“I found out maybe three days before you guys found out,” Rhimes said of Ramirez’s sudden exit.

Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Shonda Rhimes was just as shocked to hear about Sara Ramirez leaving the show as the rest of the world.

At Vulture Festival in New York City on Sunday, Rhimes revealed that she “found out maybe three days” before Ramirez tweeted news of her departure after 10 years on the hit medical drama.

“This one was interesting. It was different because it wasn’t a big, planned thing,” Rhimes explains. “I had a different plan going and when Sara came and said, ‘I really need to take this break,’ it was sort of lucky that we had shot the end of the season with her going to New York.”

Adding, “I felt really good that we had shot that ending and that she said she wanted to take this break and we were able to give it to her because I love the woman and I want to do everything for her. It all worked out in that sense.”

Rhimes also took a moment to look back at other departures, like Patrick Dempsey’s (Derek Shepherd) at the end of season 11.

“For Patrick, people make such a nasty deal of that whole thing and I’m like, ‘Why?’” Rhimes questions. “I think people want a story on the outside that doesn’t have to do with anything on the inside. That was a lot of seasons.”

Ultimately, Rhimes is understanding of actors’ need to move on, and she reflected on keeping Sandra Oh (Cristina Yang) around for a decade.

“You never want to see anybody go — you want them to be there forever. I find it fascinating that people are shocked that people are exiting. Think about this: most shows go for four seasons? The number of dramas that have gone for four seasons is under 50, and we’re heading into season 13,” Rhimes says. “The idea that Sandra did it for 10 seasons and then was ready to go was amazing. I kept waiting. Season six, season seven, season eight, I was like, ‘Sandra, are you good?’ Because I know what that is for an actor. You grow and change and then you itch for something new … you have to be really respectful of that.”

As for how long Grey’s Anatomy will last, Rhimes re-iterated that without star Ellen Pompeo, there is no show.

“I’m always surprised when Ellen is ready to re-up,” she admits. “Our pact is that we will go together. When she goes, I go.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter

After all that Grey’s Anatomy has put Owen and Amelia through, you would think that nothing and no one could keep them from tying the knot in Thursday’s Season 12 finale (8/7c, ABC). Well, except maybe for his ex-wife, Cristina.
Though Yang’s been in Zurich for two years, her person, Meredith, continues to watch over Hunt. “She still feels like she’s Owen’s guardian,” says Kevin McKidd, who plays the groom, “and she takes that role very seriously. She still has that allegiance to Cristina, so she has some issues with [the marriage].

“And she also has her own issues with Amelia,” he adds, “so there’s some friction between them.”
And by “some,” the actor means enough that it isn’t necessarily a foregone conclusion that the couple will say “I do.” Meredith and Amelia’s conflict “puts a spoke in the wheel hugely during the wedding,” McKidd reveals. “The fun and the drama and the intensity of the finale is, will Amelia show up at all? Is Owen going to be left at the altar?

“Obviously, he’s pretty bummed” that that’s even a question, he continues. “Amelia scares the bejesus out of everybody.”

Source: TV Line

There are no catastrophes in the Grey’s Anatomy finale airing this week. No buses exploding, no planes crashing. Just rain, a lot of rain. And though that doesn’t really cause any destruction, it does become the source of a few problems.

Since the episode takes place on the day of Owen and Amelia’s wedding, you’d think that’s supposed to be the main focus of the episode, right? But it’s not. April goes into labor, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and not in the company of the ideal person, Ben. Seeing what happened when Ben had to deliver a baby by himself in less than ideal circumstance, and with Bailey also saying something to him earlier in the day which shakes him, will he be able to pull through and keep both April and her baby safe?

Meanwhile, Owen and Amelia’s wedding day is less than drama free. Amelia gets bad news on the phone and later overhears a conversation between Owen and Meredith which leads to a confrontation. She also wonders if she is even doing this for the right reasons. Will all this be enough for Amelia to run out on her groom, or will she walk down the aisle and get hitched to Owen?

Talking about a wedding, after Jo says no to Alex’s “third” proposal to her, she presents him with another proposition.

Also, Riggs and Meredith share a heartfelt moment and more than one running storylines throughout the season have a resolution of sorts.

The episode does end in a cliffhanger, not a very big one, but a cliffhanger nevertheless. At least, I’d call it a cliffhanger.

Teasers:
– There is a fist fight in the episode, and a rather one-sided one at that.
– Jackson gets himself into a very awkward situation with a patient.
– Owen gets “help” on his wedding from an unexpected source.
– “Four times”

Source: Spoiler TV

Perhaps more than any other show on TV today, Grey’s Anatomy is the one that, when you mention it, practically forces conversationalists to reply, “That show is still on?” I’ve seen it happen countless times, to myself and to the dedicated troop of people I know who still watch the show without fail every week. The question is always asked with its condescension not just intact but proudly on display; there is steel in the detractors’ voices, a surety that something so populist, so long-running must have long ago caved to an inevitable decline in quality or relevance.

But nothing could be more wrong. In fact, Grey’s Anatomy’s quality has strengthened and deepened over time — as a result, it has seen a ratings surge in its current season, which ends this Thursday — and its supposed frivolity is one of the great myths of our current viewing era.

The article is very long, so you can read the rest http://www.vulture.com/2016/05/greys-anatomy-is-a-better-show-than-it-gets-credit-for.html?mid=twitter-share-vulture.

She’s weathered her share of cuts and bruises. In her 12 seasons on the ABC medical hit “Grey’s Anatomy,” Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey rose from resident to chief of general surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

She also dealt with the loss of husband Derek (Patrick Dempsey) in a car crash, leaving her a widowed single mother who starts her life over. She loses her hearing after being attacked by a patient. And she’s a witness in the cooly brutal custody trial between Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw). The finale of season 12 airs Thursday.

Through it all, Pompeo, as Meredith, has remained competent and collected, warm and attentive, and a woman fully capable of operating on her own. That’s all thanks to Shonda Rhimes, the creator, head writer, executive producer, and showrunner of “Grey’s.”

“I see life and death and I see how short life is and how quickly it can change. That’s made me appreciate my life so much,” says Pompeo. “I appreciate being healthy. I appreciate being well. I appreciate how lucky I am to be able to have this life. Shonda embraces mothers and motherhood. I’m able to have a family. I get paid as much as any man would get paid. I get to have a say in most things at my job.”

That being said, Pompeo watches episodes along with the rest of us. Sure, she can ask to see them ahead of time. But — why?

“It’s so interesting that no one really knows. A lot of it is done in the editing process after. We shoot one thing but the process doesn’t end there. It doesn’t end until Shonda is finished editing. She completely changed one story line in the finale in the editing,” says Pompeo.

So when the finale airs, “I have to watch it on Thursday. I could have asked to see the whole thing but I don’t have that much time. I saw a good four minutes of the show. I know what we filmed but I don’t know what she changed or moved around. I know how it ends. My final voice over is over the ending.”

For Pompeo, a standout moment was having Denzel Washington direct the mid-season premiere, which saw Meredith being brutalized by a patient. A close runner-up: the custody battle, and its shocking resolution. “They’re almost like little movies, these standalone episodes. We’re going to do more of that next year. I’m really excited about that,’ says Pompeo.

What she won’t do is predict Meredith’s arc in season 13 (the show has been renewed by ABC, surprising exactly no one). “I lasted 13 seasons on the show because I never do that. I’m lucky enough to work for the biggest show-runner on television and I’m smart enough to trust her,” says Pompeo.

The actress never takes her good fortune for granted.

“The humility is something I embody in my own life. I’m incredibly moved all the time. Yesterday I was on a plane and the flight attendant said to me that ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ was the only thing that made her feel better. I hear stories about people in hospital beds with cancer and they watch ‘Grey’s’ and it makes them feel comforted. I’ve been so humbled by the way this show moves people,” she says.

In real life, Pompeo is married to Chris Ivery, and is the mom of daughters Stella and Sienna. Her oldest, says Pompeo, understands what mom does for a living.

“My six-year-old, yes, now she’s starting to. She’s seen people come up to me and hug me. She knows there’s a show and everyone loves it. She actually has told me she’s proud of me,” says Pompeo. “She’s the best thing in the world. They both are. They’re adorable. I try and explain to her that people want to hug me because the show helps them.”

Which is why she’ll never complain about the show’s devoted and vocal fans. “To have the ability to reach people at this level has been a moving experience for me,” says Pompeo.

Source: AOL

As promised, the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy will feature a wedding — but getting down the aisle won’t be easy for Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) as the specter of Cristina (Sandra Oh) hangs over what’s supposed to be a joyous day.

“Amelia genuinely loves Owen, and she wants to be with Owen,” Scorsone tells EW. “She’s already got lots of fears concerning relationships and love, tragedy and loss, and then the morning of the wedding, a whole series of events happen that completely shake her to the core. She just gets terrified.”

What happens involves Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) feelings about her sister-in-law marrying her best friend’s ex-husband. “Meredith and her have a huge blowout on the wedding day,” McKidd says. “It gives Amelia an existential moment of, ‘Is this the right thing? Is this even the city I should be in? Is this the life I should be living?’ Bad moment to have an existential moment, but that’s what happens.”

“Amelia thinks that she’s put herself out there and done something really brave by finally doing what she wants to do, which is proposing to Owen and moving into her adult life, and suddenly all of her approval [from Meredith] has been withdrawn,” Scorsone says. “That sends her into a tailspin. She doesn’t understand, and she feels really betrayed and thrown under the bus.”

But the story line will provide some great comedic moments during the season-ender. “My storyline with Amelia and Owen is really funny, and very rom-com, really, really funny stuff,” Pompeo says.

The wedding isn’t the only event happening in the finale, as one doctor faces a “near-death experience,” according to Kelly McCreary. The finale “is extremely emotional,” the actress says. “It’s the culmination of a lot of emotional arcs that have been building — Callie-Arizona, April-Jackson, plus Amelia-Owen. There’s a lot of matters of the heart that need to be resolved at the end of the season or kicked into the next gear. That’s exactly what happens. It’s very, very emotional.”

“What I love about this finale is whatever couple you’re a fan of, I feel like everyone has something huge going on,” Camilla Luddington concurs. “There’s something for everybody across the board. What I also like about it is there are really funny, exciting, happy notes, and there’s some really dark moments. For Alex [Justin Chambers] and Jo, Alex wants to know why it is a no. And he confronts her about why it is a no.”

That juxtaposition provides a good balance of “high stakes, over-the-top drama, and then there’s the rom-com element of the wedding,” Pompeo says. “It’s a good finale. I wouldn’t say it’s over-the-top like the shooter episode, but I think it’s classic Grey’s. I think viewers will be very happy.”

The Grey’s Anatomy finale airs Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Check back after for scoop on season 13!

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Although Jackson and April’s baby didn’t RSVP for Owen and Amelia’s wedding in Thursday’s Grey’s Anatomy season finale (ABC, 9/8c), nobody is going to object to the arrival of the surprise guest — least of all the beleaguered parents-to-be. “Just them even [expecting] a child that, by all appearances, is healthy,” says Jesse Williams, who plays Dr. Avery, “was an incredible milestone for them… and an incredible sigh of relief.”

Beyond just the miracle of the exes’ offspring being okay — especially in the wake of poor Samuel Norbert’s short life and painful death — the bundle of joy “gives Jackson and April both peace of mind that they’ve done something that does work,” suggests the actor. “Their relationship may not have worked, they might have stumbled along the way, but they did accomplish something. There is a silver lining that kind of buoys them.”

Now, if only the former Averys can keep Jackson’s Machiavellian mother from pairing that silver lining with a storm cloud. “I think Jackson has found a way to keep Catherine at bay,” Williams says, hastening to add, “But she is a clever one. She can be pretty deceptive, but it is, in her mind, always for the good of the family.”

Source: TV Line

The promos for Thursday’s Season 12 finale of Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8/7c) keep telling us that we are “cordially invited to the wedding event of the season.” And though we’ll be there with bells on, we can’t be quite so sure about the bride — those same promos suggest that Amelia’s feet may be getting too cold to walk down the aisle. Will the only “I do” she says be “I do not want to get married after all”? To find out, TVLine rang up Caterina Scorsone, the Private Practice veteran who plays Owen’s fiancée.

TVLINE | Let’s start at the beginning. What is going through Amelia’s head leading up to the big day?
Initially, she’s really excited. The fact is, she does love Owen deeply. And she’s never been in a relationship like this before. In the past, she’s gone out with kinda dangerous bad boys, or people who couldn’t quite understand her, so she knows that Owen’s actually a good person who is good for her — and she’s good for him, too. They bring out really wonderful, authentic things in each other [which also brings them] to a place of vulnerability that requires a lot of bravery.

TVLINE | That all sounds pretty good. Great, in fact. Where’s the catch?
The morning of the wedding, everything kind of explodes. A whole, unfortunate series of events takes place that sends Amelia into a tailspin.

TVLINE | Having to do with Owen or… ?
Having to do more with her family of origin and a perceived lack of support from her family and friends about the wedding. That spins her out. She was gung ho to go for it, but the morning of the wedding, she’s not getting the celebration and the party that she thought she’d get by becoming this adult who’s getting married. So she’s disappointed and feeling very betrayed.

TVLINE | I have to imagine that Meredith plays heavily into that. I mean, she was pretty nasty to Amelia last week.
It’s a very confusing situation. Amelia’s used to being perceived as the family screw-up. She was always trying to prove herself to Derek and her family, and prove that she was this awesome surgeon and a capable adult. Even moving in with Meredith, some of that had to do with proving that she could be a helpful adult. Meredith has kind of characterized her as this adolescent, selfish child in the past. So I think she was finally like, “Okay, I’m doing it all! I’m helping with the kids, and I’m doing my job well, and I’m part of this community!” And Meredith encouraged her to go after Owen and stop wasting her time, so I think Amelia very bravely decided to do that. She kind of believed that she stepped into a responsible adulthood that should be admirable. And that’s the exact moment when Meredith withdraws her approval. It confuses and devastates Amelia. There’s no way she can win approval from Meredith! I think that becomes a big piece of what’s going on with her.

TVLINE | It’s probably made even rougher by all the losses that Amelia has suffered over the years.
Right. She lost her dad, she doesn’t have a tight relationship with her mom, she lost Derek… All the really important people in her life, she’s lost tragically. She lost Ryan, she lost her best friend Michelle. She’s just had tragedy after tragedy with all of these people who were important to her identity. And a lot of that weight landed on Meredith. So Amelia really looks to her to give her permission to be who she is and be a legitimate member of society and the family, and she thought that she had done everything that she needed to do to get that approval.

TVLINE | Now, in the middle of this emotional crisis, with the clock ticking down to “Here Comes the Bride,” is Amelia even aware that her groom’s best man is in labor?
Thankfully, Amelia is blissfully oblivious to April’s situation. [Laughs] I think maybe that would have been the final death knell!

Source: TV Line

Samantha is not listed for this episode!

Episode: S12E24 (269)
Title: ‘Family Affair’
When: May 19, 2016
Directed by: Debbie Allen
Written by: William Harper
Info: Season Finale

“Family Affair” – Meredith and Maggie support Amelia on an important day; Jo reveals that she has been keeping secrets from Alex while Arizona and Callie deal with the impact of their custody arrangement. Meanwhile, Ben leaps into action to help a friend, on “Grey’s Anatomy,” THURSDAY, MAY 19 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on the ABC Television Network.

“Grey’s Anatomy” stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens, Jr. as Richard Webber, Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jessica Capshaw as Arizona Robbins, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Sarah Drew as April Kepner, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Jerrika Hinton as Stephanie Edwards, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Jason George as Ben Warren, Martin Henderson as Nathan Riggs and Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca.

Guest cast Eva Ariel Binder as Sofia, Joe Adler as Intern Isaac, Barbara Montgomery as Louise and others TBA.

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