'Grey's Anatomy' Showrunner Addresses Ellen Pompeo's Reduced Role
Season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres tonight (October 6) on ABC with Ellen Pompeo only appearing in eight episodes.
“She has so many projects in development as a producer, and the Hulu project as an actress,” said Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff told Variety. “And she’s really excited to spread her wings, and we want to support her in that — while she will always be in the fabric of our show.”
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“I think that this show has legs,” Krista said. “I think that Ellen is extraordinary, and she’s been an extraordinary center of this show for a really long time. And if her career takes her in another direction, I believe that we’ve got a show here with a lot of amazing characters that our fans love. And this new class of interns is really exciting.”
When asked about what would cause Ellen‘s character Meredith to leave, Krista offered a big hint. “When you’ve got a woman who has a job that she loves, a career that she loves, a man that she loves, what is the thing that might take her out of the main storytelling?” Krista asked rhetorically. “And my answer to that is: her kids. Something happens with her kids that changes the course of her plans for her life. And as a mother, I resonate with that.”
Ellen made her first comments on her reduced role back in September 2022.