Ellen Pompeo jokes about Patrick Dempsey's 'Grey's Anatomy' exit

Attention non-believers: There is life after Derek.

Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo (Dr. Meredith Grey) shared the good news on Monday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, during which she and DeGeneres discussed the devastating death of Patrick Dempsey's Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd.

"It's doing very, very well," DeGeneres said of the ABC show's performance following Dempsey's departure. "That’s amazing. And everybody thought because Patrick was leaving that it wouldn’t do well, but it’s doing very well."

"Yeah, it’s amazing how much you get done without a penis," Pompeo jokingly replied before adding, "We miss him dearly, but yeah, the show is doing very well."

Oh, and about those rumors of the series ending?

"It’s not the last season," Pompeo assured emotionally spent Shonda fans. "I think a lot of people were really upset about his departure, which is super-understandable, but I think the change is part of the reason why the show goes on so long. I think people tune in to see, 'What does the show look like now? What is Meredith going to do without Derek?' I think they get so upset about the change, but change is precisely what everyone always needs to sort of get to the next place."

Watch the full clip here.