Why Did Molly Burnett Leave 'SVU' After Just One Season?

Melissa Willets - Author
By

Jan. 19 2024, Published 10:35 a.m. ET

Molly Burnett attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features' "Emma" on Feb. 18, 2020
Source: Getty Images

As soon as she joined the team, Detective Grace Muncy quickly became a fan favorite on the long-running drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The part was played by Molly Burnett, whom viewers may remember from Days of Our Lives or Queen of the South.

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Although Molly made her debut in Season 24, Episode 2, by the finale of the season, she was already gone.

What happened to her character? Did Molly decide to leave SVU? Or, was Muncy just written off the show? Here is what we know about Molly's departure from the series.

Molly Burnett at the Showtime Golden Globe Nominees Celebration at the Sunset Tower Hotel on Jan. 4, 2020
Source: Getty Images
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So, why did Molly Burnett leave 'SVU' just as quickly as she came?

It wasn't exactly a smooth road to fitting in with the tight-knit team at SVU. When Grace Muncy first arrived, there was friction between the newbie and Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Luckily, Grace eventually proved herself to the other detectives and was even promoted to a DEA task force, per Express.

And just as fast as she was introduced to viewers, the beloved character left the show to take on her new assignment.

As Express reports, the creators of the NBC staple didn't share their reasons for writing Grace off of SVU as the drama enters its landmark 25th season.

Likewise, Molly hasn't spoken out about any personal reasons that she decided to leave.

We'll have to assume that Grace's exit was just part of where the storyline of the series was headed.

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After the finale, Molly simply said to fans via her social media account, “Hi friends! I am in Paris but finally getting to read your sweet messages about last night’s episode…I hope y’all enjoyed!!!”

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Fans were very disappointed to see Molly Burnett leave 'SVU.'

As Molly moves on to appear in a movie called New Me as a character named Rihanna, per her IMDb page, fans have taken to the star's Instagram to share their sadness over her character being written off of SVU.

"So sad you're leaving — you are my favorite," lamented one commenter.

"Why did you leave so fast?" questioned someone else, while yet another fan implored, "Please tell me you are not leaving the show!! You were my favorite!"

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"Excuse me?! You can't just come to SVU and then leave. Ugh!" vented another fan of the actress. "Please tell me you’re not leaving SVU. I loved your character!" pleaded another one of Molly's many fans.

And yet someone else declared, "YOU LEFT?!?!? Noooooooooooo this just ruined my day!!! I love you on SVU. I’m dead inside."

At the time of writing, Molly hadn't answered any of these fans directly, but she continues to share her life journey online.

Some fans are holding out hope that somehow Molly will return for Season 25.

However, according to Parade, Molly isn't going to return after her Season 24 exit. So, we're sorry to break fans' hearts, but it doesn't appear that Det. Grace Muncy is going to surprise us with an appearance.

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