VARIETY
Elizabeth Wagmeister | TV Reporter | @EWagmeister
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Finale: A Wedding, Baby & Secret Marriage (SPOILERS)
May 19, 2016 | 06:00PM PT

Spoiler alert: Do not read on if you have not watched the “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 12 finale, Episode 24, titled “Family Affair.” To refresh your memory on where we left off, read last week’s “Grey’s Anatomy” recap.

Wedding bells were ringing on the Season 12 finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” for Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) who tied the knot after Amelia popped the question last week.

Throughout the episode, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) was uneasy about the wedding, causing Amelia to second-guess whether she should go through with the marriage, but after quickly leaving the church, she decided to bite the bullet. Amelia’s bridesmaids were Mer and Maggie (Kelly McCreary), who were both caught smiling at Nathan during the wedding. (In case you forgot, Mer hooked up with Dr. McKiwi in the car last week.)

After weeks of turmoil for Ben (Jason George) and Bailey (Chandra Wilson), the longstanding couple appear to be back on the mend, with Ben getting his redemption in the most dramatic and symbolic way possible — by delivering April’s (Sarah Drew) baby at home.

To jog our readers’ memories, Ben was suspended from the hospital a few episodes back because he unsafely delivered a baby, causing the death of both baby and mother.

In tonight’s episode, when April — a.k.a. Owen’s best man — started unexpectedly having contractions, Ben was put back into the same situation that landed him in hot water, since they couldn’t get to the hospital safely due to a terrible storm, plus the baby was breech and needed to be delivered quickly. Having determined that April needed to have an emergency C-section, Ben called Bailey, Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Jackson (Jesse Williams) who were all at the hospital to ask for their help. Everyone agreed that Ben did in fact need to deliver the baby and so he did with no meds from home.

There was more mending on the couples’ front, as Arizona came around to Callie (Sara Ramirez). After the recent, heartbreaking custody verdict that left Sofia with Arizona and prompted Callie to breakup with Penny (Samantha Sloyan), at the end of tonight’s episode, Arizona brought Sofia to Callie and told her that she can temporarily take her to New York with Penny, and wants to work with her to figure out some sort of joint custody arrangement because they both deserve to be happy. (ICYMI: Ramirez announced she’s departing “Grey’s Anatomy,” so Callie moving to New York writes the actress off the show — but also leaves room for her to come back.)

The most shocking moment came courtesy of Jo’s (Camilla Luddington) big secret. Viewers finally learned why she turned down Alex’s (Justin Chambers) proposals — not because she doesn’t love him, but because she is married to someone else.

With Alex pissed that Jo rejected him again, Jo escaped to the bar with Stephanie (Jerrika Hinton) and Andrew (Giacomo Gianniotti) and drunkenly revealed to her friends that she’s been married to someone else all this time and has been using a fake name as a secret identity (even Alex does not know her real name). Overcome with emotion, Andrew brings Jo home safely after the bar, and she reveals that her husband was abusive so she had to flee, but if she tries to divorce him, he’ll find her. In true Karev fashion, seeing Jo together with Andrew prompts him to believe that she rejected his proposal because she’s been with Andrew romantically — so he punches him.

Below, Luddington and Scorsone talk to Variety about the finale, Shonda Rhimes taking on domestic violence, and what’s to come in Season 13. (Luddington and Scorsone spoke to Variety in separate interviews.)

VARIETY
Elizabeth Wagmeister | TV Reporter | @EWagmeister
Sara Ramirez Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ After More Than 10 Years
May 19, 2016 | 06:01PM PT

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Sara Ramirez, who plays Dr. Callie Torres on the long-running ABC medial drama, is leaving the show.
The news of her departure comes on the night of “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Season 12 finale.

“I’m deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ABC, but for now, I’m taking some welcome time off,” Ramirez said in a Twitter statement Thursday night. “Shonda’s been so incredible to work for and we will definitely continue our conversations! I send my love to Ellen [Pompeo], the rest of the cast and crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family!”

Shonda Rhimes, creator of “Grey’s Anatomy,” commented: “Dr. Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey. Sara Ramirez’s performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off. I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland.”

Insiders tell Variety that leaving the show was truly Ramirez’s decision and that there was no bad blood behind the scenes.

Ramirez wrote that she is leaving “for now,” which suggests she may return to the show — and as stated in both Ramirez and Rhimes’ tweets, it appears that the door is open, should she want to return to “Grey’s Anatomy.” (Spoiler Alert: To see how Ramirez’s storyline ended on tonight’s finale, click here.)

Confirmation of Ramirez’s exit comes after the actress fueled speculation that she may be on her way out by posting a mysterious tweet last month, tweeting, “That’s a wrap for Doctor Callie Torres … Thank You all for an enriching & unforgettable rollercoaster ride!”

At the time of that post, Variety confirmed that the cast was in the midst of contract negotiations and that Ramirez has not yet closed her deal, which concludes this June.

Ramirez has been on “Grey’s Anatomy” for over 10 years. She first appeared in Season 2 and was upped to a series regular in Season 3.

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/sara-ramirez-callie-torres-leaving-greys-anatomy-shonda-rhimes-reaction-1201779222/

BACKSTAGE
8 Questions With…Ellen Pompeo
By Benjamin Lindsay | Posted May 5, 2016, 11 a.m.

As Meredith Grey on the Shonda Rhimes hit that started it all, “Grey’s Anatomy,” Ellen Pompeo has been prime time’s favorite surgeon for a whopping 12 seasons. With this round’s anticipated finale right around the corner, Pompeo spoke with Backstage about challenges in longevity, her unforgettable ride through ShondaLand, and crushing on Leonardo DiCaprio.

What’s been your favorite thing about bringing ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ back for a 12th season?
I think the challenge of having exactly what’s happened happen. None of us planned on this long a run, and there are all these challenges that come with running a show this long—one of them being that everybody gets bored. So the fact that we’ve been able to stay engaged all around as a team and really put out still-powerful shows that are still super popular in Season 12 is the best accomplishment I could ever ask for.

Which of your performances has left a lasting mark on you?
Meredith Grey, of course. I’ve played this character for so long. It’s been quite a ride with [Shonda Rhimes]. I started with Shonda when she was just a writer in her pajamas, and to see the trajectory that she’s gone on and how the whole brand has grown… It’s impacted me in different ways at different times. I think that as an actor, one of the things that you hope to achieve is to move people and to make people feel. That’s what I’m looking for when I watch performances: Is someone making me feel something? And the fact that we’re still able to make people feel week after week, that’s pretty impactful.

On whom do you have an acting crush?
My favorites are Matt Damon and Leo [DiCaprio]. So, so happy about [his Oscar win]. So well-deserved. I mean, I think he should’ve got it at 13 for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” He’s amazing.

How did you get your SAG-AFTRA card?
Oh my goodness. Well, it was a commercial, for sure. It was a L’Oréal commercial. I started [acting] quite late. I was quite hesitant about what I wanted to do. I had my reservations about it. It seemed like a huge mountain to climb. So I really wasn’t so anxious to get to it, I was hoping that some other bug would bite me along the way, and then it never really did. I didn’t really start acting until I was 25.

How do you typically prepare for an audition?
Sit with [the script] and think and try to connect in some way to the character or the story that you’re telling. I didn’t audition for Meredith Grey; I was offered the part by Shonda and the network. Shonda Rhimes wasn’t really “Shonda Rhimes” at the time. It wasn’t a big deal—it was just another pilot. I had done a movie called “Moonlight Mile” that a lot of people in the industry had seen, and I got a lot of attention in the industry. I was meeting with a lot of studio people and directors after that movie, and then this opportunity came from that. My agent said, “Just do the pilot and make some money—these things never go.” And then 12 years later… yup!

What do you wish you’d known before you started acting?
Nothing, really. I’ve always had the gift of intuition. And I think I always knew how, I got some pretty intense presumptions of the acting world as soon as I really started working. As soon as I came out to L.A. and started doing movies and working and auditioning for big directors and hearing feedback, I got a taste of how challenging it is, especially for women, and what your half-life is. I started “Grey’s” when I was 33, so knowing financially how unfairly women are treated, and knowing the age bias that exists, I was pretty perceptive and I knew at 33 I better just stick with this, not try to have a film career at 40. Like, that won’t go well.

In the alternate universe in which you aren’t an actor, what would you be doing?
I could be an interior decorator, for sure.

What was your most memorable survival job?
I was a bartender for years, but I hadn’t started acting yet. I was bartending and cocktail waitressing, contemplating, “What am I gonna do with my life? Am I really going to pursue acting—really? It just seems crazy.” And that’s when I met an agent, and she started sending me on auditions. And then I started getting work. It was a little backward for me. I was doing my survival job, but I wasn’t really trying to act. I was thinking about trying to get into something more sensible. [Acting] found me. The signs were there that that’s what I was meant to do.

Like this post? Check out more of our Backstage 5 interviews!

http://www.backstage.com/interview/8-questions-ellen-pompeo/

TV GUIDE
Sara Ramirez Officially Exits Grey's Anatomy
by Megan Vick | May 19, 2016 9:27 PM EDT

Sara Ramirez is not returning to Grey's Anatomy next season.

The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Thursday's episode was the last one for Ramirez, who says that she is looking forward to some vacation time after 10 years on the hospital drama.

"I'm deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Grey's Anatomy and ABC but for now I'm taking some welcome time off," Ramirez said in a statement. "Shonda's been so incredible to work for and we will definitely continue our conversations! I send my love to Ellen [Pompeo], the rest of the cast and crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family!"

There's still room for Ramirez to reappear in the series if she chooses. Thursday's finale saw her character Callie Torres accepting plane tickets from Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and permission to take their daughter Sophia to New York so that they could live with Callie's girlfriend Penny (Samantha Sloyan). If Ramirez decides to come back to the show it'll be easy enough to say the relationship didn't work out and she can resume work at Grey Sloan Memorial. At the very least, she can fly back to Seattle for big events and finale episodes.

Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes also seems open to that possibility. "Dr. Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey. Sara Ramirez's performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off. I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland," she also said in a statement.

Ramirez's exit comes after a cryptic tweet last month in which she also said goodbye to the cast and crew. "That's a wrap for Doctor #CallieTorres #Season13#GreysAnatomy #ThankYou all for an enriching & unforgettable#Rollercoaster ride!," she wrote, but her contract was still being negotiated at the time.

Fellow Grey's stars Ellen Pompeo (Meredith), Chandra Wilson (Bailey), James Pickens Jr. (Richard) and Justin Chambers (Alex) are also under contract negotiations for next season, but THR reports they are all likely to return to the series.
Are you sad to see Ramirez and Callie leave the show?

http://www.tvguide.com/news/sara-ramirez-officially-exits-greys-anatomy/

Following the Grey's Anatomoy season 12 finale, Sara Ramirez (who plays Callie Torres)
announced she will not return for season 13. We wish Sara nothing but the very best.

NEW YORK POST | May 12, 2016 \ by Elisabeth Vincentelli
How killing ‘McDreamy’ shook ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ from its slumber

One of TV’s hottest shows is a 12-year-old prime-time soap.

Last season she even killed off the iconic McDreamy, played by Patrick Dempsey. Many assumed the show wouldn’t recover from the loss, but “Grey’s” has bounced back, both in ratings and in quality.
“It’s amazing how much you get done without a penis,” star Ellen “Meredith Grey” Pompeo told “Ellen” host Ellen DeGeneres last month.

No kidding. Not only is the veteran series trouncing the newer Rhimes shows “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” but it’s currently ABC’s top drama in the prized 18-49 demographic — and it’s the second-highest-rated drama among women 18-34, just behind Fox’s “Empire.”

This is doubly amazing when you realize that a good chunk of that last demo was in middle school in 2005, when the series debuted, turning “Grey’s” — like NBC’s “Friends” before it — into a cross-generational phenomenon.

No wonder ABC gave the series an early renewal in March, or that high-profile cast members like Pompeo, Chandra Wilson (Bailey) and Justin Chambers (Alex) are likely to re-up their contracts at the end of the season. Another star about to renegotiate is Sara Ramirez (Callie), who recently posted an ambiguous tweet that some have interpreted as a possible farewell. That seems unlikely, especially since Ramirez is currently benefiting from a Grade-A storyline involving a custody battle and possible complications with Callie’s new girlfriend, Penny (Samantha Sloyan).

That plot is typical of the re-energized show, and the way Rhimes keeps it fresh. For instance, a steady flow of interns always ensures new blood — hot, younger bodies regularly get added to the “Grey’s” cast.

Another stroke of genius is to retain divisive characters, like sanctimonious April (Sarah Drew) and mercurial Amelia (Caterina Scorsone). These two living car crashes make for great TV because they are not stereotypically “likable.” April is the rare committed Christian on TV, which is refreshing, but she’s also pigheaded and rash. Amelia is a mess but you can’t stop watching her.

The bottom line is that there’s still a big audience for a show offering solid storytelling, no-name, home-grown stars, the opportunity to watch characters evolve over many years and “shocking hookups” — pretty much the exact opposite of cable’s fancy anthologies.

Meat and potatoes? Sure, but it’s prepared with care.

No wonder so many want to sit down at the “Grey’s” table.

http://nypost.com/2016/05/12/how-killing-mcdreamy-shook-greys-anatomy-from-its-slumber/

Season 12 of Grey’s Anatomy was brought to a close with an episode penned by William Harper. He titled it ‘Family Affair’ and it was definitely that – an hour about the inter-connectedness of all of the current characters with a definite dose of remembering those who are no longer present each week – primarily Cristina and Derek. Even as a couple of new beginnings occurred – i.e. Owen and Amelia’s wedding and the birth of April and Jackson’s daughter – we also said goodbye to Callie who left town in pursuit of a life with Penny at Arizona’s urging.

Of course, no wedding is straightforward on this show and this episode provided no exception to that Grey’s rule. The rainy day started for Amelia with a sob-fest of a conversation with her mother in which she was forced to defend the up and down nature of her relationship with Owen, while her mom ultimately declined to attend the wedding she thought was a potentially impetuous mistake.

Next Owen, the show’s white knight, showed up to carry on a sweet, if one-sided, conversation with Amelia through the bathroom door. He assured her that he was ready to stand by his decision to marry her no matter who did or did not show up at the church to wish them well. It worked, as she stepped out into the hall to assure him she would also show up to marry him. But this is Grey’s, could it really be that easy? Of course not.

Meredith, who continued to be in conflict with Amelia, also took seriously her duty to protect Owen, at Cristina’s urging, and Amelia, as a responsibility to Derek – her beloved husband and Amelia’s brother. While Meredith checked in with Owen about his certainty about marrying Amelia in light of his great love with Cristina, a conversation that Amelia was able to overhear, the stage was set for the next round of wedding chaos. 

Freak-out mode was the next stop for Amelia and it sent her into an angry spewing of words at Meredith about missing Derek, who walked each of their sisters down the aisle, as well as her own doubts about her decision-making process in marrying Owen. Meredith took that freak-out in stride and spit back a few words of her own in which she admitted that Amelia’s feeling-laden self reminded Meredith of her own pattern pre-Derek. Meredith then offered to kick Amelia’s butt down the aisle, call mom-Shepherd to read her the riot act, or to drive the getaway car. This is Grey’s so guess which option Amelia picked?

Yup, the next scene showed us Amelia, Meredith and Maggie – sisters, bride, and bridesmaids – on the lam in Meredith’s mini-van. (At this point I was flashing back to Bailey’s Season 9 wedding jitters that involved her riding around in a limousine while Richard talked her down.) While Maggie wondered aloud what was wrong with Owen, we waited for Amelia to give us the answer.