10 Actors Whose Shows Were Cancelled (But They Landed on Their Feet)

Cancellation hits everyone — the writers, the crew, the fans. But for the actors, it's also a career pivot. Here are ten who landed on their feet after their shows were cancelled.

When a beloved show gets cancelled, fans grieve the story. But the actors who brought those characters to life face a different challenge: finding the next role, the next project, the next chapter of their careers.

Some actors disappear after cancellation. These ten did the opposite — their cancelled show was just a stepping stone to something bigger.

  1. Mamoudou Athie (Archive 81) — After Netflix cancelled Archive 81 after one season, Athie didn't miss a beat. He landed a major role in The Burial alongside Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones, and has appeared in Elemental (Pixar) and The Menu. A cancelled Netflix show turned out to be just the beginning.
  2. Keegan-Michael Key (Friends from College) — Key was already a star from Key & Peele when Friends from College premiered. After its cancellation, he continued to build an impressive resume: voice roles in The Lion King, Toy Story 4, and Super Mario Bros. Movie, plus a starring role in the Emmy-winning series Schmigadoon! and Reunited Apart.
  3. Cobie Smulders (Friends from College) — Smulders returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Maria Hill in multiple projects, starred in Stumptown (ABC's cancelled-too-soon crime drama), and voiced roles in animated features. She also produced and starred in the Netflix series Unstable.
  4. Brit Marling (The OA) — After Netflix cancelled The OA, Marling continued her collaboration with Zal Batmanglij. She co-created, co-wrote, executive produced, and starred in A Murder at the End of the World (FX on Hulu, 2023), a critically acclaimed murder mystery that proved her creative voice was far from silenced.
  5. Adam Brody (Startup) — Brody went from the cult hit The O.C. to Startup to Nobody Wants This (Netflix, 2024), a romantic comedy that became one of the streamer's most-watched original series. He also appeared in Promising Young Woman and Shazam!
  6. Mira Sorvino (Startup) — After playing NSA agent Stroud on Startup, Sorvino continued to find steady work, appearing in Robert Rodriguez's Hypnotic alongside Ben Affleck, and the TV series Monica: Ordinary Pain. Her post-Startup career proves that even a cancelled show's villain can thrive.
  7. Maddie Phillips (Teenage Bounty Hunters) — After Teenage Bounty Hunters was cancelled in 2020, Phillips booked a lead role in the Netflix series Ginny & Georgia, joining one of the platform's most popular shows. From cancelled-too-soon to streaming hit.
  8. Dina Shihabi (Archive 81) — Shihabi followed up Archive 81 with a major role in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion (MCU), playing a Skrull operative. From the Visser building to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is quite the career trajectory.
  9. Elyes Gabel (Scorpion) — After playing Walter O'Brien for four seasons on Scorpion, Gabel continued his career with roles in Sweet Girl (Netflix, 2021) and the series Interrogation (CBS All Access). He also appeared in the acclaimed miniseries The Last Thing He Told Me.
  10. Ron Perlman (Startup) — Perlman had already been a beloved character actor for decades when he joined Startup. After its cancellation, he continued voicing roles in animated projects, appeared in Don't Worry Darling, and remains one of the most in-demand character actors in the business. The cancellation barely slowed him down.

Every cancelled show leaves behind talented people. Even when the story ends, the actors carry on. And sometimes — just sometimes — the next thing is even better.

Want to revisit the shows that started it all? Browse our library of fan-written endings.