History Retool / LiveActionTV

* Struggling soap ''Series/{{Loving}}'' moved from its suburban setting to New York City and became ''Series/TheCity1995''. The retooled version wasn't any more successful than the original, and the show was soon cancelled.

* ''Series/InTheHouse'' starred Music/LLCoolJ as retired football player Marion Hill. Facing financial straits, he rents out the extra three bedrooms of his Los Angeles mansion to newly-divorced mother Jackie and her two children: teenage Tiffany and preteen Austin. The show initially dealt with Marion adjusting to life after football, Jackie re-entering the workforce and dating scene, and the kids' hijinks. After two seasons and a ChannelHop, the series was retooled to focus on the 18-34 demographic: Jackie and Austin [[PutOnABus move away]] while Tiffany stays in LA with Marion to attend college, and Marion buys a sports clinic where he's joined by physician Max and receptionist Tonia to help run it. Eventually even Tiffany is written out to focus more on the clinic and the adult trio.

* After its cancellation and renewal, ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' was retooled into ''Series/{{Galactica 1980}}'', which proved [[DorkAge so unpopular]] that many fans of the original show [[FanonDisContinuity refuse to acknowledge its existence]] (with the possible exception of the "Return of Starbuck" episode).

** Season four had some minor retooling by virtue of original show runner Dan Harmon's departure, but for the most part the format remained the same and at worst the season is simply considered a DorkAge by many fans, a fact which is parodied in the show under the pseudonym 'the gas leak year.' With Harmon's return for the fifth season, a lot of the early episodes in season five involved reversing the changes from the previous season, including giving the study group a reason to get back together, dropping the 'Changnesia' plot for Chang, and giving Pierce's departure proper closure by [[spoiler:[[KilledOffForReal killing him Off For real]]]].

** Creator/AllisonPregler and Creator/{{Phelous}}, who did a podcast about the show together, argue that aside from that example, the show "retools" itself every few episodes, constantly introducing and then dropping characters and plot points. They found it very hard to follow or invest in as a result.

** In Season 8, the feel of the show got shaken up again; showrunners Gough and Miller left, along with ''four'' major cast members. These departures, combined with a general worry that the show had started to stagnate, necessitated a shakeup. Tess Mercer was introduced and quickly became a fan-favorite character, more DC Comics-related stories and guest stars began to come in, and Clark finally began working at the Daily Planet and exploring the possibility of a relationship with ComicBook/LoisLane. The more mature and {{Superman}}ly tone of the last three seasons had many fans noting that these last three seasons could have quite reasonably been renamed "Metropolis" (a fact that was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by lead actor Tom Welling in interviews). The new, Supermanly tone introduced in Season 8 garnered enough praise that it successfully breathed life back into the show and allowed it to last until the end of Season 10, at which point the show was able to properly wrap things up and end on its own terms rather than the network's.

* ITV soap ''Series/{{Emmerdale}}'' was renamed from ''Emmerdale Farm'' in 1989, and became DarkerAndEdgier (having previously been a pleasingly twee saga about the day-to-day lives of farmers). In 1993, they [[KillEmAll killed half the cast in a plane crash]], leaving only a handful of original cast members.

** Somewhere between this and SpinOff, the revival itself was retooled into ''Series/TheConners'' after one season, as Creator/RoseanneBarr made controversial remarks on social media and got McLeaned.

* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' had a change after the third season due to [[McLeaned Shannen Doherty's departure from the show]] and Creator/RoseMcGowan was added to the cast as fourth sister Paige, and the dynamic changed with Piper now being the eldest, Phoebe being the middle child, and Paige acting as the youngest. The opening credits were also changed with Alyssa Milano receiving first billing and Creator/HollyMarieCombs getting the "and [insert name] as [character]". There was another retool for the final season which had the character of Darryl written out; new characters Billie, Christy, Coop, Dex, and Henry introduced; and the temporary departure of Leo mid season until the finale. Also Phoebe started wearing actual clothes.

* ''Series/AllSaints'' had two of these. The show began in 1998 as a MedicalDrama focused on Ward 17, nicknamed the Garbage Ward because it took the overflow from other, more specialised wards. The main cast was dominated by the ward's nursing unit, led by Terri Sullivan (Georgie Parker) In Season 7, Ward 17 closed down and the nursing unit were transferred to the Emergency Department, run by Doctor Frank Campion (John Howard), who effectively became the central character after Terri left the hospital a year later. In the show's final season in 2009, the focus shifted again to rescue operations in the field, with the title changed to ''All Saints: Medical Response Unit''.

* Gritty police drama ''Series/BetweenTheLines'' ended series 2 with a very over-the-top {{Cliffhanger}}, so much so that when it returned for series 3, the only way out was to reshape the show with the lead characters [[spoiler: no longer cops and all working as private detectives]].

* ''Series/TheMuppets'' had a minor retool after the first ten episodes of its only season. The reason was due to complaints from many viewers who said that the characters and the tone of the show was too cynical and too much about sex. It didn't help in the ratings.

** In Season 8, the feel of the show got shaken up again; showrunners Gough and Miller left, along with ''four'' major cast members. These departures, combined with a general worry that the show had started to stagnate, necessitated a shakeup. Tess Mercer was introduced and quickly became a fan-favorite character, more DC Comics-related stories and guest stars began to come in, and Clark finally began working at the Daily Planet and exploring the possibility of a relationship with ComicBook/LoisLane. The more mature and {{Superman}}ly tone of the last three seasons had many fans noting that these last three seasons could have quite reasonably been renamed "Metropolis" (a fact that was [[{{LampshadeHanging}} lampshaded]] by lead actor Tom Welling in interviews). The new, Supermanly tone introduced in Season 8 garnered enough praise that it successfully breathed life back into the show and allowed it to last until the end of Season 10, at which point the show was able to properly wrap things up and end on its own terms rather than the network's.

* The first season of ''Series/{{Titans}}'' had four leads, was set in Detroit and was DarkerAndEdgier to the point that many were decrying it as [[{{Narm}} unintentionally silly]]. It also received criticism for the "team" spending little time together and not really feeling like a superhero show, with Dick even burning his Robin costume. The second season expanded the team to include several {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s, moved them to San Francisco and has gone for a more balanced tone, even {{Ret Con}}ning some elements like why Starfire is on Earth.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' did this during its ninth season in a pronounced fashion. The season, which picks up eighteen months after the previous one (which concluded the "All-Out War" with Negan), introduced a new executive producer in Angela Kang and began with a five-episode "pod" that eliminated a number of secondary characters and concluded with one of the biggest shockers of the series -- Rick Grimes commits a HeroicSacrifice to destroy a horde of walkers (before revealing that he's NotQuiteDead and being [[SequelHook shepherded off to parts unknown]]). From there, the show jumped forward five years -- at which point it was revealed that Judith Grimes had grown enough to be a semi-capable child survivor, a new group of survivors had joined with Alexandria and Oceanside, several characters went through radical changes (Maggie is missing, Michonne has given birth to Rick's child, etc.) and a new antagonist is introduced in the form of The Whisperers.

** The very first season had its lead actor, Hiroshi Fujioka, involved in an accident, which made it impossible for him to continue involved in the show's production for an extended period. Initially, that led to a ''FakeShemp'' Hongo, who mostly appeared as Kamen Rider, played by a replacement suit actor and voice actor, and also through ''StockFootage'' spliced with new scenes. In spite of that, the focus shifted to the supporting cast, and FBI agent Kazuya Taki was introduced as a non-super powered heroic lead. After a few episodes, a new protagonist and Kamen Rider, Hayato Ichimonji, was added, Hongo Takeshi left to fight against Shocker in other countries, and the show went through several changes, like lessening the horror elements of the first few episodes and the creation of the instant transformation sequence with a "henshin" call that would go on to become one of the franchise's trademarks. Ruriko, Hongo's love interest, was phased out of the series, the hangout spot of the supporting cast was changed and three new girls were introduced alongside Hayato. The soldiers working for the organization Shocker also started sporting a more uniform look with wrestling masks, rather than the varied situation appropriated look from the first 13 episodes. The changes were a success and the series exploded in popularity. Eventually, Hiroshi Fujioka recovered and returned to the series as Hongo, recovering the main character spot after a few months of guest appearances, but, even when he returned, the style of the series didn't shift to its initial one.

** ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters'' went through a retool too. Before its debut, it was touted as the "New Era of Super Sentai", but it quickly became the lowest rated Sentai show in the series' 36 year run (at the time). The initial plotline of the show, regarding the protagonists attempt to rescue their family, and protect the energy source Enetron came to an abrupt end with a climatic battle, alongside with the rushed addition of a new opening theme, gotten from a CD that was already out at the time. It also had a ''crossover'' with ''Film/SpaceSheriffGavanTheMovie'', disregarding how the show had established that it took place in an world with an alternate calendar, differently from Gavan itself, which used the real world one. Finally, afterwards, the popular ''DragonInChief'' of the series, Enter, had a sudden personality change and took the spot of actual ''BigBad'' of the series, with the former ''BigBad'' reduced to ''TheDragon''.

* Struggling soap ''Series/{{Loving}}'' moved from its suburban setting to New York City and became ''Series/TheCity''. The retooled version wasn't any more successful than the original, and the show was soon cancelled.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' brought in Worf in the fourth season and redirected the story towards a new Klingon conflict. While it was due to ExecutiveMeddling, it was considered a successful integration and helped further their Dominion StoryArc by revealing the Klingons were being manipulated by them.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' underwent a retool in its third season because of the long-running Kazon plotline. The Season 3 premiere, "Basics Part II" effectively ended their storyline because Paramount executives complained that it wasn't exciting enough (which the fans agreed with), noting that the Kazon were akin to the Ferengi in the "[[InformedAbility Dangerous Adversary]]" department. In Season 4, the show was retooled again by swapping out Jennifer Lien for Jeri Ryan, and introducing Species 8472 and the Hirogen as new threats.

* ''Series/TheMagician'': Midway through the program's run, the idea of Tony living on an airplane was dropped and he took up residence in a posh apartment at The Magic Castle, a real club devoted to magic acts. At the same time, the supporting cast of the show was replaced with a new, single character, Dominick (Joseph Sirola), a somewhat comical sidekick. No explanation for the changes was given in the series.

* ''Series/{{Millennium}}'' was retooled twice, with the result that the eponymous Millennium Group is completely different in each of the three seasons; an unassuming law enforcement consultant group in the first season, an enigmatic but good-intentioned AncientConspiracy in the second season, and an unambiguously evil AncientConspiracy in the third.

* ''Series/KirbyBuckets'', during its first two seasons, was a sitcom about a teenage boy who wanted to be a professional cartoonist, not unlike ''Series/OutOfJimmysHead''. The format then shifted in season 3 to become a dimension-warping action show. The cartoon cutaways were dropped, only making brief cameos at the beginning and end of the season, and the episodic format was replaced by a serial-style series.

* ''Series/LabRats'' started off being a show about a teenage boy introducing his stepdad's bionic children into the real world, while occasionally having to fight of dangerous threats. The last three episodes of Season 3 and all of Season 4 moved the setting to an ''ComicBook/XMen''-style bionic academy in the middle of the ocean and focused more on the Lab Rats mentoring the abandoned bionic soldiers of the previous season's BigBad and the normal teenager starting to become a fighter of his own.

* After its first season, ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'' switched to a three-camera format, with a new set and a live audience. Most characters left over from the movies (the Pigeon sisters, Oscar's poker buddies) were jettisoned, with the exception of Murray.

* The Lenny Henry Show (staring British comedian Lenny Henry) ran from 1984-1985 as a sketch show featuring a variety of different characters played by Lenny Henry. It returned in 1987 under the same name, but this time as a sitcom around the character Delbert Wilkins.

* ''Series/TheElectricCompany1971'' returned in the late 00s as [[Series/TheElectricCompany2009 an updated version]] -- filled with rapping kids with superpowers fighting bad guys, MindControl plots, and other elements that reek of ExecutiveMeddling. Even Joan Ganz Cooney, the creator of ''Series/SesameStreet'', didn't think it was all that good.

* ''Series/H2OJustAddWater'' drops the leader of the main trio in Season 3. Lewis, the main male character, leaves to go study in America.
* For its fourth and final season ''Series/HannahMontana'' [[DemotedToExtra removed Mitchell Musso from the main cast]], moved the Stewart family into a bigger house, had Lilly come to live with them, and replaced the series' most-used outdoor set (a generic beach) with a [[FictionalCounterpart mock-up of Santa Monica Pier]]. Along with these sweeping changes, the show was renamed ''Hannah Montana Forever''.

For children's shows, see {{Retool}}/ChildrensShows.

* ''Series/AntFarm'' took the kids out of the local school (and by extension the A.N.T. program) and moved them into a boarding school owned by a high-tech corporation... for some reason. China's family got cut from the cast as a result.
* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' attempted this with a "relaunched" series that aired three years after the conclusion of the original series, and had almost none of the production crew or cast (save for Daniel [=DeSanto=] as Tucker, who formed the "New Midnight Society"). The revamped show did well enough to last a further two seasons.

* ''Series/BarneyAndFriends''' format has constantly changed. The original ''Backyard Gang'' videos each took place at a different setting each episode and had a fixed cast of six kids, and Baby Bop was only introduced halfway through its run. After it was greenlit as a television series, the show stayed at a school, brought back four of the Backyard Gang kids, and introduced three new ones. BJ was introduced in Season 2. All of the Backyard Gang veterans had left by season 3, while Stella and Mr. Boyd made their debuts. Season 4 introduced a fully redesigned school set, brought in a new generation of kids while promoting a handful who had small roles in season 3 to full-time status, and added puppet characters Scooter [=McNutty=] and Miss Etta Kette. A third puppet, Booker T. Bookworm, joined in Season 5, but was cut in Season 6. Season 7 moved the setting from a school to a park and once again reshuffled its child cast; Stella was gone but Mr. Boyd stuck around. Season 9 replaced all but a handful of the children and mixed park segments with parts on a white background featuring just the dinos. Season 10 introduced Riff and took on a TwoShorts format. Season 12 reverted to the full-length format and focused on story genres. Season 13 was about countries and cultures.

* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' got retooled several times of the course of its run:
** Season 2: Cory, Topanga, and Shawn start going to John Adams High. Mr. Feeny follows them. Eric has a much larger role, and begins to take on TheDitz traits of his "[[TheDitz modern]] [[ButtMonkey persona]]." Topanga abandons her GranolaGirl roots and becomes a HollywoodNerd. More of Shawn's [[ParentalAbandonment home life]] is revealed. Mr. Turner, "the bullies," and [[LocalHangout Chubbie's]] are introduced. Also, the show loses [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Minkus]], and abandons the old theme song and credits sequence.
** Season 5: At the start of their senior year, Shawn reunites with his LongLostSibling Jack, who joins the main cast. Shawn, Jack and Eric (now attending college) move in together in an apartment, and Jack becomes Eric's best friend and comedy sidekick. Heretofore {{Kidanova}} Shawn gets a steady girlfriend Angela, who becomes a recurring character. Mr. Turner falls victim to ChuckCunninghamSyndrome and main high school set is changed to the senior hallway. The show gains an increased focus on running storylines, something it had already been experimenting with. Finally, the classic ThemeTune (with lyrics!) is introduced.[[note]]This retool even got a LampshadeHanging, with Chubbie's getting redesigned into a new restaurant at the start of the season.[[/note]]
** Season 6: Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Angela graduate and go to [[CaliforniaUniversity Pennbrook University]]. [[RunningGag Mr. Feeny follows them]]. Angela becomes a member of the main cast. Cory and Topanga get engaged, but don't exactly make a mad dash for the altar. Rachel joins the cast and moves in with Eric (now a full-on {{Cloudcuckoolander}}) and Jack, setting up a LoveTriangle. Alan, Amy, and Morgan are reduced to CommutingOnABus.

* Similarly to the ''Series/HannahMontana'' example above, the fourth and final season of ''Series/LivAndMaddie'' moves the Rooneys to their Aunt Dena's house in Malibu, California following the destruction of their Wisconsin home at the end of season three, adds Liv and Maddie's [[CousinOliver cousin Ruby]] to the cast, and portrays the twins as attending a prestigious college. Also, the season is renamed ''Liv & Maddie: Cali Style''.

* ''Series/SavedByTheBell'':
** The show was originally titled ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'', and was retooled after a brief cancellation. The school moved from Indiana to California, the name of the series changed, several cast members (including the titular Miss Bliss, played by Creator/HayleyMills) disappeared and the focus shifted to the students exclusively.
** The show was retooled again after the gang graduated and moved on to CaliforniaUniversity. In addition to the new setting and a few new characters, the stories became somewhat more "grown-up." The new show didn't make it to a second season.
** ''The New Class'' spin-off was retooled every season with cast changes left and right. The show also featured a different set of non-Bayside episodes every season that took place at different locations including a country club, a mountain lodge, a cruise ship, and the local mall.

* ''Shining Time Station'' was retooled twice at the end of its life. First, while keeping its title, the show became a prime time series that aired in spurts as a series of specials. Unlike the child-pleasing daytime series, this version added elements of teen drama (such as the addition of a juvenile delinquent from an abusive household), and featured extensive location shooting, breaking free of the prior version's omnipresent train station interior. (The new-found sense of maturity was actually referenced on the show, as Mr. Conductor appeared as usual to relate an Island of Sodor story to the kids, only to be told that they had outgrown Thomas stories). After a handful of these episodes, the show returned to daytime under the new title of ''Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales,'' which scrapped the entire cast except for George Carlin as Mr. Conductor, and focused almost entirely on Sodor segments.

* ''Series/SonnyWithAChance'' is about small town girl Sonny who joins the cast of her favorite sketch comedy show ''[[ShowWithinAShow So Random!]]''. Music/DemiLovato (who played the titular character) ended up quitting the show and taking a temporary break from acting after season two, to deal with some personal problems and also focus on their music career. Disney retooled it by {{defictionaliz|ation}}ing ''Series/SoRandom''. Yep, the show within the show became the actual show!

* While billed as a SpinOff of ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', ''The Suite Life On Deck'' featured four of the main characters from its parent series (including the two leads), and simply changed the location from the hotel to a cruise ship.

* In its second season to accommodate its full-time move to Creator/NickJr, ''Series/TheWubbulousWorldOfDrSeuss'' abandoned its half-hour story, replaced the Cat's voice with a less gravelly alternative, and became more of a ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues''-style kids show. [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Season 1 has been viewed as superior]] by [=DMHFan=] of Muppet Central.