Yahoo News Lauren Cohan explains why she quit The Walking Dead
It takes a lot of guts to quit one of TV's biggest series, but Lauren Cohan's spilled plenty of those during her time on The Walking Dead.
In fact, you can't move for errant brains or zombie body parts on AMC's flagship show, but that wasn't the reason Lauren decided to leave her role as Maggie.
"Eight years is a really long time to be in those emotional depths," she told The AP.
"It's really fun for me because I never thought about drama as much when I started this career and I always kind of assumed I'd do like, light fare."
Despite her decision to leave halfway through the show's upcoming ninth season, Cohan still considers the role "a gift" and thinks there's room to explore the character further.
"There's a chance for me to still explore the Maggie character," she explained. "It's going to be fun to see if that can be done."
It was reported that Lauren had quit the role of Maggie Greene back in July, with efforts to renegotiate a deal unsuccessful.
She will apparently appear in just six episodes of season nine, which premieres on October 7 in the US and October 8 in the UK.
The news came just days after it was announced series lead Andrew Lincoln - who plays former sheriff deputy Rick Grimes - would leave the programme.
Director Michael Satrazemis confirmed the news on Instagram, paying tribute to "one of the greatest men I have ever met".
The combined departures begin a period of change for the long-running horror-thriller series, as Lincoln joined on day zero in 2010, while Cohan has been in her role since 2011.
The Walking Dead airs on AMC in the US, and on FOX and NOW TV in the UK. Season 9 premieres on October 7 in the US and October 8 in the UK.
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