Almost everywhere you look these days, you’re bound to see Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, and Brian Tyree Henry, who all first became prominent in Atlanta. That trio has shown up in superhero movies, Academy Award-nominated films, and several notable blockbusters since breaking out on the FX TV series.
That’s all not even including Donald Glover, the multi-talented performer who created the series. It’s rare that a show produces so many breakout stars but it is something that happens more often than you might realize. The shows themselves were just as well-received as the actors who became stars from them.
Freaks And Geeks
It’s difficult to find a show that has had a longer-lasting impact despite lasting just one season than Freaks and Geeks. Though it was quickly canceled, the series has lived on through DVDs, streaming services, and because of the incredible cast when looking back on it.
For starters, the show was led by Linda Cardellini who has earned Emmy nominations and appears in the MCU. There’s also How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segel, Knocked Up‘s Seth Rogen, Oscar nominee James Franco, Martin Starr, Busy Phillips, John Francis Daley, and so many others. Even the guest stars often ended up becoming major players in Hollywood.
Orange Is The New Black
One of the first big original hits for Netflix was Orange is the New Black. The show about the inmates at an all-women’s prison was nominated for several major awards and helped launch a few stars. It also helped revitalize the careers of Natasha Lyonne, Laura Prepon, and Taryn Manning.
As for new stars, it gave life to Diane Guerrero, Samira Wiley, Danielle Brooks, Uzo Aduba, Kimiko Glenn, Ruby Rose, and Asia Kate Dillon, to name a few. They’ve gone on to shine in Doom Patrol, The Handmaid’s Tale, Peacemaker, Mrs. America, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Batwoman, and Billions, respectively. Those roles have earned many of them impressive accolades.
Firefly
Other than Freaks and Geeks, Firefly has a good argument for being the most prominent show canceled after just a single season. The show is so beloved that fans still call for it to be given another chance nearly two decades after it ended.
Firefly helped boost careers on a smaller scale at first with Adam Baldwin appearing in Chuck and Summer Glau in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Others had more of a slow burn to stardom like Nathan Fillion on Castle and The Rookie, and Alan Tudyk’s great voice work in things like Harley Quinn and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Friends
Considering the cast of Friends made history by negotiating their contracts and earning $1 million per episode in the final few seasons, it makes total sense that the series produced some big-name stars. Jennifer Aniston, who has been nominated for an Emmy and appeared in high-grossing films, is the biggest star of the bunch.
The rest of the group are household names and even if they didn’t show up in blockbuster movies, they’ve gone on to lead their own shows. Lisa Kudrow had Web Therapy, Courteney Cox had Cougar Town, and Matt LeBlanc had Episodes, just to name a few. That is next to impossible to find in other series.
Community
The only names in the Community cast who were really established by the time the series premiered were Chevy Chase, Joel McHale, and maybe Ken Jeong. However, the cast has been popping up seemingly everywhere since the series premiered.
As mentioned, Glover is a big star, McHale hosts more shows than ever, and a bunch of Community actors show up in the MCU. Alison Brie scored an Emmy nomination for GLOW, Jim Rash is an Oscar winner, and the rest of the Study Group have appeared in several major shows and movies.
Game Of Thrones
Although many of the cast members have done notable things since Game of Thrones ended, they’ll always be associated with the HBO series. That’s how it goes when you were part of one of the biggest shows in history. You simply can’t see these actors and not think of their GoT characters.
For starters, the likes of Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, and Richard Madden have debuted in or are set to appear in the massive MCU franchise. Young actors like Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams are budding stars, while names like Nathalie Emmanuel and Jason Momoa are in billion-dollar films.
The Good Place
When The Good Place premiered, pretty much everyone knew who Kristen Bell and Ted Danson were as their storied histories on TV shows basically made them small screen royalty. Beyond them, the show launched four other notable careers.
Jameela Jamil, who hadn’t acted until this show, was a scene-stealer and is about to be part of She-Hulk, while Manny Jacinto has gone on to appear in Nine Perfect Strangers and Top Gun: Maverick. Meanwhile, D’Arcy Carden was a highlight and is now on Barry and the upcoming A League of Their Own series, and William Jackson Harper led a season of Love Life on HBO Max.
Stranger Things
Part of the appeal of Stranger Things when it launched was that, outside of adult actors like Winona Ryder, most of the cast were unknowns. That has changed years later with Millie Bobby Brown becoming a major star and Finn Wolfhard landing some major horror roles.
Joe Keery and Natalia Dyer have started getting bigger roles and Maya Hawke has quickly become a breakout star. There’s also Sadie Sink who has led a slasher trilogy on Netflix (Fear Street), shined in a Taylor Swift short film, and has a highly anticipated role in Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film, The Whale.
The Office
It is often said that The Office has one of the greatest ensemble casts in television history. A lot of them played smaller roles than the main few characters but even they have popped up all over the place. The obvious standouts from the cast to become stars are Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson.
It goes so much deeper than that though. Ed Helms became a big deal in The Hangover trilogy, Rashida Jones starred in Parks and Recreation, Craig Robinson is a top-tier comedic actor, and Mindy Kaling created some great TV shows, including Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. That’s not even everyone either.
Atlanta
Atlanta has four main cast members and they’ve all gone on to do big things in Hollywood. Creator Donald Glover is an accomplished rapper who also had roles in Solo: A Star Wars Story and The Lion King remake, while Brian Tyree Henry recently starred in Godzilla vs. Kong and Eternals.
LaKeith Stanfield’s performance as Darius is a standout on the show and he has gone on to do great work in Get Out, Knives Out, and The Harder They Fall. Last but not least there’s Zazie Beetz who was fantastic in Deadpool 2, Joker, and The Harder They Fall.
