Eric Dane's Leaving 'Grey's Anatomy'

ABC

Dr. McSteamy Is Checking Out

McSteamy lost his soulmate, so now he's checking out of Seattle Grace, too: Actor Eric Dane, who plays Grey's Anatomy doc Mark "McSteamy" Sloan, is leaving the series, on the heels of another cast departure, Chyler Leigh.

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Leigh, who played Lexie, Sloan's soulmate, bid the show farewell at the end of last season, when her character died of injuries she sustained in a season finale plane crash.

Now Dane is out, too, though he will return for a few episodes in the new season, the show's ninth, to wrap up his character's storyline.

"I am extremely grateful to everyone at Grey’s, ABC and Shondaland for the experience and memories I have had over the course of this run," Dane told TVLine.com. "It has been wonderful to work alongside and learn from a creative force such as Shonda Rhimes."

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Series creator Rhimes called Sloan "one of the most beloved characters on Grey's Anatomy," and said Dane "did not come to this decision lightly, but after much consideration and conversations, he and I have decided that this is the right time for his storyline to end."

After joining Grey's Anatomy at the end of the second season -- and earning the McSteamy nickname when he walked out of a shower with nothing but a towel (barely) wrapped around him -- Dane went from being part of the Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) story to starting his own romantic entanglements.

McSteamy's rollercoaster relationship with Lexie lasted until her death, and a source tells TVLine.com that Dane will return for a few episodes in the ninth season, as viewers find out what will become of the doctors who did survive the plane crash.

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Meanwhile, Dane and Leigh aren't the only faces that will be MIA on the show next season. Kim Raver, who played Teddy, is also out, and new docs -- played by True Blood's Camilla Luddington and Friday Night Lights alum Gaius Charles -- will join, well, whoever makes it back to Seattle Grace.

The new season of Grey's Anatomy premieres on Sept. 27.

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