Grey’s Anatomy will go on in Season 20 in spite of the departures of stars Ellen Pompeo and Kelly McCreary as well as showrunner Krista Vernoff. Fans have speculated about the future of the medical drama since Pompeo and McCreary left and Vernoff announced that this will be her final season. However, on Friday E! News reported that the show itself will go on.
Grey’s Anatomy is the longest-running primetime scripted show on ABC, and for some fans, it means the world. Pompeo has been played the titular character Meredith Grey since day one, so her departure was a shock, although the show has survived major casting overhauls before. McCreary joined the cast in Season 10 and is a fan favorite, so her announcement was sad for fans as well, and finally, Vernoff’s departure sent many social media users into a full-on panic.
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We now know that the show will go on and that some of these major changes will come about gradually. For one thing, Pompeo has already promised to return for the Season 19 finale in May, and she may not be done even then. Deadline reported on Friday that there is a high likelihood of Pompeo returning “in some capacity” for Season 20.
McCreary’s final episode as a series regular will air on April 13, but she is also expected to return as a guest star at the end of this current season. She plays Dr. Margaret Pierce, Meredith’s half-sister and a brilliant doctor who struggles to balance her work with her personal life. She has been a main cast member since Season 11.
As for Vernoff, she has been the showrunner since Season 14 in 2017 and was the head writer and an executive producer on the series for years before that. Her replacement has already been chosen – Meg Marinis, an executive producer on the series since Season 15. While this departure will certainly be noticeable, the show has survived turnover behind the camera before. While it has become a more commonplace term in fandom, “showrunner” remains an unofficial title in the TV industry, and plenty of other longstanding executive producers will still work on the show.
Grey’s Anatomy follows the lives of interns, residents and attending physicians at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. It has always centered specifically on Meredith, so this season has been experimental as it moves into a more general ensemble format. The show airs on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. The Season 19 finale is scheduled to air on May 19.
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