Why Stars Left The Last of Us, 9-1-1, Grey's Anatomy and More TV Shows

Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us

While fans maybe should have been aware that the days were numbered for Pedro Pascal's Joel Miller, considering his April 2025 death was quite similar to how it unfolded in The Last of Us Part II, the 2020 video game season two of The Last of Us is based on, the moment his character was brutally impaled still stunned. 

Pascal, meanwhile, who also died onscreen in Game of Thrones and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, took his game over status in stride. "I get killed a lot," he joked to Entertainment Weekly. "I like to die." 

Peter Krause, 9-1-1

After what he dubbed "one wild adventure," Peter Krause officially extinguished his role as 9-1-1's Los Angeles Fire Department captain Bobby Nash on an April 2025 episode of the procedural drama. 

“Bobby Nash was written in sacrifice, and he was built for this,” Krause wrote in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. “First responders risk their lives on the job so that others can see another day. His story arc honors them.”

Killing off the somewhat tormented, but beloved, firefighter was certainly a hot topic, showrunner Tim Minear acknowledged to Variety, "but after eight years, it just felt like, if we have any hope of creating stories going forward that have actual stakes, then someone's got to die."

Ahead of The Sex Lives of College Girls' third season, Reneé Rapp announced she would be leaving the Max series. 

"College Girls moved me out to LA and introduced me to some of my favorite people," she wrote on social media in July 2023. "2 and a half years later—it's given me y'all and this community."

The show's co-creator Mindy Kaling also confirmed Rapp's exit. "We love @reneerapp so much and of course will be so sad to say goodbye to Leighton Murray!" Kaling wrote on her Instagram Stories before referencing Rapp's thriving music career. "We can't wait to see our friend on tour!!"

Kevin Costner, Yellowstone

After 19 years as Meredith Grey, Ellen Pompeo scrubbed in for the last time as a series regular on the ABC drama in February 2023. 

"I gotta mix it up a little bit," Pompeo explained on The Drew Barrymore Show in December 2022, though she has already returned for a May guest appearance and continues narrating the series. "I'm 53, my brain is like scrambled eggs. I gotta do something new. You can't do The New York Times crossword puzzle every single day."

Batman vs. Superman star Henry Cavill revealed he would be stepping away from the Netflix fantasy drama after its third season—with the announcement that Liam Hemsworth will assume the role of Geralt for season four, and potentially beyond.

"My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures," Cavill wrote on Instagram in October 2022. "Alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4."

Original castmember Jesse Lee Soffer turned in his badge in 2022, saying goodbye to his beloved character Detective Jay Halstead role after 10 seasons.

"To create this hour drama week after week has been a labor of love by everyone who touches the show," Soffer said in a statement after his final appearance in the NBC procedural's Oct. 5 episode. "I will always be proud of my time as Det. Jay Halstead."

Madeleine Mantock, Charmed

Season two of Bridgerton was down one duke. Rege-Jean Page became the breakout star of Netflix's massive hit drama, and then broke hearts all over the place when it was announced that he would not be returning for the second season in 2021.

"I signed up to do a job and I did the job and then I did some other jobs," he later explained to Vanity Fair. "That's it. That's the story. I wish it was more glamorous than that."

Ruby Rose, Batwoman

Ruby Rose made her debut in 2018's Arrowverse crossover and then starred in one season as the titular Batwoman (a.k.a. Kate Kane) in the CW drama—making history as the first lesbian superhero to headline their own show, as Batwoman came out of the closet in a major TV moment—before announcing her exit just two days after the season one finale aired in 2020. The role was eventually replaced with Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder, a new character set to take control of the Batcave in season two. 

Later on in season two, Kate got a bit of a face swap and returned played by Wallis Day.

Ahead of the final season, Arrow's Emily Bett Rickards announced her exit in a poem of sorts.

"Felicity and I
are a very tight two
But after one through seven
we will be saying goodbye to you," she wrote.

She did, however, return for a guest appearance in the show's 2020 series finale.

Fox's Lethal Weapon is no stranger to cast exit drama. Clayne Crawford was fired from the series after the second season and his former TV partner Damon Wayans announced his plans to exit the hit drama after the 13-episode third season. "I'm going to be quitting the show in December after we finish the initial 13, so I really don't know what they're planning, but that's what I'm planning," he said in October 2018. "I'm a 58-year-old diabetic and I'm working 16-hour days… Murtaugh said, ‘too old for this.'"

Producers didn't need to work on a replacement plan, though. The show was canceled at the end of season three.

Emmy Rossum, Shameless

After nine seasons as Fiona Gallagher, Emmy Rossum announced plans to leave Shameless in 2018.

"Emmy Rossum will forever be part of the Shameless family," executive producer John Wells said in a statement. "She has been integral to the show's success, from her wonderful portrayal of Fiona to her leadership role on set, as well as directing multiple episodes of the series. We are hard at work now creating a season nine finale for Shameless which we hope will provide a Gallagher-worthy sendoff for Fiona that honors the great work Emmy has done. It is always bittersweet when an ensemble member decides to move out of the proverbial house, but our door will always remain open for Fiona to return home for a visit, or to move back in. I look forward to continuing the stories of this wildly unpredictable family and all of us on Shameless will miss Emmy and her wonderful Fiona."

Willa Holland, Arrow

Grace Park, who shot to fame on Battlestar Galactica, left Hawaii Five-0 ahead of its eighth season in 2017. She and costar Daniel Dae Kim left after negotiations to reach pay parity with their co-stars failed.

“I’m grateful for the lessons learned, but I chose what was best for my integrity,” Park later told Entertainment Weekly. “I know that people are always trying their best, and everyone’s coming from their own backgrounds.”