‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Shocker: Jake Borelli Exiting in Season 21

Meredith Jacobs May 13, 2024, 6:50 pm

Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt for 'Grey's Anatomy' — Disney / Nino Muñoz

Grey’s Anatomy is the latest show to be working its way around cost-saving methods, with one of its series regulars exiting soon.

Season 20 will be the last full one for Jake Borelli, who stars as Dr. Levi Schmitt, according to Deadline. (Borelli joined the series in Season 14, and he has been a series regular since two years after that.)

However, don’t expect the finale, which airs on Thursday, May 30, to wrap up his story, as he is currently negotiating to appear in “several episodes” to do just that, the outlet notes. Nothing this far suggests how he could be written out, with Levi’s focus on teaching the current group of interns at Grey Sloan Memorial, though he did have a possibly telling encounter with his ex-boyfriend, Dr. Nico Kim (Alex Landi), during which he learned the other man was about to become a father with his new partner. We’ll have to see if that leads to Levi thinking about anything in his own life that plays a role in how he’s written out—or if he becomes the latest tragic death to hit the ABC medical drama.

According to Deadline, Grey’s renewal for its 21st season—the news of which came in April—included a budget cut. That is partly being handled by having its stars in fewer episodes, so expect to see that with other members of the cast in Season 21.

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There are still a few episodes to go in Season 20, including the finale. Kim Raver told TV Insider that showrunner Meg Marinis did “an incredible job of weaving what she started in the premiere episode. A lot of those things, those strings come together. The interns are facing what they did with Sam Sutton [Sam Page], so that’s going to be explosive and exciting, stuff between me and Ellen [Pompeo] that is going to be really interesting with Amelia [Caterina Scorsone]. There’s so much that she was able to kind of come to that heightened finale cliffhanger moment.”

Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC