‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Counts Down Ellen Pompeo’s End of Season 19 with Winter Premiere Promo: ‘Cheers’

Meredith Gray is saying goodbye — for now.

“Grey’s Anatomy” will take a three-month hiatus and return on Thursday, February 23rd to kick off the second half of Season 19. Then Gray Sloan’s doctor sees her Meredith (and Ellen Pompeo) off. She moves to Boston for her new job at the Catherine Fox Foundation and enrolls her daughter Zora in the Academy for Gifted Children.

In the new promo for the winter premiere, released Thursday night after the fall finale, a glowing Meredith walks the halls of Gray Sloan on her last day as she prepares to leave Seattle behind.

“There was a lot of it,” Meredith says, flashing back to the devastating fire that tore down the house she once shared with her late husband Derek.

Of course, she gets a send-off worthy of her legacy, even though Meredith herself has commented that the surprise send-off is “silly” while being “very thoughtful.” But Owen (Kevin McKidd), Teddy (Kim Raver), Webber (James Pickens Jr.), Maggie (Kelly McCreery) and more want her to shine. After all, she earned it.

“Oh my God, Gray, can I give you a toast?” Owen says, offering her a glass of champagne.

Meredith is leaving the Pacific Northwest to begin a new chapter on the East Coast, but it won’t be the last time viewers will see the character.

Pompeo will appear in eight episodes this season, but the winter premiere will mark her seventh appearance. That means the actress and executive her producer will be returning to “Grey” at least one more time before season 19 ends. As previously reported, she will continue as executive her producer and provide voiceovers for all remaining episodes this season. In the future, the door remains open for her character to visit Seattle’s Gray Her Sloan docs. However, it’s unclear in what capacity Pompeo will be involved off-screen or on-screen if season 20 is greenlit.

In September, Pompeo confided in ET about her decision to move away from “Grey” and work on a new Hulu drama about orphans.

“It’s still a ‘Grey’ thing. She’s still there mentally and that’s the house Gray built, so she’s always there,” Pompeo said at the time. I have to step away for a while to do the show, it’s a great company to work for and I’ve been really lucky to have the opportunity to do both.

A few months ago, Pompeo hinted at reinventing “Grey,” perhaps looking ahead to her future beyond the show.

“Trying to reinvent the show, and continually trying to reinvent the show, is the challenge at the moment. Listen, the show speaks to a lot of people, and young people love it.” she told ET in May. I’m trying to keep it up for the younger people, but I’m going to keep it up. Beyond me.”

“Grey’s Anatomy” will rerun on ABC on February 23 at 9:00 PM ET/PT.

Details from ET:

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ fans will ‘want to complain’ after fall finale

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Premiere: Twitter Reacts to ‘Chief’ Meredith Gray

How ‘Grey’s’ Season 19 Premiere Works as a Nod to Season 1

‘Grey’s’ Season 19: What You Need to Know About Ellen Pompeo and the Cast Shakeup