10 TV Shows That Killed Off Unhappy Actors
3. Jon Polito - Homicide: Life On The Street
Homicide: Life on the Streets is a cop-led drama on a level with The Wire and The Shield. Based on David Simon's book "Homicide: Life on the Killing Streets", the show's popularity has grown over time and cemented it as a cult classic praised for how well it appears to have aged.
On the show, Jon Polito played a cop called Steve Crosetti. In the role, Polito was fantastic and consistently believable, but there was a problem at NBC, who aired the show. They wanted more young actors and some stronger female characters before there could be a Season Three (Season Two was only four episodes long and the ratings were low), so they decided to get rid of Polito to make way for some fresh blood.
Polito, who was very passionate about his role and the show, was devastated by the news. Producer Tom Fontana promised he'd bring Polito back, but Polito didn't believe him and said to the media how little he trusted NBC and how they were ruining the show. In response, the sixth episode of Season Three saw Crosetti kill himself off-screen, and any chance of Polito coming back was crushed.
Polito admitted he had made a mistake, but of course it was too late. In Homicide: The Movie, he made a brief cameo appearance as Crosetti in a hallucination. His death shocked fans and Polito himself, but the show made went on to Season Seven without him.