Examining why the original Greg left Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Scheduling conflicts were the only thing to blame when the character of Greg was recast in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend following the show’s second season.

While fans may get used to seeing certain actors in specific roles, there are many different reasons why these actors may choose to leave their shows before their planned conclusions.

Santino Fontana for instance, who played the original Greg on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend for the show’s first two seasons, simply left the show to focus on other projects.

Why actors quit popular television shows

There are few things more gossip-worthy than finding out that one of your favorite television series had to say goodbye to one of its lead characters because of some secret behind-the-scenes drama.

But while some actors are written off (or even killed off) of popular television shows, because of on-set feuds or back-and-forths with the show’s producers or writer(s), à la Katherine Heigl in Grey’s Anatomy or Christopher Eccleston in Doctor Who, there are many different reasons why actors may leave shows all on their own.

This includes things like actors’ contracts simply running out, storylines concluding, the commute becoming too much, or even simple scheduling conflicts.

Examining why the original Greg left Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

In fact, The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a shining example of the fact that sometimes things just do not work out.

The love triangle between Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Greg, Josh and Rebecca was always one of the most enticing romantic subplots on the series, and this is exactly why longtime fans of the show were so disheartened to hear that Greg Serrano would not be returning to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend following its second season in 2017.

The character of Greg Serrano had been portrayed by the actor, Santino Fontana for the first two seasons of the series and  quickly became a fan-favorite.

However, when the confirmation of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s season three renewal took longer than expected, Fontana decided to focus his attention on other projects closer to his home-base in New York.

Fontana officially confirmed in November of 2016, halfway through the show’s second season that he would be leaving the series.

Fontana had originally only signed a contract to appear in season one of the show, so his exit was not completely unexpected.

What was unexpected, though, was Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s decision to bring the character back in the fourth season.

At this point in time, Fontana will still too busy with all of his other theatrical commitments outside of the show, which prompted the producers to cleverly recast the role, with Pitch Perfect’s Skylar Astin instead.

The clever way in which Crazy Ex-Girlfriend played off recasting Greg

When Fontana’s exit from the show was first announced, the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator, Aline Brosh McKenna, did confirm that they had planned for Rebecca and Greg to break up anyway.

She stated that this was because their season one relationship was just “so toxic and terrible”.

However, McKenna also added that they had always intended for Rebecca and Greg to remain close friends.

This is why, when they realized that Greg would have to be recast if they wanted to bring the character back in season four, they decided that they would hide this change by playing on Rebecca’s own perception of Greg.

In other words, Rebecca (the show’s lead) was the only one who saw Greg as a brand new person when they re-introduced him in season four.

Skylar Astin’s take on the character

There have been countless polls and ramblings comparing the two Gregs’ performances in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

But regardless of which Greg is your personal favorite, there is no denying that Astin fell into the role and into Fontana’s various sardonic Greg-isms quite smoothly.

In fact, even Fontana gave Astin’s performance the thumbs up, expressing that he and the new actor had been in constant communication about the role and that they considered each other “Brothers from the same mother”.

Where to watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

The fourth and final season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend officially finished airing in April 2019.

But if you are interested in re-watching all four seasons of the series to see Greg’s “magical” transformation from the first two seasons to the fourth for yourself, there are still plenty of places to find Crazy Ex-Girlfriend online.

If you are looking for a subscription-based service where you can stream all four seasons of the show when and where you please, then Netflix will be your best bet.

However, if you are looking to avoid adding yet another streaming service to your monthly subscription list, you can also purchase Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, Apple TV and YouTube TV.