Noah Centineo suddenly replacing Jake T. Austin was the biggest plot twist on The Fosters.
1.
Ruby Stokes played Francesca, the sixth Bridgerton child, on Bridgerton for the first two seasons.
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Here she is in Season 2:
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It was recently announced that Hannah Dodd would be taking over the role for Season 3.
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Francesca only appeared briefly in a handful of episodes for the first two seasons. The recasting is reportedly due to Stokes’ lead role in Netflix’s upcoming Lockwood & Co. and the scheduling conflicts that brings.
2.
Jake T. Austin played Jesus on The Fosters for the first two seasons.
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Noah Centineo took over the role from Season 3 onwards. He also reprised his character in the spinoff, Good Trouble.
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Austin chose to leave The Fosters due to his character’s lack of screen time and wanting to pursue other opportunities. In a since-deleted tweet, the actor explained, “I was only asked to return for 3 episodes and wasn’t going to be able to work on anything else, so I left…” However, he also emphasized that he was “honored” to be a part a “groundbreaking” series.
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
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3.
Callum Wharry played Tommen, Joffrey and Myrcella’s younger brother, in Seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones.
Dean-Charles Chapman took over the role for Seasons 4 through 6.
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It’s never been formally stated why Wharry was recast, but the most likely explanation is that the writers needed to age up Tommen for the character’s more mature storylines. Fun fact: Before landing the part of Tommen, Chapman also played Martyn Lannister for just two episodes in Season 3.
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
4.
Parker Bagley played Jason, Alison’s older brother, for the first season of Pretty Little Liars.
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Drew Van Acker took over the role from Seasons 2 to 7.
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It’s unknown why Jason’s actor was swapped out, but he wasn’t the only Pretty Little Liars character to be recast — for example, Jason and Alison’s mom, Jessica, was portrayed by Anne Marie DeLuise in the pilot, then by Andrea Parker from Season 2 onwards. Additionally, Toby was played by James Neate in the pilot and then by Keegan Allen for the remainder of the series.
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
5.
Valerie Jones played Judy, the youngest Winslow daughter, in the pilot of Family Matters.
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Jaimee Foxworth took over the role after the pilot and played Judy up until Season 4, when her character strangely disappeared without any explanation.
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Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
6.
Bradley Stryker played Trey, Ryan’s older brother, in Season 1 of The O.C.
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Logan Marshall-Green took over the role from Season 2 onward.
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Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
7.
Also on The O.C., Shailene Woodley originally played Kaitlin, Marissa’s little sister, in Season 1.
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The character was absent in Season 2, and Willa Holland took over the role from Season 3 on.
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In an interview with ET Canada, Woodley explained why she was recast: “I was 11, and I was on as a guest, recurring character, or whatever. My character went to boarding school, and when they decided to bring her back, they actually re-auditioned me to bring her back. But I didn’t go through puberty until late: I was the 15-year-old who had no boobs. So, at 11, I was like a little mouse-child. I looked like an 8-year-old. So, there was no weirdness when Willa Holland got it because she was so obviously right for the role…and I was so obviously not.”
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
8.
Ric Carrott played Chuck, the oldest Cunningham son, in the pilot of Happy Days.
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Gavan O’Herlihy took over the role for the remainder of Season 1.
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The part was then recast a third time, with Randolph Roberts taking over for just two episodes in Season 2.
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Chuck’s character disappeared entirely after Season 2. No explanation was ever given as to where he went, and all of the characters acted as if he’d never existed. The example is so infamous that it coined the term “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome.”
Here are the three Chucks in their roles side-by-side:
9.
Lily Nicksay played Morgan, Cory and Eric’s little sister, for the first two seasons of Boy Meets World.
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Lindsay Ridgeway took over the character from Season 3 onward.
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Nicksay, who was only 4 years old when she played Morgan, called the recasting a “mutual decision” between her parents and the producers. However, Nicksay did reprise her role for the finale of the Boy Meets World spin-off, Girl Meets World — she appeared alongside Ridgeway!
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
10.
Also on Boy Meets World, Daniel Jacobs (son of the show’s executive producer, Michael Jacobs) played Josh, the baby of the Matthews family.
In Girl Meets World, however, Uriah Shelton took over the role.
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To be fair, this one makes sense — Jacobs didn’t pursue acting as a career, and Josh was a teenager by this point, so the difference wasn’t really notable. Still, though!
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
11.
Jazz Raycole played Claire, the middle Kyle child, for the first season of My Wife and Kids.
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Jennifer Freeman took over the role from Season 2 onward.
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In an interview with the Christian Post, Raycole explained why she was recast: “I was 12 years old when I got that job. The producers wanted a different thing; they wanted someone a little bit older. I wasn’t ready for that. I ended up going to New York to dance, which was my first passion. I really thank God for that because I got to grow and travel.”
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
12.
Lecy Goranson played Becky on Roseanne from Seasons 1 through 5.
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However, Goranson then came back and occasionally played the character during Season 8 whenever Chalke wasn’t available. Chalke then resumed the role full time again in Season 10. The writers eventually turned the confusing casting sitch into a running gag on the show. Goranson reprised her role as Becky on the reboot, The Conners. Chalke also appeared on the reboot as another character, Andrea, to add to the joke.
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Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
13.
And finally, Lisa Robin Kelly played Laurie, Eric’s older sister, on That ’70s Show in Seasons 1-3, and Season 5.
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Christina Moore took over the role for Season 6.
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Kelly was replaced after she began having problems with alcohol use and took a leave from acting. She died in 2013.
Here they are in their roles side-by-side:
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellymartinez/tv-siblings-who-were-recast
