Showrunner Shonda Rhimes shockingly (and cruelly) killed off and wrote out the character of dr Derek Shepard (Patrick Dempsey) on Grey's Anatomy in the show's 11th season, raising questions about Grey's Anatomy's future and longevity.
Patrick Dempsey gave his short statement to TV Line, saying "It's been a remarkable ride" and that "I will forever be grateful and humbled by the experience".
Shonda Rhimes gives a cryptic statement saying "I absolutely never imagined saying goodbye to our McDreamy".
TV network ABC also releases the usually lame and pandering statement saying Patrick Dempsey "is moving on to pursue other interests" and wishing him "the very best in his future endeavours".
There was definitely bad blood behind the scenes between Shonda Rhimes and Patrick Dempsey who actually had a signed contract to remain on the show for not just the entire 11th season but also a 12th season.
Page Six reported how Patrick Dempsey had become a diva on the Grey's Anatomy set clashed with Shonda Rhimes and how she now wanted him gone.
Daily Mail has how there's very little patience for troublesome talent on the Grey's Anatomy set. The New York Daily News has how Shonda Rhimes is not afraid to pull the plug on problematic actors.
Last year Patrick Dempsey started to signal he is tired, done and over Grey's Anatomy and that he is "not the creator, I'm not the writer". On Twitter on Friday he wrote "I want to thank all the fans, what an incredible 11 yrs, I love you all".
MUST READ: E!'s TV critic Kristin Dos Santos pens a must-read opinion-piece on why the killing off of Patrick Dempsey's character on Grey's Anatomy is NOT OK.
Can the now depressing and broken Grey's Anatomy survive without Derek Shepard?
We're finally done with Meredith's sadness and Grey's Anatomy's fixation on death and done watching Meredith's having to keep experience the same lesson over and over.
Stunned Grey's Anatomy viewers are angry and furious over the senseless killing, saying "Shonda you created a death sentence for your own show,", "Without knowing it, you let your ego get the best of you and you just destroyed the best show you have on TV" and "Years and years we've given to watching this story unfold and you just rip it out from under us? No way! This was horrible".
Watching Grey's Anatomy after Derek's death is now pointless, says the New York Post. CNN calls the Grey's Anatomy death a nightmare. Slate calls it "crushing" and says Shonda Rhimes ripped millions of viewers' hearts out.
E! Entertainment says the show will never be the same. Vulture says McDreamy deserved more. Hollywood Life says Shonda Rhimes and Grey's Anatomy ruined the show. Is Grey's Anatomy dead to you? asks TV Guy.
This is how a McDream dies says USA Today in its review.
The Express Tribute has why I will never fogive Shonda Rhimes for killing Derek Shepherd. TV Insider calls it the end of an incredible era.
Something big happened, says Vox, which explains how it says something about how we think about TV shows that once had big buzz but ultimately faded from the spotlight.
America's People magazine runs an actual obituary for Dr. Derek Shepherd.
Too many bad things kept happening on Grey's Anatomy; where will the show go from here?
MUST READ: Derek and Meredith were one of the most complex and interesting couples on TV. Now it's over.
America's People magazine has a moment-by-moment rundown/recap of what happened in the shocking episode.
How the Grey's Anatomy cast found out that McDreamy is killed off: Shonda Rhimes gathered them together and gave them the shocking news while they "couldn't imagine killing off a character like Derek" - refuses to say whether Patrick Dempsey was present (very likely not).
The news leaked early because the issue of Entertainment Weekly in which Patrick Dempsey gave an exit interview arrived too early in mailboxes before Thursday's episode was going to be shown. It was then leaked on Instagram through a photo.
Read Patrick Dempsey's interview with Entertainment Weekly right here, headlined on the cover of the magazine as "The doctor ... is out" in which he says he is "still processing it".
Entertainment Weekly apologised, saying "We would like to apologise to fans of the show that learnt the news ahead of time". The magazine also debates a Derek-less Grey's Anatomy.
ABC has suddenly announced that next week's episode of Grey's Anatomy is being expanded to 2 hours "to allow creator Shonda Rhimes more time to show the reactions of the other characters".
No word on how M-Net (DStv 101) is going to respond to this which is just a few episodes behind in South Africa.
ABC is clearly in crisis mode and trying to do damage control and want to help Shonda Rhimes "rectify" or minimise the huge damage by re-editing and trying to "improve" and expand on what happens next.
Ratings are predicted to plummet as viewers are now turned off from watching Grey's Anatomy further, and the unimaginable moment which changed Grey's Anatomy forever.
TIME magazine says the unbelievable just happened. Then a grief counsellor tells TIME it's okay to mourn a fictional TV character's death.
