© Disney/ ABCGrey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff is planning the season 17 finale as a possible end of the show.
Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff is making a contingency plan in case the show doesn't return next season.
ABC has yet to reach a deal to renew the medical drama series for an 18th season, leaving Vernoff and her team in a predicament where they may have to wrap up the series with only the few remaining episodes in the current season.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Vernoff spoke quite candidly about the dilemma her team is facing as they approach writing the season 17 finale.
"I'm planning a season and a finale that could function as either a season finale or a series finale," she admitted. "I'm planning for both contingencies and it's hard and it's not ideal. It's not where I wish we were."
© Disney/ ABCGrey's Anatomy, James Pickens Jr, Ellen Pompeo, TR Knight, Chandra Wilson
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The writer has asked network bosses at ABC to make their final decision before production begins on the finale, since it would be much more difficult to adjust at that point.
"There are a couple of character threads that will change. I've got plans for both contingencies," she noted. "Either there will be closure or I will build something in that allows me to have a bit of a cliffhanger and a thread for next season."
The writer-producer added that because of the pandemic, her staff are running "on fumes" and thus haven't even conceived of storylines should ABC renew Grey's for an 18th season.
A tipping point for the show has long been of concern, since ABC signed a multi-season deal with Meredith Grey star Ellen Pompeo that expires with the current run of episodes.
© Disney/ ABCGrey's Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson
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Earlier this month, Pompeo was reluctant to tip her hand either way over whether a last-minute renewal will actually be possible.
"We honestly have not decided," the actress said on CBS Sunday Morning. "We are really trying to figure it out right now.
"What story do we tell to end a show this iconic? How do we do it? I just want to make sure we do this character, and this show, the fans... I want to make sure we do it right."
Grey's Anatomy season 17 airs on ABC in the US. It airs on Sky Witness in the UK with selected episodes also available on NOW TV.
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