History Main / AuthorExistenceFailure

* [[https://m.fanfiction.net/u/7639306/Master-Mr-B Master Mr B]], writer of ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11843446/1/Animal-Crossing-Adventures Animal Crossing Adventures]]'' and ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12594666/1/Friendship-is-Magic-The-Seventh-Element Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element]]'', which are fanfiction of ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'' and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' respectively, apparently died due to heart failure, as revealed by a user named [=Glaicerglass0415=] in the review page of ''Animal Crossing Adventures''. This ultimately left both stories in an unfinished state, with ''Animal Crossing Adventures'' stuck on the second part of the ''Turnabout Crossing'' arc and ''Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element'' stuck on chapter 167. In the case of ''Animal Crossing Adventures'', according to [=Glacierglass0415=], before Master Mr B’s passing, he had considered doing an entire reboot of the story due to ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' being announced, and had given [=Glacierglass0415=] the okay to make fan made arcs that, should they be good enough, would make it into the reboot. As such, [=Glacierglass0415=] has since made plans to include two fan made arcs to the Animal Crossing story, which are ''Tom Nook at The Ocean'', (consisting of a whopping 8 parts) and ''Animal Town in Autumn'', (a 3 part arc) and then said while they can’t say they will be close to or at all to Master Mr B’a writing, they did state that the two arcs will tell a story that reflects loss, especially the ''Animal Town in Autumn'' arc.

* Creator/KirbyMorrow, the voice of Miroku in ''Manga/Inuyasha'', died suddenly in Vancouver on November 18, 2020, less than two weeks after the English dub premiere of ''Anime/YashahimePrincessHalfDemon'', which had him reprising his role. In February 2021, it was announced that Creator/IanJamesCorlett would take on his role for future episodes.

* Creator/KirbyMorrow, the voice of Miroku in ''Anime/Inuyasha'', died suddenly in Vancouver on November 18, 2020, less than two weeks after the English dub premiere of ''Anime/YashahimePrincessHalfDemon'', which had him reprising his role. In February 2021, it was announced that Creator/IanJamesCorlett would take on his role for future episodes.

* Creator/KirbyMorrow, the voice of Miroku in ''Anime/Inuyasha'', died suddenly in Vancouver, less than two weeks after the English dub premiere of ''Anime/YashahimePrincessHalfDemon'', which had him reprising his role. In February 2021, it was announced that Creator/IanJamesCorlett would take on his role for future episodes.

* Creator/KirbyMorrow died suddenly in Vancouver just as he was set to reprise his role as Miroku in the English dub of ''Anime/YashahimePrincessHalfDemon''.

* [[https://m.fanfiction.net/u/7639306/Master-Mr-B Master Mr B]], writer of ''[[ https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11843446/1/Animal-Crossing-Adventures Animal Crossing Adventures]]'' and ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12594666/1/Friendship-is-Magic-The-Seventh-Element Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element]]'', which are fanfiction of ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'' and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' respectively, died due to heart failure, as revealed by a user named [=Glaicerglass0415=] in the review page of ''Animal Crossing Adventures''. This ultimately left both stories in an unfinished state, with ''Animal Crossing Adventures'' stuck on the second part of the ''Turnabout Crossing'' arc and ''Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element'' stuck on chapter 167. In the case of ''Animal Crossing Adventures'', according to [=Glacierglass0415=], before Master Mr B’s passing, he had considered doing an entire reboot of the story due to ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' being announced, and had given [=Glacierglass0415=] the okay to make fan made arcs that, should they be good enough, would make it into the reboot. As such, [=Glacierglass0415=] has since made plans to include two fan made arcs to the Animal Crossing story, which are ''Tom Nook at The Ocean'', (consisting of a whopping 8 parts) and ''Animal Town in Autumn'', (a 3 part arc) and then said while they can’t say they will be close to or at all to Master Mr B’a writing, they did state that the two arcs will tell a story that reflects loss, especially the ''Animal Town in Autumn'' arc.

* [[https://m.fanfiction.net/u/7639306/Master-Mr-B Master Mr B]], writer of ''[[ https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11843446/1/Animal-Crossing-Adventures Animal Crossing Adventures]]'' and ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12594666/1/Friendship-is-Magic-The-Seventh-Element Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element]]'', which are fanfiction of ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'' and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' respectively, died due to heart failure, as revealed by a user named [=Glaicerglass0415=]. This ultimately left both stories in an unfinished state, with ''Animal Crossing Adventures'' stuck on the second part of the ''Turnabout Crossing'' arc and ''Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element'' stuck on chapter 167. In the case of ''Animal Crossing Adventures'', according to [=Glacierglass0415=], before Master Mr B’s passing, he had considered doing an entire reboot of the story due to ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' being announced, and had given [=Glacierglass0415=] the okay to make fan made arcs that, should they be good enough, would make it into the reboot. As such, [=Glacierglass0415=] has since made plans to include two fan made arcs to the Animal Crossing story, which are ''Tom Nook at The Ocean'', (consisting of a whopping 8 parts) and ''Animal Town in Autumn'', and then said while they can’t say they will be close to or at all to Master Mr B’a writing, they did state that the two arcs will tell a story that reflects loss, especially the ''Animal Town in Autumn'' arc.

* Creator/KaoruTada's manga, ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'' was left incomplete when she passed away after a tragic accident. Luckily, she had the ending semi-planned out, and it was used for the anime.

A {{Fandom}}'s worst nightmare: A creator dies before completing his or her work, leaving it {{orphaned|Series}}.

* [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]] ''narrowly'' averted this in March 2015, when he had a severe allergic reaction, went to the hospital, fell into shock and would have died had he not been treated in time. He notes this in the episode "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb4n4jwTDUM Bloodborne Is Where Survival Horror Lives On]]".

See also FatalMethodActing, where this happens during part of the production, and PosthumousCredit, when someone gets credited on a work after their death.

This might result in TheCharacterDiedWithHim, where the show goes on without the character a dead actor portrayed, ActorExistenceLimbo, where a character previously with a voice role does not have a voice in future episodes, or FakeShemp, where there is an attempt to disguise the absent actor.

* WesternAnimation/TheCroods": Barely avoided by Gran; two months after the second film's release, her voice actress, Cloris Leachman passed away, dampening any prospects of a third film.

* Happened the same with the other great mangaka legend, Creator/ShotaroIshinomori, who left his most famous manga ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'' unfinished, taking a long hiatus and promising to create an end for it exactly in the year 2000... But he died early in 1998. Fortunately, in 2012, Shogakukan announced the story would reach a proper conclusion based on Ishinomori's original concept notes, sketches, and a novel draft. It was illustrated by Masato Hayase and Sugar Sato and written by Ishinomori's eldest son Jo. Unfortunately, the finished product resulted in a ''huge'' BrokenBase over liberties that Ishinomori's son had taken with his father's storyline.

* Similarly, fellow seiyuu Creator/TomokoKawakami spoke to Creator/KunihikoIkuhara to see if they'd [[Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena work together again]] in his latest series, ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum''. Sadly, Kawakami succumbed to ovarian cancer in 2011.

* Narrowly avoided in regards to Worldmaker, the author of ''FanFic/OriginStory''. Shortly after his last full chapter was published, the writer was involved in a near-fatal accident. He spent two weeks in a coma and then spent further weeks learning to use his arms and legs again. Nearly two months after the accident, he finally posted a short note to his fans letting them know what happened and that, as soon as he has the time and energy, will be continuing his stories.

* The third volume of ''FanFic/TheQueenWhoFellToEarth'' is unlikely to ever be finished, as the author announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer in February 2016 and then stopped updating. Apparently, he passed on in April that year.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Creator/ReneGoscinny died of a sudden heart attack while working on the ComicBook/{{Asterix}} story ''Recap/AsterixInBelgium''. It took a great deal of soul-searching by Albert Uderzo over whether or not to complete it. Uderzo did, and then as a tribute to Goscinny continued their work alone. At a certain point in ''Astérix in Belgium'' it begins to rain and does not stop for the remainder of the story. The rain was added by Uderzo to mark the point in the work where [[Creator/ReneGoscinny Goscinny]] left off when he died.

* Creator/ReneGoscinny died of a sudden heart attack while working on the ComicBook/{{Asterix}} story ''Recap/AsterixInBelgium''. It took a great deal of soul-searching by Albert Uderzo over whether or not to complete it. Uderzo did, and then as a tribute to Goscinny continued their work alone. At a certain point in ''Astérix in Belgium'' it begins to rain and does not stop for the remainder of the story. The rain was added by Uderzo to mark the point in the work where Goscinny left off when he died.

* Charles M. Schulz at least had the sense to [[WordOfGod declare]] that even if he'd lived forever, some things in ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' would never be concluded. There was, thus, no carefully hidden strip in which Charlie Brown gets the little red-haired girl, or in which Snoopy finished off the Red Baron. Nonetheless, he still only barely avoided this. He died the night before his final strip (written months prior) was released.

This might result in TheCharacterDiedWithHim, where the show goes on without the character a dead actor portrayed, or FakeShemp, where there is an attempt to disguise the absent actor.

* Cleveland Indians' shortstop Ray Chapman was beaned by a spitball and died early the next morning. The Indians wore armbands for the remainder of the 1920 season in his memory, and they eventually won the World Series that year.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Philippine TV drama ''Anna Liza'' ended with an unfinished plot in 1985 after Julie Vega, the actress who played the titular role, died.
* Howard's mother was written out of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' after her voice actor Carol Ann Susi died of cancer in 2014. [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim The character died with her.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' writer Creator/RobertHolmes died while writing [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe "The Ultimate Foe"]], the concluding two episodes of 1986's season-long "The Trial of a Time Lord" story; he only managed to complete a rough draft of the first episode and a basic outline of the second, leaving script editor Eric Saward to have to scramble together to complete Holmes' work and turn it into something usable. However, the show's producer, Creator/JohnNathanTurner, pretty much rejected Holmes' planned ending (which featured the Doctor and the Valeyard [or the Master] falling through a "time vent", with no way out) as being too risky, given that the show was hanging by a thread and that said ending would give the BBC the excuse to cancel the series. As a result, Saward quit the show in protest, and legal complications meant that the writers who eventually took on the job (Pip and Jane Baker) weren't allowed to be told how Holmes and Saward had planned to conclude the story. Thankfully, the Bakers managed to do enough to help keep the series running for some time afterward, and even when the series was finally taken off the air by the BBC in 1989, it didn't prove to be permanent (though for most people, a 16-year wait can feel pretty permanent when one isn't able to see the future).
* The show's spin-off series, ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', was prematurely killed by Creator/ElisabethSladen's death from cancer. Half of Series 5 was finished by this point, but with the show revolving around her (and canon having established that her character would live longer), they had to stop production of any future episodes then and there. The final complete episodes were aired, drawing the series to an abrupt close.
* Creator/ShotaroIshinomori died while writing ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga''. He knew he would die soon, and wanted to get one more ''Kamen Rider'' out before he died. In addition, he wrote the story-intended-to-be-series ''Onigeki Hibiki'', which was only published posthumously as ''Series/KamenRiderHibiki''.
* ''Series/KindredTheEmbraced'', a series based on ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', was cancelled after eight episodes. However, any hope that the series could be picked up again was lost when Mark Frankel, the actor who played the Prince of the City (and was considered one of the show's assets), was killed in a motorcycle crash soon after the final episode aired.
* ''Series/{{Riget}}'' ended after two seasons with many loose ends and at least one further season completely scripted, due to the deaths of three key actors: Ernst-Hugo Järegård (Stig Helmer), Kirsten Rolffes (Mrs. Drusse), and Morten Rotne Leffers (male dishwasher).
* Just like the Ocean's series above, Alfonso Ribero has stated that any hope of a ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' reunion/reboot died with Creator/JamesAvery on December 31st, 2013. Nonetheless, that didn't stop Creator/WillSmith from announcing in 2020 that there would indeed be a reboot (albeit DarkerAndEdgier) and a reunion special.
* ''Series/FatherTed'' just managed to avoid this. Dermot Morgan, the actor behind the titular character, tragically died of a sudden heart attack ''24 hours'' after filming wrapped on the series' final episode. This has actually led to a belief that ''Father Ted'' was cancelled because of his death, when in fact, it was intended to end after three seasons. British TV show seasons are very short compared to American TV show seasons. His death did still invoke this trope, though, as a new series he was thinking of doing had to be scrapped.
* ''Series/{{Treme}}'' writer David Mills, who had also worked on ''Series/TheWire'', died of an aneurysm while on set just days before the show's premiere.
* ''Series/DeadliestCatch'': Rest in peace, Captain Phil Harris. He had a stroke, ''was put in a medically-induced coma, woke up, wrote to the film crew to keep shooting, and '''then''''' died. In case you couldn't tell, he was something of a badass. Phil was also the only member of the show who had previously come closest to dying (he broke a rib, which dislodged a blood clot).
* Steve Irwin, aka the ''Series/CrocodileHunter'', was killed in a freak accident with a stingray while filming the documentary ''Ocean's Deadliest'' with Philippe Cousteau Jr. He [[PosthumousCollaboration was posthumously featured]] in his daughter's show, ''Bindi the Jungle Girl''. According to his wife, Terri, he had laid out ten years' worth of plans for Australia Zoo, their family's home base, before he died; Australia Zoo is now (2020) the setting for the sequel series ''Crikey! It's the Irwins'', and Steve often appears on the show through old footage and family reminiscences.
* An in-show example: The ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' series of novels by Carver Edlund (aka Chuck Shurley) is actually a written account of the lives of Sam and Dean Winchester, written by a divine prophet. The series ends on the sadistic cliffhanger which is "No Rest for the Wicked," (the finale of season 3) when the publishers ran into financial troubles, mirroring fears of the effects of the writers strike at the time. Despite this, he kept writing his books but couldn't publish them because Sam and Dean found out about it. "We have guns, and we'll find you." [[spoiler: It's possible that the series through "Swansong" will be published posthumously. Unfortunately, this will not improve the [[DownerEnding cliffhanger]] situation. At the end of "Swansong", Chuck disappears and is presumed dead by Castiel (WordOfGod initially stated he ''was'' God, and simply left Sam and Dean to it) so the series can never be resumed.]] In season nine it is revealed that new volumes of the series are being published on the Internet. They are published under the Internet handle of Becky Rosen, a fan obsessed with Sam Winchester and the former girlfriend of Chuck.
* ''Series/NewsRadio'' continued after the tragic death of Creator/PhilHartman but the show was never the same. It only continued for one more season, and only because Phil wouldn't have wanted them to stop.
* Same thing with ''Series/EightSimpleRules'' following Creator/JohnRitter's passing of an aortic dissection, only the show lasted a bit longer.
* ''Series/TheSandbaggers''' creator Ian Mackintosh died in a mysterious plane crash halfway through the third season. The season was finished with three episodes written by other writers, and the show wasn't continued after that.
* ''Series/ChicoAndTheMan'': Freddie Prinze (Sr.) [[DrivenToSuicide killed himself]] towards the end of the third season. They wrote it into the script that Chico was visiting family in Mexico and then later stated that he died, and they tried to [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute replace him]] with [[CousinOliver Raul]], but ratings dipped in the final season and it was canceled. All the more disturbing because he killed himself a few ''hours'' after taping his final episode, "Ed Talks to God."
* Similar to the ''Father Ted'' example, narrowly avoided by ''Series/TheBill'' where actor Kevin Lloyd died only a week after being [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor fired for his alcoholism.]]
* Former ''Series/{{Jackass}}'' cast member Ryan Dunn died in a car accident in June 2011, after [[OneEpisodeWonder just one episode]] of ''Proving Ground'' - a ''Series/MythBusters''-inspired ExperimentShow series he co-hosted on G4 - had aired. The show was pulled immediately, a presumed difficult decision for the network, considering that the series premiered to decent ratings and they had spent quite a bit of time in the preceding weeks promoting the series on their other programs. They eventually aired the remaining eight episodes later in the Summer of 2011, with co-host Jessica Chobot becoming a correspondent for ''Series/XPlay'' in order to fulfill her contract for ''Proving Ground'', which was discontinued with no chance of revival.
* ''Pitchmen,'' a Creator/DiscoveryChannel show about finding (and shilling) unknown-but-great products and inventions, had as one of its costars [[NoIndoorVoice legendarily loud]] huckster Creator/BillyMays. After Mays' death, the show floated in limbo for a while, until it was eventually revealed (almost two years later) that his son would start doing the show.
* The 1985 TV series ''Series/LimeStreet'' was essentially devised for [[NonActorVehicle Samantha Smith after her letter to Yuri Andropov brought her worldwide attention]]. It ended even before it aired - with just eight episodes produced, the 13-year-old and her father were killed in a plane crash not long before the series premiered. Rather than recast her role, the series simply ceased production. Wiki/ThatOtherWiki [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_Street_%28TV_series%29 has the whole sordid story.]]
* The Britcom ''Series/InSicknessAndInHealth'', one of two sequels to the classic ''Series/TillDeathUsDoPart'' (best known outside of Europe as the inspiration for ''Series/AllInTheFamily''), was initially written to deal with the fact that Dandy Nichols, who played Alf Garnett's wife Else, was terminally ill and confined to a wheelchair. When Nichols died in real life, the character of Else died as well. (Ironically, the episodes concerning Else's very real death were adapted from the ''Archie Bunker's Place'' episodes centered around Edith's death - which only occurred on the show after Jean Stapleton quit.)
* Andy Whitfield, who played the title character on ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2010. This caused production to halt while Andy went through treatment. During this time, Starz produced a prequel series ''Gods of the Arena''. Andy gave his blessing for the network to recast his character so the series could resume. He was declared cancer-free two months after ''Gods of the Arena'' aired, but succumbed to a recurring disease in September 2011.
* The ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' {{prequel}} ''Rock and Chips'' would presumably have continued the story arc up to the [[DoomedByCanon death of Joan Trotter]] had writer John Sullivan not succumbed to Author Existence Failure himself.
* ''Series/TheJoyOfPainting'' ended when Bob Ross was diagnosed with lymphoma. He never recovered.
* On Fox's ''Series/{{Glee}}'', main cast member Cory Monteith, who played Finn, died in July 2013. It was decided that Finn [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim would be killed off]] in the 5x03 episode "The Quarterback", with the show ending in 2015.
** Likewise, any future ''Series/{{Glee}}'' projects will have to explain the absences of Noah “Puck” Puckerman and Santana Lopez after the former’s actor, Mark Salling, committed suicide in 2018 while awaiting charges on possession of child pornography and the latter’s actress, Naya Rivera, drowned in Lake Piru in 2020.
* The producers of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' reportedly planned for this in advance. In 2013, 60-something Creator/GeorgeRRMartin, author of the book series upon the program is based, revealed that he outlined his planned conclusion for the series to the showrunners, both so they could plan ahead, and also as insurance should he ever be unable to complete the final two books.
** A character from the [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire source material]] who was set to appear in Season 5 did not do so. Why? Because the actor who played him died in the middle of filming, [[DueToTheDead and the show's creators opted to not recast out of respect.]]
* On {{Creator/HBO}}'s ''Series/SiliconValley'', one of the lead actors, Christopher Evan Welch, died in December 2013, before the series premiere and after shooting only five of the eight planned episodes. Instead of re-casting his character, the writers wrote his character out.
* ''Series/TheBeast'': [[TheFireflyEffect Despite positive reviews, the show had low ratings]] due to Creator/PatrickSwayze's struggle with pancreatic cancer, which made him unable to promote it himself. The show put on long-term hiatus in June 2009, after its first and only season, so that Swayze could take the time to deal with his health issues. The intention was that the show would return once Swayze got better, but he died in September; the show was canceled as a result.
* Following John [=McLaughlin=]'s death on August 16, 2016, it was decided that the panel would tape one last episode of ''Series/TheMcLaughlinGroup'' the following Friday before saying "Bye-bye!" for good, save for an hour-long retrospective in the planning stages at the time of the announcement.
* A few Brazilian soap operas had actors dying before their completion. The standout cases are ones where the death was not due to disease: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniella_Perez Daniella Perez]] was murdered by a castmate in 1992, and Domingos Montagner drowned in 2016. Both also had [[FunnyAneurysmMoment sad plot connections]] (Perez' assassin was her on-screen lover, while [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/shannonsims/2016/09/15/beloved-brazil-actor-whose-character-recently-survived-drowning-drowns-in-same-river/#788da13872e3 Montagner's character survived drowning in the very river the actor died in]]). Perez's death, halfway through the plot of a telenovela written by her mother Gloria, was more difficult to handle: Gloria took two weeks out (during which other authors [[PutOnABus wrote the victim and perpetrator out of the plot]]), once back [[RealitySubtext added a subplot involving the legal system]], and had to finish the soap opera two months before planned. Montagner's, close to the story's conclusion, only had any scenes he hadn't filmed yet [[FakeShemp rewritten from his character's point of view to imply Montagner's presence]].
* Less than a week after the 2016 Presidential election, Gwen Ifill, the widely-respected moderator for ''Washington Week'', died of endometrial cancer just as America was in the process of entering an era where her insight as a journalist would be needed more than ever. For months afterwards, the show did not have a permanent host as PBS searched for a journalist who would be ready to fill the big shoes Ifill had left.
* After Creator/MiguelFerrer died of throat cancer, his character Owen Granger in ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' was written off as taking care of some "unfinished business" but eventually became TheCharacterDiedWithHim.
* After the death of lead actor Creator/BillPaxton, the producers of ''Series/TrainingDay'' stated that there were no plans to recast his role, were the show to be renewed for a second season (which ultimately didn't happen).
* Creator/JonathanDemme died on April 26, 2017, [[{{Retirony}} the same day]] that an episode of the miniseries ''Series/ShotsFired'' that he had directed was first aired.
* Narrowly averted by ''Sewing with Nancy''; host Nancy Zieman had the sense to announce her retirement in September 2017 following a terminal cancer diagnosis, ultimately passing on the day after the final episode was broadcast just over two months later.
* John Dunsworth, perhaps best known as Jim Lahey of ''Series/TrailerParkBoys'', passed away on October 16, 2017. Given that he was one of the series' main characters, this leaves the future of the series uncertain. It also meant that "Dear Santa, Go Fuck Yourself", their live Christmas tour, had to be postponed on rather short notice, as there was no way they could rewrite all of his lines in such a short span of time. (The tour was moved to April, and is now called "A Fucked Up Evening with the Trailer Park Boys".)
* ''Series/HomeAndAway'': Hope Morrison's ending, already not looking good for her seeing how she was last seen being arrested towards the end of 2016, [[BusCrash looks extremely bleak]] after Jessica Falkholt was killed by a disqualified driver on Boxing Day, lingering for several days before succumbing to her injuries on January 17, 2018.
* After Creator/GeneSiskel's death on February 20, 1999, Creator/RogerEbert spent the first episode of ''At The Movies'' afterwards paying tribute to him. Then, he had different guest critics substituting for Siskel until he chose Richard Roeper for his new co-host. The show went on until 2006, when Ebert began battling thyroid cancer and different guest critics started substituting for him. The show was cancelled in 2010, and Ebert himself died on April 4, 2013.
* Creator/PattyDuke's final performance before her March 29, 2016 death was on ''Series/LivAndMaddie'' as [[ActorAllusion the twins' Grandma Janice and her identical sister Hillary]] in October 2015. Given the positive response to that episode, along with Patty's own enjoyment of working there, it's likely that these would have become recurring roles for her.
* Creator/AnthonyBourdain took his own life in 2018 while filming an episode of ''Series/PartsUnknown''. It has since been confirmed the show will end after Season 12, which will feature the final episodes Bourdain filmed.
* ''Fashion Police'' did not last very long after the 2014 passing of co-host Creator/JoanRivers.
* Television host Larry Blyden, best known for ''Series/WhatsMyLine'', died in a car accident in Morocco in 1975. This impacted the short-lived charades GameShow ''Series/{{Showoffs}}'', as he had already taped a pilot episode before his death. As a result, creator Creator/MarkGoodson hastily replaced him with Bobby Van.
* This happened again on another Mark Goodson-created game show in 1990. Bert Convy (''Series/{{Tattletales}}'', ''Super Series/{{Password}}'', ''Series/WinLoseOrDraw'') had taped pilot episodes for the 1990 revival of ''Series/MatchGame'', but he had to retire due to an inoperable brain tumor that ultimately took his life in 1991. Taking his place for the actual series was Ross Shafer.
* ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' has weathered the death of two of its [[TheAnnouncer announcers]]: Johnny Olson died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 75 in 1985 and taped several episodes that would not air until after his death. This was averted by his successor Rod Roddy, who enlisted several substitutes before his own death in 2003 and thus did not announce posthumously.
* Also true of ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' and its announcers. Jack Clark died of bone cancer in 1988 and was replaced by M. G. Kelly for a few months before original announcer Charlie O'Donnell returned. While Jack did not announce posthumously, there are a few episodes near the end of his tenure where he sounds particularly unwell. O'Donnell also averted this with his own 2010 death: while he had taped several episodes that would not air until after his death, the show chose instead to [[SameLanguageDub overdub his work with that of other announcers]] before seeking a replacement.
* The seventh syndicated season of ''Series/TheJokersWild'' was already planned to be Creator/JackBarry's last. On the following season's premiere, Barry was to announce his retirement and [[PassingTheTorch hand the mike over to substitute host Jim Peck]]. During the hiatus, Barry went into fatal cardiac arrest while jogging in Central Park. Barry's partner Dan Enright instead picked Creator/BillCullen to host, and the show lasted another two years under his tenure.
* ''Series/{{Snowfall}}'' creator and executive producer Creator/JohnSingleton (who also did ''Film/BoyzNTheHood'') died from a stroke in April 2019, when production of the series' third season was wrapping. While Creator/{{FX|Networks}} plans to air the season as scheduled, it's unclear how the show plans to move forward without Singleton.
* Any revival of ''Series/MissionImpossible'' on TV will have to deal with Jim Phelps' actor Creator/PeterGraves dying in 2010, assuming that Phelps won't be replaced.
* This was avoided by Kenn Viselman while ''Series/{{Teletubbies}}'', a show which he helped make the American version of, was still airing new episodes for the US market. [[https://www.inquisitr.com/4135967/trains-tv-and-childrens-books-entrepreneur-kenn-viselman-discusses-his-career/ Viselman was going to take one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11th]], but he rescheduled his flight two days earlier.
* Creator/OliverReed's next project after ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' was a television adaptation of ''My Uncle Silas''. Upon his death, the part went to Creator/AlbertFinney.
* ''Series/GoodEats'': Deborah Duchon, a recurring character and real-life nutritional anthropologist in the original show and "Reloaded" (where she appeared in one episode, the updated version of "Pressure"), died in October 2019, precluding any further appearances in the sequel series or "Reloaded".
* ''Series/FifteenLove'' lost two supporting actors (Jaclyn Linetsky and Vadim Schneider) in a car crash while they were on the way to the studio to film an episode. As a result, [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim their characters were killed off in a plane crash.]]
* ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'':
** Johnny Costa, who composed music for the show, died in December of 1996 of anemia. The show would still reuse pieces of his music until it ended, while newer compositions were written by Michael Moricz.
** Bob Trow, who played several recurring characters on the show, died of a heart attack in November 1998, while the show was still producing new episodes. His characters would be retired soon afterward.
** According to the documentary ''Won't You Be My Neighbor?'', the series ended production in 2000 at the request of Creator/FredRogers. He decided not to film any new episodes because he sensed his health was becoming worse. Three years later, he would die of stomach cancer.
* ''Series/TwinPeaks'': The two-and-a-half-decades between Twin Peaks' second and third seasons meant an unfortunate amount of cast members who couldn't come back for the miniseries.
** Music/DavidBowie was too ill to reprise his role from the film ''Film/TwinPeaksFireWalkWithMe'', but did give his blessing for footage of him to be used for his character of Phillip Jeffries. New scenes with his character depict him as a sentient tea kettle, having ascended mortal form.
** Catherine E. Coulson was dying of cancer, but still came back as the famous Log Lady, with the scripts written to accommodate her needs. She died after filming, and the episode with her final appearance is dedicated to Coulson.
** Frank Silva's death meant he was unable to come back as the BigBad of the series, BOB. They were able to work around this, as the original series ended with BOB possessing Dale Cooper, so they were able to have Creator/KyleMaclachlan play him for most scenes. Other than that, Frank Silva's face is sometimes superimposed on a floating orb of darkness.
** Jack Nance was a frequent collaborator with co-creator Creator/DavidLynch, but died shortly after the original series' ending. His character of Pete Martell appears in the third season via archive footage, and a body double for a single new shot with him. The episode with these strategies employed was dedicated to Nance.
* ''Series/MurphyBrown'': Colleen Dewhurst, who played the titular character's mother Avery, died from cervical cancer three weeks before the premiere of season 4. [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim The writers made Avery die in the series proper]], and had Murphy give birth to a child she named after her deceased mother.
* On ''Series/ChicagoFire'', [=DuShon=] Brown played Chief Boden's secretary Connie. Brown died in 2018 from sepsis and Connie was revealed to have taken a job as a school counselor.
* ''Series/WillAndGrace'' ended in 2006, but was revived in 2017. The year before the revival started, Creator/DebbieReynolds (who played Grace's mother) passed away from a stroke. Grace's mother was later established as [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim having passed away herself]].
* Subverted with Sam Lloyd and Fred Willard, both of whom died a month after their last ''Series/ModernFamily'' episodes aired.
* Thuy Trang, who played the first Yellow Ranger Trini in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', died in a car crash in 2001. As a result, stock footage of the Yellow Ranger is used whenever she is mentioned in later seasons, and a popular {{Fanon}} is that [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Trini is also dead]].
* Mary Pat Gleason, who played [[TheDanza Mary]] on ''Series/{{Mom}}'', lost her battle with cancer weeks after Season 7 wrapped up.
* Jas Waters, one of the writers of ''Series/ThisIsUs'', committed suicide before the start of Season 5.
* In 2013, the History Channel began airing the John Pinette-hosted series ''All You Can Eat''. It wound up being a ShortRunner once he had a fatal heart attack, preventing any more episodes from being produced.
* The deaths of Creator/PeterBoyle in 2006 and Creator/DorisRoberts in 2016 killed any chances of a reboot/revival of ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'' ever materializing.
* Icelandic singer Sigurjón "Sjonni" Brink, a frequent participant in Iceland's national Series/EurovisionSongContest selection show, was due to compete in the 2011 edition with the song "Aftur Heim" ("Coming Home"). However, before he could perform the song in the third semi-final round, he passed away unexpectedly of natural causes. Rather than take the song out of the competition, his local musician friends (one of whom was also a competitor in that year's selection) decided to form a tribute group called "Sjonni's Friends" to perform the song. Performed in English as "Coming Home," it wound up winning the Icelandic selection and subsequently qualified Iceland for the grand final in Germany.
** Very narrowly averted by Dutch conductor and former musical director of the Metropole Orkest, Rogier van Oterloo. While the head of the Metropole Orkest (the orchestra of Dutch national broadcaster AVROTROS and usual musical accompanists for the Dutch national selection, as well as most of their Eurovision hosting gigs) was usually the one to accompany the Dutch representative to each international final, van Oterloo wound up sitting the contest out twice due to health issues he developed in the mid-'80s (Piet Souer conducted the Dutch entry in 1983, and Harry van Hoof did so in 1986). While his condition had worsened by 1987, he still made it to the final in Brussels, although his health issues made him sit out one rehearsal (for which he asked the Flemish conductor, Freddy Sunder, to step in). He would pass away a few months later.
** Similarly, British maestro Alyn Ainsworth (who had led the orchestra for several British entries, including the victorious "Save Your Kisses for Me" in 1976, and one Belgian entry) passed away in October 1990, five months after conducting the British entry in Zagreb.
** Zigzagged by Estonian conductor Peeter Lilje: he conducted his country's potential debut entry for the preselection round, ''Kvalificacija za Millstreet'', but seeing as Estonia didn't qualify, he never led the orchestra at Eurovision itself. If he did, he'd be in the same boat as van Otterloo and Ainsworth, as he passed away in October 1993 of a heart attack.
** Played straight with longtime Spanish commentator José María Íñigo, who passed away three days before the first semi-final of the 2018 contest. Tony Aguilar stepped in to replace him, alongside Julia Varela, who had commentated alongside Íñigo for his last three contests.
* Creator/AlexTrebek was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in March 2019, and passed away from it on November 8, 2020, while the show he was most famous for hosting, ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'', was still airing (his last episodes as host were taped over a week before his death). Later that month, it was announced that the series would continue with a series of interim guest hosts, starting with Ken Jennings; as of the end of 2020, a permanent successor has not been selected.
* Writer Kota Fukihara died in May 2020 of brain haemorrhage, just one month shy from the premier of ''Series/UltramanZ''. However, Fukihara managed to write all 25 episodes prior to his death, as both him and Taguchi wrote the series composition through reverse method. The episodes filmed in June 2020 (after the COVID-19 pandemic restriction in Japan was lifted) have Kiyotaga Taguchi replacing Fukihara as the series' main composition.
* In December 2020, a [[https://deadline.com/2020/12/night-court-sequel-john-larraquette-dan-fielding-harry-stone-daughter-melissa-rauch-nbc-reboot-1234657152/ new series]] based on ''Series/NightCourt'' was announced. Since Creator/HarryAnderson, the star of the original show, had died in April 2018 of complications of the seasonal flu, this will be a sequel show that, should it make it to series, [[SpinOffspring will focus on Harry Stone's daughter Abby]].
* Some of the ''Series/MythBusters'' alumni are no longer with us:
** Jessi Combs passed away on August 27, 2019, after getting into a high-speed car crash.
** Grant Imahara passed away on July 13, 2020, after a serious brain aneurysm episode.
[[/folder]]

* [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit John "TotalBiscuit" Bain]], a respected reviewer and commentator for video games, died of cancer in 2018. This resulted in his podcast being ended after a few episodes of his colleagues attempting to continue on.

* WebVideo/TotalBiscuit, a respected reviewer and commentator for video games, died of cancer in 2018. This resulted in his podcast being ended after a few episodes of his colleagues attempting to continue on.