History Main / DroppedAfterThePilot

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' had a fourth NYPD detective in "Flowers For Your Grave" who [[MrExposition answered the phone and told the others about developments in the case]]... and that was it.

* ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'': victim was the first ever character, aside from the animator, to appear in the series' first ever installment ''Animator vs. Animation [I]''. His presence would set the precedent of a stick figure rebelling against their creator. He sadly gets deleted after a brief fight with the animator.

* ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'' victim was the first ever character, aside from the animator, to appear in the series' first ever installment ''Animator vs. Animation [I]''. His presence would set the precedent of a stick figure rebelling against their creator. He sadly gets deleted after a brief fight with the animator.

* The [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot]] for ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders'' included Anna Gunn as Lily Lambert, a member of the FBI's IRT branch whose brother was wrongfully imprisoned for drug smuggling in Thailand. Gunn left the cast before the show was picked up for a season, and her character was replaced with Alana De La Garza as Clara Seger.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': ''Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 served as a pilot of sorts for the ''All-New All-Different X-Men'' introduced in TheSeventies. It has Japanese mutant Sunfire as a founding member of the team. He promptly quits the team in the first issue of the regular series.

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' made note of three lower-tier detectives in the pilot: Scully, Hitchcock, and Daniels. While Scully and Hitchcock are still around, Daniels is never mentioned again after the pilot. However, her actress that played Daniels later played "scary Marge", the cleaner of precincts.

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' has Detective Lassiter with partner Detective Lucinda Barry, played by Creator/AnneDudek, with whom he was having an affair and she was more suspicious of Shawn's [[PhonyPsychic "psychic" abilities]]. Post-pilot she is never again, she's transferred out in the second episode because of the affair thing and [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute replaced]] with Junior Detective Juliet O'Hara, who's portrayed as more a trusting and less skeptical LoveInterest for Shawn, contrasting Lassiter more without an inappropriate relationship.

* In the unaired pilot of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' there's a girl named Katie whom Leonard and Sheldon rescue from being homeless and moves in with them, and Gilda, geeky female friend/fellow researcher of theirs with whom Sheldon has had sex. In the real continuity of the show, Sheldon is a NoHuggingNoKissing advocate, hasn't lost his virginity because of it, unlike the more sex-driven Leonard, and recoils at the mere mention of coitus.

* ''Series/NewGirl'': In the pilot episode, Jess's third male roommate is Coach, played by Damon Wayans, Jr. In the second episode was Coach was PutOnABus and [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute Winston Bishop]] took his place, literally moving into Coach's old bedroom. This forced the show to [[LampshadeHanging acknowledge]] and {{handwave}} its ArtifactTitle in its very second episode, with Jess being told by the two remaining original roommates that because Winston used to live in the loft previously, Jess is still "the new kid." Wayans had left the show to appear in the second season of ''Series/HappyEndings''. After that show was canceled, [[CommutingOnABus Coach returned]] to ''The New Girl'' as a recurring character.

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' gave Detective Lassiter a female partner (Creator/AnneDudek appeared as the competent and skeptical Detective Lucinda Barry) with whom he was having an affair and who was suspicious of Shawn's [[PhonyPsychic "psychic" abilities]]. Post-pilot she is never again, she's transferred out in the second episode because of the affair thing and [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute replaced]] with Shawn's trusting, less skeptical eventual LoveInterest, Junior Detective Juliet O'Hara.
* ''Series/RaisingHope'' opened with Jimmy and Cousin Mike working at the pool-cleaning business and living in Maw-Maw's house. In the second episode (which takes place the morning after the pilot) they're now a yard-working business and he's left a note stating he met a girl and joined a cult. [[TheBusCameBack He reappears for a couple of episodes towards the end of Season 1.]] (Later episodes also state that they do both yard-work and pool cleaning.)

* In the oneshot ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' was based on, the protagonist was [[GenderBender changed from a boy into a girl]] by his ArchnemesisDad via PressurePoint. In the serialization, the cat spirit Shirogane (the manga's tritagonist) transforms Matsuri, and his father is [[AmbiguouslyAbsentParent nearly-unmentioned]].

* ''Series/{{Jake 20}}'' had Darin, Jake's best friend and roommate, who is suddenly transferred out of Washington DC.
* ''Series/Jericho2006'': Fire Chief Carroll appears in the pilot as a minor yet notable town leader. Afterward, he's never seen again, with Gail briefly mentioning that [[PutOnABus he and his men left town]] to [[HeroOfAnotherStory try to provide aid to the bomb victims in Denver.]]
* ''Series/CovertAffairs'' introduced Annie to Conrad Sheehan, a fellow CIA agent set up as a potential romantic interest[=/=]rival, and Conrad subsequently disappears. [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute In his place,]] we get Jai Wilcox in the second episode, who takes up that mantle.

* ''Series/NewGirl'': In the pilot episode, Jess's third male roommate is Coach, played by Damon Wayans, Jr. In the second episode was Coach was PutOnABus and [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute Winston Bishop]] took his place, literally moving into Coach's old bedroom. This forced the show to [[LampshadeHanging acknowledge]] and {{handwave}} its ArtifactTitle in its very second episode, with Jess being told by the two remaining original roommates that because Winston used to live in the loft previously, Jess is still "the new kid." Wayans had left the show to appear in the second season of ''Series/HappyEndings''. After that show was canceled, [[CommutingOnABus Coach returned]] to ''The New Girl'' as a recurring character.
* The pilot of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' had a gay Latin houseboy named Coco, who never appeared again.
** 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 with three adult daughters, two of whom 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 [[DropInCharacter Drop In Neighbor]] played by David Leisure (although that character also changed name and career).

* On the short-lived 1997 show ''Players'' (which starred Ice-T and dealt with three con men now helping the FBI), the pilot takes place in New York, then moves to Los Angeles for the rest of the run. With the move, the boys got a new handler as well.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': Claire, the waitress at Pete's Luncheonette, was intended to be a regular but she was [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute replaced]] by the character [[Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus Elaine]] after the pilot episode. Pete's Luncheonette was also replaced with Monk's Cafe, explaining why Claire is never seen again.
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' gave Detective Lassiter a female partner (Creator/AnneDudek appeared as the competent and skeptical Detective Lucinda Barry) with whom he was having an affair and who was suspicious of Shawn's [[PhonyPsychic "psychic" abilities]]. Post-pilot she is never again, she's transferred out in the second episode because of the affair thing and [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute replaced]] with Shawn's trusting, less skeptical eventual LoveInterest, Junior Detective Juliet O'Hara.
* 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.
* ''Series/RaisingHope'' opened with Jimmy and Cousin Mike working at the pool-cleaning business and living in Maw-Maw's house. In the second episode (which takes place the morning after the pilot) they're now a yard-working business and he's left a note stating he met a girl and joined a cult. [[TheBusCameBack He reappears for a couple of episodes towards the end of Season 1.]] (Later episodes also state that they do both yard-work and pool cleaning.)
* ''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. The given reason for this was that the regular cast in the pilot was felt to "skew too female", and replacing Kelsey with Clyde balanced things out, although nebulous rumours stated that the actress was difficult to work with.
* The pilot of ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily'' is presented in a HowWeGotHere fashion using POVCam as if the various family members are talking to a family therapist, but as of the second episode, it's clear they've never been to therapy or told anyone about what happened to them.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Executive officer Laurel Takashima, chief of medicine Dr Benjamin Kyle and station telepath Lyta Alexander were all dropped after the PilotMovie and [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute replaced by]] [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Susan Ivanova, Dr Stephen Franklin and Talia Winters]] respectively). The characters' disappearances were explained in-story, and in Lyta's case became a plot point in the MythArc. Dr Kyle was [[TheGhost referred to several times throughout the series]], and Lyta was later [[TheBusCameBack brought back as a major character]]. WordOfGod is that [[Creator/JMichaelStraczynski JMS]] had contingency plans for replacing any of the main characters just in case.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
** Perhaps the most famous example, every character except for Spock was replaced after the first unsuccessful pilot episode "The Cage", and Spock was considerably reworked, being promoted to take Number One's spot as executive officer and having his character as a Vulcan fleshed out. Spock actually ''grins'' at one point in the episode. Creator/MajelBarrett, who played the ship's executive officer and helmsman Number One in "The Cage", was later brought back for the series [[YouLookFamiliar to play recurring character Nurse Chapel]].
** The second pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" had Doctor Mark Piper, Communications Officer Alden and Yeoman Smith. They were replaced in the series by Leonard [=McCoy=], Lieutenant Uhura and Janice Rand respectively.
* The pilot of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' features a prominent bridge officer named Ensign Rollins, who commands the ship when the main characters are absent. He is never seen again and is only mentioned in passing once, in Season 2. According to Scott [=McDonald=], [[WordOfSaintPaul the actor who played him]], he was dropped because the producers felt there were too many male characters.
* ''Series/HogansHeroes'' had Leonid Kinskey as a 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.
* The two episodes of ''Series/{{JAG}}'' that comprised the PoorlyDisguisedPilot for ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' had a character named Vivian Blackadder on Team Gibbs. Come the first episode of the spinoff, she's nowhere to be seen, and her slot on the team is quickly filled by new recruit Caitlin Todd.
* The character Sonny from ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', until he is unexpectedly (and briefly) brought back in the third season. Earl even lampshades this in the relevant episode.
* In the unaired pilot of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' there's a girl named Katie whom Leonard and Sheldon rescue from being homeless and moves in with them, and Gilda, geeky female friend/fellow researcher of theirs with whom Sheldon has had sex. In the real continuity of the show, Sheldon is a NoHuggingNoKissing advocate, hasn't lost his virginity because of it, unlike the more sex-driven Leonard, and recoils at the mere mention of coitus.
* The pilot of ''Series/HomeAndAway'' features Gwen Plumb as a gossip named Doris Peters. By the time the series proper went into production, the actress was committed to another role: Doris Peter is mentioned several times in early seasons as a local gossip but is never seen again, while Alf Stewart was quickly given a sister, Celia, who functioned as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.
* In the pilot of ''Series/GoOn'' a man named Don is in the group Ryan joins. He disappears after that.

* In the first episode of ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' the girls have a pet cat named Fluffy, who Tiger (the boys' dog) runs after and ruins the wedding reception. Fluffy is never seen again.
* ''Series/BreakoutKings'':
** The con artist Philly in the pilot episode was intended to be a regular member of the team. She doesn't appear in the series, replaced by bounty hunter Erica. Her absence is at least explained, as the Marshals discovered she was concealing ill-gotten gains and she was thrown of the program and transferred to high-security prison.
** The show also has another seeming team-member cut (i.e. sent back to prison) before the end of the first episode, because he pocketed a knife while they were in a restaurant, apparently planning to escape. The guy shows up in a later episode wherein [[ConsultingAConvictedKiller he aids the team from prison]].
* ''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's apprentice. Audiences and fans of the comics reacted poorly, so the end of the pilot was rewritten [[ShooOutTheNewGuy to get rid]] of her. Zed, a character from the comics, replaced her in the second episode.
* The pilot for ''Series/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.

* In the pilot for ''Series/WhiteCollar'', Agent Diana Barrigan is introduced as part of the team; however, in episode two, she is nowhere to be found, and Agent Lauren Cruz takes the place as the female operative. However, in the final episode of Season One, there's a bit of [[PutOnABus bus]] [[TheBusCameBack shuffling]] as suddenly Lauren Cruz is never mentioned again and Diana takes back her old position, and remains there for the rest of the series.
* The pilot episode of ''Series/{{ER}}'' actually featured TWO NaiveNewcomer medical students--Carter, and a young woman assigned to Doug Ross and intended to be his love interest. But when positive test audience feedback forced the producers to revive Carol Hathaway, the student was given a case of ChuckCunninghamSyndrome.
* Callie Cartwig from ''Series/{{The 100}}'' was councilwoman Abigail's best friend, openly confronted Kane and was an important enough member of the Ark that she served as liaison between the rulers and the people, but she isn't even mentioned past the pilot. WordOfGod is [[https://twitter.com/JRothenbergTV/status/541706696163221506 the character was executed offscreen]] due to budgetary reasons.
* Captain Gregson's assistant in ''Series/{{Elementary}}'''s pilot was a guy named Abreu, but starting with the second episode he's replaced by detective Marcus Bell, who mostly serves the same functions in the story.
* 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, no mention of her was made until [[TheBusCameBack her reappearance in "Fallout," the Season 6 premiere.]]

* ''Series/TheFlash1990'' dropped Barry Allen's girlfriend Iris West after the pilot and Tina [=McGee=] replaced her as Barry's love interest.
* ''{{Series/Eureka}}'': ''Series/AllyMcBeal'' alum Creator/GregGermann 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.
* ''Series/TheWizard'': The aired pilot introduces us to Simon's housekeeper Darcy Stafford, and "occasional assistant" Jack Brooks, a teenager who tries to make his own toys but always ends up failing spectacularly. Episode 2 explains that Darcy was transferred to Alex's old job, and Simon's [[SecondEpisodeSubstitute old friend Tillie]] takes her place. As for Jack, he's simply never mentioned again.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' had a fourth NYPD detective in "Flowers For Your Grave" who [[MrExposition answered the phone and told the others about developments in the case]]... and that was it.
* 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 only lasted the rest of the season herself.

* ''Series/TalesOfTheGoldMonkey:'' The Gold Monkey of the title never has any importance past the first episode, and only shows up in the background of Louie's bar in the remainder of the season. On top of everything else, it's actually made of brass.
* ''Series/TheAmazingSpiderMan1978'' began with a PilotMovie titled simply ''Spider-Man''. Robbie Robertson was featured in it, but made no appearances at all in the subsequent series.

* The ''Anime/LupinIIIPilotFilm'' (released in the west with the [[Anime/LupinIIIPart1 Green Jacket]] series, but in Japan with the ''Secret Files'') has Detective Kogoro Akechi (the same character as Edogawa Rampo's detective), an established character in the manga series, as a partner for Inspector Zenigata who never appears again in the anime portion of the franchise.

* The original pilot short of ''WesternAnimation/FanboyAndChumChum'' that appeared on ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'' established that the titular characters are fans of a superhero called Fan Man, who vanished for the series proper, taking with him [[TheArtifact the explanation for Fanboy's codename]].

** Perhaps the most famous example, every character except for Spock was replaced after the first unsuccessful pilot episode "The Cage", and Spock was considerably reworked, being promoted to take Number One's spot as executive officer and having his character as a Vulcan fleshed out. Spock actually ''grins'' at one point in the episode. (Creator/MajelBarrett, who played the ship's executive officer and helmsman Number One in "The Cage", was later brought back for the series [[YouLookFamiliar to play recurring character Nurse Chapel]].)

* ''WesternAnimation/PollyPocket'''s two-part pilot, "Tiny Power", featured famous popstar Melody In-D, who was the three main characters' idol. She is gone after "Tiny Power".
* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Slade has a butler based on Wintergreen from the comic book. He's never seen again (except for a couple of cameos in the fifth season) and Slade works alone later in the series.
* The third part of the FiveEpisodePilot of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' introduced General Traag and his right-hand man, a grey Rock Soldier named Sergeant Granitor. While Traag remained a recurring character, Granitor never appeared again in the show after his debut, though he did appear as a boss in [[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheArcadeGame the arcade game]].
* 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.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
** In the first ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' short Vicky had a younger brother whom we heard screaming over the telephone. We never saw his face and subsequent episodes make no further reference to him, with Vicky's younger sister Tootie being the only sibling she's shown to have.
** Another ''Oh Yeah!'' short, titled "The Zappys", gave Jorgen Von Strangle his own godchild Winston, who was ignored once the show became a full-fledged series.
* The finale of ''WesternAnimation/HongKongPhooey'' featured characters who were groomed to have their own series--Honcho, the Mystery Maverick and Posse Impossible. Of the three, only Posse Impossible was greenlighted airing as a segment of 1977's ''WesternAnimation/CBBears''.
* InUniverse example from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse:'' Greg and Amethyst are watching [[ShowWithinAShow an old sitcom]] that they like. Apparently the rich family from the show had a cat named Money in the pilot but a dog named Dirtbike throughout the rest of the series.

Subtrope of OneShotCharacter and SecondEpisodeSubstitute. Related to ChuckCunninghamSyndrome, NonindicativeFirstEpisode and DecoyProtagonist.

* The ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' pilot episode "No Smoking" had the Red Guy assisted by Cerberus. The Red Guy's three-headed canine accomplice never appeared in any other episodes after ''Cow and Chicken'' became a series, except in this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXG7S-2yJSA TV promo]].

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

** Another ''Oh Yeah!'' short, titled "The Zappys", gave Jorgen Von Strangle his own godchild, who was ignored once the show became a full-fledged series.

* ''Manga/HisFavourite'': In the first chapter, Koike was the first girl to be named and bear some significance towards the plot by being the one Yoshida had a huge crush on but, like many of the girls in school, had fallen victim to Satou's charms. However, when the second chapter rolled around, she was completely forgotten and never mentioned again which is especially jarring since the chapter was a direct continuation from the first one.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': In the first ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' short Vicky had a younger brother whom we heard screaming over the telephone. We never saw his face and subsequent episodes make no further reference to him, with Vicky's younger sister Tootie being the only sibling she's shown to have.

* In ''The Tome of the Unknown'', an animated short that served as a pilot for ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'', technically has this if you consider a book a character. The short has Wirt, Greg and Beatrice in search of the titular book, the existence of which is completely omitted in the final miniseries. Additionally, the giant goose they found at the end of the short was implied to be a new companion for them, but he never appears in the series.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': A very unusual example. In the first ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' short Vicky had a younger brother whom we heard screaming over the telephone. We never saw his face and subsequent episodes make no further reference to him, with Vicky's younger sister Tootie being the only sibling she's shown to have.