What was the reason for Terry Markwells departure from Mission: Impossible?

Question

The episode "The Fortune" (S01E12) of the 1988 run of Mission: Impossible sees the death of primary team member Casey Randall (Terry Markwell) and the introduction of Jane Badler's Shannon Reed, who is from then on practically Casey's replacement for the rest of the show's 2-season run.

Now it is a bit unusual to see such a primary casting change right in the middle of the season. But on the other hand it seems well-integrated into the story (and Terry Markwell was certainly still alive and working, albeit never made an appearance on Mission: Impossible again). So I'd like to know if this significant change of the team has always been planned as part of the show's story right from the season's conception or if this was due to some external production/casting intricacies later on (and in the latter case, what those reasons were). Is there any official information from the show's producers/writers/actors on this?

Answer 1

The show was initially made for 12 episodes. But when additional episodes were going to be made, most of the cast members decided to renew their contract except for Terry Markwell. Apparently, she was dissatisfied with the screen time her character, Casey Randall, was getting in the series. She decided not to renew her contract and was replaced by Jane Badler for the remainder of the episodes.