‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 12: Ellen Pompeo Talks Meredith’s Future After McDreamy’s Death
With ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy gearing up for season 12, things are going to be very different for the cast of characters in the hit medical drama. Following the tragic and unexpected death of Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) at the end of last season, the upcoming season promises to feature a wealth of changes.
With that in mind, Ellen Pompeo recently sat down with the The Hollywood Reporter and discussed how the new season will be different without one of the show’s main characters.
“It feels a lot different. Every time we lose someone big — when we lost Sandra Oh — when we lose anybody — it’s a big shift. But a show that runs this long, you welcome those big changes,” she stated.
Pompeo added that despite the difference in feeling, the cast members on Grey’s Anatomy have embraced the changes with the hope that they will provide new opportunities as the series moves forward.
“It makes everything feel so much different and that’s what we’re looking for in season 12,” she revealed. “We’re looking for things to not stay the same. They have to stay the same to some extent but you welcome change because that’s what inspires the writers, that’s what inspires the actors. Change is necessary for growth.”
With her husband now dead, one of the biggest questions for Pompeo’s character, Meredith, is whether or not she’ll be able to move on with her life. While it’s not certain if the series will introduce a new love interest for her, Shonda Rhimes stated that Meredith’s story is bigger than just finding new love.
“I keep seeing these things saying that we’re replacing McDreamy and Patrick is irreplaceable, that’s not really the point. Meredith is on a journey. She’s always been on a journey and I’m taking her on where the journey leads her and we’ll see what that feels like,” Rhimes explained.
With Meredith’s future a little uncertain at this point, at least as far as her love life is concerned, Pompeo admitted that only thing she has to worry about is following the lead of whatever Rhimes has in mind for her character.
“I don’t have to have expectations about what it should be, what it will be,” she stated. “All I have to do is convey what’s on the page. I’m really lucky that’s my only job.”
The new season of Grey’s Anatomy is set to air September 24 on ABC.
[Image Courtesy: ABC]
