When death strikes

“I enjoy life when things are happening. I don’t care if it’s good things or bad things. That means you’re alive. Things are happening,” Joan Rivers.

With the recent death of Joan Rivers questions remained pending, the main one being whether or not Fashion Police would continue and if so, who would replace the icon? Thankfully, the network announced that the show will be back with two of the original hosts and two new ones. Comedian Kathy Griffin will replace Joan Rivers. The death of a character during an on-going production affects the show in which they are appearing. In many cases, the show will handle the death by writing them off or recasting their part, but especially in cases where the deceased is the star, the show may be cancelled.

With the likes of Heath Ledger the Batman star to Paul Walker of the Fast and Furious franchise, who both died during production, the shows were deeply affected but continue to run. Veteran actor Robin Williams of Mrs Doubtfire had voiced several animated series that were still in production when he died.

Some of the international shows that have been affected in the past include:

The Royal Family After a successful run with the show Sanford & Son in the 1970s, Redd Fox tried out other comedy series but none ever recaptured the success of years gone by, until The Royal Family came calling. After CBS had bought the show for 15 episodes, the show had to be cut short after Foxx suffered a heart attack during the show’s rehearsal on October 11, 1991, with some of his co-stars thinking he was kidding by replaying his character in Sanford & Son, who always pretended to have a heart attack.

8 SIMPLE RULES John Ritter famously known for his role as Paul Hennessy in the comedy series died of a heart attack back in 2003 after filming one full season. He played the dad who was overly protective of his two daughters and had ‘8 rules’ which every guy who wanted to date one of his daughters would have to follow. His death happened while the series was still in production and therefore, his character was ‘killed’ in a subsequent episode. His role was recast and James Garner replaced him but for a short while because it had low ratings and eventually the show got cancelled.

GLEE Cory Monteith, popularly known as Finn Hudson in the show Glee, died due to a alcohol and heroin overdose while the show was still in production. He played a high school jock that was forced to join the glee club but later came to love it. Lea Michele his off-screen and on-screen girlfriend together with his mother talked about how he struggled with alcohol and drug abuse for years. His character was killed off in a special tribute episode without specifying the exact cause. Monteith was described by his fellow cast mates as being authentic, talented and dedicated to his work.

BERNIE MAC SHOW Bernie Mac went into cardiac arrest and died in 2008. He appeared in many productions including Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve and the Bernie Mac show. The show was cancelled after 5 seasons. Bernie Mac was known for his stand-up comedy and his acting.

Local shows are also affected by the sudden death of a character. Some may have been playing the main role and others supporting, but they all affect the production in one way or another.

JASTORINA Nancy Nyambura played the hilarious house help in the series bringing great ratings to the network. She died after a long battle with meningitis. She had just won the prestigious 2014 Kalasha Award for Best Actress at the time of her death. The show went on hiatus after her death.

E-NEWS KENYA The entertainment show on Kiss TV was a go-to place for celeb gossip. Ruhila Adatia Sood was the show host but was killed in the Westgate attack. With her sultry voice and juicy celeb gossip, she increased the show’s ratings. She also presented entertainment news on Kiss 100 and X-FM. New hosts later replaced Ruhila and E News continues to grow.

MOTHER-IN-LAW Beth Mbaya who acted as Wanade on the TV show Mother-in-Law died while the show was still in production. Her great acting on the show brought a lot of laughs because she nailed the role. Despite her death, production continued but with her memory was honoured. She made the show interesting and brought a different aspect to it.