Ellen Pompeo will be sticking around for at least another two years on “Grey’s Anatomy”, which comes as a relief to fans who have heard rumors about the show cutting characters.

Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey have both reportedly signed new deals, a move that comes on the heels of the announcement that Sandra Oh will be leaving after this season. Her departure may be an area of contention with ABC execs.

When asked whether any more cast members would be leaving during a recent interview, Lee said, “We don’t have anything to say about that” with a definite “curt” note in his voice. He did praise executive producer and writer Shonda Rhimes, however, and said he believes the show will have a very long future.

“Shonda Rhimes is one of the greatest writers that our generation has seen. She’s continuing to write an immensely powerful show. It makes you laugh and cry every week, and what season are we now? And by the way, to her enormous credit, it is completely different than Scandal. And I love it. I think it’s going to stay on the network for many years to come,” he said.

Rhimes may feel differently, however; last year, she said that she began with a definitive ending for “Grey’s Anatomy” but ended up writing past it.

“I knew the end of Grey’s Anatomy, and then we kept going, so that I finally just had to write that and move past it,” Rhimes said. “Who knows, at this point, how long that show’s going to go? It’s going to go as long as I feel interested in what happens to those characters.”

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