‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Ellen Pompeo Shares Cryptic First Look at Season 16

Grey’s Anatomy Season 16 is officially in production and things may not be as grim after that jail cliffhanger. Series star Ellen Pompeo celebrated her first day back on set of the ABC medical drama sharing a sneak peek from her first scene with co-star and on-screen love interest Giacomo Gianniotti.

The post featured Gianniotti lying in bed in Meredith Grey’s room sporting a black tank top and giving the camera a grin, with a big bowl of ice cream nearby. The moment is a much better place than where we last left Andrew DeLuca, behind bars after attempting to take the blame for Meredith’s insurance fraud crime in the Season 15 finale.

“This is my first scene of Season 16 eating ice cream in bed with [Giacomo Giannotti] and I get paid???” Pompeo wrote Monday alongside the Boomerang, also adding the hashtag, #shondalandproblems.

On the same day, Gianniotti celebrated his return to the set posting a sweet selfie alongside Pompeo, showing him wearing Andrew’s scrubs, while Pompeo appeared to rock a more casual look as Meredith.

“First day back at work with this beauty!” Gianniotti wrote in the caption of the sweet selfie.

Fans of the ABC drama series took to the comments section of Gianniotti’s selfie to jump for oy over the characters’ relationship still going strong, as well as theorizing as to what that might mean for the consequences of their Season 15 finale actions.

“be still my merluca heart. i need this framed,” one fan wrote celebrating Meredith Grey’s newest relationship.

“YOU ARE KILLING THE ENTIRE FANDOM WITH THIS,” another fan account wrote.

“holy guac he’s not in the red jail uniform and back in blue scrubs…omg omg i’m not ready,” a third user commented.

The Season 15 finale left Andrew and Meredith, as well as many other characters, in serious crossroads. After Andrew was taken into custody for insurance fraud as Meredith was trapped in the hyperbaric chamber, she quickly decided once she was out to take responsibility for falsifying documents to help a refugee child. Richard (James Pickens Jr.) and Alex (Justin Chambers) also chose to fall on the sword of the scandal, leading Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) to fire all three of the original cast members from the hospital.

Near the end of the episode Meredith visited Andrew in jail to let him know she would be confessing to the crime to get him out and finally said “I love you” before walking away. The episode left fans with a heartbreaking note for Meredith as she told her kids she could be gone for a while as she faced the consequences of her actions.

While the sneak peeks give us hope we might not see Andrew or Meredith behind bars at the start of the season, the cryptic photos do not provide insight as to how severe the consequences will be for the characters when the show returns this fall.

Will we see Meredith in an orange jumpsuit at some point? How will she and the other fan-favorites return to the hospital? Grey’s Anatomy Season 16 will premiere Thursday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.