Patrick Dempsey returned as Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy Season 17 premiere. (Photo: Grey's Anatomy/Instagram)Christmas has come early for fans of long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy as Derek Shepherd, played by Patrick Dempsey, made a surprise return during the premiere episode of Season 17.
It, truly, was a surprise for the audience as the cast and creators had kept this news under wraps. In his return, we see Derek and Meredith, played by Ellen Pompeo, at a beach. This happens after Meredith collapses in the parking lot of the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, and it appears that this is kind-of a near-death experience for her.
Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff spoke about the big shocker to Deadline and discussed how she and Ellen Pompeo came up with this idea. She said, “I had this imagining of a beach motif throughout the season, and I called Ellen, and I said, what if we bring back, I don’t know, some dead character that you could dream of on the beach, that would be so fun for the fans. And she said, let’s get Patrick.”
Patrick added, “I know that they (the fans) have been wanting us to get back together, and I think this will satisfy a lot of people, and surprise a lot of people, hopefully.”
Patrick Dempsey’s return is not limited to this one scene. Krista and Patrick both assured Deadline that he will return in further episodes, but the details have been kept under wraps.
As fans would know, Derek died in a car accident during Season 11, and his departure has always been a point of contention for fans of the series. For the first 11 seasons of the show, Patrick’s Derek Shepherd was a pivotal character on the show. His “It’s a beautiful day to save lives” has since become a part of pop-culture.