Why Tom Koracick Left Grey's Anatomy (2024)

Brain surgeons stereotypically have a reputation for their big egos in and out of the operating room, and Dr. Tom Koracick is one of the best examples Grey's Anatomy has had to offer over the years. Tom knows he's great, and he doesn't shy away from letting everyone else know it, too. Renowned neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd may have also oozed with confidence and took no nonsense from his fellow healthcare providers, but he had a certain warmth to him that Tom rarely echoed. There ended up being a few exceptions to his usual cool demeanor throughout his years on the show, however, and one of those exceptions may be the reason he ended up leaving Grey Sloan Memorial to follow a slightly different calling.

Dr. Koracick first appeared on the show toward the beginning of Season 14 in the episode "Go Big Or Go Home" at the request of Dr. Amelia Shepherd. He maintained his presence on Grey's Anatomy until the end of Season 17, where he participated in a grand departure along with several of the series' major characters simultaneously. His character has reappeared in several episodes since he left full-time in 2021, but his story came to a satisfying conclusion in his last appearance as a series regular. Even though his character was largely disliked by his colleagues throughout most of the show, the events that led to his decision to leave mostly for good -- and where he ended up as a result of that departure -- made all his previous questionable choices largely worth the journey. Not just for the characters in-universe, but for captivated audiences watching it all play out as well.

Did Dr. Koracick Always Secretly Have a Big Heart?

• Dr. Tom Koracick has appeared in over 60 episodes of Grey's Anatomy so far.
• He is played by actor Greg Germann, who has also appeared in the Grey's Anatomy spinoff series Station 19.
• Tom was a mentor to Amelia Shepherd and joined the series on a high note when he assisted in saving her life.

While Tom Koracick may have always acted tough and invincible, he did have one soft spot. Although he did not specialize in pediatrics, every situation that put him in contact with a young patient showed a completely different side of the closed-off neurosurgeon. It was eventually revealed in Season 16, Episode 6, "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard," that the reason he had such compassion for kids in the hospital was that his own son, David, died suddenly when he was still a child. Listening to Tom struggle to talk about his late son allowed viewers to see a version of the doctor no one ever expected to observe. This was not the only time Tom allowed himself to be driven by his emotions positively, and it strengthened his character for the better.

Tom actually ended up serving as a vital support system for several fan-favorite characters while he worked at Grey Sloan Memorial. When April Kepner completely fell apart as she began to question the existence of God at an extremely difficult point in her life, he was there to push her toward the beginning of her journey to healing when she most needed a friend. Dr. Miranda Bailey has been a regular member of the Grey's Anatomy cast since the show's very first episode way back in 2005, and she also leaned on him when she experienced her own form of loss. In moments of emotional turmoil, Tom could prove to be a reliable shoulder to lean on. The longer he remained on the show, the truer this became -- until his character growth finally reached a good stopping point.

Why Did Tom Koracick Leave Grey's Anatomy?

• Neither the actor nor showrunner gave an official reason for Tom's full-time departure for the series.
• Meredith Grey actor Ellen Pompeo also left the show as a series regular, only to return occasionally in later seasons.
• Only several original Grey's Anatomy actors remain on the show as full-time cast members 20 seasons in.

Season 17 of Grey's Anatomy was heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Episodes that began to air in 2020 not only portrayed medical staff reacting to and working under the conditions of the event, but they also showcased several characters' experiences becoming sick with the virus. Tom was one of those cases. He was in complete denial of the severity of the pandemic until he tested positive. His symptoms became so severe that he had to be hospitalized. Tom survived, but most of the patients around him didn't. This forced him to come to terms with his mortality and realize that the only life he had was the one he was living. Upon recovering, he began treating everyone around him with more respect and dignity than he ever had before. That seemed like a good place for his larger character arc to come to a close.

Tom's illness fundamentally changed the way he saw the world. Spending all that time in the hospital, unsure whether or not he would see the outside world again, put things into a whole new perspective for him. At the very end of Season 17, Tom decided to leave Grey Sloan Memorial for something completely new. When Jackson Avery revealed he was headed to Boston to run the Catherine Fox Foundation, in an unexpected turn of events, Tom asked to move across the country and join him. Working at the Foundation meant leaving Seattle, and his exit was much more emotional than longtime fans of the show expected. Thankfully, even though he's no longer a series regular, his character does pop in every now and then to remind audiences he's still alive. The door is also left open for him to return as a series regular if the opportunity ever presents itself.

This may not be the most devastating departure in Grey's Anatomy history, but it is one of the strongest examples of a character leaving the show better than when they first came in. It's also a rarer case of the show using character development as a springboard for a character departure rather than simply writing them out of the series through tragic, sudden death. Tom Koracick began his tenure on Grey's as the doctor no one really wanted to have around the hospital despite his skill value, but he left as the doctor everyone genuinely wished would stick around. The show's writers could have easily used the virus he contracted as an easy way to get rid of him, but they chose a redemption arc instead. It was also a surprise exit at the time, which made it all the more emotional for viewers and, therefore, created a far more meaningful and memorable farewell.

In his six years of regularly appearing on Grey's Anatomy, Tom Koracick went from a purposefully unlikable brain surgeon to a mostly changed man with a full, caring heart. Tom was always a highly skilled neurosurgeon among his colleagues in the field -- Amelia wouldn't have trusted him to operate on her brain tumor to save her life if he weren't that good. For a long time, however, he lacked the warmth that put a true passion for saving lives behind every consult and surgery he conducted. This had all changed by his final moments as one of the show's regular characters at the end of Season 17. He left Seattle and his longtime workplace with a newfound purpose and drive that would no doubt take him further in his career and his relationships than he ever would have made it at Grey Sloan Memorial. As they say, all endings are really just brand new beginnings.

Grey's Anatomy

TV-14

Romance

A drama centered on the personal and professional lives of five surgical interns and their supervisors.

Release Date

March 27, 2005

Cast

Ellen Pompeo , Chandra Wilson , James Pickens Jr. , Justin Chambers , Kevin McKidd , Jesse Williams , Patrick Dempsey

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

20 Seasons

Creator

Shonda Rhimes

Production Company

Shondaland, The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, ABC Signature, Entertainment One

Number of Episodes

420 Episodes

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Netflix , SlingTV , Fubo TV