Fans’ excitement is building as “Grey’s Anatomy” prepares to head into its 23rd season, with the new season expected to kick off in the fall.
Production has begun on the upcoming season, with the cast assembling for a group photo shared via the show’s official Instagram account.
The caption reads simply, “Season 23,” accompanied by a blue heart emoji.
Conspicuous By Her Absence
The photo features longtime “Grey’s” stars Chandra Wilson, Debbie Allen, James Pickens Jr., Camilla Luddington and Caterina Scorsone, along with recent arrivals Trevor Jackson, Adelaide Kane, Niko Terho, Harry Shum Jr. and Anthony Hill.
Conspicuous by her absence, however, is Ellen Pompeo, who has portrayed Dr. Meredith Grey since the series’ debuted back in 2005.
‘Where’s Meredith?’
Fans were quick to jump to conclusions, and began flooding the post with comments wondering why Pompeo was nowhere to be seen in the pic.
“Ok so I’m not seeing Meredith???” read one comment, while another observed, “People are missing from this photo,” along with a questioning emoji.
Another added, “Where’s Meredith????” as another wondered, “So Ellen Pompeo left the show?”
However, another comment insisted that everybody needed to calm down.
“Guys, relax!” that comment read. “This isn’t an official promo photo. It was most likely taken during a filming break, and Ellen probably wasn’t even there that day. Let’s wait for the official new season promo poster, which will definitely include Ellen!”
Will Ellen Pompeo Return for Season 23?
Back in May, Deadline reported that “Grey’s Anatomy” had been renewed for its 23rd season. That pickup made history, with “Grey’s” becoming the longest-running medical drama in TV history.
That report also revealed that two of the show’s longtime cast members would not be returning, with both Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver exiting the series.
As for Pompeo, Deadline reported that she would continue her duties as the show’s narrator, and would also return as Meredith Grey on an occasional basis.
A Reduced Presence
As fans will recall, it was back in Season 19 that Pompeo announced plans to step back from the show. At the time, the plan was to provide narration while exiting as an on-camera presence.
As time passed, however, she returned to reprise Meredith on a recurring basis — a plan that is remaining in place for the upcoming season.
“I feel super happy, but listen, the show has been incredible to me and I’ve loved a lot of the experience,” Pompeo explained at the time during an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” (as reported by “Entertainment Tonight”).
“Listen, it’s just, I gotta mix it up a little bit,” she continued. “I’m 53. My brain is like scrambled eggs. I gotta do something new or I’m literally gonna turn into like, you can’t do the New York Times crossword puzzle every single day.”
As she pointed out, she’d been star of “Grey’s Anatomy” for a long time, and the time had come to move on.
“I mean, 19 years, that’s more than people keep their kids in their house, like people keep their kids in their house until they’re 18 and then they send them off to college,” she elaborated. “So this is like me like going away to college.”‘
