I'm sure you've all heard the saying, "All good things must come to an end," and that saying stands correct especially when your favorite actor is leaving a show you deeply love.
And while it may seem inevitable, it still stings. Sometimes the pain can be eased a bit (or become worse) depending on how the show decides to write out said character.
So, here are 15 ways actors left TV shows and how it was written into the show ranked from super well to less than average.
1.First, when Sandra Oh was ready to leaveGrey's Anatomy in 2014, Shonda Rhimes decided to make Cristina Yang leave Grey-Sloan Memorial and become the director of cardiothoracic surgery at an institute Burke founded in Zurich.
Watch her goodbye here:
2.When Steve CarellleftThe Office after Season 7, Michael Scott decided to move to Colorado with his fiancé, Holly, to help her take care of her ailing parents. In the finale, it's revealed that they eventually had children.
Watch his goodbye here:
3.When Jesse WilliamsleftGrey's Anatomy, after playing Jackson Avery for 12 seasons, showrunner Krista Vernoff decided to lean into the character's activism by having him move to Boston to take over the family's foundation to "create real racial equity in medicine."
Watch his final scene here:
4.When Nina Dobrev leftThe Vampire Diaries after playing Elena Gilbert for six seasons, her character was put into a magical coma that she couldn't come out of until her best friend, Bonnie, died.
Watch her last scene here:
5.After 11 years of playing Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, Patrick Dempsey was ready to call it quits on the "long hours" the show required in order to spend more time with his family. After coming to a mutual decision on his exit, Shonda decided to kill him off in Season 11 after having Derek save a bunch of people from a car accident.
Watch his final scene here:
6.After deciding that Season 8 would be her last season on Grey's Anatomy, Chyler Leigh worked closely with Shonda Rhimes to come up with a good way to close Lexie's story.
Watch her final scene here:
7.When America Ferrera decided to leaveSuperstore after Season 5, her character Amy decided to move to California after accepting a new corporate job.
Watch her final scene here:
8.In 2016, the creator of Orange Is the New Black decided to write off Samira Wiley's character, Poussey, resulting in her tragic death, which inspired actions throughout the rest of the show.
Watch her final scene here:
9.When Emmy Rossum leftShameless, her character Fiona Gallagher — who she played for nine seasons — packed up her bags and left her family behind to start anew.
Watch her final scene her:
10.When Alfred Enoch leftHow to Get Away With Murder after playing Wes Gibbins in 2016, his character was brutally killed on orders from the dad of his girlfriend, Laurel.
Watch his last scene here:
11.In 2006, when Ryan Cooley, who played J.T. Yorke on Degrassi: The Next Generation, was written off the show, the writers decided to kill his character seconds after he realized he was in love with Liberty.
Watch his final scene here:
12.After playing Prue on the hit show Charmed for three seasons, Shannen Doherty left in 2001, resulting in her character dying after a brutal demon attack.
Watch her final scene here:
13.When Jessica Szohr, who played Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl, left the show, her character moved to Spain following a fight with Dan at the end of Season 4.
Watch her last scene here:
14.After playing Dave Rygalski on Gilmore Girls for a short time, Adam Brody left the show to play Seth Cohen on The O.C., and to write his character off; the writers gave the explanation that he was now going to school in California.
Watch his last scene here:
15.And finally, after 15 years of being on Grey's Anatomy, Justin Chambers decided to leave after Season 16 to "diversify his actor roles and career choices," resulting in Dr. Alex Karev packing up his bags and leaving too.
Watch his goodbye here:
If you wanted an extra cry, here's his goodbye to Meredith:
Clearly, I couldn't rank every single TV character departure, or else this post would never end, but I want to know if there's any you believe should've made this list? So, feel free to drop them in the comments below!