Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff reveals which season 19 episodes star Ellen Pompeo will appear in now that she's taken a reduced role.
Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff reveals which season 19 episodes star Ellen Pompeo will appear in. Season 18 ended with Pompeo's Meredith Grey reluctantly agreeing to stay at Grey Sloan Memorial as an interim Chief of Surgery. The job change came following the hospital losing its residency program accreditation, along with Meredith spending part of the season in Minnesota working on a cure for Parkinson's.
More changes are on the way in Grey's Anatomy season 19. In August, it was revealed that Pompeo is reducing her role in the upcoming season, appearing in eight episodes total. While she will continue to executive produce the series, it will be a big adjustment for viewers who have become used to seeing Meredith in nearly every episode since the show premiered in 2005. Grey's Anatomy will shift its focus to the introduction of five new series regulars as interns, played by TV veterans like Harry Shum Jr. and Adelaide Kane.Up until now, it's been unclear exactly which episodes of Grey's Anatomy season 19 Pompeo would appear in. Now, it seems Meredith's episodes will be focused at the start of the season rather than spread throughout. However, Vernoff is a little vague about Pompeo's presence in the second half of the season, so it's possible Meredith could appear in more episodes than initially reported.
As Grey's Anatomy is structured to be an ensemble show (as Vernoff notes) and already has an impressive TV legacy, the series has the potential to move forward successfully with its main star in a reduced role. While the new interns will undoubtedly add to the ensemble, it's unclear if one specific character will take on more of a leading role in Grey's Anatomy season 19. As the show has been airing for nearly two decades, it does need to occasionally shake things up in order to continue drawing viewership. With so many new actors joining Grey's Anatomy in series regular roles, the new season will be the perfect test for how the series functions without its star.
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