Ellen Pompeo Will Appear In Far Fewer Episodes Of Grey's Anatomy Season 19 Than You Thought

Ever since Ellen Pompeo made surprising "Grey's Anatomy" remarks at the end of 2021 where she implied that she's ready for the show to come to an end, fans have no doubt been wondering what the future holds for the long-running medical drama and its leading lady. With the show entering Season 19, it's far from Pompeo's only job, as she also hosts a podcast, "Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo," and helps make prescription medications accessible and affordable to everyone with Betr Remedies, a company she co-founded.

With Pompeo bringing up the idea of "Grey's Anatomy" wrapping up and the show nearing 20 seasons on air, viewers have been watching closely. When her character was ill and kept "seeing" past characters that had left the show, many may have thought that was a signal things were wrapping up, but Season 18 came and went. Now with news coming out about the number of episodes Pompeo will appear in for Season 19, fans are likely wondering if it's a sign that she's slowly moving away from the series.

Ellen Pompeo will appear in only eight episodes of the upcoming Season 19 of "Grey's Anatomy", but will continue to play the role of the show's narrator, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Pompeo will still be busy though, with reports surfacing that she's set to not only star in an untitled limited series for Hulu inspired by a true story, but she will also be executive-producing it along with her production company, Calamity Jane (via Deadline).

The Hulu series will focus on the bizarre story of Kristine Barnett and her ex-husband Michael Barnett, who were charged with neglect after they allegedly put their 9-year-old adopted daughter up in an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, and then moved to Canada. However, the Barnetts insisted that their adopted daughter Natalia was not a child, but actually an adult con artist, according to the Journal & Courier. Pompeo will play Kristine, her first major role since she took on the part of Dr. Meredith Grey in 2005.

Pompeo has credited the longevity of "Grey's Anatomy" with the fact that it got an early start on streaming, and while the series has certainly parlayed that into continued popularity, Pompeo obviously isn't going to let it stop her from branching out.