‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 12 finale: Shonda Rhimes chimes in on Sara Ramirez exit

If you watched the “Grey’s Anatomy” finale on ABC Thursday night, you likely realized that we are going to be without Sara Ramirez on the show moving forward … at least for a little while. Callie and Arizona finally came to a custody agreement that would allow her to be happy in the long-term, and with that, a chance to move to New York once and for all.

In a statement following this episode, show creator Shonda Rhimes paid tribute to the actress with a lengthy, heartfelt statement thanking her for the almost ten years she put into making this show the big success that it is:

“Dr. Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago, and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey … Sara Ramirez’s performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off. I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland.”

One thing that remains interesting to us about the statement from both Shonda and Sara herself (read that one here) is that neither party suggested that this was a permanent exit. Instead, it’s merely a “break” or “time off.” This gives us the slightest bit of hope that maybe she could return someday, but given the long hours that come with doing this show, it’s no surprise that there is turnover that happens fairly often.

At present, Ellen Pompeo (Meredith), Justin Chambers (Alex), James Pickens Jr. (Richard Webber), and Chandra Wilson (Bailey) remain the only people who were around for the pilot for “Grey’s Anatomy” and are still around today.

We’ll have much more in the way of insight on the future of “Grey’s Anatomy” in due time. For now, head over to this link in the event you want some other news on all we cover, sent right over to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)