<P> On August 13, 2013, Sandra Oh revealed that she would be leaving after Season 10 of Grey's Anatomy, making the eleventh season the first season in which Dr. Cristina Yang did not appear . It was announced on March 25, 2014 that Gaius Charles and Tessa Ferrer did not receive a contract renewal for the eleventh season, and left at the end of the tenth season . Jerrika Hinton and Camilla Luddington however, returned as residents for the eleventh season . On January 23, 2014 it was reported that Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey had renewed their contracts for another two seasons, as Drs . Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd, respectively, meaning their characters would be staying on the medical drama for seasons 11 and 12 . On May 2, 2014, the rest of the six original cast mates, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., excluding Sandra Oh, renewed their contracts for another two seasons (11 and 12) as Drs . Alex Karev, Miranda Bailey, and Richard Webber, respectively . Sara Ramirez also renewed her contract for another two seasons as Dr. Callie Torres . </P> <P> E! News reported on June 23, 2014, that Caterina Scorsone was upgraded to a series regular to continue her role as Dr. Amelia Shepherd, one of Dr. Derek Shepherd's four sisters . Scorsone had played the character since the seventh season as a recurring role, and played the character as a series regular on the show's spin - off series, Private Practice . After speculations about who would portray the character Ellis Grey, either Kate Burton or Sarah Paulson, it was announced that Sally Pressman would replace Paulson as Ellis in flashbacks with J. August Richards reprising his role as a young Richard Webber in the same episode . On August 6, 2014, it was confirmed that Burton would return to portray Ellis in flashbacks . </P> <P> Geena Davis was announced to appear in the season and would have a major guest arc as Dr. Nicole Herman, a fetal surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital . On September 2, 2014, Annet Mahendru of The Americans was announced to guest star for one episode, and she played Ana, an undocumented immigrant whose daughter had an 8 - pound tumor . It was announced on September 23, 2014 that Connie Ray, known from Space Jam and Stuart Little, would guest star as Dr. April Kepner's mother, Karen, and would appear in the sixth episode . On October 23, 2014, Kelly McCreary was promoted to a series regular after being credited as guest - starring until the eleventh episode . On April 15, 2015, Giacomo Gianniotti, known from Reign, was announced to be cast on the show as a possible recurring role for Season 12 . On April 28, 2015 it was announced that Joe Adler was cast for the show, and would appear in the final two episodes of the season . </P> <P> Despite signing on for two more years after the tenth season, Patrick Dempsey decided that the eleventh season would be his last . The announcement was made on April 23, 2015, just a few hours before his final episode, "How to Save a Life," premiered . Showrunner Shonda Rhimes spoke out about the departure as she said "Derek Shepherd is and will always be an incredibly important character--for Meredith, for me and for the fans . I absolutely never imagined saying goodbye to our' McDreamy ."' </P>

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