Actors Who Followed A Hit Series With A Huge Flop

A mix of success and failure is part and parcel of any career, including acting. The list of actors in any medium who have scored nothing but hits is most likely non-existent; every actor, at some point, has a flop or two (or more) on their resume. For some, the failed project is a chance to reassess their career path and try a different approach, while for others, it's the beginning of a fallow period before a (hopeful) comeback.

This applies to film and television actors alike – Ted Danson treaded water after "Cheers" until "Damages" and "The Good Place" allowed him to reinvent himself as a talented character player; his co-star, Kelsey Grammer, followed "Cheers" with the long-running "Frasier," but found himself unable to repeat its success despite numerous tries, and is now working on a "Frasier" reboot.

Dozens of TV stars who climbed the heights of small screen success followed their hit with failure, and in some cases, multiple failures. They include Emmy winners, box office draws, and beloved figures. The following is a list of actors who soared with a hit series, only to plunge into failure with its follow-up.

Jackie Gleason had delivered consistently high ratings for CBS for nearly a decade as the host and star of the variety series, "The Jackie Gleason Show," which also generated his enduring sitcom, "The Honeymooners." It seemed reasonable that the network would regard his next project — as host of a game show called "You're in the Picture" — as another hit in the making. But when the program premiered on January 20, 1961, CBS found themselves with one of the biggest failures in television history.

The show featured a celebrity panel and asked them to view a life-sized illustration that depicted a scene or idea. The panel was also asked to stick their heads through holes cut out in the pictures while asking Gleason questions; those that correctly guessed the idea or phrase were rewarded with 100 CARE packages donated in their name. If no one guessed correctly, the packages would be donated in Gleason's name.

The sight of the hapless celebs' faces in the cartoonish pics undoubtedly contributed to the blistering reviews for "Picture," and Gleason personally addressed the response in its second episode, for which he took center stage and issued a riotous episode-long apology for the show. Gleason also took responsibility for the show's disastrous premiere while also singling out the hard work of the crew. His one-man mea culpa earned a stellar response from the press, and he completed his commitment to CBS by turning the remaining eight episodes into "The Jackie Gleason Show."

Jason Bateman has enjoyed such a long and diverse career — as both an Emmy-nominated comic actor and dramatic player, as well as producer, Emmy-winning director, and podcaster — that one might forget that he was a juvenile actor on television in the 1980s. Bateman began his career in "Little House on the Prairie" before rising to stardom as Ricky Schroeder's wiseguy friend in "Silver Spoons" and as the eldest son in "The Hogan Family." But Bateman also appeared in a long list of sitcoms that generated far less enthusiastic responses from viewers.

Taking note of his popularity in "Spoons," NBC gave Bateman his own sitcom, "It's Your Move," during the 1984-1985 season. The comedy, about a scheming high schooler, disappeared after 18 episodes. He returned to series work in 1995 with "Simon," which cast him as a former stockbroker who moves in with his brother (Harland Williams). The WB sitcom was yanked after 21 episodes, and Bateman moved to CBS for "George and Leo."

Bateman briefly remained at CBS for "Some of My Best Friends," which starred Bateman and Danny Nucci as gay and straight (respectively) roommates. Only five episodes were aired before its cancelation, and Bateman's next series, "The Jake Effect," issued just seven episodes before NBC pulled the plug. It's worth noting that his next sitcom, and the project that revived his career, "Arrested Development," was also a disappointment, remaining in the lower reaches of the ratings during its initial three seasons.

Patricia Arquette's first go-round as a TV series lead with the supernatural drama, "Medium," was a viewer favorite, airing for seven seasons on CBS and NBC, as well as a professional success for the actress, who earned two Emmy nominations (winning one) and three Golden Globe nods for her performance. After adding an Oscar to her list of laurels for her turn in 2014's "Boyhood," Arquette returned to television the following year to top-bill "CSI: Cyber," the fourth series in the long-running "CSI" crime series franchise.

In the series, Arquette plays a behavioral scientist tapped to lead a team of FBI agents investigating an array of crimes involving computers or online behaviors. Despite the "CSI" name and basic format of a diverse team tackling seemingly unsolvable cases, the series did not generate the same degree of audience and critical support as its predecessors. Ted Danson was brought aboard to reprise his "Crime Scene Investigation" character, D.B. Russell, in Season 2, but that gambit failed; CBS canceled "Cyber" for good at the end of its second season in 2016. Arquette later returned to TV for  the 2022 Apple+ series, "Severance."

For many TV fans and observers — as well as a few producers and executives at ABC — David Caruso defined the word "schadenfreude" (the enjoyment gained from watching someone's misfortune) when he left the TV drama, "NYPD Blue," for a career in the movies that imploded in spectacular fashion. After a trio of back-to-back flops ("Kiss of Death," "Jade," and "Cold Around the Heart"), Caruso returned to television, this time working for CBS in a legal drama called "Michael Hayes." Caruso played the title role, a former cop turned acting U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District. 

Paired with a roster of impressive character actors, including the late Philip Baker Hall, and a wealth of criminal cases that need his special brand of intense, soul-searching heroism, Caruso underscored that he could be a compelling leading man in a small-screen drama. Unfortunately, CBS dropped the series into the unenviable 10 p.m. time slot against heavyweights like "Frasier" and "Home Improvement," all of which contributed to its demise after a single season. Caruso found his comeback project two years later with "CSI: Miami," which ran for an impressive 10 seasons.

The Fox TV series, "Martin," provided Martin Lawrence with a springboard to rise from sidekick to star, and helped to pave the way for his status as a leading man in the movies with "Bad Boys" and other films. When a series of highly publicized personal setbacks took Lawrence out of the limelight in the late '90s, it made sense that Lawrence would use TV to hit the reset button on his career. Unfortunately, the vehicle that he chose didn't even come close to echoing his previous success.

In 2013, Lawrence was paired with another TV star in search of a follow-up hit — Kelsey Grammer — in "Partners," a Lionsgate Television production for FX about two Chicago lawyers who go into business together to rebuild their respective careers. "Partners" was one of several series that operated on a 10/90 distribution model, a unique pay-for-play system best exemplified by Charlie Sheen's "Anger Management."

Companies like Liongate sold 10/90 series like "Partners" to a network with a built-in agreement that required them to air 10 episodes as a test run. If the initial 10 garnered a specific rating, the network would then buy and air an additional 90 episodes, which guaranteed them and the syndication company a lucrative 100-episode package of reruns. Though 10/90 seemed like a foolproof system, it only worked if those initial 10 episodes were hits. Low ratings and dismissive reviews ensured that "Partners" was not, and FX axed the series in late 2014.

After years of hard work on stage and television, fame arrived all at once for actor Jeff Conaway. He landed the role of Kenicke in the film version of "Grease" in 1978, the same year he was cast as wannabe actor Bobby Wheeler in "Taxi." According to different sources, he was either fired or left the ABC-NBC series in its third season due to his mounting substance abuse issues or his dissatisfaction with the arc of the character. One year after departing "Taxi," he moved to CBS to take the lead in "Wizards and Warriors," a fantasy series from producer Don Reo.

The growing popularity of the role-playing game, "Dungeons and Dragons," was a clear influence on "Wizards," though it delivered the sword and sorcery elements of its storyline with a dose of tongue-in-cheek humor. Conaway, sporting an impressive head of teased hair, was the series hero, a prince in a mythical land who battled an evil royal (Duncan Regehr) while wooing a supremely self-centered princess (Julia Duffy).

The dialogue and performances (especially Duffy) were witty and the satirical elements were sharp and savvy in regard to fantasy tropes — all of which weren't enough to save "Wizards" from the axe after eight episodes. Conaway returned to television in various capacities over the next three decades while also battling a debilitating substance abuse issue that eventually contributed to his death on May 27, 2011.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

A durable and versatile leading man on television since the early '90s, Peter Krause enjoys a track record filled with more hits than misses. Chief among the former is his long-running stints in "Six Feet Under" and "Parenthood," as well as a recurring role in "Cybill" from 1995 to 1997. His less successful efforts — at least from a ratings standpoint — include Aaron Sorkin's "Sports Night," which netted three Emmys but lasted just two seasons on ABC.

Krause followed both of his biggest hits with ambitious series that failed to generate a following. After "Six Feet Under" came to a close in 2005, he moved to ABC for "Dirty Sexy Money," a sudsy drama-thriller about a lawyer (played by Krause) who comes to represent a wealthy and extremely dysfunctional New York family. The show was upended by the 2007 Writers' Guild strike and failed to find its footing after its second season.

Krause was then cast in "Parenthood," which ran for four seasons between 2010 and 2015. When that series pulled up stakes, Krause shifted into a romantic rogue mode for "The Catch," a Shonda Rhimes production that pitted his dashing con man against a private investigator (Mirelle Enos) who also happens to be his ex-fiancee. Like "Dirty Sexy Money," it fell to the ratings axe after two seasons, but Krause has since added another series to his list of hits with "9-1-1," the Fox action-drama series for which he also serves as executive producer.

Most audiences were first introduced to Blair Underwood through his Golden Globe-nominated role as attorney Jonathan Rollins in "L.A. Law." He's maintained a high profile in the decades since through feature films like "Set It Off," "Gattaca," and "Madea's Family Reunion," and guest roles in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Impeachment: American Crime Story." Underwood has also returned to series work on several occasions, though the end results have lacked staying power.

Underwood joined the cast of the ABC-DreamWorks Television series, "High Incident" in 1997, but the police drama, co-produced by Steven Spielberg, couldn't best timeslot competition from "Friends" and "Diagnosis: Murder." He then shifted to CBS for "City of Angels," a medical drama from "L.A. Law" co-creator Steven Bochco which also came to an abrupt end after two seasons. NBC was his next stop for "LAX," a drama about the titular Los Angeles airport that paired him with Heather Locklear in 2004, but the network grounded the series after a single season.

Underwood's last two series — the sci-fi drama "The Event," which cast him as the President of the United States, and "Ironside," a remake of the popular legal drama with Raymond Burr — were both yanked by NBC after just a single season. He then moved to a two-season stint in ABC's "Quantico" before that folded in 2018. Underwood has enjoyed a recurring role in Netflix's "Dear White People" and is also slated to co-star in the Starz drama series, "Three Women."

"Will & Grace" may be Debra Messing's best-known television project and certainly her most celebrated — generating five Emmy nominations and seven Golden Globe nods during the original iteration and its 2017-2020 revival — but the comedy isn't her own TV series credit. In addition to guest roles, Messing also earned an Emmy nomination and two additional Golden Globe nominations for the popular 2007 miniseries, "The Starter Wife," for the USA Network. But her other forays into series work haven't earned such outpourings of praise.

From 2012 to 2013, Messing was top-billed as a Broadway lyricist in the ambitious 2012 showbiz drama-musical series, "Smash." Though a critical favorite and an Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, it dropped swiftly from hit status to the ratings cellar in just two seasons and was dropped by NBC in 2013. She followed this immediately with "The Mysteries of Laura," a comedy-drama with Messing as a single mom and police detective which also opened strong in its 2014 debut but dipped in ratings before its cancellation after Season 2. Three years later, she reprised Grace Adler for three seasons of the "Will & Grace" revival.