When most people think of Ellen Pompeo, they likely immediately think of Grey’s Anatomy rather than her brief stints on shows like Law & Order and Friends. That may change soon in the 2025 TV schedule, as the longtime network TV actress is arriving on streaming for viewers with a Hulu subscription. ABC was promoting both Grey’s Anatomy and Good American Family during its latest Thursday night lineup, and it was kind of trippy to see two versions of Ellen Pompeo getting a push from commercial break to commercial break.
I started tuning in to ABC early on Thursday, March 13 for the newest episode of 9-1-1 with Maddie’s life in jeopardy and Eddie potentially moving to Texas, and instinctively did a double take at my TV when I heard Ellen Pompeo’s voice as a character other than Meredith Grey. I’m certainly used to hearing Pompeo on ABC’s Thursday nights even after she left Grey’s Anatomy as a series regular, but it was just a strange experience that became all the stranger when, just over 20 minutes after the first Good American Family preview, ABC ran a promo for Grey’s featuring Pompeo as Meredith.
Basically, there was a lot of Ellen Pompeo on TV this Thursday night despite her not being a series regular on any of ABC’s current shows. Ultimately, this was an excellent way to grab my attention for Good American Family. Even though the commercial break was much too short for the official trailer that runs for over two minutes, there was enough to make me look the full preview up and dig for some details about the show that will arrive on Hulu on Wednesday, March 19. Take a look for yourself:
Good American Family also stars Mark Duplass and Imogen Faith Reid as co-leads alongside Pompeo, with recurring guest stars including Dulé Hill, Christina Hendricks, Sarayu Blue, and Jenny O’Hara. Pompeo is also listed as an executive producer on the project, which is told from multiple points of view over the course of eight episodes. With the plot inspired by the true story of a Midwestern couple who adopts a girl who has a rare form of dwarfism only to later suspect that there’s more to her than meets the eye, Pompeo definitely isn’t playing a surgeon this time around.
And with the Hulu streaming premiere on March 18 quickly approaching, it’s no wonder that Good American Family is getting a big push on the network that was Ellen Pompeo’s home for so many years!
I’m intrigued by the premise of Good American Family and prospect of seeing Ellen Pompeo taking on her first series regular role outside of Grey’s Anatomy. The new Hulu series is billed as a limited series, so there’s no chance that her new character will last her nearly as long as Meredith Grey. At the time of writing, Pompeo is credited with 440 episodes of the show that made her a household name among network TV viewers.