History Main / BreakUpBreakOut

* An interesting case with Creator/JasonBateman from ''Series/TheHoganFamily''. During the shows run he snagged a lead role in ''Teen Wolf 2'' but disappeared of the map after The Hogan Family was canceled with this film not helping matters. By the 2000s, however, he had a steady career being cast in supporting roles in comedies (as well as dramas) alongside a starring role in the sitcom ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' paving the way for leading roles in films by the 2010s thus cementing Jason Bateman further as the breakout star of ''The Hogan Family'' while the rest of the cast fell into obscurity.

* The stars of the St. Louis Rams "Greatest Show On Turf": Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim and Ricky Proehl. Faulk and Warner are now in the Football Hall of Fame. Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt are maybes. Proehl, although not as well-known as the other four, played in four Super Bowls and won two. Hakim did very little after leaving the Rams.
* When Joe Montana left the San Francisco 49ers for the Kansas City Chiefs, whether he or the 49ers became the breakup breakout could be viewed either way. On one hand, Montana's Chiefs beat the 49ers every time the two teams played. On the other hand, Montana never got the Chiefs all the way to the Superbowl, and Young's 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1994.
* Inverted with the 1990s Chicago Bulls: UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, Scottie Pippen and Creator/DennisRodman. Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan, of course. When Michael retired from the Bulls for the last time, Pippen jumped teams. Dennis Rodman joined them for the second half of the Bulls title run, having already been on the Pistons championship teams. All three men got into the Hall of Fame regardless.

** Their professional wrestling careers followed a remarkably similar path. Baszler got an early start and built up a good reputation with hardcore fans before joining WWE and dominating the NXT Women's division. Then Rousey signed with WWE, skipped developmental and skyrocketed to superstardom (a nearly year-long reign as Women's Champion plus being in the first women's match to main event Wrestlemania), before burning out (when the fans started preferring Wrestling/BeckyLynch to her, she took it so personally she lost interest in wrestling). Meanwhile Duke and Shafir never got beyond WWE developmental, and while Duke seemed to have some potential it never really manifested, all the while Shafir was just kind of there. While they were both cut during the early 2021 COVID cuts, Shafir would eventually return to wrestling, joining [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] in late 2021.
* The Oklahoma City Thunder featured three up and coming stars in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden from 2009 to 2012, where they ended up making the NBA Finals and losing to the UsefulNotes/LeBronJames-led Miami Heat, upon which Harden was traded a few months later to the Houston Rockets. All three ended up winning an MVP (Durant in 2014, Westbrook in 2017 after Durant had left for the Golden State Warriors, and Harden in 2018) but Durant has had the most postseason success, winning two championships with the Warriors while Westbrook and Harden have yet to win a title. Even more intriguing, however is the fact that Harden ended up teaming up again with the other two on two separate occasions, with Westbrook joining him on the Houston Rockets for the 2019-20 season and Harden joining Durant on the Brooklyn Nets in 2021 before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers halfway through the next season.

* Averted with UsefulNotes/SteveJobs and Apple. Jobs left Apple in '85 after a power struggle, bought Pixar, and founded his own computer company. Apple, on the other hand, went on to have success with the [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh Macintosh]], but started floundering. But just as it was about to slip into this trope, Apple bought Steve Jobs' computer company. Jobs was then reinstated as CEO, and Apple made its comeback. Played straight, however, between Steve Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Wozniak has his reputation as a jovial geek icon and oodles of Apple stock to fall back on, but he had nothing to do with the company's late '90s resurgence.

* Creator/BlakeLively is by far the most successful among the main cast of Series/GossipGirl, followed by Creator/PennBadgely who bagged the lead role in the very successful "Series/You" and Creator/ChaceCrawford who plays The Deep in Series/TheBoys. Ironically the actors who played the most popular characters of the show, Creator/LeightonMeester (Blair) and Creator/EdWestwick (Chuck) didn't do any notable work since the show ended and seems to have found the least mainstream success.

** Creator/CandaceCameronBure has had Hallmark Channel movies to fall back on, as did Creator/LoriLoughlin before the college admissions scandal in 2019.

* Key and Peele. While their show won many awards, Jordan Peele won an Oscar for ''Get Out'' on his own and continues to write and direct high profile projects.

'''Peter:''' [[AnalogyBackfire Wildly successful?]]

** The original [[ComicBook/TheFlash Flash]] Jay Garrick is more popular than some of his compatriots such as [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Alan Scott]] or [[ComicBook/TheAtom Al Pratt]], who have all been [[MorePopularReplacement replaced by more popular]] LegacyCharacter[=s=] on the Justice League. This continued popularity can be evinced by his appearances in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' (as the only member of the JSA still active in the present and even going so far as to join the JLA, something neither Scott or Pratt has done), ''ComicBook/Earth2'', both ''Injustice'' games as a skin for the Flash (''Earth-2'' in the first game, classic in the second), the ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeSocietyWorldWarII'', often alongside his successor Barry Allen.

* There's the ComicBook/XMen, and then there's {{Wolverine|Publicity}}. This is an inversion as ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} started off as a solo character in ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'' and most of the major lifting into making him a more fleshed out character happened in the X books; without that he may have very well ended up on the scrapheap. Even with the X-Men he was initially at risk of such a fate, as it was decided that he and Thunderbird were [[BloodKnight too similar in personality]] and one would be killed off in their second issue as a team. Wolverine was saved from the chopping block because his powers were deemed more interesting and he wasn't [[CaptainEthnic an ethnic stereotype]].

* While all six members of Creator/MontyPython have had successful solo careers, those of both Creator/JohnCleese and Creator/EricIdle were the two that truly stand out. (Though in the UK Creator/MichaelPalin probably comes next after Cleese due to his popular series of travelogues).
** Creator/TerryGilliam has had a successful directing career post-Python.

* After the Creator/MarxBrothers retired their family act, Groucho struck out on his own with a long and successful career as a writer and television personality. In the '50s and '60s, he was arguably better-known for hosting Series/YouBetYourLife than for his movie work.

* The original ''Franchise/StarWars'' series is a slightly bitty example, with established names Creator/AlecGuinness and Creator/PeterCushing in the cast of the first movie, ''Film/ANewHope'', largely because the backers expected it. Creator/JamesEarlJones[[labelnote:*]]whose performance in ''A New Hope'' originally went '''uncredited'''[[/labelnote]], was lesser known, but became well known as a voice actor. But the rest of the cast were all inexpensive unknowns. Creator/HarrisonFord alone got a leg-up to further major leading roles, most notably as Franchise/IndianaJones, and achieved big box-office fame. Everyone else had to initially contend with [[IAmNotSpock typecasting deadends]] and AdamWesting, or make do with largely unaffected careers. Creator/MarkHamill eventually launched a highly successful voice acting career, most famously voicing [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]. Creator/PeterMayhew (Chewbacca), returned to civilian life as a hospital porter. [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]] lampshaded Ford's success in the ''Film/ANewHope'' parody. "I'm Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon and the only actor whose career isn't destroyed by this movie."

* The ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movies had three (not counting Rachael Harris and Creator/SteveZahn, who were well-established at the time). Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz, who played the original character Angie in the first film, later shot to superstardom a month after its release with her critically acclaimed turn as Hit-Girl in the R-rated superhero comedy ''Film/KickAss'' and since then has become one of the decade's most popular young actresses. Meanwhile, Creator/{{Peyton List|1998}} and Karan Brar, who played Holly Hills and Chirag Gupta, respectively, were both cast onto the Disney Channel sitcom ''Series/{{Jessie}}'', where they played two children of a celebrity power couple, and reprised their roles on its camp-themed sequel series ''Series/{{Bunkd}}''. Creator/DevonBostick (Rodrick) has a considerably lower profile, but he's doing well enough on ''Series/The100'', Creator/ZacharyGordon (Greg) shifted to voice acting (his most high-profile work being as [[TheOtherDarrin the second English VA]] of ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'''s Tighnari), and Creator/RobertCapron (Rowley) all but vanished from the spotlight.

* ''Film/BillAndTed'''s stars Creator/AlexWinter and Creator/KeanuReeves were both seen as up-and-coming talent, but by the time ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'' was finally greenlit and released, their careers had gone wildly different paths. Reeves had blown up in recognition due to several successful films such as ''Film/{{Speed}}'', ''Film/TheMatrix'' and ''Film/JohnWick''. Winter, on the other hand, had faded into obscurity following ''Film/{{Freaked}}'' being ScrewedByTheNetwork.

** Creator/KylaPratt and Trevor Morgan, both of whom starred in TheMovie, have went on to have reasonably successful acting careers afterwards, with Pratt starring in the popular Disney Channel cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'' and the 1998 ''Film/DoctorDolittle'' film and Morgan appearing in such hits as ''Film/TheSixthSense'' and ''Film/JurassicParkIII''. Unlike the kids from the show, the two were professional child actors. However, the other child star in the movie, Diana Rice, was never heard from again afterwards.

* Of the stars of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', the only real post-series success stories have been Creator/DavidBoreanaz (''Series/{{Bones}}''), Creator/AlysonHannigan (''Series/HowIMetYourMother''), and Creator/SethGreen (''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'', ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''). While most of the rest of the cast has at least been able to get regular work, it should be noted that Nicholas Brendon's career has effectively stalled to the point that he admitted his inability to find regular work has driven him into alcoholism.
** Creator/AnthonyHead also didn't do too bad for himself, playing the lead in ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' and gaining recognition due to numerous appearances on British television and radio. He had been a musical actor before this, but was generally overshadowed by his brother Murray, who appeared on the original concept albums for ''Theatre/JesusChristSuperstar'' and ''Theatre/{{Chess}}'' respectively.

* Among the cast of ''Series/TheTudors'', Creator/HenryCavill and Creator/NatalieDormer have become the most successful due to the former playing ComicBook/{{Superman}} for the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse and Geralt of Rivia in ''Series/{{The Witcher|2019}}'' and the latter being in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' and the last two ''Film/TheHungerGames'' movies while the rest are still relegated to TV roles.

* ''Series/TeenWolf'': Creator/DylanOBrien. While the rest of the cast have had steady work they've mainly been limited to smaller TV parts with Creator/TylerPosey voicing Tony Torretto in ''WesternAnimation/FastAndFuriousSpyRacers'' and Creator/TylerHoechlin playing Franchise/{{Superman}} in the Series/{{Arrowverse}} shows ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'' and ''Series/SupermanAndLois'', however O'Brien emerged as a rising star in film, headlining the ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries'' and ''Film/AmericanAssassin'', and landing roles in a range of high-profile projects including ''Film/DeepwaterHorizon'' and ''Film/TheInternship''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has something like this in-universe, as the other members of the original Team Venture never achieved the same level of success as Jonas Venture and have mostly fallen on hard times.
* The musical incidents of this are parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in which Stan and Kyle are a ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' duo that break up when Stan gets a sponsor, leaving Kyle playing in bowling alleys.

* ''Series/Drive2007'' [[ShortRunners didn't last long]], but the cast members went on to other projects with varying degrees of success. Some did other television shows (Creator/NathanFillion on ''Series/{{Castle}}'', Kristin Lehman on ''Series/TheKilling'' and ''Series/{{Motive}}'', Taryn Manning on ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'') Others did movies (Creator/MelanieLynskey in ''Film/UpInTheAir''). But by far, the most successful is Creator/EmmaStone. ([[Film/LaLaLand Yes,]] [[Film/TheHelp that]] [[Film/{{Superbad}} one.]])

* ''Series/TwoGuysAGirlAndAPizzaPlace'' has Creator/RyanReynolds as the big breakout star, having had turns as two different movie blockbuster superheroes, ''Film/GreenLantern2011'' and ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}''. Creator/NathanFillion recurred on the show, then booked ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' and ''Series/{{Castle}}''; Creator/TraylorHoward had modest success, most notably on ''Series/{{Monk}}'', and Richard Ruccolo...faded back into obscurity.

* The mid-2000s ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' series features a bit where his old teammates, the ComicBook/NewWarriors, joke about this, pointing out that he ended up being far more powerful, successful, and noteworthy than anyone else on the team. (It certainly didn't hurt that the New Warriors were pretty much wiped out shortly after he quit). Even outside of the comic, Nova is still the most prominent member of that group, having appeared in media more often such as in ''ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3]]''. The fact that he is also the AlternateCompanyEquivalent to ComicBook/GreenLantern as Marvel's resident human SpacePolice further increases his visibility.
* ComicBook/SpiderMan in the last issue of ''Amazing Fantasy''. To the extent that he more or less saved the company.

** Of the cast members who starred in ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'', Tim Reid (Venus) has had the most consistent and stable career out of the cast, via his supporting roles in ''Simon & Simon'', ''Sister Sister'' and ''Series/That70sShow''. While Loni Anderson achieved the most fame of her castmates, it didn't translate into any real success and most of her post-''WKRP'' projects bombed. Most of the other cast members never achieved the same level of stardom, although Gordon Jump (Arthur Carlson) achieved some minor fame via his role as the "Maytag Man" in their commercials until his death in 2003.

** The original [[Franchise/TheFlash Flash]] Jay Garrick is more popular than some of his compatriots such as [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Alan Scott]] or [[ComicBook/TheAtom Al Pratt]], who have all been [[MorePopularReplacement replaced by more popular]] LegacyCharacter[=s=] on the Justice League. This continued popularity can be evinced by his appearances in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' (as the only member of the JSA still active in the present and even going so far as to join the JLA, something neither Scott or Pratt has done), ''ComicBook/Earth2'', both ''Injustice'' games as a skin for the Flash (''Earth-2'' in the first game, classic in the second), the ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeSocietyWorldWarII'', often alongside his successor Barry Allen.

* Franchise/SpiderMan in the last issue of ''Amazing Fantasy''. To the extent he more or less saved the company.

* ''Series/InLivingColor'' was an incredibly successful FOX series that launched the careers of several celebrities including the Creator/KeenenIvoryWayans, Creator/DamonWayans, Creator/ShawnWayans, Creator/MarlonWayans, Creator/TommyDavidson, Creator/DavidAlanGrier, Creator/KimColes, and Creator/LarryWilmore who went on to decent careers in film and television. Overall though, the most successful cast members who emerged from the series were Creator/JimCarrey, Creator/JamieFoxx (to date, the only cast member to win an Academy Award), and Creator/JenniferLopez.

* Among ''Series/TheTudors'' cast, Creator/HenryCavill and Creator/NatalieDormer are the most successful due to the former playing Franchise/{{Superman}} for the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse and the latter being in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' and the last two ''Film/TheHungerGames'' movies while the rest are still relegated to TV roles.

* Out from the ''Film/HarryPotter'' trio, Creator/EmmaWatson seems to be only one who got higher success than the two after working with Creator/SofiaCoppola, Creator/DarrenAronofsky among others. Creator/DanielRadcliffe has a pretty good career in theater and is working in independent films. And Creator/RupertGrint didn't get much success after the franchise ended and several of his movies got panned by critics though like Radcliffe, he ventured to theater instead. For the supporting cast (with the exception of the adult actors), Creator/RobertPattinson garnered more success and fame thanks to the ''Film/{{Twilight}}'' franchise and is still doing movies, most of them being critically acclaimed. Creator/TomFelton initially has something to start with after the franchise ended and Alfred Enoch (who played Dean Thomas) is one of the lead characters in ''Series/HowToGetAwayWithMurder''. The rest were either focused on modeling or in theatre. Of the unknown adult actors, there were three breakouts: Creator/DavidTennant, Creator/MichelleFairley, and Creator/DomhnallGleeson.

* The ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movies had three (not counting Rachael Harris and Creator/SteveZahn, who were well-established at the time). Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz, who played the original character Angie in the first film, later shot to superstardom a month after its release with her critically acclaimed turn as Hit-Girl in the R-rated superhero comedy ''Film/KickAss'' and since then has become one of the decade's most popular young actresses. Meanwhile, Creator/{{Peyton List|1998}} and Karan Brar, who played Holly Hills and Chirag Gupta, respectively, were both cast onto the Disney Channel sitcom ''Series/{{Jessie}}'', where they played two children of a celebrity power couple, and reprised their roles on its camp-themed sequel series ''Series/{{Bunkd}}''. Creator/DevonBostick (Rodrick) has a considerably lower profile, but he's doing well enough on ''Series/The100'', Creator/ZacharyGordon shifted to voice acting (his most high-profile work being as [[TheOtherDarrin the second English VA]] of ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'''s Tighnari), and Robert Capron all but vanished from the spotlight.

* ''Series/InLivingColor'' was an incredibly successful FOX series that launched the careers of several African-American celebrities (including the [[Creator/KeenenIvoryWayans Wayans]] [[Creator/DamonWayans brothers]], Tommy Davidson, Creator/JamieFoxx and David Alan Grier) who went on to decent (if spotty) careers in film and television. Yet, the two most successful cast members who emerged from the series were [[Creator/JimCarrey a nerdy white guy with a knack for impressions]] and [[Music/JenniferLopez a Hispanic backup dancer who left after the third season]]. Jamie Foxx is probably the most successful of the African-American cast members, having won an Oscar for ''Ray''. The Wayans brothers ([[Creator/ShawnWayans Shawn]] and [[Creator/MarlonWayans Marlon]], in particular) are the only other cast members to have made an impact since the show ended.

*** Creator/MindyKaling managed to stay in the spotlight with ''Series/TheMindyProject''. James Spader also, although he was already well-established before going into ''The Office.''

* ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'', the fourth entry of the long-running Canadian teen drama franchise, starred one Aubrey Graham, who would go on to become future music superstar Music/{{Drake}}, and later Creator/ShenaeGrimes, who would land on Creator/TheCW's reboot of ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''.

** The producers of ''Degrassi'' tried to invoke this trope for Creator/CassieSteele (Manny Santos) by giving her what amounted as the female lead in ''Series/TheLAComplex''. "Tried" being the operative word.

* ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', for all its controversial storylines and {{Long Runner|s}} status, is more well-known for being a launchpad for one Aubrey Graham, who would become rap superstar Music/{{Drake}}, than anything else. The only other cast member to make any impact was Creator/ShenaeGrimes, who landed on Creator/TheCW's reboot of ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'' after her time on ''Degrassi'' ended.

'''Peter:''' Wildly successful?

* The ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movies had three (not counting Rachael Harris and Creator/SteveZahn, who were well-established at the time). Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz, who played the original character Angie in the first film, later shot to superstardom a month after its release with her critically acclaimed turn as Hit-Girl in the R-rated superhero comedy ''Film/KickAss'' and since then has become one of the decade's most popular young actresses. Meanwhile, Creator/{{Peyton List|1998}} and Karan Brar, who played Holly Hills and Chirag Gupta, respectively, were both cast onto the Disney Channel sitcom ''Series/{{Jessie}}'', where they played two children of a celebrity power couple, and reprised their roles on its camp-themed sequel series ''Series/{{Bunkd}}''. Creator/DevonBostick (Rodrick) has a considerably lower profile, but he's doing well enough on ''Series/The100'', whereas Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron all but vanished from the spotlight.

** Despite being introduced as partners in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'', Cyclonus has been far more prolific in most material, getting multiple new toys and a number of focus appearances, as well as being a major player in IDW's comics. This is due largely to his NobleDemon and NobleTopEnforcer traits being much more appealing to work with, while Scourge is just kind of a jerk. The fact that other iterations of Scourge frequently [[InNameOnly do not adhere]] to the original and are essentially the name being given to completely different characters as a means for Hasbro to maintain the trademark (his ''[[Anime/TransformersCybertron Cybertron]]'' incarnation was a ProudWarriorRaceGuy who turned into a three-headed dragon, while his ''[[Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise RID 2001]]'' and [[Film/TransformersRiseOfTheBeasts film]] incarnations turned into long-nosed trucks, the former being an EvilKnockoff to Optimus Prime) does not help his case.

* Creator/ZacEfron is the only ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' cast member to achieve mainstream success with films like ''[[Film/SeventeenAgain 17 Again]]'', ''Film/Neighbors2014'', and ''Film/TheGreatestShowman''. Creator/VanessaHudgens has done moderately well with a career in singing and Broadway and Music/AshleyTisdale made a mark on TV, while everyone else has faded into obscurity.

* The original ''Franchise/StarWars'' series is a slightly bitty example, with established names Creator/AlecGuinness and Creator/PeterCushing on the opening cast, largely because the backers expected it, and Creator/JamesEarlJones[[labelnote:*]]whose performance in ''A New Hope'' originally went '''uncredited'''[[/labelnote]] as a voice actor. But the rest of the cast were all inexpensive unknowns. Creator/HarrisonFord alone got a leg-up to further major leading roles, most notably as Franchise/IndianaJones, and achieved big box-office fame. Everyone else had to contend with [[IAmNotSpock typecasting deadends]] and AdamWesting, or make do with largely unaffected careers (although Creator/MarkHamill eventually launched a highly successful voice acting career most famously voicing [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]), or, in the case of Creator/PeterMayhew (Chewbacca), return to civilian life as a hospital porter. [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]] lampshaded Ford's success in the ''Film/ANewHope'' parody. "I'm Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon and the only actor whose career isn't destroyed by this movie."

* ''Series/TheFlash1990'' saw two officers as recurring characters, Murphy and Bellows. [[Series/TheFlash2014 The 2014 series]] sees Vito D'Ambrosio [[RoleReprise return as Bellows]], albeit as a [[AdaptationalVillainy corrupt mayor]] with Murphy not appearing because of Bliff Manard's passing some months before.