‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 10: Patrick Dempsey open to staying longer, in negotiations now

While at one point it certainly seemed as though Patrick Dempsey’s “Grey’s Anatomy” journey could be over following the show’s eighth season, it now feels like the actor is open to sticking around for at least a little while longer depending on how the latest round of contract talks end up going.

In a new interview with TVLine designed to help promote his new series “Racing Le Mans” (which premieres the first of four episodes Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. on Velocity), Dempsey responded with the following quote when asked if having more flexibility to do things like car racing is something that is important to him in current negotiations. It is a reason for longtime Derek fans to have hope:

“Everything is open to a conversation at this point. Grey’s has been such a remarkable ride. Shonda [Rhimes] has been incredibly supportive. I enjoy Grey’s more than ever in many ways. Our relationships have grown considerably. We’ve all matured over the last 10 years. So it would be a shame to end this.”

One of the reasons why Dempsey may be interested in keeping the ride going on “Grey’s Anatomy” for a little while longer is rather simple: It makes a ton of money. With the salary that he earns on the show, he is able to really do whatever he wants during the off-season when it comes to racing, and then show up again come the summer to film more new episodes. When you are someone in Patrick’s situation, this really does amount to getting the best of both worlds.

Sandra Oh has already announced that she is leaving after the show’s tenth season, and creator Shonda Rhimes is hoping that she will know long in advance the fate of the rest of her original cast members in order to give them the proper send-off.

Photo: ABC