There was a lot of drama in Season 11 of Grey's Anatomy. The most obvious memorable moment is the death of Dr. Derek Shepherd, and many of the show's decades-old fans are wondering what direction the show can possibly take in Season 12. This is the cast rumors of Grey's Anatomy Season 12, as well as the Release Date and spoilers.
Actor Jason Winston George, who plays the character Ben on the show, has been promoted to a series regular. The actor broke the news of his promotion on Twitter, and thanked show creator Shonda Rhimes for the news.
According to Design and Trend, there could be a new doctor that could possibly replace Derek Shepherd, but it this has still yet to be confirmed if Rhimes wants to just create a character to replace the good doctor or take the show in a different direction.
After the death of Patrick Dempsey's character last year, either option would make a lot of sense. The show's creator, Shonda Rhimes, is seeking to replace Shepherd with some "name" actor in his late and 30s or early 40s who could play a surgeon. Someone has to replace the McDreamy guy with some other pretty face. Of course, will this doctor be a new love interest for Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo)?
Grey's Anatomy ended Season 11 with a lot of interesting storylines that will need to continue in Season 12. Many fans wanted to see what would happen to April and Jackson. As April wanted to go back overseas, Jackson said it would end the relationship. Entertainment Weekly has stated that the couple "haven't actually broken up" and "left on the precipice". No doubt there will be more of this story in Season 12.
Another plotline on the finale was Jo and Alex who finally said "I love you" to each other. As Jo and Alex are ready to settle down, it seems like an engagement might occur by the end of Season 12, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The big question is will Season 12 be the last season, but this is apparently not the case as it was revealed that Season 12 is "absolutely not" the last season of Grey's, even though the star Patrick Dempsey has died in the context of the show. Generally, a move like that tends to signal a near end to any television show. Still, at 12 seasons, it is pretty difficult to keep an audience, as only a few shows have passed the 10th season mark.
However, it is the end of Ellen Pompeo's contract. Is Meredith exiting the show? If so, then Zap2it predicts that this could be Meredith's "Alzheimer's season". Her character has allowed herself to be test for the Alzheimer's gene in Season 9, and ended up getting positive results for multiple genetic markers of the disease.
With Pompeo gone, that will definitely be the end of an era for the show, and it is a risk as there might be people who will inevitably complain that the show won't be as good and some who might just stop watching. Eventually, there will be a lot of new interns that will show up, and the show will go back to its roots of showing new doctors attempting to become a success once again.
Well, that would be a definite recalibration, and that seems to be the word for the show as popular characters played by Sandra Oh and Patrick Dempsey, which made the show so popular originally, have left. Grey's Anatomy cast member Jerrika Hinton even told Vibe magazine that there will be a lot of recalibrating, and Hinton will be tasked to manage the new interns of the Grey Sloan Memorial hospital.
So it would appear that Grey's Anatomy could be retooled this season into something else, if it is true that Ellen Pompeo is leaving. Many shows do not last past ten years, at least not without some kind of restructuring so it might be completely different from when they began. The release date for Season 12 will be on September 24, 2015 on ABC.
