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From rock gods to respected actors, these celebrities traded their edge for primetime fame! Join us as we explore those who shocked fans by taking a surprising step down on the small screen. Our countdown features everything from reality TV pioneers to movie stars who settled for sitcom safety!
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00:00There's someone else here. Here is Jason's friend, Eric.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the distinguished actors,
00:10filmmakers, and personalities who most shockingly took a step down on the small screen.
00:14My mouth is willing, but the rest of me is too numb to cooperate. Honey, are you sure?
00:18I mean, are you really sure?
00:19How is it?
00:22Number 10, Ozzy Osbourne.
00:24What is this that's dead before me?
00:32Heavy Metal's first frontman took the sound and lifestyle of hard rock to diabolical heights with Black Sabbath.
00:38As Ozzy Osbourne's solo career saw him clean up his act, at least offstage,
00:42fans embraced the novelty of his and wife Sharon's family image.
00:45Times have changed, and times are strange. Here I come, but I ain't the same.
00:52The tune changed when MTV expanded their bizarre episode of Cribs.
00:56The Osbournes humorously, and often wholesomely, chronicled the personal life of the Prince of Darkness,
01:01who was naturally condemned for taking the artless route of reality TV.
01:04Dead.
01:06Dead.
01:07Dead.
01:09Dead.
01:12Dead.
01:14Dead.
01:14The show's massive success wound up pioneering the genre's celebrity family format,
01:18while Osbourne continued to play up his less morbid eccentricities in the media.
01:22There's no denying the absurdity of this rebrand, or that it made us love Osbourne even more.
01:27I've been a fan for a long time.
01:28It was the first concert I ever saw.
01:30Grand Funk Railroad opened up for you guys.
01:32At the Forum.
01:33Yeah, 71 that was.
01:35Absolutely.
01:36Greatest show.
01:37Number 9, David Caruso.
01:39An officer and a gentleman, king of New York,
01:41and other esteemed movies relegated David Caruso to the status of character actor.
01:45I thought we were what's right.
01:48I thought the law counted for something.
01:51But this whole system favors the scumbag.
01:55He earned more clout on cop shows,
01:57before heading the first two seasons of the groundbreaking NYPD Blue.
02:00The stage was set for a bright career as a leading man,
02:03but not the track record.
02:04You're right.
02:05You're gonna call your attorney and you're gonna tell him
02:07that I have a witness that can identify you going in
02:10and coming out of Kyle Medford's Pacifica house.
02:13Sound familiar?
02:13After several cinematic duds and a Razzie nod for worst new star,
02:17Caruso hitched his legacy to Lieutenant Horatio Cain on CSI Miami.
02:21But cool sunglasses and cheesy one-liners at murder scenes
02:24was hardly the original plan for his career.
02:26Basically means we gotta drive by.
02:28Drive by Miami star.
02:31Yeah!
02:34When the show ended after 10 seasons,
02:37Caruso opted to retire with the reputation of a TV legend
02:40rather than an unsuccessful movie star.
02:42Flash drives at my apartment. I can pick it up.
02:44I want you to remove yourself from the case.
02:46What?
02:47You've put the lab in jeopardy,
02:49and I want you off the case.
02:51Number 8. Taylor Sheridan.
02:53Listen.
02:55Nothing will make sense to your American ears.
02:59And you will doubt everything that we do.
03:01After filmmaker Taylor Sheridan won huge acclaim
03:04for penning the gritty thrillers Sicario and Hell or High Water.
03:07From Paramount Network's astonishingly successful Yellowstone,
03:11he built one of the busiest careers in peak TV.
03:13When you do whatever you do,
03:15whatever you do,
03:16you put together a stock dealer
03:17or close some kind of business deal,
03:19you don't get a commission.
03:20The circus is what you're paying for.
03:22This ain't nobody's hobby.
03:23Unfortunately, some say Sheridan peaked early.
03:26Yellowstone courted controversy for dragging under its own troves
03:29and forging nuanced, ambiguous politics
03:31to cater to a conservative fan base.
03:33You ever plow a field somewhere
03:34to plant the quinoa or sorghum
03:38or whatever the hell it is you eat?
03:41You kill everything on the ground and under it.
03:43The huge merchandising campaigns were also irritating.
03:46Aside from his breakout show's acclaimed prequels,
03:48mixed reviews suggest
03:49that the sheer volume of Sheridan's hit projects
03:51have led to inconsistent quality and recycled motifs.
03:54Told you cowboys were real.
03:58She didn't think there was such a thing as cowboys.
04:01Well, there might not be someday.
04:03Surely, Paramount Global's annual budget
04:05of about $500 million for this one showrunner
04:08means heady content obligations,
04:09but Sheridan's bold auteurism
04:11arguably belies a greedy excess to his productions.
04:14You make the money and I make sure you keep it.
04:18Do we have a deal?
04:20Do I have a choice?
04:22Absolutely.
04:23Number 7.
04:24Ice-T.
04:26The front man for rap metal pioneers Body Count
04:33revolutionized heavy confrontations
04:35with a broken system.
04:37He even faced serious controversy
04:38for the track Cop Killer.
04:40This next record is dedicated
04:41to some personal friends of mine.
04:44The LAPD.
04:45Ice-T maintained this grit on the screen
04:47until he joined Law & Order Special Victims Unit
04:49in season two.
04:50NYPD detective Finn Tutuola
04:52was meant to be a recurring guest spot,
04:54but he became one of the show's
04:55enduring characters throughout the franchise.
04:57Finn Tutuola, I'm going to be his son.
05:02You're here for my job.
05:03This is awkward.
05:07Ice-T's hardest fans have never fully forgiven his service
05:10to network TV's romantic image of cops.
05:12He defends Finn for his humanizing,
05:14aspirational representation,
05:16while remaining a vocal critic of police corruption
05:18and brutality.
05:19You have to do it this way?
05:21We're profiling this guy.
05:22Listen, he's got warrants.
05:24He's not helping himself here.
05:26Plus, this is only going to get worse.
05:28Law & Order addresses this dilemma regularly.
05:30Nonetheless, Ice-T's tamer acting career
05:32has proved as controversial as his music.
05:35Number six, Rob Lowe.
05:36The most scandalous member of the Brat Pack
05:38led a number of dark dramas and comedies.
05:41People are such hypocrites.
05:42They walk through their whole lives
05:45playing innocent the day they die,
05:47but they're not innocent.
05:51I showed you that.
05:52When Rob Lowe did settle into TV,
05:54it was on NBC's prestigious political drama,
05:56The West Wing.
05:57And yet, Lowe left after four seasons
05:59to pursue projects that better valued
06:01his talent and experience.
06:03Welcome to the club, partner.
06:04We got jackets.
06:06All right.
06:08I'm not going to let you down.
06:09You never do.
06:10He instead found a string of mediocre TV movies and shows.
06:14The biggest hits were an intermittent stint
06:16on parks and recreation
06:17and the short-lived The Grinder.
06:19Why don't you say that again
06:20so that everyone can hear you?
06:21I wasn't on the rooftop.
06:22She wasn't on the rooftop.
06:26You need to settle, Grindr.
06:28Don't settle, ever.
06:30The firefighter Soap, 9-1-1 Lone Star,
06:32and the game show The Floor
06:33have renewed Lowe as a household name,
06:35but he's seemingly abandoned
06:36the edgy entertainment that made him.
06:38On the upside,
06:39he's turned his public image around
06:40as a spokesperson for health and sobriety.
06:43I'll be sober for...
06:46It'll be 30 years this...
06:48I mean, if I get there...
06:51If I get there...
06:53Number 5.
06:54Tim Allen
06:54The toast of Tool Time.
06:56The host of Tool Time.
06:57Tim, the Tool Man Taylor.
06:58I'm going to open the bidding at $100.
07:01A hundred, a hundred, a hundred, a hundred.
07:03From a life of crime to edgy stand-up,
07:05Tim Allen wasn't exactly the model of a sitcom dad
07:08before ABC's Home Improvement.
07:10Along eight beloved seasons,
07:12he secured a family-friendly brand
07:13with the Santa Claus
07:14and Toy Story film franchises.
07:16You are a child's plaything!
07:20You are a sad, strange little man,
07:23and you have my pity.
07:24Farewell.
07:25Past that, however,
07:26Allen has mostly endeared fans with TV comedy
07:28of a specific formula.
07:30Last Man Standing followed another conservative family man
07:32with a masculine career.
07:34Except, instead of hosting a Home Improvement TV show,
07:36Mike Baxter hosted a sporting goods blog.
07:39We're going to get somebody else to finish the job.
07:41I suppose I don't deserve a second chance.
07:44That more power stuff worked better on my show
07:47and not so good at my house either.
07:49After Last Man Standing's nine-season run on two networks,
07:52there was the Santa Clauses on Disney+.
07:54Given Allen's track record in film,
07:56one can forgive his comfortably familiar brand.
07:58It's just ironic that his latest familiar sitcom
08:00is titled Shifting Gears.
08:02Oh my God, did you take a gummy?
08:04What?
08:08No!
08:10Who?
08:11Dad!
08:12Number 4.
08:13Charlie Sheen
08:13Coming from a distinguished acting family,
08:16Charlie Sheen starred in the drama and comedy major leagues
08:19even as his personal life plummeted into scandal.
08:21Well, we'd still like to take a look at you on our spring camp.
08:24Camp in Arizona, March the 1st.
08:26Well, I'm not sure I can make it by then.
08:28Then, he jointly replaced Michael J. Fox
08:31for the last two seasons of the sitcom Spin City.
08:33As the tabloids continued to overshadow his big-screen brand,
08:36Sheen landed the super hit Two and a Half Men in 2003.
08:40Charlie, I'm not going to lie to some poor woman
08:42just so you can dump her.
08:43I am not dumping her.
08:45We've just grown apart.
08:47Since you picked her up at a bar last night,
08:50people change.
08:51The character of Charlie Harper
08:52was a charmingly overt spoof
08:54of his actor's sleazy lifestyle.
08:56But after professional controversy
08:58cost Sheen the highest-paying gig on TV,
09:00he continued with meta appearances in sitcoms.
09:02There's something endearing about that,
09:15yet the fact is
09:16that a once-respected movie star
09:18has copped to being the butt of the joke
09:20that is celebrity gossip.
09:21Number three, Robert Reed.
09:23Yes, I know it's an important Saturday.
09:25Who said I'm nervous?
09:26I'm mature and I'm logical
09:27and I know I'm doing the right thing.
09:29Why should I be nervous?
09:31What makes you think I'm nervous?
09:33Three-time Emmy nominee Robert Reed
09:35made his name on heavy films
09:36and edgy TV projects
09:38like The Defenders and Mannix.
09:40Now, he's usually referred to
09:41as the dad on The Brady Bunch.
09:43Come on, rip, rip.
09:45Okay.
09:46Left foot first.
09:48Forward!
09:48Heart!
09:50Two, three!
09:51Good night, Mr. Pringo!
09:52Heart!
09:52Two, three, four!
09:54Cut!
09:54Throughout the 1970s,
09:56with regular specials thereafter,
09:57Mike Brady won the hearts of millions
09:59as the head of America's
10:00first blended TV family.
10:02Unfortunately,
10:03he never won over Reed,
10:04whose disdain for his contractual obligations
10:06was an open secret
10:07surrounding the light-hearted sitcom,
10:09which he felt was beneath him
10:10as a classical Shakespearean actor.
10:12I'm gonna time us.
10:13Oh!
10:14Uh,
10:15try to act like you don't know
10:17it's coming, see?
10:19Go about your everyday business,
10:21do what you're doing.
10:22He continued to take on
10:23challenging projects,
10:24including the short-lived
10:25medical drama,
10:26Nurse.
10:26But since his tragic passing
10:28at 59 years old,
10:29Reed's legacy is divided
10:30between lovable family fare
10:32and an elevated artist
10:33who was cursed by it.
10:34And I was trying so hard
10:36to make everybody like me.
10:38Oliver,
10:39everybody does like you.
10:41Now, you just forget
10:42all about this jinx business,
10:44promise?
10:44Number 2,
10:45David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
10:47You were the only one
10:49who didn't treat me like a monster.
10:55You were all I had.
10:57HBO's Game of Thrones
10:58won showrunners
10:59David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
11:01epic acclaim for seven years.
11:03And yes,
11:04the show ran for nine years.
11:05In 2018,
11:06Benioff and Weiss
11:07secured a deal
11:08to make a series of
11:09Star Wars films.
11:10Your Highness,
11:10the transmission we received.
11:14What is it they've sent us?
11:18Hope.
11:19Their eagerness
11:20to move on to bigger,
11:21at least financially better things,
11:22was linked to a decline
11:23in quality
11:24and narrative logic
11:25in Game of Thrones' final season.
11:27Fans' backlash escalated
11:28when the duo were poached
11:29from Lucasfilm by Netflix.
11:31Now,
11:31Dan and David,
11:32you guys,
11:33do you know how this
11:34whole story ends?
11:36Yes, sir.
11:36You do?
11:37All right, let's have it.
11:40The product of this deal,
11:41Free Body Problem,
11:42was generally a hit
11:43with critics and viewers.
11:44But compared to Benioff
11:45and Weiss' initial praise,
11:47this project's flaws
11:48and very foundation
11:49still haunt their legacy
11:50with questions
11:51about artistic dedication.
11:52A moment like this
11:53is a great test of faith.
11:56Has your faith been tested?
11:59We always thought
12:00the Lord was watching over us.
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12:161. Jerry Springer
12:20Springer has said repeatedly
12:22that he wanted to be mayor
12:24because of the extra power
12:25that office would provide him
12:27in order to promote
12:28his own ideas
12:29and his own programs.
12:31As mayor of Cincinnati
12:32and a reporter
12:33for NBC affiliates,
12:34Jerry Springer
12:35distinguished himself
12:36in political media.
12:37His syndicated talk show
12:38unpacked pressing issues
12:39with controversial figures
12:41like Jesse Jackson,
12:42Oliver North,
12:43and shock rocker Gigi Allen.
12:45Please meet Gigi Allen.
12:46Gigi has been arrested
12:47more than 52 times
12:49in over 12 states
12:50for the nudity,
12:51obscenity,
12:51and violence
12:52that are part
12:52of his music performances.
12:54Then,
12:54the Jerry Springer show
12:55evaded cancellation
12:56by featuring non-celebrities
12:58with sensationalistic lifestyles.
13:00This led to public humiliation,
13:02on-camera fights,
13:03and the murder
13:03of Nancy Campbell Panitz.
13:05But ratings were so hot
13:06that other daytime shows
13:07embraced the trash TV format.
13:09In the case of
13:1017-month-old James Brandon,
13:13you are not the first.
13:14Springer escalated sensationalism
13:21until his show ended in 2018,
13:23then degraded his legal career
13:24with Judge Jerry.
13:26His passing in 2023
13:27brought perspective
13:28to one of the most versatile
13:29and influential TV hosts'
13:31careers in the business.
13:32These people are coming on television
13:34when they choose to,
13:35purely voluntary,
13:36and they talk about
13:37what's going on in their life.
13:39News never does that.
13:40Still,
13:40this one's hard-hitting personality
13:42asserts that television
13:43is ultimately a business.
13:45Which star's TV turns
13:46did you find most disappointing?
13:47Dish in the comments below.
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