epic fantasy series found ways to tell us they weren’t pulling any punches. Its pilot episode ends with a whopper of a twist, signaling that not even the child characters are safe. But the first season achieves its greatest hat trick when it dared to kill off its supposed main character, Ned Stark. After running afoul of the royal family, Stark is cruelly beheaded in a public execution in front of his two daughters. The Red Wedding was agonizing, but this was our first indication that “Game of Thrones” is a show where the heroes aren’t invincible.

Here’s a case where the show literally became a different show. The real-life Roseanne’s tweets about Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett landed her in a whirlwind of controversy. She was fired, and her title character was killed off between seasons. Despite no involvement from Roseanne herself, “The Conners” is very much a continuation of the original show. The focus shifts instead to widower Dan Conner and the family moving past her death. Viewers seemed to get over it. “The Conners” aired for several seasons. And it’s nowhere near as weird as when the family won the lottery in the original run.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

James’ Death, “Good Times” (1974-79)
The Evans Family Loses Its Patriarch

Zombie Outbreak, “Community” (2009-14)
This Halloween Episode Changed What the Community College-Set Sitcom Could Be

Urkel’s First Appearance, “Family Matters” (1989-98)
The Nerdy Neighbor Became a Sensation in Its Twelfth Episode & the Show Shifted Focus

Graduation, “Glee” (2009-15)
Much of the Cast Graduates High School & the Action Splits Between Ohio & New York

Charlie Harper Dies, “Two and a Half Men” (2003-15)
Actor Charlie Sheen’s Infamous Exit Brought a New Character Played by Ashton Kutcher

Originally a comedy about a flawed afterlife where everything that could go wrong does, “The Good Place” pulls the rug out from under us in its first season finale. Eleanor Shellstrop is struck with a moment of realization. She and her friends aren’t in the Good Place. They’re in the Bad Place, and the not-so-angelic Michael is revealed to have constructed this afterlife and all its quirks as a form of psychological torture. This revelation sets the show and its character on a course of moral, ethical, and theological discovery. “The Good Place” changes the rules and overall premise, but it never loses its sense of fun and whimsy.

Which of these moments do you remember watching live? Tell us in the comments.