"That's It. That's The Story": 11 Actors Who Left Hugely Popular Shows Early For Very Personal Reasons

Joseph Longo
·8-min read

It can be an actor's dream to get booked on a hit TV show. But sometimes things happen that cause actors to leave their popular series early. That was the case for these 11 TV stars who walked away from well-known and beloved shows for very unique and personal reasons:

1.Reneé Rapp: Sex Lives of College Girls

A person with long hair wearing a checkered top and buttoned pants is smiling indoors, with posters and candles in the background
A person with long hair wearing a checkered top and buttoned pants is smiling indoors, with posters and candles in the background
Person in a patterned top stands indoors, smiling near a wall covered with posters and a drawing
Person in a patterned top stands indoors, smiling near a wall covered with posters and a drawing

MAX / Via youtube.com

Following her successful stint playing Regina George in the Mean Girls musical on Broadway, Reneé Rapp secured a leading role on the MAX original series Sex Lives of College Girls. The show, which also starred Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, and Alyah Chanelle Scott, chronicled college roommates navigating school and love.

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In July of last year, Reneé announced on Twitter that she would depart the show after Season 3, which began airing earlier this month. She did not directly say why she was leaving the show in her statement, and she's largely stayed quiet on the specifics of her departure.

However, in February, Reneé reiterated to the Hollywood Reporter that leaving the show "was hard for so many reasons," including how important and influential filming her character coming out as a lesbian was for her own coming out experience.

Reneé's departure has coincided with her burgeoning music career. She released her critically acclaimed debut solo debut, Snow Angel, in August of last year.

2.Ellen Pompeo: Grey's Anatomy

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Person in a beige trench coat speaking to a group of people in a professional setting
A woman in a beige trench coat smiles, standing in a group of people in professional attire indoors
A woman in a beige trench coat smiles, standing in a group of people in professional attire indoors

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For 18 seasons, Ellen Pompeo was the guiding light on Grey's Anatomy, where she starred as Meredith Grey. Endless beloved cast members came and went over the years, but Ellen stayed. However, she made a high-profile step back in Season 19.

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"I feel super happy," Ellen said on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2022 about scaling down her role on the show. "Listen, the show has been incredible to me. I've loved a lot of the experience. I got to mix it up a little bit."

Ellen has continued to narrate the series and appear in various episodes. The show began airing Season 21 in September.

3.Paul Schneider: Parks and Recreation

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Man in a checkered shirt stands in a corridor with art on the walls. Other people are seen in the background having a conversation
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Man in a plaid shirt standing in a hallway, with two people discussing paperwork in the background

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Paul Schneider starred as Mark Brendanawicz in the first two seasons of Parks and Recreation, leaving the show ahead of Season 3, which came out in 2011. Paul opened up to ScreenCrush in 2014 about leaving the show.

"That experience was very strange for me. You know, I signed up for a specific character that was changed in mid-season. And it became a character with a lot less to do. And, all of a sudden, I was kind of confused and kind of having a lot less to do," he told the publication.

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4.Christopher Abbott: Girls

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Person with short hair sits at a table, looking confused, wearing a plaid shirt and gray cardigan, with a lamp and bed visible in the background
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Man with a beard in a denim jacket sits in front of graffiti on a brick wall

HBO / Via youtube.com, HBO / Via youtube.com

Christopher Abbott starred as the nice-ish guy Charlie, Marnie (Allison Williams)'s on-and-off boyfriend, in the first couple of seasons of Girls. However, he left the show after two seasons in 2013. Later that same year, he spoke about his departure in an interview with the New York Times.

"The world that [series creator] Lena [Dunham] wrote was very real, especially in New York," he told the publication. "But it wasn't as relatable for me on a personal level. It's not that I only like to play roles I know to a T, but there's something satisfying about playing parts where you really relate to the characters."

Christopher returned for a one-off reunion episode for Charlie and Marnie in Season 6.

5.Damon Wayans Jr.: New Girl

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Person sitting indoors, wearing a sleeveless top, speaking with an expressive smile. Relaxed home environment in the background

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Damon Wayans Jr., who played Coach on New Girl, exited the series...twice. He appeared in the show's pilot alongside other leads Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Hannah Simone, and Max Greenfield; however, according to the Hollywood Reporter, he first departed the show ahead of Season 1 because another series he was already starring in, Happy Endings, was unexpectedly picked up for Season 2.

When Happy Endings was canceled after its third season, Damon returned to New Girl for Season 3 and starring in Season 4. However, the Hollywood Reporter also noted that he returned to recurring in Season 5 to focus on other projects. He'd remain a recurring character on the show through its seventh and final season.

6.Meghan Markle: Suits

A woman in business attire stands in a file storage room, appearing to be engaged in a serious conversation with a man in a suit
A woman in business attire stands in a file storage room, appearing to be engaged in a serious conversation with a man in a suit
A woman in an office setting talks to a man, wearing a business shirt and necklace, surrounded by shelves with boxes
A woman in an office setting talks to a man, wearing a business shirt and necklace, surrounded by shelves with boxes

NBCUniversal / Via youtube.com

This departure is widely known. Meghan Markle starred in the first seven seasons of Suits but famously left the show following her engagement to Prince Harry. According to Glamour, Meghan opened up to Sky News in a 2017 interview alongside Prince Harry about leaving the show.

"I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change," she said. "It's a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I've been working on [Suits] for seven years. We were very, very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series. I've ticked this box, and I feel very proud of the work I've done there, and now it's time to work with [Harry] as a team."

7.Patrick J. Adams: Suits

A man in a tie and shirt is in a room with shelves of boxes, speaking to a woman with long hair
A man in a tie and shirt is in a room with shelves of boxes, speaking to a woman with long hair
A man in a dress shirt and tie talks to a woman in an office storage room with shelves of boxes
A man in a dress shirt and tie talks to a woman in an office storage room with shelves of boxes

NBCUniversal / Via youtube.com

Patrick J. Adams also left suits ahead of Season 8. The actor recently opened up about what was occurring in his personal life that led him to depart the show.

While appearing on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's podcast Dinner On Me, he revealed that he left the show for numerous reasons, including because he "wasn't taking good care" of his mental health and "was drinking too much" at the time. "I was in a zone of living a pretty unexamined life, was pretty miserable, was pretty depressed, and I didn't have the tools to deal with that depression beyond just spending money and drinking too much, and not really knowing how to talk about it," he said.

Patrick also said feeling like "money" was the only motivation to stay on the series served as another reason to exit. "I remember talking to my mom ... she was the one who was like, 'Is the only reason you're doing this (is) for money? That would be the only reason to stay at this point. ... Then you should go,'" he said.

Patrick guest-starred in the final season.

8.Steve Carell: The Office

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Person in an airport wearing a suit and trench coat, standing in a lively terminal with travelers in the background
A person in a suit and coat stands in a busy airport terminal with a surprised expression, gesturing with open arms
A person in a suit and coat stands in a busy airport terminal with a surprised expression, gesturing with open arms

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It's hard to think of The Office without Steve Carell playing the one and only Michael Scott. However, as fans of the series know, he left following Season 7, appearing only as a guest in the final season.

While appearing on Office Ladies, a series re-watch podcast hosted by his former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, last year, Steve reflected on leaving the show and shooting his tearful final episode. He said he was "ready to go."

"It was time for other characters to step to the forefront and other storylines to be pursued. The timing was right for everybody," he said on the podcast. "But simultaneously, there was just a sense of joy that we had experienced all of this. I was getting a chance to take a lap with everybody. I was simultaneously saying goodbye as Michael and us as friends in this moment of work together."

9.Kevin Costner: Yellowstone

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Person in wide-brim hat and jacket standing outdoors, looking to the side with a contemplative expression
A person outdoors wearing a cowboy hat and jacket looks into the distance
A person outdoors wearing a cowboy hat and jacket looks into the distance

Paramount / Via youtube.com

Kevin Costner's exit from Yellowstone has been highly publicized. The actor has been vocal about his efforts to complete his passion project, a Western film franchise called Horizon.

The first film was released in June. Around the same time, Kevin shot down beliefs that he was more focused on the movie than the series and other cast members were frustrated with his filming schedule. "That's bullsh*t. That's a lie. That's not correct," he said.

He said he left production on the film at one point to shoot the series but claimed scripts weren't ready. "So, what you read in the end was that I said, 'Well, look, I'm doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week.' I really didn't have that week to give them, but I said, I'll do that. And then they [spun that] into, I only wanted to work a week," he told Deadline.

10.Emmy Rossum: Shameless

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Person with long hair looking contemplative, wearing a casual hoodie indoors. Background is softly focused
Person with long hair in a casual top looks contemplative indoors. Background includes a blurry object, possibly a stereo or old radio
Person with long hair in a casual top looks contemplative indoors. Background includes a blurry object, possibly a stereo or old radio

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

Emmy Rossum spent nine seasons playing the eldest child in Showtime's hit series Shameless. She left the show in 2018, and it'd run another two seasons without her.

As for why she left, according to People, she told Shape magazine in 2019, "I couldn't be more thrilled to spend time writing, directing, and seeing what other characters I want to play. It's both scary and wonderful."

11.Finally, Regé-Jean Page: Bridgerton

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Scene from a period drama with two characters seated indoors, one in a dark coat looking at the other

Netflix / Via youtube.com

There's a very clear answer as to why Regé-Jean Page left a starring role after Season 1 in the monstrously popular Netflix series Bridgerton.

"I signed up to do a job and I did the job and then I did some other jobs. That's it. That's the story," he told Vanity Fair last year. "I wish it was more glamorous than that. [After] we finished the story, the temptation would be to roll with the distractions and go, 'Oh, well, the story went really well so we can kind of change this up and make some other stuff up, I guess.' That was never what we'd signed up to do."

Were any of the reasons for these actors's exits surprising? Let us know in the comments below!

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