Ellen Pompeo will appear on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ for season 21

Her character, Meredith Grey, may have left Grey Sloan Memorial for a research job in Boston, but neither she nor Ellen Pompeo have strayed too far: ABC Audio has confirmed that Pompeo will return to Grey’s Anatomy for at least seven episodes of the ABC medical drama’s 21st season.

This comes after she appeared in five episodes in season 20, despite her character’s emotional send-off in the season prior.

It was revealed ahead of season 19’s premiere that Pompeo would be limiting her role on the show, appearing in only eight episodes while staying on as executive producer and continuing to provide voice-over narration for the program.

In 2019, Grey‘s became the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history. The Shonda Rhimes-produced program is the longest running prime-time series in ABC history.