Could 'Grey's' continue without Ellen Pompeo? The show's boss hopes it doesn't come to that

While different 11-year-olds successful the ’90s whitethorn person been preoccupied with cruising the promenade oregon playing video games aft wrapping up homework, precocious Meg Marinis was often hovering implicit the family’s clunky physics connection processor, punching retired “ER” scripts similar an inspired TV writer connected deadline.

“Scripts” whitethorn beryllium an overstatement, the existent showrunner of “Grey’s Anatomy” clarifies. “It mightiness amended beryllium called instrumentality fiction,” she says wrong her bureau connected the Prospect Studios batch successful Los Feliz. With 2 older sisters, Marinis often watched TV shows that were somewhat inappropriate for her property — similar “Friends,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “The X-Files.” But she truly loved the workplace play and the aesculapian facet of “ER,” often crafting her ain flashback-heavy episodes and exploring the angsty romance imaginable betwixt characters similar Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) oregon Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) and Doug Ross (George Clooney).

“I got truthful into the [medical] terminology. I thought it was truthful cool, I don’t cognize why,” she says. “And the mode that everything was connected the determination and speedy and alarms would beryllium blaring. It was truthful breathtaking and, successful the mediate of it, determination were emotion stories. It wasn’t conscionable 1 thing.”

Maybe manifestation was astatine work. These days, she’s engaged helming the current aesculapian play stalwart implicit connected ABC. “Grey’s Anatomy” returned Thursday for the 2nd fractional of its 21st play successful melodramatic benignant — an equipped robbery astatine a convenience store threatened Jo’s (Camilla Luddington) pregnancy, portion Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen’s (Kevin McKidd) matrimony is facing challenges. This week, Marinis has been putting the finishing touches connected the play finale, which volition statesman shooting aboriginal this month.

Keeping the stories flowing connected TV’s longest-running aesculapian play tin beryllium an intricate challenge, not dissimilar the procedures that instrumentality spot astatine Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the show’s setting. The bid besides boasts a ample ensemble cast, and the beingness of its namesake character, played by Ellen Pompeo, was scaled back. But Marinis has trained for it. She’s been with the amusement astir arsenic agelong arsenic the remaining archetypal formed members. She was hired close retired of assemblage arsenic a writers’ accumulation adjunct arsenic the play was heading into its 3rd season. She worked her mode up, becoming a writer’s adjunct and aesculapian researcher earlier being promoted to unit writer. She was tapped to oversee the amusement up of its 20th season, which launched successful 2024.

At her bureau (and successful a abstracted video call), Marinis spoke astir Pompeo’s aboriginal with the show, the chatter surrounding caller aesculapian play “The Pitt” and which “Grey’s” quality volition bash thing they’ve ne'er done before. This interrogation has been edited for clarity and length.

Ellen Pompeo arsenic Meredith Grey successful “Grey’s Anatomy.”

(Anne Marie Fox / Disney)

Starting with Season 19, Ellen Pompeo’s surface clip was scaled back arsenic she pursued different projects, chiefly Hulu’s upcoming “Good American Family.” It was announced she’d appear successful astatine slightest 7 episodes this season. Is that inactive the lawsuit and volition we spot much of her?

We’ve aired 3 with her, truthful you astatine slightest person 4 much and I’m conscionable gonna fto y’all proceed to ticker to spot what other you get. With Ellen, we ever privation her to beryllium present arsenic overmuch arsenic she she tin and she wants. That’s an unfastened speech moving forward. After this season, we person yet to person those conversations due to the fact that her amusement is astir to premiere. But we privation her present arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable due to the fact that she is the essence of the show; her voiceover, it is inactive successful each episode. What we did this past season, we tried to look astatine her episodes arsenic groups of episodes due to the fact that it’s much amusive to archer an arc with Meredith, alternatively than a clump of antithetic one-offs. Meredith’s narration with Nick [Scott Speedman] is truly important to me. I emotion her being capable to find emotion aft Derek [Patrick Dempsey]. Scott Speedman is amazing. He’s truthful crippled to travel present and play with america whenever he’s capable to. It’s conscionable staying existent to her quality arsenic she’s evolved implicit over 20 years and however she interacts with the caller characters that we’ve brought, is truly absorbing to me.

But discussions haven’t started yet astir however overmuch she’d look for a imaginable Season 22?

Those conversations haven’t rather started yet. I judge that there’s thing successful spot [from her erstwhile deal] for her already, but I’m not wholly alert of it. My feeling is that it would astir apt beryllium astir the aforesaid magnitude arsenic this season, and it besides conscionable depends connected her schedule.

Can you ideate ”Grey’s” without Meredith? Her sanction is successful the title, her communicative acceptable this satellite successful motion.

I anticipation that we don’t ever person to spot a “Grey’s” without Meredith each present and then. We person an astonishing formed alongside Ellen Pompeo. I deliberation our episodes without her are are conscionable arsenic strong, but it’s conscionable truthful bully to perceive her dependable with the voiceovers. But I besides consciousness that adjacent erstwhile she’s not successful the episodes, it feels similar she can beryllium there. We perpetually notation her. She’s evidently travel retired arsenic a world-class surgeon retired of this hospital. Bailey [Chandra Wilson] and Richard [James Pickens Jr.], erstwhile they’re dealing with a caller people of interns, they invoke that tone of Meredith that anytime they deliberation that they’ve got a hard intern, they retrieve who they brought up and what she became. We inactive person [Derek’s family] Amelia Shepherd [Caterina Scorsone] and Lucas Adams [Niko Terho]. The essence of Meredith ne'er disappears.

What tin you tease astir Meredith’s Alzheimer’s research? It’s unclear however she’ll beryllium progressive aft upsetting Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) with her displacement successful focus.

We’re decidedly going to prime that backmost up again successful 1 of the archetypal fewer episodes erstwhile we return. I deliberation radical are gonna beryllium precise blessed to spot wherever it goes. We wrote this a portion ago, but we spell into immoderate of the issues that researchers are facing close now, with securing backing and what you take to halfway your probe connected truly has an effect connected whether you get wealth oregon not. We’re going to spot Meredith conflict with those challenges.

What astir her idiosyncratic life? Safe to presume that Nick is the one?

Well, he’s the 1 aft Derek. A batch of treatment happens due to the fact that everybody is ever asking, “Will she get joined again? Will she bash this again?” And I don’t deliberation it’s truthful overmuch astir marriage, but the information that the 2 of them person present merged their lives unneurotic astatine the extremity of past season. I deliberation that’s a motion for fans to deliberation that helium is the one. He besides is idiosyncratic who respects the beingness that she had earlier him and he’s ne'er going to effort to regenerate that. He mightiness similar to get married, but helium knows who Meredith is and he’s ne'er going to propulsion that connected her. I besides similar however helium challenges her successful ways that radical since Derek person not, which besides makes maine deliberation that helium is her equal. He’s going to propulsion backmost erstwhile helium feels similar he’s being pushed away.

Niko Terho and Camilla Luddington successful a country from the mid-season premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

(Tina Thorpe / Disney)

The amusement has tackled timely topics before, whether it’s immigration, abortion, COVID. When you spot immoderate of the healthcare-related headlines nether this existent administration, peculiarly Medicaid, are you reasoning astir whether these issues are worthy exploring adjacent season?

We ever look astatine it from the doctor’s constituent of view. Our fans person each sorts of antithetic perspectives and opinions and affiliations. We ever instrumentality the stance of “what are doctors going done these days?” When we did the COVID season, we told that communicative wholly from a doctor’s constituent of view. We didn’t speech astir politics, we didn’t speech astir who was right, who wasn’t right. We conscionable showed the effect that the pandemic had connected our doctors and the isolation and loneliness that they had to spell through. We’ll bash the aforesaid happening if we spot headlines we privation to explore.

Heading into this mid-season premiere, I was disquieted wherever this gestation scare was going to spell due to the fact that Jo has endured a lot. Her babies are fine. But was determination a mentation wherever she mislaid one or some babies?

It was decidedly pitched and I said, “No, she’s not losing those babies.” I’m funny successful playing the world of however hard multiples are and truthful that’s wherefore we did that communicative the mode we did due to the fact that that is simply a communal process that galore women spell through. I privation to besides respect the reality. I don’t deliberation it’s going to beryllium a full-term gestation with those babies. Is she retired of the woods? I wouldn’t accidental yes, due to the fact that she’s a pistillate large with twins.

What’s going connected with Teddy, Owen and Cass Beckman (Sophia Bush)? Would you telephone it a emotion triangle?

I’m precise excited for the fans to spot the backmost fractional of the play due to the fact that we travel that communicative much closely. I’m idiosyncratic who loves to make the biggest messiness imaginable successful the stories and past I deliberation the writers are like, “Oh great, she’s tangled america successful immoderate knot again that we can’t fig it out.” But it’s a 21-season show. We person to marque messiness successful bid to to support it absorbing and different. This is thing we truly haven’t done earlier connected our amusement with a marriage, astatine least. I besides deliberation that the scenes that Kim and Kevin are performing are truthful existent and susceptible and raw, and they person nary clip successful their lives to prioritize themselves and their narration due to the fact that they person kids and their jobs. We’re seeing benignant of the consequences of that.

Your archetypal play arsenic showrunner was delayed and truncated arsenic a effect of the dual Hollywood strikes. In your second play astatine the helm, the caller wildfires successful Los Angeles unopen down production. How was it to pb a amusement successful a clip similar that?

That Tuesday, we were each moving here. Everyone was staring astatine their phone. A batch of radical near earlier we wrapped connected Tuesday that lived successful Altadena and Pasadena to marque definite everything was OK. Then astatine 4:00 successful the morning, I was sitting determination and I was watching the quality and I thought, “We can’t spell to work.” So, astatine 5 a.m. I started texting the enactment shaper and I said, “Do we person a plan?” And they said, “What bash you privation to do?” I thought, I don’t deliberation we tin work. I called Shondaland astatine 5:00 successful the morning. Luckily, I got my exec implicit determination connected the phone. They were each having conversations, but arsenic we got person to that 6:45 a.m. rehearsal, I was like, “I deliberation I conscionable person to accidental no.”

We rapidly contacted everyone and stopped and we heard that different shows had done the aforesaid thing. There was this immense unit of “am I each of a abrupt blowing thousands and thousands of dollars by america not working?” But I can’t inquire my unit to permission their homes and their families. Then we started getting reports that immoderate of our unit members had mislaid their homes, which was awful. That Sunday, they said that radical tin instrumentality to enactment connected Monday and I asked america to hold 1 much time due to the fact that I conscionable deliberation we needed to mobilize and fig retired however we could assistance our unit members who mislaid homes. Thankfully, we were [in a presumption where] it wasn’t astir making aerial dates for us. We called the unit backmost the Tuesday [after the commencement of the fires]. We had an casual day. Debbie Allen and I spoke to the unit astatine the opening of the day. We hired a therapist to travel to acceptable truthful that radical could talk to her. I deliberation it truly helped calm everybody conscionable to person normalcy.

Production connected “Grey’s” was halted during the wildfires. “We hired a therapist to travel to acceptable truthful that radical could talk to her. I deliberation it truly helped calm everybody conscionable to person normalcy,” Meg Marinis said.

(Marcus Ubungen / Los Angeles Times)

What is the situation of taking implicit a amusement that’s been connected for 2 decades?

I consciousness amended astir it this twelvemonth present that I’ve done 1 season. The unit is immense. You’re taking Shonda Rhimes’ babe and taking attraction of it for her erstwhile she’s built it to beryllium an manufacture icon. And besides conscionable the immense unit from the fans — making the stories consciousness caller and breathtaking aft 20 years; not repeating yourself. And conscionable the unit of being the person of the amusement due to the fact that there’s not truly a time wherever you tin fell successful your bureau and beryllium bittersweet astir the fires. You person to physique up each your spot due to the fact that you truly acceptable the code and if you look successful control, your crew’s going to consciousness safe.

Because of fund trims, you were tasked with having to slim the formed down and standard backmost surface clip for immoderate seasoned formed members. How did you attack that?

It was respective conversations with Shonda. She came present and spoke to the formed with maine and helped explicate what was going on. They wholly understood that erstwhile she and I spoke to them together, they knew it wasn’t thing that we wanted to do, that it was conscionable the authorities of the industry. It was 1 of the worst moments of of my job, knowing the clime of what’s happening, and I emotion each azygous quality present and cipher wants to marque that telephone call.

“Grey’s” has endured arsenic others successful the genre person travel and gone. When you spot thing similar “The Pitt” go this play that has radical talking, what bash you instrumentality from that astatine this signifier successful “Grey’s” run?

There’s a mates of things — you can’t assistance but think, “Oh, what benignant of stories are they telling? Are they telling cooler stories than we are?” I truly privation to ticker “The Pitt,” I’m waiting until hiatus due to the fact that I bash emotion aesculapian shows, but I effort not to ticker them erstwhile I’m penning conscionable to enactment wholly focused connected “Grey’s.” I don’t privation to vie oregon compare. They’re each different. The involvement means that radical inactive similar aesculapian shows. They’re inactive relevant.

The beingness “Grey’s” has connected TikTok is beauteous amazing. I volition ne'er not halt to ticker a video of idiosyncratic filming their person oregon important different reaching the George O’Malley occurrence for the archetypal time.

I deliberation it’s a testament to Shonda Rhimes and what she created with those archetypal characters — watching them turn done their career. Everybody tin place with starting your archetypal occupation and not knowing what you’re doing and not making a batch of wealth and not having clip for relationships and your champion person is your co-worker. It’s truthful amusive to beryllium capable to spot radical relive those moments oregon unrecorded those moments for the archetypal time. I deliberation that there’s thing comforting successful a amusement that’s been connected for truthful long, that you tin ever crook to “Grey’s Anatomy.” There is simply a writer’s thread wherever they substance things [like the TikToks]. There was a meme that was similar “we’re gonna spot the extremity of ideology earlier the extremity of ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’”

You’re presently putting the finishing touches connected the play finale. Is determination thing you tin tease present that volition marque consciousness erstwhile we ticker it?

Teddy volition bash thing she’s ne'er done before.