There are some crazy popular TV shows out there. There are also some big characters from those TV shows that have gone on to become fan favorites. But there are also plenty of other characters as well that have fallen into a long hole of forgotten characters that we still can barely remember. So today, we'll get into some of the most obvious.
Heath (The Walking Dead)
It would be a crime if I didn't include Heath on this list. In all eleven seasons of The Walking Dead, I have never seen a character more forgotten than Heath. He seemed important, but then, after one bad zombie run, we literally never see him again and don't even know if he's alive or dead. There was some solution later, one where we found out Jadis traded him over to the Commonwealth, but that came years later.
Mark Brendanawicz (Parks And Recreation)
The Parks and Recreation cast is filled to the brim with talented stars and great characters, but one who was part of the main cast in Season 1 was Mark Brendanawicz. He was actually a love interest for Leslie and Ann, but he instantly left in Season 2 because he had an epiphany. And we never saw him again.
Sunshine Corazon (Glee)
There have been many characters on Glee who have come and gone from the limelight, but one I have to point out is Sunshine Corazon. She is a transfer student who dared threaten Rachel's spotlight in Season 2 of the show, so much so that Rachel tricked Corazon into going to a crack house. We saw Corazon one more time in the show before, but we never heard from her again despite her killer vocals.
John Bennett (Orange Is The New Black)
It felt like during the first few seasons of Orange Is The New Black, we would find a way for John Bennett to stick around. Eventually, he ends up leaving Daya and their baby alone when he has cold feet. And then we literally never hear about him again. I mean, the Orange Is The New Black cast was still stellar without him, but he just up and left.
Lincoln (The 100)
I really do love The 100 and think it's one of the best shows to binge if you want a series that you have no idea where it's going to go next. But sometimes, I forget the times when the series was grounded, and Octavia fell for a man named Lincoln, who taught her everything about being a Grounder – only for him to be executed a few seasons later and spurring her into the fighter she becomes. But I feel that we all forgot about him, right?
Nicole (Zoey 101)
It's really a sad story about what happened to the actress behind Nicole in Zoey 101, and I stand by her in what she has done standing up to the wrong situations behind the scenes at Nickelodeon. But that doesn't change the fact that her character, Nicole, was also completely forgotten in the show. Out of all the characters in the series, she didn't have much of a story and ended up getting written out entirely as the show went on.
Cathay Simms (The Office)
While Jim and Pam are certainly the most significant relationships in The Office, there have been plenty of other women in Jim's life. One of those was Cathay Simms, a young woman who tried to sleep with him on a business trip, but the trip itself fell apart. However, even when they get back to Scranton, she is literally never seen again.
Simon (The Walking Dead)
I might get some flack for this, but I swear, on my rewatch of The Walking Dead, I forgot Simon even existed until I saw him again. I think the main reason is that Negan became such a tremendous character that most of his followers felt like complete background people, even when some of them – like Simon – played essential roles in the plot. He was killed anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Ames (The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air)
While Tyra Banks has gone on to appear in plenty of movies and TV shows, she made her acting debut in Season 4 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where she played Jackie, a friend of Will's from childhood. Their romantic chemistry is off the charts. Still, after a bad night of partying and her fed up with Will's behavior, she leaves. From then on, Jackie is not a part of the show anymore.
Scott Rosson (Gossip Girl)
Yeah, what happened with this? It felt like the fact that Dan and Serena had a half-brother was such a massive part of Gossip Girl for a bit, and then he just vanished without a trace. They even had a family reunion, but it's pretty much never brought up again. Like, how do you forget about a half-brother?
Abby Day (New Girl)
Believe it or not, Jessica Day has a sister—Abby Day, who the lovely Linda Cardellini played. We saw her once, and then we legitimately never saw her again during the series, which is pretty surprising because New Girl has some good consistency with a lot of its characters.
Santiago Herrera (Friday Night Lights)
This is another case of someone just vanishing from a TV show. He was a major recurring character in Season 2 of Friday Night Lights and had a pretty good story, but then he just vanished the next season. Legit, no one knows what happened to his character.
Frank Jr. (Friends)
Remember when Phoebe from the Friends cast got pregnant for her half-brother, Frank Jr.? Yeah, I barely did, too, but that did happen. Frank Jr. seemed like he was going to be a bigger part of the overall story, but then, after she gave birth to the triplets in the one-hundredth episode, we really don't see him or his family that often again.
Olivia Burke (Gossip Girl)
There are a lot of random people I forgot guest-starred in Gossip Girl, and one of those was Hilary Duff, who played Olivia Burke. The character was only there for six episodes, which explains why we forgot about her so quickly, but when looking back, it really feels like she should have been part of a bigger Gossip Girl cast. She was a good addition.
Robin Sylvester (Glee)
Sue had a daughter.
Yeah, that's right, I'll tell you again – Sue Sylvestor had a daughter, whom she named after her deceased sister, and then we rarely ever see her again—a baby. Don't even try to pretend you remembered because I sure as heck didn't.
Detective Daniels (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Alright, while what happened to Detective Daniels isn't that surprising, it's still a good thing to point out. This character was introduced in the pilot of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but we never see her again after. This isn't the first time a show has cut people out from the pilot, but still, a character that we totally forgot about.
Tara (The Walking Dead)
Out of any forgettable character on The Walking Dead, Tara is one that stuck around for several seasons, and I still needed to remember her. Maybe it was because her stories felt like they were pushed far in the background in comparison to what else we were all going through, but man, every time I've rewatched this show, I always forget that she becomes a decently big character.
Tori Scott (Saved By The Bell)
Tori was a new character introduced to Saved By The Bell in her later years. While she made friends with the group and even dated two boys, she was gone ten episodes later and is barely mentioned again.
Matt Rutherford (Glee)
The Glee cast is endless, and it feels like there are always new characters coming and going, but man, everyone forgets about Matt Rutherford. He was a background character in Glee in the first season, and there were so many other crazy characters there that it's honestly not that surprising he was just gone in Season 2. We will always remember to forget you, Matt.
Charles Miner (The Office)
I swear to God, every time I watch The Office, I always, always forget that Idris Elba guest-starred. He's a new VP for Dunder Mifflin, and he doesn't get along with Michael at all. While he was hilarious on the show, it wasn't enough for his character to last super long and be memorable.
Ben Geller (Friends)
I remember back in Friends Season 1, it was a big deal that Ross was going to have a baby with his ex-wife, but then we barely got to see him throughout the show. Thankfully, we did see him grow up a little when young Cole Sprouse played him, but before then, it was like Ben Geller never even happened.
Dani (Glee)
As a young bisexual woman, seeing Dani on Glee basically altered my state of mind. I wished she had stayed on the show forever because she and Santana seemed like a power couple with their voices. However, Dani (and Demi Lovato) ended up not staying on the show for long—and inevitably, Santana went back to Brittany anyway.
Isaac Lahey (Teen Wolf)
These teen supernatural dramas are filled to the brim with characters that just come and go all the time, and one to point out is Isaac Lahey, a student at the primary school of the franchise who was there and then just not the following season.
Ruby Lucas (Once Upon A Time)
Ruby is a character that seemed like she was going to have a big part in Once Upon a Time, but as any fan of this show knows, more and more storylines began to converge and push out other ones that could have been great, and Ruby's was sadly one of them. Eventually, she does get her happy ending, but no one ever really remembers her that much now.
Tina Pinacotti (That ‘70s Show)
Remember that Donna had a little sister? Yeah, I didn't either. We see Donna's supposed little sister, Tina, in an episode about a party, but then we never hear from her again after that episode. And then, we see Donna say several episodes later that she's an only child, so that got retconned.
Chuck Cunningham (Happy Days)
For those who have watched Happy Days, you might remember Chuck Cunningham, the brother of Richie and Joanie. However, he ended up becoming a background character and then vanishing altogether.
Morales (The Walking Dead)
We see Morales one other time in The Walking Dead besides Season 1 of the show, where we watch him leave the leading group with his family. And then, when he suddenly shows up as part of Negan's crew, he's killed by Daryl. Why bring him back to die? Ridiculous.
Mutt Schitt (Schitt's Creek)
Alexis from the Schitt's Creek cast has certainly had her fair share of love interests, and one of those was Mutt Schitt. That fling ended up fading away just as quickly as it began, and then soon, he was gone—which is honestly a shame because he was pretty funny.
Isla (Succession)
The Succession cast is so talented, and the characters have so much depth. One of those that continued to grow over the course of its four seasons is Roman Roy. But do you remember that in Season 1, he had both a wife and a daughter? Her name was Isla (the daughter), and yeah, we legit never heard about this little girl, like, ever.
Cooper Anderson (Glee)
Blaine had a brother who Matt Bomer played, and they actually had some sick duets on the show. But yet again, we legitimately never see him again. He was actually a great addition and really gave Blaine a kick in the butt to become better at singing (even though he already was), but we don't even see him in the finale or anything.
Otis (The Walking Dead)
There are plenty of The Walking Dead deaths that are pretty much forgotten about, and one of them, hands down, has to be Otis. One of the farmhands on Hershel's farm, Otis, is devoured by zombies thanks to Shane leaving him behind. We only saw him for a few episodes, and he was never mentioned again.
Ken Tanaka (Glee)
Ken Tanaka was the former coach of the football team at McKinley and was engaged to Emma. However, after suffering a nervous breakdown, he's gone from the show, and Coach Beiste takes his place. We never see him again after Season 1, despite him playing a big role in the first season.
Did any of these picks stir your memory? They certainly stirred mine—and now I have to rewatch all these shows to see them all again.