Deadline reports that Ellen Pompeo is returning as Doctor Meredith Grey for seven episodes of the upcoming season 21 of Grey’s Anatomy. Pompeo will appear on at least seven of the upcoming season’s 18 episodes of Season 21, per Variety.  The next season will debut this fall, but a specific date has not yet been revealed.

Pompeo was less visible in the show beginning in Season 19, when she appeared in just eight episodes, but remained the show’s executive producer and narrator; and in Season 20 Pompeo appeared just a handful of times. The actor had taken a step back to film the eight-part Hulu series Natalia,  based on a true story.

Grey’s Anatomy, which first aired in 2005, made Pompeo one of the highest-paid women in television – she earned approximately $19 million in 2020.  The actor wrote on Instagram back in 2022: “I am eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support you have all shown me, Meredith Grey, and the show for 19 seasons. I love you madly and appreciate you right back. This isn’t your first time on the rollercoaster… You know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to visit.”

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