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Everyone reading this should be familiar with the idea of a show-stealer. It is often with any story where a supporting character becomes so likable and immensely popular that their popularity winds up surpassing that of the main character. That popularity can sometimes grow so immense that fans start to demand that this side character get more time to shine, either by getting their own spinoff story or by taking over the main character’s story.
Some characters originally conceived as minor or supporting characters are just simply more likable and relatable than the main character or just have a more interesting story to tell. For these reasons and more, they end up surpassing the original main character. This is often the case with TV shows.
10 The Fonz Was The Original Show Stealer
Perhaps the earliest example of a supporting or minor character stealing the show has to be Henry Winkler’s Fonz. When Happy Days first took off, Fonzie was hardly a supporting character, compared to the main characters or lead Ron Howard. He was just a cool guy who’d pop in every so often every episode to say something cool.
It didn’t take long for America to fall in love with Mr. Arhut Fonzarelli. His success as a merchandise seller and swift pop culture icon promoted him from a recurring character to one of the main cast members by the second season. When Howard left the show in Season 6, Fonz took over as the definitive star.
9 Daryl Wasn’t Supposed To Stick Around Long
Originally, Norman Reedus auditioned to play Merle Dixon. Though he lost the role to Michael Rooker, the Walking Dead crew were so impressed with Reedus that they cast him as Daryl Dixon, Merle’s brother who was never introduced in the comics but instead was an entirely original character created by the show for Reedus.
Daryl was planned to only stick around for a couple of episodes, at best, before getting taking out unceremoniously by a zombie, but the cast, crew, and most importantly the fans loved Daryl’s character so much that Reedus kept being asked to return by popular demand. In due time, he became an official part of the cast. Now, heading into the 11th season, he’s the main star.
8 Spike Was A Temporary Character At First
When Spike was first introduced during Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s second season, he was meant to be a run-of-the-mill Big Bad expected to die within a few episodes at the max. The scene where he’s crushed by rubble in “What’s My Line? Part 2” was originally conceived as his death scene, but his immense popularity – particularly as a sex symbol – kept him alive.
“I came along and I wasn’t designed to be a romantic character, but then the audience reacted that way to it,” actor James Marsden revealed to Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum on the latter’s podcast (h/t Digital Spy). His popularity allowed Spike to join the cast, become a love interest of Buffy herself, join the cast of Angel once Buffy ended, and have his own spinoff media.
7 Angel Got His Own Show
Angel, the character, is in something of a unique situation here as he became such a focal point on Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the fan interest demanded his own spinoff. During the first season and the first half of Season 2 of the show, Angel was mostly a love interest with an interesting backstory.
However, the further the lore of his history was expanded on, fans wanted to see more of him. After spending the latter half of Season 2 as an antagonist and completing a redemption arc in Season 3, Angel walked out of Buffy’s spotlight and into his own for his own self-titled series.
6 Vince Gilligan Came To His Senses Before Killing Jesse Pinkman
It’s hard to imagine the entirety of Breaking Bad without thinking of Jesse Pinkman, but believe it or not, Jesse wasn’t meant to stick around past Season 1.
“My intention was that at the end of season one, Jesse would die horribly, which would make Walt feel really guilty and force him to question his criminality,” says creator Vince Gilligan to NY Mag. “But it became clear to me that Aaron Paul was an absolute asset to the show. I’d no more kill him off now than cut off one of my pinkies.” Gilligan recognized just how important Pinkman was to the show and allowed him to flourish as a fan favorite for the entirety of the show.
5 Family Matters Quickly Became The Steve Urkel Show
When Family Matters first hit the airwaves, it stayed true to its title by centering solely around the dynamics of the Winslow family. Though there was always one character who the crowd would go bananas for every time, and he wasn’t even a member of the family.
He was Steve Urkel, who’d sporadically pop up to express his unrequited love for next-door neighbor Laura Winslow. His wild antics grew endearing to audiences to the point that they’d only want to see Urkel, opposed to any of the Winslow family. In due time, he was positioned as the main character and all major storylines began to center around him.
4 Stiles Got Fleshed Out And Took Center Stage
During the first season of Teen Wolf, Stiles is introduced merely as comic relief, serving as the funny best friend to Scott, the show’s actual teenage werewolf. For this reason, he was left out of most major storylines other than to be rescued or say a hilarious quip on the sidelines.
Things began to shift around the third season as his popularity with fans grew. As a result, Stiles became more squarely inserted into his own storylines and his own character shifted from being a one-note funny guy to a multi-dimensional character going through some trauma of his own. He even briefly becomes the show’s antagonist in Season 3B once he is possessed by The Void.
3 Sheldon Defines Big Bang Theory
The premise of Big Bang Theory centered around a nerd (Johnny Galecki) who starts dating a dream girl (Harley Quinn’s Kaley Cuoco) who no one would expect him to ever have a chance to date. His best friends – among them, Sheldon Cooper – initially only served as supporting characters.
In Sheldon’s case, his personality helped bring new fans to the show. As he grew more popular, he’d eventually take over as the lead character himself, having his own storylines and even getting his own spinoff, called Young Sheldon. At this point, it’s hard to even think about The Big Bang Theory without thinking of Sheldon.
2 Denise Became The New Master Of None
Master of None was originally conceived by Aziz Ansari as a story about Dev, a character he played. After two seasons, Ansari never felt like he had anything new to say about or through that character, so he essentially bowed out of the lead position as the third season approached.
This wasn’t a problem as Dev’s best friend, Denise, played by Lena Waithe, was a huge fan favorite among audiences and so was an easy pick to become the new lead of the show for Season 3. Aziz has a brief, seven-minute cameo in the first episode of the season, but past that point, it is clear that Denise is the new star of the show.
1 Effy Became The New Star Of Skins
During the first two seasons of the UK’s Skins, the show was very much an ensemble that focused on different characters, but Nicholas Hoult’s (aka Beast from the X-Men franchise) breakout turn as Tony Stonem was definitively the biggest focal point out of that ensemble. Kaya Scodelario was in the background as his sister, Effy, but hardly played a part in major storylines.
That is until the third season. Tony and the rest of the main cast departed the show after Season 2 once their characters graduated. The subsequent two seasons would feature an entirely new cast, save for its main star Effy who had been promoted from being a seldomly used minor character to the lead.
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