Ahead of tonight’s Grey’s Anatomy season 11, episode 21, “How To Save a Life,” a leaked plot line has revealed that one of the major stars of the series will be exiting! Spoiler Alert!
Update: Read our recap of tonight’s dramatic episode!
Thanks to a story released early in Entertainment Weekly, we can now sadly say that star Patrick Dempsey is leaving Grey’s Anatomy.
During tonight’s episode, titled “How to Save a Life,” his character Derek Shepherd will be written out of the series. It was specially written by the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes and will feature Derek trying to save the lives of three young passengers who were in a terrible car accident.
The synopsis for the episode simply reads, “Derek sees a ghastly accident and jumps into action to help the wounded.”
Fans may recall that Dempsey had signed a contract to keep him on through Grey’s Anatomy season 12, along with fellow star and his wife on the series Ellen Pompeo, which means that he will be leaving a full year ahead of the end of his contract.
With Sandra Oh’s exit in Grey’s Anatomy season 10, and now Dempsey leaving, the number of original cast members is quickly dwindling. Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers, James Pickens Jr., and Ellen Pompeo (as of now) are the only original cast members left.
Update: Shonda Rhimes released a statement on the episode saying, “Derek Shepherd is and will always be an incredibly important character—for Meredith, for me and for the fans. I absolutely never imagined saying goodbye to our ‘McDreamy.’ Patrick Dempsey’s performance shaped Derek in a way that I know we both hope became a meaningful example—happy, sad, romantic, painful and always true—of what young women should demand from modern love. His loss will be felt by all. Now, Meredith and the entire Grey’s Anatomy family are about to enter uncharted territory as we head into this new chapter of her life. The possibilities for what may come are endless. As Ellis Grey would say: the carousel never stops turning.”