Grey’s Anatomy: Why Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Was Killed Off In Season 11

Season 11 of Grey’s Anatomy saw the departure of a very important & beloved character: Derek Shepherd, played by Patrick Dempsey. Here’s why he left.

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Fans of Grey’s Anatomy have had to say goodbye to many of their favorite characters, and one of the most emotional departures was that of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), whose final appearance was in season 11 – but why was he killed off? Created by Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy debuted on ABC in 2005, and even though it was originally a mid-season replacement, it was so well received it has lived on for over 10 seasons. The series is now headed into its 18th season, and shows no signs of stopping soon.

Like any other medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy follows the ups and downs of surgical interns, residents, and attendings who do their best to juggle their careers and professional lives. The series takes place primarily in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital (now Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital) and is led by Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who viewers have followed from her days as an intern to becoming Head of General Surgery. Fans also witnessed the many problems in her personal life, including her relationship with Derek Shepherd, with whom she eventually built a family.

The relationship between Meredith and Derek wasn’t easy to follow, but by season 11 they were already formally married and were parents to two kids, with Meredith expecting another one. Derek was offered a job in DC, and after lots of arguments over it, he moved there and flew back and forth. He eventually realized that he was miserable without his family and moved back to Seattle. When everything seemed to have gone back to normal between Meredith and Derek, he had to go back to DC to resign, but got into a car accident. After a lot of complications, he couldn’t be saved, and Meredith decided to remove him from life support. Derek’s departure was not easy for viewers of Grey’s Anatomy, who were left wondering why Patrick Dempsey left after being part of the series for a decade (though he did return for a few episodes to visit Meredith in her mind while she was in a coma in season 17). The reason, it seems was partly Dempsey’s desire to move on and also reports of on-set friction between him, Shonda Rhimes, and Ellen Pompeo.

In 2014, Dempsey signed a two-year contract to remain on the series for its 11th and 12th seasons, but his character was killed in season 11, meaning his contract was not over yet. While it seemed like an abrupt departure, Dempsey had actually been thinking of leaving the series for a while. In an interview with People in 2016, Dempsey shared it had been “long enough” and it was time for him to move on to other things, adding he “should have moved on a couple of years earlier” and that he “stayed a bit longer” than he should have. Dempsey then revealed that the main reason for him to decide to leave was that it was too time-consuming, not allowing him to spend time with his family.

Dempsey went on to explain he talked about Derek’s fate with Shonda Rhimes, and it was clear to both that it was time to let Derek go, though he had no idea how his departure was going to be handled. Killing off characters seems to be the go-to solution for the team behind Grey’s Anatomy when the actors decide to leave, though she later justified her decision to kill Derek by saying that leaving Meredith wouldn’t have been something he would do, and so everything the series established about him would’ve been a lie. However, there were other reasons behind his departure from the show.

In the book, How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy, former executive producers James D. Parriott and Jeannine Renshaw reveal that Derek’s death in season 11 was, at least in part, due to claims of Dempsey terrorizing the set of the show, allegedly complaining about how time-consuming it all was. What’s more, the producers suggest that the actor butted heads with Shonda Rimes and Grey’s Anatomy leading lady Ellen Pompeo. Parriott and Renshaw also claim that network and studio executives chatted with them about the situation involving Dempsey. Ultimately, Derek’s death wasn’t easy for the characters in Grey’s Anatomy and viewers, but Dempsey was finally free to take as many projects as he wanted and spend time with his family.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/greys-anatomy-derek-shepherd-patrick-dempsey-leave-reason/