• China's internet isn't happy that "Wukong Sun: Black Legend" is due for release on Nintendo's store.
• It's a 2D platformer game with art and a title that resembles "Black Myth: Wukong."
• Immensely popular in China, the game has an ardent player base that is fiercely defending the title.

"Black Myth: Wukong," the high-profile video game that earned superstar status in China, has a new titular competitor on the market: a side-scrolling platformer in which the Monkey King bashes through monsters of ancient legend.

"Wukong Sun: Black Legend," published by Global Game Studio, is now listed for preorder on Nintendo's store for its Switch console — much to the chagrin of China's social media.

Posts deriding the Nintendo-listed game as a knock-off emerged on Monday morning and, within an hour, topped discussion rankings on Weibo, China's version of X, per data seen by Business Insider.

"Hey everyone, have you heard? The stunning 'Black Myth: Wukong' has actually been copied! This really makes you speechless," one user wrote.

"Since Nintendo has removed pirated games from its shelves, this should also be removed," wrote another.

Promotional art for the Nintendo-listed game, which is due for release on December 26 and retails at $7.99, bears a striking resemblance to that of "Black Myth: Wukong."

But the new title's gameplay looks nothing like that of "Black Myth: Wukong," a 3D action game with spruced-up visuals and a famed boss system that's difficult to overcome.

"Wukong Sun: Black Legend" appears to feature 2D sprites that approach from the right of the screen as the player navigates from the left.

"Black Myth: Wukong," produced by Chinese developer Game Science, is based on characters from the 1592 novel "Journey to the West," one of the most famous literary works in the region and a cornerstone of Chinese popular culture and mythology.

The term "Black Myth" in the game's title refers to it telling a story that is not included in the original novel, which has served as the base for a hit 1986 TV show and a plethora of books, games, and other media.

On its Nintendo store page, "Wukong Sun: Black Legend" also references the novel, saying it would allow players to "embark on an epic Journey to the West" and battle characters from its mythology.

Weibo users aren't having any of it.

"Well-known games have been plagued by imitations for a long time," wrote Pear Video, a popular internet news account. "Malicious developers exploit the names of well-known games, reskin various small games, and put them on the shelves of big game stores with similar titles, deceiving uninformed consumers to buy and download."

"I wonder how Nintendo will deal with it," a popular millennial gaming blogger wrote.

Nintendo operates a marketplace that allows developers to publish games for Nintendo consoles. The company did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by BI.

Global Game Studio is listed as both the developer and publisher of "Wukong Sun: Black Legend." According to Nintendo's website the developer has also produced a soccer game, an extreme sports biking game, a "Farming Harvester Simulator," and a zombie shooter.

The studio did not respond to a request for comment in an email sent by BI.

"Black Myth: Wukong" is considered China's first homegrown AAA video game success, selling over 20 million copies on the marketplace Steam, per the data tracker Video Game Insights. The game retails at about $59.99 per copy, putting total sales north of $1 billion.

Its release dominated China's internet this summer and has garnered an ardent cult following. Earlier this month, the title's failure to clinch the coveted "Game of the Year" award from The Games Awards sparked a wave of dissatisfaction on Chinese social media.

Jonathan Owens kicked off the Sunday, December 22, Chicago Bears football game with his usual pre-kickoff kiss from his wife, Simone Biles.

Biles, 27, met up with Owens, 29, on the sidelines of Chicago’s Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon before the game began where he gave the Olympic gymnast a sweet peck on the cheek.

Biles turned up to watch her husband’s NFL team take on the Detroit Lions in a cozy-chic outfit. She sported a black puffer coat with a matching fuzzy bucket hat from Prada.

For glam, Biles rocked her hair down in braided locs.

Simone Biles' Husband Gives His Best Gymnastics Salute After Forced Fumble

The gymnast and Owens have been married since April 2023 and they are frequent supporters of one another’s careers. For Biles, she’s a fixture at Owen’s NFL games, where they often share a kiss before kickoff.

Owens also likes to cheer on Biles at gymnastics meets, even receiving special permission to skip a few days of Bears training camp to watch her in the Paris Olympics this past summer.

“It is not much motivation you need to do, just because you don’t want to put extra, added pressure on anyone,” Owens exclusively told Us Weekly in July. “I just tell her, ‘Go do your thing, baby.’… As long as she’s there, she’s on the field, give her a kiss and we can go about our way.”

He continued at the time, “You get a different type of focus whenever you just have this one person that you’re focusing on. And I ain’t saying there’s something wrong with being single, but for me, knowing myself, I’ve played a lot better since [meeting Simone], I’ve just been focused and locked in, and you come home, talk about my day and play with the dogs, you know what I mean? That’s just kind of, like, our thing.”

Simone Biles and Husband Jonathan Owens Pack on the PDA at Bears Away Game

Owens has come a long way as he initially did not even recognize Biles when they crossed paths on the dating app Raya in 2020.

“[I] had been on [Raya] for a couple days and then she pops up. I’m like, ‘Lemme see who this is,’” the NFL safety recalled on “The Pivot” podcast in a December 2023 episode. “I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity [and I was like], ‘I’ll see what’s up.’”

When they first met, Owens played for the Houston Texans, which is based nearby to Biles’ gymnastics training facility. After Biles and Owens tied the knot last year, they started building their dream home in the Lone Star State.

“At this point, we’ve waited so long for it to be built, we’ll just wait until after the [NFL] season to move in,” Biles told Us last month. “Right now, they’re doing all of the backyard stuff. Jonathan wanted a half-basketball court, a barbeque pit, all of the good stuff. We did put an in-ground trampoline and a pool.”

Biles continued, “We should be closing fairly soon. I go in two weeks to check on it again to see where we are, but we’re literally almost there.”

Jennifer Grey took a trip down memory lane recalling filming a sex scene with Patrick Swayze in 1984’s Red Dawn.

“As an actor, you’re looking at all your stuff in the script, and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m running. I’m shooting. I’m running. I’m throwing hand grenades. I’m killing myself with a hand grenade,’” Grey, 64, said on the Friday, December 20, episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast. “But this is the only acting scene I get to do where I’m not doing action.”

Grey recalled being in a sleeping bag with Swayze, who died at age 57 after battling pancreatic cancer, and noted that he was “nervous.”

“He came into the sleeping bag drunk,” Grey claimed. “And he didn’t know his lines. And then it got cut. And they said, ‘We’ll come back and reshoot it.’ But, of course, they didn’t.”

Remembering Patrick Swayze 15 Years Later: He 'Fought’ Like a ‘Warrior’

Grey called the scene, which didn’t end up making the film, “one of the more tender scenes which was, I thought, part of the reason I wanted to do the job.”

The movie, which is set in the 1980s, follows teenagers who escape with their friends into the mountains as they prepare for a counter-attack against a Russian-led invasion of their town. Grey and Swayze starred in the film alongside Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell and more.

While recalling filming Red Dawn, Grey said her costars would “put firecrackers in my door” to “prank” her.

“I think I was smoking a lot of weed in those days, too,” she said. “And so, I was super paranoid, and I was scared. So I didn’t sleep the whole night. So when I went in to shoot my big love scene, my big … romantic scene with him, I was so angry because I was, you know, all self-righteous, like, ‘Hi, how dare you be so unprofessional?’”

'Dirty Dancing' Exists in the 'Gilmore Girls' Universe — Here's Proof

“I didn’t get to sleep and I was anxious and felt like it was a problem, then all of a sudden I was like, ‘You know what? You’re killing me. You’re killing me in this show,’” she continued.

When the movie wrapped, Grey recalled thinking he was “not professional” and was hesitant to have him be in 1987’s Dirty Dancing.

“When they started talking about him for Dirty Dancing, I was like, ‘Oh, no, anybody but him. I know. He’s a dancer. I know he’s a dancer. He talks about it all the time,’” she said, adding that Swayze was in the 1975 musical Goodtime Charley with her dad, Joel Grey, as a dancer.

Ultimately, however, Swayze starred as Johnny in the iconic film, where Grey played Baby. The movie, which followed Baby filling in for Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) as Johnny’s dance partner, produced several memorable moments — including the iconic lift.

“I only did it on the day I shot it,” Grey told The Guardian in 2015 about the scene. “Never rehearsed it, never done it since. I don’t know how all these people who reenact it have the guts to throw themselves into the arms of anyone other than Patrick Swayze. It’s insane!”

Professional boxer Tyson Fury lost his big match to Oleksandr Usyk, subsequently storming out of the ring.

According to footage shared via Sky Sports, Fury, 36, hastily exited the boxing ring after the 12 rounds concluded on Saturday, December 21.

“I swear to God, I thought I won by three rounds,” Fury told reporters later that night. “I thought I won the fight again. I was on the front foot the entire time. When you don’t get the knockout, this is what can happen.”

Meet Boxer Tyson Fury’s Family: His Wife, 7 Kids, Famous Brother and More

Saturday’s fight was a rematch for Fury and Usyk, 37, in a bid to retain the world championship title belt. They first fought in May, which Usyk won in a split decision. He won in a landslide the second time.

“I feel like I won both fights. I know I had to knock him out but it’s boxing and this happens. There is no doubt in my mind I won this fight,” Fury said in a press conference that night. “I’m not going to cry over spilled milk, it’s over now.”

He added, “I’ve been in boxing my whole life but I’ll always feel a little bit hard done by — not a little bit, a lot.”

Fury had been so locked into the fight that he even ceased speaking to his wife, Paris, and their seven children during training.

“I’ve been away from my wife and kids for three months. I’ve not spoken to Paris at all in three months,” Fury told Queensbury Promotions earlier this week. “I’ve sacrificed a lot.”

Fury and Paris share daughters Venezuela, 15, Valencia, 7, and Athena, 3, as well as sons Prince John James, 13, Prince Tyson, 8, and Prince Adonis Amaziah, 5. They have been among his biggest supporters.

Boxer Tyson Fury Hasn’t Spoken to His Wife in 3 Months During Training

“To get a woman who’s been with you all that time and gone through … the good times and the bad times … [for her] to still be there when you don’t want to be and when you’re being forced away and you’re being pushed out, that takes a very strong individual,” Tyson previously told The Overlap in a September 2021 interview.

Fury’s two losses to Usyk are the only two times he’s not proved victorious throughout his entire athletic career.

“I feel very good. I’ve sparred more than I’ve sparred in years and I’ve been able to do stuff that I’ve always been able to do,” Fury had told Queensbury Promotions ahead of the matchup. “I’d be the first one to say, ‘You know what, I’m finished,’ but I ain’t, I’m very far from that, feeling very good. I cannot wait for the fight Saturday night. I’ll end his career. You’ll never hear from Oleksandr Usyk after this.”

Outer Banks is coming to an end, but the fictional world is still growing with a prequel and a spinoff.

The hit Netflix series, which premiered in 2020, introduced the conflict between two groups of teenagers in a coastal North Carolina town. The social divide was focused on the Kooks, a.k.a. the wealthy residents, and the working-class crew known as the Pogues. The search for a lost treasure caused the two squads to be even more at odds, while a found family formed between the friend group at the center of the show.

Outer Banks catapulted stars Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Drew Starkey, Carlacia Grant and Austin North to fame before Netflix confirmed in November 2024 that season 5 would be the show’s last.

“We are excited for season 5, and we’re excited for other stories in this universe down the line,” the executive producers said during an interview with Deadline about the future of Outer Banks. While the trio wouldn’t elaborate on their plans for the fictional universe, the outlet reported that no projects are currently in the works but offshoots are being explored.

'Outer Banks' Cast: See the Hit Netflix Show's Stars Then and Now

Fans already know about The Runarounds, which was ordered by Prime Video but will explore a teen band that originated on Outer Banks. Meanwhile, Netflix will remain in the treasure-hunting game through a potential prequel titled Kildare.

Keep scrolling for a comprehensive guide to the entire Outer Banks universe:

‘Outer Banks’

After premiering in 2020, Outer Banks quickly found its audience and the show continued to break streaming records for Netflix. Outer Banks made a controversial decision ahead of its final season when Pankow’s fan-favorite character, JJ, died.

‘The Runarounds’

Based on a teleplay from Jonas Pate and David Wilcox, the fictional series will follow the real band of the same name featuring William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendé Murdock and Jesse Golliher.

Fans of Outer Banks might recognize The Runarounds after they appeared on an episode of the show in 2023. The Runarounds were seen in the background playing at an anniversary party for the parents of Kiara (Bailey).

Pate confirmed in December 2024 that Prime Video already ordered a second season before the show even premiered.

The Runarounds Appeared on 'Outer Banks' Before Series Order: What to Know

‘Kildare’

Pate revealed in December 2024 that he was writing a prequel to Outer Banks titled Kildare. The series is still in the early stages but would feature a whole new set of young actors and focus on the founding of each group in the show’s fictional Figure 8 town.

• Blake Lively filed a legal complaint against her "It Ends with Us" costar, Justin Baldoni.
• Taylor Swift and Hailey Bieber appeared in the complaint.
• Lively's complaint said Baldoni and his team conspired to damage her reputation.

In a new legal complaint, Blake Lively said that her "It Ends with Us" costar, Justin Baldoni, who also directed and produced the film, conspired to damage her reputation and credibility.

The complaint also mentions Taylor Swift and Hailey Bieber.

Lively named Baldoni and six other defendants in her complaint, including the CEO and cofounder of his production studio, Wayfarer Studios. She also named communications crisis manager Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group PR and Baldoni's publicist, Jennifer Abel.

In the complaint, Lively said Baldoni and his team created a "multi-tiered plan" using "social manipulation" to "destroy" her reputation.

"This plan went well beyond standard crisis PR. What Ms. Nathan proposed included a practice known as 'Astroturfing,' which has been defined as 'the practice of publishing opinions or comments on the internet, in the media, etc. that appear to come from ordinary members of the public but actually come from a particular company or political group,'" according to the complaint.

The complaint says that Baldoni and his team discussed controversies around Swift and Bieber as strategic suggestions while conspiring against Lively.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, said Lively's complaint was a "desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation."

Baldoni and his team considered leveraging backlash around Swift and the 'weaponization of feminism,' the complaint says

Nathan's communications company shared a "Scenario Planning" document with Baldoni and others that outlined potential strategies "should [Ms. Lively] and her team make her grievances public," the complaint says.

The complaint includes a copy of that document, which Lively's attorneys obtained through a civil subpoena.

The planning document discussed what Baldoni's team could do if Lively's husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, publicly defended her against critics. It included a reference to Swift, who is a friend of Lively. The pair have attended Kansas City Chiefs football games together and have been photographed by paparazzi while hanging out.

"As part of this, our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in BL's circle, like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to 'bully' into getting what they want," the planning document says, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Baldoni used a social media post about Bieber and bullying as an example strategy

Lively's complaint also contained screenshots of text message conversations between Baldoni and his team, which were also obtained through a civil subpoena. According to the complaint, Baldoni sent a text message to his publicist, Abel, in early August.

"A few days later, on August 5, 2024, Mr. Baldoni set the narrative for the social media campaign, sending Ms. Abel a screenshot of a thread on X that had accused another female celebrity of bullying women," the complaint said. "Mr. Baldoni stated, 'this is what we would need.'"

The social media post included two pictures of Bieber and insinuated she had bullied other women. That narrative gained traction on social media in 2023 and resulted in widespread backlash against Bieber.

A representative for Lively referred Business Insider to a statement she shared with The New York Times.

"I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted," she said.

Lively also said neither she nor her representatives planted negative stories about Baldoni or Wayfarer Studios.

Baldoni's attorney said the accusations in Lively's complaint were "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."

Representatives for Bieber and Swift did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

’Tis the season for Colin Jost and Michael Che’s annual “Weekend Update” joke swap on Saturday Night Live — and this time Jost’s wife, Scarlett Johansson, was front and center in the audience.

During the Saturday, December 21, episode, Jost, 42, asked, “Why?” when he saw a photo of Johansson, 40, flash on the screen.

“I want to dedicate this next joke to my boo, Scarlett Johansson,” Jost said with a laugh.

The camera then cut to the actress backstage, shaking her head while holding a glass of water.

Watch Colin Jost Read Michael Che’s Diss About Scarlett Johansson Movies

“No, oh no,” Jost continued. “She’s so genuinely worried. … Hey, boo. Y’all know Scarlett just celebrated her 40th birthday, which means I’m about to get up out of there.”

Jost and Johansson both burst out laughing, with the Black Widow star adding, “Oh, my gosh. Why?”

Che, 41, then pointed out that “there’s a little more” to the joke.

“Nah, nah, I’m just playing. We just had a kid together and y’all ain’t see no pictures of him yet ‘cause he black as hell,” Jost read aloud. “S—, I ain’t afraid of you mofos.”

Johansson, who shares 3-year-old son Cosmo with Jost, then took a sip of her beverage and added, “Oh, s—.”

Jost and Che have kept up with their annual holiday tradition throughout their joint tenure on SNL. During the final episode of the year, they secretly write jokes for one another. The two comedians only find out what the other penned live on the air, which often causes “panic” for Johansson.

“I now rarely watch [SNL] without having a sense of … not overwhelming panic, just like a slight underwhelming panic because I just feel like at any moment something’s going to fall apart,” Johansson said during a July 2021 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “And that’s the excitement of SNL and for all audiences, right? Because it’s absolutely live.”

Scarlett Johansson 'Fully Blacked Out' During ‘SNL’ Joke About Her Body

She continued at the time, “But when you’re emotionally invested in it and not just entertained by it, it takes on a little bit of a different life.”

Jost and Johansson initially met when she hosted an episode of SNL, later getting married in 2020. On Saturday, she also appeared in the cold open to celebrate emcee Martin Short.

Since the holiday show was former cast member Short’s fifth time hosting, he finally received an invite to the elusive Five-Timers Club. Johansson, Tom Hanks, Tina Fey and Short’s BFF-turned-collaborator Steve Martin helped welcome him to the ranks.

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Not all shows have stuck to their original premise over the years — in fact some changed their central story lines on purpose.

Family Matters is a great example since it shifted its cast. The sitcom, which aired from 1989 to 1998, was a spinoff of Perfect Strangers that followed a middle-class Black family living in Chicago. The hit sitcom starred Reginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton, Darius McCrary, Kellie Williams, Jaimee Foxworth, Bryton McClure and Michelle Thomas.

Jaleel White joined Family Matters halfway through the first season.

“My performance was so well received during that initial episode that they began writing me into the next episode,” White recalled in his November 2024 memoir, Growing Up Urkel. “They even reshot new teasers for the season that featured me prominently, as if l’d been an original cast member all along.”

Revisiting the Most Short-Lived TV Shows of All Time

Meanwhile, Westworld writers enjoyed not being confined to a specific story line. (The dystopian show initially pulled inspiration from the 1973 film of the same name before evolving the story.)

“One of the fun things about me for the show, when [producer] Lisa [Joy] and I were talking about it way back when, was the ability of this show to shift genres every season, and the invitation to do it,” creator Jonathan Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2020. “We felt we had an open invitation to play around, especially in this moment where TV is reinventing itself constantly, to have a show that reinvents itself season after season.”

At the time, Nolan highlighted that the genre changed from one season to the next. “You have a Western, you have a samurai movie, you have war movies, you have science-fiction. There are all of the different versions of the future you have seen over the years in movies,” he added. “We get to play around with all of that, and make text of all of that. So the idea that next season will feel different and distinct in genre from the previous seasons? Yes, that’s absolutely part of the structure of the show.”

Keep scrolling for more shows that changed their premise between seasons:

‘Twin Peaks’ (ABC)

The Original Vision: The series, which ran from 1990 to 1991, followed an investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The series developed a cult following in part because of its campy storytelling — and creator David Lynch and Mark Frost‘s unique vision.

Where the Show Ended Up: According to Lynch, there was never any plan to reveal who killed Laura. But after the network forced the show to answer that mystery, Twin Peaks had to pivot to a larger conversation about good and evil.

TV Shows With Time Jumps: ‘Outer Banks,’ ‘Riverdale’ and More

‘Westworld’ (HBO)

The Original Vision: The season started out in a futuristic theme park with androids that look like humans staging a rebellion.

Where the Show Ended Up: As the show continued to air, the hosts were brought into the outside world and became integrated within human society.

‘iZombie’ (The CW)

The Original Vision: Based on a DC comic book series of the same name, iZombie was a take on a supernatural police procedural that had Liv Moore (Rose McIver) eating brains from people who were murdered to help the authorities figure out what happened to them.

Where the Show Ended Up: The third season introduced a major change when a zombie-run private military organization forced everyone in Seattle into a zombie state. As a result, Liv traded working at the morgue into a job where she smuggled people in and helped them complete their transformation into zombies.

‘Mom’ (CBS)

The Original Vision: The Chuck Lorre-produced sitcom originally introduced three generations of mothers. Anna Faris played Christy, who found out her teenage daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), was pregnant. While attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Christy ran into her estranged mother Bonnie (Allison Janney), who also battled substance abuse problems.

Where the Show Ended Up: Christy’s attempts to raise her two kids with Bonnie’s help quickly fizzled out. Instead, the show pivoted to Christy, Bonnie and their group of friends from AA. This dynamic shifted again when Farris left the series during season 8.

‘Riverdale’ (The CW)

The Original Vision: Based on the iconic Archie Comics, the teen drama initially focused on a group of friends who came together to uncover the dark secrets that existed within their town.

Where the Show Ended Up: Riverdale didn’t wait long to push boundaries with their storylines, which ranged from cults to killer board games to time travel.

Most Disappointing TV Finales of All Time: From 'HIMYM' to 'Game of Thrones'

‘Saved by the Bell’ (NBC)

The Original Vision: The first season of Saved by the Bell was actually titled Good Morning, Miss Bliss and starred Hayley Mills as a junior high school teacher navigating complicated situations with help from the students in her eighth grade class.

Where the Show Ended Up: Good Morning, Miss Bliss was ultimately retooled into Saved by the Bell, which changed the setting from Indianapolis to Los Angeles and recast many of the roles to focus on the students.

‘Scream Queens’ (Fox)

The Original Vision: The slasher series, which premiered in 2015, starred an ensemble cast that included Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Glen Powell and Keke Palmer. During the show’s first season, Scream Queens focused on members of the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority that were getting killed off by the mysterious Red Devil killer.

Where the Show Ended Up: Season 2 shook things up by having the satirical anthology introduce the Green Meanie that targeted a hospital and its staff — which included many of the cast members from the first season. Stars such as Kirstie Alley, Taylor Lautner, John Stamos and James Earl III rounded out the sophomore season.

‘Scrubs’ (NBC)

The Original Vision: Scrubs debuted in 2001 as a medical comedy focused on the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital. More specifically, it was about J.D.’s (Zach Braff) journey from naive med school grad to confident physician.

Where the Show Ended Up: After season 8, ABC renewed the show for a surprise season, which took Scrubs from a hospital to medical school.

‘Cougar Town’ (ABC)

The Original Vision: Created by Bill Lawrence in 2009, Cougar Town introduced Courteney Cox as a single mother named Jules who decided to get back into dating by spending time with men younger than her.

Where the Show Ended Up: Before the first scene was even over, Jules found love with her neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins) — who happened to be her own age. Cougar Town then pivoted to a show about a friend group in the fictional town of Gulfhaven, Florida. Since Cougar Town couldn’t change its title, the opening credits would usually suggest other options as a joke.

'Superman & Lois,' 'The Witcher' and More TV Shows That Recast Characters

‘Family Matters’ (ABC)

The Original Vision: Family Matters was a spinoff of ABC’s Perfect Strangers with Carl (VelJohnson) and Harriette (Payton) at the helm for the first few episodes.

Where the Show Ended Up: White joined Family Matters in 1989 — halfway through the first season — as the Winslows’ nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel. The role was only meant to last one episode, but Urkel became a breakout character that paved the way for White to join the main cast.

‘Kevin Can Wait’ (CBS)

The Original Vision: The sitcom, which premiered in 2016, initially followed a newly retired police officer Kevin (Kevin James), his wife Donna (Erinn Hayes) and their three kids. Kevin Can Wait showed Kevin and Donna navigating life after their daughter Kendra dropped out of college to support her new fiancé.

Where the Show Ended Up: Kevin Can Wait took a major risk when Hayes’ character was written off in between seasons. After killing Donna off, the show replaced Hayes with James’ former The King of Queens costar, Leah Remini, as the new female lead. While the first season centered on Kevin’s family life, the sophomore season had Kevin focusing on his new career, partnership with Vanessa (Remini) and life as a single parent.

Kevin Can Wait was canceled after two seasons and the outrage over Hayes’ shocking departure inspired AMC’s dramedy Kevin Can F**k Himself.