Julianna Margulies won’t return for ‘Morning Show’ Season 4

Julianna Margulies is exiting the newsroom, as she will not return for another season of “The Morning Show.”

Margulies, who played Bradley Jackson’s (Reese Witherspoon) love interest Laura Paterson for Seasons 2 and 3, is walking away from the hit Apple TV+ series, Variety reports. The Emmy winning actress was asked if she could return for Season 4 and potentially a fifth season, but she declined.

The outlet also reports that she turned down an offer to appear in just one episode of Season 4 to sew up her storyline.

While the explanation for her departure remains unclear, “The Morning Show” showrunner Charlotte Stoudt confirmed that she wanted Margulies to reprise her role in the upcoming seasons.

The series brought in Margulies’ character in Season 2 to play a LGBTQ+ veteran journalist who falls in love with Bradley. At the time, Margulies addressed concerns about her, a heterosexual woman, playing an LGBTQ+ role.

“I understand 100 percent that I can’t play a different race, but I am an actress, and I am supposed to embody another character,” she told CBS Mornings in 2021. “Whatever their sexuality is doesn’t matter to me, the same way watching a gay person play a straight person.”

Recently, the actress faced more backlash after lashing out at Black and LGBTQ+ communities and claiming they lack support for Israel in the ongoing war with Hamas. However, Variety reports the decision not to return to the Apple TV+ “was made before the controversy.”

Margulies later issued an apology for her controversial comments telling People she’s “horrified by the fact that statements I made on a recent podcast offended the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities [that] I truly love and respect.”

She added, “I want to be 100% clear: Racism, homophobia, sexism, or any prejudice against anyone’s personal beliefs or identity are abhorrent to me, full stop. Throughout my career I have worked tirelessly to combat hate of all kind, end antisemitism, speak out against terrorist groups like Hamas, and forge a united front against discrimination.”

“The Morning Show” Season 4 will return in 2025.