'Grey's Anatomy' Season 11 Spoilers: Shonda Rhimes Reveals Time Jump And 'A Meredith-Centric Season'
"Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes revealed major clues about the upcoming 11th season in an interview this week.
The ABC drama will not return until Sept. 25, but Rhimes offered exciting teasers about the anticipated new season, including how much time will have passed since the events in May's season 10 finale.
"About 24 hours … maybe," the series creator told TVLine.
Furthermore, Rhimes recalled that "Grey's" main character Meredith Grey (Ellem Pompeo) is still dealing with the aftermath of her best friend Cristina moving away, as well has the possibility that her husband Derek (Patrick Dempsey) is moving to Washing, D.C.
"Right now, if you were in the writers' room, you would probably tell me that the theme is 'Meredith' because all I keep saying is, 'The show is just about Meredith Grey,'" Rhimes explained.
"It's a really Meredith-centric season," the executive producer continued, according to TVLine. "She's lost her 'person,' her [half-] sister has shown up, her husband is chafing to go someplace else."
As for Meredith's half-sibling, the fact that Maggie is the child of Richard and Ellis "will be influenced by what Meredith went through with Lexie," her other half-sister, according to Rhimes. The showrunner added that she has been waiting "forever" to tell this part of Meredith's family's story.
"Annnnd … we're there," Rhimes recalled telling the writers. "They all [cheered]. So it's pretty exciting."
As previously reported, Pompeo (Meredith) Dempsey (Derek) have signed contracts assuring viewers that their characters will stay on for at least two more years. However, little is known about the fate of the relationship between the characters in the months to come.
"A Mer-Der break-up seems unlikely, but there has been unconfirmed buzz that the duo are about to face one of their more challenging seasons in recent memory, which makes the timing of Cristina's exit horrible for Mer," TVLine reported.