Could Season 16 be the last for “Grey’s Anatomy?”Star Ellen Pompeo has hinted that may be the case.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey on the ABC medical drama, was asked if she sees herself continuing on the show beyond Season 16. “I’m clearly not prepared right now to make any formal announcement about what my future is on the show, but I am really feeling like we have told the majority of the stories that we can tell,” Pompeo told EW. “It’s about time that I mix it up. I’m definitely looking for a change.”
Pompeo’s current contract runs through Season 16 which will wrap in 2020. Pompeo told Deadline last January when she signed her two-year deal that she would love to do producing and directing when she finishes her stint on “Grey’s.” “I’d love to direct a pilot. I really like producing, that’s really challenging for me,” Pompeo told Deadline. “I think I’ve had an amazing training. I’ve had a Master Class in producing these last 14 years. I know every aspect of making a television show. Producing and directing is where I’m challenged and where I’m learning. It’s more interesting to me because it’s a skill I haven’t mastered yet.”
When “Grey’s” does finally end, series creator Shonda Rhimes, who last season handed off showrunning duties to EP Krista Vernoff, will return to write the final episode. “I have written the end of the show at least six times,” Rhimes told EW. “But we just don’t end. Every time I thought, ‘This is how the show should end,’ we’ve gone past those moments, so I’ve stopped trying. I have no idea now.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” Season 15 premieres September 27 on ABC.