Is it just me or there seems to be a baby boom in Hollywood this TV season? This is probably the 73rd post we've written here at TV Squad this year about a TV actress being pregnant, wondering how it will affect the show she stars in.When the two lead actresses of How I Met Your Mother announced they were pregnant, the writers decided not to write the pregnancies in and go for the "hiding the belly under big clothes or things" option instead. They even shot the season finale months before they would have usually done so they could have the two actresses in reasonable shape.
People announced that Grey's Anatomy lead actress Ellen Pompeo is pregnant with her first child, while reminding us that Chyler Leigh, who plays Pompeo's half-sister, is due in May. We know that Shonda Rhimes decided not to have Lexie be pregnant but what about Meredith?
Warning! The rest of this post contains spoilers about upcoming episodes.
Before we get to Pompeo's pregnancy, let's deal with Chyler Leigh. Michael Ausiello reveals this week that Shonda Rhimes will work around Leigh's pregnancy by creating a feud between Mark and Derek. Now I don't know how a feud between two men can hide a belly, but I guess it may lead to Little Grey doing paperwork instead of surgeries or not being featured as much in upcoming episodes.
Sadly, Ausiello didn't have spoilers to share about how the show would deal with Pompeo's pregnancy, so we can only speculate until his sources provide the dish. Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that Derek and Meredith will not wed on what is supposed to be their wedding day (another couple will, though). Could Shonda Rhimes do the next best thing and have them expect a bundle of joy, especially now that her lead actress is pregnant? It's time we have one of the leading ladies be pregnant on screen and see how it affects the show, her work at the hospital, and the lives around her. What best candidate than whining queen Meredith?
Do you think Meredith should be pregnant? Vote in our poll below and share your prediction and theories in comments. I hope to have more on this news in the next issue of Spoilers Anonymous.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2009 @ 10:11AM
Norman said...
I do believe one of the leading ladies was pregnant and gave birth, although Bailey's baby does seem to have pretty much disappeared since then.
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4-21-2009 @ 10:31AM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Yeah, Bailey has a baby but we didn't see her really go through all of her pregnancy and how it affected her couple her work, etc. We saw tiny bits of it. But if it's Mer and Der awaiting a baby, you can bet we'll see more of how the hospital works with staff being pregnant, how it will affect their couple, etc. It wouldn't even surprise me, if they do have Mer be pregnant, that something goes wrong with her baby and that Der calls Addison to the rescue!
4-21-2009 @ 10:21AM
Dorv said...
Oh, a McNugget!
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4-21-2009 @ 10:30AM
Tammy said...
Well it's been obvious that she's pregnant for at least the last two or three episodes. She's always in the scrubs, being shot straight on or holding something in her arms. During the proposal she has a coat folded over her arm.
Now they have hid Lexie's pregnancy well unless she's not that far along. I had no clue she was pregnant until I read it in the big splash about Ellen being pregnant. Plus it's her third child too.
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4-21-2009 @ 12:14PM
Laura said...
oy vay - seriously, i don't think i could deal with Mer being
pregnant on the show, unless she does a radical turnaround and stops obsessing about herself and her relationship - she's just showing maturity when it comes to that - its not exactly the best time to
throw a baby into the mix...but Congrats to Ellen Pompeo and her husband!!
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4-21-2009 @ 3:24PM
bruce said...
Why do they let these actresses, who have major parts in major TV series, just go out and get pregnant willy nilly? Surely there must be something in their contracts that state that they won't get pregnant. The writers plan out seasons and should not have to "write around" a major character being pregnant.
Why do their contracts not require them to be on birth control? If they have some religious issue with it, then they simply don't need to accept the part - nobody is forcing Ellen Pompeo or Chyler Leigh to be a part of Grey's Anatomy or any other TV show. They probably test the cast for all sorts of other health issues and drug usage, but they don't give the female leads birth control and check that they are taking it, as a requirement of their contracts? These people are getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars PER EPISODE, they can have enough respect for the TV show and its writers and fans to not go out and get prengant. I'm sorry that this is an issue that only effects female actresses. If men got pregnant I'd be saying the same thing. But it's equivalent to Patrick Dempsey deciding to have his hand amputated, frozen and saved for later... only to leave it up to the writers to "write around" Derrick's missing hand. This is crap (and I'm talking about all actresses on TV shows, not just Grey's Anatomy). If they wanted Meredith to get pregnant then that's one thing... otherwise it should be a choice between being fired and having an abortion. This happens far too often nowadays. If it can be timed such that the actress is visibly preganant in the off-season, so be it. But they should have to get permission from the producers, first, and that should be clearly stated in their contracts. Again, if they want sexual freedom that's fine, they don't need to try out for and accept the part on the show - and the hundreds of thousands of dollars per episode that they receive for their services. There's nothing unfair about my position here. For fame and fortune, you can either take birth control or keep your legs together.
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4-21-2009 @ 3:38PM
Dorv said...
Wow, was that serious, but I gave up looking for irony after the second sentence.
4-22-2009 @ 1:59PM
Jessy said...
This is ridiculous. If anyone shouldnt be allowed to procreate it's you.
4-21-2009 @ 3:31PM
swthompson said...
Surely I didn't just read an advocacy forum on abortion!
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4-21-2009 @ 3:47PM
bruce said...
If you think I'm wrong, explain why (though I don't want to get into a debate about abortion). I know for a fact that the actors' contracts dictate what their weight can be. Ellen Pompeo can't just go out and gain 250 pounds, and leave it up to the writers to "write around" Meredith's huge weight-gain (Aww Meredith has gotten an eating disorder). Why should pregnancy be any different?
Because pregnancy is so wonderful and amazing and children are so great? That's not an argument. And I'm not saying she should be thrown in prison for getting pregnant - only that their contracts are negotiated and arms length and if she wants the fame and fortune of being on a given TV show as a main character, she has to temporarily give up the right to get pregnant (so long as she's on the show). That's perfectly reasonable and no different than maintaining her weight or not going out and getting a Mike Tyson face-tattoo. Why should the writers have to "write around" Meredith having a hudge dragon tattoo on her face? What, Meredith got drunk one night?
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5-15-2009 @ 5:04PM
ricochet said...
Wow - nazis blogging now!
I hope they don't put Ellen's pregnancy on the show because Meredith would be a horrible mother (nothing against Ellen, of course.) Mer may be getting healthier lately, but not healthy enough to raise a child.
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