The End is nigh!

Ellen Pompeo just gave the heaviest hint yet to Entertainment Weekly that "Grey's Anatomy" might end once her new two-year contract is up after Season 16.

Season 15 premieres next Thursday as The Season of Love. "Grey's" is on several covers of Entertainment Weekly, with the cast dishing on the new season.

Shonda Rhimes has made it clear there is no "Grey's" to her without Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey. And Pompeo just said this to EW when asked if she sees herself continuing on "Grey's" past next year's Season 16:

"I’m clearly not prepared right now to make any formal announcement about what my future is on the show, but I am really feeling like we have told the majority of the stories that we can tell. It’s about time that I mix it up. I’m definitely looking for a change."

Oof. Can't say the show *should* last forever, but still. Oof. The End will hurt.

Just to be clear: They'd better bring back Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) for the finale. Call her agent NOW.

Back in May, Pompeo had given this hint to Us Weekly:

"There is an end and it's nearing. I want to be more involved in my kids' lives as they get older. And they need me more, and this world is such a crazy place."

Fair enough.

Shonda Rhimes has moved her Shondaland empire to Netflix, but she told The Hollywood Reporter last year that it will be her decision when to end "Grey's Anatomy." The ABC series is still doing very well in ratings, thanks in part to new fans finding the show on Netflix. But that's also when she told THR that "Grey's" doesn't exist to her without Ellen Pompeo.

There was also this ominous exchange:

Have there been any talks about how much longer Ellen is interested in doing the show?

RHIMES: No comment.

That was last year.

Shonda Rhimes more recently told EW she's written the end of the show at least six times, when she thought their time would be up.

"But we just don’t end. Every time I thought, ‘This is how the show should end,’ we’ve gone past those moments, so I’ve stopped trying. I have no idea now."

It's possible they're now busy putting a plan in place for how to close up shop, and maybe it will come after Season 16.

But there are still at least two more seasons ahead! They start with the two-hour Season 15 premiere this coming Thursday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

[Via: TVLine]

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