‘Grey’s Anatomy’ marks major milestone
ABC medical drama is still alive after 14 seasons and 300 episodes.
Grey’s Anatomy is the second-longest commitment of Ellen Pompeo’s life, second only to her relationship with husband, Chris Ivery, whom she started dating 17 years ago.
And both hit major milestones Thursday: Her ABC medical soap — now in its 14th season — marks its 300th episode (8 ET/PT) the same day as their 10th wedding anniversary.
“A commitment-phobe is something no one could call me,” says Pompeo, who turns 48 Friday. Pompeo plays dark and twisty surgeon Meredith Grey, the brainchild of creator Shonda Rhimes, who announced this summer that she’ll be partnering with Netflix for future projects.
Pompeo describes the 300th episode as a “love letter to the original cast,” of which only three other members remain: Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers and James Pickens Jr.
Along the way, the actors who played fellow Seattle Grace interns — Katherine Heigl, T.R. Knight and Sandra Oh — left the show, sometimes in tabloidready fashion. Ditto for Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey, who played supervisors and love interests.
But only one departure rattled Pom- peo: That of Oh, who played Meredith’s best friend, Cristina Yang.
“I really worried when Sandra Oh left,” she says. “She was such a big part of the show. When the show didn’t suffer when she left, then I wasn’t worried when Patrick left (in Season 11).”
ABC Entertainment chief Channing Dungey says the show weathered multiple cast changes thanks to the producer’s steady hand.
“She and her writing staff have never been afraid to push boundaries — they take risks and the audience follows. Fourteen seasons later, Shonda’s passion for these characters and her investment in this world is as strong as it’s ever been, and that keeps the storytelling fresh.”
It helps that the show takes place in the high-stakes environment of a hospital. Grey’s has seen its share of disasters, beginning with its 2006 Super Bowl episode, in which Meredith kept a bomb from exploding in a patient’s abdomin.
“There is nothing like a large-scale disaster to test our characters and really amp up the stakes,” says Beers.
Beers credits that episode with exposing “the show to a wide audience, some of whom then became hooked.”
Bombs, plane crashes and love triangles aside, Pompeo is proud of what her “silly little medical soap” has accomplished, including saving actual lives.
“There was one storyline where we had a kid with a heart problem that presents as the flu and doctors overlook it,” she recalls. “We got a letter from this mom saying, ‘The hospital sent me home saying I didn’t know what I was talking about and I resisted. Sure enough, my child was diagnosed with this and she’s alive now because of that episode.’ ”
The medical drama airs its 300th episode, celebrating a landmark not many other series will ever achieve. The nostalgic episode finds the doctors at Grey Sloan treating patients after a roller coaster falls off the track at the county fair, sparking memories about their former patients at the hospital.