I'm talking about characters that came on and seemed set up for a decent run but within a few months, or under a year were dropped.

Maybe the actor/character just didn't click or there was a writer change but for whatever reason they were out the door.

This idea for this topic came about reading the Days thread when Doug 111 was discussed. Here was a new character that arrived to coincide with Doug's death, bearing the name of this legendary character. So quite a bit of fanfare but gone fairly soon-how long was his run?

BITD Y&R introduced Kurt Costner , seeming to be groomed as a new lead-a man of mystery who attracted Ashley and Hope. Played by Leigh McCloskey known from Dallas etc. But Bill Bell didn't seem inspired and Kurt was shuffled out of town.

I'm sure there are many other examples to be shared. Who comes to mind for you?

I mean, the original 2007 run of Jeremy Horton fits into this but apparently Trevor Donovan was just terrible and they didn't bother recasting at the time.

AMC:

Camille. Schulyer Grant had a pedigree (some would call it "nepo baby" these days), but little screen presence and little chemistry with MEK. The convoluted and unpleasant storyline did not help. At least Camille had a memorable death.

Kit. I can't remember if she lasted a year or not. Maybe? The baby sister whose death caused so much trauma for Jack and Travis should have been real drama, although given that Jack was not a central character by that point and Travis only made guest appearances limited the scope. The "cry rape" story with Tad was a terrible story choice the character never recovered from, along with the limited range of Paige Rowland. At least Paige got a marriage and family out of the role.

Tanner. I have always wondered what the initial plans were for this character. This was the peak of ABC Daytime importing Australian hunks. Vince Poletto was apparently a fan favorite on Heartbreak High or whatever Australian teen soap he'd come from. A triangle with Hayley and Mateo loomed. Poletto had a very dark energy in the role. Within several months, Tanner had pushed alcohol on a woozy Hayley and raped her. This was an extremely ugly story. Was that really what they had hired him for?

Edited 16 minutes ago16 min by DRW50