Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Chemistry: finding it is a nearly impossible task, and when you don’t got it, you don’t got it. That makes casting a sitcom a tough feat, especially considering how tight an ensemble needs to be in order for a show to really click. Some shows manage to start off strong with a killer ensemble, like Friends or The Office or The Golden Girls. Others–like Parks & Recreation or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia–need to add a few characters to the mix in order to make things click. And then some shows do the crazy thing of recasting existing roles well into the show’s run, like when Roseanne’s Becky transformed into Sarah Chalke (and back into Lecy Goranson and back again).
And then there are the times when a show’s producers catch a chemical imbalance before it has a chance to explode in their faces. Sometimes changes have to be made before a show even makes it on-air! That just happened this TV season when the new CBS sitcom The Neighborhood recast half of its leads and reshot the pilot. Josh Lawson and Dreama Walker originally played the new couple on the block, but they were replaced with Max Greenfield (New Girl) and Beth Behrs (Two Broke Girls).
Things can change fast in the world of sitcoms, and that’s how it’s always been. Want proof? Just look at this list of castings that almost became part of pop culture and try to imagine how these shows would have been irrevocably changed.
Fred Dryer as Sam in 'Cheers'
Cheers is the greatest sitcom of all time, and it earned that reputation with its perfectly cast ensemble. If even one actor didn’t fit, it would all fall apart. That’s why it’s impossible to imagine anyone playing any of the characters, specifically the show’s lead lothario Sam Malone. But before Ted Danson took on the role, the show cast former NFL player Fred Dryer in the role. Sam was originally going to be a burly ex-football player, but the show switched things up before the pilot was shot by casting Danson and turning Sam into a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Dryer went on to appear in a few episodes as a sportscaster.
Louie Anderson as Larry on 'Perfect Strangers'
Louie Anderson’s enjoying a resurgence in his career thanks to his Emmy-winning role on the FX comedy Baskets, but his first brush with comedy stardom came in the ’80s when he was originally cast opposite Bronson Pinchot in Perfect Strangers. Anderson was going to play Lou, the cousin of a wacky immigrant (Pinchot’s Balki Bartokomous). A pilot and promo photos were shot, but a lack of chemistry between the two leads led to the show replacing Anderson with Mark Linn-Baker.
John Posey as Danny on 'Full House'
Decades before he played Dr. Fenris on MTV’s Teen Wolf, John Posey was an up-and-coming actor who landed a gig in a pilot. That pilot was Full House, and the role was that of series patriarch Danny Tanner. The Full House producers wanted Bob Saget, but he wasn’t able to film a pilot due to his commitments to CBS’ morning news show. Posey stepped in for the pilot (which you can watch on YouTube), but the producers got their wish when Full House was ordered to series and Saget became available.
Frances Fisher as Jill on 'Home Improvement'
Frances Fisher is most known for dramatic roles in movies like Unforgiven, Titanic, and House of Sand and Fog. That’s why it’s super hard to imagine her starring in a lighthearted ABC family sitcom like Home Improvement, but that’s what almost happened! Fisher shot the pilot, but she lacked chemistry with Tim Allen and the studio audience found her to be too serious. Enter: Patricia Richardson, who some (okay, me) consider to be the best sitcom mom ever.
Stephen Tobolowsky as Al on 'Home Improvement'
Jill was far from the only character to be recast before the series premiered. Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (a.k.a. Ned Ryerson from Groundhog Day) was cast as Tim’s TV sidekick Glen, but he was unable to film the pilot due to a movie commitment. The producers created a stand-in character, Al, and cast Richard Karn in the role. Karn was initially just a placeholder for Glen, who would have been introduced as soon as Tobolowsky got the time. Fortunately for all of us Al superfans, Tobolowsky’s film career never slowed down and he had to back out of Home Improvement, thus making Al Tim’s one and only sidekick.
Lisa Kudrow as Roz on 'Frasier'
Lisa Kudrow was destined to be a major player in NBC’s Must See TV era, she just had to find the right show. She was originally cast in Frasier as radio producer Roz Doyle, but things didn’t go well during the pilot’s shoot. Producers felt they needed an actor who could play someone stern enough to stand up to Kelsey Grammer, and Kudrow didn’t have the right energy. Peri Gilpin did, so she got the role when it was recast and the pilot was reshot. Then Kudrow found the role of a lifetime a season later when Friends happened.
Ray Romano as Joe on 'NewsRadio'
Ray Romano’s tenure as a NewsRadio cast member didn’t even make it to the pilot. Romano was initially cast as station technician Rick, but producers quickly realized the stand-up’s dry, low-energy delivery would not mesh well with the rest of the madcap cast. Romano was let go before the pilot was shot. His replacement Joe Rogan didn’t even appear in the NewsRadio pilot; Greg Lee played Rick in the pilot and then the character was renamed Joe and recast with Rogan. Just think: if Romano had not been fired from NewsRadio, a little show called Everybody Loves Raymond may have never happened.
Rachel Dratch as Jenna on '30 Rock'
Since 30 Rock’s Liz and Jenna were meant to be old comedy partners, it made sense that Tina Fey cast her longtime collaborator Rachel Dratch in the role. Originally, the NBC comedy was supposed to contain a whole lot more of the show within a show, meaning Dratch would have played Jenna playing a ton of weirdo sketch characters. But the show evolved quite a bit during production on the pilot, which included Dratch as Jenna, and the sketch aspect was mostly dropped. Dratch’s performance apparently didn’t test well, either, and the role was given to Jane Krakowski. Dratch stayed on to play a number of different side characters, ranging from a cat wrangler to Barbara Walters and a creepy Blue Man.
Jenna Fischer as Andi on 'Man With a Plan'
After 9 seasons on The Office, Jenna Fischer almost returned to primetime co-starring in the CBS multi-cam comedy Man With a Plan. Fischer was cast alongside Matt LeBlanc, but–as has happened many times before–the chemistry between the two just did not click into place during production on the pilot. Fischer’s role was recast with Yes, Dear alum Liza Snyder. Now Snyder is in her third season playing Andi Burns, and Fischer’s back on TV with the ABC single-cam sitcom Splitting Up Together.
