‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Breaks Record After ABC Renewal for Season 16 and 17

Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 16 and 17 renewal at ABC sees the series breaking a long held record.

Season 16 of the Grey’s Anatomy will officially make it the longest running medical drama of all-time, beating ER’s 15 seasons.

Notably, Grey’s Anatomy has already surpassed ER in total episodes, as the show has more than 340 and ER ended with only 331 episodes, as reported by Deadline.

In addition to the Grey’s Anatomy renewal, Shonda Rhimes series’ Station 19 and How to Get Away with Murder have both also been renewed.

“Everyone at Shondaland is thrilled that our fans’ commitment to TGIT continues,” Rhimes and her producing partner Betsy Beers said in a joint statement. “We are so proud of Krista and (HTGAWM’s) Pete (Nowalk) and the work they do. Making the choice to have Krista (Vernoff) oversee Station 19 was easy — the creativity she brings to the Grey’s Anatomy universe continues a tradition of storytelling we hold dear.”

Notably, Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo recently signed a deal with ABC that will keep her on the show through 2021 at least.

“I keep saying, ‘I”m ready to move on and I want to stop the show before the ratings go down,’ but the ratings never go down!” the actress said in a past interview.. “They go down a little bit, but the fact that we are able to hold our [title as ABC’s No. 1 series] is kind [incredible]. It’s very cool to have these kind of ratings and be on a hit network show in this landscape.”

Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff also extended her contract with the show recently, which will keep her own through season 17.

She opened up to TVLine about her time on the series, and revealed how she approaches running things.

“I find myself thinking forward. It feels like the show could really go on,” she said. “In the early years, we would pitch stories, and Shona [Rhimes] would go, ‘Uh, that a season 8 story. Let’s do that toward the end.’ “

“Now we’ve doubled the expected lifespan of the show and told all the stories we talked about in the early years, so we have almost a blank slate,” Vernoff added. “Where do you go from here? It’s exciting!”

Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 15 finale will air on Thursday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET.