Derek Shepherd's death last season was a crucial decision made by writers for the wildly popular show "Grey's Anatomy." Getting rid of Patrick Dempsey's role created a stir among the audience, CP Entertainment shared.
ABC president Paul Lee told reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, not having Derek around was a tough predicament. He added that the actor was multi-faceted and was a passion race car driver.
The show is being re-invented in the new season and speculation about the cast for the next season has sky-rocketed. Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes confirmed that Katherine Heigl will not return to the show shattering the hopes of her fans.
Since McDreamy exited the show after his tragic death in the last episode of the previous season, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is set to have a new love interest. Martin Henderson will come on the show as a series regular. He will take the place of Dempsey. Henderson will play a new surgeon at the hospital and Meredith's lover, according to CP Entertainment.
Lee expressed his belief in Shonda Rhimes and called her a "remarkable showrunner." He went on to state that the show will go on for many more years to come.
The "Grey's Anatomy" team has to put in extra effort to bring back the show to its previous glory after viewers expressed their disinterest following the demise of Derek Shepherd. Some fans said they would "never to watch the show again" after Dempsey's character was surprisingly killed off at the end of Season 11.
Creator Shonda Rhimes addressed Derek's death at the Summer TCA, and she discussed why Derek had to die: "The decision to have the character die the way that he did was not a difficult one in the sense of: what were the options?" Rhimes told PopSugar.
"Either Derek was going to walk out on Meredith and leave her high and dry, and what was that going to mean? That was going to suggest that the love was not true, the thing that we had said for 11 years was a lie, and McDreamy wasn't McDreamy. So, for me, that was untenable."
