Ellen Pompeo's 'Grey's Anatomy' role to be dramatically reduced as she joins new Hulu project

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Ellen Pompeo is stepping back from her "Grey's Anatomy" role.

Pompeo, who stars as Meredith Grey in the ABC medical drama, will only appear in eight of the expected 22 episodes in season 19, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

However, she will continue to narrate the majority of the season.

Season 19 is not the final season of "Grey's Anatomy," sources told the outlet.

Ellen Pompeo will take on a much smaller role in "Grey's Anatomy." (Getty Images)

ELLEN POMPEO WANTS ‘GREY’S ANATOMY' TO END, BUT IT BRINGS IN A ‘GAZILLION DOLLARS’

Pompeo is reducing her appearances in "Grey's Anatomy" as she becomes attached to a new Hulu project. The actress will star in and executive produce a series about a couple who adopts an orphan with dwarfism.

"But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is," Hulu's synopsis of the show says. 

"As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom and, ultimately, their marriage."

Pompeo has signed on to a new Hulu project. (Mike Rosenthal/ABC via Getty Images)

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While "Grey's Anatomy" won't be coming to a close with season 19, Pompeo admitted during an interview with Insider she has been working behind the scenes to halt the long-running show.

"I've been trying to focus on convincing everybody that it should end," Pompeo told the outlet.

"​I feel like I'm the super naive one who keeps saying, 'But what's the story going to be? What story are we going to tell?' And everyone's like, 'Who cares, Ellen? It makes a gazillion dollars.'"

The cast of "Grey's Anatomy" in the episode "Six Days." (Michael Desmond/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

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The series has made Pompeo the highest-paid drama TV star. In 2017, Pompeo cut a deal with ABC that had her earning roughly $20 million a year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.