Patrick Dempsey: I'm Leaving Grey's Anatomy After Season 8
Patrick Dempsey
The doctor is out. Patrick Dempsey tells Italian Vanity Fair he plans to exit Grey's Anatomy after Season 8.
"It's gonna be my last," Dempsey says. "I do not know what's going to happen to the other characters, but for me it's done."
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Dempsey's contract is up after the eighth season, along with those for other original castmembers Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, Sandra Oh and Justin Chambers.
Executive producer Shonda Rhimes has already expressed that she's planning Season 8 to be the last for the original cast. "It might be the last hurrah for a lot of them; you never know," she told TVLine.com. "Everybody has an individual choice to make and I get that."
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While Pompeo previously said she's unsure whether she'll return for Season 9, her on-screen husband says leaving the ABC medical drama is "bittersweet because it's been great and a great part of my life. But I can't see me doing it anymore."
ABC reps did not immediately respond to TVGuide.com's request for comment.
Will you still watch Grey's without Dempsey?