Ellen Pompeo is staying put as Meredith Grey.
Meredith Grey isn't going anywhere.
Grey's Anatomy, TV's longest-running primetime medical drama, has been renewed for season 19, ABC announced Monday. Ellen Pompeo, who has led the series since its debut in 2005, will return, as will showrunner and executive producer Krista Vernoff.
According to ABC, the upcoming season will "explore the ever-expanding world of modern medicine through the eyes of beloved returning and new characters."
“I couldn’t be more excited that we get to keep telling the stories of Meredith, Bailey, Richard and all of the other doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial for another season,” creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes said in a statement. “This is a true testament to Krista Vernoff, the cast, the crew and all the writers who keep the audience on the edge of their seat week after week. And it would not be possible without the generations of incredible fans who have supported Grey’s Anatomy for so many years.”
“Grey’s Anatomy has a global impact that can’t be overstated. Grey’s touches, and sometimes changes, hearts and minds worldwide through the depth of connection people feel with these characters,” Vernoff said. “I’m excited to work with our extraordinary writers to dream up where we go from here, and I’m always grateful to our partners at Disney and ABC for letting us tell bold stories with real impact.”
Grey's stars Pompeo, as well as fellow OG cast members Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber. The ensemble also includes Kevin McKidd, Kim Raver, Camilla Luddington, Caterina Scorsone, Kelly McCreary, Chris Carmack, Jake Borelli, Richard Flood, Anthony Hill and Scott Speedman. Kate Walsh returned this season as Addison Montgomery for a multi-episode arc.
Speculation over the future of Grey's has become a popular topic of conversation over the years. Recently, Pompeo -- who will be an executive producer on season 19 and one of TV's highest paid actresses -- shared she's possibly ready to hang up her Grey Sloan medical coat for good.
"I've been trying to focus on convincing everybody that it should end," the 52-year-old actress told Insider. "I feel like I'm the super naive one who keeps saying, 'But what's the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?'"
"Everyone's like, 'Who cares, Ellen? It makes a gazillion dollars,'" Pompeo expressed, acknowledging that Grey's is still a big moneymaker.
In recent years, Pompeo has been vocal about her desire to wrap up the series sooner rather than later.
"I've been trying to get away for years. I have been trying. It's not because I haven't been trying," she told ET at last year's Emmys. "I have strong relationships at the network and they have been very, very good to me, and have incentivized me to stay."
Of the continued storylines, Pompeo added, "Miraculously, we keep coming up with ways to have a reason to stay and if there's a reason, that warrants it."
Grey's Anatomy returns Thursday, Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC in a crossover event with Station 19. For more, watch below.
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