Some shows feature characters so iconic that the thought of losing them marks the end of a show.
That’s not always the case, though, as these television shows prove. Sometimes, losing a main character isn’t the end, but only the beginning.
Taxi

Jeff Conaway was fired from Taxi due to substance abuse issues after the third season.
After his departure, Danny DeVito and Chrostpher Lloyd had more prominent roles, and their talents helped the sitcom thrive despite Conoway’s departure.
Parks and Recreation

Mark Brendanawicz is one of the most boring characters in television history. He only appeared in the show’s first season and was supposed to be the series’ straight man.
There was just one problem: he was a charisma vacuum. Adam Scott’s Ben Wyatt was a far better straight man.
New Girl

Coach, played by Damon Wayans Jr., appeared in New Girl‘s pilot alongside Nick Miller and Schmidt.
He then completely disappeared, having been replaced by Lamorne Morris’ Winston Bishop. Bishop gelled far better with the cast, a fact that was apparent when the Coach character was occasionally reintroduced in later seasons.
You can even say the same when Zooey Deschanel was on maternity leave and the rest of the cast shined without her.
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Married… With Children

Steve Rhoades, played by David Garrison, left the show after the 4th season.
It was at that point that Jefferson D’Arcy, played by Ted McGinley, joined the main cast starting with season 5, helping to further elevate the show.
Garrison would return on occasion in subsequent seasons, but the show was far better without him.
Cheers

The tragic loss of Coach, following Nicholas Colasanto’s heart attack, was thought to be irreplaceable.
Yes, his loss is still felt throughout the show, but the introduction of Woody Harrelson’s Woody Boyd helped take the show to new heights.
The Sopranos

Another character lost to the actor’s death is Livia Soprano, Tony’s mother, played by Nancy Marchand.
After Marchand died in 2000, the show improved without her for several reasons. Yes, she was an unlikable character, but it also coincides with the on-screen loss of Salvatore Bonpensiero, helping Tony to become elevated as a character, along with the show as a whole.
NYPD Blue

David Caruso has made a career out of his performance on NCIS Miami, so it’s easy to forget that not only was he in NYPD Blue, but the show became better after he left.
Shifting the focus to Dennis Franz’s Andy Sipowicz was one of the best decisions the series ever made.
MASH

Yes, Alan Alda’s “Hawkeye” Pierce was on the show for all eleven seasons, but MASH lost quite a few notable characters during its legendary run.
Henry Blake, Trapper John, and Frank Burns all lasted a handful of seasons before being replaced by superior characters.
Game of Thrones

Yes, the death of Ned Stark is something that also happens in the books, but removing the first season’s main character allowed the rest of the cast to grow.
It also helped reinforce that no one, no matter how vital they are to the plot, was safe.
Silicon Valley

Given his behavior in real life, T.J. Miller’s Erlich Bachman had to go, regardless of how important he was to the show’s original seasons.
However, the rest of the cast, which was already gelling in the first few seasons, finally had their chance to shine without him looming over them, and it helped the show maintain its high quality throughout the entire run.
The Conners

Is it controversial to say that Rosanne Barr’s departure from the Roseanne reboot made it a better series? Possibly, but it’s the truth.
It allows us to become more attached to the entire cast, rather than a single, centralized character.
Star Trek

William Shatner wasn’t the original actor to play James T. Kirk on Star Trek: The Original Series.
Instead, Christopher Pike played Kirk in the unaired pilot episode. Thank goodness Shatner took the role.
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