The Real Reason Eric Forman Was Replaced On That 70s Show

That 70's Show was a staple in households for 8 Years. But in that 8th year we lost our main character, Eric Forman. That 70's Show never recovered from Eric's departure. Even the introduction to a new character, Randy, couldn't save the dwindling audience numbers.

#That70sShow #EricForman #Nerdstlagic

Writer - Chris Teregis
Editor - Dan Smiley

[Nerdstalgic]

Who was fired or replaced on a show that we should dive into next?

[martino]

I like how they all just kept hanging out at Erics house even after he left

[Frigidevil]

The worst part about Randy wasn't just that they tried to slide him in as an Eric replacement. It's that he immediately starts dating Donna and they continue hanging out in Eric's house!! Like damn, no wonder Kitty was so cold to Donna.

[WaddIes]

Topher Grace was the only normal actor working on the show and the only one who didnt give into scientology

[LlibertarianGalt]

Absolute joke they continued without his character. He didn't make the show on his own but without him they didn't have a show.

[trinaq]

They tried to use Randy to replace both Eric and Kelso, despite the two characters being drastically different. Big mistake, huge!

[sataniagidney]

One note since you mentioned “no drama”: Topher Grace was noted as often feeling excluded by the other 3 male leads by production staff and producers. Masterson, Kutcher, and Valderrama were genuinely close friends on and off set. They literally opened a bar and restaurant together. Grace wasn’t really involved in those relationships.

Grace often feeling left out by his costars, minus Prepon who he built a close relationship with due to being in so many scenes together. It wasn’t active hazing or conflict so technically not drama related, but when you have someone who already wants to branch outside of their work and then add in a sense of not belonging or being “othered”, then it makes a lot of sense why Grace left the show.

[fazormcghee]

I forgot how hilarious Eric was. King of sarcasm.

[YoungBlaze]

Short story: he wasnt fired, wasnt cancelled, he was ready to do other things

[hunterhudgens]

Give it a few more decades and make a show called “that 2000’s show.” Where Eric becomes the new red Forman

Edit: it’s been over a year, and still, almost daily I get a reply telling me there’s a reboot.

[pahvi]

I'm happy you addressed the reality that despite not being a huge movie star a-lister, Topher Grace is more or less where he maybe wanted to be to begin with. Sometimes I get annoyed by how the media (and perhaps people in general) pretends that anything but becoming a household name in Hollywood is a career failure.

[SashaElle]

I never seen any of the episodes without Topher 😂

[lfgmets]

Even though he might not be the most popular afterwards from the show because everybody else got so famous til the day I die I will always say I think he’s the best actor on the show The way his mannerisms are and how he actually acts like with a kid back then it’s just really really good I don’t think there’s anybody else in the world I could’ve played Eric Foreman better than Topher Grace

[nacoran]

If Donna had left with Eric they might have been able to keep the series going, but the whole series was about their romance. They 'betrayed' that romance. They could have inserted a new couple, or moved the focus to other characters. It's too bad they wrote Donna's sister out after one episode. Having younger siblings ready to move into the lead rolls as older ones moved away could have been a way to more organically preserve the show.

[harrisonmccartney]

It's never been more apparent how casting the right people can pay off tremendously. Topher Grace as Eric brought a timid, do-the-right-thing personality to the cast alongside the rebellious but down-to-earth Hyde, the clueless but popular Kelso, the slow but clever Fez, the spoiled brat Jackie, and the cynical but uplifting Donna. They're such wildly different characters, and yet their personalities compliment each other because they each have different perspectives that enlighten each other to what they're missing behind their own view of the world. Randy, by comparison, just doesn't belong. He's basically another Kelso, but since Kelso fills the role of being a dumb ladies' man, Randy has nothing else to offer. While Kelso manages to still be lovable despite his narcissism and flagrant misogyny, Randy is just an out of place jackass. It's not even that he was forced into the show to replace Eric; had they started the series with him, it would have been an entirely different show, and the chemistry of these wildly disparate personalities would be ever so slightly wrong because there's a duplicate of Kelso's unique perspective in the mix.

[adamhbrennan]

TLDW: Topher Grace just wanted to do other things. Nothing “weird” or interesting about it.

[larissaorozco]

They also changed so much at once donna other half is missing and after 5 episodes is already dating someone else. They build up Jackie and Hyde relationship just to have them break up and over it in 2 episodes. Hyde is married and over Jackie in 2 episodes. Red and Kitty were great on the show but the purpose of why all these above 18 year Olds are still in thier basement didn't make a whole lot of sense. Ashton Kutcher was a nice guy and tried to stay and help them transition but still felt worse when he left.

[nicolewhite]

I respect that. And yeah he's not a huge name but still recognizable when you see him in anything where he has a cameo like in Workaholics

[marssj]

Good for Eric. He's not a Hollywood superstar but he's a recognizable figure.

[EnergeticEskimo]

The WEIRD reason why he left: to persue his career like a normal adult