20 iconic TV shows with notable feuds among the cast

Not every cast feud takes place within the realm of a fictional show. MythBusters, for example, despite being very popular, was notable for the extent to which hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have long harbored a strong dislike for one another. This is an excellent example of the extent to which two people who don’t get along at all can nevertheless manage to put their personal feelings aside. The longevity of the show and their creative partnership is a true testament to their mutual professionalism and their commitment to a very popular show.

Given just how melodramatic Desperate Housewives  was a show, it’s not particularly surprising to find that there was a lot of drama going on behind the cameras. There was a great deal of friction between various members of the cast, a great deal of which centered around Teri Hatcher. In particular, much of the drama surrounding the feud stemmed from an infamous Vanity Fair photoshoot. There were also numerous rumors about the extent to which the various members of the cast didn’t get along with one another. 

Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer was, in many ways, the most important character in the series 24, since so many storylines revolved around him and his actions. Sutherland, however, could also be a bit difficult for others on the stage, and he seemed to have a particularly hard time acting alongside Freddie Prinze Jr., who appeared on the show in 2010. Prinze was quite vocal about the fact that he didn't get along with Sutherland, whom he regarded as being more than a little unprofessional. 

There’s no question that there was quite a lot of chemistry between Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in the series Moonlighting. However, at least some of this can be ascribed to the fact that the two repeatedly butted heads. Shepherd has been very open about her dislike of Willis, whom she regards as being quite full of himself (much of this came to light before Willis’ diagnosis with dementia). At the same time, even Shepherd admits that it was the behind-the-scenes drama that helped to give the series its erotic frisson.

It’s not every show that could survive a major recast, but The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air saw the recasting of the character Aunt Viv between seasons three and four, going from Janet Hubert to Daphne Maxwell Reid. This was due in part to the conflict between star Will Smith and Hubert, something about which both stars have spoken over the years. Fortunately, the two have managed to patch things up, but it still casts a bit of a pall over what is otherwise a very light-hearted show and an exemplar of 1990s comedy.

While Glee might have leaned into joy and good feelings — it was a musical, after all — things weren’t always very settled behind the scenes. In the years since the show left the air, stories have proliferated about the many feuds that went on behind the scenes. Arguably, the most notable of these was the constant spatting between the late Naya Rivera and co-star Lea Michele. Although the full story remains unclear, it is clear that the two actors did not get along, and neither did their characters.

Arguably, one of the most notable behind-the-scenes feuds happened on Star Trek,  and it continues to this day. The difficulty in question involves George Takei and co-star William Shatner, who have both been very open about the tense nature of their relationship both on the show and afterward. They have both spoken about their dislike, though the exact circumstances over how it came to be vary with the telling. One thing’s for sure: their behind-the-scenes spat has become an official part of Star Trek lore.

One of the major elements of the comedy in the sitcom Married…with Children is the ongoing feud between Al and his neighbor Marcy (played by Ed O’Neill and Amanda Bearse, respectively). Obviously, their constant sparring is very funny, but it’s also reflective of the behind-the-scenes drama between the two actors, who often had trouble getting along with one another. The dislike between the two actors has not softened over the years, and they remain quite distant from one another, often speaking about their feud in interviews.

It’s now common knowledge that Jeffrey Tambor could be quite a challenge to work with, and at times, he could be downright terrible. This was particularly true when it came to his time on Arrested Development, and co-star Jessica Walter was very open about the fact that the two not only didn’t get along but actually had several disturbing altercations. This definitely accords with many of the other reports on Tambor’s on-set behavior, both during Arrested Development and on the series Transparent. 

For many millennials and Gen Xers, The Golden Girls remains comfort viewing, in large part because of its emphasis on the friendship among its four lead characters. In real life, things were a bit more complicated, as Bea Arthur and Betty White had a rather tense relationship. It wasn’t, as has been commonly reported, a feud. It's true that Arthur was sometimes frustrated by White’s more informal approach to their work, in particular by her tendency to talk to the studio audience between takes. 

Few sitcoms have been as enduringly popular as I Love Lucy, which showed that actress Lucille Ball was a true genius when it came to physical comedy. The show was also notable for some of its behind-the-scenes drama, particularly from Vivian Vance and William Crawley, who played married couple Ethel and Fred Mertz. The irony was that the two truly could not stand one another, which oddly made them a perfect pairing for a married couple who were the counterparts of Lucy and Ricky.

Given its reputation for being almost too family-friendly, it’s surprising to learn there were some behind-the-scenes disagreements on Full House. In particular, John Stamos had some clashes with Bob Saget and the Olsen twins, the former because he doubted his skills as an actor and the latter because they cried too much. Fortunately for the show and its many Gen X and millennial fans, Stamos managed to overcome his negativity. Stamos wasn’t a huge fan of the show in the beginning, but he grew quite close to Saget over the subsequent decades.

The hit sitcom Three’s Company originally starred John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt, and Suzanne Somers, but during its run, Somers ended up leaving as a result of contract disputes. This led to a bit of a rift among the three, since neither DeWitt nor Ritter understood why their castmate was negotiating for more money. Though they ended up making amends of a sort, it was clear that the Somers, at least, harbored some bad feelings about her co-stars’ lack of support.

Given the larger personalities involved, it’s perhaps unsurprising to learn that there have been more than a few disagreements behind the scenes of Saturday Night Live.  Among the most notable was the long-running conflict between creator Lorne Michaels and John Belushi, the latter of whom could be very difficult to work with due to personality and substance abuse issues. Belushi was also, by all accounts, a bit of a challenge for many of the rest of the cast of the series, many of whom repeatedly complained to Michaels. Michaels, for his part, made it clear that he wasn’t particularly concerned with Belushi’s struggles.

One of the most notorious relationships in Seinfeld was the one between George and Susan, played by Heidi Swedberg. According to multiple cast members, there was tension between Swedberg and the rest of the group. Much of this is attributed to her lack of chemistry with her co-stars, particularly Jason Alexander, who couldn’t seem to find his comedic footing with her. It’s thus probably just as well that the character was written off the show when her character died after licking envelopes. 

Grey’s Anatomy is a series notable for its heightened emotions and passions, and this was as true behind the scenes as it was on the screen. The various antics of star Patrick Dempsey have been well-documented over the years, and it has become clear that he was very difficult to work with for many of the cast and crew. He seemed to have a particularly difficult relationship with co-star Ellen Pompeo in particular, which is ironic, given the fact that their characters are one another’s love interests.  

Community might have been one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 2010s, but that didn’t mean that it was immune to lots of backstage drama. Most of this revolved around Chevy Chase, who portrayed Pierce Hawthorne for the first several seasons of the series. His spats and feuds — and generally egregious behavior on the set — have been documented and commented upon by both the media and by his fellow cast members. He ended up leaving the show, and has had little to do with it since then.

Mulder and Scully, the protagonists of the beloved series The X-Files,  were fixtures of TV in the 1990s. Behind the scenes, however, things weren’t always easy between stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Though they were originally quite close — even as early as the audition process — they drifted apart, something for which Duchovny has blamed himself, and at one point, they barely interacted when they weren’t on set. Fortunately, the two have managed to repair their friendship, and they continue to speak fondly of one another in various interviews. 

Sex and the City might have revolved around the friendship among its four main characters, but off-screen things were much more tense. This was particularly true when it came to the relationship between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall. Their feud has been quite well-publicized and reported on in the media, and it explains in large part why the latter ended up only making a cameo in the follow-up series  And Just Like That…, despite the fact that the rest of the cast ended up returning.

TV history seems to be full of examples of on-screen married couples who were no fans of one another in real life. Martin is a particularly notable example of this phenomenon, and many reports have documented the strife that occurred behind the scenes in the series Martin. Stars Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell apparently really loathed one another, to such an extent that Campbell left the show, sued, and then came back, but only under the condition that she have no contact with Lawrence.