25 actors on major TV shows who were replaced within the first season

Can you imagine your favorite TV show without your favorite actor on it? Well, there's a good chance many of your faves came very close to having their character played by someone else. In fact, sometimes they were played by someone else for a very short time.

When a new series first starts out, and the cast and crew still have training wheels on, anything can happen during that first season. This can range from cast incompatibility and scheduling conflicts to the showrunners wanting to take things in another direction. But actor swaps can occur before the first season even ends. An actor can get cast for a pilot, and then, while shooting the pilot with the other actors, it may become clear that said actor simply doesn't gel with the show—even the actor themselves may decide they're no longer feeling it.

So have you ever wondered if your favorite TV show character was nearly played by someone else? For this list, Stacker looked through news blasts, interviews, and series deep dives to compile 25 actors from popular TV shows spanning nearly 60 years—from the original "Star Trek" all the way to "Batwoman"—who were cut from their shows right from the jump. These actors were let go either in the middle of Season 1, after Season 1 ended, or didn't even make it past the pilot.

From Sam Malone to Daenerys Targaryen, here are 25 famous TV characters who almost turned out very differently.