'Grey's Anatomy' fans may not have seen the last of Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey — here's what we know about her possible return

• Ellen Pompeo hinted she might be back as Meredith Grey on "Grey's Anatomy."
• Pompeo's last appearance as a series regular was in a season 19 episode that aired in February.

Some "Grey's Anatomy" fans were devastated when Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) left the show in season 19. But she may not be entirely gone.

In a conversation with former costar Katherine Heigl as part of Variety's "Actors on Actors" series published this week, Pompeo confirmed that thanks to "a little bit of trickery," her character isn't completely gone for good.

"I will be making some appearances hopefully next year, if I can find some time," Pompeo told Heigl. "No, it's not a complete goodbye. And I think we've got an interesting story to tell."

When was Ellen Pompeo's last 'Grey's Anatomy' episode?

Pompeo bid farewell to fans in a November 2022 Instagram post, a few months before her final episode as a series regular actually aired in February.

"I am eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support you have all shown me, Meredith GREY and the show for 19 seasons!" she wrote. "Through it all….none of it …would have been possible without the best fans in the world. You all are RIDERS and you all have made the ride so fun and ICONIC!!"

In that post, Pompeo also teased that she would "definitely be back to visit."

As Insider's Esme Mazzeo previously reported, Meredith Grey officially left Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle to do Alzheimer's research at the Catherine Fox Foundation in Boston in the February 23, 2023 episode titled "I'll Follow the Sun." It marked Pompeo's final appearance as a series regular.

Pompeo made one more appearance after that, in the May 18 season 19 finale, when several of the doctors went to Boston. And now, it sounds like there could be more to come in season 20 or beyond, if the history-making ABC hit keeps chugging along.

Pompeo, who has starred in the medical drama since its first season, remains an executive producer on the series. Variety reported that would be the case when it broke the news in August 2022 that Pompeo would take a reduced on-screen role on the medical drama, only appearing in eight episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" season 19.

As Pompeo and Heigl discussed in their recent conversation, Pompeo is stepping away in part to star in a new Hulu show, tentatively titled "The Orphan," which is set to start production in September. The limited series will tell the story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian orphan whose adoptive parents claim she's actually an adult con artist.

"Grey's Anatomy" is currently streaming on Hulu and Netflix.