Sudden death: 16 shows where an actor and a series dramatically part ways

Most of the time when a character dies on TV, it’s because the series’
writers have decided it’s the right time for the character’s story to
end, especially in our era of highly serialized dramas. But sometimes, a
character dies not because the producers thought it best, but because
it was the best solution they could come up with for an actor who
desperately wanted off the show. Rather than send that character off to
some new job or locale, the writers kill them off. Some shows choose to
handle the death in between seasons, to give fans a chance to hear the
news and get used to a reboot. Other shows opt for more flair. Sudden
death, it turns out, is a popular way to solve the problem of a
departing actor—whether that’s in a gunfight, a car accident, or a
sudden, irreversible illness.

Here are 16 examples of stars making sudden departures from their TV shows in highly dramatic fashion. Needless to say, spoilers ahead.

Josh Charles,

The Good Wife gunned down one of its series regulars without any warning—because the show needed to write actor Josh Charles out of the series storyline. Charles wanted to pursue other career options, and as Robert and Michelle King published in an to the show’s fans, they chose fireworks to send him on his way. Charles’ Will Gardner dies in a shootout in a courtroom during an otherwise normal trial. The episode jarringly shifts from the feel of a legal procedural to that of a crime show; there’s blood on the ground and police shouting into walkie-talkies, and then Will’s co-workers find his body in the hospital, with just one shoe on. What started as an HR discussion between Charles and the showrunners ended up shifting the course of the entire series.