What TV Shows Should Do Some Spring Cleaning and Drop Their Dead-Weight Characters?

It's officially spring here in the United States, which means it's the time of year when many of us begin to think about (or procrastinate on) our looming spring-cleaning tasks. Seriously, no one needs that many back issues of Rolling Stone, we promise. And those VHS tapes of David Copperfield's old TV specials? Bro, they've gotta go.

But our closets, junk drawers, and pantries aren't the only areas of our lives that would benefit from a little sprucing up—some of our favorite TV shows could stand to do some purging as well. There are plenty of frivolous characters, bad storylines, and trapped actors out there who simply aren't, err, "jiving" with their current circumstances. That's not because the actors aren't great or their characters or storylines weren't compelling at one time—but at this point, it's time to Swiffer them into a better place. Below, I've listed a handful of TV shows that really need to bust out the vacuum this spring; let's hear yours in the comments!

Community: Ben Chang

It's a tremendous—and surreal—accomplishment that Community still exists. The first few episodes of the show's Yahoo-hosted sixth season have been pleasant and even occasionally funny. But it's time for a, well, Chang. (Sorry, but doesn't that kind of make my point for me?) Ken Jeong is wonderful, especially in small doses, and I appreciate Dan Harmon & Co.'s willingness to use Chang in completely random, minimal bursts that emphasize comedy over character. However, that doesn't make up for the fact that Chang hasn't added much to the series since the end of Season 1. That's five years! His continued presence is especially painful given that Community has said goodbye to Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Yvette Nicole Brown, John Oliver, and Jonathan Banks in the span of less than 20 episodes. Go ahead and cry, it's okay.

Nashville: Mayor Teddy

Nashville is perpetually full of characters who generally lack a purpose in that causally lame, primetime soap kind of way, but Eric Close's Teddy has been screwed since roughly 25 minutes into the show's pilot. While Teddy was always going to be the odd man out in the Rayna/Deacon romantic endgame, and while the show seemed to acknowledge that by zooming toward a Rayna/Teddy divorce, the mayor has been floundering ever since. His sidepiece­-turned­-new-love was gunned down in a parking lot, he learned that his oldest daughter isn't actually his, and now he's probably being investigated for snuggling up to an escort. Every once in a while Close brings some real humanity to his role, but he's never going to overcome Nashville's persistent disinterest in the character.

The Vampire Diaries: Enzo

This one is difficult to fathom, but it's the truth. Not all that long ago, Michael Malarkey's Enzo was the best thing The Vampier Diaries' sluggish fifth season had to offer. The character brought a fine combination of deadly sarcasm and pathos to a show that'd gotten bogged down in cyclical romantic entanglements. What a difference a year makes! Malarkey was promoted to series regular, Enzo completed his journey back from the other side, and then... nothing. The character has spent all of Season 6 running the world's longest long con on his nemesis Stefan, simply because Stefan decided to stop looking for Damon and move on. Damon's been back for a long time, but Enzo is still doing his worst Emily Thorne impression, incrementally trying to ruin Stefan's life to the point where it feels like even The Vampire Diaries' other characters are looking at Enzo with confusion. Malarkey is great, but if the writers can't find anything worthwhile for Enzo do, they should demote the actor to recurring status and employ the character only when needed.

Girls: Jessa

It's always amusing to watch Girls attempt to recommit to writing good material for Jessa; at this point, it happens a couple times each season. Jemima Kirke's real-life pregnancy in Season 2 seemed to derail the show's interest in the character, at least in comparison to Hannah, Shoshanna, and Marnie, and things have gotten so bad that one of Jessa's biggest stories in Season 4 involved her getting arrested for urinating on the street. I'm sure that the freedom to pee in public is an important issue to all New York 20-somethings, but it sure feels like Jessa has outgrown her "friends" and needs strike out on her own. Girls should let her go.

Homeland: Saul Berenson

Homeland struggled to say goodbye to Nicholas Brody and his family, to the real detriment of the story. And while removing Saul from the equation isn't as essential to the Showtime drama's long-term survival, it's probably time for him to depart. Perhaps most frustratingly, Homeland had a prime opportunity to let Saul go in Season 4 when he was captured, tortured, and recaptured in painstaking fashion, only to decide that it (literally) couldn't bear to pull the trigger. Mandy Patinkin is a true national treasure who's always going to elevate what's on the page, but the character has been through enough. He doesn't have to die, nor does he have to leave the show and never return. But if Homeland is going to keep talking about Carrie operating on her own, maybe it should truly let her try.

Alright, those are my picks. Who do YOU think needs to pack up and disappear from some of your favorite shows?