To be fair, X-Files was a sitcom after Duchovny left.

Not to derail the thread or anything, but that's essentially correct. In the show, Dan had a heart attack but lived. The series finale revealed that the last season was actually fictional. Dan died, Jackie was a lesbian, not her mother, and they didn't win the lottery.

Well Shelly Long was 1A on CHeers..she left..and CHeers did just fine..

Not just the last season, but large sections of the rest of the series as well. Jackie being a lesbian, and Becky and Darlene having the opposite husbands, would have effects reaching much further back than the last season.

Not a sitcom, but an interesting example would be low-budget British sci-fi series Blake's 7. It ran four years, despite Blake leaving at the end of season 2.

man, who said Three's Company revolved around (Chrissy)? she was never the main character it has always been John Ritter... The blondes were interchangeable

The lady that played Janet never got the props she deserved because people concentrated on the blondes

anyways, like someone stated earlier, The Cosby Show's spinoff -- A Different World was based on Lisa Bonet's character Denise Huxtable going to college and when she went caput the show went strong

I had forgotten about the David/Mark switch. It was always unclear to me how much of the show was supposed to be a fictional creation of the "real" Roseanne Conner.

So multiple seasons (maybe all) of Roseanne were "fake"? Didn't realize the whole husband switch thing, as I stopped watching that show really early on.

I would say most of these suggestions meet the criteria of "main" character, as Topher is still part of an ensemble cast... though both he and Ashton leaving would be like both Ritchie and the Fonz leaving Happy Days in the same season...

Though not sitcoms, both Charmed and 90210 survived Shannon Doherty's departure

Saved by the Bell survived several cast changes (wasn't it originally built around the teacher?), though by the time Zack left, they had changed everybody but Screech and Belding.

Night Court had a whole different cast (I think) before Markie Post and co. joined

Damn! Damn! Daaaamn !

Howard Hesseman in Head of the Class

Is this some sort of sick joke?

Unless Roseanne actually left Roseanne, I'm not sure that show applies to the topic....

8 simple rules.. john ritter


it does fulfill my question... john ritter was the "main" character on a sitcom and he left (died) and the show went on... not sure why you would consider it a "sick joke"

That's a good one.

Replaced by Billy Connolly.

What about Cindy Williams from Laverne and Shirly?

John Travolta and whoever played Mr. Kotter left the final season of Welcome Back Kotter.

gabe kaplan or his hair?

Don't forget the original switcheroo...
Dick York -> Dick Sargent playing Darrin on Bewitched. Of course, the character was still there.

Well Yes and No. The show revolved around Florida who was the housekeeper from the show MAUDE. Good Times was spun off Maude which was spun off All in the Family. There was never any problem with the chemistry of Florida and James. Esther Rolle was orignally supposed to be a single mom on the show but she had them add James to show a complete Black Family.

Anyway, the reason they "killed James" was John Amos started believing his own hype and became a huge pain in the ass to the folks in charge of the show. He pretty much admits this when asked about it today.

Redd Foxx left Sanford and Son back in the late 70's due to money issues. This was when Grady was on the show looking after Lamont. They said Fred was in St. Louis taking care of a family member. Supposedly the season Redd Foxx was gone was the highest rated of the show's run.

I think eventually Demond Wilson left the show permanently but the show went on without him. They had Fred living with a fat Southern guy IIRC.

Valerie aka Valerie's Family aka The Hogan Family

Valerie Harper left and Sandy Duncan replaced her.


Spin City would probably have to be the most recent sitcom with a lead change, until That '70s Show.


Does Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place count? Because they ditched a third of the title.


How come people are listing dramas in this thread?

The reason I consider Topher to be the MAIN character is that all the other characters are tied to him... The show is set in his basement or his house.. Donna is his girlfriend.. Kelso is his good friend.. His parents are big characters.. He gets the most screentime