The Morning Show Star Exits Hit Series — And Reveals the Real Reason
Past Lives standout Greta Lee is exiting Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show after season 4, closing the chapter on UBA news chief Stella Bak—introduced in season 2—just as the latest episode spotlights her high-stakes AI gamble.
One of The Morning Show's sharpest players is clocking out. Greta Lee, who came in hot as UBA's news-division boss Stella Bak in Season 2, is leaving the Apple TV+ series after Season 4. It is not a messy offscreen drama situation; it is logistics. Still, the way the show writes her out? Spicy.
How the show sets up Stella's exit
In the latest Season 4 episode, Stella bets big on AI, and it blows up spectacularly. The tech inadvertently exposes her affair with her boss's husband, detonating both her personal life and her standing at the network she helped rebuild. She bails on UBA. As far as character write-outs go, that is a clean cut with some smoke still in the air.
Why Greta Lee is leaving
Lee told THR that the decision came down to timing and the sheer grind of making the show. She moved from New York to Los Angeles for it, had her kids while working on it, and tried to keep her schedule open, but it stopped being realistic. Meanwhile, she is also filming Tron, Late Fame, and Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite. With that on her plate, the writers shaped a bittersweet end for Stella that Lee says felt like the right time to close the chapter.
'These shows are such a commitment... it got to the point where it just wasn't possible.'
'Sometimes it is time for a character to move on.'
Where the show is at now
The Morning Show remains Apple TV+'s glossy newsroom drama about the folks who make morning TV and the messes that come with it. Season 3 was the show's highest-rated run so far, pulling a 75% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. Season 4 keeps the star wattage turned up and, yes, Lee is part of the season before Stella exits.
- Returning this season: Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jon Hamm, Greta Lee, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Nicole Beharie
- New additions: Marion Cotillard as Celine Dumont; Jeremy Irons as Alex's father, Martin Levy; Aaron Pierre as Miles; William Jackson Harper as Ben; Boyd Holbrook as Brodie
Behind the camera, the series is created and executive produced by Michael Ellenberg (The Leftovers), with Kerry Ehrin as writer. Executive producers include Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Ehrin, Mimi Leder, Kristin Hahn, Lauren Levy Neudstadter, Adam Milch, and Erica Lipez.
Bottom line: it is a bummer to lose Stella, a character who could stare down a crisis without blinking. But given Lee's schedule, the math checks out. At least the show gives her an exit you will definitely have opinions about.