History Main / DroppedAfterThePilot

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

As such, the character is dropped from the show's actual production run, in any number of ways: PutOnABus, killed off, [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute replaced with a new character]], or outright ignored. For more major supporting characters (e.g., the main character's best friend or arch-nemesis), it feels a bit like EarlyInstallmentWeirdness because the show spends parts of the pilot building up the character as someone of note for the show to follow, and he suddenly disappears from episode two on. For people introduced as minor recurring characters, this could be a form of WhatHappenedToTheMouse.

** Speaking of the Golden Girls, spin-off ''Series/EmptyNest'''s pilot was made as an episode of the Golden Girls, and almost everything about it was dropped after the pilot, including its premise. The pilot starred an older married couple dealing with the fact that their children had all left home; The series was about a widower whose two adult daughters still lived at home. The only things which carried through to the series were the main character's job as a doctor, and the wacky neighbor played by David Leisure (although that character also changed name and career).

* A two-fer for ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' in Ep. 1x01 ''You Can't Miss the Bear''. Haley Hudson appears as Silas' cool, down-to-earth girlfriend Quinn Hodes, who is also the daughter of major character Celia Hodes. Similarly, Justin Chatwin appears as a fellow Agrestic drug dealer Josh Wilson, who is also the son of major character Doug Wilson. In Ep. 1x02 ''Free Goat'' Celia tells Silas that she sent Quinn to Mexico for sleeping with him, as well as revealing that Quinn had a whole day to tell him this herself, but apparently cared more about the songs on her iPod. [[spoiler: [[TheBusCameBack She returns]] for two brief appearances during the Season 4 Finale/Season 5 Premiere]]. Josh however, is not mentioned again until Season 4 in a short remark from a stoned Doug.

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Slade has a butler based on Wintergreen from the comicbook. He's never seen again (except for a couple of cameos in the fifth season) and Slade works alone later in the series.

* The 1985 pilot for ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies1980s'' featured several characters who are unaccounted for in the remainder of the series. One notable example is the Puppy Pound's original owner Mr. Bigelow, who in the series is replaced by Holly as owner of the pound in the first season and by Katrina Stoneheart in the second season.

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:Live Action TV]]

* Mozhan Marnò only appeared in the pilot of ''Series/MadamSecretary'' as an image adviser, then disappeared as she got the role of Samar Navabi in ''Series/TheBlacklist''.

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* The pilot for ''TheOfficeUS'' featured several unnamed Dunder-Mifflin coworkers working in the office alongside the eventual supporting cast. Most of them were gone by the next episode and by the end of the season, the only ones left were the now-familiar named characters.

* The pilot of ''Series/NewsRadio" had [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497339/?ref_=tt_cl_t9 Greg Lee]] as handyman Rick only to be replaced by ConspiracyTheorist electrician and HomemadeInventions producer Joe Garelli (Creator/JoeRogan).

* The pilot of ''Series/Newsradio" had [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497339/?ref_=tt_cl_t9 Greg Lee]] as handyman Rick only to be replaced by ConspiracyTheorist electrician and HomemadeInventions producer Joe Garelli (Creator/JoeRogan).

* The pilot of ''Series/Newsradio" had [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497339/?ref_=tt_cl_t9 Greg Lee]] as handyman Rick only to be replaced by Joe Rogan as tech-happy electrician Joe.

* The first episode of ''Series/NightCourt'' had Gail Strickland as the original public defender, and was even credited in the main cast. Come episode two and she disappears without a trace, replaced by Paula Kelly as Liz Williams, who lasted the rest of the season.

* ''Series/HogansHeroes'' had Leonid Kinskey as FriendlyRussian tailor named Vladimir Minsk in the pilot. Carter was a prisoner making his way through. Vladimir's actor decided the show wasn't taking the Nazis seriously enough and quit, and Carter became the fifth main character for the series proper.

** Perhaps the most famous example, every character except for Spock was replaced after the first unsuccessful pilot episode "The Cage". (Creator/MajelBarrett, who played the ship's exective officer and helmsman Number One in "The Cage", was later brought back for the series [[YouLookFamiliar to play recurring character Nurse Chapel]].)

* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' had Maria and Sarah Jane's loud-mouthed neighbor Kelsey, who is set up as Maria's friend and possibly a member of Sarah Jane's newly formed alien hunting squad (despite outright denying the extraterrestrial things she witnessed). Kelsey is never mentioned again [[note]]outside of one ''Faction Paradox'' novel, which couldn't use her name for legal reasons[[/note]] after the pilot, and her role as the "cool one" is [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute given to Clyde]], who ends up sticking around the whole series and providing the OpeningNarration.

* In Star Trek: Discovery, there is the entire crew onboard the USS Shenzhou, most notably Captain Georgiou. The ship and its entire crew gets wiped out in the end of episode two (the first two episodes were aired right after each other, making it a Pilot Double-episode). The only survivors are Michael Burnham and Saru, who both later serve on the eponymous Discovery.

* In the pilot of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' we're introduced to Raisa, the cook at the Queen family household, who's presented as a motherly figure to Oliver, a contrast to his aloof biological mother Moira and whom viewers could reasonably expect to be a recurring character. Instead she was absent for the rest of the season and all seasons afterward. She will however, be returning for Season 6.

* In the pilot of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' we're introduced to Raisa, the cook at the Queen family household, who's presented as a motherly figure to Oliver, a contrast to his aloof biological mother Moira and whom viewers could reasonably expect to be a recurring character. She's never seen or mentioned in the series ever since.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': The unaired pilot featured Riff Regan as Willow and Creator/StevenTobolowsky as Principal Flutie.

* ''Series/TheFlash1990'' dropped Barry Allen's girlfriend Iris West after the pilot and Tina [=McGee=] replaced her as Barry's love interrest.

** Speaking of the Golden Girls, spin-off ''Series/EmptyNest'''s pilot was made as an episode of the Golden Girls, and almost everything about it was dropped after the pilot, including it's premise. The pilot starred an older married couple dealing with the fact that their children had all left home; The series was about a widower whose two adult daughters still lived at home. The only things which carried through to the series were the main character's job as a doctor, and the wacky neighbor played by David Leisure (although that character also changed name and career).

* ''Series/{{Constantine}}'' replaced the pilot's ''female lead'', who was featured heavily in the trailers. Liv was the daughter of a powerful wizard and the pilot looked like it was setting her up to be John apprentice. But audiences hated because she was such a stupid AudienceSurrogate, and ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' fans hated her because she wasn't from the comics, so the end of the pilot was rewritten to get rid of her. Zed, a character from the comics, replaced her in the second episode.

* ''Series/{{Constantine}}'' replaced the pilot's ''female lead'', who was featured heavily in the trailers.

* The very first episode of ''{{Series/Webster}}'' had Art [=LaFleur=] as a regular, playing George's co-worker at the radio station. However, since ExectuiveMeddling wanted the show to focus on Webster and not the adults, he was deemed extraneous and never appeared again.

* ''{{Series/Eureka}}'': ''Ally McBeal'' alum Greg Germann appeared in the pilot as the head of Global Dynamics Warren King, who was replaced by the character of Nathan Stark by the second episode.

* In the pilot of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' we're introduced to Raisa, the cook at the Queen family household, who's presented as a motherly figure to Oliver and whom viewers could reasonably expect to be a recurring character. She's never seen or mentioned in the series ever since.