‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 13 — Ellen Pompeo Set To Return, Justin Chambers And Kevin McKidd Out?

Throughout its 12 seasons on ABC, Grey’s Anatomy has undergone a lot of changes in casting.

Most notably, Patrick Dempsey’s shocking exit after Season 11 came while the actor still had another year on his agreement. At the same time, fans also watched Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight make similar departures.

With the show’s 13th season already in development, which characters are set to return to Grey Sloan Memorial this fall?

According to Cinema Blend, it’s been clear that Justin Chambers will reprise his role on the show’s next season. Unfortunately, the fate of the other characters was still a mystery, until now.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that James Pickens Jr., Chandra Wilson, and Kevin McKidd have all inked deals to appear in Season 13. The return of Richard, Bailey, and Owen should offer the medical drama a sense of consistency across the past few seasons.

That being said, it has been confirmed that Sarah Ramirez will not return to the hit drama next season. Ramirez played Callie Torres and appeared on the show since Season 2.

Of course, while the majority of regulars will return next season, there is some speculation that Sandra Oh might be set for a return, too.

According to Refinery29, the actress recently posed for a special photo op with McKidd. The actor played the husband of Oh’s character on the show, sparking rumors of a potential reunion in the upcoming season.

Neither Oh nor McKidd have confirmed her involvement in the new season, though fans can still hold out hope that she will make a special cameo. After all, what better way to drum up excitement than to bring Oh back to the show?

At the same time, Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey is still the main character on the show moving forward. Despite McDreamy’s death and everything Meredith has gone through this past year, fans can expect to see the character evolve even more in the year to come.

“The audience truly identifies with Ellen Pompeo,” Shonda Rhimes stated in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “We are following this woman’s journey and the journey of all these people with her. It’s not about a lot of tricks; it’s about watching people evolve.”

Speaking of Meredith and all of her troubles, Design & Trend is reporting that Grey’s Anatomy might feature happier storylines this season.

As fans will recall, the last season ended with a number of couples starting to mend their relationships. This includes Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Callie (Ramirez), April (Sarah Drew) and Jackson (Jesse Williams), Bailey (Wilson) and Warren (Jason George), and Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Owen (McKidd).

Does this mean that the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial will have happier storylines this time around? Or are they doomed to repeat the past?

Although it appears as though some characters have reached the happy zone, others aren’t so lucky.

In fact, Meredith, Jo (Camilla Luddington), Maggie (Kelly McCreary), and Alex (Justin Chambers) are still trying to work out their troubles. Hopefully, these characters will start to resolve their issues and grow closer than ever this season.

In particular, fans can only hope that Meredith finds new romance, especially after all of the heartbreak she’s been through over the past two seasons.

Meanwhile, apart from the casting news, fans can rest assured knowing that Grey’s Anatomy will continue on as long as Rhimes wants to keep it afloat. The show managed to retain its spot as the top-rated drama on the network, despite being in its 12th year.

Tell us! Will you be tuning in when Season 13 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres this fall on ABC? Let us know in the comments below.

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]