11 outlandish ways characters were written off TV shows
CBS/"Two And A Half Men"
Characters get written off TV shows for various reasons. Perhaps the actor has become problematic off-screen, has asked to leave the show, or their character is simply not working anymore.
But not all TV exits are created equal. Sometimes, a character leaves the show in such a brutal way that it seems like it might be a little personal.
Charlie Sheen's character on "Two and a Half Men" was tortured for years before getting crushed by a falling piano.
In television, there's a term called "jumping the shark." It stems from an episode of "Happy Days," in which Fonzie water skis over a shark while wearing his leather jacket. In other words, it's what happens when a TV show gets too ridiculous for its own good.
These character disappearances could all be considered a "jumping the shark" moment for their shows. Charlie getting hit by a moving train on "Two and a Half Men," Eddie getting run over by a Zamboni on "Cheers," and Edie surviving a car crash only to be electrocuted on "Desperate Housewives" are just a few examples of outlandish story choices.
Keep scrolling for more ridiculous ways that characters have been written off shows.
Eddie LeBec, a character on "Cheers," was killed by a Zamboni while working at an ice show.
CBS Television Distribution
LeBec, played by Jay Thomas, didn't appear that often in the "Cheers" universe, but his death by Zamboni remains one of the wildest deaths in sitcom history.
Reportedly, Thomas was written off "Cheers" after he made some unsavory comments about his on-screen wife, Rhea Perlman. He maintained that he was speaking about her character, Carla, not the actress herself, but either way, Eddie was killed off the show.
To add insult to injury, at the character's funeral, it was revealed that Eddie had an entire other family, complete with a wife and kids that he was juggling. Tough stuff.
On "Desperate Housewives," Edie first got into a car crash, and then was electrocuted by a fallen wire.
ABC
Edie, played by Nicollette Sheridan, was killed off in the middle of the fifth season of "Desperate Housewives" — according to creator Marc Cherry, it was to cut costs. Sheridan ended up suing for wrongful termination of contract, among other things.
Either way, Edie met a bitter end. After escaping a murder attempt from her husband, she drove into a telephone pole and stepped into a puddle that had a live wire in it, fatally electrocuting her.
Charlie on "Two and a Half Men" was hit by a subway train before it emerged his death had been faked — and then he was crushed by a falling piano.
CBS
Charlie Sheen's character was originally written off for the season 9 premiere after his off-screen blow-ups insulting the show and its creator, Chuck Lorre. In the premiere, his on-screen wife, Rose, pushed him in front of a subway after she caught him cheating on her.
However, in the series finale, it was revealed that she had faked his death, and was keeping him prisoner in her basement. He escaped, and right as he was about to reveal his return to his family, a piano came out of nowhere and crushed him.
After voice actor Maggie Roswell quit over a pay dispute, Maude Flanders was killed off "The Simpsons" via a T-shirt cannon.
FOX
Yes, "The Simpsons" is, generally speaking, a ridiculous show. But Maude's untimely demise remains one of the more bonkers moments in the show's 31 (and counting) seasons.
Maude dies in the show's 11th season, in an episode called "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily." While the Simpson and Flanders clans are at a stock car race, Homer demands a T-shirt from one of cheerleaders operating a T-shirt cannon. However, at the last second, Homer bends over to pick up a bobby pin, causing Maude to get hit with a barrage of T-shirts, lose her balance, and fall off the bleachers and into the parking lot.
According to Maggie Roswell, the actor who played her, Maude was killed off the show after Roswell asked Fox for a raise. When she was offered a raise of just $150 an episode, she quit. Fox said Roswell was dropped from the show because she no longer wanted to commute to Los Angeles from her home in Denver.
Marissa died in a fiery car crash on "The OC" after multiple near-death encounters.
FOX
Marissa, the troubled girl next door, met her end during the third season finale of "The OC" after many other near-death experiences. But her ex-boyfriend Volchok (played by Cam Gigandet), who had previously gotten her addicted to cocaine, was responsible for her eventual death.
After getting (rightfully) dumped, Volchok dangerously followed Ryan and Marissa on the highway, before causing a giant, explosive car crash. Marissa died dramatically in Ryan's arms, forever altering the course of "The OC."
But before that episode even aired, Barton spoiled her character's death on "Access Hollywood," saying, "My character has been through so, so much, and there's really nothing more left for her to do." It was a rough day for "OC" fans.
Erlich Bachman was left behind at a Tibetan opium den, and then compared to a "bloated pig carcass" on "Silicon Valley."
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
It was revealed during season 4 that actor TJ Miller wouldn't be returning for the following season of HBO's "Silicon Valley." His character, Erlich, wasn't exactly a nice person — and so he got a fitting send-off.
He was last seen in an opium den in Tibet, and when season 5 rolled around, another character, Jian-Yang, tried to prove that Erlich was dead so he could inherit his money and stake in Pied Piper (the company at the center of "Silicon Valley"). He also compared him to a "bloated carcass of a fat, pale pig." Ouch.
When Charlie left "Girls" in season 2, it wasn't a dramatic departure. But a brief return in season 5 revealed he had become a drug-dealing heroin addict — a far cry from his original personality.
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
At the time, it was rumored that actor Christopher Abbott left the show because he disagreed with creator Lena Dunham's vision for the character — but the outlandish component of his exit didn't come until a bit later.
Charlie returned two years later in one of the best episodes of the show, "A Panic in Central Park," a stand-alone episode about one of the show's more reviled characters, Marnie.
Marnie and Charlie were engaged, and dated for five years, before he unceremoniously dumped her before season 3 began. Throughout the course of the episode, it's revealed that Charlie quit his job at an up-and-coming tech startup, his father died by suicide, he lives in an apartment with garbage bags for shades, has become a drug dealer, and is addicted to heroin. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. He was never seen again after this episode.
The death of Chef on "South Park" is almost too much to read.
ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks
Chef, one of the show's mainstays, was killed off in the 10th season's premiere in 2006. As NME described it, he was "struck by lightning, impaled on a branch, shot, mauled by a mountain lion, had his legs ripped eaten by a bear, his face bitten off, and his corpse told it would 'have made a good child molester.'"
Behind the scenes, it seems that Isaac Hayes, the voice behind Chef, was opposed to the way the show was satirizing Scientology and its followers, of which he was one. According to Hayes' son, the singer and actor didn't quit the show at all — reportedly, after he had been hospitalized for a stroke, someone involved in Scientology quit the show on his behalf.
Nikki and Paulo were universally reviled on "Lost," and so they were buried alive after getting paralyzed from spider bites — seriously.
ABC
Nikki and Paulo, played by Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro, were introduced in the somewhat maligned third season, stemming from a common viewer question: What are the rest of the plane crash survivors up to?
However, fans hated Nikki and Paulo. And so the writers of the show gave them a properly cathartic send-off. They were done in by their own scheming and tricks, and were mistakenly buried alive after getting bitten by venomous spiders — the venom conveniently paralyzed them for eight hours, wearing off just as sand fully covered them.
One of Phoebe's boyfriends, Gary, was written off "Friends" after he shot a pigeon while he was lying in bed with Phoebe, a vegetarian.
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Gary, played by Michael Rapaport, appeared in four episodes of the hit show's fifth season, and Phoebe even moved in with him. But their honeymoon phase didn't last long, as Gary shot a bird right in front of Phoebe, a passionate vegetarian ... while they were lying in bed! The thought of an actual New York City resident doing that is preposterous.
This one's a bonus — on "Friends," Joey played Dr. Drake Ramoray on "Days of Our Lives." After making a comment about writing his own lines, Joey was killed off the show by falling down an elevator shaft.
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
"Friends" pretty frequently poked fun at the melodramatic nature of soap operas, and Drake Ramoray's exit from "Days of Our Lives" definitely fit that bill. After making an offhand remark during an interview that he wrote his own lines, the writers struck back at Joey, and killed his character by having him try to enter an elevator, only to fall down the empty shaft.
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