Ellen Pompeo talks about the future of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ — and if she’ll be in it

Pompeo was there at the very beginning of “Grey’s Anatomy” when the show first premiered in 2005. During the Season 19 midseason finale in November 2022, her character announced her decision to relocate her family to Boston. A few months prior, Variety reported that Pompeo was only going to appear in eight episodes that season.

In Febru 2023, Pompeo stopped appearing as a series regular. She later returned for the Season 19 finale.

When ABC released a Season 20 teaser in December 2023, fans were thrilled to catch a glimpse of Pompeo. She had previously announced that she would be making the occasional appearance and still doing voiceovers for the show while serving as an executive producer.

While chatting with Hudson, Pompeo said she never expected the show would last 20 seasons when she first signed on as Meredith Grey.

“(The fans) keep it alive. It’s their show really. They’ve taken it over,” she said.

Hudson was curious to know what Pompeo’s husband, Chris Ivery, thinks of her “steamy” love scenes from the show, and her answer was simple: He doesn’t watch “Grey’s Anatomy.”

“That’s how I’ve been married so long,” she teased.

However, Pompeo’s daughter Stella has watched a few seasons.

“It gets to a point where they get to be, I don’t know, maybe 10 or 11 and all the classmates start watching it. And then she says, ‘Mommy can I watch it?’ And I can’t believe that sometimes 10 and 11 year olds watch the show because I know what was going on in those early years and still goes on, I guess,” she explained.

“Anyway, so yes I’ve watched a few seasons with her.”