Ellen Pompeo Addresses Her ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Exit in Heartfelt Post

Ellen Pompeo is saying goodbye. Grey’s Anatomy will air multiple episodes without its lead character, Dr. Meredith Grey, in its 19th season. The show announced in August that the actress would only appear in eight episodes of the new season but would remain executive producer and continue to provide her signature narration for upcoming episodes. Pompeo talked about leaving the ABC medical drama in an Instagram post on Nov. 17. “I am eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support you have all shown me, Meredith GREY and the show for 19 seasons!” Pompeo wrote. “Through it all….none of it …would have been possible without the best fans in the world. You all are RIDERS and you all have made the ride so fun and ICONIC!!” Pompeo concluded her post caption. “I love you madly and appreciate you right back. This isn’t your first time on the rollercoaster… you know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to visit. With a lot of love and immense gratitude.” 

Pompeo will reduce her appearance on the show as she starts work on an untitled limited-run show for Hulu. Taking inspiration from a real-life adoption, her first series role since Grey’s Anatomy will focus on a complicated 2010 adoption involving a U.S. couple. She may return for season 20, but ABC has yet to confirm this. Her last appearance on Grey’s Anatomy is scheduled for Feb. 23 after the show returns from its fall break. Meredith was last seen leaving Seattle for Boston to accept a position with the Catherine Fox Foundation to research Alzheimer’s disease, which killed her mother, Dr. Ellis Grey, in the third season.

Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes has previously said that the show could continue as long as Pompeo wishes to continue. “I didn’t ever think that I would stay on the show this long. It happened, and here I am. It’s been this incredible platform for me and allowed me to stay home with my kids so much and not travel and have the circus life of an actor,” Pompeo told Variety in 2020. “So I thought that it wasn’t the road less traveled to stay on a television show for this many years, but actually it is the road less traveled. And so, that’s been ironic.” Despite being one of the show’s mainstays since its inception in 2005, Pompeo’s decision to scale back her role wasn’t altogether surprising. The actress has long expressed her desire for Grey’s to end. “I’ve been trying to focus on convincing everybody that it should end,” she said to Insider in December 2021. “I feel like I’m the super naive one who keeps saying, ‘But what’s the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?’”