When Morgan Fairchild Left This '90s Show, Her Character Was Murdered By A Serial Killer

It’s never easy for a show to figure out what to do when a key actor makes an exit. Writers on ’90s soap opera “The City,”however, had it easier than most. There was already a deadly solution baked into the show’s DNA.

The 1995 series served as a spin-off to the1983 soap “Loving,” which ended after a crazed serial killer took out a big chunk of the show’s ensemble in its final arc. “The City”saw the spree’s survivors resettle in Manhattan, where they welcomed brand new character Sydney Chase — played bysoap opera regular Morgan Fairchild — into the fold. The problem?Fairchild had signed on for just one year, and she made the decision not to return to the series when her contract was up.

Soap operas have devised dozens of ways to write off characters throughout the years, but “The City” didn’t need to get all that creative. The serial killer ending worked once, so the spin-off just did it again. Sydney fell victim to the newmurderer, who was later — naturally — revealed to be Molly (Melissa Dye), a fellow member of the squad. But whileMolly left many other characters alive, the ratings weren’t so friendly. “The City”failed to generate any sort of impressive viewership, and ABC axed it in 1997.

Sydney Chase may have fallen victim to the serial killer, but Morgan Fairchild’s career thrived after leaving “The City.” In addition to her impressive soap opera resume —which includes “Days of Our Lives,””General Hospital,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and more — Fairchildhas also racked up a staggering number of film and television credits. You may recognize her from “Friends,” “The Seduction,” “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” “Happy Days,” or many, many others.

Considering the length of her career, which began over half a century ago, Fairchild has borne witness to a massive amount of change in Hollywood. “I love seeing women directors, women stage managers, women ADs, women cinematographers — in all facets of the industry now that you just didn’t used to see,”she told Yahoo! Creators in a recent interview. “It’s nice to see women being able to come into their own. … Of course, right now we’re going through a time when people are trying to make sure women don’t have some of those rights, but we will keep fighting for that.”