Sarah Drew Already Has A New Show On The Way, So 'Grey's' Fans Can Breathe A Sigh Of Relief

Dr. April Kepner might not be returning to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital next year, but don't worry, Grey's Anatomy's Sarah Drew already has a new TV show lined up. Less than a week after Grey's announced Drew would be leaving after Season 14, Deadline reported that she'll play the co-lead in CBS' reboot of Cagney & Lacey, the critically acclaimed female buddy-cop drama from the '80s. With Drew's new role, she'll be putting a fresh spin on these classic female characters written for a whole new generation.

Drew will reportedly play the new Christine Cagney, "a nimble and easygoing partner and protégée" of Lacey's. Meanwhile, Michelle Hurd, who appeared in Hawaii Five-0 and the Lethal Weapon reboot, will play the new Lacey an "athletic, polished, a former high school track and field champion. Empathetic and straightforward, she’s the more experienced partner," per Deadline.

The more diverse casting was a decision made from the very beginning. Hurd's Lacey was "conceived and written as African American," according to Deadline. But this is isn't the only change the new series, written by Bridget Carpenter and directed by Rosemary Rodriguez, has made. In the original Cagney & Lacey, Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly were fighting crime in New York, but now they're L.A. police detectives.

CBS might hope, though, that the reboot follows in the footsteps of the original, which aired for seven seasons between 1983 and 1988, in one very specific way. Cagney & Lacey won two Best Drama Emmys and six awards for Lead Actress, with Daly taking home four and Gless earning two.

While Cagney & Lacey is the only reboot pilot CBS has green-lit, the network is also reportedly looking to add a new version of Magnum P.I., starring a non-white actor, according to Deadline. This female-led pilot is also a new direction for the network, which the last two pilot seasons hasn't had any female-led TV shows.

Last year, CBS was called out for its lack of female diversity. At the time, CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves defended his network's choice, telling reported at CBS' upfront, "The best pilots went at the end of the day and we think our track record is OK." But this year, the network seems to be changing its tune.

As of now, it's unclear when exactly Drew will officially say goodbye to Grey's, since fans are already worried this news means her character will be killed off before the end of this season. The show hasn't confirmed or denied how she will be written off, but in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Grey's Anatomy co-showrunner Krista Vernoff tried to explain why Drew, along with Jessica Capshaw are leaving.

"As writers, our job is to follow the stories where they want to go and sometimes that means saying goodbye to characters we love," she said, hinting that Season 15, which hasn't formally been announced yet, could be different than the ones before. Drew and Capshaw are the second and third regular cast members to be written off the show following Martin Henderson's departure.

Even Drew seemed disappointed to hear she wouldn't be returning, releasing a statement via Twitter, thanking fans for all their support. Especially, since she only had " less than 48 hours" to cope with the news before it broke. She promised April's story "isn't over yet" and neither was her time on the set. She wrote,

"The really good news (for me, at least) is that I'm here on set shadowing one of my favorite people, Kevin McKidd [Owen Hunt], with my beloved 'Grey's' family all this week and next. So I get to process all of my feelings surrounded by the community that has nourished and nurtured me for almost a decade."

Drew may be sad to say goodbye to Grey's, but now she can get excited about taking on a new role. One that will likely inspire a new generation of women who haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting Cagney and Lacey.