Is 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 17 the final season? Ellen Pompeo's shocking answer will keep you scratching your head
'Grey's Anatomy' fans have been feeling rather vulnerable of late as the fate of the medical drama seems to hang in the balance. Fans are not the only ones who seem to be lacking clarity. Ellen Pompeo, who is the star and also a producer on 'Grey's Anatomy', on whether Season 17 will be the last said in an interview to CBS, "We honestly have not decided. We're really trying to figure it out right now. It's: What story do we tell? To end a show this iconic, you know, how do we do it? I just want to make sure we do this character and this show and the fans—I want to make sure we do it right.”
Doing it right is easier said than done, and that's a challenging showrunner Krista Vernoff has on her hands. Vernoff is currently grappling with putting together a season finale that can also act as a series finale, and is frank about the fact that this isn't a situation that comes without challenges.
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Krista Vernoff in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter says, "I'm planning a season and a finale that could function as either a season finale or a series finale. I'm planning for both contingencies and it's hard and it's not ideal. It's not where I wish we were. I've told them that I have to know before I'm making the finale what we're making because there are a couple of character threads that will change. I've got plans for both contingencies. Either there will be closure or I will build something in that allows me to have a bit of a cliffhanger and a thread for next season."
Well with even the stars and showrunners being unclear as to the way forward, it seems for the cast and crew, just as much as the fans, Season 17 will have all the answers.
With the ratings of the show still high, 'Grey's Anatomy' is the number one show on ABC and is constantly attracting new viewers, whether 'Grey's Anatomy' comes to an end will come down to contract negotiations and a creative decision. Pompeo's two-season deal in 2017 made her the highest-paid actress for a television series and with the deal now drawing to an end, both Pompeo and Krista Vernoff are reportedly in the midst of contract negotiations.
Shonda Rhimes has consistently said that the series will end when Pompeo no longer wants to continue. Pompeo of late has said that if the show ends she can do what she wants or in fact nothing at all. But will Pompeo finally say it's enough or will 'Grey's Anatomy' be revived for several seasons yet to come? Questions abound around the finale either way. Will Meredith survive Covid-19? If she does, who will end up being the one who holds her hand through recovery? Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) or Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood) or will the recent vision of Derek ensure that Meredith's heart is taken for some time?
New episodes of 'Grey's Anatomy' return to ABC on Thursday, March 11, at 9|8c, and hopefully will have the answers that fans are so keen on.
