Ellen Pompeo is set to play a huge role in Grey's Anatomy season 21
![GREYÕS ANATOMY - ÒNever Felt So AloneÓ - ItÕs all hands on deck at Grey Sloan when a group of medical students is injured by a floor collapsing at their white coat party. Jo and Link are forced to talk about the future, while Jules confronts Winston about his attitude. THURSDAY, APRIL 11 (9:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Anne Marie Fox) ELLEN POMPEO GREYÕS ANATOMY - ÒNever Felt So AloneÓ - ItÕs all hands on deck at Grey Sloan when a group of medical students is injured by a floor collapsing at their white coat party. Jo and Link are forced to talk about the future, while Jules confronts Winston about his attitude. THURSDAY, APRIL 11 (9:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Anne Marie Fox) ELLEN POMPEO](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3000,h_1687,x_0,y_127/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImageExchange/mmsport/398/01j2ertwrjpz6p3b7evw.jpg)
Grey's Anatomy had to pull off a tricky transition. Its titular character, Meredith Grey, left, and the show had to figure out how to justify the title without her being present during every episode. The decision was made to have actress Ellen Pompeo continue to provide narration.
Fortunately, the new season of Grey's won't have to contend with a lack of Meredith. The character, who left the show full-time during season 19, will be returning for most of the episodes in season 21. According to Deadline, the exact number of Meredith appearances is unclear, but it will be anywhere between 7-14 episodes.
Ellen Pompeo will appear in the majority of season 21
This is huge news for Grey's Anatomy fans. The upcoming season is set to have 18 episodes, so the fact that Pompeo is coming back for the majority of the season will make it seem as though she's basically rejoined the main cast (even though she technically has not).
Pompeo has never abandoned Grey's Anatomy entirely. She's an executive producer on the show, and she appeared in five of the ten episodes that aired during the strike-shorted season 20. The actress has not discussed her reasoning for returning to Grey's Anatomy in a larger capacity, but there's a good chance it has something to do with cast turnover.
Grey's Anatomy will lots of cast turnover elsewhere
Grey's is already planning the exits for characters Jake Borelli (Levi Schmitt) and Midori Francis (Mika Yasuda). They will appear in season 21 just long enough to wrap up their respective arcs. Furthermore the show has yet to lock down contract extensions for six of the show's veteran cast members.
These veterans include James Pickens Jr. (Richard Webber), Caterina Scorsone (Amelia Shepherd), Camila Luddington (Jo Wilson), Chandra Wilson (Miranda Bailey), Kevin McKidd (Owen Hunt) and Kim Raver (Teddy Altman).
In fact, the only cast member who has been guaranteed to return, besides Ellen Pompeo, is Jason George, who will be returning to Grey's following the cancelation of the spinoff Station 19. Pompeo will definitely help the calm the storm while the show figures out who is staying and who is going.
Next. MD. Every Chicago Fire medic who left the show. dark