TV Characters Who Were Recast After the Pilot
‘The Catch’
Character: Kieran / Benjamin Jones
Original: Damon Dayoub
Recast: Peter Krause
The Scoop: Shondaland producers felt Dayoub was too young to play the lead opposite Mireille Enos (she’s 40, he’s 35). As showrunner Allan Heinberg tells Yahoo TV, “They felt like they wanted someone who was more in her age range, to even the scales a little bit.”
(Credit: Getty Images/ABC)
'The Catch’
Character: Zoe / Margot
Original: Bethany Joy Lenz
Recast: Sonya Walger
The Scoop: To go along with Krause’s recasting, producers brought in the Lost alum and ABC favorite.
(Credit: Getty Images/ABC)
'Parenthood’
Character: Sarah Braverman
Original: Maura Tierney
Recast: Lauren Graham
The Scoop: Tierney dropped out to undergo treatments for cancer.
(Credit: NBC/Getty Images)
'Gilmore Girls’
Character: Sookie St. James
Original: Alex Borstein
Recast: Melissa McCarthy
The Scoop: Borstein played the bubbly chef in the unaired pilot. She also happens to be married to Jackson Douglas, who appeared as Sookie’s husband in the show. After McCarthy took over the role, Borstein made cameos as Drella the harpist and Emily’s stylist, Miss Celine.
(Credit: The CW/Getty Images)
'Pretty Little Liars’
Character: Toby
Original: James Neate
Recast: Keegan Allen
The Scoop: PLL fans might’ve had an entirely different heartthrob to crush on had Allen not replaced Neate after the pilot aired.
(Credit: ABC Family/Getty Images)
'The O.C.’
Character: Kaitlin Cooper
Original: Shailene Woodley
Recast: Willa Holland
The Scoop: Marissa’s little sis was hardly seen in the first season of the teen soap before she was written off to boarding school. When she came back a couple seasons later, she was older, sassier, and played by Holland.
(Credit: Fox/Getty Images)
When it comes to television, sometimes you need to swap out the ingredients to make a truly delicious show.
Recasting key characters after the pilot episode isn’t a new phenomenon. Johnny Depp replaced Jeff Yagher after the first episode of 21 Jump Street, Louie Anderson almost played Cousin Larry on Perfect Strangers, and Riff Regan was Willow in the unaired pilot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Half the cast of Gilligan’s Island turned over after the pilot.
Related: The 30 Best Bad Shows of the Last 30 Years: #30-25
But thanks to the Internet and social media, recastings are becoming more mainstream news. Game of Thrones fans know that Daenerys Targaryen and Catelyn Stark were played by different actresses in the unaired pilot.
Sometimes, roles are recast because the actors aren’t available for the full series. Or there are cases when the show itself evolves, like Shondaland’s newest show, The Catch, which recast two major roles as it underwent a reboot.
Click through this slideshow to see side-by-side images of some surprising recast roles.