Ellen Pompeo Is Considering Leaving Grey's Anatomy

Nobody panic, but Grey's Anatomy (and the world as we know it) might just be ending. Even though at times it's seemed like the ABC juggernaut would go on forever -- it is entering its 15th season with no sign of slowing down, after all -- that doesn't mean its leading lady, Ellen Pompeo, is in it for the long haul. In fact, Pompeo hinted Friday that she's considering leaving the Meredith Grey behind.

"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. I'm definitely looking for a change."

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For those of you about to head into a tailspin, we'll remind you that Pompeo's current contract ensures her participation in the show through Season 16, so an immediate exit is not imminent. That being said, when and if Pompeo decides to go, the powers that be will have a hard question on their hands. Can Grey's Anatomy survive without Meredith Grey? And more important, should it?

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Grey's Anatomy's two-hour premiere airs Thursday, Sept. 27 at 8/7c on ABC.