The character of Jeffrey Sinclair, on Babylon 5, was played by Michael O’Hare. When he left Babylon 5, he left all of his fans wildly disappointed. It was even more frustrating, because he did not want to tell anyone the real reason why he was leaving. He begged the show to keep it a secret. Production had even gone so far as to offer to put a hold on the show until he got better, but Michael just wanted to be written off the show. Sadly, he was experiencing paranoia and hallucinations, among other psychological issues.
He did not want the public to know about his mental issues, so they were kept a secret. That is, until he died in 2012, and the real reason he left the show was finally revealed.
Lecy Goranson on Roseanne
In the instance of the show Roseanne, they had two actresses play the role of Becky. Lecy Goranson played Becky for 8 seasons, and then Sarah Chalke came in and replaced her after that. Becky one was, of course, the main character, so fans were left wondering why a brand new actress was playing the role without any warning.
Goranson decided to leave Roseanne to attend college - and the show was left with a difficult decision. They decided to keep her character on and just replace her with another actress. Strange move, but probably a good idea. Goranson did end up coming back on the show during season 8.
Lacey Chabert on Family Guy
Everyone recognizes Mila Kunis' voice as Meg Griffin, the unappreciated daughter on the animated sitcom Family Guy, but in fact, she wasn't the original actress to voice the character. Actress Lacey Chabert actually voiced Meg during the show's first two seasons but left, thinking it would be a failure and decided to focus her time on Party of Five instead. Could she be more wrong?
Because of the show's success, Mila Kunis makes an average of $200,000 per episode, which, makes us wonder if Chabert's still cries about that decision.
John Ritter on 8 Simple Rules and Scrubs
One of the most devastating celebrity deaths is that of John Ritter. He died in September of 2003, from an aortic dissection. After this awful tragedy, he had to be written out of the shows he was currently on, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter and Scrubs.
This death really hit a lot of people hard. His family, of course, was devastated. They believed that his untimely death could have been prevented, and even went as far as to bring a lawsuit to the hospital for wrongful death. His wife Amy wants the hospital to take responsibility and action for this tragedy.
Dave Chappelle on Chappelle's Show
This is probably one of the most controversial TV departures on our list. In the early 2000s, comedian, Dave Chappelle, abruptly let his hit comedy series Chappelle's Show. Despite the huge success of the show, Chappelle didn't feel happy with how things were unfolding. He felt that fans only liked his "stupid" humor, and didn't get his more intellectual skits, which eventually got him disappointed.
"You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you," Chappelle once told his audience. "I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid." Ouch. And that's how Chappelle's genius skit show ended.