Can you guess which season these TV stars left their hit shows?

Remembering the toughest goodbyes in TV history.

 
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A great cast is a necessary ingredient in any TV show, so it can really shake things up when a cast member abruptly leaves. That goes double when it's one of the show's major stars. Somehow we as viewers managed to say goodbye to some of the best characters in TV history, from Barney Fife to Richie Cunningham, even though we all knew the shows just wouldn't be the same without them.

Well, today we're going back to say goodbye all over again to some of the biggest stars who left their hit shows early. See if you can remember which season took these TV stars away from us. Do your best not to get misty-eyed as you try to score 8/10 or better.
  1. It's tough to imagine Happy Days without Richie Cunningham, but the show ran 11 seasons and fans know Ron Howard came back for three episodes at the end, but actually left the show in which season?
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  2. What's Laverne & Shirley without Cindy Williams? Fans found out when the actress left the show (which ran 8 seasons) after the second episode of which season?
  3. Fans hated seeing Barney Fife go on The Andy Griffith Show, which lasted 8 seasons, but other than three episodes where Don Knotts comes back, which was the actor's last season?
  4. It messed with the math on Charlie's Angels when Farrah Fawcett left the show, which ran for 5 seasons. Other than coming back for six episodes, which season was Jill Munroe's last?
  5. Valerie Harper made The Mary Tyler Moore Show so much fun that she got her own spin-off and left early. Which season, out of 7 total, was Rhoda's last?
  6. After Charlotte Rae decided her character had run its course on The Facts of Life, the show soldiered on without her. It ran 9 seasons, but which one was Rae's last season?
  7. Wayne Rogers' character on M*A*S*H got his own spin-off, too. M*A*S*H ran for 11 seasons, but which was Wayne Rogers' last?
  8. It was a monetary dispute that led Suzanne Somers to leave Three's Company, which ran for 8 seasons. Which season was Somers' last?
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  9. Shelley Long was half the appeal of Cheers when it debuted, but she left the show to spend more time with her young daughter. Out of 11 seasons, which was her last?
  10. Call it creative differences when Jeff Conaway left Taxi, which ran for 5 seasons. Do you remember the last season with Bobby Wheeler?

Can you guess which season these TV stars left their hit shows?

Your Result...

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22 Comments

stevieb65 38 months ago
Wayne Rogers last season on M*A*S*H was Season 3 and that wasn’t an option. MeTV, know the answers before you make the Quiz
WILD 38 months ago
You got 10 out of 10
Of course, the one good thing about saying goodbye to good friends: Sometimes they come back with presents!
BuckeyeBeth 70 months ago
Eah.... 6/10

Guessed on a few and surprisingly got them right, got a few wrong I thought was right. The shocker was that I never knew Don Knotts had left the Andy Griffith show. I'm assuming he did so for his growing film career. I must have never noticed growing up since most channels either play episodes without caring about the order or only purchase blocks or certain seasons. Bless you MeTv for caring and playing everything in order! :)

Good quiz MeTv!
MrBill 70 months ago
8/10; missed M*A*S*H and Taxi - not much of a fan of either show.
Jayme MrBill 63 months ago
While I was a fan, those were trick questions... as season 3 was the last year for both... yet Jeff Conaway did guest appearances and Wayne Rogers had an uncredited voice cameo as an airport PA announcer in season four of those shows.
Stephen 70 months ago
You got 9 out of 10
Of course, the one good thing about saying goodbye to good friends: Sometimes they come back with presents!
AndrewHass 70 months ago
I was 8/10.However Wayne Rogers left MASH at the end of Season 3.However to be fair the viewers learned Trapper John had been sent home at the beginning of Season 4.So even though Wayne Rogers last appeared in season 3 the departure of the character of Trapper John was revealed in season 4.
BuckeyeBeth AndrewHass 70 months ago
Very true. Trapper was in every episode including the last episode of season 3 when we say goodbye to Henry Blake after he's discharged from the army. We don't learn that Trapper has been also discharged until the first episode of season four but he was never in it....so technically I guess you could say the character left in 4 but Wayne left after 3. ;)
stevieb65 AndrewHass 38 months ago
MeTV screwed up on the Wayne Rogers question. The question was when the actor left.
EllisClevenger 70 months ago
You got 4 out of 10
Don't worry if you forgot a few goodbyes. There are so many characters who did the opposite and overstayed their welcome.
Too many good shows were cancelled without being given a chance.
But, the show with Gordon Shumway, shouldn't have even aired.
Now, there was a crime for you.
BuckeyeBeth EllisClevenger 70 months ago
The crime is that of all the random things my brain could have retained for decades why did it decide Gordon Shumway's name would be one? 🤦‍♀️
teire 70 months ago
6/10, I tended to think people left earlier than they did if the show wasn't a favorite. But what I knew, I knew.
EllisClevenger teire 70 months ago
That was my problem, too.
anthony 70 months ago
6/10.Thought I would have done better.Still a good and fun quiz.👍
cperrynaples 70 months ago
9/10! You made a mistake on MASH: Wayne Rogers left after season 3, as did McLean Stevenson! Also, the spinoff starred Pernell Roberts and not Rogers!
anthony cperrynaples 70 months ago
Good catch👍on WR leaving after season 3 not 4.As far as the spinoff.It didn't say WR got the spinoff.It said the character did.
BuckeyeBeth cperrynaples 70 months ago
You're definitely correct. I think maybe that was MeTv attempt at a misdirect for the quiz. Wayne left after 3 full seasons but Trapper left the first episode of season 4. The spinoff of Trapper John, M.D. also didn't start right away, it premiered September 1979. I'm trying to remember other spinoffs that took a few years to appear... Anyone know of any?
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