Los Angeles, March 31 "Grey's Anatomy" has been renewed for season 23, making it the longest-running medical drama on American television.
Created by Shonda Rhimes, the creator of many successful small-screen shows such as "Scandal," "Private Practice," and Netflix's "Bridgerton," the series also becomes the longest-running scripted primetime show ever on ABC.
Centered around Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey, the series also features Chandra Wilson (Miranda Bailey) and James Pickens Jr (Richard Webber) since its inception.
However, the new season will proceed without long-serving cast members Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd, who will depart the show following the May 7 finale of the 22nd season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Pompeo also executive produces and narrates the medical drama about a group of doctors at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, and has featured top talent over the years, including Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang, Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd, Katherine Heigl as Izzie Stevens, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, and the late Eric Dane as Mark Sloan.
"Grey's Anatomy," which began airing in 2005, is expected to exceed 475 episodes in the new season.
Despite the departure of many of the primary actors, the long-running series has remained popular with audiences.
According to THR, "Grey's Anatomy" more than doubles its initial on-air audience of 2.22 million viewers with a week of streaming and other delayed viewing, and it is among the top 15 network series (excluding live sports) in the key ad demographic of adults 18-49. The show's extensive library, which streams on Hulu and Netflix, is also a fixture in Nielsen's streaming ratings.