Medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ will soon wrap up its eighth season, and with the status of several stars’ contracts in question, the finale is set to feature at least one character death and several potential exits for those who will not return next season.

Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Justin Chambers and Patrick Dempsey are among the original stars of the series, which premiered on ABC in March 2005. They all have deals expiring at the end of the 2011-2012 season, and fans have speculated for months over who will be back for a ninth season in the fall. While ABC has yet to formally renew ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ for a ninth season, the series remains one of the network’s strongest programs and a Thursday night anchor, so a renewal is all but a given.

Pompeo portrays main character Meredith Grey, therefore one would assume that the future of the series is dependent on her renewing her contract for another season. Back in September, Pompeo told TV Guide Magazine, regarding her returning next season:

“I would love the opportunity to discuss it. I would never turn up my nose at Grey’s. As long as the stories are honest and truthful … and I feel there is material for us to be passionate about, it still beats a nine-to-five job any day. If I hear from the fans that they want us to keep going, then I would continue because we owe them everything.”

Similarly, Oh, who has won a Golden Globe and SAG award for her portrayal of Cristina Yang, told ‘George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight’, in April, that:

“In my heart of hearts, I’ll tell you this: I love my job. I do. I love my job, and I love the show, and I love that character, and I would love to continue playing her.”

Chambers, who plays Alex Karev, sounded unsure last summer when he told TV Line:

 “I don’t know if I’ll go farther. I don’t know if the show will go farther. When we get to that point, we’ll go from there… We know it’s going to end sooner or later. It’s just about ending well and the audience getting what they want out of it.”

Shonda Rhimes, creator and executive producer, has finalized her plans for the season finale and it has now been revealed that one character will die. The character’s identity is unknown, however, there are suggestions that the departing actor will be one of the cast whose contract does not expire this season. Whatever happens, Grey’s weekly audience of 10 million viewers will be tuning in on May 17th to see how things unfold.

Image Courtesy of   http://abc.go.com

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About the author

Stephen Conlon
Postgraduate student, Apple geek.

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