Billions fans all over the world were bummed to hear that Damian Lewis’ appearance on the season five finale (which found his character, Bobby Axelrod, on the run from the law in Switzerland) might be his last on the show. While Lewis has said that his contract was only ever for five seasons and he didn’t want to renew it, others wonder if the death of his wife, actress Helen McCroy, from breast cancer earlier this year also played a part in his decision to bow out.
Regardless of his reasons for departing the popular Showtime series, this isn’t the first time a TV show’s lead has left before the final curtain call. As they say, “The show must go on” – and these are eight of them that did so without their star.
Cover Photo: Showtime
Shows Without Lead Actor
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‘Billions’ – Damian Lewis
Is there still a show without cutthroat trader Axe? We have our doubts. But Damian Lewis has exited stage left, and season six of the series has Corey Stoll slated to take over Axe’s illustrious chair (not to mention office and businesses) as Mike Prince.
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‘House of Cards’ – Kevin Spacey
While many viewers were ready and waiting for Robin Wright’s Claire to take over the presidency, the way it happened wasn’t exactly ideal. In 2017, sexual misconduct allegations surfaced over the Netflix drama’s star, Kevin Spacey, and the streamer decided to fire him. His character, Frank Underwood, was killed off. While Netflix did the right thing in removing the predator from the cast, the final season of the series lacked a certain something that only Spacey could bring to the screen.
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‘The Office’ – Steve Carell
Self-absorbed, offensive, and ridiculous boss Michael Scott was the whole reason a lot of us tuned into The Office. But star Steve Carell only signed a seven-season contract, and when it was time to re-up, he declined while the rest of the cast carried on for another two years. Sure, we enjoyed seeing the Pam and Jim storyline take center stage as much as the next viewer, but those last two seasons of the show struggled to incite as much laughter as Carell could with just a funny look.
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‘ER’ – George Clooney
Clooney left this medical drama during season five to pursue feature film roles, and the risk paid off in the form of multiple Academy Awards. While fans were devastated when he hung up his white coat as Dr. Doug Ross, at least he did them the favor of returning for the series’ final season.
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‘The X Files’ – David Duchovny
Seven seasons was all Duchovny devoted to this sci-fi series, which added actors Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish to the cast to make up for his absence for an additional two seasons. But when revival time came in 2016, Duchovny was back on board and brought Mulder back to life for an additional two seasons.
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‘Two and a Half Men’ – Charlie Sheen
In case you missed it, this sitcom’s star went off the rails in 2011, claiming he had “tiger blood” and indulging in self-destructive behaviors. After dragging the series’ creator through the mud, Sheen got sacked, and was soon replaced by Ashton Kutcher. Look, there’s no doubt Sheen is a douche, but this mostly terrible show just got worse after his departure.
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‘Cheers’ – Shelley Long
Long took a big chance on her movie career when she departed this critically acclaimed and award-winning show. Her character, Diane Chambers, was replaced by Kirstie Alley, who became a new love interest for Ted Danson’s Sam Malone. While fans were heartbroken, Long reappeared for the series finale, in which Diane and Sam reunited…though only to conclude they weren’t meant to be a long-term couple.
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‘8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter’ – John Ritter
This was a rare case where an actor didn’t choose to leave a show. In 2003, star John Ritter unexpectedly passed away from aortic dissection. The ABC family comedy was in the middle of the second season, and ultimately ended up writing the death of his character, Paul Hennessy, into the show. It only survived one more season without its star before being canceled.
