Nobody could have expected Grey’s Anatomy to still be this successful, as it approaches the finale of its 19th season. Ellen Pompeo certainly didn’t think she’d play Meredith Grey for this many years, and creator Shonda Rhimes has said the network executives thought it would fail. Suffice it to say, the famed producer’s vision for the series’ trajectory has changed multiple times, as it continues to get renewed, so while she used to know how the Seattle surgeons’ story would end, now she’s more focused on when that time will come.
Shonda Rhimes has said she’s written the ending to Grey’s Anatomy eight times, but the ABC drama seems to refuse to take its foot off the gas, remaining one of the most popular series on the network. The creator of several other projects, including Grey’s spinoff Private Practice, How to Get Away with Murder and Netflix’s Bridgerton, said she’s given up trying to plan how her first show will end but told ET how she’ll know when the time has come:
I knew how that story will end when we were in season 6, in season 7 and maybe season 10, and after that I just gave up because I would write those endings and the show just kept going. I’ll have a feeling the same way I knew Scandal [was going to end]. I’ll have a feeling of like, ‘We’ve done what we needed to do here.’
Scandal is another of Shonda Rhimes’ success stories, with Kerry Washington keeping audiences entertained for seven seasons as Washington, D.C., crisis manager Olivia Pope. Rhimes anticipates having a similar feeling with Grey’s Anatomy in knowing the series has run its course.
That will be no easy task. Grey’s Anatomy continues to make its mark on the TV landscape by tackling important social issues and showcasing diverse casting practices. Shonda Rhimes knows that part of the series’ legacy lies in how it made it easier for people of color to be cast in leading roles. Having three Black actors — James Pickens Jr., Chandra Wilson and Isaiah Washington — playing high-ranking doctors was somewhat revolutionary in 2005, and through the years Grey’s has introduced iconic LGBTQ+ characters, nonbinary doctors, and shone the spotlight on many different cultures.
That’s not even to mention the impact the show has had on its fans in terms of the medicine, inspiring people to go into the medical field. Showrunner Krista Vernoff opened up recently about the lives that have been saved because of something viewers saw on Grey’s Anatomy or information they learned from the show. When you’re having that kind of real-world impact, pulling the plug seems like an impossible decision to make.
With Ellen Pompeo stepping away as a series regular, followed by Kelly McCreary’s exit, and with Krista Vernoff leaving at the end of Season 19, one might wonder if it’s the beginning of the end. However, this season introduced five first-year interns to breathe new life into Grey’s, and several veterans have spoken out about their future on the show.
We can rest easy knowing that it’s already been renewed for a 20th season, and otherwise just continue to hope that Shonda Rhimes doesn’t get the feeling that Grey’s Anatomy has done what it needed to do! The last episode ahead of the Season 19 finale will air at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, May 11, on ABC, and you can catch up on the current season’s episodes with a Hulu subscription. The first 18 seasons, meanwhile, are available to stream with a Netflix subscription.