13 TV Characters Who Randomly Disappeared Forever

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Richie (Ron Howard), Howard (Tom Bosley), Marion (Marion Ross) and Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy) Cunningham together in 'Happy Days'

Published Jan 27, 2026, 3:38 PM EST

Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts!
On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK.
In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.

When we think of our favorite television shows, we are often reminded of the incredible characters who fill the screen. After all, a great TV show requires great characters. Many characters make a lasting impact, and whether they remain during the entire run or leave before the end, we adore them. Yet, over time, we’ve seen some characters make a lasting impression for a different reason: they disappear.

The fickle entertainment industry can cause major changes to a series, where one season, a character is important, and the next, they’re gone without a trace. It’s time to examine the mystery of some shocking disappearing characters over time. From classic sitcoms to beloved dramas, these characters have been written out for an assortment of reasons, but they live rent-free in our minds.

13 Chuck Cunningham

'Happy Days'

The history of the mystery all begins with this young man: Chuck Cunningham. When Happy Days began, Howard and Marion Cunningham (Tom Bosley and Marion Ross) had three children, Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy and Randolph Roberts), Richie (Ron Howard), and Joanie (Erin Moran). The eldest, Chuck, appeared at the start of the series only to be erased from memory. Literally. His parents say on the show that they are “very proud of our two children.” Appearing in the first two seasons, the college-aged, basketball-playing son was rarely seen until he was just gone.

His disappearance jump-started the infamous "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome,” a term used to describe TV characters that disappear from shows without an in-narrative explanation and are nowhere to be seen or mentioned again. The struggle with Chuck was the original actor asked to be removed from the show, only for the replacement to be less than stellar. While Happy Days could easily have written him out by sending him off into the world, the odd decision to pretend he never existed came as a shock to dedicated fans. This list wouldn’t exist without Chuck, so pour one out for the OG!

12 Mandy Hampton

'The West Wing'

If there is such a thing as a perfect series, it’s The West Wing. Created by the brilliant visionary Aaron Sorkin, the exceptional political drama gave us hope in democracy thanks to the Bartlett administration. When the series began in 1999, audiences were introduced to a large ensemble that portrayed the various key roles in the White House. One of whom was Moira Kelly as Mandy Hampton, the White House media director. Beyond her work, Mandy was also Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman’s (Bradley Whitford) former girlfriend. They had a clash-filled relationship that often put Mandy in a negative light, but she was meant to be a savvy political strategist and no-nonsense negotiator.

An intriguing character, Sorkin eventually realized that Mandy wasn’t working out in The West Wing universe and ultimately removed her from the plot. Though there was an amicable split between Kelly and the series, keen fans noticed how she just disappeared without mention ever again. There was an out in which Sorkin could have killed her off through the Season 1 cliffhanger, but he did not, sparking the concept of “Going to Mandyville,” a similar idea to what happened to Chuck Cunningham.

11 John Bennett

'Orange is the New Black'

Netflix likely would not be the streamer it is today had it not been for the first batch of original content, including Orange is the New Black. The brilliant comedy-drama dropped the audience into Litchfield Penitentiary as Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) began serving a prison sentence where she interacted with fellow inmates and prison staff. One of the show's brilliant elements was its large cast, which opened up windows of story possibility, one of the most intriguing of which was the taboo relationship formed by inmate Dayanara "Daya" Diaz (Dascha Polanco) and prison guard John Bennett (Matt McGorry).

A love plot line that audiences wanted to root for led to the shocking pregnancy. From there, how would the pair proceed? Well, Bennett bounced. He built a crib and abandoned Daya and their unborn child. Because Bennett abandoned his post as well, there was no reason for Daya to mention him again. Though McGorry doesn’t love how Bennett departed, it was necessary to allow him to embark on future projects, including How to Get Away With Murder, immediately after. There were certainly staff plot lines in which Bennett could have been mentioned to wrap up his story, but sadly, he was gone for good.

10 Tori Scott

'Saved by the Bell'

One of the biggest teen sitcoms of the '90s was Saved by the Bell, set in Bayside High. The series follows a group of high school friends and their principal, focusing on lighthearted comedy and occasionally touching on serious social issues. The series featured a core cast of Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Screech Powers (Dustin Diamond), Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen), and Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley). But for a brief moment, Tori Scott joined the group for a very specific reason.

Played by Leanna Creel, Tori was introduced due to a production issue. Joining the cast in Season 4, Tori was an immediate enemy to Zack, only for them to eventually (briefly) date. She’s a bad girl with a motorcycle and a complete foil for Kelly and Jesse. But the ironic part is, they never appeared together in the series! That’s right, Tori was introduced to temporarily replace the two women who departed before more episodes were ordered. A completely random addition, she was a fun character that kept the female energy alive without creating a carbon copy of Jesse and Kelly. After the season and into the specials and sequel series, Tori is never mentioned. We didn’t even see her graduate! Tori is only mentioned once by Zack in the 2020 sequel series to Kelly, but she does not remember her.

9 Mutt Schitt

'Schitt's Creek'

The premise of Schitt’s Creek is about the (formerly) wealthy Rose family being forced to live in the random town that Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) bought. Inside the quaint town are the Schitt family, which includes Mutt Schitt. Played by Tim Rozon, Mutt was the ruggedly handsome son of Jocelyn (Jennifer Robertson) and Mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliot), former boyfriend of Twyla (Sarah Levy), as well as a one-time lover of Alexis (Annie Murphy). He was an appealing guy and a great option for romantic entanglement, but the unambitious, contented son found a new girlfriend by Season 3, departing the show.

While Mutt did return for a one-off appearance during Season 4, where it was revealed he was single again, rather than complicate Alexis’ love life, he left Schitt’s Creek again, never to be mentioned again in the remaining seasons. So, why did a key character leave a hot series? In real life, Rozon was cast in a major role in the show Wynonna Earp. Mutt’s departure in the series made sense, as he had run his course. Alexis moved on, and he was estranged from his parents. What else was Mutt to do?

8 Ben Geller

'Friends'

Long before the Suite Life of Zack & Cody, one half of the Sprouse twins, Cole Sprouse, was making his way through some of the '90s biggest comedies. On screen, it was Big Daddy. On TV, it was Friends. We love Friends because we enjoy the lives of our six friends. While much of the series had many interconnected storylines, each character had their own solo arcs with their own friends and family, too. Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer) had quite a past life prior to the start of the series. Not only was he married, but he also had an adorable son named Ben! The son of Ross and Carol Willick (Jane Sibbett), Ben serves as one of the necessary connectors for the ex-couple, ushering in comedy involving Carol and her new marriage to Susan Bunch (Jessica Hecht). But the thing is, the later the series went on, the less he appeared, until he just vanished, with no mention of where little Ben went.

Sprouse had a recurring role from 2000 to 2002. And then, poof. He was gone. While he was a rare case of being mentioned past his on-screen expiration, his physical presence was nowhere to be seen. The character was phased out in order to focus on other stories for Ross. Well, it took Sprouse responding to a tweet in 2019 to reveal that Ross was simply just a bad dad. “Critics would agree that Ross was never really the most present father," he said. "And so it doesn't surprise me too much."

7 Mr. Turner

'Boy Meets World'

When we think of Boy Meets World, we immediately think of the friendship between Cory Matthews (Ben Savage), Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), and Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel). We then think of how Mr. Feeney (William Daniels) was an important mentor to the kids. But beyond the principal, there was a teacher who influenced Cory and Shawn’s lives: Mr. Jonathan Turner. Played by Anthony Tyler Quinn, Mr. Turner served as the high school English teacher who was easygoing and inspired his students between Seasons 2 and 4. But in the penultimate episode of Season 4, Mr. Turner was hospitalized after being involved in an accident and then vanished.

Part of Mr. Turner’s storyline was giving Shawn a home. By Season 5, Shawn was back living with his father, with little mention of Mr. Turner, though it’s implied that the accident was the cause. Shawn was then under the guardianship of his half-brother, Jack (Matthew Lawrence), again, with Mr. Turner out of the picture. He gets a shout-out in Season 5 during Stuart Minkus’ (Lee Norris) cameo, calling out to him, implying he was back to work. So why didn’t we see him? Well, it would take the revival series, Girl Meets World, to get that answer. And better yet, we got it from him! Mr. Turner returns as a recurring character on the series as the superintendent of the New York public school system. So where exactly did he go? He reveals that after his accident, he fell in love with his nurse and married her. Continuity issues, I suppose.

6 Tina Pinciotti

'That '70s Show'

One of the most beloved period coming-of-age comedies at the turn of the century was the FOX hit That '70s Show. Sharing the antics of six tight-knit friends in Point Place, Wisconsin, That '70s Show ended up being a star-making vehicle. With the majority of the cast exploding onto the scene and establishing careers, one character was left out of the hype: Tina Pinciotti. Who is Tina Pinciotti, you may ask? Well, she was Donna's younger sister (Laura Prepon). Played by Amanda Fuller, Tina only appeared in the Season 1 episode, “Eric’s Burger Job,” before swiftly being written out.

She was mentioned by name in Season 2, via a cheeky closing credit bit that questioned what happened to her. Specifically, the soap opera announcer asks, "Whatever happened to Midge's daughter, Tina?" But then, Tina was completely erased from memory, as Donna was later described as an only child. This isn’t an uncommon trope, as we’ll discuss the individual who tops the list. Coincidentally, Donna also mentions having an older sister, Valerie, but she was never seen on-screen or mentioned again either.

5 Claire

'Seinfeld'

Fans of Seinfeld know that the series underwent major changes between Season 1 and Season 2, but there were major changes that happened between the pilot and the second episode, too. One of those changes came in the form of Claire. In the original pilot, Claire, played by Lee Garlington, was the waitress at Pete’s Luncheonette. Intended to be the primary female lead, the direction of the series (and thus, Claire) got the chop.

She was a fun character who had a playful repertoire with Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and George (Jason Alexander), poking fun at the latter. Once the locale had shifted to Monk’s Cafe, Claire was never mentioned again. In the end, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was cast as Elaine for Season 2, and, as they say, the rest is history. Though there are rumors about why the change occurred, Garlington believed it had to do with Dreyfus, who was friends with Larry David through Saturday Night Live, being unavailable to film. The other rumor floating around came from Alexander sharing on Kevin Pollack’s Chat Show that she was “a very fine actress who made the critical error of suggesting to Larry that she'd looked at the scenes overnight and made a few tweaks that she wanted to share with him."

4 Maggie Lauten

'A Different World'

Before her biological clock was ticking as an Oscar winner, Marisa Tomei had a short stint on TV in The Cosby Show spin-off, A Different World. When the series first came to fruition, the premise followed Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia. In the first season, Denise had a good friend in the form of Tomei's Maggie Lauten. Maggie was a military brat studying journalism. She also happened to be a white student.

The series was a success — but then Bonet got pregnant. Believing it was not practical for Denise to be pregnant, as viewers would no longer view her as the "good girl," Bill Cosby joined the crusade to reshape the series. At first, after the series sent Denise home, Debbie Allen advocated keeping Tomei's Maggie around, as she knew of a white student while at Howard. The network rejected the storyline and thus dropped the character completely. Good thing Tomei had the freedom to explore new opportunities, or My Cousin Vinny may never have become a reality!

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