Grey’s Anatomy has not been renewed for Season 18. That’s where we currently stand in regard to the future of the ABC drama.
On Thursday night, an important episode of the show took place where Dr. Jackson Avery talked about leaving Seattle to take over his family’s foundation. It raises big questions about where the show is heading.
We do have some major Grey’s Anatomy spoilers about a character leaving the show, but fans may have already guessed what is taking place in that regard. The exit is also unlikely to impact whether or not the show gets canceled or renewed.
It’s not an understatement to suggest that there is a lot up in the air about whether or not Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 is going to take place. And there also aren’t many things keeping ABC from ordering more episodes of the show.
Why isn’t Grey’s Anatomy renewed for Season 18?
To put it bluntly, the future of the show depends on Ellen Pompeo signing a new contract. She plays Meredith Grey on the show and if she signs on to do another season, it is presumed that ABC will quickly order more episodes.
If Pompeo decides that she is ready to move on from the character after playing the lead for the past 17 years, it will likely be the end of the medical drama. The scenario is very understandable as well, even if it would disappoint many fans who are hoping that the show can still carry on.
As we previously reported, Chandra Wilson (Dr. Miranda Bailey) and James Pickens Jr. (Dr. Richard Webber) were also in negotiations for new deals. Quite a few contracts are scheduled to come to an end with the close of Season 17, so those details have to be figured out before ABC is going to commit to a Grey’s Anatomy renewal.
More episodes left in Grey’s Anatomy Season 17
We haven’t reached the end of Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 yet, and it’s almost as though ABC is starting to drag out the episodes to leave extra time for a Season 18 order. Following the Jackson Avery and April Kepner reunion episode from Thursday night, the show will air a repeat episode during sweeps month. That’s not typically done with a major show.
On May 13, viewers will see the Grey’s Anatomy bomb episode that originally aired in Season 2. Then, on May 20, an important episode regarding the future of Dr. Jackson Avery is going to debut.
We don’t yet know when the Grey’s Anatomy season finale will air on ABC, but the network seems to be leaving some room to heavily advertise for it, just in case Grey’s Anatomy gets canceled. Cancel might be the wrong word for it, though, because it seems to almost entirely be up to Ellen Pompeo at this point.
No matter what the future might hold for the show, make sure to tune in on May 20 for that next new episode because it will be a memorable one.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursday nights at 9/8c on ABC.
It is true it is all on Ellen Pompeo. Also true but denied is she wants a pay increase to do another season. At this point she can afford to walk away so it depends if the ratings are still high enough (originally it had 22 million watching, now about 4.5 million watch weekly) and if they can make it work financially that she gets the money she wants to do another season. In other words it depends if the ratings can support her (and the cast’s) salary demands.