Mischa Barton played the hot mess character of Marissa Cooper on The OC. She was killed off the show pretty suddenly, without warning. Of course, there were many different rumors as to why she left. The main rumor that kept circulating was that Barton wanted to leave the show so she could pursue film.
It was said, however, that the decision to kill off the character of Marissa Cooper was actually not a unanimous decision. Some of Barton’s castmates said that they thought she was really happy on the show, so they did not know if she really left on her own or not. The creator went on record saying that there were many reasons why it happened, both for the show and the network. I guess we will never know the truth.
John Rhys-Davies on Sliders
John Rhys-Davies played the professor on the show Sliders. Shockingly, he was killed off the show really quickly. It came as a surprise to fans because he was a very large part of the storyline. It is said that he had insulted one of the Fox executives at a party. The person that he offended, got control over programming on Fox, including the show Sliders.
The executive that was offended by John, convinced the network to fire him. They fired him in front of the entire cast and crew. On the show, they wrote him off in quite the elaborate way. They took away his brain matter, shot him directly in the heart and put his body on a planet that was exploding. What a way to go.
The Blue Ranger on Power Rangers
The hit TV show for kids, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, was extremely popular during its time. David Yost played the role of the Blue Ranger on the show. He left the show out of nowhere, and nobody knew why. On Mighty Morphin Power Rangers they said that the Blue Ranger got sent off to another planet. However, it was not until many years later in an interview, that David revealed the truth about why he left the show.
He goes on to say that the real reason he left the show was that he was getting attacked because he was gay. The cast and crew were calling him names repeatedly. He was often brought into the production office and they would question him asking if he was gay. In the two years after he left Power Rangers, he went into conversion therapy for his sexuality. This, of course, did not work, and he finally accepted that he was gay.
McLean Stevenson on M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H is undoubtfully one of the most beloved TV shows in history. It is said that one of its main actors, McLean Stevenson, who played Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, didn't like the fact that he was part of such an extremely talented cast instead of being the star of the show.
Despite receiving several accolades, including a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, Stevenson decided to leave the show after his contract expired in 1975 at the end of the third season. But to his surprise, he had finding work that matched the caliber and impact of what M*A*S*H was producing at the time.
Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey
The role of Dan Stevens, the sweet and distinguished man who was head over heels in love, was played by Matthew Crawley. He was married to the character Mary, who was both smart and beautiful. They were a perfect fan favorite match!
Fans of the show were without words when their beloved Matthew was killed. It was so unexpected, as they just married him to Mary and they were even pregnant with a baby! Apparently, Dan wanted to leave the show since he was gaining more fame. He wanted to explore other TV and film roles. At this point, the writers knew the only option was to kill him off since he was already a big part of the plot.