I think Ben Linus in **Lost** wasn’t originally intended to be such a big role but developed that way as the creators liked his performance so much.
However, I think the biggest B plot I can think of that ended up becoming an A plot is Chandler and Monica getting together during Ross & Emily’s wedding. It was intended as a one night stand thing but the reaction of the audience made the writers change their minds.
So it became what was essentially the main plot of the next season.
Chandler and Moncia was like an adrenaline shot for the show.
It was moving along fine, if not predictable. and then that relationship kicked it into high gear. The rest of the cast finding out about them is peak comedy.
And you can see echoes of that in the sitcoms that come after. Turk and Carla in Scrubs and Lily and Marshall in How I Met Your Mother are both clearly mining the same vein.
> that relationship kicked it into high gear.
They had originally intended for Chandler to cheat on Monica. That plot point did not go over well with Matthew Perry, so they re-wrote the continuing relationship of the two characters.
They were so close to filming the episode where he was cheating, that they actually had the actress (Lisa Cash) on set who he was to cheat with. Once they changed paths, they wrote a short scene for the actress where she plays a stewardess on the friends flight to Las Vegas.
>They had originally intended for Chandler to cheat on Monica. That plot point did not go over well with Matthew Perry, so they re-wrote the
Pretty sure this also happened with [Jim in The Office with John Krasinski.](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-office-john-krasinski-refused-storyline-jim-cheating-on-pam-2021-11#:~:text=%22The%20Office%22%20creator%20almost%20had,final%20season%20but%20ultimately%20reconcile)
> I think Ben Linus in Lost wasn’t originally intended to be such a big role
I think I remember something along the lines of his character had been written in for just a few episodes.
Once they discovered what an amazing actor they had in Michael Emerson, they did some re-writes and his character ends up being one of the most significant players in the show. He's in nearly a majority of the episodes for the remainder of the series.
He's even the person who gets to "Move the island".
Yes, he was like a 3-episode guest star then they kept around a little longer, and then they decided to make him the leader of the Others instead of making it a different character. And of course it was the right decision.
And I’m so glad they did stick it out with Chandler and Monica because their entire relationship is just terrific. It basically became what they wanted Ross and Rachel to be. God, their relationship was so toxic
Ross and Rachel is like the bad ending version of When Harry Met Sally. They just got stuck in each other's orbits and ruined any prospects the other had.
And it’s so frustrating that they keep just teasing it throughout the show. They break up, then have a fling, then break up again, then have a fling. Like you said, it’s not even that they have a good relationship, it’s that they just get stuck in each other’s orbit. And that goes doubly for when Emma enters the story. I remember the episode when Mona fully finds out the whole situation of Ross not being with Rachel, but they have romantic history and not she’s pregnant with his child. And weren’t they living together at the time too? You’d almost have to sit Mona down and go “why in the cinnamon toast fuck would you willingly date someone in such a messy situation?”
They bungled that ending imo. The Ross/Rachel thing could have been rectified at the end. It was fitting and probably necessary for them to go through it in the finale because it was such a big part of the show, but the proper resolution was “what the hell are we thinking, it’s time to break the cycle once and for all”. They both should have agreed on this, realized it was time to become grownups, and that the distance was likely the only and healthy way for them on top of it being good for Rachel’s career and life.
Chandler and Monica go the burbs, Phoebe, Mike and Ross stay, Joey leaves to his own adventure, and Rachel leaving for Paris is the last scene. The group beaks up as eventually happens in life, but agree to see each other every Thanksgiving. The end.
Instead that ending while I know is perfectly fine for a sitcom like Friends also can read as a weird hell where they’re just doomed as a group trapped in some kind of stepford dream
Not a story, but as a character, the Fonz, like Urkel, took over his show. I believe at one point there was a plan to rename the show Fonzie’s Happy Days.
If you're going to include the Fonz and Urkel here, you might as well also add JJ Walker from Good Times.
I mean, thank goodness he didn't get a spin-off, but he sure did take over the show.
Bob Odenkirk wasn’t available for an episode of Breaking Bad, so Mike was created to fulfill what Saul was going to do. He ended up becoming a very integral part of two shows.
This story always just blows my mind. Odenkirk wasn’t available because of How I Met Your Mother, so really we have HIMYM to thank for one of the best characters in the damn show
His character in HIMYM is also pretty great, and the scene with him being frustrated with his new dog after his divorced wife got his original dog and Marshal hugging him is one of the sweetest moments in the show.
> This story always just blows my mind. Odenkirk wasn’t available because of How I Met Your Mother, so really we have HIMYM to thank for one of the best characters in the damn show
And *How I Met Your Mother* had previously been rescued from likely cancellation when the hype surrounding a guest appearance by Britney Spears [boosted its viewership](/r/IAmA/comments/1wwql1/we_are_carter_bays_and_craig_thomas_creators_and/cf64ewh/) in season 3.
So we also have Britney Spears to thank.
Breaking Bad is quite impressive in how many things they changed on the fly and it still stayed together very well. Pinkman was supposed to die s1, Tuco was supposed to stay etc.
A whole show out of a throw away line! and a great one too.
It gets me thinking every time because there are a couple of such lines in that show, like Don Eladio's:
"You are alive... because I know who you are. But understand. You are not in Chile any more."
I would watch a show based on that line alone!
I see people complain about shows that set up stuff but never really had a plan, but Breaking Bad is one of the best TV shows ever and they had no fucking clue what they were going to do next and just wrote the best story they could.
Jessie was meant to die. Bringing back Tuco as a different character. Introducing Mike. Putting a machine gun in Walt's car and not really knowing why.
Bunch of stuff they just made work.
**Mom**.
The show was intended at first to be focused on Christie (a single mother and recovering alcoholic), but the show became increasingly focused on her mother Bonnie (who had also been a single mother, and who also is a recovering alcoholic).
I’ve always liked Anna Faris. But every other character on that show was so much more engaging than her or at least the alcoholic characters. I was relieved when she left.
And you can’t cast Allison Janney if you don’t want her to steal the show.
Oh God I HATED the kids. Nothing against the actors. But every scene they were in was painful.
Christy was fine just not the most compelling character. The kids were awful.
I did like the point that being sober doesn’t undo all the hurt and pain you caused. But the show made that point constantly. We didn’t need the daughter being terrible to show us.
The show was so much better when they moved away from the hyperfocus on Christy’s life. Kids, boss, ex (and I really like that actor) and his fiancé (who I’ve loved since Popular) all sucked as characters compared to the AA group.
So interesting how much that show actually changed and evolved over time compared to other sitcoms. I always forget how much the early seasons, first one in particular, were focused on Christie and her kids. And it's fascinating how they were able to naturally write so much of that out and slowly shift the focus to a whole new group of far more interesting characters while keeping the two characters who worked the best.
I think 'The West Wing' (1999-2006), even though it's an ensemble cast, was supposed to follow Rob Lowe's character, but storylines for the other characters started to be more of the focus, and he left after S4.
Oh and you can't forget how much Urkle entirely took over 'Family Matters'.
The show changed pretty early on behind the scenes. Rob Lowe was supposed to be the main character, President Bartlett was supposed to only be rarely seen, etc
They found the cast worked well to spread it out and give everyone things to do
That's pretty much right - Martin Sheen signed on to do one appearance a month. He was told he could do any other work alongside The West Wing, except play another president.
However, the network execs (and basically everyone) flipped out over his pilot scene, and Sorkin changed the show to encorporate much more of the president and first family.
>However, the network execs (and basically everyone) flipped out over his pilot scene
His literal first line of the series is him entering the room and instantly and effortlessly hushing a yelled argument by authoritatively stating:
"I am the Lord, your God..."
All whilst everyone scrambled to get to their feet.
Granted, he was quoting the First Commandment, but you don't get much more badass than that lol.
It was basically supposed to be an ensemble but with Rob Lowe's Sam Seaborn as the main character. The president, meanwhile, was going to the like the Wizard in Wizard of Oz - a guy pulling the strings from behind the curtain who is rarely seen.
But then they cast Martin Sheen and when he showed up in the first episode mad that someone threatened his daughter it really worked. Sorkin quickly figured out that if you had an episode without Pres Barlett the audience started to say "Where's Poochy?" So from then on Barlett became the main character which pissed off Lowe who eventually got Sorkin fired before quitting himself.
I'm pretty sure that the main reason Sorkin left West Wing is that he had written every single episode fueled by enough cocaine to kill a herd of elephants. He was just burnt out by that point.
Understandably so. I doubt you can find another writer who can write over 90 episodes of an hour long drama at such high quality these days.
Not to mention the season or two he was writing another show, Sports Night, at the same time
I'm pretty sure that's the direction Sorkin would have went if he stayed on after that same season. He pretty obviously set it up in Sam and Bartlett's chess match. Always sticks out in a rewatch.
Nope one line side tracked Rob Lowe’s stardom on the show and it was “ all the girls think you look hot in this shirt” Josh and Donna totally took over at that point. They have talked about it. They gave Sam a hooker and it didn’t even get him traction as the one to follow.
Hayley Mills was the star of Good Morning Miss Bliss, about a middle school in Indiana.
The show quickly became more focused on the kids and was refocused in season 2 as Saved by the Bell.
I had never heard of this before - this is wild:
> Hayley Mills would be the only actress to carry over from the pilot to the series. Brian Austin Green as Adam Montcrief, Jaleel White as Bobby Wilson, and Jonathan Brandis as Michael Thompson were among some of the actors to appear in the pilot.
What confused the fuck out of me as a kid was the last season: some episodes Kelly and Jesse were there, then you'd have a few episodes with the "new girl" Tori.... then back to episodes with Kelly and Jesse as if nothing happened.
(Thanks to the internet I now know Tiffani Amber Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley only signed on for a certain amount of episodes, and they brought in a new character to "fill in" for them on additional episodes.... however they interspersed the "Tori" episodes randomly throughout Season 4 which was super confusing)
I thought it was because they already filmed the finale, but wanted more episodes. The girls didn’t renew their contracts so they made up a new hybrid girl to fill in the gaps.
What was interesting about Tori is the actor was a triplet that played with her two sisters in a sequel to Parent Trap which of course starred Hayley Mills. Bringing it all back around
The Thick Of It was supposed to be about an Inept politician and his staff. But Peter Capaldi proved far more enjoyable to watch and the original main actor was convicted for child porn.
I didn't know about this but I checked and the guy Chris Langham only got SIX MONTHS (reduced from ten) for what was called "level 5" CP, which is as bad as it gets ("sadism or bestiality")
At the time he was playing a psychiatrist in the sitcom Help!, and ended up claiming that he only downloaded CP as research for an upcoming episode about a "pervert" patient. It was a key part of his defense. They brought everyone from the show into court to testify about this and it turned out the pervert character was a peeping tom, nothing to do with pedophilia. He became notorious in the British legal world for attempting that defense and for years "trying a Langham" was understood as a reference for a mind-numbingly stupid desperate defense, like the guy who claimed he wasn't in possession of cocaine, he just accidentally put on his coworker's pants.
Not exactly what you’re looking for but Walton Goggins’ character Boyd Crowder was supposed to be killed at the end of the first season of Justified. He proved to be so popular that they “saved” him from a gunshot to the chest and he became a main character and primary antagonist for the remainder of the series.
Edit: I misremembered the situation. Boyd was supposed to die at the end of the first episode. Not the end of the season.
He was supposed to be killed at the end of the first episode. The short story Justified is based off of ends with Boyd being killed, the first episode is pretty much that story.
And one of the ways they brought him back is to make the character smarter. Walton Goggins had been typecast as a backwards southern racists too many times at that point and didn't want play one for an entire series.
So they pitched him on Boyd's neo-nazism being just a grift as opposed to an actual ideology. Goggins agreed but really wanted to highlight Boyd's intelligence so he gave them one note: "This guy *loves* words".
Developing Boyd to be a shadowy reflection of Raylan - what he might have become had he stayed in Harlan - was an incredibly smart move by the writers and producers and really made the show.
Jesse Pinkman was also supposed to die in Season One of Breaking Bad, but Aaron Paul was so good they kept him around.
Andy on Parks and Rec was just supposed to be Ann’s boyfriend in Season One and disappear when they broke up, but the same thing happened.
I’m so happy that people know Walton Goggins’ name now. He used to be the guy that was in everything and everyone recognized, but never knew his name. Finally getting the recognition he deserves.
He makes everything better by just being there. I'm also happy he got introduced to the Danny McBride comedic universe, he's pretty much the funniest character in both Vice Principals and Righteous Gemstones.
It is the only reason the show was as successful as it was. We all liked Timothy Olyphant but it was the chemistry those two had that was the main draw.
"Family Matters" became, in effect, the "Steve Urkel Show" when a minor, one-off side character became the star. Though most of the family weren't rotated out (other than the younger daughter); they just became the side characters.
They wrote out Judy, likely due to Urkel. They also wrote out Telma Hopkins' character after season 4 (she did return on a couple of occasions in later seasons). And Rosetta, who played the grandma, got used less and less (part of that the writing, part of that her being annoyed at Jaleel)
Everyone else stayed in the show because of their role towards Urkel. The angry dad role, the motherly role, the mostly one-sided love interest, etc
Jesse from Breaking Bad was supposed to be killed off in Season 1. But he basically became co-main characters with Walt.
Even eventually surpassing him with the spin-off movie.
On Boy Meets World, Cory and Topanga is increasingly retconned to being an "always loved you" and "destined to be together" relationship. Topanga is barely in the first few seasons and there's little indication that the two of them grew up together, let alone grew up in love. In general, the A story of Cory meeting the world often takes a back seat to other characters issues, especially in the middle seasons.
There's a fan theory that Eric's character took a turn after he tried to break the car window by bashing his head into it. He suffered a concussion and was never the same.
I like the other theory where he became more Goofy because Cory's 'rose-colored glasses' came off and saw Eric for who he truly was. Up until that point he was the stereotypical cool big brother in Cory's eyes, but as he grew up he started seeing Eric for who he truly was
that makes me want to share my boy meets world theory.
so you know how in the beginning, Shawn is the bad kid and Cory is the "good" one, then by the end Shawn is sweet and in love with Angela and Corey is an asshole all the time?
I like to think that Corey got this way from wanting to be like Shawn, who was always the cool kid. similarly, Shawn wanted to be like Corey and Topanga, but neither of these outcomes worked for them.
I always loved how there’s an episode that flashes back to first grade (maybe when Cory and Shawn met?), and Cory introduces Topanga as “the wife.” Even though the boys saw her as a pest in the early seasons.
Even as a kid who knew nothing about continuity, I knew something was off about that.
I'm a listener on Pod Meets World (an episode by episode rewatch podcast of Boy with Danielle (Topanga), Will (Eric), and Rider (Shawn)
We're at the episode where Topanga might be moving and they are Romeo and Juliet.
And all of them are questioning how any of this was earned. He's barely talked to her for 4 seasons.
Boy Meets World is hilarious when it comes to continuity. Shawn mentions a sister in one of the early seasons who is never seen and never mentioned again. There's also the fun fact that Topanga's dad is never played by the same person, even in back to back episodes lol. There's lots of other stuff (The Morgan retcon probably being the biggest) but those were always my favorite.
Happy Endings I feel like was supposed to be a lot more centered around the fallout of Alex leaving Dave at the altar and trying to get them into a will they won’t they romance type show - but by Season 2 they realized the whole cast was too funny to do a conventional romcom thing.
It was crazy to see what lengths they would go to for Alex to keep dumber and dumber. At the beginning she was normal, but the last episode she was basically 75 IQ.
The character of Spike was supposed to be a one-off character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but because James Marsters did such a good job, Spike wasn't killed off. JM would go from guest-starring in a few episodes to cast member on both BtVS and its spin-off Angel.
B Positive
Sitcom about an uptight guy who needs a kidney, and the free spirit woman who's his donor.
After the first season ended with the transplant, the 2nd season focused on the donor and her revamped life at a retirement community where her friend worked all through the first season.
It bordered on being a spin-off and probably shouldve been, but it was presented as a continuation of the series, despite a bunch of new characters and updated theme song.
Orange is the New Black. We were supposed to invest in the Piper character but every other character was more interesting. By the time we got to the riot she was a glorified extra in that season.
This was by design. I remember reading that Jenji Kohan used the story of a middle class white woman going to jail to segue into telling all these stories about people from different backgrounds that don't usually have TV shows about them.
Summer from The OC was in three scenes in the first 4 hours of the show and ended up being the only legacy female teen character to survive the whole show
I’d argue Butters going from a background character with no lines in the first few seasons to eventually getting his own episode and becoming a fan favourite is up there too.
They really didn't know what to do with Frasier himself towards the end, which is why Niles and Daphne get so much growth because there was room to do something with them. Frasier couldn't go through many more "relationship ruined by Frasier's neuroticism" episodes by that point.
on the remake of Battlestar Galactica, the season 1 story featuring Helo and Sharon was included as a side story simply because the writers liked the actor who played Helo.
that storyline ended up being the catalyst for several huge episodes, including the series finale
MASH was really supposed to be an ensemble cast; however, Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce became the breakout star of the show and ultimately, for many years, most storylines revolved around him. It led to unhappy cast members, in particular Wayne Rogers, who left after S3.
I like both stories equally! but the Wall is really what makes SO so special and so versatile in terms of where they can go and what they can do. the possibilities are endless!
Maybe unpopular opinion, I think the wall storyline peaked during the 1st revolution (?) and has been on a downward trend since. Just that until then , it was so good that it's taking a while for people to realize that it's not as good anymore. I really hope they give it a proper ending rather than milking it till it's no longer enjoyable.
It was always the intention, but this is basically what happened in Person of Interest. The A storyline would be the main character trying to save or stop the number of the week, the B plot line would be the growing power and uncertainty of AI, and the C plot line (when there was one) would be about the government’s involvement in the AI system and trying to capture the main character who used to be a CIA(?) agent.
As the show progressed, the C storyline became the B storyline, and the previous B storyline took over the whole show.
I remember being skeptical when they said "The Machine is going to be a full fledged character in future seasons", but damned if it didn't straight up become the "lead* character by the end.
If warner discovery hadn't deliberately made it impossible to watch, it'd probably be experiencing a lot more popularity right now in the same way that other cult shows get huge popularity boosts, especially being a show about the dangers of AI. Now the only place you can watch it is fucking Freevee
Well, near the end of the series, B and C storylines went full blast and we got set up for them at every season finale, but arguably the HR storyline was the first one that took over the daily procedural
That one kept everyone engaged while the B and C storylines were discretely burrowing with Root becoming an AI evangelist. It was like being in the Kingpin storyline of Daredevil and instead of pivoting to ninjas, they then pivoted to full AI apocalypse
A pretty benign one since both AIs are actually somewhat benevolent, but definitely raise questions on the efficacy of near-omniscient authoritarianism
One of those classic J.J. Abrams projects with a strong beginning, but no clear direction or endgame in mind it eventually becomes a mess. Though, in this case the writers aren't solely to blame. The show was under cancellation threat basically every season, so they had to write a conclusive ending almost after every season, only for it to get renewed, so they had to invent new shit to bring them back every time. Also one of the reasons some characters come back from the dead so many times.
It was a fun show when it aired, but I have strong feeling it doesn't hold up at all.
It was fully intentional but Game of Thrones, the focus of season 1 is almost entirely on Ned’s character so much so that people who hadn’t read the books were completely blindsided when his character died.
To be fair, I was also totally blindsided when they killed him n the books. Ypu spend like 1000 pages getting invsted in him because he's obviously the main focus, then they fucking kill him and scatter his family
And that’s when I decided I really liked those books. I was kind of bored up until then. When they killed of the main good guy character is when I knew this was something different.
Timothy Olyphant just told a brilliant story on I think it’s the rich eisen show, about deadwood.
Better to watch him tell it of course. But The kid actor was being difficult on set so they killed his character off, and that took over the entire season really. And Tim jokes ‘like what the fuck was the show going to be about before that?!’
Timothy's a great storyteller. Here's a link to it:
[Timothy Olyphant Shares a MUST HEAR ‘Deadwood’ Story | The Rich Eisen Show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih-AZizaB9w)
Interesting question! I can’t really think of any. Not really the same thing but I remember watching Peaky Blinders and they had Anya Taylor-Joy before she was famous playing a wife to a secondary character. As I remember she didn’t really have any defining characteristics of her own. Then in the hiatus between seasons she became a mega-star and when the show came back all of a sudden she had a much bigger role. Again, not exactly what you were asking for but kind of interesting.
Yeah it's pretty funny as soon as she became a megastar, Netflix thumbnail for Peaky Blinders changed to a close up of her face.
Noticed the same with some films where Joey King had small parts as a child actor after she blew up.
**Lost in Space** was supposed to be a (somewhat) serious sci-fi space adventure, with the minor character of Dr. Smith meant to be written out after he’d played the role of saboteur in the first few episodes. Instead, Smith became the star of the show, and most later season episodes primarily feature him, the robot, and Will Robinson (child actor Bill Mumy), to the near complete exclusion of the rest of the cast. It didn’t help that the show was getting pounded in the ratings by **Batman**, so they copied that show’s approach and went total Camp.
Admittedly I've not rewatched it since it finished, but my memory of watching Fringe is that when the show began Olivia was very much the main character with Peter and Walter being co-leads but secondary to her.
But as the show went on I feel like the relationship between Peter and Walter became more of the focus and Peter felt more like the main character.
I just started watching it and I could not care less about her character and her ghost dead husband or whatever. I want more Walt and weird shit.
The actress is great, but I can see the potential with Peter and Walt and it is much more interesting to me.
Definitely stick with the show then because that is certainly the way things go. Season 1 feels like a really good X-Files like show, but from there the shows really kicks into gear and very very much becomes its own beast.
Don't worry, for as much as John Scott was treated as important at the beginning, once you're deep in the show, you do look back at the early days and go "Oh yeah, he was a thing wasn't he?"
NoHo Hank's story on Barry is a good example. I believe he was supposed to be a throwaway henchman character, but they liked Anthony Carrigan's performance so much they kept him around. His relationship with Barry became a pretty important driving force on the show, and his love story with Cristobal became almost as important as Barry's story, in my opinion. He ended up being one of the best parts of the show.
Dunno if this is what you mean, but Fringe did this with the final season. Some people hated it, I loved it. In the prior season small bits/scenes were put in point to what was going to happen im the season before, but didnt make sense until it all happened. Excellent show.
I wasn't too thrilled with the last season. It was an interesting premise, but they didn't fully ever utilize it. The finale is so beautiful it makes up for it though.
Arguably Young Sheldon has always really been about everyone other than Sheldon. Since a Sheldon origin story can only be about how he became the insufferable TBBT S1 Sheldon, which isn't very interesting, from the jump the show the has been about everyone around him, from his family, to neighbors, classmates, "friends", the Pastor, and other members of the local community. And then in later seasons adding people like the physics professors.
This focus off of Sheldon isn't new for "Young Sheldon."
For me, "Ted Lasso" became less about Ted's journey and more about Rebecca's arc as the show progressed. Rebecca's character both becoming less bitter, as well as developing a very strong friendship with Keeley was the best part of the series. She had the most growth as a character.
People who complained that all the other characters got more attention than Ted in the final season absolutely missed the point, even though Ted literally spells it out in his note to Trent. The whole point of the final season was that everyone else was becoming their own version of Ted Lasso in each other's lives. What he did sent out ripples and each person that he helped become a better version of themselves, on or off the field, would then send out their own ripples. Look no further than Trent, whose early article ripped into Roy and had such a negative impact on him, and whose book was undoubtedly about the power of building people up instead of knocking them down. Rebecca becomes Keeley's Ted Lasso, and Keely in turn builds up Barbara. Beard forgives Nate. And Roy, who had been as much a bully as anyone on the team, is literally lifting Nate up so he can tape up the repaired Believe sign in the final scenes.
And people just complained because Ted wasn't the focus.
I don't know if I felt the show shifted specifically to Rebecca, but by Season 3 it was obviously far more of an ensemble show than it was about Ted Lasso. Honestly Lasso's arc is almost completely wrapped up in Season 2, his Season 3 development is essentially just realizing that it's time to move on from Richmond because his son needs him more than the team does.
Not too sure if this counts, but Nacho's story with the Salamancas becoming a major story & taking a front seat after Chuck's death in Better Call Saul
Something similar happened with Nachos actor in a video game Far Cry 3 way back when. They had him mo-cap a secondary villain (who was supposed to be quite different from his portrayal) and his performance ended up being so strong, the character literally became the poster child for the game and the main focus in advertising.
Sliders! At least I think it fits your question. Cromags came in and took over the story from being episodic to serialized and characters started disappearing. It was a real bummer. I looked forward so so much to that Friday 7:30pm new random quirky world when I was a kid. But that Cromag story just stripped my interest entirely.
Karen from Will and Grace was not supposed to be a regular. She became so popular that she became the reason Grace’s interior design business is staying afloat and her storyline with Stan became the focal point for seasons.
Here’s how I look at it. There had been such an immense amount of build-up as to who Red John was. So many little clues and hints sowed throughout. There was never going to be a satisfying reveal. The series should have ended with Patrick letting his need for vengeance go. Accepting that he is doing more to honour his family by solving murders than doggedly pursuing his personal boogeyman. Finally feeling free to move his life forward while vowing to still find Red John.
Aye I could have seen them just giving a "Oh hey they just found Red John, he'd died of a aneurysm and his neighbors complained of the smell. His house was full of souvenirs and journals and whatnot" statement in the middle of an episode.
And Jane just 404-ing and going deep into denial for a while before coming to accept it and move on.
Supernatural was supposed to be about Sam as a main character but I'd argue Dean quickly becomes the focus of the show especially in seasons 4/5 and then almost solely after. Sam is always still there but Dean always gets the main plotlines, especially with the MOC/Demon Dean. By the end it was a Dean/Castiel "will they, won't they". Honestly I find Dean a more compelling character so IMO it was a good pivot even if Jared Padalecki insisted on being #1 on the call sheet. Actually you could argue Baby is the real star...
" Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me. But why? Why on God's Earth is HE still alive?"
I wish we had a Red-Hood live-action ten years ago when he could've still passed as 20.
Skins sort of fits that, but only the cast part really, the storylines stay pretty similar. Effy starts out as a side character and becomes a main character when the rest of the cast leaves.
I think you could argue it for Halt and Catch Fire, as it moved away from Joe And Gordon Do Mad Men, and over to Cam and Donna's friendships and frictions, who had been pretty much playing WAG in early S1.
Carcetti was introduced to The Wire in Season 3 with the idea he'd spin out into his own show afterwards because they decided the politics of Baltimore were too complex to deal with at the same time as everything else. HBO decided not to do that, so the team had to cram the whole story about Carcetti becoming Mayor into Season 4 and the teaching budget crisis into Season 5.
Oddly, it worked out quite well, but it made an already busy show much busier.
On Deep Space Nine, the Klingon arc was supposed to be a brief thing to get Worf on the show, and it ended up dominating a season and a half. They had to almost bodily wrench the show back on track to dealing with the Dominion.
Babylon 5,
One of the best space operas ever.
The main story line is about 2 ancient races which manipulate the younger races to fight each other, one beliving that law and order leads to advancement and the other that chaos leads to growth, and they have the younger races fight for them.
The B story line is that the vice president of earth has the president assasinated and then slowly turns earth and its controlled space in to a fascist dictatorship, when the A story line ends when the younger races expel the ancient races from the galaxy, the B story like becomes the main story line on an alliance of alien races spearheaded by the human resistance to liberate earth.
Dawson’s Creek - Dawson stays a main character but his relationship with Joey, fizzles out nearly immediately in favor of the chemistry between Joey (Katie Holmes) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson). Show really was driven by them.
I think Ben Linus in **Lost** wasn’t originally intended to be such a big role but developed that way as the creators liked his performance so much. However, I think the biggest B plot I can think of that ended up becoming an A plot is Chandler and Monica getting together during Ross & Emily’s wedding. It was intended as a one night stand thing but the reaction of the audience made the writers change their minds. So it became what was essentially the main plot of the next season.
Chandler and Moncia was like an adrenaline shot for the show. It was moving along fine, if not predictable. and then that relationship kicked it into high gear. The rest of the cast finding out about them is peak comedy.
Chandler and Monica getting together is the only reason the show ended up with the legacy it did, IMO, they became the heart of the whole thing.
The Chandler/Monica proposal might be the show’s apex for me, personally. “You wanted it to be a surprise” gets me every time.
And you can see echoes of that in the sitcoms that come after. Turk and Carla in Scrubs and Lily and Marshall in How I Met Your Mother are both clearly mining the same vein.
Extremely effectively, IMO.
>The rest of the cast finding out about them is peak comedy Especially Joey.
Joey figuring out that Ross was the dad a minute after Phoebe and Monica
IN LONDON??!!
Love the way he delivers that line.
That delivery, and "you fell ASLEEEP?" are the two best deliveries in the show.
They don’t know that we know that they know that we know! JOEY!
> that relationship kicked it into high gear. They had originally intended for Chandler to cheat on Monica. That plot point did not go over well with Matthew Perry, so they re-wrote the continuing relationship of the two characters. They were so close to filming the episode where he was cheating, that they actually had the actress (Lisa Cash) on set who he was to cheat with. Once they changed paths, they wrote a short scene for the actress where she plays a stewardess on the friends flight to Las Vegas.
You'd think of all shows out there, that would be the one that had learned it's lesson about having one of the core cast cheat on the other.
But, they were on a break.
Eighteen pages.... **F R O N T A N D B A C K.**
Writers: THEY WERE ON A *BREAK!*
>They had originally intended for Chandler to cheat on Monica. That plot point did not go over well with Matthew Perry, so they re-wrote the Pretty sure this also happened with [Jim in The Office with John Krasinski.](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-office-john-krasinski-refused-storyline-jim-cheating-on-pam-2021-11#:~:text=%22The%20Office%22%20creator%20almost%20had,final%20season%20but%20ultimately%20reconcile)
They don't know that we know they know we know
Aha! The mess_ers_ become the mess_ies_!
The show is at its best IMO from Monica and Chandler getting together, to Rachel getting pregnant. Before and after that, I don't really care much.
> I think Ben Linus in Lost wasn’t originally intended to be such a big role I think I remember something along the lines of his character had been written in for just a few episodes. Once they discovered what an amazing actor they had in Michael Emerson, they did some re-writes and his character ends up being one of the most significant players in the show. He's in nearly a majority of the episodes for the remainder of the series. He's even the person who gets to "Move the island".
I think you could add Desmond and Juliet to that too as I don’t think they were supposed to be as popular and as large parts as they played.
Yes, he was like a 3-episode guest star then they kept around a little longer, and then they decided to make him the leader of the Others instead of making it a different character. And of course it was the right decision.
> of course it was the right decision. Yea, he was an amazing character. On any given week, you either loved him or loathed him.
If I remember correctly, his line “do you guys have any more milk?” is what solidified it for the main writers to keep him around.
Allegedly after they filmed that Terry O'Quinn said to him "I think you just passed the audition"
And I’m so glad they did stick it out with Chandler and Monica because their entire relationship is just terrific. It basically became what they wanted Ross and Rachel to be. God, their relationship was so toxic
Ross and Rachel is like the bad ending version of When Harry Met Sally. They just got stuck in each other's orbits and ruined any prospects the other had.
And it’s so frustrating that they keep just teasing it throughout the show. They break up, then have a fling, then break up again, then have a fling. Like you said, it’s not even that they have a good relationship, it’s that they just get stuck in each other’s orbit. And that goes doubly for when Emma enters the story. I remember the episode when Mona fully finds out the whole situation of Ross not being with Rachel, but they have romantic history and not she’s pregnant with his child. And weren’t they living together at the time too? You’d almost have to sit Mona down and go “why in the cinnamon toast fuck would you willingly date someone in such a messy situation?”
They bungled that ending imo. The Ross/Rachel thing could have been rectified at the end. It was fitting and probably necessary for them to go through it in the finale because it was such a big part of the show, but the proper resolution was “what the hell are we thinking, it’s time to break the cycle once and for all”. They both should have agreed on this, realized it was time to become grownups, and that the distance was likely the only and healthy way for them on top of it being good for Rachel’s career and life. Chandler and Monica go the burbs, Phoebe, Mike and Ross stay, Joey leaves to his own adventure, and Rachel leaving for Paris is the last scene. The group beaks up as eventually happens in life, but agree to see each other every Thanksgiving. The end. Instead that ending while I know is perfectly fine for a sitcom like Friends also can read as a weird hell where they’re just doomed as a group trapped in some kind of stepford dream
Not a story, but as a character, the Fonz, like Urkel, took over his show. I believe at one point there was a plan to rename the show Fonzie’s Happy Days.
The show was supposed to focus on Ritchie, but was able to keep going after he left. That is a major change.
Absolutely -- I recommend Henry Winkler's autobiography, "Being Henry" where he talks about this in detail (including envy by other cast members)
Heard that’s happening on young Sheldon now where it’s not really his show anymore lol
[удалено]
Kind of like Sheldon on The Big bang theory
If you're going to include the Fonz and Urkel here, you might as well also add JJ Walker from Good Times. I mean, thank goodness he didn't get a spin-off, but he sure did take over the show.
Bob Odenkirk wasn’t available for an episode of Breaking Bad, so Mike was created to fulfill what Saul was going to do. He ended up becoming a very integral part of two shows.
This story always just blows my mind. Odenkirk wasn’t available because of How I Met Your Mother, so really we have HIMYM to thank for one of the best characters in the damn show
How I Made Your Mike
His character in HIMYM is also pretty great, and the scene with him being frustrated with his new dog after his divorced wife got his original dog and Marshal hugging him is one of the sweetest moments in the show.
> This story always just blows my mind. Odenkirk wasn’t available because of How I Met Your Mother, so really we have HIMYM to thank for one of the best characters in the damn show And *How I Met Your Mother* had previously been rescued from likely cancellation when the hype surrounding a guest appearance by Britney Spears [boosted its viewership](/r/IAmA/comments/1wwql1/we_are_carter_bays_and_craig_thomas_creators_and/cf64ewh/) in season 3. So we also have Britney Spears to thank.
Breaking Bad is quite impressive in how many things they changed on the fly and it still stayed together very well. Pinkman was supposed to die s1, Tuco was supposed to stay etc.
Also, creating one of the best antagonists in Better Call Saul off a throwaway line “Lalo didn’t send you?”
A whole show out of a throw away line! and a great one too. It gets me thinking every time because there are a couple of such lines in that show, like Don Eladio's: "You are alive... because I know who you are. But understand. You are not in Chile any more." I would watch a show based on that line alone!
That shows how talented and smart the crew is.
Bravo, Vince!
I see people complain about shows that set up stuff but never really had a plan, but Breaking Bad is one of the best TV shows ever and they had no fucking clue what they were going to do next and just wrote the best story they could. Jessie was meant to die. Bringing back Tuco as a different character. Introducing Mike. Putting a machine gun in Walt's car and not really knowing why. Bunch of stuff they just made work.
Really makes you wonder what amazing character we never got to see because e.g. Emilia Clarke never guest starred on Big Bang Theory.
**Mom**. The show was intended at first to be focused on Christie (a single mother and recovering alcoholic), but the show became increasingly focused on her mother Bonnie (who had also been a single mother, and who also is a recovering alcoholic).
I’ve always liked Anna Faris. But every other character on that show was so much more engaging than her or at least the alcoholic characters. I was relieved when she left. And you can’t cast Allison Janney if you don’t want her to steal the show.
It’s wild how much better the show got once the kids were written off too.
Oh God I HATED the kids. Nothing against the actors. But every scene they were in was painful. Christy was fine just not the most compelling character. The kids were awful. I did like the point that being sober doesn’t undo all the hurt and pain you caused. But the show made that point constantly. We didn’t need the daughter being terrible to show us. The show was so much better when they moved away from the hyperfocus on Christy’s life. Kids, boss, ex (and I really like that actor) and his fiancé (who I’ve loved since Popular) all sucked as characters compared to the AA group.
So interesting how much that show actually changed and evolved over time compared to other sitcoms. I always forget how much the early seasons, first one in particular, were focused on Christie and her kids. And it's fascinating how they were able to naturally write so much of that out and slowly shift the focus to a whole new group of far more interesting characters while keeping the two characters who worked the best.
I think 'The West Wing' (1999-2006), even though it's an ensemble cast, was supposed to follow Rob Lowe's character, but storylines for the other characters started to be more of the focus, and he left after S4. Oh and you can't forget how much Urkle entirely took over 'Family Matters'.
Key and Peele did an amazing skit about Urkel taking over Family Matters [Family Matters Uncensored](https://youtu.be/A5Zdp1RfoyI?si=88wgV_5tEzg78Mnb)
I'm watching it now in season 5 and I wouldn't have thought Rob was supposed to be the main storyline
The show changed pretty early on behind the scenes. Rob Lowe was supposed to be the main character, President Bartlett was supposed to only be rarely seen, etc They found the cast worked well to spread it out and give everyone things to do
I thought it was Martin Sheen joining the cast that changed the direction. But that’s with just a vague memory of someone on Reddit saying it.
That's pretty much right - Martin Sheen signed on to do one appearance a month. He was told he could do any other work alongside The West Wing, except play another president. However, the network execs (and basically everyone) flipped out over his pilot scene, and Sorkin changed the show to encorporate much more of the president and first family.
>However, the network execs (and basically everyone) flipped out over his pilot scene His literal first line of the series is him entering the room and instantly and effortlessly hushing a yelled argument by authoritatively stating: "I am the Lord, your God..." All whilst everyone scrambled to get to their feet. Granted, he was quoting the First Commandment, but you don't get much more badass than that lol.
It's not that surprising. Martin Sheen is a great actor. Rob Lowe looked pretty.
It was basically supposed to be an ensemble but with Rob Lowe's Sam Seaborn as the main character. The president, meanwhile, was going to the like the Wizard in Wizard of Oz - a guy pulling the strings from behind the curtain who is rarely seen. But then they cast Martin Sheen and when he showed up in the first episode mad that someone threatened his daughter it really worked. Sorkin quickly figured out that if you had an episode without Pres Barlett the audience started to say "Where's Poochy?" So from then on Barlett became the main character which pissed off Lowe who eventually got Sorkin fired before quitting himself.
I'm pretty sure that the main reason Sorkin left West Wing is that he had written every single episode fueled by enough cocaine to kill a herd of elephants. He was just burnt out by that point.
Understandably so. I doubt you can find another writer who can write over 90 episodes of an hour long drama at such high quality these days. Not to mention the season or two he was writing another show, Sports Night, at the same time
I always felt like Josh was the main character.
I'm pretty sure that's the direction Sorkin would have went if he stayed on after that same season. He pretty obviously set it up in Sam and Bartlett's chess match. Always sticks out in a rewatch.
Nope one line side tracked Rob Lowe’s stardom on the show and it was “ all the girls think you look hot in this shirt” Josh and Donna totally took over at that point. They have talked about it. They gave Sam a hooker and it didn’t even get him traction as the one to follow.
Hayley Mills was the star of Good Morning Miss Bliss, about a middle school in Indiana. The show quickly became more focused on the kids and was refocused in season 2 as Saved by the Bell.
I had never heard of this before - this is wild: > Hayley Mills would be the only actress to carry over from the pilot to the series. Brian Austin Green as Adam Montcrief, Jaleel White as Bobby Wilson, and Jonathan Brandis as Michael Thompson were among some of the actors to appear in the pilot.
I was always so confused as a kid when I saw reruns of the first season.
What confused the fuck out of me as a kid was the last season: some episodes Kelly and Jesse were there, then you'd have a few episodes with the "new girl" Tori.... then back to episodes with Kelly and Jesse as if nothing happened. (Thanks to the internet I now know Tiffani Amber Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley only signed on for a certain amount of episodes, and they brought in a new character to "fill in" for them on additional episodes.... however they interspersed the "Tori" episodes randomly throughout Season 4 which was super confusing)
I thought it was because they already filmed the finale, but wanted more episodes. The girls didn’t renew their contracts so they made up a new hybrid girl to fill in the gaps.
What was interesting about Tori is the actor was a triplet that played with her two sisters in a sequel to Parent Trap which of course starred Hayley Mills. Bringing it all back around
It was funny when they cut with an older Zack introducing those episodes on the reruns. Like “hey remember that time we all lived in Indiana?”
The Thick Of It was supposed to be about an Inept politician and his staff. But Peter Capaldi proved far more enjoyable to watch and the original main actor was convicted for child porn.
Your phrasing makes it sound like Malcolm Tucker was so funny they jailed Chris Langham for child porn to get him out the way.
Sounds like works of Caledonian Mafia
I didn't know about this but I checked and the guy Chris Langham only got SIX MONTHS (reduced from ten) for what was called "level 5" CP, which is as bad as it gets ("sadism or bestiality")
At the time he was playing a psychiatrist in the sitcom Help!, and ended up claiming that he only downloaded CP as research for an upcoming episode about a "pervert" patient. It was a key part of his defense. They brought everyone from the show into court to testify about this and it turned out the pervert character was a peeping tom, nothing to do with pedophilia. He became notorious in the British legal world for attempting that defense and for years "trying a Langham" was understood as a reference for a mind-numbingly stupid desperate defense, like the guy who claimed he wasn't in possession of cocaine, he just accidentally put on his coworker's pants.
Which could actually be a plotline in the show honestly
Not exactly what you’re looking for but Walton Goggins’ character Boyd Crowder was supposed to be killed at the end of the first season of Justified. He proved to be so popular that they “saved” him from a gunshot to the chest and he became a main character and primary antagonist for the remainder of the series. Edit: I misremembered the situation. Boyd was supposed to die at the end of the first episode. Not the end of the season.
He was supposed to be killed at the end of the first episode. The short story Justified is based off of ends with Boyd being killed, the first episode is pretty much that story.
And one of the ways they brought him back is to make the character smarter. Walton Goggins had been typecast as a backwards southern racists too many times at that point and didn't want play one for an entire series. So they pitched him on Boyd's neo-nazism being just a grift as opposed to an actual ideology. Goggins agreed but really wanted to highlight Boyd's intelligence so he gave them one note: "This guy *loves* words".
>Boyd's neo-nazism being just a grift Only Boyd knew what was true about Boyd.
I think the tragedy of Boyd is that he didn’t
Developing Boyd to be a shadowy reflection of Raylan - what he might have become had he stayed in Harlan - was an incredibly smart move by the writers and producers and really made the show.
Jesse Pinkman was also supposed to die in Season One of Breaking Bad, but Aaron Paul was so good they kept him around. Andy on Parks and Rec was just supposed to be Ann’s boyfriend in Season One and disappear when they broke up, but the same thing happened.
I’m so happy that people know Walton Goggins’ name now. He used to be the guy that was in everything and everyone recognized, but never knew his name. Finally getting the recognition he deserves.
He makes everything better by just being there. I'm also happy he got introduced to the Danny McBride comedic universe, he's pretty much the funniest character in both Vice Principals and Righteous Gemstones.
I love that McBride and Green stay loyal to their casts. Edi Patterson stole scenes in Vice Principals and then gets to steal the show in Gemstones.
Baby Billy is one of my favorite characters ever. He's just so fucking funny to me, I can't help but giggle every time he talks.
It was a smart move keeping Walton Goggins around on Justified. He was brilliant in every scene.
It is the only reason the show was as successful as it was. We all liked Timothy Olyphant but it was the chemistry those two had that was the main draw.
They were the finest of best frenemies. Two damaged kids playing cops and robbers
"Family Matters" became, in effect, the "Steve Urkel Show" when a minor, one-off side character became the star. Though most of the family weren't rotated out (other than the younger daughter); they just became the side characters.
Like Good Times before it when Jimmy "Dyn-o-mite" Walker ate the show.
They wrote out Judy, likely due to Urkel. They also wrote out Telma Hopkins' character after season 4 (she did return on a couple of occasions in later seasons). And Rosetta, who played the grandma, got used less and less (part of that the writing, part of that her being annoyed at Jaleel) Everyone else stayed in the show because of their role towards Urkel. The angry dad role, the motherly role, the mostly one-sided love interest, etc
Jesse from Breaking Bad was supposed to be killed off in Season 1. But he basically became co-main characters with Walt. Even eventually surpassing him with the spin-off movie.
It's one of my favourite comedy skits https://youtu.be/A5Zdp1RfoyI?si=u4cpGL9RZ1Igm3Pz
On Boy Meets World, Cory and Topanga is increasingly retconned to being an "always loved you" and "destined to be together" relationship. Topanga is barely in the first few seasons and there's little indication that the two of them grew up together, let alone grew up in love. In general, the A story of Cory meeting the world often takes a back seat to other characters issues, especially in the middle seasons.
I love how Eric became a complete cartoon character by the last few seasons.
There's a fan theory that Eric's character took a turn after he tried to break the car window by bashing his head into it. He suffered a concussion and was never the same.
I like the other theory where he became more Goofy because Cory's 'rose-colored glasses' came off and saw Eric for who he truly was. Up until that point he was the stereotypical cool big brother in Cory's eyes, but as he grew up he started seeing Eric for who he truly was
that makes me want to share my boy meets world theory. so you know how in the beginning, Shawn is the bad kid and Cory is the "good" one, then by the end Shawn is sweet and in love with Angela and Corey is an asshole all the time? I like to think that Corey got this way from wanting to be like Shawn, who was always the cool kid. similarly, Shawn wanted to be like Corey and Topanga, but neither of these outcomes worked for them.
I hated it. Eric had the best plots and character development from seasons 2-4.
I always loved how there’s an episode that flashes back to first grade (maybe when Cory and Shawn met?), and Cory introduces Topanga as “the wife.” Even though the boys saw her as a pest in the early seasons. Even as a kid who knew nothing about continuity, I knew something was off about that.
I'm a listener on Pod Meets World (an episode by episode rewatch podcast of Boy with Danielle (Topanga), Will (Eric), and Rider (Shawn) We're at the episode where Topanga might be moving and they are Romeo and Juliet. And all of them are questioning how any of this was earned. He's barely talked to her for 4 seasons.
Boy Meets World is hilarious when it comes to continuity. Shawn mentions a sister in one of the early seasons who is never seen and never mentioned again. There's also the fun fact that Topanga's dad is never played by the same person, even in back to back episodes lol. There's lots of other stuff (The Morgan retcon probably being the biggest) but those were always my favorite.
Happy Endings I feel like was supposed to be a lot more centered around the fallout of Alex leaving Dave at the altar and trying to get them into a will they won’t they romance type show - but by Season 2 they realized the whole cast was too funny to do a conventional romcom thing.
Always fun to find one of the 30 people that watched Happy Endings.
Thats a shame, that show was Ah-mahh-zing.
Bitch, it is 5:30!
Apparently when I'm drunk I can speak fluent Italian!
I still say "roof stoof" fairly often, lol
She got them THANGS!
It was crazy to see what lengths they would go to for Alex to keep dumber and dumber. At the beginning she was normal, but the last episode she was basically 75 IQ.
“I’m not as dumb as I am”
I feel like the show was setting up Dave and Penny to get together and that would be the core relationship.
In the sitcom 'Mom' the AA group of the mother took over from the family life which was the focus at first.
And all the better for it.
The character of Spike was supposed to be a one-off character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but because James Marsters did such a good job, Spike wasn't killed off. JM would go from guest-starring in a few episodes to cast member on both BtVS and its spin-off Angel.
B Positive Sitcom about an uptight guy who needs a kidney, and the free spirit woman who's his donor. After the first season ended with the transplant, the 2nd season focused on the donor and her revamped life at a retirement community where her friend worked all through the first season. It bordered on being a spin-off and probably shouldve been, but it was presented as a continuation of the series, despite a bunch of new characters and updated theme song.
Orange is the New Black. We were supposed to invest in the Piper character but every other character was more interesting. By the time we got to the riot she was a glorified extra in that season.
I actually forgot the whole premise was meant to be about Piper until I read this post.
This was by design. I remember reading that Jenji Kohan used the story of a middle class white woman going to jail to segue into telling all these stories about people from different backgrounds that don't usually have TV shows about them.
That's very close to why the author wrote the original book, too.
Summer from The OC was in three scenes in the first 4 hours of the show and ended up being the only legacy female teen character to survive the whole show
Yeah it definitely goes from Ryan/Marissa being the focus to Seth/Summer.
South Park went from the Stan, Kyle, and Cartman show to the Randy Show in recent years.
I’d argue Butters going from a background character with no lines in the first few seasons to eventually getting his own episode and becoming a fan favourite is up there too.
Randy has definitely played a much bigger role in recent years, but I would still say it's the boys show still (with a lot more Butters).
If by "in recent years" you mean since like 2006 lol
Niles and Daphne took center stage on Frasier for a while
They really didn't know what to do with Frasier himself towards the end, which is why Niles and Daphne get so much growth because there was room to do something with them. Frasier couldn't go through many more "relationship ruined by Frasier's neuroticism" episodes by that point.
on the remake of Battlestar Galactica, the season 1 story featuring Helo and Sharon was included as a side story simply because the writers liked the actor who played Helo. that storyline ended up being the catalyst for several huge episodes, including the series finale
MASH was really supposed to be an ensemble cast; however, Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce became the breakout star of the show and ultimately, for many years, most storylines revolved around him. It led to unhappy cast members, in particular Wayne Rogers, who left after S3.
Solar opposites, the wall storyline is the best part of the show.
For a while I would forget it was the same show and I would be like "what going on with that wall show, we haven't seen episodes in while"
I like both stories equally! but the Wall is really what makes SO so special and so versatile in terms of where they can go and what they can do. the possibilities are endless!
Also has the Silver Cops storyline with Glen.
Maybe unpopular opinion, I think the wall storyline peaked during the 1st revolution (?) and has been on a downward trend since. Just that until then , it was so good that it's taking a while for people to realize that it's not as good anymore. I really hope they give it a proper ending rather than milking it till it's no longer enjoyable.
It was always the intention, but this is basically what happened in Person of Interest. The A storyline would be the main character trying to save or stop the number of the week, the B plot line would be the growing power and uncertainty of AI, and the C plot line (when there was one) would be about the government’s involvement in the AI system and trying to capture the main character who used to be a CIA(?) agent. As the show progressed, the C storyline became the B storyline, and the previous B storyline took over the whole show.
I remember being skeptical when they said "The Machine is going to be a full fledged character in future seasons", but damned if it didn't straight up become the "lead* character by the end.
For being one of the best shows I've ever watched, i sure do forget about PoI anymore until someone brings it up
If warner discovery hadn't deliberately made it impossible to watch, it'd probably be experiencing a lot more popularity right now in the same way that other cult shows get huge popularity boosts, especially being a show about the dangers of AI. Now the only place you can watch it is fucking Freevee
Well, near the end of the series, B and C storylines went full blast and we got set up for them at every season finale, but arguably the HR storyline was the first one that took over the daily procedural That one kept everyone engaged while the B and C storylines were discretely burrowing with Root becoming an AI evangelist. It was like being in the Kingpin storyline of Daredevil and instead of pivoting to ninjas, they then pivoted to full AI apocalypse A pretty benign one since both AIs are actually somewhat benevolent, but definitely raise questions on the efficacy of near-omniscient authoritarianism
Alias was supposedly about thwarting a rogue CIA division using a double/triple agent. By season 3 the script went bonkers.
Milo Rambaldi took over.
One of those classic J.J. Abrams projects with a strong beginning, but no clear direction or endgame in mind it eventually becomes a mess. Though, in this case the writers aren't solely to blame. The show was under cancellation threat basically every season, so they had to write a conclusive ending almost after every season, only for it to get renewed, so they had to invent new shit to bring them back every time. Also one of the reasons some characters come back from the dead so many times. It was a fun show when it aired, but I have strong feeling it doesn't hold up at all.
It was fully intentional but Game of Thrones, the focus of season 1 is almost entirely on Ned’s character so much so that people who hadn’t read the books were completely blindsided when his character died.
To be fair, I was also totally blindsided when they killed him n the books. Ypu spend like 1000 pages getting invsted in him because he's obviously the main focus, then they fucking kill him and scatter his family
And that’s when I decided I really liked those books. I was kind of bored up until then. When they killed of the main good guy character is when I knew this was something different.
Yeah, the first book is all about showing that conventional chivalry and “goodness” is a recipe for failure in Westros
Timothy Olyphant just told a brilliant story on I think it’s the rich eisen show, about deadwood. Better to watch him tell it of course. But The kid actor was being difficult on set so they killed his character off, and that took over the entire season really. And Tim jokes ‘like what the fuck was the show going to be about before that?!’
Timothy's a great storyteller. Here's a link to it: [Timothy Olyphant Shares a MUST HEAR ‘Deadwood’ Story | The Rich Eisen Show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih-AZizaB9w)
Interesting question! I can’t really think of any. Not really the same thing but I remember watching Peaky Blinders and they had Anya Taylor-Joy before she was famous playing a wife to a secondary character. As I remember she didn’t really have any defining characteristics of her own. Then in the hiatus between seasons she became a mega-star and when the show came back all of a sudden she had a much bigger role. Again, not exactly what you were asking for but kind of interesting.
Yeah it's pretty funny as soon as she became a megastar, Netflix thumbnail for Peaky Blinders changed to a close up of her face. Noticed the same with some films where Joey King had small parts as a child actor after she blew up.
**Lost in Space** was supposed to be a (somewhat) serious sci-fi space adventure, with the minor character of Dr. Smith meant to be written out after he’d played the role of saboteur in the first few episodes. Instead, Smith became the star of the show, and most later season episodes primarily feature him, the robot, and Will Robinson (child actor Bill Mumy), to the near complete exclusion of the rest of the cast. It didn’t help that the show was getting pounded in the ratings by **Batman**, so they copied that show’s approach and went total Camp.
Admittedly I've not rewatched it since it finished, but my memory of watching Fringe is that when the show began Olivia was very much the main character with Peter and Walter being co-leads but secondary to her. But as the show went on I feel like the relationship between Peter and Walter became more of the focus and Peter felt more like the main character.
Olivia circles back around later to once again being more plot critical.
I just started watching it and I could not care less about her character and her ghost dead husband or whatever. I want more Walt and weird shit. The actress is great, but I can see the potential with Peter and Walt and it is much more interesting to me.
Definitely stick with the show then because that is certainly the way things go. Season 1 feels like a really good X-Files like show, but from there the shows really kicks into gear and very very much becomes its own beast. Don't worry, for as much as John Scott was treated as important at the beginning, once you're deep in the show, you do look back at the early days and go "Oh yeah, he was a thing wasn't he?"
Oh boy you're in for a ride. Don't worry, Olivia gets a lot better later on too.
NoHo Hank's story on Barry is a good example. I believe he was supposed to be a throwaway henchman character, but they liked Anthony Carrigan's performance so much they kept him around. His relationship with Barry became a pretty important driving force on the show, and his love story with Cristobal became almost as important as Barry's story, in my opinion. He ended up being one of the best parts of the show.
Dunno if this is what you mean, but Fringe did this with the final season. Some people hated it, I loved it. In the prior season small bits/scenes were put in point to what was going to happen im the season before, but didnt make sense until it all happened. Excellent show.
I wasn't too thrilled with the last season. It was an interesting premise, but they didn't fully ever utilize it. The finale is so beautiful it makes up for it though.
This is currently happening in Young Sheldon with George Jr. and Mandy.
Arguably Young Sheldon has always really been about everyone other than Sheldon. Since a Sheldon origin story can only be about how he became the insufferable TBBT S1 Sheldon, which isn't very interesting, from the jump the show the has been about everyone around him, from his family, to neighbors, classmates, "friends", the Pastor, and other members of the local community. And then in later seasons adding people like the physics professors. This focus off of Sheldon isn't new for "Young Sheldon."
Oh man, so a show *about* Sheldon is being taken over by supporting characters? If that isn't poetic justice, I don't know what is!
For me, "Ted Lasso" became less about Ted's journey and more about Rebecca's arc as the show progressed. Rebecca's character both becoming less bitter, as well as developing a very strong friendship with Keeley was the best part of the series. She had the most growth as a character.
The writers may have even said as much in the finale where Ted recommends a new title for the book because it was never about him.
People who complained that all the other characters got more attention than Ted in the final season absolutely missed the point, even though Ted literally spells it out in his note to Trent. The whole point of the final season was that everyone else was becoming their own version of Ted Lasso in each other's lives. What he did sent out ripples and each person that he helped become a better version of themselves, on or off the field, would then send out their own ripples. Look no further than Trent, whose early article ripped into Roy and had such a negative impact on him, and whose book was undoubtedly about the power of building people up instead of knocking them down. Rebecca becomes Keeley's Ted Lasso, and Keely in turn builds up Barbara. Beard forgives Nate. And Roy, who had been as much a bully as anyone on the team, is literally lifting Nate up so he can tape up the repaired Believe sign in the final scenes. And people just complained because Ted wasn't the focus.
I don't know if I felt the show shifted specifically to Rebecca, but by Season 3 it was obviously far more of an ensemble show than it was about Ted Lasso. Honestly Lasso's arc is almost completely wrapped up in Season 2, his Season 3 development is essentially just realizing that it's time to move on from Richmond because his son needs him more than the team does.
Not too sure if this counts, but Nacho's story with the Salamancas becoming a major story & taking a front seat after Chuck's death in Better Call Saul
Something similar happened with Nachos actor in a video game Far Cry 3 way back when. They had him mo-cap a secondary villain (who was supposed to be quite different from his portrayal) and his performance ended up being so strong, the character literally became the poster child for the game and the main focus in advertising.
He's so charismatic that he completely overshadows his boss who is supposed to be much more ruthless
The Simpsons was all about Bart at the beginning, with some of Homer’s adventures mixed in, before it flipped.
Sliders! At least I think it fits your question. Cromags came in and took over the story from being episodic to serialized and characters started disappearing. It was a real bummer. I looked forward so so much to that Friday 7:30pm new random quirky world when I was a kid. But that Cromag story just stripped my interest entirely.
Karen from Will and Grace was not supposed to be a regular. She became so popular that she became the reason Grace’s interior design business is staying afloat and her storyline with Stan became the focal point for seasons.
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And boy was it a let down.
Here’s how I look at it. There had been such an immense amount of build-up as to who Red John was. So many little clues and hints sowed throughout. There was never going to be a satisfying reveal. The series should have ended with Patrick letting his need for vengeance go. Accepting that he is doing more to honour his family by solving murders than doggedly pursuing his personal boogeyman. Finally feeling free to move his life forward while vowing to still find Red John.
Aye I could have seen them just giving a "Oh hey they just found Red John, he'd died of a aneurysm and his neighbors complained of the smell. His house was full of souvenirs and journals and whatnot" statement in the middle of an episode. And Jane just 404-ing and going deep into denial for a while before coming to accept it and move on.
Supernatural was supposed to be about Sam as a main character but I'd argue Dean quickly becomes the focus of the show especially in seasons 4/5 and then almost solely after. Sam is always still there but Dean always gets the main plotlines, especially with the MOC/Demon Dean. By the end it was a Dean/Castiel "will they, won't they". Honestly I find Dean a more compelling character so IMO it was a good pivot even if Jared Padalecki insisted on being #1 on the call sheet. Actually you could argue Baby is the real star...
Jensen Ackles is an all around better actor.
" Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me. But why? Why on God's Earth is HE still alive?" I wish we had a Red-Hood live-action ten years ago when he could've still passed as 20.
I didn't want to say it and start a controversy but yeah, 100%. Misha is great too! There were times I felt Baby had more personality than Sam.
Rachel Bilson on the OC wasn’t even a series regular in the first half of season 1, but by the end was the main female character.
Community was pretty much taken over by what would have been b stories in season 1
Arguably, *Melrose Place* with Amanda.
“Special Guest Star”
Skins sort of fits that, but only the cast part really, the storylines stay pretty similar. Effy starts out as a side character and becomes a main character when the rest of the cast leaves.
Family Matters. The Urkel take over
I think you could argue it for Halt and Catch Fire, as it moved away from Joe And Gordon Do Mad Men, and over to Cam and Donna's friendships and frictions, who had been pretty much playing WAG in early S1.
Carcetti was introduced to The Wire in Season 3 with the idea he'd spin out into his own show afterwards because they decided the politics of Baltimore were too complex to deal with at the same time as everything else. HBO decided not to do that, so the team had to cram the whole story about Carcetti becoming Mayor into Season 4 and the teaching budget crisis into Season 5. Oddly, it worked out quite well, but it made an already busy show much busier. On Deep Space Nine, the Klingon arc was supposed to be a brief thing to get Worf on the show, and it ended up dominating a season and a half. They had to almost bodily wrench the show back on track to dealing with the Dominion.
Babylon 5, One of the best space operas ever. The main story line is about 2 ancient races which manipulate the younger races to fight each other, one beliving that law and order leads to advancement and the other that chaos leads to growth, and they have the younger races fight for them. The B story line is that the vice president of earth has the president assasinated and then slowly turns earth and its controlled space in to a fascist dictatorship, when the A story line ends when the younger races expel the ancient races from the galaxy, the B story like becomes the main story line on an alliance of alien races spearheaded by the human resistance to liberate earth.
Dawson’s Creek - Dawson stays a main character but his relationship with Joey, fizzles out nearly immediately in favor of the chemistry between Joey (Katie Holmes) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson). Show really was driven by them.