Top 10 TV Shows with the Greatest Casts but We Didn't Know at the Time
We didn't know at the time, but these TV casts were going places. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the TV series that featured famous performers before they became really famous. Our countdown includes "Freaks and Geeks," "The Wire," "Taxi," and more! What TV shows do YOU think were ahead of the curve? Let us know in the comments!
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What TV shows do YOU think were ahead of the curve? Let us know below, and be sure to also check out our video of the Top 10 Movies With the Greatest Casts but We Didn't Know at the Time - kzhead.info/sun/lbGvd5l7gZSGq40/bejne.html
21 Jump Street. Captain Jack Sparrow himself as a fresh faced baby detective.
SCTV, they were ahead of their time but a year behind of SNL.
All of them
Cheers
The Canadian series, The Odyssey, had stars like, Ryan Reynolds, Devon Sawa, Sarah Chalke, and others in guest and recurring roles.
In Living Color is another one. The Wayans siblings, Tommy Davidson, David Alan Grier, Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, Kelly Coffield, J-Lo (one of the dancers), etc.
Carrie Ann Inaba (fly girl)
Absolutely... so much talented incubated, flourished and grew into super powers.
It's crazy how many great comedians got their start on Saturday Night Live. Another reason why it's one of the best shows on television.
All of the best comedic actors/actresses in my lifetime has come out of one of the comic improve groups. Not only SNL, but give props to Second City TV. Where we got John Candy, Rick Moranis, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, and Eugene Levy to name a few got their start.
Was one of the best shows, not anymore !
@@davidponseigo8811 It is still good and relevant. I've been watching since the beginning and apart from the time I was living abroad (in the 1980s), I watched them all.
Freaks and Geeks would have more of a chance if it aired in the 2010's or 2020's, but the only drawback would be that they wouldn't have the fabulous cast we know and love.
That's true. If Freaks and Geeks premiered in the 2020s, there would be a few stars while everyone else would be more known for their social media influence than their acting.
I loved every character on that show in their own way.
I still remember when Ryan Reynolds and Nathan Fillion were on Two Guys , A Girl and a Pizza Place TV show about 25 years ago.
Thought that show was a fever dream since nobody I am has heard of it!
I loved that show!
That was 25 years ago? Wow, I feel old.
@keetasingletary I think I moved to friday night and then I would have it on next to where I was working on something cause my t v was right next to the computer. It was just an old black and white. But I used to do a lot of work on the computer that only took half my attention So I would have a baseball game.Or a football game or a t v show on while I worked. But I remember ryan. What a sweetheart. I really hope it would become a big star because he had such a nice presence. He was the kind of guy that you felt you could walk up to and ask for Any kind of help like directions or Change for a dollar for the bus. And I had a feeling if it was night he would wait with you for the bus until you got on and was safely on your way home. I am so happy that he did become a big star cause he just seems like one of the good guy. Also I think he's pretty underrated as a serious actor. He is Just Likable
Laugh In - Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, Ruth Buzzi
Also The Wonder Years which gave opportunity for a few young actors from the late 80's such as Alicia Silverstone, Breckin Meyer, Carla Gugino, David Schwimmer, Giovanni Ribisi, Jim Caviezel, John Corbett, Juliette Lewis, Lindsay Price, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Seth Green,
E.R., Law and Order and SVU. And Euphoria
Any of the Law & Order series almost seems like a required stop before you get famous.
Miami Vice is an awesome cop show. Almost every episode of the show guest starred an actor or actors that would go on to become big notable stars.
Loved miami vice
Cold Case: Chadwick Boseman, Christina Hendricks, Jenna Fischer. Jennifer Lawrence, Jon Huertas, Justin Chambers, Justin Hartley, Kate Mara, Kim Coates, Michael B. Jordan, Melissa Leo, Randall Park all appeared in small roles before their big break
Exactly 👍 and it was a great show too 😊♥️♥️
Oh god I loved cold case. Wonderful cast. Great mysteries. Some very heartbreaking and touching stories. Just really good tv.
SNL let's not forget Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, and John Belushi. Just to name a few
Steve Martin was never a cast member of SNL
I’m surprised In Living Color isn’t on this list
Chris Hemsworth and Heath Ledger are the biggest names, but Home and Away launched a TON of Hollywood careers.
But I think "Neighbours" had a even more impressive future stars list. Kylie, Natalie Imbrouglia, Guy Pearce, Margot Robbie
@@Denis-89 Guy Pearce is a crossover - he did both. But yes - Aussie soaps unleashed a slew of talent!!
Yeah, I just commented to point out that Isla Fisher was on Home & Away as well. Did Russell Crowe appear on it too? Or was that Neighbours?
When Chris Hemsworth first made it big as Thor, all I could see was his character from Home and Away. Ryan Kwanten who plays Sookie's brother in True Blood was also in Home and Away as Vinnie, and because I'd see him play that character for so long, I never trully learnt his true blood characters name
@@clothilde1623 Russell was on Neighbours.
Law and Order has a more stacked cast of guest stars then all the other shows on the combined and should have been #1. And that includes SNL.
And a few have had multiple roles in separate guest appearances, either within the original, or between the spinoffs. Pablo Schreiber, Viola Davis, Ann Dowd, and Denis O'Hare come to mind.
Kids Incorporated had some good ones like Jennifer Love Hewitt
Don't forget Fergie from Black Eye Peas was on Kids Incorporated too
Mario Lopez as well, though he was a background dancer and drummer. Shit, I'm getting old.
I Know it’s still on, but Euphoria should be on here, given how much Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schaefer, Storm Reid, and angus cloud (RIP) have blown up since it debuted
And pushed Zendaya to A List
I watched taxi as a little kid on nik at nite. When I see the actors I think of them on taxi
Wild N Out has some big names in comedy... DeRay Davis, Affion Crocket, Mikey Day, Pete Davidson, Katt Williams, Randall Park, Taran Killam, Matt Rife...
I love watching older shows and seeing actors who either gues starred or had their first big roles. It shows how much they've grown
Many Big stars nowadays had minor roles in 'Seinfeld' too
Saturday Night Live, Freaks and Geeks, and Mork and Mindy
You need to add gossip girl, the O.C., my so called life, party of five, 7th heaven, and boy meets world
I think I’d have to put Dawson’s Creek ahead of all of those, but Party Of Five is close.
Twilight Zone has so many well known actors and actresses in it like Robert Redford, William Shatner, Dennis Hopper, Elizabeth Montgomery, Charles Bronson, Don Rickles, Burgess Meredith, Donna Douglas, Buster Keaton, and the list goes on
I had recently watched the entirety of the “X Files” and I remember a lot of famous unknown actors were in it as I watched it. The ones remember were Ryan Reynolds, Giovanni Ribisi, Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Luke Wilson, Shia LaBeouf, Tony Shalhoub, Tony Todd, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Lucy Liu, Seth Green, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Lisa Robin Kelly, Michael Emerson, Rob Van Dam and many more.
Band of Brothers was such a gem, full of great talents from the US and UK. So many became big stars! Like Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Stephen Graham, Andrew Scott or Simon Pegg.
My So Called Life is another
SKINS UK!!!!!!!!
Happy friday afternoon, Phoebe. Take care and God bless you. Greetings from Colombia to you as well.
MASH..Patrick Swayze, George Wendt, Ron Howard, John Ritter, Ed Begley Jr, Rosalind Chao, Mary Kay Place, Blythe Danner…
Yes. How could they miss MASH.
Lawrence Fishburn, or Larry as what he went by then.
Very very great epic list I like it a lot very very great job mis mojo one of my absolute favorite list ever 😊❤
My whole family were fans of william shatner even before he became captain kirk. He and doc mcclure had a short lived Western that we loved so of course it was canceled. These days I try not to publicly tell anybody I like a show. So we were really happy when we saw that he was on this new sci-fi Show and really crushed when it was canceled.And really happy when a new star trek came along.
You forgot CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Michael B. Jordan, Amanda Seyfried, David Datsmalchian, John Krasinski, Pedro Pascal and Taylor Swift are just some of the guest stars.
John Candy, Robin Duke, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Tony Rosato, Martin Short, Dave Thomas, one show, and you missed it.
OZ
I know these won't count much but I kind of wish Stargate SG-1/Atlantis was on here, friends, and bunch of others I can't think of, will DEFINITELY be HOPING for an eventual part 2 PLEASE 🥺🤞?
My additions would be In Living Color and Tales from the Crypt.
If you’re mentioning “Home & Away”, you could also consider “Neighbours” which gave us Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kylie Minogue, etc.
You pronounced JC's last name incorrectly. It's pronounced sha-zay.
How have you left out Murder she wrote! Every actor ever has been in that!!! And Dr Who!!!
I recently found out Linda Hamilton was on Murder She Wrote in the same episode as Bryan Cranston. And in the same year as the first Terminator movie.
How did you show David Schwimmer in Band of Brothers but never mention him?
Cause he was already famous thanks to Friends? Just a guess since Friends was out in the late 90s and BoB was 2001?
He was already famous
Yeah, as others have said, David was already _incredibly_ famous after playing Ross in Friends (especially back in 2001!). Hence why he wasn’t included.
Some good choices, but its hard to believe you failed to include the original Roswell. Sure, the two "leads" (Shiri Appleby and Jason Behr) didnt really do much after Roswell, dont forget that the show was a breakout for not only Katherine Heigl and Colin Hanks, but really for William Sadler as well. Before that the biggest thing he had done was the villain in Bill & Ted. The show also gave us Emilie de Ravin and Mary Ellen Trainor, who became small but significant actors as well.
Degrasi - with Drake
And Nina Dobrev
I feel like a lot of stars from SNL became stars because of SNL (or SNL related projects) so I feel like that one doesn't really apply. Also, disappointed you didn't mention John Frances Daley who went on to star in Bones before becoming a writer/director (he wrote Spiderman: Homecoming). Also, Everwood had a pretty great cast before they were stars, including Chris Pratt, Emily Van Camp, and Sarah Drew.
The Australian show “Neighbors”, which seems to have featured just about every famous Aussie actor and/or singer at some point.
Seinfeld ? Friends ? Cheers ?
If you mention Home & Away you should mention Neighbours too.. Also, Heroes
William Daniels was on St. Elsewhere and voiced Kit in Knight Rider, before he portrayed Mr. Feeney in the TV show Boy Meets World.
Neighbours - Kylie, Alan Dale, Jason Donevan, Margot Robbie, Natalie Imbrulia
Thought my internet was busted with the MMC footage at No 10!
I remember a few years back two of my 5 daughters had me go to a website and of course "never going to give you up" came on. now since that song when it first came out i was in junior high and i hadn't heard it almost since the 80's i started singing and doing the arm movements. My daughter's looking at me shocked said how do you know what a rick-,roll is i said no its rick Astley and then started searching for and playing his other songs as i thought they were trying to get my opinion on the music and so im trying to showcase one of my guilty pleasures as a kid to the very confused faces of my then teen daughters. They walked away soon after which then left me confused then my middle child comes to me and says you spoiled the joke dad and she then explained what rick roll was. I laughed and said sort of sorry but i loved the song in school and remembered why when i heard it again and couldn't help but move to it. She said yeah dad your such a nerd. I said "i know" but have since been able to teach the girls a few other 80's gems so it was pretty cool for me. Keep teaching professor im sure were close in age and Love all your channel is about. Thank you for your eork in keeping these gems relevant and awesome. 3 chords and the truth my friend!
Buffy the vampire slayer introduced us to Sarah Michelle Gellar, Allison Hannigan, David Boreanaz and even Pedro Pascal to only name a few, should have at least been in the honorables mentions.
Isla Fisher started out on Home & Away too, playing Shannon. I really remember watching her character’s battle with anorexia when I was a young girl. Isla is a talented ‘serious’ actress as well as a comic actress.
You could do a whole list just on the people that appeared in Casualty in the UK, not just British actors either.
with MIAMI VICE and TAXI, you're often dealing with guest performers who had to do some work on the way to be more famous; likewise with THE OUTER LIMITS and THE TWILIGHT ZONE, who'd also have to include people the public had to know already (usually from ovies)
Go into a deep dive with 4 shows (Shameless, Law and Order: SVU, Big Bang Theory and The Connors) and see how many times actors have been on at least two or more of the four shows.
Firefly’s actors are still kicking around I think. 🧐
Law and Order, Murder She Wrote, Matlock these are a few that had guess cast members that were super big at the time of their airtime.
Second City: Toronto. John Candy, Rick Moranis, etc. Canadian version of SNL.
Maybe I'm wrong but I'd throw Friends up there I didn't know any of them when it debuted
First time I saw Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd was in 1975, in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. I was sure they were mental patients. They were that good.
It's so weird to see all these A-listers before they became really well known 😮
St. Elsewhere - Mark Harmon, Howie Mandel, & Denzel Washington
How about the very short lived series seven brides for seven brothers had Richard Dean Anderson, Drake Hogestyn from days of our lives, Peter Horton from thirty something, and River and Joaquin Phoenix
Married with children. Besides the main cast, so many then unknown guests like Kerri Russell, David Boreanaz, Stephen Dorff, Giovanni Ribisi, Chi McBride, many more
You could’ve left out shows that featured guest stars or one shot appearances like Twilight Zone and Miami Vice, and put Dawson’s Creek, Party of Five, or Bosom Buddies in their place.
MASH has a host of before they were stars stars.... like Shelley Long and Andrew Dice Clay but this list is pretty great
I clicked on the video to see what they'd say about one of my favorite shows, assuming it be #1. Low and behold.... it didn't even make the list. The show? Parks and Rec Good job watch mojo
Justified
The original Night Court.
How about Smallville, buffy or any other Joss whedon TV show
law and order should be in the list
You guys could do an entire list of stars the world knows now that got their start on a show you didn’t even mention in this very good list… “Neighbours”. (Chris Hemsworth was actually on that BEFORE Home and Away! 🤣🤣)
It's a crime that Love Boat didn't get in this List
Dana Carvey show: Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Robert Speigel, Bob Odenkirk, Dino Stampoloupos, louis CK
In Living Color
Not quite sure how Law & Order missed the cut, and Perry Mason and In Living Color should definitely be honorable mentions.
I always loved the fact that the great Jerry Orbach first played an attorney on the show before he got the Lenny Briscoe role.
I feel so bad for Britney Spears that they made her change her singing voice. She was a strong alto.
Actors, highly regarded in their own markets always enter the US market with guest roles, they are test screenings with a known market with instant ratings and focus groups. This way if the actors don't fare well in the US the can still return to their own markets without loss of face. The CSI and Law and Order franchises take this role now. Agents have done this for decades.
Friends, Party of Five, That 70s Show
I feel like a lot of TV shows have been launching a lot of careers...
Barney and Friends it had Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez
It’s literally insane that you included Undeclared since the horrible F&G covers those people and worse that Law and Order isn’t on here since it’s usually famous actors’ first roles or one of them
Freaks and Geeks had a great cast....and it also had Seth Rogen.
My So Called Life with a young/unknown Claire Danes and Jared Leto
Friends! The West Wing! Gilmore Girls!
MASH had a lot of people before they made it.
What did Don Johnson do after “Miami Vice” that was bigger? He will always first and foremost be associated with Miami Vice.
FIREFLY!!!!
This is the Life, a Christian program, that had people like Leonard Nimoy, Jack Nicholson, Adam West, and several others before they hit their prime.
The X-files and Picket Fences
I’m crazy or I just I saw Ross in Band of Brothers???
This video deserves a part 2 with shows like ER, The X- Files and Dr Who.
Sex and the city. A lot of the one episode boyfriends went on to be stars including Bradley Cooper and Jim Gaffigan
Community, Everybody hates Chirs
How come you didn't mention David Schimmer being in the 2nd one, when he was on the screen when you were talking about the show? 😂
He was already famous
That show were Jared Leto was on.
21 Jump Street
IYKUK!
What the heck is he exercising on 3:28
Wait. Youre gonna mention Home and Away and ignore Neighbours?! In what world are you living?