‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 20: Debbie Allen Teases The Number Of Episodes Ellen Pompeo Will Be In
We’re getting a hint as to the number of episodes Ellen Pompeo will appear in Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy. Star and executive producer Debbie Allen shared some thoughts with ET about the upcoming season at the Kennedy Center Honors Monday night, revealing that Pompeo will be back for at least two episodes.
Pompeo, who starred as Meredith Grey in the ABC medical drama since the series’ launch, appeared as a series regular through Season 19. She last appeared as a series regular in the February 23 winter return, her final day at Grey Sloan Memorial as she heads off to Boston where she has accepted a job offer to work on Alzheimer’s research.
“The first episode is the one I’m going to direct, so she won’t be too far,” Allen said of Pompeo. “We have to let her go and do some other things, but she’s still our queen. She’s still our number one.”
Pompeo remains an executive producer on Grey’s and provides the voiceover that opens and closes each episode.
Pompeo scaled back her appearances in Season 19 to eight episodes as she segued to doing new projects, starting with a Hulu limited series which she is starring in and executive producing. There was no acting deal for Pompeo beyond Season 19, but it was expected that she would make periodic returns to the show. As previously announced, there also will be a new showrunner in Season 20 with Meg Marinis replacing Krista Vernoff after four seasons.
