Sara Ramirez
Sara Ramirez will return to television as Kat Sandoval in “Madam Secretary” Season 4 starting Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. EDT. Pictured: Ramirez at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival at Cinepolis Chelsea on Apr. 21, 2017 in New York City. Getty Images/Astrid Stawiarz for Tribeca Film Festival

“Grey’s Anatomy” alum Sara Ramirez will soon return to television! The actress just landed a series regular role in the hit CBS TV series, “Madam Secretary.”

Ramirez will play the role of a political strategist named Kat Sandoval. The character will make her first appearance in the Nov. 19 episode of the series. The actress’ casting came just days after it was announced that Bebe Neuwirth will no longer return to the show, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Neuwirth played the role of Nadine Tolliver, the Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord’s (Tea Leoni) chief of staff. In the character’s final scene, Nadine hugged Elizabeth after telling her that she has decided to step back from her position to focus more on her son and grandchild.

Tolliver also posted a series of tweets announcing her departure from “Madam Secretary,” where she starred in since 2014.

Meanwhile, “Madam Secretary” creator Barbara Hill expressed her excitement over Ramirez’s casting. “We’re very excited that Sara is joining the cast. She brings a fresh perspective and a fun, energetic quality to the State Department staff,” she said.

Executive producer Lori McCreary is also excited to work with the former ABC actress. “We are thrilled to have Sara join the ‘Madam Secretary’ State Department team. From the moment she walked in on set with her talent, intellect, and spirit, she became part of the family,” she said.

Ramirez is best known for playing the role of Dr. Callie Torres in “Grey’s Anatomy.” The actress bid her role goodbye last year. At that time, there were ongoing contract negotiations among the main cast members, Ramirez included. In May 2016, executive producer Shonda Rhimes addressed Ramirez’s decision to exit the medical drama.

“This one was different because it wasn’t a big planned thing. I had a different plan going and when Sara came in and said, ‘I really need to take this break,’ I was lucky that we’d shot the end of the season with her going to New York,” she said.

Since her departure, fans have been clamoring for Callie to return to “Grey’s Anatomy” so she could reunite with her estranged wife, Arizona (Jessica Capshaw).

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