Ellen Pompeo Scaling Back Grey's Anatomy Role 'Shows Her Love for the Show,' Says Costar Kevin McKidd
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Kevin McKidd is supportive of Ellen Pompeo's decision to reduce her presence in season 19 of Grey's Anatomy — in fact, he says it's a sign of her commitment to the hit ABC medical drama.
"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! News' Daily Pop at the 2nd Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards in Beverly Hills.
"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.
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Pompeo, 52, has anchored the hit ABC medical drama for the past 17 years, including stepping into a producer role in 2017. For season 19, which premieres in October, Pompeo will appear in only eight episodes, per Deadline.
The news of her lessened role on Grey's came as the actress announced that will be executive producing and starring in a new Hulu limited series adaptation of the 2009 film Orphan.
RELATED: Jesse Williams Defends Ellen Pompeo's Limited Upcoming Role on Grey's: 'It's Well Earned'
Raymond Liu/ABC
PEOPLE also spoke with McKidd at Saturday's HCA TV Awards on Saturday. The actor shared that the new season of Grey's will serve as a "sort of reignition of the show."
The show has recently added newcomers Niko Terho, Adelaide Kane, Midori Francis, Harry Shum Jr. and Alexis Floyd, and McKidd teased, "We have this amazing group of new interns, brilliant, young, vibrant actors who are really passionate."
He continued, "It's almost like we're going back to the beginning, if that makes sense. We're not really rebooting, but it's definitely that pilot episode when Sandra Oh and T.R. Knight first kind of walked into the hospital. We're kind of doing that again. And it's very exciting to feel that we're all part of that," McKidd added.
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Of Pompeo, he told PEOPLE: "Definitely her character [Meredith Grey] is such a dominant, iconic character on the show. It's definitely going to make some room for different stories to be told. So I think everyone is excited about that."
Liliane Lathan/ABC
McKidd's character Dr. Owen Hunt's fate is also up in the air after he went on the run in the season 18 finale, following his confession that he administered medication to a patient to help him die by euthanasia.
"I think he still has quite a bit of fallout to deal with. He did a noble thing last year, but he bent the rules too much and he has to pay the price," he explained. "He's already paid a significant price, but it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out because he isn't out of hot water yet. He has to dig himself out."
McKidd quipped, "My character is always in trouble."
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Season 19 of Grey's Anatomy will premiere Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.