The overall sense I had in a recent S8 rewatch was an effort on the part of the writers to spread out the storytelling, to create a bunch of secondary characters to carry a larger portion of the airtime. This would make sense financially but not necessarily help tell better stories. Wyman might have asked for her workload to be lightened, or perhaps the producers knew instinctively to do this, not wanting to kill the golden goose. Whatever the case, newer and less-experienced actors are cheaper to hire and can inspire some unique stories for the established actors to play. It was just jarring to have to see this on a show that had always held a pretty tight focus on the core cast to that point, focusing more on short-term guest stars (stunt casting Jane's film star friends) rather than hiring permanent supporting cast members.
Granted, Selby and Sullivan were still front and center, their characters trapped in misery mostly of their own making. There was an air of Be careful what you wish for since I recall everyone rooting for this pairing when I watched the original run. People said that Maggie would make Richard become a better man, but instead we saw him drag her down to his level.
variety.com
