Ellen Pompeo to Have a Reduced Role on Grey's Anatomy Season 19

Ellen Pompeo will have a limited on-screen role in Season 19 of Grey's Anatomy to accomodate her casting in a new untitled Orphan limited series for Hulu.

The new series, like the film Orphan, is inspired by real events and follows a Midwestern couple that adopts what they believe is an 8-year-old girl, who unbeknownst to them is actually an adult with a rare form of dwarfism. As they begin to raise her, they slowly discover she is not who she says she is.

Hulu has given the new series an eight episode order.

As a result, Pompeo will only appear on-screen in eight episodes of the new season of Grey's Anatomy. She will continue to narrate every episode and serve as an executive producer.

This will be the longest break Pompeo has taken from Grey's. The series star has appeared on screen in all but five of the show's 388 episodes to date. 

All eighteen seasons of Grey's Anatomy are available to stream on Netflix.

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Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.