ABCGrey's Anatomy still has a big fan in ABC president Paul Lee.
Despite the aging series losing another integral castmember after this season (Sandra Oh), Lee told reporters at the TCA Press Tour he has every expectation that the ABC drama will continue "for many years to come."
"[Executive producer] Shonda Rhimes is one of the greatest writers that our generation has seen. She's continuing to write an immensely powerful show. It makes you laugh and cry every week, and what season are we now? And by the way, to her enormous credit, it is completely different than Scandal. And I love it. I think it's going to stay on the network for many years to come."
When asked if any more cast departures are coming up on Grey's Anatomy, Lee replied curtly, "We don't have anything to say about that." Hmmm…
Of course the real question is how long Ellen Pompeo and Rhimes want to stick around—and whether ABC would keep Grey's around without Rhimes. "I see the show going as long as I continue to be interested in the show," Rhimes told E! News at the time of Oh's exit announcement. "And then I don't know about the network, because they might see it going after me. But as I see it, as long as I'm interested and have stories to tell, I'm excited about being there."
Lee also insisted that Revenge isn't going anywhere. "We have a long way to go with that show," Lee insisted. "They've reconnected that amazing conflict between Emily (Emily VanCamp) and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe). The producers pitched us the back nine [episodes] and we loved it."
Revenge moves back to Sundays at 10 p.m. on March 9, and Resurrection (starring Omar Epps) takes the 9 p.m. slot on that same night for its series premiere.
"They love the fact that they are back at 10 and they don't have to pull their punches. We love that lineup."
As for ABC's first-season comedies, Lee sounded extremely hopeful when talking about the future of The Goldbergs, and the network is making sure viewers have a chance to binge-watch. "It's an amazing show," Lee gushed repeatedly, while meeting with reporters.
Trophy Wife, starring Bradley Whitford and Malin Akerman is "very good creatively," Lee says, but adds that "it's got to raise its game in order to come back." He added that a move to Wednesday nights for next season is "not beyond the realm of possibility."
And Rebel Wilson's Super Fun Night sounds doomed.
Lee revealed he's given the show one final shot at a second-season pickup. "What I said to Rebel is, it takes a little bit of time when you're writing and acting to get into it weekly. So, look, I'll give you five episodes at the end to really have fun with this. And I think they are. So we'll see what our last five episodes are and then decide [whether it's canceled]."
"I told the producers that I wanted Rebel to return to her inner voice because she has one of the strongest inner voices in movies or television."