Making it to the end of a TV show is no small feat. Game of Thrones, arguably the biggest show of the 21st Century, kills off characters like it’s a sport. In Season 1, Ned Stark is the one driving all of the action, investigating what the Lannisters are up to after the death of his dear friend, Robert Baratheon. Well, Ned doesn’t even make it to Episode 10, leaving the cruel world he calls home behind and paving the way for other major characters to do the same. However, at least everyone that Game of Thrones sends to the great beyond gets a proper send-off. Other TV shows don’t show their casts as much respect.
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The only thing worse than dying in a TV show is being forgotten. For a myriad of reasons, writers will put a character on the back burner, maybe hoping they find a purpose for them again someday. But weeks can turn into years, and before everyone knows it, the party is over. Here are five more TV show characters who disappeared with no explanation.
5) Chuck Cunningham (Happy Days)
Family dynamics can be complicated, to say the least. However, the Cunninghams in Happy Days like to attack problems together, always leaning on each other in moments of need. Well, not everyone is allowed inside the circle because Chuck Cunningham, Richie and Joanie’s older brother, vanishes without a trace after Season 2. The final episode of the show even features Howard Cunningham saying how proud he is of his two children, omitting Chuck altogether.
4) Kendra Mason (Degrassi: The Next Generation)
Spinner doesn’t treat the younger kids in Degrassi: The Next Generation very well. While he picks on J.T. for being dweeby, his disdain for Toby stems from the fact that the young man is dating his adoptive sister, Kendra. Toby and Kendra go through all sorts of things together until they break up off-screen between seasons. Kendra just never comes back to school, and she also isn’t present at Spinner’s wedding, despite other members of his family showing up for him.
3) Mr. Turner (Boy Meets World)
Boy Meets World‘s Mr. Feeny gets all the credit for turning Cory, Shawn, and Topanga into wonderful people by constantly teaching them lessons and being a shoulder to cry on. However, he isn’t the only important educator in their lives; Mr. Turner also proves to be a positive influence who does things his own way. In Season 4, Turner gets into a motorcycle accident, but the show makes it clear that he’s going to pull through. While that’s great and all, the character never appears again in Boy Meets World. He does return in the sequel series Girl Meets World, though, proving to Cory and Topanga’s kids that school can be cool.
2) Abby Day (New Girl)
Jessica Day, the titular character in New Girl, doesn’t enjoy chaos, which is why it’s so surprising that she tolerates living with three guys who embrace it at every oppurtunity. She changes her tune when her sister, Abby Day, comes to town in Season 3, though. Jess can’t stand that her friends like hanging out with her rebellious sibling, and it takes her a few episodes to accept that she may be turning her life around. Unfortunately, New Girl doesn’t provide any updates on Abby, failing to mention her again after she returns home to Oregon. She doesn’t even make an appearance at Jess and Nick’s wedding.
1) Mandy Hampton (The West Wing)
Every office has its fair share of moving parts, but it’s a whole different ballgame when the cubicles are in the White House. In The West Wing Season 1, political consultant Mandy Hampton leaves a cushy job to work for President Jed Bartlet and proves her worth pretty quickly. But the good times don’t last, as Mandy becomes less and less relevant as the season goes on. By the time the show’s sophomore outing rolls around, she’s nowhere to be found, and not a single character mentions whether she got fired or decided to leave of her own accord.
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