Ellen Pompeo Is Set to Appear in 7 Episodes of Grey's Anatomy Season 21

Dr. Meredith Grey will be spending more time at Grey Sloan Memorial.

PEOPLE has learned Ellen Pompeo, who stars as Meredith on Grey's Anatomy, will appear in seven episodes of the show’s upcoming 21st season. 

The actress, 54, had a scaled-back role in season 19 and season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy. However, she remained an executive producer on the series while continuing to provide the opening and closing voiceover for each episode.

As fans will recall, Meredith resigned from her job at the hospital after Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) discovered her secret Alzheimer's research at the end of season 20. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) were also caught in the crosshairs of the controversy.

On the personal front, Meredith’s boyfriend, Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) surprised her and commended her for “putting everything on the line when you want something” and told her that he wanted to be “side-by-side” with her as she went on to her next challenge.

In April, ABC announced Grey's Anatomy was renewed for season 21, extending its record as the longest-running primetime medical drama and the network’s longest-running primetime scripted series.

“Push (twenty) one of epi! 😉 #GreysAnatomy will be coming back for another season on ABC!” the show’s official Instagram page shared in a post.

In an installment of Variety's Actors on Actors series in June 2023, Pompeo opened up to her former Grey’s costar Katherine Heigl about the future of her character.

“I will be making some appearances hopefully next year, if I can find some time,” she said at the time. “It’s not a complete goodbye. And I think we’ve got an interesting story to tell."

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Season 20 of Grey's Anatomy is now streaming in full on Hulu.