6 Insane TV Show Plotlines That Were Abandoned

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Vince Gilligan revealed that Breaking Bad almost took a very different turn, and while it's hard to imagine a darker ending than, well, you know, we're at least lucky Saul and Jesse made it out okay. Apparently, they were both slated to be killed off at various points in the show and were only saved by their popularity with Breaking Bad fans.

Much like raising a child, writing a TV show means letting your creation take on a life of its own. Even though it often feels like the creators of great shows know exactly what they're doing, they tend to be making it up as they go along, accommodating network demands, changing schedules and air dates, and even making edits based on fan theories as they arise.

It's lucky, then, that we live in the age of the Internet, when TV show creators like Vince Gilligan interact openly with their show's fans, take time out to address fan theories, and even reveal all sorts of juicy plot lines that wound up on the cutting room floor.

In light of these Breaking Bad revelations, let's take a look at other beloved TV shows that could have been completely different if they'd gone in the direction the creator had intended.

Sam Evans Was Supposed to be Gay

When Sam Evans was introduced on Glee, he was meant to be Kurt's eventual love interest. Chord Overstreet's chemistry with co-star Dianna Agron caused the show's writers to reverse course, and Blaine became Kurt's beau instead.

Tobias Was Supposed to be African-American

A running gag on Arrested Development alludes to the fact that Tobias is actually an albino black man —the reveal was actually pretty well set-up, but the show was cancelled before it could happen.

Jack Was Supposed to Die in the Pilot

Out of all of the abandoned storylines from Lost , none would have changed the storyline more than the one where Jack is killed by the Smoke Monster in the pilot. But when Matthew Fox was cast in the role, the show's creative team loved him too much to let him go so quickly.

Scrubs' Janitor Wasn't Supposed to be Real

If you watch the first few seasons, the Janitor never interacts with any characters besides J.D.— a long-con set-up to the fact that the Janitor was supposed to only exist in J.D.'s mind. The reveal was abandoned when actor Neil Flynn convinced the writers to let him interact with other characters. They decided to never name him anyway.

Joey and Monica Were Supposed to be Together

When Friends was conceived, the couple at the center of the show wasn't meant to be Ross and Rachel, or even Monica and Chandler, but rather... Joey and Monica? It's hard to imagine now, but Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc's takes on their characters eventually put the kibosh on any sort of romantic entanglement. It could have been a lot of fun, but Monica and Chandler were perfect for each other.

Images: NBC; Mashable.com, giphy.com