Television used to be the inferior form of entertainment compared to movies. While many people still prefer cinema to the small screen, television programs have continued to get better over the years as technology and budgets have increased.
In some cases, the quality of TV programs have matched– if not overcome– the quality of popular movies. Many ongoing series, such as Game of Thrones and The Handmaid’s Tale, have won Emmys that are equivalent to Oscars in the TV World.
Television appeals to a wide range of people because in our busy lives, we may not always have time to sit down and watch a two and a half hour movie all at once. A TV season is almost always longer than this, but most people have the time to sit down and watch a half hour or 45 minute episode every now and then.
TV is also a special medium because it is not constrained to a two and a half hour time limit that allows for excellent plot and character development.
While recasting a character down the line is frowned upon for continuity purposes, it is not unheard of. Often the recasting is because of actor availability or disputes, but sometimes it can just be because the actor is not living up to expectations.
So without further ado, here are the 10 Actors TV Shows Should Get Rid Of In 2018 (And 10 Who Should Replace Them).
20. Get Rid Of: Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco has been getting a lot of attention recently, but for all the wrong reasons. After ending her quiet relationship with Johnny Galecki in 2010, Cuoco seemed to always find her way into the headlines because of who she was dating.
She dated Henry Cavill in 2013, got married to tennis star Ryan Sweeting, and then had a post-divorce fling with Paul Blackthorne from Arrow. While it may not seem like a big deal, she seems to want to always be in the spotlight on The Big Bang Theory as well.
According to a report from Morning News USA, Cuoco may be getting jealous of the amount of screen time that the show is giving actress Melissa Ranch because of Bernadette’s pregnancy. While this could indicate Penny and Leonard having a baby on The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco needs to be replaced before it happens.
19. Replace With: Billie Piper
Many people believe that Penny is the reason why The Big Bang Theory continues to go downhill. While replacing Kaley Cuoco may not entirely solve the show’s problem, it could be a step in the right direction.
Billie Piper could easily fill the shoes of Penny on The Big Bang Theory. She is no stranger to geeky shows, such as Doctor Who, and her previous show Penny Dreadful ended back in 2016. In short, Piper may need work besides her new Netflix series Collateral, which has gotten mixed reviews.
Also, Billie Piper’s acting easily surpasses Kaley Cuoco’s even though they both started acting in the ’90s. It would be a hard sell to replace an actress after eleven seasons, but if the show has any hopes of continuing, something needs to be done and Billie Piper could be the solution.
18. Get Rid Of: K.J. Apa
Unfortunately, K.J. Apa is the furthest thing from a nice guy in real life. This is only one of the reasons why he should be replaced on The CW’s Riverdale.
Prior to Riverdale, K.J. Apa’s only credits were a few random TV shows, but his breakout role was as Archie Andrews in 2016. While there is nothing wrong with his acting on the show, there also is nothing great about it.
Being a TV show that is based on such a popular comic, Riverdale should aim to be something more than the typical teen drama, but that is not the case right now. The show is currently an average program with an excess of drama and little direction, and K.J. Apa is partly to blame.
17. Replace With: Evan Peters
Evan Peters may be ten years older than K.J. Apa, but Peters could easily pull off the look of a young Archie Andrews. Not only has Evan Peters rocked red and even blue hair before, but he also has a ton of acting experience under his belt.
Fans of Marvel movies were expecting Peters’ version of Quicksilver to be miserable compared to Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s, but Evan Peters ended up stealing the show in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
This being said, Peters could make Riverdale something more than just an average teenage drama. He has been a series regular on American Horror Story, and look how well that show is doing. This Archie TV show deserves a much more experienced actor, and Evan Peters would be a great fit.
16. Get Rid Of: David Duchovny
The X-Files has been a fan-favorite TV show ever since its debut in 1993. The show is scary, intense, and mind-boggling all at once. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson made a great team as Mulder and Scully, respectively.
It was no surprise that the show made a triumphant return for the tenth season in 2016, but unfortunately, it looks as if the show will be losing Anderson sooner than expected. Gillian Anderson announced this January that season eleven of The X-Files would be her last.
While David Duchovny is fantastic as Fox Mulder, the show should not attempt to continue with just one person from the dynamic duo. If Gillian Anderson is going to move on, then so should David Duchovny.
15. Replace With: Ansel Elgort
The X-Files is currently near the end of the eleventh season. With Anderson’s announcement at the beginning of January about her departure, it probably left little time for the writers of the show to give her an adequate send-off.
With as popular a show as The X-Files has become, it is unlikely that the show would just be canceled because of Gillian’s absence. Ansel Elgort could replace David Duchovny as Fox Mulder if the show were to do a soft reboot and recast both Mulder and Scully.
It may not be the most popular decision, but it would avoid the backlash of only having Mulder and no Scully. As for Ansel Elgort, he is an incredible up-and-coming actor who has already starred in an Oscar-nominated movie (Baby Driver) at the age of 23. Fans may be hesitant at first, but would soon grow to love Elgort as much as Duchovny.
14. Get Rid Of: Mike Seal
Even with the show hitting record lows, The Walking Dead always seems to be able to generate a lot of buzz. Because of the way that the show is written, the only members of The Saviors who are really worth mentioning are Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Simon (Steven Ogg).
On the other hand, there are several main characters in Rick’s group who fans would freak out over if they died. One way to even the playing field for main characters would be to recast a Savior with a more popular actor, or just have someone switch sides like Eugene did.
Mike Seal may be doing an alright job playing the character Gary, but he has had such a small role that fans may not even notice if he was recasted.
13. Replace With: Jason Mitchell
The Walking Dead has already hosted one actor from the Oscar-nominated movie Straight Outta Compton, so why not add another? Corey Hawkins did a phenomenal job in his role of Heath in The Walking Dead until his character was seemingly killed off in the episode “Swear” in season seven.
Mike Seal may have a few extra years of acting experience, but Jason Mitchell proves that quality takes precedence over quantity. Mitchell started acting in 2011 and has already starred in movies such as Straight Outta Compton, Kong: Skull Island, and Detroit.
Jason Mitchell might just have the star power needed to bring The Saviors some more interesting characters. Replacing Mike Seal with Jason Mitchell as Gary could be the answer to this particular predicament.
12. Get Rid Of: Taylor Schilling
Orange is the New Black has been guaranteed to have seven seasons from Netflix, but the creator of the show, Jenji Kohan, may have the ability to go further because of the show’s popularity.
While Orange is the New Black is unarguably popular, Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman is not. Many people claim that Taylor Schilling is the worth part of the show. The show is based on the true story of Piper Kerman, but Schilling was never really popular with fans from the beginning.
The show has far more interesting characters than Piper Chapman, but this hardly seems right since the show is an adaptation of Kerman’s memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison.
The show can’t kill off Piper since she is obviously still alive in real life, but the casting department could always replace Taylor Schilling.
11. Replace With: Anya Taylor-Joy
Anya Taylor-Joy may be a young up-and-coming actress, but at the age of 21, she has given viewers some incredible performances.
Her first notable performance was in 2015 as Thomasin in Robert Eggers’ The Witch and more recently as Casey Cooke in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split. Taylor-Joy gave some marvelous portrayals of a 1630’s farmer and a modern-day kidnapped hostage, so a prison inmate is more than within her acting ability.
Taylor Schilling has not exactly given a memorable performance as Piper Chapman, so the bar is not that high for Anya Taylor-Joy to beat. Piper Chapman could be a way more interesting character than she is right now, and replacing Schilling could be one way to get there.
10. Get Rid Of: Lucas Till
MacGyver was a popular show in the ’80s and ’90s known for its unconventional problem solving, and starred Richard Dean Anderson as Angus MacGyver. Fast forward to 2016 and the show was rebooted with Lucas Till, only this version was not nearly as popular.
The show is continuing the second half of season two on March 30th, but after the season is up, CBS might want to look elsewhere for a lead actor.
Lucas Till has been in some excellent movies, like the X-Men series, so his acting is just fine, but the show needs to try something new in order to compete with other more popular shows. One way of doing this would be to replace Lucas Till for someone like Josh Holloway.
9. Replace With: Josh Holloway
Fans of MacGyver would, of course, be able to spot the continuity error if Josh Holloway were to replace Lucas Till, but it could bring in more viewers and improve the quality of the show.
Josh Holloway is most known for his luscious long-haired character named Sawyer on Lost. With as many fans as Lost had, some would be drawn to a new show with Lost’s sarcastic flirt in the main role.
MacGyver could even go the James Bond route and replace Angus MacGyver every season with a new action star. This would be somewhat unconventional in the television world, but it would make MacGyver different than other typical action shows.
Josh Holloway currently stars in USA’s Colony, but it is not uncommon for an actor to film two shows at once.
8. Get Rid Of: Wes Bentley
American Horror Story may still be going strong, but the show has been slowly going downhill after the first two seasons aired.
Wes Bentley may not be the sole cause, but he has been on the show since Freak Show as Edward Mordrake and continued on for Hotel and Roanoke as John Lowe and Dylan respectively.
He was absent from season seven (Cult), and the executives may want to consider leaving him out of the show and bringing back some of the actors from the first two seasons.
Most of the cast has been with the show from the beginning, but some left along the way. Since American Horror Story is an anthology series, with connections now starting to be revealed, it would be easy enough to swap out Wes Bentley for someone like Dylan McDermott.
7. Replace With: Dylan McDermott
Dylan McDermott starred in the first two seasons of American Horror Story, but the show has not been quite the same since he left.
The show is known for its excessive gore and twisted storylines, but the first two seasons really gave us two horrifying tales thanks to Dylan McDermott. He played a psychiatrist named Ben Harmon in Murder House and a serial killer in Asylum named Johnny Morgan, aka Bloody Face.
Since his American Horror Story days, McDermott has been in projects such as The Campaign and Olympus has Fallen, but nothing has really been able to top the incredible performances he gave in Murder House and Asylum.
In the interest of the show and Dylan McDermott’s wallet, it would be best if he returned to the show and replaced Wes Bentley.
6. Get Rid Of: David Harbour
David Harbour is most known for his role of Jim Hopper on Netflix’s retro hit called Stranger Things.
Getting rid of anyone who stars on Stranger Things may seem like messing with sacred grounds, but it may be necessary. David Harbour is currently slated to star in the reboot of Hellboy which will be released on January 11, 2019.
Everyone knows that superhero movies can quickly launch an actor into a famous, steady, and busy acting career. David Harbour has already become incredibly popular with viewers because of Hopper.
Movie studios will more than likely start picking him up for more projects after they see his work on Hellboy, so he might just not have time for Stranger Things anymore.
Hopper is very important to the character development of Eleven, so Netflix may want to think twice before just killing him off.
5. Replace With: Ron Perlman
Fans of Guillermo del Toro had been begging ever since 2008 for a third installment of the Hellboy series. Fans are now finally getting another Hellboy movie but it is neither a sequel nor is it starring Rob Perlman.
If David Harbour is able to take over a superhero role as popular as the Right Hand of Doom, then Ron Perlman should be allowed to take over a role as popular as Jim Hopper.
Sure, he may not be better than David Harbour in the role, but it is better than getting rid of the character all together. Perlman has over 200 credits in his filmography dating all the way back to 1979, so playing a police chief should not be outside the realm of possibility for him.
4. Get Rid Of: Jason Isaacs
Star Trek: Discovery has become a hit with old and new Star Trek fans. The show only has one problem: Jason Isaacs.
Jason Isaacs himself is a tremendous actor. He has starred in the Harry Potter series, A Cure for Wellness, and Peter Pan (2003). What is the connection between all these movies? He plays the villain in all three of them. Jason Isaacs has become so good at playing evil roles that he is starting to become typecast as one.
When his mirror universe counterpart turned out to be the bad guy in Star Trek: Discovery, let’s just say it was not a very shocking discovery. It would be a shocking discovery, however, to find out that Patrick Stewart would be replacing Jason Isaacs after Captain Lorca’s death on the show.
3. Replace With: Patrick Stewart
Even though this is the most far-fetched idea on this list, it would be fun to see it happen.
Star Trek has explored the idea of mirror and parallel universes in pretty much every version of the show including Star Trek: Discovery. Patrick Stewart played Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the four movies that followed.
Even if you don’t follow the show, you would probably recognize the character from the infamous meme that is all over the internet.
Also, even if Patrick Stewart played Captain Gabriel Lorca for a few episodes in a parallel universe, it would be a fun side story from the current show. Though this will probably never happen, it never hurts to dream about a world with more Patrick Stewart.
2. Get Rid Of: David Mazouz
Gotham has been on FOX now for three and a half seasons, and David Mazouz is just now beginning his transformation into Batman.
The series’ ratings have continued to drop with each new season, with season 4 hitting a record low. The initial idea of a young Batman storyline was intriguing for many, but fans have patiently waited through four seasons for the famous black suit and cape to come on screen.
Gotham has taken its time developing Bruce Wayne, but Bruce Wayne needs to become Batman now in order to bring in viewers.
The show needs to get going with an adult version of Batman, and through no fault of his own, David Mazouz can only grow so fast. David Mazouz was only 13 when the show began in 2014 and he has done an exceptional job as the caped crusader, but someone older needs to take over at this point.
1. Replace With: Sam Witwer
You may not recognize his face, but you have heard Sam Witwer’s voice in The Force Unleashed video games and from Star Wars: Rebels. Batman is known for having a unique voice, so having a voice actor play an adult version of Batman would come in handy.
Witwer has also appeared in several TV shows over the years including Dexter, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The Walking Dead, so his live action acting is not something that fans would need to worry about.
Batman has become immensely popular especially after Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy came out. Having Gotham turn into a full-fledged Batman superhero show could be one way of bringing up the show’s ratings and viewership. Whether this happens or not, Gotham needs to be saved fictionally and in real life.
Are there any other actors you are tired of seeing this year? Do you know who should replace them? Let us know in the comment section!
