Ellen Pompeo’s Time As A Full Time Cast Member On “Grey’s Anatomy” Is Over
I’ve heard of velvet handcuffs and golden handcuffs, but the platinum bracelets ABC and Shonda Rhimes slapped on Grey’s Anatomy’s titular star, Ellen Pomeo, must have been so weighed down with diamonds she finally had to chew her own hand off to escape. Deadline reports that Ellen is finally stepping away from the spotlight after 19 seasons as a “full-time cast member” but promises she’ll “definitely be back to visit.” This is good because she’s going to probably need to have somebody take a look at that severed hand of hers so she can be refitted for a lovely pair of diamond-encrusted Special Guest Appearance By/Executive Producer handcuffs.
Longtime readers may be aware that I once considered myself a Grey’s Anatomy completest, if not an apologist. But I never did figure out a way to monetize my loyalty like Ellen did, so as several new seasons started to pile up in my Hulu cue, (hard to believe I watched the first few seasons, with commercials ((!)), on regular broadcast TV. ‘Memba her?) I finally conceded that I’d had my fill of wispy indie-lite muzak, and let it float out of life like the ashes from one of the many improbable explosions that occurred along the way. So I was unaware that Ellen’s final episode as the main character will be season 19’s mid-season premiere which will air in February. Ellen announced her “departure” on Instagram.
Ellen’s been running around trying to get everybody to sign a DNR for the show for a while now, but still can’t seem to make a clean break for herself. Even though she reportedly has close to a billion reasons to hang up her lab coat for good. Deadline reports that in addition to staying on as an executive producer, she’ll also “provide the voiceover narration for all episodes this season,” which she can literally phone-in.
As Deadline revealed in August, Pompeo is scaling back her on-screen presence on Grey’s Anatomy this season to eight episodes. Her Feb. 23 farewell as a core cast member, aptly titled “I’ll Follow the Sun” and written by Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff, is Episode 7. Pompeo, who is segueing to a Hulu limited series which she is starring in and executive producing, is expected to return for Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 19 finale.
In the Nov. 10 fall finale, Meredith announced her departure from Grey Sloan in an email.
See, now that’s how I know this show has gone all the way off the rails. The Meredith Grey I know would never quit over email! Instead, she’d mope around the hospital looking for a patient who needs emergency surgery to remove some sort of steel bear trap from their leg to act as a metaphorical representation of her own situation and then, over the patient’s anesthetized body, simultaneously deliver the news that she’s leaving her post and that the leg can’t be saved. Then, when speaking with the patient post-op, she’d give them the news in a melodramatic, hushed tone saying “the bad news is, you’ll never walk again. But the good news is, I’ll be transferring to a new hospital called Pompeo Hulu Money Greys Memorial Hospital” Here’s the trailer teasing Meredith’s upcoming departure.
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