“Grey’s Anatomy” star Kevin McKidd has spoken out in support of Ellen Pompeo after she announced she would be “scaling back” her role on the beloved medical procedural to spend time working on a new Hulu series.
“Ellen has been the captain of this ship all these years, and she’s about to start producing, so she needed to make room in her schedule for that,” McKidd, 49, told E!’s Daily Pop.
“The fact that she’s not leaving the show and is just gonna scale it back a bit—what I think is beautiful about it is that it shows her love for the show still,” he added.
Pompeo is set to star and executive-produce an untitled limited series for Hulu, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline. The longtime “Grey’s Anatomy” lead said earlier this month that she will make time for the Hulu project by limiting her involvement in season 19 of the Shondaland show.
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Pompeo has starred as the titular Dr. Meredith Grey for 400 episode and counting dating back to 2005. The lead actress will only appear in eight of 22 episodes scheduled for the impending season.
A logline for the Hulu series reads, “Inspired by the story of a Midwestern couple who adopts what they believe is an 8-year-old girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is.
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“As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ultimately their marriage.”