Molly Qerim Leaving ESPN’s First Take as Host
NBA legend Michael Jordan Set To Join NBC Sports as A Special Contributor
Molly Qerim has shared her final take.
The longtime ESPN personality is stepping away from her role as the host of First Takeâa show sheâs been a part of since 2015.Â
âHosting this show has been one of the greatest honors of my career,â Molly wrote in a Sept. 16 Instagram Story. âEvery morning, I had the privilege of sharing the desk with some of the most brilliant, passionate, and entertaining voices in sportsâand with all of you, the best fans in the world.â
The 41-year-old added that she was âgrateful for what this journey has given me: lifelong friendships, unforgettable memories, and the chance to be part of something truly special.â
âFrom the bottom of my heart, thank you for welcoming me into your homes,â Molly continued. âStay tuned. With love and gratitude, Molly.â
While Molly confessed that the news had come out earlier than she intended and ânot in the way I hoped,â she didnât expand on further details regarding her departure.
As for ESPN, Burke Magnus, the networkâs president of content, shared a statement to X Sept. 16, saying, “Molly has been an integral part of ESPN since 2006 and a key driver of First Take’s success since joining as host a decade ago.â
Arturo Holmes/WireImage
âShe elevated the show with her poise, skill and professionalism, while supporting others as a kind and encouraging teammate,â he continued. âWe respect Molly’s decision, wish her the best in the future, and thank her for her extraordinary daily commitment to sports fans and ESPN.”
And her First Take cohost, Stephen A. Smith, also expressed feeling sad about Mollyâs decision to leave.
âMolly is a friend. Molly is a coworker. Molly is somebody that I have leaned on many occasions in the past as she has done when it comes to me,â he shared on his YouTube channel following her announcement. âWeâve been partners on the show for the last 10 years.â
Rob Kim/Getty Images for Fanatics
The 57-year-old admitted that her departure âcame as a shockâ and he was ânot aware that is something that she was contemplating doing.â
âBut in the end she made her decision,â he said. âAnd we have to move on as a show. I donât like it. Iâm not happy about it, âcause I appreciate her and what she has meant to me. What she has meant to the show. What she has meant to the network. What sheâs meant to the business. And Iâm gonna miss her.â
For more celebs who made surprising exits from their hit shows, keep reading.
Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Mehcad Brooks, Law & Order
Mehcad Brooks shocked fans in 2025 when it was revealed he was leaving the NBC crime drama ahead of season 25.
Brooks, who joined the show in 2022, portrayed Detective Jalen Shaw for three seasons.
Bravo
Jax Taylor, The Valley
Jax Taylor announced he will not be returning to The Valley for season three amid growing concern from fans about his behavior during the showâs second season.
âRight now, my focus needs to be on my sobriety, my mental health, and coparenting,” the Bravo starâwho is embroiled in a nasty divorce from estranged wife Brittany Cartwrightâshared in July 2025. “Taking this time is necessary for me to become the best version of myselfâespecially for our son, Cruz.â
Mike Coppola/NBC via Getty Images
Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim & Devon Walker, Saturday Night Live
The Saturday Night Live stars all announced within days of each other that they would not be returning for the sketch comedy series’ 51st season.
Longfellow and Walker each spent three seasons on SNL while Wakim exited after just one season.
Todd Williamson/NBC
Heidi Gardner & Ego Nwodim, Saturday Night Live
Weeks after Longfellow, Walker and Wakim left SNL, longtime fan-favorites Gardner and Nwodim also confirmed they would not be returning for season 51 after eight and seven seasons, respectively.
Disney/Bahareh Ritter
Sofia Mattsson, General Hospital
Sofia Mattsson exited the long-running soap opera in summer 2025 after seven years playing Sasha Gilmore. Her character left Port Charles for Paris.
HBO Max/Warrick Page
Tracy Ifeachor, The Pitt
The Pitt star Tracy Ifeachor walked away from the hit HBO Max series after the medical drama’s breakout first season.Â
“It was an absolute privilege to play Dr. Heather Collins in such a groundbreaking season and piece,” the actress posted on Instagram July 10. “Thank you to everyone who has watched & supported Season 1 & shared their stories with me.”
Liane Hentscher/HBO
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
While fans maybe should have been aware that the days were numbered for Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller, considering his April 2025 death was quite similar to how it unfolded in The Last of Us Part II, the 2020 video game season two of The Last of Us is based on, the moment his character was brutally impaled still stunned.Â
Pascal, meanwhile, who also died onscreen in Game of Thrones and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, took his game over status in stride. “I get killed a lot,” he joked to Entertainment Weekly. “I like to die.”Â
Disney/Christopher Willard
Peter Krause, 9-1-1
After what he dubbed “one wild adventure,” Peter Krause officially extinguished his role as 9-1-1’s Los Angeles Fire Department captain Bobby Nash on an April 2025 episode of the procedural drama.Â
âBobby Nash was written in sacrifice, and he was built for this,â Krause wrote in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. âFirst responders risk their lives on the job so that others can see another day. His story arc honors them.â
Killing off the somewhat tormented, but beloved, firefighter was certainly a hot topic, showrunner Tim Minear acknowledged to Variety, “but after eight years, it just felt like, if we have any hope of creating stories going forward that have actual stakes, then someone’s got to die.”
Clifton Prescod/Bravo
Paige DeSorbo, Summer House
Summer just got a little less fun.
Paige DeSorbo announced in June 2025 that she was walking away from the Bravo series after seven seasons.
“Youâve seen me grow up over these last 7 summers. Iâll always be grateful for the memories, the community, and the opportunities this wild ride has brought me,” the Giggly Squad podcast cohost shared with fans on Instagram. “But like all good things (and some bad decisions), itâs time for this chapter to close.”
Netflix
Camille Razat, Emily in Paris
The French actress confirmed she would not return for the hit Netflix series’ fifth season in April 2025.
“After an incredible journey, Iâve made the decision to step away from Emily in Paris,â she wrote in an April 23Â Instagram post, alongside pictures of her and her former castmates on set. âIt has been a truly wonderful experience, one filled with growth, creativity, and unforgettable memories.â
Katrina Marcinowski/HBO Max
Reneé Rapp, The Sex Lives of College Girls
Ahead of The Sex Lives of College Girls’ third season, ReneĂ© Rapp announced she would be leaving the Max series.Â
“College Girls moved me out to LA and introduced me to some of my favorite people,” she wrote on social media in July 2023. “2 and a half years laterâit’s given me y’all and this community.”
The show’s co-creator Mindy Kaling also confirmed Rapp’s exit. “We love @reneerapp so much and of course will be so sad to say goodbye to Leighton Murray!” Kaling wrote on her Instagram Stories before referencing Rapp’s thriving music career. “We can’t wait to see our friend on tour!!”
Paramount Network
Kevin Costner, Yellowstone
More than a year after Kevin Costner was rumored to have unexpectedly walked away from the hit Paramount drama after four and a half seasons, he confirmed in June 2024 that he will not return to finish out the series’ fifth and final season.
ABC
Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy
After 19 years as Meredith Grey, Ellen Pompeo scrubbed in for the last time as a series regular on the ABC drama in February 2023.Â
“I gotta mix it up a little bit,” Pompeo explained on The Drew Barrymore Show in December 2022, though she has already returned for a May guest appearance and continues narrating the series. “I’m 53, my brain is like scrambled eggs. I gotta do something new. You can’t do The New York Times crossword puzzle every single day.”
Susie Allnutt/Netflix
Henry Cavill, The Witcher
Batman vs. Superman star Henry Cavill revealed he would be stepping away from the Netflix fantasy drama after its third seasonâwith the announcement that Liam Hemsworth will assume the role of Geralt for season four, and potentially beyond.
“My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures,” Cavill wrote on Instagram in October 2022. “Alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4.”
Matt Dinerstein/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
Jesse Lee Soffer, Chicago P.D.
Original castmember Jesse Lee Soffer turned in his badge in 2022, saying goodbye to his beloved character Detective Jay Halstead role after 10 seasons.
“To create this hour drama week after week has been a labor of love by everyone who touches the show,” Soffer said in a statement after his final appearance in the NBC procedural’s Oct. 5 episode. “I will always be proud of my time as Det. Jay Halstead.”
JoJo Whilden/SHOWTIME
Damian Lewis, Billions
After five seasons, Damian Lewis departed Showtime’s Billions in Oct. 2021.
FOX via Getty Images
Emily VanCamp, The Resident
In Aug. 2021, it was reported that Emily VanCamp hung up her stethoscope for good as she had exited Fox’s The Resident.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for ReedPOP
Madeleine Mantock, Charmed
After three seasons of feeling Charmed, Madeleine Mantock, who played eldest sister Macy on the CW reboot, announced her exit ahead of season four in 2021. Calling the role “an immense privilege,” in a statement, the actress shared how much she “enjoyed working with our fantastic producers, creatives, cast and crew.”
NBCU Photo Bank
Megan Boone, The Blacklist
Turns out Elizabeth Keen never will find out the truth about Raymond Reddington’s identity. Megan Boone chose to leave NBC’s The Blacklist at the end of season eight, and of course her character was killed off before she had the chance to read the letter that would have revealed everything. Boone marked the end of Liz’s journey in 2021 with an Instagram post in which she called the experience “a dream.”Â
LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX
Rege-Jean Page, Bridgerton
Season two of Bridgerton was down one duke. Rege-Jean Page became the breakout star of Netflix’s massive hit drama, and then broke hearts all over the place when it was announced that he would not be returning for the second season in 2021.
“I signed up to do a job and I did the job and then I did some other jobs,” he later explained to Vanity Fair. “That’s it. That’s the story. I wish it was more glamorous than that.”
Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Ruby Rose, Batwoman
Ruby Rose made her debut in 2018’s Arrowverse crossover and then starred in one season as the titular Batwoman (a.k.a. Kate Kane) in the CW dramaâmaking history as the first lesbian superhero to headline their own show, as Batwoman came out of the closet in a major TV momentâbefore announcing her exit just two days after the season one finale aired in 2020. The role was eventually replaced with Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder, a new character set to take control of the Batcave in season two.Â
Later on in season two, Kate got a bit of a face swap and returned played by Wallis Day.
NBCU Photo Bank
America Ferrera, Superstore
America Ferrera decided to exit Superstore at the end of season five in 2020, leaving Cloud 9 without a manager and the show without a lead. She ended up appearing in the first two episodes of season six due to the pandemic, and then when season six was deemed the end, she returned for the series finale to give Amy and Jonah (Ben Feldman) the happy ending they deserved.Â
SYFY/NBCU Photo Bank
Jason Ralph, The Magicians
In the 2019 season four finale of the Syfy series, Jason Ralph’s character Quentin completed his quest to save Eliot (Hale Appleman), but sacrificed himself in the process. While the show does feature dead charactersâit’s called The Magicians after allâRalph did not return for the fifth and final season.
CW
Emily Bett Rickards, Arrow
Ahead of the final season, Arrow’s Emily Bett Rickards announced her exit in a poem of sorts.
“Felicity and I
are a very tight two
But after one through seven
we will be saying goodbye to you,” she wrote.
She did, however, return for a guest appearance in the show’s 2020 series finale.
AMC
Lauren Cohan, The Walking Dead
Lauren Cohan said see you later to The Walking Dead in 2018 following prolonged contract negotiations. She appeared in a handful of season nine episodes, but after a six-year time jump her character Maggie Greene was nowhere to be seen. Producers were hopeful she’d return in some capacity for season 10, and after her short-lived ABC series Whiskey Cavalier was canceled, they got their wish. Cohan made her grand return in this season’s 16th episode, which aired in October 2020.
AMC
Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead
Hot on the heels of Cohan and Andrew Lincoln bidding farewell to the zombie drama came Gurira’s exit. After joining the AMC series in season three as the katana-wielding Michonne, she made her last appearance in a season 10 episode, which aired in March 2020.
The CW
Nicollette Sheridan, Dynasty
A recurring player in season one and series regular in season two, Nicollette Sheridan starred as the iconic Alexis Carrington. She announced plans to exit the CW reboot ahead of season three in 2019 to spend time with her ailing mother.
Jace Downs/CBS via Getty Images
George Eads, MacGyver
George Eads exited the CBS remake in 2019, midway through season three. At the time, he expressed his desire to leave and spend more time with his family.
FOX Image Collection via Getty Images
Damon Wayans, Lethal Weapon
Fox’s Lethal Weapon is no stranger to cast exit drama. Clayne Crawford was fired from the series after the second season and his former TV partner Damon Wayans announced his plans to exit the hit drama after the 13-episode third season. “I’m going to be quitting the show in December after we finish the initial 13, so I really don’t know what they’re planning, but that’s what I’m planning,” he said in October 2018. “I’m a 58-year-old diabetic and I’m working 16-hour days⊠Murtaugh said, âtoo old for this.'”
Producers didn’t need to work on a replacement plan, though. The show was canceled at the end of season three.
Showtime
Cameron Monaghan, Shameless
Ian Gallagher went to the slammer. When Cameron Monaghan left Shameless during its ninth season, his character was locked up. In reality, Monaghan was ready to explore new projects after nine years on the show. But, in a true TV twist, he went ahead and signed on to return for season 10 anyway and was present and accounted for when the show returned for its 11th and final season in December 2020.
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