Grey’s Anatomy actress Sarah Drew is reflecting on her departure from the beloved ABC medical drama after nine seasons. Drew began playing Dr. April Kepner in 2009 and was unexpectedly let go nearly a decade later after Season 14. Now, she’s sharing more details for fans curious about the circumstances surrounding her exit.
In 2018, Drew and co-star Jessica Capshaw, who played Dr. Arizona Robbins for ten seasons, were written out of Grey’s Anatomy, an experience that left Drew feeling confused and unsettled. She revisited her emotional departure on the Call It What It Is podcast, hosted by Capshaw and their former co-star Camilla Luddington, Variety reports. Her exit surprised both Drew and fans of the long-running series. She said:
“We were unceremoniously let go in a way that felt mean and unjust, and, because of that, the outpouring of love was so enormous it was like you were sitting there watching people [eulogize you].”
After her departure, Drew’s directorial work on Grey’s Anatomy’s shortform series B-Team earned an Emmy nomination. In 2018, she told The Hollywood Reporter, “The nomination after the fact made me go, ‘I don’t need to be worried about anything or have my confidence shaken.’ I’m not only pursuing my career as an actor, but I’m now also walking into this world as a director and as a producer and the world is so wide open.”
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Dr. April Kepner Was Originally Set for One-Night Stand with Major Character
During the podcast, Drew revealed a surprising secret about her character Dr. April Kepner: she was supposed to have a one-night stand with Eric Dane’s Mark Sloan (AKA “McSteamy”) in season seven. “April was supposed to have some random one-off with Sloan and it was in the original production draft [of the script], and then they changed their mind,” she shared. The Cagney and Lacey actress previously told THR that the reason for her firing was purely a creative decision. Drew explained:
“I was told that the show had too many characters and that they needed to downsize because they couldn’t service all of the characters effectively. They didn’t want any of us to be left in the background and not getting much of a story.”
Drew has since made peace with the situation and returned to the show for appearances in seasons 17 and 18. “I have no attachment to [the show] at all,” Drew explained on the podcast. “I had zero anxiety [going back because] I don’t need anything from anyone on that set anymore.”
Grey’s Anatomy is the longest-running primetime medical drama in television history. ABC announced the twenty-first season in April, and it premiered on September 26. New episodes air on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET and are available the next day on Hulu. Get caught up on the first 20 seasons via Netflix and Hulu.