Many TV shows have made the mistake of killing off – or writing out – a character before they can reverse that decision.
Roseannewhich first aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997, followed the Conner family as they faced the trials and tribulations of being a working-class family. Barr starred as Roseanne Conner in the season John Goodman played her on-screen husband, Dan Conner. Their family was expanded with Roseanne's sister, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), and Roseanne and Dan's children: Darlene (Sarah Gilbert), Becky (Sarah Chalke again Lecy Goranson) and DJ (Michael Fishman).
After the Roseanne the sitcom was briefly revived in 2018, some storylines had to be changed. The original series ended with Dan's death, which the show wrote off as just a dream.
“I thought it was a smart way to do it, to handle it and get it out of the way,” Goodman joked at a guest panel for the organization's Television Critics Association in 2018.
The ABC series was later canceled after Barr's social media posts were changed to The Connorswhich was a spinoff created without the actor's involvement.
Meanwhile, on AMC, Fear the Walkers he was killed Kim Dickens in 2018 after playing the lead character in the show.
“It was shocking. Obviously it was shocking and disappointing. It was painful,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2018. “I also thought there were so many stories to tell and so many places to go, so at first I was shocked and disappointed and heartbroken. But you know, it's in the hands of so many writers and producers for so many characters.”
He continued: “Basically, the message is, no one is safe. And these kinds of deaths will end up driving the story of other characters in other places. It's part of the genre, it's part of the storytelling device, and I have to wrap my head around it and go into production.”
Despite committing to a four-year turnaround, the writing choice was postponed when Dickens returned in 2022. Keep scrolling to find out more TV actors whose deaths – or their exits – were backfired due to incredible off-screen reactions:
Gates McFadden ('Star Trek: The Next Generation')
After being introduced in season 1 as Dr. Beverly Crusher, Gates McFadden was written and replaced Diana Muldaur as Katherine Pulaski. Muldaur left after one season and McFadden returned for a third season due to popular demand.
Patrick Duffy ('Dallas')
The soap opera introduced Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing when the show debuted in 1978. Bobby was later killed and Duffy was gone for one year. A screen flashback, however, led to Bobby's return and explained his absence – and death – as all part of a dream.
John Goodman ('Roseanne')
To bring Roseanne back as a revival, the show went back on several storylines including Dan's death. John Goodman's character returned with the explanation that anything that contradicted that narrative was a dream.
Tom Selleck ('Magnum PI')
The main character was almost killed at the end of season 7. Eventually that story was scrapped and Tom Selleck's character, Thomas, lived to see another day in the eighth and final season.
Kim Dickens ('Fear the Walking Dead')
When The Walking Dead was expanded into Fear the Walking Dead, Kim Dickens was part of the main cast. His character Madison was killed off in the season 4 midseason finale but the show finally found a way to bring Dickens back four years later.
