TV Shows That Continued After Cast Members Passed Away

Television has often been described as a mirror of our world. Through various genres and formats, we can see the many ways humankind comes together and interacts with each other, for better or for worse. Just like the people we encounter in real life, the characters on our favorite shows and the people who bring them to life will sometimes have to deal with death.

The cast and crew of Hulu's "Mid-Century Modern" learned this the hard way when the legendary Linda Lavin passed away while the show was in the middle of filming their first season. The Broadway veteran and "Alice" star played Sybil, the wise-cracking, overbearing, and deeply loving mother of Nathan Lane's Bunny Schneiderman, who is the Sophia of the "Golden Girls"-esque series. But when Lavin succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest in December 2024, her character suffered a similar fate, leaving behind mourners on both sides of the camera.

Unfortunately, Lavin's death isn't the first time a performer passed away while their show was still in production. Many shows throughout the history of television have encountered similar situations. While some could not continue after experiencing such loss, like the throwback streaming sitcom that will move forward, here are some other TV shows that continued after a cast member passed away.

While best known for starring in "Three's Company" alongside Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers early in his career, John RItter would return to the world of sitcoms in 2002 to play lifestyle columnist and protective father Paul Hennessy in "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter" on ABC. However, as the production began preparing for the show's second season in September 2003, Ritter suddenly started to feel ill during rehearsal. Doctors initially treated him for a heart attack, but after his condition got worse, he was diagnosed with aortic dissection and passed away a few hours later.

Following Ritter's sudden death, the show took a hiatus and shortened their title to "8 Simple Rules." When they returned with a special one-hour episode titled "Goodbye," it was explained that Paul had died offscreen after collapsing while shopping for groceries. In an effort to fill the void left by the star's passing, they introduced James Garner as Jim Egan, Korean War veteran and father of Katy Sagal's Cate Hennessy, who moves from Florida to his daughter's basement. They also added former Chris Farley associate David Spade as C.J. Barnes, Cate's childish nephew who is often unlucky with women. The show lasted for a total of three seasons before ending in 2005.

In March 2021, after building a career that spanned over six decades, award-winning actress Jessica Walter passed away at the age of 80. At that time, she was working on the 12th season of FXX's animated spy comedy "Archer" as Malory Archer, the mother of the titular hero voiced by H. Jon Benjamin and the head of the spy agency that also employs him. Fortunately, she had completed most of her voiceover work for the season before she passed. But to send off Malory in proper fashion, the creative team came up with a fitting way to write the character out of the show. 

Though "Archer" is known for being quite silly, the tribute to Walter in this episode was incredibly sweet. The production scoured the archives for Malory lines to use in her final episode, just as they did the same for Ron Cadillac, who was voiced by Walter's real-life husband Ron Leibman, until he passed away in 2019. As Sterling read a letter from his mother that announced her retirement and passed the torch to him (along with a warning not to burn himself with it), Ron and Malory are seen sipping drinks and holding hands on a beach as the sun sets.

"Archer" would continue for two more seasons and a three-part series finale after Walter's death, bringing the show's final tally to 14 seasons with 145 episodes from September 17, 2009 to December 17, 2023.

If the staff of Cheers were a human body, Diane Chambers would be the brain, Sam Malone would be the libido, and Carla Tortelli would be the cajones. But when it comes to the heart of the classic sitcom "Cheers," that title belonged to Nicholas Colasanto's Coach Ernie Pantusso.

Coach was a staple behind the Boston bar where everybody knows your name for three seasons. However, the actor behind the beloved character was experiencing health issues throughout his run on the show. While working on the third season in November 1984, he was hospitalized due to water in his lungs. After his doctors advised that he not return to work, the writers got creative with explanations for Coach's absence.

Colasanto died on February 12, 1985 at the age of 61. His replacement for the fourth season was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed farm boy Woody Boyd, played by up-and-comer Woody Harrelson. Woody and Coach had been pen pals, so naturally his first stop in Boston was to visit his old friend. Upon his arrival, Sam unfortunately informed Woody that Coach had passed away. But just as Coach would have done, the gang welcomed Woody with open arms by offering him a job and a place in their little family for years to come.

After his death, Colasanto was memorialized on set as the picture of Geronimo that hung in his dressing room was moved to the back wall of the bar for the rest of the show's run. In the closing moments of the series finale, Ted Danson's Sam makes sure to straighten the picture before declaring that the bar was closed.

NBC and "Welcome Back, Kotter" creator James Womack made history when "Chico and the Man" premiered in 1974. Inspired by the work of Cheech and Chong, the show became the first American series to be set in a Mexican-American neighborhood. But when the comedic duo decided to keep doing films rather than transition to TV, the production tapped comedian Freddie Prinze to star in the show alongside Jack Albertson as Ed. The show was instantly a hit, largely due to the chemistry between the two leads. But despite this great success, the young actor was dealing with some demons in his personal life.

Following struggles with depression and drug use, Prinze died by suicide on January 28, 1977. To explain his absence for the rest of the season, it was said that his character Chico Rodriguez went to Mexico to visit his father, while the remaining episodes focused on other characters. For the fourth season, a 12-year-old orphan named Raul, played by Gabriel Melgar, was introduced as a replacement for Prinze. Julie Hill was also added as Ed's young niece Monica, who moved to Los Angeles to try to break into show business.

Since "Chico and the Man" never recovered from the ratings slump it suffered after the death of its star, the fourth season ended up also being the final season. Before wrapping things up, the show did give some closure to Chico. It was revealed in a special two-part episode where Raul finds Chico's belongings in his van that Chico died while he was in Mexico. They don't reveal how it happened, but sharing that information brings Ed and Raul closer together.

Throughout its six-season run, "Glee" tackled a number of heavy topics that teens deal with in real life, including sexuality, racism, and teen pregnancy. While the musical dramedy was designed that way (for better and worse), the creators probably never guessed the show would have to deal with the subject of death in real life. But unfortunately, that's exactly what happened when star Cory Monteith passed away.

While preparing to return to the show's fifth season after a stint in rehab to treat his substance abuse, the actor behind Finn Hudson died from an overdose of heroin and alcohol in July 2013. The cast and crew paid tribute to the actor and the character with the episode titled "The Quarterback," which featured heartbreaking renditions of The Band Perry's "If I Die Young," Adele's cover of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" (performed by Monteith's onscreen and offscreen romantic partner Lea Michele), and "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders (which was a signature song of Finn's). While the series doesn't explicitly reveal how Finn died, viewers do get to see how each member of the New Directions glee club and the rest of the small Ohio community deals with the loss.

Following Monteith's death, the creative team of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan had to rework some storylines for the remainder of the series. But despite shifting focus to other characters, Finn was remembered during the rest of the run, not only through Rachel Berry and other classmates but with a plaque in the choir room that featured his picture and a quote from him: "The show must go... all over the place... or something."

For around 40 years, Stanley Kamel built an impressive resume as a character actor. He amassed over 80 appearances on television between 1968 and 2003 including roles on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Days of Our Lives," "The Golden Girls," "ER," and "Six Feet Under." But out of all the various roles he inhabited throughout his career, he is probably most remembered for playing Adrian Monk's beloved psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger on the USA series "Monk."

Introduced in the very first episode of the show, Kamel's infinitely patient Dr. Kroger was with Tony Shalhoub's titular obsessive-compulsive SFPD consultant for many ups and downs. However, after the actor suffered from a fatal heart attack in 2008 at the age of 65, the character faced a similar fate. In the season seven premiere titled "Mr. Monk Buys a House," it was revealed that Kroger also suddenly passed away due to a heart attack. Not only was the episode dedicated to Kamel, but the final shot of the episode featured a picture of the good doctor on Monk's mantle.

Following the loss of his rock and safety net in Dr. Kroger, Monk was understandably in a difficult place. That's why he immediately began to see Hector Elizondo's Dr. Neven Bell. While Mr. Monk was hesitant to accept this change at first, their doctor-patient relationship was quickly cemented and they stayed together through the end of the series and even into the 2023 sequel film, "Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie."

Phil Hartman was a national treasure. After beginning his career with The Groundlings and working with Paul Reubens on the development of Pee-wee Herman, the actor would join the cast of "Saturday Night Live" for their 12th season and become well known for his impressions of Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, Barbra Bush, Charlton Heston, Bill Clinton, and many others. In addition to his live action work in film and television, he also became an accomplished voice actor a number of projects (but perhaps most famously as Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz on "The Simpsons") and a fixture in commercials for brands such as McDonald's and Slice soda. The man was everywhere, but the last place his fans expected to find him was in the headlines as part of some scandal. Unfortunately, that's exactly where he landed due to the circumstances surrounding his death.

In May 1998, Hartman was tragically murdered at the age of 49 when he was shot in his sleep by wife Brynn Omdahl before she shot herself. During that time, the actor was between seasons four and five of the popular sitcom "NewsRadio," where he played WNYX news anchor Bill McNeal. Following Hartman's death, it was revealed in the season five premiere (which aired on the day that would have been the performer's 50th birthday) that McNeal suddenly died after suffering a heart attack offscreen. To fill the void, the show introduced fellow "SNL" alum and Hartman's friend Jon Lovitz in the second episode of the season to play Max Louis, an old colleague of Bill's who turns out to be not very good at his job. Ultimately, though the series as a whole was critically acclaimed, the network chose not to renew "NewsRadio" for a sixth season.

When "Sesame Street" debuted in 1969, there were only four human characters in the cast. One of them was Will Lee's Mr. Hooper, the slightly curmudgeonly shop owner who forms a strong bond with Big Bird. When Lee died from a heart attack on December 7, 1982, the producers of "Sesame Street" questioned whether they should recast the role or say that Mr. Hooper had retired. Instead, they decided to address the loss head-on and have the real-life events reflected on the show.

In the November 1983 episode titled "Farewell, Mr. Hooper," the adults of Sesame Street explain the concept of death to Big Bird when he can't find the shopkeeper to give him a picture that he drew. The eight-foot-two-inch young Muppet played by Carol Spinney is confused and saddened by the loss, but the grown ups explain that they love Big Bird and will all help him with this unexpected and tragic change in their community.

After setting a standard for discussing difficult topics with a young audience through this episode, the show released the book "I'll Miss You, Mr. Hooper," based on the episode, to continue teaching kids about death. As the show continued on, a number of people, including David, Mr. Handford and most recently Alan, have stepped up to take over Hooper's Store to keep the original proprietor's legacy alive.

Diseases can be extremely unpredictable. One moment, things are looking like they may be manageable, but then, just as quickly as a patient receives that diagnosis, things can take a dark turn. Unfortunately, that seems to be what happened with "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" star Andy Whitfield.

The Welsh actor was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma in March 2010. Because he began treatment immediately, production was delayed on the Starz series inspired by the legendary gladiator. During this time, the network produced a prequel titled "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," where Whitfield has a brief uncredited voice cameo. This bought them a little time ahead of the highly anticipated second season, and it looked like things were looking up as the actor was declared cancer-free in June 2010.

However, in September 2010, more testing revealed a relapse of Whitfield's condition. Due to this diagnosis, he decided to pull out of the project so as to not delay it even further. Australian actor Liam McIntyre would then step into the titular role for seasons two and three. Sadly, 18 months after he began treatment, Whitfield passed away from the disease in September 2011 at the age of 39.

George Segal built a storied career throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His work as a leading man in film during those years are the stuff of legend that many performers aspire to achieve. But after getting nominated for an Academy Award for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and winning a Golden Globe for "A Touch of Class," his career continued to thrive in the decades that followed. Whether he was doing comedy or drama, Segal was well equipped for any role. And that's how he brought so much vigor and enthusiasm to his role as grandfather Albert "Pops" Solomon in "The Goldbergs."

Pops served as both comic relief and a mentor/best friend for young Adam Goldberg throughout the ABC sitcom. But his final appearance would come at the end of season eight, as the actor would die in March 2021 from complications from a bypass surgery that he was having done during the show's break. The season nine premiere memorialized both Pops and Segal, but Adam carried the memory of his grandfather with him until the series concluded after their 10th season. Also, Judd Hirsch's Ben "Pop-Pop" Goldberg became more of a fixture on the show, especially after Jeff Garlin was dismissed in December 2021 for multiple misconduct allegations.

It's not surprising that "The Waltons" dealt with some heavy topics, considering that the show was set during The Great Depression. But with the CBS drama telling the story of the generations of a rural Virginia family, death had to factor in somewhere. Sure enough, it happened when veteran actor Will Greer passed away in 1978.

Greer played Zebulon "Grandpa" Walton for the first six seasons of the award-winning series. At the end of the sixth season, he died of respiratory failure at the age of 76. To account for his absence, the writers mirrored real life and had Grandpa Walton pass away on the show as well. In the two-part season seven premiere, John Sr. is struggling to deal with his father's passing as he tries to keep their lumber business afloat. Not only does he manage to pull through, the show itself follows suit and continues for two more seasons and six TV movies.

Throughout the show's history-making run, "The Simpsons" has dealt with death in a number of ways. For characters like Maude Flanders and Fat Tony, death was more of a gimmick. However, when Edna Krabappel voice actor Marcia Wallace passed away in 2013 from pneumonia and sepsis, the show really wanted to pay their respects to Bart's elementary school teacher and Ned Flanders' second wife.

While Mrs. Krabappel's off-screen death was first mentioned on the long-running animated series in the season 25 episode "The Man Who Grew Too Much" from 2014, the tribute came in 2021 during the 12th episode of the 32nd season, where Wallace's voice appears through archival recordings. In the episode titled "Diary Queen," Bart finds his former teacher's diary and discovers that she actually thought really highly of him. Though it has been said by showrunner Al Jean that the character is now retired, we'll see if Edna, Troy McClure, and any other characters who have passed away will at least be referenced between now and season 40, which has already been ordered by Disney.