From "Scrubs" To "Gossip Girl" – 14 Axed TV Show Details That Would've Made The Shows Entirely Different

    Stranger Things dodged one hell of a bullet.

    Benjamin Dzialdowski
    by Benjamin Dzialdowski

    BuzzFeed Staff

    TV shows may start out as one thing, but they often tend to go in all sorts of different directions. All that chopping, changing, and re-writing equates to countless storylines and details that almost happened, but didn't in the end.

    NBC

    Here are 14 changes to TV shows that never actually occurred, but would've made a huge impact if they had:

    1. New Girl nearly had a completely different name.

    Fox

    The hit show could've looked and sounded VERY different, as the series was originally named "Chicks and Dicks", in order for the pilot to "stand out" during pilot season. 

    While the name may have never been intended to stick, it did initially turn Zooey Deschanel off the script. That's right, the star of New Girl nearly didn't even look at the script because the name was so bad! Thankfully, both the name and Zooey's inclinations changed.

    2. Grey's Anatomy also had a far more dull title in mind at the start.

    ABC

    Another show that could have sounded and looked totally different was Grey's. The long-running medical show was initially pitched with a different and far worse name: "Surgeons." Who knows if it would've done as well, but it's certainly far more bland than the eventual title!

    The show was also initially planned to be set in either Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, as opposed to Seattle. Also, Karev wasn't even in the original pilot, and was actually added afterwards!

    3. In Scrubs, the janitor was just in JD's mind.

    NBC

    One classic change-up that, IMO, massively enhanced the show was the decision to take the Janitor out of JD's imagination. The plan initially was to keep the Janitor as a figment of JD's overactive mind, but freeing him up to become a real character after season one really added to his hilarious antics, especially with other characters.

    4. In The Big Bang Theory, the female lead changed dramatically.

    CBS

    Penny became a stalwart of the Big Bang universe, but the character was originally meant to be totally different. First of all, she was initially called Katie, and she was supposed to be way more dark and cynical than Penny. 

    While Kaley did audition for Katie, she was considered a bit too light and bubbly for the role, a bit too Penny-like, if you will. So the part instead went to Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, who began filming as the more straight-edged Katie. 

    During table-reads, Jim Parsons remembered that "the character’s approach to the other characters was too harsh", and even though Jodi "nailed" the part, it didn't quite work. So, they decided to redo the character as a more light and bubbly version, and, of course, the perfect person for that was Kaley!

    5. There were almost some serious changes to Gunther in Friends.

    NBC

    Gunther became a bit of a fan favourite over the years, but his character could have had a whole different level of prominence!

    First of all, Gunther was initially cast just to be a background extra, and James Michael Tyler only got the role because he could make an espresso. "I honestly always thought my Masters in fine arts would get me further in the acting world than knowing how to work an espresso machine", he once told Digital Spy.

    Positive fan sentiment for the character led the team to work him into more storylines and give him a speaking role. There were also plans at one point to have a Gunther-heavy plot line in which Rachel actually moved in with him (IKR). Tests found that this didn't read very well, and they eventually scrapped it.

    6. And the show almost got a new location!

    NBC

    The writers of Friends were always trying to keep fans on their toes and shock them whenever they could. In fact, there was a plan during season five to give the show a whole new location and take the friends out of the iconic New York setting that had become so synonymous with the show.

    The storyline would've seen Chandler having to transfer to Minnesota for work, and the rest of the group moving out there with him. An outline of the plot would've seen the group "discover a magical Midwestern respite from New York, with cheap apartments, friendly neighbours, and subzero temperatures."

    7. The ending of Pretty Little Liars was amended significantly.

    Freeform

    Actor Troian Bellisario, who played Spencer, revealed that the ending we saw wasn't 100% the same as what was originally planned. She spoke about the differences between the amended and original endings, saying: 

    "Originally — I don't know if I'm supposed to say this — but I think originally the ending was supposed to be a little bit different where Alex had kind of gotten away with it a little bit more, and the only person that was onto her was Toby."

    It's probably for the best that they amended it – leaving things a bit more obscure could have seriously angered the fans!

    8. They also almost killed off a main character.

    Freeform

    The season six mid-season premiere brought with it a shock death for the fans, but that shock could've been far greater. The writers knew they had to show someone in the casket, but the question was, who? Well, creator, I. Marlene King, mentioned how the team seriously considered it being Ali: 

    "We talked about Ali being that person in the casket the final time and going back to the flashbacks. I was like, 'Oh my God, no. That can't be the person in the casket!' There’s no way it could be Alison. Fans would hate us and I would hate us, too."

    They probably dodged a bullet there.

    9. They tried to reject Danny DeVito for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

    FXX

    Looking back, it's hard to imagine the show without Frank Reynolds (played by Danny DeVito), but the decision to add him to the gang wasn't actually that of the writers. With a poor timeslot and viewership not getting the numbers they wanted, the studio recommended adding someone with a bit of star power, suggesting Danny DeVito.

    Rob McElhenney, however, wasn't keen on Danny. Not because he didn't like him, but because he liked the energy the cast had going together, and he wasn't sure adding a big star would quite fit. In the end, the studio gave him an ultimatum –either you get Danny on board, or the show gets cancelled. So, if it wasn't for the pressure from the studio, we never would have gotten Frank and any of his hilarious antics!

    10. Gossip Girl was supposed to have a completely different Gossip Girl.

    The CW

    It's fair to say that when Gossip Girl was finally revealed to be Dan, people were pretty miffed. So if you didn't think that the true identity of the Gossip Girl made much sense, that's probably because Dan hadn't really been the plan all along!

    In fact, there were a few characters that were touted to be Gossip Girl over the years, but Dan wasn't a particularly sensible option. Writer and executive producer Joshua Safran didn't expect it to be Dan; instead, he had his heart set on Nate. This was because, up until season five at least, Nate had never sent a tip to Gossip Girl. So, to Joshua and others, he was perfect.

    Before Nate, however, there was Eric. Joshua mentioned that they'd even started sprinkling hints that it was Eric into the episodes until a NY Times article came out explaining that it was Eric – so they had to backtrack!

    11. Stranger Things almost killed off TWO main characters.

    Netflix

    The Duffer brothers revealed that the iconic series could've looked super different after season one, with plans for two major characters to be killed off. The duo didn't know if the show would last multiple seasons, so the first plan was to have Eleven sacrifice herself to save everyone at the end of season one, and not return.

    However, their minds quickly changed once they saw the potential for further seasons: "Once we realised that the show was potentially going to go on longer than one season, we needed to leave it more up in the air, because deep down we knew the show just wouldn’t really work without Eleven."

    Eleven wasn't the only iconic character whose life was in jeopardy in season one. Bad-boy jock, Steve, was originally destined to die too. The brothers talked about the transition of the character, saying, "this Steve character, he was just supposed to be this giant douchebag." In the end, fan sentiment and a desire to repurpose Steve gave his character a new life, and he has since become a fan favourite!

    12. The Office nearly broke Jim and Pam up!

    NBC

    This change is fairly well-known, but would've sent fans into a serious meltdown. The writers wanted to give viewers a real shock in season nine, and since Jim and Pam's relationship was already strained, they considered breaking the beloved couple up. Fans were already angry with the hint that the cameraman and Pam would get together, so breaking Jim and Pam up would've undoubtedly been step too far.

    It's clear that Jon Krasinski recognised this, and, when posed with the idea, he told writer Brent Forrester that he didn't think it was a good one. "This final season is for the ultra fans of the show. They're the only ones really still left watching, right? This is for them. Jim and Pam splitting up is too painful for them to sustain all the way to the reunion."

    13. Buffy The Vampire Slayer tried to bring Tara back.

    The WB / UPN

    The death of Tara sent shockwaves through the Buffy fanbase, but writer Joss Whedon has since revealed that he wrote a whole storyline that would reintroduce her to the series. Joss spoke about "plan A" being to bring Tara back, but it was the reluctance of actor Amber Benson to rejoin the show that prevented it from happening:

    "I had a whole show figured out that ended with the return of Tara. I used to cry every time I pitched it." Sadly, Amber wasn't keen on coming back, so they had to adapt and go with plan B. 

    14. And finally, Jesse could have died in season one of Breaking Bad.

    AMC

    Creator, Vince Gilligan, brought us two incredibly iconic characters in Jesse and Walt, but in his early pitch before the pilot episode, he envisioned killing one of them off before the end of the first season. That's right, fan-favourite Jesse wouldn't have survived all that long if the pitch had gotten accepted, and the whole fate of the show would have been different.

    Thankfully, the pitch didn't make it very far, and Jesse lived on!

    Do you know any other TV show changes that would have been super different? Let us know in the comments below!