Grey's Anatomy Fans Debate Whether the Show Has Overstayed Its Welcome

The ABC medical drama has managed to achieve what was thought to be almost impossible for a primetime show with more than twenty episodes per season – to remain relevant. Grey's Anatomy has been on the air since 2005 and has never dropped in the ratings, remaining one of the most successful series on network television.

Obviously, with such a lifespan, the show has lost many actors over its existence, but new ones have always come in their place, appealing to both new and old viewers.

But it seems that by the 19th season, the show's popularity seemed to have faded away.

Arguing about it online, fans agreed that Grey's Anatomy was a far cry from the show they all loved and watched once upon a time, as the series had slipped into a cheap soap opera in the last couple of seasons.

The series has always prided itself on its interesting cast of characters, with people like Izzie, Cristina and Derek being the most prominent examples. And yet they all left the show at one point or another, leaving fans with no suitable replacement – unfortunately, after about season 12 the new characters appearing in the hospital simply stopped being interesting and started to seem like cheap copies of the excellent originals.

And with Ellen Pompeo's departure from the series last month, fans were finally convinced that ABC needed to end the series, as Grey's Anatomy certainly would not survive without its lead star.

However, others are still unimpressed with Pompeo's performance over the past eight or so seasons, arguing that the actress has clearly only been on the show for the money and not for the opportunity to play an interesting role.

Fans are clearly worried that the series may end after the current 19th season, as it is certainly hard to say goodbye to a show they have watched for almost 20 years. But with most of the original cast gone and new storylines being boring and uninspiring, it seems that fans have no other choice in the matter.