‘Wonderfalls’ Turns 20: Where’s the Canceled-Too-Soon Show’s Cast Now?
It only took four episodes for Wonderfalls to go over the edge and plummet into the icy depths of TV cancellation, but two decades later, viewers are still falling for the quirky Fox series.
In Wonderfalls, created by Bryan Fuller and director Todd Holland, a 24-year-old Niagara Falls gift shop employee starts getting messages from animal figurines — including a brass monkey, a wax lion, and a mounted fish — that lead her to intervene in other people’s lives to positive effect.
Critics appreciated the series — the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Lloyd called it “so well done, so fresh and unpredictable, and so little in thrall to conventional virtues as to make the weary reviewer prostrate with joy” — but Fox yanked the series less than a month after its debut on March 12, 2004.
Unlike other canceled TV shows, though, Wonderfalls at least got a DVD release, with all 13 episodes ready to be discovered by new fans. With the 20th anniversary now upon us, here are updates on the series regulars.
Caroline Dhavernas (Jaye Tyler)
After Wonderfalls, Dhavernas starred in the TV series Off the Map and Hannibal (reuniting with Fuller on the latter) and led the cast of the Canadian drama Mary Kills People. And in 2021, she got another claim to fame as the new voice of Montreal’s REM transit system.
Tracie Thoms (Mahandra McGinty)
Thomas starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Rent, appeared in the films The Devil Wears Prada and Death Proof, and the TV series Cold Case, Gone, and Truth Be Told. She also recurs on 9-1-1 and Station 19.
Katie Finneran (Sharon Tyler)
Since Wonderfalls, Finneran has starred in the TV shows The Inside, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, The Michael J. Fox Show, Up Here, and Secret Invasion. She has also continued her Broadway career and won the 2010 Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for her work in Promises, Promises.
Lee Pace (Aaron Tyler)
Pace, one of Thoms’ Juilliard classmates, currently leads the Apple TV+ series Foundation. He previously starred in Pushing Daisies, which was another Fuller creation, and Halt and Catch Fire. On the big screen, he has appeared in one Twilight film, the Hobbit trilogy, and two Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
Diana Scarwid (Karen Tyler)
Scarwid, seen here in 2003, is now retired and living in Georgia, where she works with nonprofits and acting workshops, according to a bio on IMDb. Her post-Wonderfalls career included guest-starring roles on Prison Break, Cold Case, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, and Criminal Minds.
William Sadler (Darrin Tyler)
Sadler recently starred in two seasons of Power and recurred across six seasons of Hawaii Five-0. His other TV credits of late include parts on Hunters, God Friended Me, Our Cartoon President, The Good Fight, and Full Circle.
Tyron Leitso (Eric Gotts)
Leitso, seen here in 2002, moved on from Wonderfalls with roles in the Canadian TV series Whistler and Being Erica. The actor dropped out of the public eye after starring in a pair of Hallmark Channel movies, 2014’s My Boyfriend’s Dogs and 2015’s Family for Christmas.
