Camilla Luddington says the Grey’s Anatomy season 22 finale is “so big,” and she is still trying to wrap her head around how the show pulled it off in time for its May 7 airing. The 42-year-old actor, who has played Dr. Jo Wilson since season 9, said the table read left her stunned. “How, how are we gonna shoot this? Like we have to shoot it in three weeks. Like how are we gonna do this?” she recalled.
Luddington said the finale leaves Jo at “a big crossroads” and that the character has decisions to make by the end. That comes after Jo returned to work following the traumatic birth of her and Dr. Atticus “Link” Lincoln’s twin baby girls, giving the hour a personal stake as the show closes out another season.
The final stretch matters because Grey’s is heading into an 18-episode season, a shorter run than the 25-episode seasons Luddington said she has worked on before. She is one of the show’s most veteran cast members alongside James Pickens Jr. and Chandra Wilson, and she framed the finale as a payoff built on a tighter production window and plenty of loose ends. “It’s huge,” she said. “Jo is at a big crossroads at the end of the finale.”
That pressure is heightened by the departures of Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd, which were confirmed late last month. Luddington said it is “really tough” to say goodbye to longtime castmates because the group has grown into family over the years, and she expects the set to feel different without them. She added, “Hopefully we’ll see them next season.”
For now, the farewell is still sitting in the future. Luddington said she and her departing castmates plan to get dinner and talk through memories, a more private goodbye after years of shared work. “We’re going to get together for dinner and then let’s talk about all the memories,” she said, adding, “You want to have that moment, just the two of you too.”
Outside the hospital drama, Luddington has her own full house to manage. She shares daughter Hayden, 9, and son Lucas, 5, with husband Matthew Alan, and said the family is “knee-deep in sports season,” with weekends filled by T-ball and softball. She also said she is leaning on Gerber Get’ems! and the new Squeezies purees, which hit shelves April 5, as an easy snack option for the kids. The finale may be the headline event for viewers, but for Luddington it is also one more sign that Grey’s is still forcing hard choices, even after two decades on the air.
