Created by mega-producer Shonda Rhimes (Bridgerton) all the way back in 2005, the series is now under the helm of Meg Marinis, with Rhimes acting as a producer. In a recent interview, Rhimes admitted that she’s as baffled as anyone else that Grey’s Anatomy has been running for so long and suggested she fully trusts Marinis, who joined the team in Season 3 and penned her first episode in Season 6. Last year, Marinis hinted that there’s “no end in sight” for the long-running series and that they still “receive a tremendous amount of support from the studio and the network and from Shondaland.” The Shonda Rhimes producing company has brought to life titles like How to Get Away With Murder and Inventing Anna.
ABC has to officially confirm which cast members are returning for the new season, but chances are that major players Chandra Wilson (General Hospital), James Pickens, Jr. (The Conners), Kevin McKidd (It Ends With Us), Camilla Luddington (Californication), Caterina Scorsone (Private Practice), Kim Raver (24), and Chris Carmack (The O.C.) are all returning. However, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if a shocking exit was announced — the series ended on a massive cliffhanger back in May that left some characters’ lives hanging in the balance.
Is Meredith Returning for Season 22 of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’?
Ever since Ellen Pompeo (An American Family) announced that she was leaving the series some years ago, fans started to wonder how Grey’s Anatomy would feel without its title character. Turns out that they never really had to worry — Pompeo continues to narrate every episode, and does guest arcs in pretty much every season. In an interview with the LA Times, showrunner Meg Marinis suggested that Pompeo is welcome to return whenever she feels like it.
Marinis also hinted that, much like what happened in Season 21, chances are that Meredith will get another seven-episode arc in Season 22, meaning that the series will continue to feel like she never left. Pompeo confessed at the Jennifer Hudson talk show that she doesn’t think that the series will ever end — it’s still one of the #1 shows in prime time and in 2024 it was the most-streamed drama series across all platforms — and that she will “always pop in and out.”
