10 Best Actor Replacements On TV Shows

Jennifer Lien portrayed telepathic alien Kes throughout the first three seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, yet she was promptly written out of the show early in season four due to Lien suffering with unspecified personal issues which prevented her from performing.

This resulted in a new female character, former Borg drone Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), being introduced at the start of the season, effectively serving as Kes' replacement.

Many fans decried Kes' departure given the intriguing potential of her character, and initially felt that the tightly-dressed Seven of Nine was overtly sexualised in an insultingly pandering fashion.

Yet to Voyager's credit, they worked hard to make Seven a nuanced and compelling character beyond the obvious superficial appeal, while also revising her attire to be less revealing.

This, combined with Jeri Ryan's terrific performance in the role, allowed Seven to graduate into a fan-favourite character.

Given that Kes had a limited lifespan anyway - with the Ocampa species only living an average of nine years - it's tough to decry the replacement much, especially as Ryan's performance is ultimately so much more commanding and memorable than Lien's.