Ellen Pompeo’s Return in Grey’s Anatomy Season 22: Role and Screen Time Finally Confirmed md06

Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis has opened up about Ellen Pompeo’s role in the show’s upcoming season. While she doesn’t share an exact episode count for the actor, the showrunner does confirm that Pompeo’s Meredith Grey will be visiting Seattle a bit more in Season 22.

Speaking with TVLine, Marinis touched on where Season 21 left Meredith, with the fan-favorite doctor able to convince her boss, Catherine, to let her spend more time in Seattle, even though she now calls Boston home. “Well, she’s definitely splitting her time between Boston and Seattle. But hopefully, we’ll get to see her in Seattle more,” teased the showrunner of ABC’s long-running medical drama series. This would mean that fans would “get to see her in the O.R. and interacting with our characters more frequently.”

However, Grey’s Anatomy fans needn’t worry that this new development means less of Meredith focusing on her Alzheimer’s research, as the showrunner promised that the show will still follow this storyline. However, “at the beginning of this season, she’ll be mostly involved with the direct impact of the Season 21 finale,” explained Marinis.

What Happened in the Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Finale?

Image via ABC

The Season 21 finale of Grey’s Anatomy, “How Do I Live,” saw several Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital staff members held hostage by a desperate Jenna Gatlin (Piper Perabo), who was armed with a lighter and a tank of acetylene. Jenna forced them to operate on her daughter, who was suffering from a near-inoperable cavernous angioma on her brain stem. Although Jenna was ultimately taken into custody, a misunderstanding regarding the tank that she stole and its contents led to a delayed explosion in an active operating room, leaving the fates of several main characters unknown.

First look images from the upcoming Season 22 premiere have revealed a few of the characters that managed to come away from the explosion unscathed, such as Anthony Hill’s Winston Ndugu, Caterina Scorsone’s Amelia Shepherd, and Alexis Floyd’s Simone Griffith. The lack of Chris Carmack’s Atticus “Link” Lincoln in the images is concerning, with many fans worried about his fate. Marinis isn’t willing to disclose whether Link survived the explosion just yet though, sharing that audiences will need to tune in to the Season 22 premiere for answers.

Since Grey’s Anatomy‘s nineteenth season, Pompeo stepped back from the ABC medical drama, appearing less frequently as Dr. Meredith Grey while still retaining series regular status. As a result, the show has shifted to more of an ensemble, placing more focus on the other doctors at the fictional hospital Grey Sloan Memorial. However, that doesn’t mean that Marinis wouldn’t jump at the chance to have Pompeo appear in as many episodes as possible, telling TVLine, “The more we get Ellen, the happier I am. So if we can get her more, I’d love it.”

Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 is slated to premiere on ABC on Oct. 9.