Bye, Elena! 10 other lead TV actors who left their shows too early
We're saying goodbye to Elena in the season finale of The Vampire Diaries, which seems kind of odd since the show started off with her writing in her diary. But we guess since this show isn't named "Elena: The Vampire Doppelganger Diary Writer Turned Vampire," it isn't too out-of-the blue to have the once-protagonist of the show peace out early.
Before you start to feel betrayed by Nina Dobrev leaving the show, just remember this isn't the first time it's happened on TV. Sure, you hear stories about popular characters leaving their shows, but main characters are just as common. We've compiled some of them for you so you can rest a bit easier about The Vampire Diaries' future.
Topher Grace, That '70s Show
Considering that most of the show was about Eric Forman's friends hanging out in Eric Forman's basement while Eric Forman's parents exasperatedly witnessed their high jinks, it was strange that Eric Forman would just pack up and leave for Africa after the seventh season. But pack up Topher Grace did, going on to pursue a movie career before coming back to That '70s Show for an uncredited cameo in the series finale.
Steve Carell, The Office
Michael Scott, the lovably awkward and incompetent regional manager of The Office, left the show in the seventh season after Steve Carell's movie career took off. But he did come back for the series finale in Season 9 as the best man at Dwight's wedding.
David Duchovny, The X-Files
How could you have The X-Files without Mulder and Scully? By having Mulder abducted by aliens for two seasons (well, technically go into hiding for one of those seasons). David Duchovny kind of left the show after Season 7, becoming a recurring character while his role was replaced by Robert Patrick. The last two seasons ended with a fizzle, but thankfully we have that new miniseries to see our favorite FBI agents together again.
Crystal Reed, Teen Wolf
Allison Argent wasn't the titular teen wolf, but she was the wolf hunter and the object of Scott's affections from the first episode on. But after three seasons of kicking butt and being the Buffy to Scott's Angel, actress Crystal Reed decided to quit the show, and Allison was unfairly killed off.
Michael J. Fox, Spin City
Michael J. Fox's Deputy Mayor and "spin" expert Mike Flaherty was the main character for the first four seasons of Spin City, but he sadly had to leave the show because of his worsening Parkinson's disease. Heather Locklear and Charlie Sheen were introduced on the show to fill Fox's shoes for the last two seasons.
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
Speaking of Charlie Sheen, he left his own show in the lurch after the eighth season when Sheen entered rehab. Ashton Kutcher took his place as a ... random stranger whom Alan (Jon Cryer) was fine letting live with him and his son? We can see why Alan would let his lecherous brother parade around his multiple girlfriends around his son, but letting a strange millionaire do it may be reaching beyond TV logic -- even if he does have the face of Ashton Kutcher.
Mischa Barton, The O.C.
The classic rich-girl-next-door role launched Mischa Barton into stardom as the troubled Marissa Cooper struggling with drugs and alcohol. Barton left the show at the end of Season 3 and poor, never-redeemed Marissa Cooper met her fate in a car crash.
Zach Braff and everyone else, Scrubs
Despite the lead actor and the rest of the cast leaving the show, Scrubs soldiered on for a ninth season with a brand-new cast. A few of the old characters were recurring for a while, but the magic just wasn't there without Zach Braff narrating and imagining elaborate dance sequences.
Shelley Long, Cheers
The better half of Sam and Diane ended up leaving the long-running show after only the fifth season. Shelley Long wanted to pursue a movie career, but after that didn't really go anywhere, she returned to the show as a guest in the series finale five years later, and even pops up in the spin-off, Frasier.
Chad Michael Murray, One Tree Hill
Oh, Chad. First you leave Gilmore Girls hanging to get a starring role in One Tree Hill as a rising basketball player, then you leave One Tree Hill after the sixth season. The show was originally built to revolve around Lucas (Murray) and Nathan Scott, two competing half-brothers who just love basketball. But after Murray left the show, it shifted its focus on the larger cast of characters, and managed to keep afloat on soapy teen/early 20s drama for nine seasons total. As seems to be the practice, Murray returned for one episode in the final season.