26 TV Actors Who Were Recast So Quickly, You Probably Never Noticed The Difference

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We asked people of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what TV character was recast that a lot of people forget about. Here are the best submissions:

1.In the first season of My Wife and Kids, Claire was played by Jazz Raycole. Allegedly, Jazz left the show because her mother objected a storyline where one of Claire's friends becomes pregnant. For the rest of the series, Claire was played by Jennifer Freeman.

the two different actors on the show

Suggested by crashtestbuddy

ABC

2.In Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club, Dawn was played by Xochitl Gomez in Season 1. Xochitl was then cast in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and felt that with COVID, she couldn't travel back and forth to film both projects. Dawn was played by Kyndra Sanchez in Season 2.

close up of the two in the show

Suggested by brilynmit

Netflix

3.In Season 3 of Good Trouble, Angelica was introduced as a love interest for Malika. She was played by Odelya Halevi. Odelya was cast in NBC’s Law & Order revival so in Season 4 of Good Trouble, Yasmine Aker took over the role of Angelica.

closeup of the two actors
Freeform

4.In Season 1 of One Tree Hill Peyton's dad is played by Thomas Ian Griffith. However, the writers felt that he and Hilary Burton were "too flirty" with each other so when the character returned in the third season, he was played by Kevin Kilner.

close up of the two actors

Suggested by jacknicolee

The WB / The CW

5.In Season 1 of Riverdale, Reggie was played by Ross Butler. Ross left Riverdale for a role in 13 Reasons Why. He had the option to stay in both shows, but that meant his characters would be featured on the shows less. Charles Melton took over the role of Reggie in the next season of Riverdale.

close up of the two on the show

Suggested by kielilougheedj

The CW

6.In the pilot episode of What I Like About You, Holly and Val's dad was played by Peter Scolari. When the character returned in Season 4, he was played by Barry Bostick.

closeup of the two actors on the show

Suggested by americanhottie3333

The WB

7.Prue, Piper, and Phoebe's father was played by Anthony Denison in the first season of Charmed. In Season 3, and throughout the rest of the series, he was played by James Read.

close up of the two actors

Suggested by kelzluna113

The WB

8.In Last Man Standing, Kristin was played by Alexandra Krosney during Season 1 and by Amanda Fuller in Season 2 and on. The role was recast for creative reasons.

Alexanda and Amanda playing Kristin in different seasons

Suggested by adamk20

Fox

9.Nick Jonas was originally Ryan in Last Man Standing before he was replaced by Jordan Masterson in the second season.

close up of the two on the show

Suggested by redwulfgirl

ABC / Fox

10.In Gossip Girl, Blair's mom, Eleanor, was played by Florencia Lozano in the pilot. Reportedly, producers felt Florencia didn't look old enough to play Blair's mom. Eleanor was played by Margaret Colin after that.

Florencia Lozano as Blair's mom in the pilot and Margaret Colin as Blair's mom later on

Suggested by a_ghost

The CW

11.In Friends, Anita Barone played Carol in the character's first appearance in Season 1, Episode 9. The character returned in Episode 9, and Jane Sibbett played the role from then until the show ended.

Anita Barone as Carol and Jane Sibbett as Carol later on

Suggested by patsykiniry

NBC

12.In Arrested Development, Ann was played by Alessandra Torresani in her first appearance in Season 1, and then played by Mae Whitman in Season 2 and on. The original plan was to have Ann played by several actors during the show to emphasize how forgettable the character was, but they stuck with Mae because they liked how she played the role.

Alessandra and Mae playing Ann in different seasons

Suggested by travilkedung

Fox

13.Also in Boy Meets World, Topanga's mom, Rhiannon, was played by Annette O'Toole in Season 6 and then by Marcia Cross in Season 7.

Annette O'Toole and Marcia Cross playing Rhiannon in different seasons
ABC

14.In Family Guy, Lacey Chabert voiced Meg up until the second episode of Season 2. Lacey left the show because she was busy with school and filming Party of Five. Mila Kunis has voiced Meg Griffin from Season 2 to the present.

Pictures of Meg Griffin, Mila Kunis, and Lacey Chabert
Fox / Getty Images

15.In Pretty Little Liars, Toby Cavanaugh was played by James Neate in the pilot, and two episodes later he was by Keegan Allen until the end of the series.

James and Keegan playing Toby in different seasons

Suggested by sophia_erin

Freeform

16.In The Office, Pam’s mom, Helene, was first played by Shannon Cochran in Season 2. By the time they wanted to bring the character back, Shannon was a touring theatre actor. In Season 6, she was recast with Linda Purl.

Pam's mom in seasons 2 and 6 played by different actors

Suggested by kaelis4e1586adf

NBC

17.In Boy Meets World, Topanga's dad, Jedidiah, was first played by Peter Tork in Seasons 2 and 3, then he was played by Michael McKean in Season 6, and he then was played by Mark Harelik in Season 7.

Peter Tork, Michael McKean, and Mark Harelik playing Jedidiah in different seasons

Suggested by stephw45a02c32c

ABC

18.In Pretty Little Liars, Jason DiLaurentis, Alison's brother, was played by Parker Bagley in Season 1. He was recast with Drew Van Acker for the rest of the series because Drew was a better fit for the darker, more mysterious direction they wanted to take the character in.

Parker Bagley as Jason in Season 1 and Drew Van Acker as Jason later on
Freeform

19.In Season 4 of The Big Bang Theory, Amy's mom, Mrs. Fowler, makes her first appearance and is played by Annie O'Donnell. When she makes her first physical appearance in Season 11, she is replaced by Kathy Bates.

Annie O'Donnell playing Mrs. Fowler in a video chat and Kathy Bates playing her in later seasons

Suggested by louisesaysstuff

CBS

20.In Boy Meets World, Lily Nicksay starred as Morgan Matthews for the first two seasons. Other cast members said they got the sense Lily wasn't enjoying being a child actor so they let her move on. She was replaced by Lindsay Ridgeway for the rest of the series.

Lily and Lindsay playing Morgan in different seasons
ABC

21.In The O.C., Shailene Woodley starred as Kaitlin Cooper during Season 1, and when the character returned in Season 3, she was recast with Willa Holland. The character was recast because they wanted Kaitlin to be older than Shailene was able to pass for.

Shailene Woodley and Willa Holland playing Kaitlyn in different seasons
Fox

22.In Pretty Little Liars, Jessica DiLaurentis, Alison's mom was played by Anne Marie DeLuise in the first episode. When the character returned in Season 2, she was recast with Andrea Parker.

Anne Marie DeLuise as Jessica DiLaurentis in the pilot episode and Andrea Parker as Jessica later on

Suggested by sophia_erin

Freeform

23.In Friends, Jennifer Grey played Rachel’s former best friend Mindy in Season 1, and then Jana Marie Hupp played her in Season 2.

Jennifer and Jana playing Mindy in different seasons
NBC

24.In Shameless, Mandy Milkovich was played by Jane Levy in Season 1 and then was recast with Emma Greenwell in Season 2.

Jane Levy and Emma Greenwell playing Mandy in different seasons

Suggested by kkinseym

Showtime

25.In the pilot episode of Glee, there's a picture of Rachel with her dads, but when they make their first physical appearance in Season 3 they are played by Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell, who were not the men in the photo.

A picture of Rachel's dads from the pilot and then Jeff and Brian playing her dads in season 3

Suggested by yankee1982001

Fox

26.And lastly, Chuck Cunningham from Happy Days was played by three different actors. In an episode of Love, American Style, an anthology comedy series, the Cunningham family was introduced on television for the first time and Chuck was played by Ric Carrott. Then during the first season of Happy Days, Chuck was played by Gavan O'Herlihy and he was replaced by Randolph Roberts in Season 2.

the three actors in the role
ABC

Who are other TV characters most people forgot were recast? Let us know in the comments!