Grey's Anatomy's Season 19 Shakeup: Ellen Pompeo Starring in LESS Than Half of Episodes— Why?
Ellen Pompeo has joined a new television series that will have a significant influence on her "Grey's Anatomy" character and probably the whole upcoming season. After all, she's the core character and reportedly, she will only be starring at a handful of episodes when Season 19 rolls over.
From a total of 23 episodes probably, she'll be in on 8 to 9. That's a massive shakeup to the show, and for some, a massive hint that the show is on its last leg.
Pompeo's going to be seen so much more in another television show, though. Some of her fans have been clamoring for that to happen, to see her break out or branch out of her "Grey's Anatomy's" character and this is finally it.
According to Variety, the 52-year-old actress will executive produce and appear in an orphan-themed limited series on Hulu.
October 6 is the start of Season 19 of Grey's Anatomy. While there will be less Dr. Meredith Grey than ever before, leaving some avid fans devastated, they should be comforted with the fact that her character will continue narrating each episode. Pompeo will also remain as an executive producer on the medical drama.
According to TVLine, Ellen's upcoming program is "inspired by the true story of a Midwestern couple who adopts what they believe is an 8-year-old girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is. As they question her story, they're confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they're willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that's fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ultimately their marriage."
Sounds like the horror "Orphan" movie, but not quite.
The series will consist of eight episodes, written and produced by Katie Robbins and Ellen, respectively.
This is a major development for the future of Grey's. Since the show's inception in 2005, Ellen has been the primary star. However, the actress has since hinted at a desire to leave the show permanently.
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"I mean, I've been trying to get away for years," she told Entertainment Tonight in 2021 at the Emmys. "I have been trying. It's not because I haven't been trying. I have strong relationships at the network and they have been very, very good to me, and have incentivized me to stay." She added, "Miraculously, we keep coming up with ways to have a reason to stay and if there's a reason, that warrants it."
Meanwhile, it has been verified that Harry Shum will play Daniel "Blue" Kwan, a bright, impatient, and intelligent new surgical resident, in the upcoming 19th season of the ABC drama.
According to ABC's official character description, "Blue is charitable by nature but competitive to a fault, naturally talented, and accustomed to winning."
A family emergency derailed his career goals, and now he has much to prove in the hospital where Grey's name reign supreme. Deadline was the first to announce Shum's casting. Shum joins fellow Season 19 newcomers Adelaide Kane (playing Jules Millin, a first year surgical resident who "was raised by drug addled artist/hippies and somehow emerged as the only real adult in the family"), Midori Francis (playing scrappy first-year surgical resident Mika Yasuda), Alexis Floyd (playing Simone Griffin, a first-year surgical resident who is high-achieving, funny, and whip-smart), and Niko Terho,
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