‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Ellen Pompeo to Appear in Only 8 Episodes of Season 19

Meredith Jacobs August 3, 2022, 1:33 pm

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Ellen Pompeo as Meredith in Grey's Anatomy — ABC/Raymond Liu

Is this a sign that we might be nearing the end of Grey’s Anatomy? Ellen Pompeo will not be in a majority of the upcoming 19th season.

Pompeo will only be in eight episodes, according to Deadline. However, she will still be the narrator for all Season 19 episodes (which could be a total of 22) and executive produce. This comes as Pompeo has joined a new Hulu limited series, Orphan, “inspired by the true story of Ukranian-born Natalia Grace and her US adoptive parents who claimed that she was an adult ‘sociopath’ pretending to be a child.”

As for what we can expect from Pompeo’s Dr. Meredith Grey when she is onscreen, she ended Season 18 as interim Chief of Surgery at Grey Sloan, rather than moving to Minnesota to take the job she’d wanted to after helping out with the hospital’s residency program. According to Deadline, “there has been chatter that Pompeo may be wrapping Meredith’s storyline” in Season 19, though nothing has been determined about her future on the show beyond that or if there will be a Season 20. Still, it has been said that the series would continue as long as Pompeo played Meredith.

Pompeo’s reduced episode count comes as Grey’s ended with the futures of several characters at Grey Sloan up in the air. Meredith only appearing in eight episodes all but guarantees that Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), who quit after the residency program was shut down, will be back sooner rather than later, as will Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), who went on sabbatical. Then there are Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), who were heading somewhere after a man reported what Owen was doing when he refused to help his dying wife end her life. What will it take for them to be able to return to work at Grey Sloan?

'Grey's Anatomy': 8 Burning Questions for Season 19

Meanwhile, the residents from last season packed up their lockers at the end of the finale, and there are five new first-year surgical residents (played by Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, Midori Francis, and Harry Shum Jr.) coming in. Given Pompeo’s episode count for the season, chances are we won’t see her taking any of the newbies under her wing, so who will be around for them to learn from — and will any of them have come to Grey Sloan to learn from Meredith?

Grey’s Anatomy, Season 19 Premiere, Thursday, October 6, 9/8c, ABC