‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 12 Update: Ellen Pompeo excited to play widow; Shonda Rhimes reveals the alternative if McDreamy did not die

By Angelica Mei Dollesin

Aug 12 2015, 19:07 PM EDT

"Grey's Anatomy" season 12 will drop in a little over a month with fresh storyline for Meredith, springing from the death of McDreamy in season 11's finale. Shonda Rhimes recently revealed the equally heart breaking alternative had Derek Shepherd did not die in an accident.

Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey in the series, said that playing her character next season will be a creative challenge for her. Providence Journal reported that Pompeo sees her scenes next season without McDreamy "are the best scenes to play" especially since she has been accustomed to having a love interest for 11 seasons.

Despite the heart-wrenching event that happened between her character and Dempsey's, Pompeo lauded the realism of the medical soap's story.

"So many people lose their spouses in a myriad of different ways and feel they can't get up again and to tell the story of how life goes on after ... that's a story worth telling," the actress said.

Creator Shonda Rhimes also revealed the alternative story had the accident did not happen and Dempsey's character live through last season. Providence Journal furthered that Rhimes had to choose between having Derek die or give up his marriage with Meredith, tainting their love story. Rhimes obviously chose the former as it was "what felt true" to her.

However, it does not mean that killing off Dr. Shepherd was easy for the showrunner since they've been a family, Day Herald reported.

The site also noted that the death of Dempsey's character will pave the way for Meredith and Christina Yang's reunion. Sandra Oh, who left the series after a decade of running on air, will be back for a thrilling new journey with Pompeo's character in "Grey's Anatomy" season 12.

Despite the speculations that season 12 will be the last of the CBS medical drama, it was previously reported that more seasons are being planned already, with new characters entering Grey Sloan Memorial.

Meredith Grey's recovery from Derek Shepherd's death will be seen in the new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy." Old faces will return on the show to support the new storylines of the characters of the medical soap set to return this September 21on ABC.