Ellen Pompeo will only appear in select episodes of the upcoming Grey’s Anatomy season 19. Last season, Pompeo’s Meredith Grey had been planning to leave Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital to move to Minnesota with Nick (Scott Speedman), but she ultimately decides to remain in Seattle “for a little while” as the hospital’s interim Chief of Surgery in the season 18 finale. Pompeo has starred in the highly rated ABC drama since its 2005 premiere for a total of 400 episodes to date.
Pompeo has recently spoken about her post-Grey’s career plans and even mentioned last year that she’s “not sure I’ll act again.” Shortly after, ABC began negotiations with Pompeo about returning to Grey’s Anatomy for season 19, to which she ultimately agreed. When the season was greenlit in January, Pompeo had already begun branching out beyond Grey's Anatomy, launching her podcast Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo a few months before. She will be taking on her first new role in almost 20 years in an untitled limited series for Hulu inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born orphan whose adoptive parents claimed she was an adult sociopath posing as a child. This new project has led to a change in her Grey's Anatomy role.
Pompeo will appear in eight episodes of Grey’s Anatomy season 19 and will continue to serve as an executive producer, Deadline confirms. She will also continue to narrate, though it may not be for every episode. As of now, decisions have not been made regarding whether season 19 will be Pompeo’s last or the final chapter of Grey’s Anatomy altogether.
Pompeo is among the last of Grey's Anatomy's original leads, which included Patrick Dempsey, Katherine Heigl, Sandra Oh, Justin Chambers, and T.R. Knight, to remain on the show. Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., who play Dr. Miranda Bailey and Dr. Richard Webber respectively, have also kept their supporting roles for the entirety of Grey’s Anatomy’s almost two-decade run. Fans have had to adapt to many casting changes as the show continues to reinvent itself and follow new characters, but Meredith has always been at the heart of the action, keeping the series just familiar enough.
Now, with Pompeo taking a large step back, the show’s identity will be a big question going forward – can Grey’s Anatomy work without Grey herself? With five new cast members coming in next season and its centerpiece now beginning her retreat, season 19 will either work as a new beginning or a rightful end. Major characters have passed through the doors of Grey Sloan Memorial with varying success – the exit of Dempsey’s McDreamy was a particularly hard pill for many fans to swallow – and Pompeo’s decision to step into the background is likely to be the biggest Grey’s Anatomy crossroads yet.
Grey's Anatomy season 19 premieres Thursday, October 6 on ABC.
Source: Deadline