From Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones to the Hot Priest in Fleabag and of course Dr Frasier Crane, we salute the game-changers who boosted later seasons of our favourite series
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elcome. Nice of you to finally join us. Hope it was worth the wait. Yes, sometimes a late addition can improve a drama or comedy so much it becomes hard to imagine the show without them. Not every series gets the casting chemistry spot-on straight away. A select few of our favourite TV characters weren’t even on the show when it launched.
We’ve selected 18 characters whose gamechanging arrival in later seasons lifted the whole show and added to its legacy. Behold the super-subs who came off the TV bench and scored a winner …
She has become the 80s super-soap’s signature character, which makes it even more surprising that Joan Collins’ archetypal diva didn’t arrive until the second season. When executive producer Aaron Spelling brought in Collins as the sharp-tongued ex of tycoon Blake Carrington, ratings went stratospheric. Dynasty would have been way less camp and culty without Alexis’s glam wardrobe, dastardly schemes, string of husbands and catfights with nemesis Krystle (Linda Evans).
