As the sixth season of Grey's Anatomy draws (slowly) closer, the question of how the show is going to work around star Ellen Pompeo's maternity leave lingers.
E! Online says in its spoiler Q&A today that in regards to another ABC show, the network didn't want Rachel Griffiths (who gave birth to her third child June 21) to skip any Brothers & Sisters episodes. Production was thus pushed back a week to accommodate her.
What does that mean for Grey's Anatomy?
Well, if you assume ABC does not want an Ellen Pompeo-less Grey's Anatomy, they may seek a similar situation - however, she is due this fall, so pushing back production may not work.
Solution? Up in the air. But one possible scenario is that when Ellen Pompeo gets back, they shoot a number of Dr. Meredith Grey scenes in succession, and then work overtime to slot her scenes into the episodes that were shot/produced before her return.
Therefore, the audience gets the full Meredith experience with no gaps. Sound workable to you? Or would you rather she just take time off - or be pregnant on the show as well?
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44 Comments
July 7th, 2009 11:42 AM
i definitely dont want her preggo on the show just yet, it seems to early to me. and it would be just wierd to not have her on the show but i want her to take time off... hmm i guess filming her little scenes and them editing it is the way to go..
July 7th, 2009 11:53 AM
They def cant have zero Mer scenes... so they will have to film scenes and stick her in here and there. I agree with Candice about not having her preggo on the show... its WAY to soon! Mer was scared about marriage, think about her being preggo!
July 7th, 2009 11:55 AM
too early for her to be pregnant on Grey's i think; best case: film scenes and edit. Or let Patrick and Ellen both disappear for a while (Patrick to finish race season) and bring em back together!!! Just kidding :)
July 7th, 2009 12:14 PM
I agree that it is too soon for a McBaby, but I still love the idea. What a shock/ surprise it would be ! (for the doctors).
July 7th, 2009 12:19 PM
I think it would restrict the storyline too much if Meredith were to get pregnant in season 6. I would rather see either the house of candles turn into reality or the housemates to move out of Mer's home. I would really miss our Meredith being absent from any episodes. I also would want GA staffers to look after Ellen properly,she's entitled to maternity leave. How could Patrick disappear too? The ratings would slide, too risky for the network. What a quandry!
July 7th, 2009 12:52 PM
The only way you could really cover it up is to take Derek off for that long too and say that they're on a trip to New York to meet the rest of Derek's family. And then when Ellen can come back, they can flashback to New York or something... but i really don't want to watch a MerDer-less Grey's!!! :( but i agree that it's way to soon for Meredith to be pregnant but maybe later in the season!!!! :)
July 7th, 2009 1:38 PM
I'd say it probably makes the most sense to film scenes with Ellen ahead of time. I just hope that they would have the show planned ahead long enough to do so.
July 7th, 2009 1:56 PM
Why can't they just hide the pregnancy? They did the same when Chyler Leigh was pregnant...I don't see the problem here.
July 7th, 2009 1:57 PM
Oh never mind. I just figured out the problem :P Forgot about maternity leave for a moment.
July 7th, 2009 3:52 PM
well, she is an actress and she made a commitment to the show. So, she can take some time off, but she certianly cant take a long long time off. Just hide her pregnancy, take her out of one or two episodes, we can survive without her, and then she'll be back full swing. Or they can just make her filming less demanding. Like a few hours a day