Aunjanue Ellis Leaving 'Quantico' Ahead of Season 3

Quantico is saying goodbye to another original cast member ahead of its third season.Aunjanue [...]

Quantico is saying goodbye to another original cast member ahead of its third season.

Aunjanue Ellis, who played FBI assistant director Miranda Shaw, will not be returning to the ABC drama's upcoming season.

According to TVLine, the actress already landed her next gig, booking a lead role in the CBS drama Chiefs, which explores the professional and personal lives of three different female police chiefs in Los Angeles.

Ellis' now-official dismissal brings the number of Quantico departures to three, as she joins Pearl Thusi and Yasmine Al Massri, who were previously announced to have been cut from the show.

Thusi's character — driven, disciplined, type-A lawyer Dayana Mampasi — was introduced at the start of Season 2.

Al Massri pulled double duty on Quantico, portraying two characters throughout the series. The actress starred as twin sisters, Nimah and Raina, who were both training as FBI recruits alongside the other characters.

The departures are part of a larger creative overhaul under new show runner Michael Seitzman, who reportedly is looking to streamline the series' complex narrative.

ABC renewed the show for a 13-episode season, after many thought it was a lock to get cancelled. Showrunner Josh Sanfran stepped down after the announcement, although he is slated to stay on as a consultant.

Season three, however, will see the return of series regulars Priyanka Chopra, Russell Tovey, Johanna Braddy and Jake McLaughlin, as well as the addition of Marlee Matlin (Switched at Birth), musician/actor Alan Powell and Amber Skye Noyes (The Deuce).

Over on CBS, another shocking departure was announced in late January when news broke of Shalita Grant departing NCIS: New Orleans.

Grant recurred as Percy, a former ATF agent recruited to the NCIS unit, in the show's first season.

She was promoted to series regular for the second, third and fourth seasons. Grant's final episode will be the 17th episode of season four, scheduled to air April 3.

"It's just time for a change," Grant's manager Didi Rea told Variety. "This is about moving on to the next great thing."

Quantico will return with an all new season Thursday, April 26 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

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