We know it: the world of TV series can be brutal. Series that had great potential and were canceled too soon, series that ended totally unexpectedly disappointing expectations, series that killed off or eliminated too soon characters we had grown fond of…and that they would have much more to say. Sometimes it’s a matter of necessity on the part of the authors, other times it’s the actors themselves who want to give up the role they covered, sometimes it’s just the screenplay that no longer admits some characters.
So let’s see what are the 7 TV series characters that the writers killed too soon, and who could have told much more instead.
1) Purple (Outside Sea)
One of the most acclaimed TV series of this last period is definitely Sea Out, distributed by Rai fiction and also landed on Netflix. One of the characters that has certainly impressed the public the most is undoubtedly that of Viola (played by a very good Serena DeFerrari), who unfortunately we saw die at the end of the third season. Viola’s character was one of the most controversial and complex, and her story had undergone a leap in quality just in the last season, in which an attempt was made to delve a little more into the complex psychology of the character. Viola’s story would certainly have had much more to say, to tell, and her character could have had (or not) a certainly interesting transformation for the plot of the series. Sadly, her journey ended too soon.
2) April Kepner (Grey’s Anatomy)
By now we know that al Seattle Grey’s Hospital the characters are short-lived, as we know the creator of the show, Shonda Rhimes, is famous for his ability to kill the characters of his TV series like flies. We have struggled to accept all the deaths and passings that have punctuated the countless seasons of Grey’s Anatomy (like George, Izzie, Lexie, Mark…) but perhaps one thing we don’t understand is how some characters could have been cut out so suddenly. April Kepner had to leave the series in season 14 because, according to the statements of the actress that she plays Sarah Drew, there was no longer a place for his character (along with that of Arizona). A decision that was hardly digested by the fans, now tremendously fond of April and her story that, surely, she could have given much more.
3) Shane Walsh (The Walking Dead)
Also The Walking Dead it was a series that became famous for the harrowing deaths of its characters. We only see Shane in the first two seasons of the series, and he immediately assumes an important role: Rick’s best friend, he soon turns into his main enemy since, not knowing that Rick would wake up from the coma, he embarks on a relationship with the the latter’s wife, Lori. Their bickering and rivalry was coming to an interesting turning point, and we can’t help but wonder how their relationship would have evolved over the seasons. He was definitely one of the most interesting characters, and could certainly have had a predominant role within the series, but we realize that his death was necessary to give a twist to the plot. We just didn’t expect it so soon.
4) John Abruzzi (Prison Break)
Prison Break, in addition to being a great series, it is also one of those that make you very angry. When the character played by the Swedish actor Peter Stormare died in the second season, I was shocked. He was among the main characters at the beginning of the series: John Abruzzi was an Italian-American mobster who played a key role in Michael Scofield’s escape plan. The first to die in the escape from Fox River it was him, leaving all the fans of the series with a bad taste in their mouths and a lot of indignation for the death of a character who shouldn’t have died so soon, and who still had much, much more to say.
5) Stephen Finch (Scandal)
Scandal was born from the genius of the writer Shonda Rhimes, and aired from 2012 to 2017. The character played by an extraordinary Henry Ian Cusick he didn’t have a long life: at the end of the first season of the series we said goodbye to him, since we saw him move to Boston. He was the right hand of the protagonist Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a brilliant English lawyer and a playboy, who blended well with the other brilliant components within Olivia’s team. The decision to immediately cut his character was perhaps too hasty, it would have been decidedly curious to see how he would have evolved and what role he would have had in the story.
6) Mitch Kesler (The Morning Show)
The Morning Show is considered one of AppleTV’s flagship series, and in addition to having a crazy cast (Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon) proposes a decidedly interesting story, perfectly placed in the US and global climate of the #MeToo movement. A disappointment, however, is not just given to us in the second season of the series, when the writers opted for a choice that is not only banal, but obvious: kill Mitch’s character. Mitch was the one who started the story told in the series, and deciding to take him out just after two seasons left a great sense of disappointment: it would certainly have been interesting to know how his story could have evolved. A character that, in this case, we really wanted to say something.
7) Salvatore Romano (Mad Men)
Salvatore Romano is one of those characters for whom you immediately feel a great sympathy, and a lot of tenderness. In Mad Men it was definitely one of more interesting and complex characters, talented artist, forced to live in a society that is still too bigoted and puritanical, and forced to leave the series after only 3 seasons. We owe the reason for his farewell to a stylistic choice: he was fired from the company after refusing the advances of a client, and for the whole series we will never see him again. A decidedly painful and hasty farewell, a character who could have had important developments and evolutions and that we would have been curious to discover.
