Can there be Grey’s Anatomy without Dr. Meredith Grey alias Ellen Pompeo?
The 19th season of the ABC medical drama by Shonda Rhimes will be the first to feature multiple episodes without its lead character, Dr. Meredith Grey.
On Thursday, Ellen Pompeo opened up about her partial departure.
“I am eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support you have all shown me, Meredith GREY and the show for 19 seasons!” Pompeo began her Instagram post. “Through it all….none of it …would have been possible without the best fans in the world.”
In August, it was announced Pompeo would only appear in eight episodes of the new season but remain serving as executive producer and continue to offer he iconic voiceover narrations for future episodes.
Pompeo is reducing her presence on the show as she sets to star in an untitled, limited series for Hulu, Disney corporate sibling to ABC. The show will be based on the real-life story of a tangled 2010 adoption involving a U.S. couple and will mark Pompeo’s first new series role since ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ is not new to cast departures with Sandra Oh (Dr. Cristina Yang) exiting in 2014, Patrick Dempsey (Dr. Derek Shepherd) in 2015 and Justin Chambers (Dr. Alex Karev) in 2020.
Chandra Wilson (Dr. Miranda Bailey) and James Pickens Jr. (Dr. Richard Webber) remain the last original two series regulars on the show.
Viewers last saw Meredith leaving Seattle for Boston accepting a position from the Catherine Fox Foundation to research Alzheimer’s disease, which killed her mother, Dr. Ellis Grey, in season three.
ABC has not ruled out Pompeo’s return for season 20, which has not yet been confirmed.
