That '70s Show ran for eight seasons, though most fans agree that not all of those seasons were created equal. Where exactly is the line between a good That 70s Show and a bad That 70s Show? Some say it's around the point where Donna went blonde. Others say it was shortly after Kelso and Donna returned from California. Some say the decline began as early as midway through season three, when Lisa Robin Kelly left the show. One thing is clear, though: No one cares much about Season 8 because it's the season Eric (Topher Grace) isn't in it.

In a sense, Eric's departure was inevitable. He was the smart, bookish member of the gang, someone who surely should have left for college shortly after Season 5, but the show's longevity had the writers jumping through hoops to explain why he stuck around so long after high school in the seasons. 6 and 7. Red's heart attack was a decent excuse for a few episodes, and the writers got some mileage out of Eric wanting to take a year to figure it out for himself, but after two seasons of this, it's kind of sad to see them still hanging out in his parents' basement.

So it mostly makes sense that Eric finally decided to leave Point Place in Season 7, taking a teaching job in Africa that would keep him away from the rest of the gang. If the show had ended there, it would have been a perfectly fine conclusion for his character. Unfortunately, there is a whole season left to go.

As is usually the case in these situations, the reason why Eric left had little to do with his overall character and everything to do with what was going on with the actor in real life. During the first few seasons of That '70s Show, Topher Grace got a taste of acting in movies, but the sitcom's busy schedule severely limited the type of roles he could take on. Like a newspaper described "Grace is leaving the show to devote more time to her burgeoning film career." The fact that the quality of writing on "That '70s Show" was already in obvious decline probably helped prompt his departure.

Almost immediately after Grace's departure in the Season 7 finale, Sam Raimi announced that he would be casting Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3. It was the kind of announcement that strongly implied that Grace's decision had already paid off, though it became less promising a few months later when it was revealed that Grace was playing Venom, a character that many Spider-Man fans thought Grace had been miscast. .

Although "Spider-Man 3" has grow more valued over timewas considered a disappointment back in 2007, especially in the context of Grace's film career. As the rising fame of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis seemed unstoppable in the late 2000s/early 2010s, Topher Grace's surprisingly low film career was a point of contention among That 70s Show fans who they insulted Grace for leaving the series. True, slow and steady wins the race: While the other cast members of That 70's Show they are now in prison or they go through PR nightmares, Grace has gone on to star in fun, diverse roles in projects like Black Mirror, Blackkklansmen and Home Economics. He may not be an A-list celebrity, but his post-That '70s Show career is still pretty impressive and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, including an uncredited cameo in 2024's Heretic.

Although Eric's departure seemed like an obvious point of no return for the show, especially with Ashton Kutcher's character Kelso also leaving shortly in season 8, the cast and crew were still optimistic about the show's future. "When they made the decision — which was totally, 100 percent OK, because after eight years I think it's OK to say you want out — we looked at it and said, 'Do we still have a show?' he said Fez actor Wilmer Valderrama on hiatus before Season 8.

Publicly, at least, fans seemed to be hoping for a situation like Cheers, a show that could have easily flopped after Diane (Shelley Long) left, but instead it went on strong for another six seasons. Josh Meyers, who will join the cast in Season 8 as a quasi-replacement for Eric, also seemed hopeful that the show has a lot of life in it. "Last year everyone thought this would be the last season ... but the ratings will be the deciding factor," Meyers he said. "I can't imagine that these actors wouldn't want to come back for another season because they're making a lot of money. My mom read somewhere that Danny Masterson is making $15 million this season, so I'm not talking out of school.

Notably, none of the cast seemed to blame Grace for wanting to leave. In interviews after his departure was announced, most of the cast and crew seemed to support the choice. For Mark Hudis, one of the show's producers, he was impressed with how well Grace handled being thrust into the spotlight in 1998. "Topher Grace did a wonderful job," Hudis said in May 2006 interviewreleased a few weeks before the series finale. "This was a kid who had almost no experience, apart from school plays.

For the most part, the characters on That '70s Show reacted to Eric's departure as usual. Eric was repeatedly mentioned, but the tone and setting of the series remained largely the same, with everyone still hanging out in Eric's basement and going about their regular lives. One of the most memorable Eric-related characters in season 8 is when Red Foreman finally admits that he misses his son; it's an uncharacteristically tender moment, one that Red would be embarrassed to know was caught on tape for Eric to hear.

The biggest effect of Eric's departure was that he and Donna broke up off-screen. They both realized that the long distance relationship was not working and agreed to end it for now. This paved the way for newcomer Randy (Josh Meyers) to appear as Donna's new love interest, in a creative choice that greatly displeased Randy with longtime fans. This was the story that really underscored how weird it was for the gang to hang out at Eric's house; It's one thing for Donna to stop dating Eric, but why is he parading her new boyfriend around Eric's parents and why does Randy feel so comfortable hanging out at Eric's home?

Although fans often blame the lack of Eric for Season 8's problems, Season 8 was also capable of being bad for reasons that had nothing to do with him. Most damningly, the show dumped the beloved Hyde/Jackie romance to make way for terrific Fez/Jackie romancea decision that killed any goodwill the series may have had left. Outside of the ever-reliable Red and Kitty, almost every major character in Season 8 felt like a caricature of their former selves. Well, everyone except Randy.

I kind of like Randy Pearson. Or rather, I like Josh Meyers, who much like his brother Seth Meyers, has always had a certain pleasant charm that smooths over jokes that don't land at all. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather they keep him Potential season 7 Eric swaps Charlie around instead of throwing the guy off the water towerbut Randy himself wasn't that bad. If he had been introduced earlier in the series, and if the writing had remained high quality, and maybe if the writers hadn't bothered to write any kind of romance with him and Donna, there's a chance that fans would like Randy.

Of course, none of that happened; Randy was left with the impossible task of having to save a spiraling streak from certain doom, all while becoming an easy lightning rod for the fans' ire. It didn't help that the script itself kept trying to insist that Randy was the coolest guy ever, even going so far as to establish that he dated every other girl in Point Place before he met Donna. A lighter touch would probably go a long way there.

Despite Josh Meyers' early interviews expressing hope for the series, it seems he quickly became aware that his character was not popular. "I did the last season of That '70s Show, which made a lot of people dislike me. said in a 2022 interview. "They were like, 'You stole Eric's girlfriend,' and I was like, 'No, no, no, Topher Grace went to be in Spider-Man 3,' I just got a job, Donna's not a real person. she is a character…”

So what's Josh up to these days? Well, since then he has gone on to star in lesser-known but still worthwhile TV shows like 'The Awesomes' and 'Red oaks.These days, you're most likely to see him playing California Gov. Gavin Newsom on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” or appearing as himself on the annual Thanksgiving episodes of “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” It may not have been a perfect replacement. for Topher Grace, but that was never a fair expectation for him in the first place.