The Big Picture

• The decision to recast a beloved character on a TV show can be highly disappointing for fans and can disrupt the dynamic of the show.
• The recasting of Jesus Foster from Jake T. Austin to Noah Centineo on The Fosters was poorly received by fans, as they had become attached to the original actor and his portrayal of the character.
• The explanation for the recasting, involving a surgery that changed Jesus' appearance, was considered cheesy and did not satisfy fans' expectations.

Sometimes, late in a show’s run, an actor will decide it's time for them to depart the series. Whatever the reason may be, it’s often disappointing for the fans, and leaves the showrunners with two options: One, write the character off entirely. Or two, recast the character with someone new. While the most obvious and simple choice would seem to be just writing the character off, some shows do go with the second option and recast a character with someone new. Such was the case with The Fosters, when Jake T. Austin decided he was going to be departing the show. Rather than writing his character off, he was replaced by a new actor, and to put it gently, fans were not happy. From the very first episode of The Fosters Jake T. Austin portrayed Jesus Foster, one half of a set of twins adopted by Lena (Sherri Saum) and Stef Foster (Teri Polo). He and his twin sister Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) had a rough childhood in the foster care system before eventually being adopted by Lena and Stef, and thus becoming a part of a happy family.

But in the Season 2 finale, Jesus was in a car accident that left his fate up in the air until Season 3. But during the wait for the new season, and the resolution to that huge cliffhanger, Jake T. Austin took to Twitter to announce his departure. The tweets read: “I'm honored to have been a part of such a groundbreaking series, but I personally want to let you know that my time on the show has come to an end. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family, it's been a pleasure. -JTA” Jake T. Austin also revealed the reason behind his departure in a now-deleted series of tweets. Supposedly his role was going to be reduced in Season 3 of the series, and he wanted a more substantial part and to not be held back from other opportunities. And so he left, and Jesus was replaced by a different actor, something that caught fans very much off guard.

‘The Fosters’ Just Wasn’t The Same After Recasting Jesus

After Austin’s announcement, many believed that Season 3 was going to reveal that Jesus had died. Instead, a much more shocking reveal lay ahead. When Season 3 came along Jesus was very much alive, he just had a new face — Noah Cetineo’s face to be exact. The drastic change in appearance was attributed to injuries he sustained in the accident and required surgery for. The surgery was supposedly so hefty that his family was told it would change his appearance, and boy did it ever. Noah Centineo bears little to no resemblance to Jake T. Austin, and no amount of hair, makeup, and wardrobe could change that. Noah Centineo is far taller than Jake T. Austin, something that can’t be explained away with the cheesy surgery excuse. His voice is also noticeably deeper, and given that Jesus is already well into his teen years, it’s not likely that his voice would be changing.

Noah Centineo’s portrayal of Jesus isn’t bad, he’s a good actor and did well with what he was given, especially since he came into the show when it was already well established. But recasting such a beloved character was just never going to work, no matter how good of an actor was put in the role. After two full-length seasons, fans had grown attached to Jake T. Austin’s Jesus, no matter how charming Noah Centineo is there was always going to be a negative bias against him. Audiences, naturally, get attached to the cast of a series, so when a character is replaced by another actor it can really throw viewers for a loop. Not to mention it can change the whole dynamic of a show. It’s sort of similar to new characters. We don’t know them yet, and they come in and shake up the whole plot. They often change everything and shake up the whole dynamic, that’s how a recast of a character often feels, just on a less dramatic scale. They may not be a brand-new character but the little nuances they bring to the existing character are new and can change a lot more than one might expect.

Recasting Jesus Doesn't Work For Many Reasons

Recasting Jesus wasn’t just recasting a side character that showed up every few episodes and was in a handful of scenes, he was a main character. Audiences got used to him, they knew him, so it was quite jarring to see a brand-new person in the Foster family kitchen answering to the name of Jesus. Jake T. Austin’s decision to leave the show was his and his alone, and there shouldn’t be any upset towards him for that — as disappointing as it may have been. But given how poorly received recasting his character was, it begs the question of if maybe it would have just been better to write the character out completely. The show had already planted the seed with the car accident that left Jesus’ fate up in the air, and The Fosters was never a show to shy away from the nitty-gritty of life. As hard as it would have been to say a permanent goodbye to Jesus Foster, it wouldn’t have been as shocking as giving him a brand-new face. Fans had many months to prepare for that scenario, and given the timing of Austin’s announcement, it seemed likely that would be the case. So no one could have seen the recast coming initially.

Not to mention how cheesy of an explanation the whole thing was. It's hard to say whether it would have been any better if the show hadn’t acknowledged or explained the change and just went on business as usual. But the explanation being that Jesus had such serious injuries surgery would change his face was ridiculously cheesy, even for a drama series. There wasn’t really any other way to explain it, it was the best course of action in a bad situation. Nonetheless, when it comes to horrible recasts, Jesus Foster will always come to mind as one of the absolute worst.

The Fosters is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

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