Is Patrick Dempsey coming back to Grey’s Anatomy as Derek Shepherd? Viral rumor debunked

If you thought Patrick Dempsey was scrubbing back in at Grey Sloan Memorial, please put down the defibrillator! Derek Shepherd is not returning to Grey’s Anatomy Season 22. However, the internet would like you to believe otherwise.

A Facebook post that made the rounds this week declared Patrick Dempsey was "back" and that "the heartbeat of the show feels whole again." The post had all the ingredients for a viral wildfire: nostalgia and wishful thinking.

Here’s what the post said, courtesy of a fan named Sara Beth who claims to have seen it on a "[different] group":

“Patrick Dempsey is officially back in Season 22 of Grey’s Anatomy, and the heartbeat of the show feels whole again (...) This comeback isn’t just nostalgia. It’s healing.”

Cue a mini civil war in the comments section. One user wasn’t having it:

“No he isn’t. This is spam.”

Another fan chimed in anxiously:

“Na Google said it’s Meredith possibly experiencing early onset Alzheimer’s and I’m not ready.”

And then came the confusion that fuels every modern fandom fire:

“Fake as always 😃 Edit: I see it might be true!”

The post spread like wildfire (the kind that even Grey’s Anatomy’s trauma team couldn’t handle), but here’s the truth: it’s entirely false.

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Patrick Dempsey is not in Grey’s Anatomy Season 22

No announcement has been made by ABC, Disney+, or the Grey’s Anatomy production team to confirm Dempsey’s involvement. The claim that he’ll appear in "seven episodes" this season seems entirely made up.

The rumor likely stemmed from Ellen Pompeo’s limited screen time. Pompeo (who plays Meredith Grey) appears in roughly seven episodes this season while narrating the series, as reported by Variety. Somewhere along the line, that turned into "seven episodes with Patrick Dempsey," and the fandom’s collective imagination did the rest! We have a feeling that Google's infamous AI-generated overview could also be a culprit, but that's that.

Anyway, reality check: Dempsey’s schedule makes such a return impossible. He’s leading Fox’s Memory of a Killer, where he plays Angelo Ledda --- a hitman suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s. Production began in August 2025 and runs through December, right when Grey’s Anatomy will air.

Even if McDreamy wanted to walk through the OR doors again, there’s simply no time. And no script to accommodate him.

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Why won't fans let go of McDreamy?

It’s not hard to see why the rumor caught fire. Derek Shepherd was the backbone of Grey’s Anatomy for over a decade. He died in Season 11, Episode 21, after he had stopped to help car crash victims and was declared brain dead.

Dempsey’s Season 17 return during Meredith’s COVID-19 dream sequences in 2020-21 felt like a final curtain call. He himself called the cameo "a beautiful way to close it," though he added, "Never say never." That was enough to keep the fandom’s hope alive. But this time, that hope is misplaced.

Season 22 is focused on rebuilding Grey Sloan after last season’s explosion, the aftermath of Monica Beltran’s death, and new residents' grief, trauma, and recovery. There’s plenty to go around without ghosts.

Nowadays, misinformation spreads like code blue. So before you prep tissues and rewatch Season 11, maybe check ABC’s press releases first?

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Watch Grey’s Anatomy on ABC.