Although ABC has yet to order the 12th season of Shonda Rhimes' long-running medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," actress-director Debbie Allen has already been confirmed to be given a bigger task in the show. Deadline exclusively reported that aside from portraying the recurring role of Dr. Catherine Avery, Allen was assigned to be the show's executive producer and director when "Grey's Anatomy" returns for season 12. 

This will not be the first time that Allen will be behind the camera in the long-running medical drama. Back in 2010, she was tapped to direct three episodes of the show's sixth season. That led her to get a recurring role as the mother of Dr. Jackson Avery, portrayed by Jesse Williams. She also directed at least four more episodes in the series, as well as several episodes of other widely popular dramas from Shondaland, including "How to Get Away with Murder" starring Viola Davis and "Scandal" featuring Kerri Washington. 

Aside from working for Shondaland, the successful Broadway actress, dancer, and choreographer also worked in other hit TV series like The CW's award-winning "Jane the Virgin." She also helmed the highly talked about season 1 finale of FOX's groundbreaking hip hop musical "Empire." 

Meanwhile, it has been announced last month that "Reign" actor Giacomo Gianniotti will possibly take on a recurring role in "Grey's Anatomy" season 12. The casting news was announced by TV Line, saying that an ABC rep already confirmed that the Italian actor known for portraying the role of the fake Lord Julien in the period drama will join the doctors at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital once the series returns for a 12th season. 

The announcement for the 12th season of "Grey's Anatomy" is expected to come soon, as the current season 11 is still two weeks away from signing off. The show is also enjoying high ratings despite the highly controversial death of Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), one of the main characters of the series.