Grey’s Anatomy officially renewed for season 18 as Ellen Pompeo finally extends her contract

Grey’s Anatomy fans, rejoice! The hit medical drama is officially returning for season 18 and yes, Ellen Pompeo will be back as Meredith Grey.

After the most tense wait for the show to confirm it would continue on, viewers can finally rest easy for another year.

Monday saw ABC confirm that Ellen signed a new one-year contract to continue starring on the long-running series – meaning she remains the highest-paid woman on TV.

Elsewhere, her co-stars Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. also signed their new deals to return as Miranda Bailey and Richard Webber.

ABC has also renewed popular Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Station 19 for a fifth season.

The two dramas are ABC’s most-watched scripted shows so the news isn’t too much of a surprise.

However, things were looking shaky for a while as Ellen and showrunner Krista Vernoff both made repeated claims that the show could end with its current season.

The happy news comes just days after it was revealed that long-running cast member Jesse Williams was leaving the show.

After 12 seasons as Jackson Avery, the actor chose not to renew his contract with the show and will be seen saying goodbye next week.

Thankfully, we were given a Japril (Jackson and April Kepner) endgame to soften the blow.

Season 17 also saw fans say goodbye to Giacomo Gianniotti leave the series after his character Andrew Deluca was killed off.

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC in the US and is available to watch on Sky Witness in the UK.

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