27 Times TV Shows Got Rid Of Characters Then Pretended Like They Never Even Existed

    Looking at you, Degrassi and Saved by the Bell.

    by
    Kelly Martinez
    by Kelly Martinez

    BuzzFeed Staff

    ,
    Hannah Marder
    by Hannah Marder

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Look, characters leave TV shows all the time. They get sent on a bus, go off to college, or die. But every once in a while, characters will literally just...inexplicably vanish into thin air.

    E!

    Here are 27 teen characters who basically disappeared and were rarely (if ever) mentioned again.

    Spoilers ahead!!

    1. Kendra, Terri, Dave, Wesley, Leia, and Arlene from Degrassi: The Next Generation

    CTV, TeenNick

    To be fair, a lot of the actors simply wanted to move on. But honestly, Degrassi was still the worst with this. The Degrassi Black Hole has more victims than I can list!

    2. And Darcy and Tori from Degrassi: The Next Generation

    Darcy on the left, Tori on the right
    CTV / TeenNick

    Darcy moved to Africa "for a semester" and then was just never seen again, even though her younger sister Clare became a main character on the show. Tori's family was said to have randomly moved away but then everyone just seemed to forget she ever existed??

    3. Also, Snake and Spike's son Jack from Degrassi: The Next Generation

    Jack Simpson as a toddler
    CTV

    Spike gradually disappeared from the show as Emma got older but Jack just straight up hasn't been seen since he was a toddler. Is he okay? Is Snake feeding him?

    4. Lindsay from The O.C.

    Lindsay and Ryan
    Warner Bros / Everett Collection

    She didn't even show up to Caleb's funeral and everyone, even her own sister, pretty much forgot she existed.

    5. Zach and Alex from The O.C.

    Alex on the left, Zach on the right
    FOX

    Both characters were there to briefly play love interests, then just vanished after Season 2. 

    6. Aria's brother, Mike, from Pretty Little Liars

    Mike and Aria
    Freeform

    He didn't even come back for his sister's wedding! (Though TBH, we can't blame him.)

    7. The father of Adrianna's baby Ty from 90210

    father of adrianna's baby
    The CW

    He showed up to the hospital to sign the adoption papers and then was just never heard from again.

    8. Lane's boyfriend Dave from Gilmore Girls

    dave in gilmore girls looking confused
    The WB

    We know Adam Brody left for The O.C., but we still wish Dave and Lane had ended up together!

    9. Sheri from 13 Reasons Why

    Sheri and Clay making out
    Netflix

    Honestly, Seasons 3 and 4 would have been so much better if she had stayed. She and Clay had chemistry!

    10. Tim from One Tree Hill

    Tim and Nathan steal the school bus in the pilot
    The WB

    He was introduced as Nathan's best friend in Season 1, then just kind of faded away. He did briefly appear in a Season 5 episode, which was cute.

    11. Jessie's stepbrother Eric from Saved by the Bell

    Jessie and Eric
    NBC

    He was only in, like, one episode?

    12. Kelly and Jessie from Saved by the Bell

    kelly and jessie looking at eachother
    NBC

    To be fair, they did make an appearance for graduation but they still disappeared for a bizarre length of time.

    13. All of the parents on Elite (except for Ander and Rebe's moms)

    Omar hugs his dad goodbye at the airprort
    Netflix

    Season 4 didn't feature any of them! Omar and Nadia's parents, Guzmán's parents, Cayetana's mom, Ander's dad... Where did they go??

    14. Vanessa from Party of Five (2020)

    Emilio and Vanessa hooking up
    Freeform

    She was there as a waitress and Emilio's girlfriend for the first half of the season, then just completely dipped after she and Emilio broke up. I mean, I don't blame her, but still! 

    15. Scott, Serena and Dan's half brother, from Gossip Girl

    Scott talking to Rufus
    The CW

    There was a multi-episode subplot involving Lily and Rufus's love child. He comes back into their lives for their wedding and then is literally never mentioned again, despite having a romantic subplot with Vanessa.

    16. Ethan from 90210

    Ethan in the halls
    The CW

    Alright, so they do technically explain this one, saying he leaves for Montana...but afterward, Silver is still texting him, leading to her breakup with Dixon. And then he's literally just never mentioned or seen again.

    17. Danny from Teen Wolf

    Danny talking to Ethan
    MTV

    Danny was in the first few seasons and became a fan favorite. When he was last seen, he admitted that he knew about werewolves and then we never saw him again, not even in the finale! Even though they brought back Ethan, his love interest, for the finale! Ugh.

    18. Aaron Rose, Serena's boyfriend and Blair's stepbrother, from Gossip Girl

    Aaron
    The CW

    I mean, thank god he left, because he's one of the most boring characters of all time. But he goes off on vacation with Serena, and then that's basically it. Serena briefly mentions they broke up in the next episode — but Aaron is literally Blair's stepbrother and he's never mentioned again.

    19. Robin, Sue's baby, from Glee

    Sue holding Robin
    Fox

    She was only seen, like, twice after being born and then was mentioned a grand total of five times in the last two seasons of the show. Sue was a single mom and a main character — how did we never seen her baby?? Was she still around?

    20. Donna’s sisters Tina and Valerie on That '70s Show

    Tina
    Fox

    Okay, so Valerie never appeared — she was only mentioned. But Donna's younger sister Tina actually appeared in an episode! Fez tried to hit on her! And then later, Donna was suddenly an only child. 

    21. Jesse, Xander’s best friend, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

    jesse looking upset
    The WB

    So Jesse did die onscreen, but that doesn't excuse him LITERALLY NEVER BEING MENTIONED AGAIN. Xander is one of three main characters and his other best friend (who was clearly friends with Willow, too) maybe warrants, I don't know, like, one or two mentions in later episodes?? Xander literally killed him!

    22. Jamie, Bonnie's adoptive stepbrother from The Vampire Diaries

    Jamie raising his hand
    The CW

    It looked like they were going to make Jamie a real love interest for Bonnie, but then he just disappeared. He was cute, too!

    23. Minkus and Mr. Turner from Boy Meets World

    Touchstone Television / courtesy Everett Collection

    Minkus was a major supporting character in Season 1, then just didn't seem to exist in Season 2. Similarly, Mr. Turner was a big character in Seasons 2–4, then disappeared. Playing off this, the show did have Minkus return on graduation day and make a joke about his absence, saying he was in another part of the school the whole time with Mr. Turner.

    24. Mikayla, Hannah's rival from Hannah Montana

    Mikayla on the phone
    Disney Channel

    Not only was Mikayla Hannah's rival, but she also becomes friends with Miley. Except then she's never seen again.

    25. Gigi, the mean girl from Wizards of Waverly Place

    Gigi at school
    Disney Channel

    She was this big mean girl in Seasons 1 and 2, then she just disappeared. Her friends/cronies were never seen again either.

    26. Waverly and Santiago from Friday Night Lights

    NBC

    Smash and Waverly were still dating when Waverly last appeared. Then, it's like she never even existed. Same with Santiago. He was gone for Season 3 and to my memory was never mentioned again, despite being a major character in Season 2.

    27. And finally, Pete Wentz from One Tree Hill

    Pete talking to Peyton on a wooden swing bench
    The WB

    We realize Pete Wentz is a real person who still exists but his tenure as a character on One Tree Hill ended abruptly and without explanation, and Peyton dating a literal celebrity was never mentioned again. She was supposed to go visit him, then used the ticket to visit Jake instead and we never heard from him again.