TV magic. Grey’s Anatomy is scheduled to hit another series milestone with the season 18 finale: 400 episodes!
“It’s going to be a pretty big event, I think,” showrunner Krista Vernoff told TVLine during the Savannah College of Art and Design TV Fest on Wednesday, February 16.
Fans may remember that the show’s 200th episode took place during season 10 and featured the doctors dressed up for a wild fundraiser. During season 14, the 300th episode paid tribute to many past characters. When it comes to the theme of this milestone, however, Vernoff didn’t give away too much.
“No, we’re not doing a black-and-white movie musical,” the 50-year-old screenwriter said with a laugh after the Golden Age of the silver screen was thrown out as a suggestion.
Vernoff, who has been a writer and producer on the medical drama since its 2005 start, noted that hitting 400 episodes this season is contingent upon their shooting schedule — and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I actually think that the last episode of our season will be 400, if there are no further COVID delays and we don’t end up dropping an episode,” she explained. “That’s a big ‘if.’”
Should season 18 get cut short due to COVID-19 delays, the long-running ABC series will make it to the episode milestone next season. The network announced the early renewal of the hit show last month.
“I couldn’t be more excited that we get to keep telling the stories of Meredith, Bailey, Richard and all of the other doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial for another season,” Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes said in a statement in January. “This is a true testament to [showrunner] Krista Vernoff, the cast, the crew and all the writers who keep the audience on the edge of their seat week after week. And it would not be possible without the generations of incredible fans who have supported Grey’s Anatomy for so many years.”
ABC confirmed at the time that stars Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. are all set to return for season 19.
The news came as a surprise to some as 52-year-old Pompeo, who has played Dr. Meredith Grey since its inception, has recently been vocal about wanting to wrap up her time on the show.
“I’ve been trying to focus on convincing everybody that it should end,” the Old School actress told Insider in December 2021. “I feel like I’m the super naive one who keeps saying, ‘But what’s the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?’ And everyone’s like, ‘Who cares, Ellen? It makes a gazillion dollars.'”
Rhimes, for her part, revealed to Variety in November 2021 that she’s already “written the end” of Grey’s Anatomy “a good eight times” but the show has continued to flourish beyond each story line.
“I was like, ‘And that will be the end!’ Or, ‘That’ll be the final thing that’s ever said or done!’ And all of those things have already happened,” the Inventing Anna creator, 52, said at the time. “So I give up on that, you know what I mean?”
When the time comes to end Grey’s, Rhimes noted that it will be on her shoulders, not the longtime showrunner Vernoff. “Am I the person who decides when the show is over? Yes. And I take full responsibility for that when or if everybody gets mad at me.” she added.
Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy returns on ABC Thursday, February 24 at 9 p.m. ET.