Greta Lee Confirms The Morning Show Exit After Character Stella Leaves

Greta Lee has confirmed her exit from The Morning Show season 4.

“This is the first time I’m saying it out loud but yeah, this is the end,” Lee, 42, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Wednesday, October 22. “This is goodbye.”

Lee joined the Apple TV series back in season 2. She played Stella Bak, who was the fictional network’s president of news before taking on the role of CEO. Her performance snagged her an Emmy nomination in 2024.

During season 4, which is currently airing, Stella was pushed to unveil the network’s AI program despite it being unfinished. In episode 6, which dropped on Apple TV on Wednesday, Stella has a breakdown when her affair with Miles (Aaron Pierre) is exposed. Stella ultimately heads to the airport and boards a plane by herself, leaving the company behind.

While fans had hoped that Lee would return later in the season, the actress revealed that the last moment viewers saw of her character was her final scene. (There are four episodes remaining for this season.)

“It’s shocking. But, this is it. This is the end of the road for her, and I feel all kinds of things,” Lee said of the end of Stella’s story line. “We’re with these characters for so long, it’s surreal. I haven’t been able to say anything because I didn’t want to spoil it, but I’ve known for some time now that this is the end of the road for her and this is her goodbye.”

Lee added that the decision for her to leave The Morning Show was a mutual decision. One of the biggest contributors was her schedule.

“There were a lot of factors. Of course, I would have loved to have stayed on indefinitely. This is like family to me. I moved to L.A. because of this show a few years ago from New York. I had my babies while doing the show and so much has happened,” she said of trying to balance work and family life. “But it got to the point where it just wasn’t possible. These shows are such a commitment.”

In addition to her role on The Morning Show, Lee starred in three films this year: Late Fame, A House of Dynamite and Tron: Ares. Lee added that it “got harder and harder” to make time in her jam-packed schedule.

“The writers came back with this story line and it’s so bittersweet, but I also feel this was the end,” she explained. “Sometimes it’s that hard thing where it’s time. It’s time for a character to move on.”

While Lee knew in her heart it was time to leave, she confessed it was still an emotional farewell.

“There were definitely some tears. The crew — we’ve been family for years and years, and have been through so much. We came together in COVID and were one of the first productions up and running again, trying to navigate this whole new frontier,” she recalled. “We’ve been through the strike together, the L.A. fires. I always felt with Stella like we were doing something new. That was something I could never take for granted every day I was at work. Given everything that happened and knowing we were moving toward this goodbye, it was painful. I’m not one to carry things home with me, because I have two young kids who have zero tolerance or patience for that. But it was hard.”