Even after its landmark twentieth season, Shonda Rhimes’ Grey’s Anatomy already has a Season 21 in the works. Even with Ellen Pompeo’s big sendoff in the 2023 midseason premiere of the show, she has continued to appear in the following seasons.
The Shonda Rhimes’ procedural drama series debuted on March 27, 2005 on ABC, and the show continues to draw audiences well into almost 20 years of its run. Those curious about the 21st season of the medical show can read everything we know below.
When will Season 21 of Grey’s Anatomy come out?
Season 21 arrives September 26 at 10 p.m. on ABC. The show’s renewal came about in April 2024.
How many episodes will be in Season 21 of Grey’s Anatomy?
Deadline hears that the expectation is 18 episodes, compared to the 10-episode 20th season, which was impacted by the double strike in Hollywood in 2023.
Will Ellen Pompeo come back for Season 21 of Grey’s Anatomy?
Yes, Ellen Pompeo is set to return to the next season. Deadline last heard that she is set to be in at least seven episodes, with a potential for more.
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“She’s always a huge part of the show; we have an open door policy with her. When she is able to be here, we welcome her with open arms,” Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis told Deadline in March. “She’s constantly in my head, her voice.”
Who else will return in Grey’s Anatomy Season 21?
Deadline exclusively reported that Jason George is rejoining Grey’s Anatomy as a series regular for Season 21.
Kali Rocha is also set to reprise her role of Sydney Heron 17 years after she last appeared on the show, Deadline exclusively reported. Scott Speedman, who plays Meredith’s love interest Nick Marsh, will be back in Season 21.
Jake Borelli, who has played Levi Schmitt on the show for the past five seasons as a series regular and two others before that starting in Season 14, is departing as a series regular ahead of Season 21.
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Midori Francis, who played intern Mika Yasuda, also is departing as a series regular after appearing in two seasons of the series.
Both Borelli and Francis will appear in multiple episodes in Season 21 to wrap their characters’ arcs.
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Original cast members Chandra Wilson (Bailey) and James Pickens Jr. (Richard) as well as Kevin McKidd (Owen), Kim Raver (Teddy), Camilla Luddington (Jo) and Caterina Scorsone (Amelia) will all return as series regulars but will each not appear in a couple of episodes as part of a budget reduction.
What happened in Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy?
The Season 20 finale, titled “Burn It Down” a massive wildfire sent scores of victims to Grey Sloan Hospital. The jobs of many doctors hung in the balance by the end of that final episode — including Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd).
Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) also tried to make Adams repeat his first year as an intern, but the rest of the class defended him. Bailey challenged Fox’s notion that she could replace anyone at any time.
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