Is Camilla Luddington Leaving Grey's Anatomy? Showrunner Addresses Jo's Future On The Show

Just a few months after Teddy and Owen said goodbye to Grey Sloan Memorial, another longtime doctor is following them out the door. The Season 23 premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" ended with Jo announcing that she quit her job, but does this mean actress Camilla Luddington is also leaving the show?

Not so fast, says showrunner Meg Marinis! Though Jo won't be "at the hospital in a regular employed fashion," it doesn't sound like Jo has entered the doors of Grey Sloan Memorial for the last time.

"She might be at the hospital, but not working shifts every day like she was in the past," Marinis tells Deadline. "This definitely plays out. It's not in Episode 2, she's back in scrubs."

Marinis also clarifies that Jo's time away from the hospital is not like when Amelia took a sabbatical last season. Whereas Amelia wasn't seen for that time, Jo will remain on the show.

"This is a creative decision where we wanted to play the reality of what Jo went through, and you'll see the impact of that on her not being at work, and whether or not she regrets the decision or whether she's reaffirmed in the decision, we'll that play out," Marinis explains.

While the showrunner still has to "wait and see" before knowing if any actors will appear in reduced episodes this season, she says, "right now things are looking fairly normal."

While "Grey's Anatomy" fans may not have been expecting Jo to quit in the Season 23 premiere, no one can say that the decision wasn't a long time coming. Jo hasn't been the same since she nearly lost her life giving birth to her and Link's twins, and she even confessed in the Season 22 finale that she was questioning whether she wanted to remain in the medical field.

Still traumatized from her near-death experience, Jo's decision to quit finally came after she witnessed a patient losing a tremendous amount of blood in the Season 23 premiere. While the doctors frantically operated on him, Jo nearly lost consciousness in the chaos.

"We'll come to understand more specifically in later episodes what her actual triggers are, but, after suffering an almost death experience, when she sees other people doing the same, for me that is that is a trigger," showrunner Meg Marinis explains to Deadline. "Obviously that person, their chest was cut open, her chest was cut open, so she has that same exact scar, things like that. I just think that it's seeing people at that pivotal point of, if they're going to make it or not make it, that coding experience. That elevator was definitely a trigger.

Luddington joined "Grey's Anatomy" back in Season 9 (2012), making Jo one of the show's longest-running characters. Were you surprised that she quit Grey Sloan Memorial in the premiere? And would you be disappointed if Luddington were to leave the show as well? Drop a comment with your thoughts below.