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