When a show ends, it’s always an emotional time. Lately, a lot of popular shows that have long since ended have been holding cast reunions on Netflix, but every once in a while audiences are gifted with a reboot or spin-off of said show.
The only problem is, it is easy to get disappointed when not all the stars of the original will return for the new series. There are several reasons for this: previous obligations, money disputes, or it could be that they’re just not interested.
10 Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen, Fuller House
In 2015, it was announced that the popular 90s show Full House would be getting a reboot that would focus on the kids, namely Danny, now that they’re all grown up. Impressively, most of the original cast would be returning, maybe because Uncle Jesse actor John Stamos had a hand in production.
The twins played Michelle Tanner, the youngest sister, who was only six or seven years old when the show ended. Many fans were most interested in where her storyline would go, as she never had any strong storylines involving her personal life. But at this point, Mary-Kate and Ashley had mostly stepped away from acting, and they were both busy with their fashion brands. That’s exactly what the show said Michelle was doing: running her own fashion empire.
9 Jennette McCurdy, iCarly
Jennette McCurdy’s introduction to acting wasn’t the most pleasant. She began acting at around 6, and a few years later, her acting was the main financial income for her family. She always had a lot of pressure on her, and so she didn’t find much joy in acting. She wasn’t proud of her roles either; she was actually embarrassed.
It was a very personal decision on her part, but she was also busy doing other things. She’s been writing and producing, as well as hosting her own podcast that’s very popular. It’s not to say that she will never return to acting, but she is done with her role on iCarly.
8 Tori Spelling, 90210
When the 90210 reboot was announced, Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth, as well as others, immediately signed on to reprise their roles. Tori Spelling agreed to do it as well, but then personal issues arose before the premiere could be filmed. She had just had her baby also, so her hands were full.
When she was ready, she did return to become a recurring character and appeared in a few episodes. Then it came to her attention that Garth and Doherty were being paid more per episode. She talked to the studio executives, but they refused to match their salary, so Tori dropped the show for good.
7 Kiefer Sutherland, 24: Legacy
Kiefer Sutherland and Jack Bauer are the ultimate pair that comes to mind when 24 is brought up. But only Bauer returned for the reboot, and that could be why it wasn’t very successful.
Fans were very excited when it was announced that Jack Bauer would be returning for the reboot, 24: Legacy, in 2016. Sutherland was already working on the new show Designated Survivor. It would be very difficult to get rid of his character though, so he gave his blessing to his recast, Corey Hawkins.
6 Chad Michael Murray, Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life
Chad Michael Murray played the bad boy Tristan Dugray on Gilmore Girls, and he was the ultimate heartthrob. But when the reboot came around in 2016, he just wasn’t available. He was having his first child.
This ended up in his character being sort of written off; he got expelled and sent away to military school. Tristan Dugray did make a sort of cameo appearance later in the series, but he was portrayed by Anton Narinskiy.
5 Victoria Principal, Dallas
Dallas was an incredibly popular show in the 1980s, comparable to Gossip Girl. The executives wanted to bring the series back for the youth of today, so in 2012 TNT created a new version of the show.
Quite a few members of the original cast came back or agreed to make guest appearances, but Victoria Principal had no interest in reprising her role as Pam Ewing. She wanted her character’s storyline to remain untouched.
4 Shelley Morrison, Will & Grace
The incredibly popular Will & Grace was rebooted in 2017, and fans were ecstatic. Even better, all four of the original cast members would be returning to their roles. Unfortunately, Shelley Morrison, who played Rosario, would not be coming back.
Morrison was still in good health at the time, but she had already retired from acting at that point. She had no interest in coming out of retirement for the part, and the creators actually worked her departure into the show.
3 Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, American Idol 2018
When people think of American Idol, the first thing that comes to mind are the three original judges: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. When a new season of the show was announced for 2018, audiences were speculating whether all the judges would return, but it just wasn’t the case.
Simon was already working on AGT and was finding great success on that show. He said he wouldn’t come back “even if they begged him to.” Paula Abdul expressed her joy and support towards the new reboot, but she had no interest in judging contestants anymore.
2 William Fitchner, Prison Break
In 2015, Prison Break was given a revival in the form of a limited series. It would be ten episodes and the fifth season of the show. Almost the entire original cast was coming back to the series, everyone except William Fitchner.
Fitchner played Alexander Mahone, and his character was a fan favorite, so it was a bummer when he said that he didn’t want to return; he already had to be swayed to film the fourth season of the show. The actor was also signed on as a regular on the CBS show Mom at this point, so his schedule was already packed.
1 Michael Ontkean, Twin Peaks
In 1990, Sheriff Harry S. Truman was played by Michael Ontkean. But there was a new sheriff in town when the follow-up show came around. Ontkean had long since retired from acting and wasn’t interested in returning, so the role was given to Robert Forster instead.
Other people didn’t return as well, namely Lara Flynn Boyle who played Donna Hayward. But she had previously been recast in the prequel Fire Walk With Me, so it wasn’t as much of a shock that she didn’t come back to Twin Peaks. Piper Laurie and Heather Graham were absent from the reboot as well.