and over $20 million yearly. On March 8, 2018, it was announced that series regulars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew would not be returning for season 15 after executive producers decided to let them go. In May 2018, it was confirmed that Kim Raver, who made returning guest appearances in season 14, would once again become a series regular, beginning with season 15. In January 2020, Justin Chambers announced that he had departed the series and that his final episode had aired on November 14, 2019. In March 2021, Giacomo Gianniotti departed the series after wanting to pursue new things such as directing. In May 2021, Jesse Williams and Greg Germann both left the main cast, although Germann is expected to remain on the show in a guest capacity. In September 2021, it was announced that Kate Walsh would be returning as Addison Montgomery for multiple episodes in season 18. In July 2022, it was announced that Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, Adelaide Kane, Midori Francis and Harry Shum Jr. joined the cast as series regular for the nineteenth season. In August 2022, it was announced that Ellen Pompeo will appear in only eight episodes of the upcoming nineteenth season having her role reduce, because she is set to star in Hulu’s Orphan limited series, but she will continue to narrate the episodes and will remain an executive producer. Filming locations and techniques Rhimes considered setting the medical drama in her hometown, Chicago, but eventually decided to go with Seattle, to distinguish Grey's Anatomy from the Chicago-based series ER. Fisher Plaza, which is the headquarters building of the former Fisher Communications (since merged into Sinclair Broadcasting Group) and SBG's ABC-affiliated KOMO radio and television stations in Seattle, is used for some exterior shots of Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. In particular, air ambulances land on the KOMO-TV news copter's helipad. This suggests the hospital is close to the Space Needle (which is directly across the street from Fisher Plaza), the Seattle Monorail, and other local landmarks. However, the hospital used for most other exterior and a few interior shots is not in Seattle; these scenes are shot at the VA Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills, California, and occasional shots from an interior walkway above the lobby show dry California mountains in the distance. The exterior of Meredith Grey's house, also known as the Intern House, is real. In the show, the