The actress, who played Kat on the HBO series Euphoria, announced her departure on an Instagram Story. “I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez,” she wrote.

2. Jesse Williams

In 2021, Williams left Grey’s Anatomy after 12 seasons of playing Jackson Avery. Avery was originally introduced as a recurring character on season six and later became a lead person on the show.

3. America Ferrera

In February 2020, Ferrera, who is the lead on and executive producer of NBC’s Superstore, announced she’d be leaving the show after its fifth season.

4. Justin Chambers

“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers said in a January 2020 statement announcing his departure from Grey’s Anatomy, obtained by The Wrap. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices.”

5. Chelsea DeBoer

After 10 seasons and 11 years, Chelsea DeBoer walked away from MTV’s Teen Mom 2. In a November 2020 Instagram post, the star said she and her partner, Cole DeBoer, wanted to focus on different business endeavours.

6. Tamera Mowry

After being a co-host on the talk show The Real for six seasons, Mowry announced her departure from the series on Instagram in July 2020.

7. Kourtney Kardashian

8. Anna Faris

In September 2020, Faris said in a statement, “While my journey [with Mom] as Christy has come to an end, allowing me to pursue new opportunities, I’ll be watching next season and rooting for my TV family.”

9. Skeet Ulrich

Skeet Ulrich, who played F.P. Jones on Riverdale for multiple seasons, announced he was leaving The CW show in 2020. According to Comicbook.com, in an Instagram live video, Ulrich said he “got bored creatively”.

10. Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

In December 2019, long-time Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi announced she was “retiring” from the MTV reality show, reported US Weekly.

The reality star went on to say that she has tried to quit the show many times and that she wants to spend time with her three kids and husband, Jionni LaValle.

11. Kal Penn

12. Jim Parsons

The Big Bang Theory star Parsons decided that after 12 seasons it was time for him to say goodbye to Sheldon Cooper and the CBS sitcom. After his departure was announced, CBS decided it would end The Big Bang Theory after 12 seasons.

Even a deal that would have reportedly nabbed the actor more than US$50 million over two years couldn’t convince him to stay.

13. Mischa Barton

After three seasons of drama on The O.C., Barton was tired of playing Marissa Cooper. “I think I just got to the point where I was like, ‘I’m not sure I’m enjoying this any more,’” she said in a segment taped for Dancing with the Stars in 2016.

14. Christopher Meloni

In 2011, Meloni decided it was time to turn in his badge and leave Detective Elliot Stabler at Law and Order: SVU behind after salary negotiations hit a wall, according to The New York Times.

15. T.R. Knight

In 2009, Knight told Entertainment Weekly that he was upset to see his character on Grey’s Anatomy receive less screen time.

After five seasons of playing Dr. George O’Malley on the show, the actor made the decision to leave the medical drama.

16. Dave Chappelle

In 2006, Dave Chappelle left his own successful sketch-comedy The Chappelle Show after three seasons.

“That I was in this very successful place, but the emotional content of it didn’t feel anything like what I imagined success should feel like,” he said in a 2017 interview with CBS Mornings.

17. Adam Brody

When Brody was cast as Seth Cohen on The O.C., it meant leaving behind a recurring role on Gilmore Girls as Lane Kim’s boyfriend Dave Rygalski.

18. David Caruso

In 1994, Caruso famously walked away from police drama NYPD Blue after a little over one season to pursue a film career.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Caruso was reportedly asking for US$100,000 per episode, which was more than double the US$40,000 per episode salary he received for season one.

19. Topher Grace

In 2018, Grace told IndieWire that after portraying Eric Forman on That ‘70s Show for seven seasons, he was financially stable enough to leave the show.

20. Jared Padalecki

Gilmore Girls proved to be a great stepping stone for Padalecki, who left the series in 2005 after five seasons when he landed a lead role on Supernatural.

The actor’s exit from Gilmore Girls was quick and he was happy to get some “closure” when he made a cameo on the series’ Netflix revival in 2016.

21. Jerry Seinfeld

After nine seasons of playing a fictionalised version of himself, Seinfeld walked away from his NBC sitcom.

22. Sandra Oh