ABC/Kelsey McNeal(LOS ANGELES) — When Patrick Dempsey’s character Dr. Derek Shepherd, better known as “McDreamy,” was killed off last season on Grey’s Anatomy, fans weren’t just upset — they were heartbroken. But Grey’s Anatomycreator Shonda Rhimes says there’s a reason why McDreamy had to die, rather than just being written off the show.
“Meredith and Derek’s love had to remain Meredith and Derek’s love, so in order to preserve that, as painful as it was for me as a storyteller, Derek was going to have to die,” she told the audience Tuesday at the Television Critics Association press tour, according to USA Today.
Ellen Pompeo portrays Meredith on the hit ABC series. And in the upcoming season, Rhimes said Meredith will deal with the loss of her husband and moving forward as a single mother.
Pompeo told E! News that she agreed with the decision to kill off Derek.
“When Sandra Oh left, which was equally devastating, if the character is still alive, then the audience can never let go of that character and then they always want them to come back,” she explained. “So I think knowing that he did an amazing 11 seasons and was ready to move on, you can’t have that. And you can’t have his character, like [Rhimes] said, be a bad guy. You don’t want him to be a bad guy and leave his family.”
She added, “It’s called a drama for a reason. It sort of has to be big and dramatic.”
Grey’s Anatomy returns on ABC September 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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