'It's going to be the greatest season,' Allen told ET.
Debbie Allen is teasing fireworks on season 20 of Grey's Anatomy. ET's Deidre Behar spoke with the series' star and executive-producing director, who described the upcoming episodes as "hot, unpredictable and compelling."
"We are back. The strike is over and it's going to be the greatest season," Allen, who plays Dr. Catherine Avery on the series, told ET at the Kennedy Center Honors. "It's going to be a shorter season because of the strike -- we're only going to do 10 episodes -- but we have a lot to look forward to... It's always brand new."
Season 20 will look different for a lot of reasons, from a new showrunner in Meg Marinis to the departure of Ellen Pompeo as a series regular.
"The first episode is the one I'm going to direct, so she won't be too far," Allen said of Pompeo, who starred as Meredith Grey since the show's first episode. "We have to let her go and do some other things, but she's still our queen. She's still our number one."
As for how long Allen will stick around Grey Sloan, she promised, "I'm there as long as I am needed. It seems like I'm still needed."
"I tell them, don't be killing me off yet," she quipped. "Not yet."
Season 20 of Grey's Anatomy will premiere March 14 on ABC.
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