ABC pushes Grey’s Anatomy return to March 11

ABC pushes Grey’s Anatomy return to March 11 leaving fans on tenterhooks about fate of Ellen Pompeo’s COVID stricken character

She’s the star of ABC’s medical drama Grey’s Anatomy and the subject of its massive mid-season 17 cliffhanger. 

But fans of the show are going to have to wait a little it longer to see how Ellen Pompeo’s Dr. Meredith Grey fares in her battle with COVID-19.

The network announced Monday that the first new episode since December has been pushed back a week, from March 4 to March 11 due to production interruptions and delays caused by the ongoing pandemic.

Long wait: Grey’s Anatomy starring Ellen Pompeo as Dr.Meredith Grey (pictured) will return to ABC on March 11, as the network pushes it back a week due to pandemic delays

Just six episodes of Grey’s Anatomy aired last fall and the writers gave it a timely twist with Meredith contracting the coronavirus.

The last episode, which aired on December 17, ended with her on a ventilator after her condition worsened.

In normal times, the show would have returned after the winter break in mid to late January or early February. 

Also pushed back a week is ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Station 19, on which Pompeo serves as a producer as she has on the medical drama since 2017. 

Star: Pompeo, who has been on the medical drama since its debut in 2005, took center stage in season 17 as her character contracted COVID-19 in a timely twist for the series

Star: Pompeo, who has been on the medical drama since its debut in 2005, took center stage in season 17 as her character contracted COVID-19 in a timely twist for the series

Crisis: The last episode, which aired on December 17, ended with Meredith on a ventilator after her condition worsened, setting up a massive mid-season cliffhanger

Crisis: The last episode, which aired on December 17, ended with Meredith on a ventilator after her condition worsened, setting up a massive mid-season cliffhanger

Meanwhile, Pompeo is developing a new drama for the network based on the best-selling Paradise trilogy by novelist Elin Hilderbrand.  

She is executive producing the show through her Calamity Jane production company and in partnership with Mad Men scribes Andre and Maria Jacquemetton.

The Paradise trilogy consist of three books by Hilderbrand –  Winter in Paradise (2018), What Happens in Paradise (2020) and Troubles in Paradise (2020). 

The TV series will center on Irene Steele, who, after her husband’s perplexing death, learns that he had been living a secret life with an entirely separate family on the Caribbean island of St. John. 

According to THR.com, as Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family and their future.  

New project: Pompeo, who serves as a producer on Grey's Anatomy and its spinoff Station 19, is developing a drama for ABC based on the Paradise trilogy by novelist Elin Hilderbrand

New project: Pompeo, who serves as a producer on Grey’s Anatomy and its spinoff Station 19, is developing a drama for ABC based on the Paradise trilogy by novelist Elin Hilderbrand

The series will center on Irene Steele, who, after her husband's perplexing death, learns he had been living a secret life with an entirely separate family on the Caribbean island of St. John

The series will center on Irene Steele, who, after her husband’s perplexing death, learns he had been living a secret life with an entirely separate family on the Caribbean island of St. John