Grey’s Anatomy – Season 19 – Kelly McCreary to Exit

Grey Sloan Memorial will be losing both of Ellis Grey’s daughters this season. Kelly McCreary, who has played Maggie Pierce, Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) half-sister and head of the hospital’s cardiothoracic surgery since the end of Season 10, is departing ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy after nine years. Her last episode as a series regular will air April 13. Like Pompeo, who is set to return for the Season 19 finale after Meredith’s big Feb. 23 sendoff, Maggie also will pop in to visit the doctors of Grey Sloan later this season, following her April 13 farewell.

Like was the case with Pompeo, whose Meredith Grey left Seattle in the midseason premiere, Pierce’s Grey’s exit also has been carefully planned. I hear she approached the producers ahead of time about her desire to leave and pursue other opportunities, which led to Maggie’s Season 19 arc being crafted as the character’s final chapter at Grey Sloan, building toward her upcoming exit. That final storyline has revolved largely around Maggie and Winston’s (Anthony Hill) deepening marital problems.