Lauren Graham Leaves 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' & Showrunner Reveals When She Might Return

Fans learned that Lauren Graham was written out of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist during season two, and creator Austin Winsberg is opening up about the decision.

Lauren‘s character, Joan, had accepted a job in Singapore and left the show and in reality, she was written out due to the pandemic.

THR reports that her exit was because of a scheduling conflict created by production delays of the upcoming Disney+ series, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. That show is in first position, meaning that series would be prioritized over others.

“I would have loved to have had more of her in season two,” Austin shared. “Unfortunately, the character of Joan was a victim of covid scheduling. Lauren had committed to doing another show that was supposed to be done shooting by the time we went into production. But the pandemic changed all of that and both shows ended up shooting at the same time. So, there was just no way for her to do both.”

However, Lauren could return to the show as Joan.

Austin adds that “the door is always open for Lauren and Joan to return, and nothing would make me happier than having her back.”

“Lauren and Jane [Levy] have such a great rapport when they are playing off of each other. And I feel very fortunate that we were able to get her at all.”

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist airs Tuesdays on NBC.