Grey's Anatomy's Showrunner and Ellen Pompeo React to The Shortened Season Due to Coronavirus
Grey’s Anatomy season 16 is coming to an end sooner than expected. On March 27, ABC announced that the medical drama will not resume production on the final four episodes of Season 16, meaning the season will end Thursday, April 9, with episode 21 serving as the finale.
After learning that the current season of Grey’s Anatomy will officially be cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ellen Pompeo and showrunner Krista Vernoff took to Twitter to reassure upset fans the impromptu finale will still be a “satisfying” one.
Though some fans are disappointed, the good news is the new finale episode, titled “Put on a Happy Face,” will be jam-packed with drama and a new potential love story. According to the description, “Hayes asks Meredith a surprising question, Owen makes a shocking discovery,” and “Link tries to convince Amelia to take it easy during the final stage of her pregnancy.”
Plus, Vernoff promised fans that any lingering question will be answered next season in a new Twitter statement. (The series had already been renewed for Season 17.) “We are disappointed that we don’t get to complete our storytelling this season,” she tweeted on March 27. “The good news? 1621 plays like a satisfying finale! It’s not where we planned to end, but it’s beautiful & the questions that linger we will answer next year. #GreysAnatomy #StayHome”
Ellen Pompeo, who has played Dr. Meredith Grey for the past 15 years, also reacted to the show’s shortened season via Twitter.
“When you hear the full season of #GreysAnatomy is not going to air,” she tweeted with a throwback pic of Meredith.
Although clearly not ecstatic about the news, the actor is looking on the bright side. For one, Killing Eve, starring her former co-star Sandra Oh, is returning earlier than planned!
Pompeo even teased a fan after they asked if this means the season finale will not be “full of people dying.”
“That’s what that means,” she quipped.
Grey’s Anatomy is just one of many TV and movie productions that shut down in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. They’re also among a number of medical dramas that donated supplies to hospitals amid the pandemic.
“At Grey’s Anatomy, we have a back-stock of gowns and gloves which we are donating as well,” Vernoff said in a statement to Good Morning America on March 19. “We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home.”