There is nothing that particularly shocking about TV actors deciding to leave their show (or being fired) and having to be hurriedly written off. For some reason though 2016 saw an alarming amount of characters be written off their shows by deaths and other means to due some behind-the-scenes drama. Here are 7 characters we will miss desperately in 2017 after suddenly leaving their shows in 2016.
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Tony DiNozzo, NCIS
Tony’s exit from NCIS wasn’t exactly shocking. Michael Weatherly‘s decision to leave the show and subsequently headline his own CBS drama, Bull, was announced more than a season before Tony actually left. Unlike some other shows on this list, NCIS continues to operate just fine without Tony. There has been no discernible dip in quality. Still there was a reason that Tony was considered a fan favorite and the halls of NCIS HQ are a little less enjoyable without him around.
Derek Morgan and Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner, Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds fans losing Morgan would have been difficult enough for fans to deal with in 2016. Fans didn’t have much time to absorb Morgan’s exit but it was still announced ahead of his final episode and the split was more than amicable. The leader of the BAU Unit leaving the team with Hotch’s departure later in 2016 was a lot harder to handle.
Unlike Shemar Moore leaving the show, Thomas Gibson did not leave Criminal Minds on good terms. Thomas Gibson was suddenly fired after an alleged violent altercation with a producer and his character Hotch was quickly and sloppily written off the show. While Criminal Minds might have been able to weather one major character lost, they have struggled to lose Hotch so suddenly after Morgan. Many fans feel that Criminal Minds has suffered too much and has become a completely different show without Morgan or Hotch. Hopefully Criminal Minds can get on track in 2017 but Hotch and Morgan’s absences will be felt no matter what.
Cat Grant, Supergirl
Supergirl‘s move to The CW in season 2 has greatly improved the show after a somewhat shaky first season. There was a big casualty from Supergirl moving networks in between seasons. The network change also meant that Supergirl had to change production locations from L.A. to Vancouver to cut costs. Because of the migration the show had to lose Calista Flockhart as a series regular as she agreed to Supergirl season 1 because filming was located in Los Angeles. Supergirl has flown higher in season 2 but losing Flockhart’s Cat Grant with her acerbic one-liners and tough love mentorship of Kara Danvers has been a huge blow to the show.
Abbie Mills, Sleepy Hollow
It really appeared that Sleepy Hollow was going to be cancelled after season 3 which made the fact that the show killed off one of its main characters a little bit easier to understand. Yet Sleepy Hollow will continue for season 4 and it will be without Abbie Mills. Nicole Beharie might have asked to leave the show but the death of Abbie still comes as a huge shock to fans.
Thankfully with such a major shift Sleepy Hollow is treating season 4 as a soft reboot. The show is moving cities, giving Icabod a new partner and mostly new supporting cast. There is a chance that the change could end up benefiting Sleepy Hollow for the better but it will definitely be a very different show without Abbie or her actress Nicole Beharie involved.
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Kira Yukimura, Teen Wolf
Teen Wolf fans will have to say goodbye to the whole Beacon Hills pack in 2017 as the series is coming to end. The show just had to say goodbye to Kira, Scott’s current love interest and a bad-ass kitsune in her own right, much earlier than expected. Kira was last seen on Teen Wolf being left in the desert to train her unpredictable kitsune powers at the end of season 5 and fans naturally assumed she would be back for season 6 in some capacity. It was not meant to be, as Arden Cho announced in between seasons, that Kira would not return and her journey on Teen Wolf had reached a sudden and abrupt end. It’s hard to say goodybe to the characters but it is even harder knowing we will not get any more closure with Kira.
Lexa, The 100
It should have been expected that Alycia Debnam-Carey’s character on The 100, fan favorite Lexa, would have been written off as soon as the actress landed her series regular on Fear the Walking Dead. Still Lexa’s death and how it occurred is easily the most controversial exit on this list. It came at the exact wrong moment, in the exact wrong situation.
Lexa had the misfortune of dying in a time where TV had killed off a lot prominent female and/or lesbian characters. Lexa’s death made many viewers angry as they saw it as anti-climatic and manipulative. Fans were more enraged by Lexa’s demise than upset which is the exact wrong way to make the audience feel. The feelings still linger and regardless of the way she went out Lexa has left a hole in the hearts of main character Clarke and The 100 fans.
Which of these characters will you miss most? Did we miss any other big exits?
For More of BuddyTV’s 2016 End of Year Coverage:
- 10 Sexiest Male Characters of 2016
- 10 Sexiest Female TV Characters of 2016
- The 10 Best TV Dramas from 2016
- 10 Best Comedies of 2016
- 19 Major TV Deaths
- In Memoriam: TV Shows We Lost in 2016
- 25 Best Episodes of 2016
- TV’s 13 Hottest Scenes
- 11 TV Couples Who Had No Happily Ever After
- 5 Episodes So Gruesome We Had to Look Away
- 13 TV Moments that Broke Our Hearts
- The Best and Worst of Politics on Television
- The 11 Most Cringeworthy TV Moments
- 10 TV Characters We Fell in Love with
- [WATCH] 5 Great Musical TV Performances
- The Most Fashionable Television Characters
- 7 New TV Catchphrases
- 5 Show Cancellations that Broke Our Hearts
- 10 TV Characters We Hope Find Love in 2017
Click here for the Complete End of Year Guide>>>
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(Images courtesy of CBS, The CW, FOX and MTV)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
