Ellen Pompeo extends contract with ABC, so what’s next for Grey’s Anatomy?

Put this down as another win for Grey’s Anatomy fans: Ellen Pompeo has extended her contract for another two years with ABC’s hit show, Grey’s Anatomy.

As announced this morning, Ellen Pompeo, the star of Grey’s Anatomy who plays titular character Meredith Grey, has extended her contract with ABC for another two years. While this is obviously huge news for Grey’s Anatomy fans and all but guarantees another two seasons of the show, which is currently in season 14 and celebrated 300 episodes last November, Pompeo’s role at the studio has grown beyond Meredith Grey.

In addition to her starring role on the show, Deadline reports:

"(…Pompeo is becoming a producer on Grey’s Anatomy and co-executive producer on the upcoming Grey’s Anatomy spinoff, and she also has been directing on Grey’s). Pompeo … is poised to become the highest paid actress on TV with the new deal, earning more than $550,000 an episode."

So, let’s run through that again: Producer, executive producer, director, and highest paid woman on television. Just as we watched Meredith Grey spend 14 seasons chasing her dream of winning a Harper Avery award and finally receiving one in the episode “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” Pompeo’s achievements are long overdue.

Grey’s Anatomy fans don’t typically ask themselves, “When is this show going to end?” We’re pretty secure in our futures that way, and it’s just not something we want to think about. Since veteran writer Krista Vernoff returned in season 14 as showrunner, she breathed new life into Grey’s Anatomy in a way that makes it feel like the show could last forever.

Plus, as The Hollywood Reporter laid out, Grey’s Anatomy is a top drama and “multi-billion dollar franchise” for ABC. The franchise, of course, continues to expand with the still-untitled firefighter spinoff that will debut in just a few weeks as a mid-season replacement.

Without Grey’s Anatomy, aka the “mothership,” shows like Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder wouldn’t be happening. Bellamy Young playing Mellie Grant, the first female president of the United States on Scandal and the narrative that came with it, wouldn’t be a thing. Olivia Pope wouldn’t be a thing. Viola Davis wouldn’t have been the first black woman to win an Emmy as Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015 without the foundation Shonda Rhimes laid down with Grey’s Anatomy.

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One would assume that Grey’s Anatomy will get renewed for another season, if not two. Although Shonda Rhimes began a new contract with Netflix, Shondaland shows will still pop up on ABC.

So I believe that no matter what happens with Grey’s Anatomy next, the future of the show is in really good hands with Ellen Pompeo. Seriously, go back and read her candid THR interview, recall all your favorite Meredith moments, and more importantly, don’t forget that a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.