“Grey’s Anatomy” is scrubbing back in for two more record-breaking seasons with star and producer Ellen Pompeo.
The actress has reportedly extended her dreamy, $20 million deal, which made her dramatic television’s highest-earning actress, until 2021, ensuring that the Emmy-winning series will be on our screens through Season 17.
The ABC soap made history this year as longest-running medical drama on American television, surpassing “ER” with 332 episodes. With the two-season pickup, “Grey’s Anatomy” also will dethrone the 15-season “ER” as the longest-running medical drama in number of seasons.
“Grey’s,” currently averaging 10 million viewers in its 15th season, remains the prized jewel of ABC’s prime-time lineup as the network’s No. 1 series for the 2018-19 broadcast season.
It’s unclear what the future holds for the series beyond 2021. Creator Shodna Rhimes has repeatedly said she’ll charge ahead as long as Pompeo is willing.
The actress, however, did cast doubt about the show’s future beyond Season 16, admitting that she was “definitely looking for a change” when her contract expires.
“I’m clearly not prepared right now to make any formal announcement about what my future is on the show, but I am really feeling like we have told the majority of the stories that we can tell,” Pompeo told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s about time that I mix it up.”
Rhimes has been making movies over at Netflix, but she’s also continuing her relationship with ABC with the other series under her production company Shondaland, “How To Get Away with Murder” and “Station 19.″ Both also received pickups for new seasons at ABC.
“Everyone at Shondaland is thrilled that our fans’ commitment to TGIT continues,” Rhimes and producing partner Betsy Beers said in a joint statement, referring to ABC’s Thursday night lineup, according to Deadline. “We are so proud of Krista and Pete (Nowalk) and the work they do. Making the choice to have Krista oversee ‘Station 19’ was easy — the creativity she brings to the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ universe continues a tradition of storytelling we hold dear.”