"Grey's Anatomy" Premiered 18 Years Ago, So Here's A Look At Some Of The Biggest (And Most Dramatic) Cast Exits

    When Eric Dane decided to leave Grey's Anatomy, Mark's death was written in so that Lexie and Mark could end up together and "their love remains true."

    Nora Dominick
    by Nora Dominick

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Grey's Anatomy has been on the air since 2005, which means the show has aired more than 400 episodes (and counting).

    cast of doctors standing in door frame
    ABC

    With such a long run, characters have come and gone on the show — some with perfect exits, and others with not so great ones — so here's a look back at some of the biggest actors who have departed Grey's Anatomy over the last 19 seasons and what went down behind the scenes:

    1. First, Katherine Heigl left the show in the middle of Season 6, with Izzie deciding to take a new job away from Seattle Grace. At the time, Katherine's departure came after several behind-the-scenes moments where she criticized Grey's Anatomy. Notably, she dropped out of the 2008 Emmys race, which was reportedly seen as a "swipe at producers for diminishing her presence on the series."

    her character tearing up as someone says,  i deserve someone who will stay. i'm happy you're okay and i'm happy about your job. and i want you to go and be happy and not come back
    ABC

    Katherine's decision to leave that year's Emmys race led to people saying she was criticizing the writers — and possibly Shonda Rhimes — and it led to a lot of hate being thrown at Katherine for years. Namely, she was labeled as "difficult" to work with. In a recent interview for Variety's Actors on Actors series, Katherine opened up about all the drama surrounding her exit alongside Ellen Pompeo.

    2. Sandra Oh exited the series at the end of Season 10, with Cristina deciding to move to Zurich and work at the top cardiothoracic hospital, which was founded by Burke. When she announced her exit, Sandra said, "Creatively, I really feel like I gave it my all, and I feel ready to let her go."

    you are a gifter surgeon with an estraordinary mind. don't let what he wants eclipse what you need. he's very dreamy but he is not the sun you are
    ABC

    Speaking about her last day on set, Sandra revealed she gave a parting gift to everyone, explaining, "Because it was a celebration, it was this beautiful champagne in a box, and on it is an anatomical heart and a '10.' It was like, 'Here’s my heart in a box for a celebration.'" Since leaving the show, Sandra has said multiple times she has no intention of returning as Cristina, however, her character has been mentioned multiple times, most recently in Season 19.

    3. Patrick Dempsey departed the show in Season 11, with Derek dying after succumbing to head injuries following a car crash. At the time, Patrick said his character's exit "unfolded in a very organic way," however in 2021 it was reported that he was "terrorizing the set," which led to his exit. There was apparent fighting between him, Ellen Pompeo, and Shonda Rhimes, and "cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him."

    his character on the phone while driving and then in a stretcher with blood on his face
    ABC

    In the book How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy, Patrick admitted to resenting the long Grey's schedule and that it was "hard to say no to that kind of money." Patrick's complaining about long hours was reportedly a reason he and Ellen didn't get along as well in his final seasons. However, whatever fighting between Ellen and Patrick was seemingly resolved after his exit, and he even returned to the show in Season 17 when Meredith sees Derek while she's unconscious and recovering from COVID-19.

    4. Ellen Pompeo recently left the show as a series regular when Meredith and her family moved to Boston. After more than 400 episodes, Ellen wanted to explore other projects and she'll now be starring in a new limited series, which marks the first time she's played a different character since Grey's started in 2005.

    meredith texting that she's moving to boston and then saying goodbye to everyone in the hospital
    ABC

    While she's not in every episode anymore, Ellen is still an EP, provides voiceovers for episodes, and appeared in the Season 19 finale. "It's not a complete goodbye," Ellen recently told Katherine Heigl during their Variety's Actors on Actors episode. "And I think we’ve got an interesting story to tell." Meredith's story now involves her working with the Catherine Fox Foundation as she researches a potential cure for Alzheimer's.

    5. At the end of Season 5, T.R. Knight left the series with George dying after he saved someone from getting hit by a bus. T.R.'s exit was a shock to fans and came after a lot of offscreen drama, namely with Isaiah Washington, who called him an anti-gay slur before T.R. publicly came out. Ultimately, T.R. departed the show after realizing George's storyline was hitting a standstill.

    his character saying, i joined the army to be a trauma surgeon. i report for duty tomorrow and then a doctor realizing he's dead
    ABC

    T.R. reflected on his decision to leave the hit series during the height of its popularity saying that he wanted to feel "fulfilled in [his] work," which wasn't happening anymore. He added, "There just comes a time when it's so clear that moving on is the best decision." At the time, Katherine Heigl even tried to talk him out of the decision, saying "some of the problems could be worked through." T.R. returned in an episode in Season 17.

    6. Isaiah Washington was fired from Grey's Anatomy in 2007 — Burke left Cristina at the altar in the Season 3 finale — after calling T.R. Knight an anti-gay slur on set. Reportedly, this led to a physical altercation between him and Patrick Dempsey, who had been at odds with each other.

    his character saying, i'm up there waiting for you to come down the aisle and i knew you don't want to come. i know you dont want to come but that you'll come anyway because you love me
    ABC

    In the book How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy, writer Harry Werksman detailed the moment, saying, "And Isaiah, for whatever reason that day, just took [Patrick being late] the wrong way and he went after Patrick. I guess he felt disrespected that he and the crew had been waiting. He went after Patrick, pushed him up against the wall, and said, 'You can't talk to me the way you talk to that little f----- T.R.'" At the time, Isaiah publicly denied ever saying that about T.R., with numerous other cast members, like Katherine Heigl, calling out Isaiah's behavior.

    7. Chyler Leigh exited Grey's Anatomy after Season 8, with Lexie Grey shockingly dying after the infamous plane crash episode. At the time, Chyler said she made the decision to step away and worked with Shonda Rhimes to give "Lexie's story appropriate closure." She wanted to have more time to spend with her family, namely her three children.

    her character after the plane crash with cuts all over her face and someone saying i love you
    ABC

    Lexie's death is still regarded as one of the most heartbreaking moments in the history of Grey's Anatomy. While Chyler's last episode was in 2012, she did return in Season 17 for an episode where Meredith saw people from her past. While it was a reunion on screen, Chyler didn't actually film with the rest of the Grey's cast for the episode. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place, she actually shot her scenes in Canada while filming the final season of Supergirl.

    8. Eric Dane departed Grey's Anatomy at the beginning of Season 9 after Mark died due to the injuries he sustained in the plane crash. At the time, Eric wanted to explore other acting opportunities, and killing Mark was what made sense for the writers and Shonda Rhimes, who explained that Mark would never get over Lexie's death.

    in the hospital bed saying, i want you to promise me something if you love someone, you tell them. even if you're scared that it's not the right thing
    ABC

    "I fought it and I debated it and tossed and turned about it but in the end, I had to do what was right for the integrity of the character," Shonda said. "Mark would never abandon willingly Sofia and he would never willingly abandon Callie. So Mark dies. And he and Lexie get to be together in a way. Their love remains true." Shonda has said Mark is one of her favorite Grey's characters, and she even penned an obituary after his death.

    9. Justin Chambers departed Grey's Anatomy during Season 16, with Alex deciding to leave Grey Sloan to go be with Izzie. At the time, Justin said he left because he wanted to "diversify [his] acting roles and career choices" and that it was a hard decision to make.

    his character looking back and someone reading his letter saying that he's in love with Izzie
    ABC

    Justin's final episode is arguably one of the most talked about amongst fans, considering Alex's exit came out of nowhere and didn't even involve Justin being on screen in the episode. This had fans wondering if there was more drama around his departure than reported considering it was so abrupt.

    10. Giacomo Gianniotti left Grey's Anatomy during Season 17 when Andrew died after he was stabbed while pursuing a human trafficker. Giacomo was told about this storyline by showrunner Krista Vernoff, who had the idea to kill off his character in this way.

    him lying down as he says, carina
    ABC

    After being informed his character would die, Giacomo said he had to keep it a secret from the rest of the cast for about four episodes, and even during his final table read, some people didn't know he was leaving the series. After Andrew's death, Giacomo got "22:50" tattooed, which was Andrew's time of death on the show. On Instagram, he wrote, "The time that marked the end of one of the most beautiful chapters of my life."

    11. Sara Ramirez exited Grey's Anatomy in Season 12 as Callie left Seattle to go live and work in New York City with Penny. Reflecting on their decision to depart the show, Sara recently said, "I had reached a physical, emotional, mental capacity for playing the character — and had sort of lost myself with it."

    her character hugging another
    ABC

    After leaving the show, Sara publicly came out as bisexual and cut their hair short, something they'd wanted to do for years but couldn't because "Callie had long hair." They said, "But when I took my break, I thought, 'Oh, what better way to reintroduce myself to myself than to actually do something I’ve been wanting to do for years?'" In 2020, Sara came out as nonbinary.

    12. Jesse Williams departed the show in Season 17 when Jackson decided to move to Boston to lead the Catherine Fox Foundation. Jesse decided to leave after realizing Jackson's storylines were reaching an "organic" change, and he felt this was the best move. While he left as a series regular in 2021, he has appeared in a few episodes since.

    his character saying, i don't want this to be our big goodbye
    ABC

    Jesse said he didn't have to tell anyone about his departure because it was "an organic, collective decision." He worked closely with showrunner Krista Vernoff to come up with Jackson's final episodes, which also saw him reuniting with April. In terms of how the rest of the cast took his departure, Jesse said Ellen Pompeo was "pretty emotional," saying, "Our last scene together was very emotional as Jesse and Ellen as much as it was Jackson and Meredith. That’s my buddy and this is a new side for both of us."

    13. Jessica Capshaw left the show after the Season 14 finale when Arizona decided to move to NYC with Sofía so they could be closer to Callie. Jessica's departure was a shock for fans and was said to be because of "the show's creative direction." However, at the time, people wondered if it was connected to Ellen Pompeo's new salary, which Ellen denied.

    character saying, it's not a catastrophe that callie's making you smile again
    ABC

    When her exit was announced, Jessica tweeted, "For the past 10 years, I have had the rare privilege of not only playing Arizona Robbins, but also being madly in love with playing her. Arizona Robbins is kind, intelligent, funny, insightful, bold, playful, fierce and really good at her job. She was one of the first members of the LGBTQ community to be represented in a series regular role on network television. Her impact on the world is permanent and forever. Forever."

    14. Sarah Drew exited the show following the Season 14 finale after April married Matthew and quit her job at Grey Sloan to work at a charity clinic. Sarah and Jessica Capshaw's exits were announced at the same time. Again, people speculated if it was related to Ellen Pompeo's new $20 million per year salary, but it was said to be because of new storylines.

    april marrying matthew
    ABC

    When Sarah and Jessica's departures were announced, Shonda Rhimes released a statement, saying, "Both Arizona Robbins and April Kepner are not only beloved but iconic — both the LBGTQ and devout Christian communities are underrepresented on TV. I will be forever grateful to both Jessica and Sarah for bringing these characters to life with such vibrant performance and for inspiring women around the globe. They will always be a part of our Shondaland family." Sarah has appeared as April since, most recently reuniting with Jackson and moving to Boston with him after divorcing Matthew.

    15. Gaius Charles left Grey's Anatomy following Season 10, with Shane deciding to go work with Cristina in Zurich. His exit was a bit of a surprise considering he was only upped to a series regular that same season after joining in Season 9.

    his character saying that he's leaving to learn from someone he wants to learn from so that he can be in charge of his education
    ABC

    Gaius and Tessa Ferrer, who played Leah, both exited after Season 10, and it was announced even before the show was renewed for Season 11. Gaius and Tessa both joined the show at the same time as Camilla Luddington, who is still on the series.

    16. Jerrika Hinton departed the show after the Season 13 finale, which featured Stephanie escaping a fire at Grey Sloan and deciding that she didn't want to be a doctor anymore. Prior to her official exit, Jerrika was already exploring other acting options, which made fans speculate that she was ready to leave.

    stephanie with her head wrapped in the hospital bed
    ABC

    After doing a pilot that didn't get picked up two years prior, Jerrika said she decided she wanted to exit Grey's Anatomy. At the time, she said, "Shonda and I had a meeting at the beginning of Season 13 where we talked about my departure and my creative process, and she was very supportive of my wishes. And I am eternally grateful to her for understanding."

    17. And finally, Kim Raver originally exited Grey's Anatomy after Season 8, with Teddy deciding to take a new job. However, she returned in Season 14. Kim's original exit happened when she elected to not renew her series option as she "was ready to give Teddy Altman a much-needed vacation," according to Shonda Rhimes.

    teddy hugging someone as she cries
    ABC

    Kim has been a series regular since, and Teddy is now Chief of Surgery at Grey Sloan. While the Season 19 finale concluded with Teddy collapsing in an OR, it looks like this won't be yet another exit for Kim as she recently renewed her contract for Season 20.