Ahead of the season 15 Grey’s Anatomy premiere, Ellen Pompeo is raising eyebrows, hinting that the show may be ending after season 16.
“I’m clearly not prepared right now to make any kind of formal announcement about what my future is on the show, but I am really feeling like we have told the majority of the stories we can tell,” Pompeo, 48, told Entertainment Weekly when asked if she will wrap the show after season 16 when her contract ends. “It’s about time that I mix it up. I’m definitely looking for a change.”
Pompeo is one of four actors still on the show who have been there from the show’s 2004 start. However, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the actress and mother of three is looking to the future. In May 2018, she opened up to Us Weekly, admitting she can see the end coming.
“We’re getting there. Shonda [Rimes] and I will make that decision together,” the actress told Us at the time. “I think that one of the biggest lessons that this show has taught me and being on this show for so long has taught me, is that relationships do change. And they do grow. They take work. Like any marriage, friendship. You gotta put in the work. You have to accept other people’s flaws, and accept your own flaws and try to change and be a better person. But I think everything is worth the time and effort. And things get better.”
“There is an end and it’s nearing … I want to be more involved in my kids’ lives as they get older. And they need me more, and this world is such a crazy place,” she continued. “I am really into producing, I love producing. It’s like one problem after another, it’s problem-solving 101. It’s like a great experiment in problem-solving. Acting is … it’s a young girl’s game. You’ve gotta travel, you’ve gotta be away. [You’ve] gotta go here and work at night in the rain. I’m not saying I’ll never do it. If there’s an amazing opportunity I’m sure, of course I’ll do it.”
Season 15 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres on ABC Thursday, September 27, at 8 p.m. ET.
