‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 16 Will End 4 Episodes Early, Without Its Planned Finale

Many television shows and movies have had production stalled due to the coronavirus crisis, and one of the first series to halt production was Grey's Anatomy. While fans were looking forward to the medical drama closing out its season, any hopes of a swift return to the set are now put to rest, because Grey's Anatomy Season 16 has been cut short.

ABC announced on Friday, March 27, that the cast and crew would not be resuming production anytime soon. Instead, the network made the difficult decision to end Season 16 of Grey's Anatomy early. The season had a 25-episode order, but under the circumstances, it will be ending on Episode 21 instead. That means that four planned episodes, including the season finale, will not get made. While this is disappointing, there is a silver lining as fans of the show will get at least one more season, as ABC signed a deal for Grey's Season 16 and 17 back in May 2019.

In this current climate, however, it is uncertain when production for the next season will occur. Krista Vernoff, the showrunner of Grey's Anatomy, posted on Twitter following the announcement. Vernoff is reassuring, bringing fans the good news out of the unusual situation. "We are disappointed that we don't get to complete our storytelling this season," Vernoff wrote. "The good news? 1621 plays like a satisfying finale! It's not where we planned to end, but it's beautiful and the questions that linger we will answer next year."

News of the production stall came on Thursday, March 12, after Los Angeles' mayor, Eric Garcetti, had ordered a limit on public gathering. "Out of an abundance of caution, production is postponed on Grey's Anatomy effective immediately," Vernoff and fellow executive producers Debbie Allen and James Williams wrote. This left fans to wonder what the fate of Season 16 would be: Could production resume or would the season end early?

Now fans can rest easy, finally knowing the outcome of ABC's decision.

This comes after Episode 19 of Grey's showed Dr. Richard Webber experiencing hallucinations and a potential health crisis. The Episode 20 promo looked as though the episode will focus on curing Webber of his ailment, which is a plot twist many didn't see coming.

Unfortunately, Season 16 of Grey's comes to a close in about two weeks, but if you're a fan of other Shonda Rhimes' shows, you'll still be able to catch the finales of How to Get Away with Murder and Station 19, both set to air on ABC on Thursday, May 14.

To watch the final episode of Grey's Anatomy Season 16, tune in to ABC on Thursday, April 9, at 9 p.m. ET.