Arrogant Stars Who Left Hit TV Shows To Watch Their Careers Tank

#1 The Real 'Not Ready For Prime Time' Players

Anyone remember Lecy Goranson, the first Becky on Roseanne? She quit the show to pursue bigger and better things, just like many other famous television actors who left hit shows in hopes of becoming an even bigger superstar on the big screen. Some television stars go on to have amazing careers, like George Clooney, but for the most part, others end up with a string of failed projects, making some of them wonder if leaving the popular series was the right decision. Here are some of the biggest career blunders made by TV actors, ever!

#2 Farrah Fawcett

Farrah Fawcett was propelled to fame and stardom for her sexy, yet kick-ass role as Jill Monroe in the 1970's TV series Charlie's Angels. She quit the super show after just one season, hoping to make it on the big screen, though she insisted it was to spend more time with hubby Lee Majors. A string of roles in movies like Cannonball Run never lifted her to the stardom she had hoped for, and she wound up doing made for TV movies. Her most notable project after Angels was The Burning Bed, a TV movie of the week.

#3 David Caruso

Caruso became a huge TV star playing Det. John Kelly in the hit ABC police drama "NYPD Blue," but bolted from the series in 1994 after just one season when the big screen called and he wanted more money to stay on the series. After angering loyal viewers and fans, his leading-man movie career never came to fruition after box-office flops like "Kiss of Death" and "Jade." He eventually came crawling back to television in 2002 to star in another long-running police drama, "CSI: Miami". He says he regrets leaving television and NYPD Blue. His departure from NYPD Blue is considered one of the top 10 biggest blunders on TV.

#4 Jason Alexander

When Jerry Seinfeld slipped and let the secret out of the bag on his podcast, nobody was surprised. The hit NBC sitcom, Seinfeld, ended in 1998 after nine seasons. For years it was announced that Jerry himself wanted to leave the show while it was still at the top of the ratings, and the fans never dismissed his case. However, it seems that now the show was halted due two of its stars, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, and Jason Alexander, asking to get out so they could accept lucrative movie offers. Louis-Dreyfuss has gone on to star in two hit series, and numerous other projects, but Alexander is not so lucky. After starring in movies like Duckman, he found himself back on TV doing failed sitcoms like Listen Up and Bob Patterson, and currently is doing small guest roles on other shows.

#5 Topher Grace

Topher Grace first made his way into fans' hearts with his portrayal of the lovable, geek Eric Forman in That 70's Show. He made fans roar with laughter as Eric, up until the seventh season, when he opted not to renew his contract as a series regular. His exit, along with co-star Ashton Kutcher's, saw the slow decline of the show's ratings. Grace went on to star as Venom in Spiderman 3 and had a few other movie roles, but he can't escape the fact that to the public, he'll always be known as Eric Forman.

#6 Shelley Long

Who would want to leave one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, after winning a slew of awards for one's role? That's what "Cheers" actress Shelley Long did in 1987, after five seasons of playing waitress Diane Chambers on NBCs 'Cheers'. To this day no one is actually certain why she left the series, but some say it was over arguing with other cast members and a dispute over salary. The fact remains that she was being courted by producers to star in various movies and could not accept them due to her busy schedule on the series. She's appeared in a bunch of largely forgettable movieslike Dr. T & the Women and the Brady Bunch filmsand one spectacular bomb: the sperm-donor comedy Frozen Assets, which Roger Ebert once called "perhaps the worst comedy ever made." But her most heinous offense: making Kirstie Alley a star. Since her character wasn't killed off, she returned for the finale to give her character some closure after six years of absence.

#7 Katherine Heigl

After making a few popular movies, like "Knocked Up" while still starring on ABCs mega drama Greys Anatomy, Heigl got too big for her britches. She made no effort to hide the fact that she wanted out of the series and even removed herself from nominations in the Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress, an award she had won the year previously for her role of Izzy Stevens. In the middle of Season 6, in which Heigl was still under contract, she reportedly failed to show up for work as scheduled and she and the producers came to a quick agreement to terminate her contract. This resulted in her character's abrupt departure from the storyline. After her departure, she has turned in forgettable lemons like "Killers," "Life as We Know It" and "One for the Money." Her attempted TV comeback, the 2015 NBC drama "State of Affairs," was canceled after one low-rated season. Fans still hold a grudge for leaving Greys and it seems when it comes to hated actresses, Katherine Heigl is just below Gwyneth Paltrow.

#8 Kelsey Grammer

After 20 years of playing the same character, it's not surprising that Kelsey Grammer has had a hard time doing anything else. The celebrity known for playing Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers and its spin-off Frasier was finally done with that role (except the occasional reprisal for a commercial) in 2004. He quit the show in its prime and since then, Grammer has attempted to find his way back into television through some directing, producing, and then acting again, but his shows have been canceled after a season or less. His latest contribution to the entertainment world has been his ex-wife, who stars on the reality show Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and another short-lived sitcom.

#9 T.R. Knight

Another Greys Anatomy alum, T.R. Knight decided to leave the show after he thought that writer and creator Shonda Rhimes was short-changing him in the storyline department. He portrayed Dr George O'Malley and was the fans favourite character at the time. When his on screen time was cut to a minimum to make way for other characters, he felt slighted and told the cast he had trust issues with Rhimes. Instead of talking about the changes, he asked to be released from his contract on the show, and Rhimes was happy to have George get hit by a bus! He later claimed that the crew and Rhimes were against him because he is gay, and roles did not pour in for the actor. He recently had a stint on Broadway in 'A Life in the Theatre'.

#10 Jessica Biel

Jessica Biel got her big break in the long-running family show 7th Heaven, which dragged on for 11 seasons. In 2003, when Biel realized she was more attractive than the rest of her co-stars, physically and to directors, she jumped ship to pursue a movie career. She's been mildly successful and appeared in a number of wide-release films like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and The A-Team, but she's still as forgettable as ever. At least when she was on 7th Heaven, she stood out as the star. Now she fades into the background whenever she's on screen with another actor. Her biggest recent success was dating musician-turned-actor Justin Timberlake, and even that is apparently over now.

#11 Joe Piscopo

In the early '80s when people worried that Saturday Night Live would die after the original cast left, a few comedians resurrected the sketch comedy show. Standing beside Eddie Murphy, funny man Joe Piscopo brought memorable characters and laughs to the show's set. The two of them left SNL in 1984 to pursue careers in the movie business, and one of them made it. Hint: it wasn't Piscopo. Piscopo acted in a couple of terrible films, like Johnny Dangerously and Sidekicks, before becoming nothing more than a punchline because of his alleged steroid addiction. You're more likely to hear his name in a Simpsons joke today than see it in the credits of a movie.

#12 McLean Stevenson

More than 105 million people watched the "M*A*S*H" finale in 1983, but Stevenson wasn't in that episode, having asked to be let out of his contract in 1975 after playing No. 2 to Alan Alda's Hawkeye, something he felt was below his talents. Not only was being second fiddle too much for him to handle but also co-star, Wayne Rogers, who would make an unhappy exit himself not too long after Stevenson's. Stevenson paid the price for his decision, though. Because of the drama he caused on the set of what became one of TVs best comedies ever, his character was killed off so he could never return. His later projects, "The McLean Stevenson Show," (1976-77), "In the Beginning" (1978), "Hello, Larry" (1979-80) and "Condo" (1983) were critically panned and short-lived.

#13 Shannen Doherty

Shannen Doherty is notorious for being difficult to work with. She had a great thing going when she was chosen to play Brenda Walsh in the wildly popular 1990's hit show, Beverly Hills 90210. She received a Young Artist Award nomination for her role and garnered a huge fan base as the show continued to soar through the ratings. However, due to her not-so-delectable behavior and attitude, producers decided to slowly ease the character off the show. They sent Brenda to London indefinitely. History repeated itself when she was playing Prue Halliwell in the hit show Charmed. The character was killed off in the third season purportedly due to tensions between Doherty and co-star, Alyssa Milano. After a spot on Dancing With The Stars, she announced she was fighting a battle with cancer.