ABC renewed Grey’s Anatomy for a record-breaking two more seasons in May, and the network’s entertainment chief Karey Burke hopes the medical drama will continue on for years to come.
In May, the network handed the show a renewal for Season 16 and Season 17 with star Ellen Pompeo, as well as other original cast members, signed up. The show created by Shonda Rhimes became the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history in terms of number of episodes last season, surpassing NBC’s ER.
Burke is hoping for more and said the series will end when Pompeo and Rhimes no longer want to make it. “We love them. They are as deep a part of the fabric of ABC as anyone and certainly it will be up to them whether or not they want to continue the show. I hope I’m watching with my grandchildren,” she said.
Burke, speaking Monday the TCA summer press tour, joked earlier in her presentation that the first thing her 15-year old daughter said to her when she got the ABC job was that they could now visit the Grey’s Anatomy set.
Grey’s Anatomy, which also cemented its place last season in ABC’s history books as the network’s longest-running primetime scripted series, has continued to be a powerful ratings performer for the network as its top scripted series.
Created and executive produced by Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy follows Meredith Grey (Pompeo) and the team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, who are faced with life-or-death decisions on a daily basis. They seek comfort from one another, and, at times, more than just friendship. Together they discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white.
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