Being an actor, it's difficult to get that big break but it's even more difficult once you get that break to have lightening strike twice...some example below..

 

Jenna Elfman (dharma and Greg in the 90s...three or so flop sitcoms after)

 

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy made her famous...two attempts at shows both failed)

 

Linda Lavin (had a nine season sitcom from the mid 70s through the mid 80s...at least 3 flops since then..maybe a 4th depending on if her current sitcom succeeds).

 

 

Sarah Brown (Carly, GH)

Nia Vardalos after My Big Fat Greek Wedding

 

 

Lauren Tewes........was beloved as Julie on The Love Boat 1977-1984, but her spiral into drugs got her fired from the show. 

 

Several members of the talented cast of Mad TV.

 

 

 

 

Matthew Perry - (Studio 60, Mr. Sunshine, Go On, The Odd Couple remake - eesh that one, in particular, was bad)

 

Shelly Long

McLean Stevenson 

Kirstie Alley 

Mary Tyler Moore

Dean Cain

 

7 minutes ago, P.J. said:

 

Shelly Long

McLean Stevenson 

Kirstie Alley 

Mary Tyler Moore

Dean Cain

 

Didn’t lightning sort of strike twice for MTM with The Dick Van Dyke Show and then her own show? (Not to mention Ordinary People?)

On 3/1/2018 at 8:41 AM, mango said:

Matthew Perry - (Studio 60, Mr. Sunshine, Go On, The Odd Couple remake - eesh that one, in particular, was bad)

 

I didn't mind Perry reviving TOC, but IMO, he should've played Felix instead.

9 hours ago, Faulkner said:

Didn’t lightning sort of strike twice for MTM with The Dick Van Dyke Show and then her own show? (Not to mention Ordinary People?)

 

Yep.

1 hour ago, Khan said:

 

I didn't mind Perry reviving TOC, but IMO, he should've played Felix instead. 

 

Yes. I think this was some passion project for him and he wanted to play against type. It didn't really work.

 

(my parents did really enjoy the show - although they did think it was amusing that it was canceled what seemed like five minutes after Teri Hatcher appeared)

@Khan

@DRW50

 

I didn't even think of having MP play a different character. Great points. Funny enough, Felix's neurotic-ness reminded me of Monica from Friends. 

Edited March 11, 20188 yr by mango

Rose McGowan

Joyce Dewitt

Mr.T 

11 hours ago, P.J. said:

 

Shelly Long

McLean Stevenson 

Kirstie Alley 

Mary Tyler Moore

Dean Cain

 

 

Kirstie's weight struggles may have played a huge role in her not being able to replicate the Cheers success. 

Delta Burke

 

Farrah Fawcett

 

Jaclyn Smith

 

Lindsay Wagner

 

The cast of Eight Is Enough with the exception of Willie Aames.

 

Victoria Principal

 

Linda Gray

 

Charlene Tilton

 

Ann Jillian

 

Larry Wilcox

 

Erik Estrada

 

Jim. J. Bullock

 

Deborah Van Valkenburgh

 

Lydia Cornell

 

Nancy Dussault

 

The cast of Seinfeld

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Re: Seinfeld. Veep may not be a Seinfeld-scale hit, but it’s a legitimate success in Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s career. It’s not like she’s just coasting on name recognition at the moment.

 

Seinfeld himself doesn’t appear to have tried to recreate his sitcom, but he’s settled into a new legacy visibility with the digital stuff and Netflix specials.

 

Jason Alexander and Michael Richards? Totally.

1 hour ago, ChitHappens said:

 

Kirstie's weight struggles may have played a huge role in her not being able to replicate the Cheers success. 

 

Well, that, and the School of Religious Thought Which Shall Not Be Named.

26 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

Seinfeld himself doesn’t appear to have tried to recreate his sitcom, but he’s settled into a new legacy visibility with the digital stuff and Netflix specials.

 

Which is smart, I think.  Love it or not, "Seinfeld" is a generation-defining sitcom; and I think ANY attempt on his part to replicate that success might have ended disastrously.  (Yes, JLD is doing fine on "Veep," but it took one flop and one sorta-hit series to get her there.)

 

Could we add Kelsey Grammer to the list (if we haven't already)?  Granted, he played Dr. Frasier Crane for twenty years, on two LONG-running series ("Cheers" and, of course, "Frasier").  However, it seems like all his post-"Frasier" efforts on TV have not fared as well.  "Back to You" was okay, but probably on the wrong network; "Hank" was so not his kind of comedy that he reportedly asked ABC to pull the plug; "Boss" suffered, I think, from lack of buzz; and that brief show w/ Martin Lawrence was just one big WTF.  It's really no surprise, then, that he has chosen to stick with theater work and with films (although, I don't see him ever becoming an in-demand actor on the latter).