8 TV Dramas Facing Major Cast & Relationship Changes This Fall

Kelli Giddish in SVU, Jesse Lee Soffer in Chicago PD, Freema Agyeman in New Amsterdam
Virginia Sherwood/NBC; Lori Allen/NBC; Will Hart/NBC

Fall TV season is almost here — many premieres are the week of September 19 — but we already know of some major changes in store for our favorite shows.

For example, there have been some shocking cast exits announced over the summer, including longtime series stars making their departures on New Amsterdam, Law & Order: SVU, and Chicago P.D. Over on Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo will be in a reduced number of episodes. And there are some big relationship changes coming not only on shows where cast members are leaving but also on The Resident following a big cliffhanger in the finale.

Below, we take a look at the fall dramas facing some major shifts.

Jesse Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead in Chicago PD
Lori Allen/NBC

Chicago P.D.

Intelligence is losing a detective, Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), who has been with the series since before the beginning (having been introduced on Fire). It’s unclear exactly how much we’ll see of him this season; we just know Soffer’s exiting in the fall. And what will that mean for his relationship with Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos)?

Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle and William Petersen as Dr. Gil Grissom in CSI Vegas
Sonja Flemming/CBS

CSI: Vegas

When the CSI sequel premiered, original series cast members Jorja Fox and William Petersen returned as Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom, respectively. While neither will be back for the second season, Marg Helgenberger is returning as Catherine Willows.

Miguel Gomez as Special Agent Ivan Ortiz in FBI: Most Wanted
Mark Schafer/CBS

FBI: Most Wanted

The CBS drama’s biggest casting shakeup inarguably came when Julian McMahon exited last season (and Dylan McDermott came on as the team’s new leader). And the FBI series with the most cast changes has a couple more in store for Season 4: Miguel Gomez exited after two seasons as Ivan Ortiz, and Edwin Hodge is coming in as a new agent.

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey in Grey's Anatomy
ABC/Liliane Lathan

Grey's Anatomy

It’s impossible to imagine Grey’s without Dr. Meredith Grey — but for a large part of Season 19, that will be the case, with Pompeo only slated to appear in eight episodes.

Anthony Anderson as Det. Kevin Bernard in Law & Order
Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Law & Order

Anthony Anderson only signed on to return for one year as Detective Kevin Bernard, and Mehcad Brooks is set to join the cast as Detective Jalen Shaw (first appearing in the three-show crossover premiere).

Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins in Law & Order SVU
Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Law & Order: SVU

After 12 seasons as Detective Amanda Rollins, Kelli Giddish will be leaving at some point in Season 24. It’s unclear how many episodes she’ll be in or what this means for Rollisi, since Peter Scanavino (who plays ADA Sonny Carisi) doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

Freema Agyeman as Dr. Helen Sharpe in New Amsterdam
Will Hart/NBC

New Amsterdam

The NBC medical drama will be saying goodbye without Dr. Helen Sharpe (Freema Agyeman) in its fifth and final season — right after a finale cliffhanger in which she left Dr. Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) standing at the (rooftop) altar! Will Sharpwin get their happily ever after?

Matt Czuchry as Conrad Hawkins in The Resident
Nathan Bolster/FOX

The Resident

After following Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry) and Nic Nevin’s (Emily VanCamp) love story for four seasons, he’s ready to move on after losing his wife. But will we see him in a relationship with Dr. Billie Sutton (Jessica Lucas) or Dr. Cade Sullivan (Kaley Ronayne) in Season 6?