Derek Christopher Shepherd, often referred to as "McDreamy" for his "attractiveness", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey.

Derek was a student of Dr. Richard Webber and was enticed to come with an "offer he couldn't refuse"[2] – the position of Chief of Surgery, which he eventually turned down.

He specializes in highly complex tumors and conditions of the brain and spine,[3][4][5] and came to Seattle Grace with a reputation for taking on "lost causes" and "impossible" cases[6] that most of his peers would turn down.

As an attending, he is both well-liked by patients and his scrub nurses for his compassion and polite bedside manner and feared by interns and residents who are intimidated by his reputation and high standards.

[12] His mother Carolyn approved as she felt Meredith's gray perspective of life complemented Derek's tendency to see everything in black and white.

[13] Derek's background was generally a mystery for the first season and source of speculation amongst his colleagues due to his sudden departure from an established and highly respected practice in New York.

In the season one finale, his past eventually catches up with him when his estranged wife Addison moves to Seattle and is offered a position by Dr. Webber.

With mixed feelings, Derek offers him an ultimatum: go into rehab and pick up where he left off after, or retire from the hospital altogether.

They legalize their marriage in season seven in order to adopt Zola, a young African orphan treated for spina bifida.

Following his rescue from the plane crash that killed Mark and Lexie, Derek learns that he may only regain 80 percent of his hand's function.

He went back on his promise that he would not add to his current workload to devote time to their two young children and allow Meredith the chance to establish her career as a full-fledged attending.

Eventually, he was offered a position at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., but Meredith puts her foot down and refuses to leave her hometown and uproot their young family.

In season 11, Derek is involved in a fatal car accident while driving to the airport for his final trip to Washington.

Although the neurosurgeon on call is paged multiple times after the doctors finally discover the head injury, he takes too long to arrive, and Derek is declared brain dead.

In the episode "My Next Life", Meredith had a flashback of their first ever surgery together when a patient named Katie Bryce was admitted to the hospital with a brain aneurysm.

In season 17, he appears in a dream sequence on a beach as Meredith fights COVID-19 which leaves her comatose and thus experiencing an "afterlife" reality.

When Patrick Dempsey auditioned for the role of Derek Shepherd, he was initially afraid that he wouldn't land the part.

"[17] Another actor considered for the role was Rob Lowe, who turned it down in favor of starring in the short-lived CBS medical drama Dr.

[18] Some of Shepherd's medical cases on the show were based on real-life patients of Steve Giannotta, Chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, whom Rhimes consulted for inspiration.

[19] In January 2014, Dempsey signed a two-year contract to stay on Grey's Anatomy, securing his presence through potential seasons 11 and 12.

As painful as it was for me as a storyteller, because I had never really thought that was going to happen, it preserved what felt true to me, was that Derek was going to have to die in order for that love to remain honest.

[1] On November 12, 2020, Dempsey reprised his role as Derek in a dream sequence during the two-part season 17 premiere of Grey's Anatomy.

Rhimes intended for this character to be dynamic and easily adaptable to various storylines, knowing that viewers would fall in love with him despite his flaws.

"[27] At the end of Season 2, Robert Bianco of USA Today suggested that Dempsey could be considered for an Emmy due to the "seemingly effortless way he humanizes Derek's 'dreamy' appeal with ego and vanity.

"[34] Derek's friendship with Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) was also acclaimed, with Victor Balta of Today listing their bond in the "TV's Best Bromances."

He described them as "the most exciting couple on Grey's," thanks to their "easy chemistry" and their ability to deliver "great comic relief" with their banter and wisdom.