--- ---  # Here's Who Will Replace McDreamy on _Grey's Anatomy_ by [Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly Jun 15, 2015 5:05 PM UTC  Actor Patrick Dempsey attends the screening of 'WINNING: The Racing Life Of Paul Newman' at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, April 16, 2015 Actor Patrick Dempsey attends the screening of 'WINNING: The Racing Life Of Paul Newman' at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, April 16, 2015Paul Archuleta — Getty Images by [Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly Jun 15, 2015 5:05 PM UTC While many _Grey’s Anatomy_ fans may believe there is no way to fill the hole left by Patrick Dempsey, this hunk could come close. Martin Henderson—who starred in the ABC dramas _Secrets & Lies_ and _Off the Map—_has been cast in the medical drama. The New Zealand-born actor will play a surgeon and is expected to show up in the drama’s 12th season premiere on Sept. 24, [_TVLine_](http://tvline.com/2015/06/15/greys-anatomy-season-12-martin-henderson-cast-doctor/) reports. After killing off Dempsey’s character, Dr. Derek Shepherd, in April, Rhimes released a statement saying she “absolutely never imagined saying goodbye to our ‘McDreamy’ ” but teased the possibility of more change. “Meredith and the entire _Grey’s Anatomy_ family are about to enter uncharted territory as we head into this new chapter of her life. The possibilities for what may come are endless. As Ellis Grey would say: The carousel never stops turning.” Since Shepherd’s last episode, fans have flooded Twitter with pleas to resurrect his character and even began a petition in hopes to [persuade ABC and Rhimes](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/04/26/greys-anatomy-petition-mcdreamy). [The petition](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/04/23/shonda-rhimes-patrick-dempsey-shepherd-dead) has generated 106,000-plus signatures. In an exclusive discussion with _EW_, Dempsey said he wanted “to try something different” in TV. “But will I be allowed to do something different? Is Derek so identifiable that I can’t go on and be someone else? That will be the challenge. To see if people embrace me as someone else.” Over the weekend, the Porsche-driving Dempsey [came in second ](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/15/patrick-dempsey-le-mans-race)in the Le Mans GET Amateur category. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/15/did-greys-anatomy-just-replace-patrick-dempsey) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/15/did-greys-anatomy-just-replace-patrick-dempsey)_._ Greys Anatomy: Is the Show Replacing Patrick Dempsey? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3921514/greys-anatomy-patrick-dempsey-mcdreamy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3921514/greys-anatomy-patrick-dempsey-mcdreamy/"},"headline":"Here's Who Will Replace McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy","datePublished":"2015-06-15T17:05:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:13:08.065Z","description":"“Meredith and the entire Grey’s Anatomy family are about to enter uncharted territory\"","url":"https://time.com/3921514/greys-anatomy-patrick-dempsey-mcdreamy/","keywords":["Television","Grey's Anatomy","shonda rhimes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8ca8740374a2328/6988548fcd1bba78ce6fbd08/patrick-dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8ca8740374a2328/6988548fcd1bba78ce6fbd08/patrick-dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Patrick Dempsey","caption":"Patrick Dempsey","creditText":"Paul Archuleta — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3921514/greys-anatomy-patrick-dempsey-mcdreamy/","name":"Here's Who Will Replace McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy"}}]}] ```