This season of Grey's Anatomy might be its final one, according to Ellen Pompeo

Ellen Pompeo has given a candid and in-depth interview about Grey's Anatomy –– and revealed that this season of the show might be the last.

The 50-year-old spoke to Variety about her 17-season stint on the show, which premiered back in 2004. Pompeo, who plays the titular character Meredith Grey, casually dropped a major bomb, saying that she had no official confirmation on when the show would end but: "the truth is, this year could be it".

"This is the last year of my contract right now," she explained. "I don't know that this is the last year? But it could very well could be."

She went on to say that this potential end-date looming so close is inspiring her and the rest of the cast to create the best show possible.

"I'm constantly fighting for the show as a whole to be as good as it can be. Everything is really important to me –– that the show is good, and that all the characters' storylines are good. I care very much about the integrity of the show, and the stories that we tell, and the quality."

This season of Grey's Anatomy will focus around the coronavirus pandemic, showrunner Krista Vernoff has revealed. "There's no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes," she said.

Pompeo spoke at length about her last 16 years on the show, and spilled some excellent behind-the-scenes intel. She says that as soon as she met Patrick Dempsey for their screen test, she immediately felt the chemistry between them.

"I was like, 'It's got to be this guy. This is the guy.' We had instant chemistry from the minute we met."

She also spoke about how incredibly diverse the Grey's cast is, especially back in 2004 when the show first aired.

Shonda Rhimes, the show's creator "was really making such a political statement already," Pompeo said. "She was hiring a Korean actress as the lead, and Black actresses and Black actors as leads," she explained, referring to Sandra Oh and Isaiah Washington.

"And we weren't making a thing about it. We weren't talking about it! Shonda famously said, 'I just saw all types for all roles. And I just cast the best actor for the part.'"

Pompeo rounded out the interview by promising fans that season 17 of Grey's is the best one yet.

"I'm really, really, really excited about this season, and that's all I can say about that. And it's probably going to be one of our best seasons ever. And I know that sounds nuts to say, but it's really true."

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