9 Stars From This Season’s Canceled Shows We Hope Get Hired ASAP
The silver lining to all the recent TV series cancellations is that big talent is back on the Hollywood job market. From procedural stalwarts to comedy pros to drama veterans, these actors gave it their all on broadcast series that didn’t make it past the 2023–2024 season. Those losses are in-development TV shows’ gains, though, if casting agents know what’s good for them! Here are the actors we need back on our screens stat.
NCIS: Hawai‘i’s Yasmine Al-Bustami
After more than a decade of indie films and guest-starring TV parts, Al-Bustami hit the big time as junior agent Lucy Tara on NCIS: Hawai‘i. That procedural was cut short, much to the dismay of its cast and fans, but we have a feeling Al-Bustami’s career is just getting going.
So Help Me Todd’s Skylar Astin
We’ve been watching Astin since he hit the right notes in Pitch Perfect and then starred in the short-lived TV series Ground Floor, Graves, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and now Todd. Soon he’ll headline a series that lasts longer than two seasons, and we’ll be glad when he does.
Station 19’s Barrett Doss
And “pitch perfect” is exactly how we’d describe Doss’ comic timing as Vic Hughes on Station 19. (This is an actor, after all, who made her screen debut in the 30 Rock series finale.) If that firefighter drama is truly over — for reasons we still don’t understand — then we can’t wait to see what Doss does next.
CSI: Vegas’ Marg Helgenberger
Helgenberger starred in 12 seasons of the original CSI but only two of its ill-fated reboot. But she’s been making a scene, so to speak, on the small screen ever since 1988, when she started her Emmy-winning run on China Beach. Any TV production would be lucky to have her.
Walker’s Jared Padalecki
The demise of Walker means that this Supernatural alum might be off the airwaves for the first TV season in nearly two decades. Walker gave the Padalecki the chance to put on not just a cowboy hat but a producer’s hat, too; perhaps he’ll executive-produce his way back on to television.
Quantum Leap’s Mason Alexander Park
Park is an award-winning theater actor who lit up the West End as the emcee in Cabaret while starring as Ian Wright on Quantum Leap (and not long after playing Desire in The Sandman). Now that Quantum Leap has leapt, TV producers would be well-advised to snap Park up before theater producers do.
Not Dead Yet’s Gina Rodriguez
Rodriguez charmed us (and Golden Globe voters) from the jump on Jane the Virgin, so we’ll follow her wherever her career takes her. Lately, that’s been Not Dead Yet, on which she played ghost-spying obituary writer Nell Serrano. But now, the demise of that show means Rodriguez can pursue bigger and better projects.
The Good Doctor’s Richard Schiff
Playing the caring and fatherly Dr. Aaron Glassman on The Good Doctor gave this Emmy-winning actor his longest-running role since The West Wing, to all of our benefit. We’d love to see him shake off those good-natured, soft-spoken parts and play a TV character as villainous as his character in the video game God of War Ragnarök.
Extended Family’s Abigail Spencer
Soaps (All My Children), crime shows (Angela’s Eyes), action-adventure series (Timeless), legal dramas (Suits), medical dramas (Grey’s Anatomy) and sitcoms (Extended Family)… Is there anything Spencer can’t do? We know she’ll be back on another television show — in some genre — pronto.
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