Grey’s Anatomy season 17: Ellen Pompeo talks Patrick Dempsey return

Grey's Anatomy November 13, 2020

On last night’s premiere episode of Grey’s Anatomy season 17, we had arguably the biggest shock on TV in years. Patrick Dempsey returned in the closing seconds of the two-hour premiere, playing a version of Derek who was coming to Meredith in a dream state. She is clearly fighting for her life, and we don’t know exactly what direction the story is going to take from here.

What we do know is this: Patrick was a gift the Grey’s Anatomy cast and crew delivered to us to make people feel a little bit better in 2020. In a new interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night, Ellen reacted a little bit to the news of Patrick’s return, and talked about some of the fun that the whole experience brought to the show.

For some more news when it comes to Grey’s Anatomy in video form, be sure to watch some of the latest at the bottom of this article! Once you check that out, remember to subscribe to Matt & Jess on YouTube and view our playlist.

We know that Derek’s return was an incredibly-large secret, even to the point where some employees on the show didn’t know about it. His return was the work mostly of Pompeo and showrunner Krista Vernoff, who had the conversations with Dempsey about him finding a way to come back. This is a way to end Derek’s run on a much higher note than his death, and it’s also a way to ensure that Meredith has a very different, exciting story to come.

Let’s be fair — we don’t know at the moment if Meredith lives or dies long-term. We’re just hoping for more of the former, mostly because it doesn’t feel right to have Grey’s Anatomy without the title character. What would it be?

What did you think about Patrick Dempsey’s return to Grey’s Anatomy?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Meanwhile, be sure to stick around for some other news on the series. (Photo: ABC.)

Love TV? Be sure to like Matt & Jess on Facebook for more updates!