Grey's Anatomy: Why Brooke Smith's Erica Hahn Left The Show In Season 5 (2024)

Why did Erica Hahn leave Grey's Anatomy in season 5? The medical drama has been surrounded by controversy for years, especially for decisions taken offscreen that end up affecting some characters. Such was the case with Erica Hahn, whose departure in season 5 had nothing to do with actress Brooke Smith being fired or leaving Grey's Anatomy voluntarily. Created by Shonda Rhimes, Grey's Anatomy debuted on ABC in 2005, and has been popular ever since. Hahn made her debut in Grey's Anatomy season 2 and left three seasons later in season 5.

Like any other medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy follows the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attending physicians as they do their best to juggle their personal and professional lives. Viewers have met a lot of different doctors over the course of the series, among those Erica Hahn (Smith), a cardiothoracic surgeon and long-time rival of Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington). Aside from her rivalry with Burke and being especially hard on Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Erica Hahn is best remembered for being one of the few gay characters in Grey’s Anatomy. She and Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) briefly had a relationship before Dr. Erica Hahn left Grey's Anatomy in season 5.

Related: Penny's Abrupt Grey's Anatomy Season 12 Exit Explained

What Happened To Erica Hahn on Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Hahn left Grey’s Anatomy quite abruptly in early season 5, following an argument with Callie over what to do with Izzie (Katherine Heigl) as she stole the heart for Denny from one of Hahn’s patients. She was unhappy about Izzie not being punished for her actions surrounding Denny; Erica wanted to report Izzie's actions while Callie was unwilling to do so. And so Hahn quit her job abruptly, got into her car, and left to never come back.

Suffice it to say, Dr. Erica Hahn hasn't been seen on the show since, and she is in the least number of episodes of any main character in the history of Grey's Anatomy. Any updates regarding what happened to her character and where she may have ended up are a relative mystery. Because Erica left Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, she and Callie never picked back up again with their relationship and her character hasn't made any guest appearances since.

Why Brooke Smith Left Grey's Anatomy

The most common reasons for an actor’s departure from a series are either about their contracts, wanting to explore other projects, or being fired, but none of those contributed to Smith's Hahn exiting Grey's Anatomy. In this case, Smith's departure was all because of ABC. In an interview with EW in 2008, Smith shared that the news of her exit from Grey’s Anatomy came all of a sudden, and she was just told that “they couldn’t write for the character anymore.”

The actress' abrupt exit from the show, however, wasn’t Rhimes’ decision — rather, it was ABC’s, as the studio wasn’t comfortable with where the Hahn/Callie relationship was going. Studio execs reportedly didn't really like Smith's character in general. Following writing Hahn's character out of Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes released an official statement about the decision which said:

Sara Ramirez is an incredible comedic and dramatic actress, and we wanted to be able to play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run.

Likewise, then ABC President Steve McPhereson told The Hollywood Reporter:

The character was not working for us, and the relationship was not working for us.

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The actress added in that EW interview that Hahn wasn’t even completely written out, unlike so many other characters who left Grey's Anatomy, which only proves how sudden the decision was for Hahn to leave the series. Smith also said she learned about Dr. Hahn's exit just as abruptly. Rhimes’ response to that particular interview was that Smith “wasn’t fired for playing a lesbian” and that the character’s sexuality wasn’t an issue, though Smith counters that she was warned (by the journalist conducting the interview) about the possibility the network would get "cold feet" in regard to a gay relationship.

This wasn't the first or the last controversy surrounding Grey’s Anatomy, especially when it comes to the sexuality of its characters and actors – look no further than T.R. Knight’s exit in season 6. Grey’s Anatomy is known for the drama of its stories, but also for not being the best at handling the departure of its characters, often opting to kill them off. In Dr. Erica Hahn's case, it was worse because she wasn’t even given a proper ending and the audience never got any closure.