Saying goodbye is tough — staying away is even tougher. That’s the case for many stars in TV shows. Episodic TV, although it’s changing constantly in the midst of the streaming wars, isn’t a small commitment. Many dramas include 24 hour-long episodes per season, leaving little room for other projects.
That said, many actors who decide it’s time to hang up their hat on a role they’ve played for years, later come back. Sometimes, they don’t even wait very long.
At the end of Chicago Fire‘s sixth season, Monica Raymund, who portrayed Gabby Dawson, announced she wouldn’t be back for season 7 and was ready to move on to new projects.
Luckily, fans did get a chance to say goodbye after showrunner Derek Haas begged her to come back. She appeared twice in the season 7 premiere.
“Last year, Monica let me know that she wasn’t going to come back. I was in denial,” Haas told Us at the time. “So she was like, ‘Derek, I love this character and have done this character for six years, but I have bigger, other ambitions.’ So, I was like, ‘OK, s—t.’ I wrote the ending of last season, and I will admit it was not the perfect … it wasn’t what I wanted to do in my head. We had planned pretty good in Puerto Rico, I just thought Casey would go get her and bring her back. Whatever. This summer, I saw her a couple of times. The first time, she was like, ‘Derek, I’m not doing it.’ Then the second time I was like, ‘Monica, please. I’m asking for one — literally one day, one episode. Can you come back?’ I think she took pity on me and came back and did it.”
For others, they put the character behind them, but when a show wraps, they decide to come back. Steve Carrell, for example, decided to exit The Office — and continuously said he wouldn’t be back. However, when the show came to an end in 2013, he couldn’t help appearing for one last laugh.
For more stars who have exited TV shows only to come back later, scroll through the gallery below.
Following her season 4 departure, Dickens' return as Madison Clark in season 8 was announced in December 2021. Michael Desmond/AMC
Polizzi will return full-time to Jersey Shore: Family Vacation for season 5 in 2021, two years after announcing her exit. "I have to do what’s best for me at the moment, and I am retiring from Jersey Shore,” she said in December 2019. “I am not coming back to Jersey Shore for a season 4, if there is one. And there’s a lot of reasons why, but the main reason is really … I’m just like, I just can’t do it anymore." MTV/YouTube
Eleven years after leaving Law & Order: SVU in 2011, Christopher Stabler returned in April 2021 ahead of the premiere of his own spinoff, Law & Order: Organized Crime. Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Although he left Grey's Anatomy in 2015, Patrick Dempsey's Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd returned in 2020. During the season 17 premiere, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) passed out and reunited with her late husband on the beach. ABC
After season 1 of 9-1-1 on Fox, Connie Britton's Abby Clark left town as the actress only signed on for the first season. However, she will return for the season 3 finale, set to air in May 2020. Michael Becker / FOX
After six years on The Vampire Diaries, Nina Dobrev decided she would not be returning for season 7. However, when the series came to an end in 2017, the actress returned in her leading role for one last ride as Elena Gilbert. Bob Mahoney/The CW
Although Chicago Fire's Gabby Dawson was beloved, Raymund wanted to make a change in 2018. She announced on Instagram that she would not be returning to the NBC series for the 7th season. However, she made not one but two surprise appearances in the season 7 premiere, then returned for one episode in season 8. NBC
In season 5 of Full House, Scott Weinger joined as D.J.'s (Candace Cameron Bure) boyfriend. Two seasons later, the actor left to attend Harvard University. He ultimately returned for the series finale in season 7. In 2016, he joined Fuller House. Shutterstock
After six seasons playing Lucas Scott, Chad Michael Murray exited The CW's One Tree Hill. However, he returned for an episode in the ninth and final season when his character tried to help BFF Haley deal with Nathan's disappearance. Chad - Fred Norris/The CW
In season 5 of The Good Wife, Josh Charles decided to exit the series, so his character, Will Gardner, was killed off. However, when the show came to an end in season 7, Will returned as a ghost in the series finale. David M. Russell/CBS
After seven seasons leading The Office, Carrell decided to exit the show to focus on films. However, Michael Scott, came back for the season 9 finale. Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Ahead of Arrow's final season in 2020, Emily Bett Rickards announced that she would not be returning for season 8. While she said that her character, Felicity, had completed her story, the actress decided to return for the series finale. Bob Mahoney/The CW; David M. Russell/CBS; Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank; Dean Buscher/The CW
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