Ellen Pompeo Hints At The Ending of Grey’s Anatomy,
Cue The Tears
Grey’s Anatomy— either you’ve seen it or heard of it.
It’s an iconic television show that has been on the air for fifteen years. Yes, you heard that right, FIFTEEN YEARS! It’s the show that has made all of its viewers honorary MDs because that’s what fifteen seasons of medical procedures will do to you. Still, it has managed to maintain an extremely loyal fanbase that made it tie with ER as the longest running hospital drama. This show has also opened doors in terms of representation, as it has had a very diverse cast since it first premiered and has broken many social stereotypes. The show also deals with relevant topics like the current political climate. In short, it is not just a “hospital drama”; it is so much more than that.
So, can there be a world without Grey’s Anatomy? Well, we better prepare ourselves because it is about to happen. Ellen Pompeo, the star who plays Meredith Grey AKA the lead character and the voice over of the show, has hinted at the fact that season 16 might be the show’s last. Since she and creator Shonda Rhimes have been working closely together throughout the years, Ellen mentioned that they will make the decision together. Ellen’s main reason for leaving the show would be that she is looking for a change since she’s been doing the same role for 15 years, and she also wishes to spend more time with her three children, which are all perfectly valid reasons. Meanwhile, Shonda Rhimes has landed a huge contract with Netflix to produce eight shows, so it would make sense for her to end all of her affiliations with the ABC network before she heads for the streaming mogul. That would leave How To Get Away With Murder, since Scandal already wrapped after seven seasons.
Perhaps both Shonda and Ellen will leave and Grey’s Anatomy will fall into new hands and a new head doctor will emerge and replace Dr. Meredith Grey. Before you go all “THERE CAN’T BE A GREY’S ANATOMY WITHOUT MEREDITH GREY!”, it’s important to note that this show is notorious for killing off many of its characters. Only four original actors remain from the first season. We have survived the loss of George O’Malley, McDreamy and McSteamy (okay, I’m still not over this one), plus the departure of Christina, Callie, and Arizona. If we can get through this, we can get through anything.
If Grey’s Anatomy really does end in 2020, let us hope that everyone gets a very well deserved happy ending because we’ve seen enough death already. If the show decides to go on without Ellen Pompeo and Shonda Rhimes, we must keep an open mind and see if Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital can manage to recover from such a loss. We’ll just listen to Chasing Cars and How To Save A Life on repeat until then.