Another main character is leaving Grey’s Anatomy. Ellen Pompeo recently had her last episode as series regular and now Kelly McCreary, who plays Maggie Pierce, Meredith’s half-sister and the daughter of Ellis Grey and Richard Webber, is leaving the show too. Kelly’s last episode as series regular will be next month. But the famously deadly show won’t be killing Kelly’s character off, as they’ve said she’ll recur on the show in the future.
Another doctor is saying farewell.
EW has confirmed that Kelly McCreary, who first joined Grey’s Anatomy as Maggie Pierce at the end of season 10, is preparing to say goodbye. McCreary’s last episode as a series regular is set to air on April 13.
McCreary is the latest exit for the series, which also said farewell to Ellen Pompeo as a regular in the Feb. 23 episode, and will see longtime showrunner Krista Vernoff depart at the end of season 19. Although, much like Pompeo, McCreary is likely to return to Grey Sloan Memorial in the future.
“After nine seasons, I am saying goodbye to Maggie Pierce and her Grey Sloan family. It has been a tremendous honor to be a part of such a legendary television institution as Grey’s Anatomy,” McCreary said in a statement. “I will always be grateful to Shonda Rhimes, Krista Vernoff, and ABC for the opportunity, and to the incredible fans for their passionate support. To spend nine years exploring a character inside and out, while reaching a global audience with impactful stories, is a rare gift. It has afforded me an opportunity to collaborate with, learn from, and be inspired by countless brilliant artists both in front of and behind the camera. Playing Maggie Pierce has been one of the true joys of my life and I leave with profound gratitude for every step of this journey. I am excited for this next chapter, and what the future holds.”
Showrunner Krista Vernoff adds in a statement: “Kelly McCreary is a writer’s dream come true; brilliant, nuanced, thoughtful, and kind. We will deeply miss her and her beautifully crafted Dr. Maggie Pierce.”
McCreary’s exit marks the loss of another Grey. Although she doesn’t use her mother’s name, she is Meredith’s half-sister (and Ellis’ daughter). With Meredith (Pompeo) gone, she was holding down the fort for the family name (and the title of the show).
Kelly joined the show in season 11 right after Sandra Oh’s Cristina Yang left for Europe. Her character filled the cardio surgeon role on the show and was a surprise relative for Meredith and Richard and of course drama ensued. I remember that storyline very clearly as it aired and it’s crazy that it’s been nine seasons since that happened. This show has been on way too long! Anyway, it sounds like Kelly is just leaving because it’s been a long time and she wants to explore new opportunities. Maybe that’s new opportunities as an actress or maybe it’s related to her personal life — Kelly married a director she met on Grey’s and they have a young child. Also, this show has been on for 19 years and Kelly has been on it for 9 of them so it must feel repetitive at this point. I’m guessing her exit will likely have something to do with her career and the marital strife her character has been experiencing lately. With Kelly gone, so goes the last Ellis Grey relation on the show.
I have been watching Grey’s since the beginning and unfortunately I think it’s time this show came to an end. It was great during its heyday but they’ve been beating a dead horse for years now.
What a beautiful family she has. Love that picture. Can’t say that I blame her about leaving. That show became unwatchable years ago. The show did a particularly awful job killing off character after character or giving them other terrible send-offs. It’s like they creators chose to be vindicative over decent story-tellers.
I was really pulling for her and Dr Ndugu to reconcile! Guess that’s really not in the cards now… 😖
It’s too bad she is going. I felt she was finally paired with someone with whom she had real chemistry. I love Grey’s and have been putting off watching Ellen’s final episode.