'Grey's Anatomy': New Promo for Meredith's Farewell Hints at Ellen Pompeo's Eventual Return

Meredith Grey is saying goodbye but not for long, according to a new Grey's Anatomy promo.

In new footage from the teaser, which centers around Ellen Pompeo's send-off in the Feb. 23 winter premiere, her friends at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital toast her as she prepares to close one chapter of her life in Seattle and begin a new one in Boston. 

"You know, I'll probably be here next week," Meredith says with a chuckle after their celebratory toast. 

Though Meredith likely won't be back on Grey's "next week," it aligns with Pompeo's promise that she'll pay visits here and there after it was revealed in August that she was stepping back from the ABC medical drama.

"This isn’t your first time on the rollercoaster… you know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to visit," she assured fans in an Instagram post in November, signing off the post "with a lot of love and immense gratitude." 

Watch the new Grey's Anatomy promo below.

Pompeo's (and Meredith's) farewell marks her seventh season 19 episode, and she is expected to return once more before the season is over with the possibility for future visits down the line. 

As Grey's viewers know, Meredith made the decision to relocate to Boston for a new job at the Catherine Fox Foundation and enroll Zola in a school more suited to her needs. Her iconic family home also burned down in a devastating fire, leaving nothing salvageable except the Post-it note with Meredith and Derek's vows.

Titled "I'll Follow the Sun," it’s Meredith’s last day at Grey Sloan Memorial and the doctors plan a goodbye surprise, while Nick (Scott Speedman) confronts her about the future of their relationship. Elsewhere, the interns compete to scrub in on Maggie (Kelly McCreary) and Winston's (Anthony Hill) groundbreaking partial heart transplant procedure, and Richard (James Pickens Jr.) asks Teddy (Kim Raver) an important question. The episode was written by showrunner Krista Vernoff and directed by Debbie Allen.

Back in September, Pompeo opened up to ET about her decision to step away from Grey's and take on a new Hulu drama about orphans.

"It's still Grey's, she's still there in spirit and that's the house that Grey built, so she's always there," Pompeo said at the time. "She just has to step away for a little bit to do a Hulu show. It's a great company to work for and I'm really, really lucky that they've given me the opportunity to do both, and so I had to take it."

RELATED CONTENT:

'Grey's Anatomy': Meredith Grey's 8 Biggest Moments From the Series

Ellen Pompeo Explains the Real Reason Why She's Leaving 'Grey's'

Kate Walsh on How 'Grey's Will Continue After Ellen Pompeo's Exit

Ellen Pompeo 'Super Happy' With Decision to Leave 'Grey's Anatomy'

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Up Next

Related Gallery

'Grey's Anatomy': The Biggest Cast Exits