23 actors who managed to have multiple hit TV series

The cast of Friends made history when they inked deals to make $1 million an episode, each. So all six could’ve retired after the series bid farewell in 2004, but some didn’t. Jennifer Aniston transitioned to movies. Matt LeBlanc tried to keep the character of Joey going with Joey. Lisa Kudrow headed back to TV just a year later with The Comeback. The HBO series was widely beloved but lasted one season before a second season debuted nine years later in 2014. It was a hit that stretched its reach and continues to do so as Kudrow is set to return for a third season in 2026.

Only two years separated Bryan Cranston’s biggest roles yet. He went from playing a sitcom dad on Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle, and then returned in a new fatherly role in Breaking Bad. It showcased and highlighted a level of range many were unaware Cranston had at the time. He eventually earned four Emmys for the role of the science teacher turned drug dealer who just wanted to keep his family financially okay.

Jane Leeves was one of the stars of Frasier, which ran for 11 seasons and over 200 episodes. After that wrapped up in 2004, it would’ve been reasonable to believe that many would want to sit back and relax. Levees didn’t, well, not really. She still did guest spots here and there, including a couple of episodes of Desperate Housewives. Her big step back into the spotlight, though, came in 2010 when she found herself with a former Frasier costar, a Golden Girl , and Valerie Bertinelli on TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland. The first original for the network, Hot in Cleveland, quickly became a fan favorite and ran six seasons.

It felt as if, for a while early in his career, Timothy Olyphant was typecast. Deadwood and Justified had that man rocking cowboy hats like no other. For his other hit, though, he stepped into modern times with a real wild twist in Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet. While the show was huge with fans and had many talking, it ended with a whopping cliffhanger after three seasons.

Three out of the four Bundys from Married... with Children went on to have other notable shows. Christina Applegate had Dead to Me, and Ed O'Neill starred in Modern Family. As for Sagal, she not only found success voice acting on Futurama, but also later appeared in another sitcom, 8 Simple Rules, and later took on a more dramatic role on Sons of Anarchy.

Ted Danson helped make Cheers one of the most-watched shows of the ‘80s, and one of the most talked about. A true great of the small screen, Danson has appeared in a myriad of shows afterwards, including Becker, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Good Place, and most recently, Netflix’s A Man on the Inside. It’s safe to say, if Hollywood wants a hit, book Ted Danson.

Sheryl Lee Ralph made her name in Dreamgirls on Broadway, but for millennials, she will always be famous for her role as the well-meaning mother in Sister Act 2. On TV, she was the stepmother to the titular character in Moesha. Fast forward two decades in her career, and she was back on TV thanks to ABC’s Abbott Elementary.

When it comes to having a hit show, Jeremy Allen White does not stray far from a dysfunctional family in Chicago. He did it once on the US version of Shameless on Showtime for 11 seasons, and continued to do so on The Bear.

That ‘70s Show was one of Fox’s biggest shows in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, and Laura Prepon’s Donna was part of the reason why. Fans fell in love with her chill, girl-next-door ways on that show, and then did a 180 and immediately loved her new, darker look when she became an inmate on Orange Is the New Black.

Four years after he was forced to raise his siblings after losing their parents on Party of Five, Matthew Fox was then tasked with helping a group of survivors after a plane crash on Lost. Ironically enough, each lasted half a dozen seasons.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus wasn’t done after Seinfeld, but she didn’t attach herself to something more long-term for almost a decade when she returned to the sitcom realm with The New Adventures of Old Christine. It wasn’t the biggest show ever made, but it was a next good step for the actor. A couple of years after that, though, came Veep, and it’s arguable which is her most iconic character at this point in her career, Elaine Benes or Selina Meyer.

For years, David Boreanaz was known as Angel, his character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which eventually led to his own spinoff series. As soon as Angel signed off, Boreanaz went straight to another show, Bones, which he co-starred on for a dozen seasons.

The thing about Mayim Bialik is that she did a lot as a kid, including starring in Blossom. It was huge for NBC and even had a guest appearance from Will Smith. After success early in life, Bialik took a much-needed break and focused her attention on starting a family and her education. The latter came in handy when she was cast on the brainy series, The Big Bang Theory.  

Donald Glover’s chemistry with Danny Pudi on Community was part of the reason the show did so well right out of the gate, but Glover did eventually leave the series a season early to embark on other projects, from music to TV. In television, he went on to create and star in Atlanta, a series that introduced viewers to some of the best storytelling TV had ever seen up to that point.

Only a few years separated Lauren Graham’s two biggest TV moments. Her first, one of the most-rewatched series every fall, Gilmore Girls. After that, she stepped into a similar role in Parenthood.

Ask anyone alive in the ‘80s to name an actor, and there’s a good chance many would note Michael J. Fox. He was everywhere during that time, not only because of Back to the Future, but also Family Ties. Of course, once that wrapped, Fox went on to make more movies than TV, but returned with Spin City in 1996, only to have to leave the series early due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

Jennifer Morrison was one of the core members of the team when it came to Fox’s House, but she exited the series after six seasons. She went on to star in Once Upon a Time, but did head back to House for a guest appearance during its eighth and final season.

Not every child actor gets the chance to go from child star to one of Hollywood’s most notable talents, but not every child actor is Tyler James Williams. After Everybody Hates Chris, he bounced around, landed on The Walking Dead, but it was Abbott Elementary that put his name back in the minds of many.

One thing that Melissa Joan Hart has managed to do not once, or even twice, but three times is star in a TV show that heralded her character’s name in the title: Clarissa Explains It All, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Melissa & Joey.

Freddie Highmore spooked audiences with Bates Motel before turning around and making the world fall in love with Shaun Murphy on The Good Doctor.

Jackée Harry ruled for two decades on TV. In the ‘80s, she delighted on 227, and then a handful of years later, she transformed into a favorite TV mom on Sister, Sister.

It’s easy to assume that Neil Patrick Harris left Hollywood after Doogie Howser, M.D. ended in 1993, but he was working. It wasn’t until How I Met Your Mother that his name started to make headlines again, thanks to the CBS sitcom that felt reminiscent of Friends.

There was a point in history when Keri Russell cut her hair and introduced everyone to a new Felicity, the titular character of the drama that focused on her character’s college life. It would take over 10 years for Russell to sink her talent into another lengthy role when she returned to TV with full force in 2013, starring in The Americans.