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Wikipedia

Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into seasoned doctors while balancing personal and professional relationships. The title is an allusion to Gray's Anatomy, a classic human anatomy textbook first published in 1858 in London and written by Henry Gray.[1] Shonda Rhimes developed the pilot and continued to write for the series until 2015. Krista Vernoff, who previously worked with Rhimes, is now the showrunner.[2] Rhimes was also one of the executive producers alongside Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, Allan Heinberg, and Ellen Pompeo. Although the series is set in Seattle, Washington, it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Grey's Anatomy
Genre
Created byShonda Rhimes
Starring
Narrated byEllen Pompeo and various other cast members
Theme music composerPsapp
Opening theme"Cosy in the Rocket"
(seasons 1–3, 7, 14)
Ending theme"Cosy in the Rocket" (instrumental)
(season 1–)
ComposerDanny Lux
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons19
No. of episodes406 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
CinematographyHerbert Davis
Editors
  • Susan Vaill
  • David Greenspan
  • Edward Ornelas
  • Justin Chinn
  • Briana London
  • Sarah Boyd
  • Stacy Katzman
  • Brandi Bradburn
  • Bjorn Myrholt
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time43–44 minutes
Production companies
Distributor
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseMarch 27, 2005 (2005-03-27) –
present
Chronology
Related

The series revolves around Ellen Pompeo's character, Dr. Meredith Grey, until halfway through its 19th season, after which it shifts to a more ensemble format, with Pompeo only appearing in 8 episodes of season 19. Grey is first featured as an intern and later becomes the chief of general surgery, while showcasing the complications of a surgeon's life. The original cast consisted of nine star-billed actors: Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T. R. Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Isaiah Washington, and Patrick Dempsey. The cast has undergone major changes throughout the series' run. At the start of the 19th season, the show had a large ensemble of 17 actors—including three from the original cast (Pompeo, Wilson, and Pickens).

Grey's Anatomy is the longest-running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC, and the longest scripted primetime series carried by ABC. Its success catapulted many longtime series regulars including Pompeo, Dempsey, and Oh to worldwide recognition; they were among the top five highest-earning television actors in 2013.[3][4] While the show's ratings have fallen over the course of its run (it was once among the overall top-ten shows in the United States), it is still one of the highest-rated shows among the 18–49 demographic, and the #3 drama on all of broadcast television in the United States.[5] The series was the highest revenue-earning show on television in terms of advertising in the 2007–08 season; in 2017, it was ranked tenth on the list. In its 15th season, Grey's Anatomy ranked as ABC's highest-rated drama. As of February 28, 2019, it was the longest-running American primetime medical drama series.[6] The show now has a second spin-off series named Station 19,[7] in addition to Private Practice. After the mid-season finale of the 19th season, Pompeo took to her Instagram to say farewell as she took a step back and exited as a full-time character in the show, but stated she would return after her exit.

Grey's Anatomy has been well received by critics throughout much of its run and has been included in various critics' year-end top 10 lists. Since its inception, the show has been described by the media outlets as a television "phenomenon" or a "juggernaut", owing to its longevity and dominant ratings. It is considered to have had a significant effect on popular culture and has received numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and a total of 38 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series. The cast members have also received accolades for their individual performances.

Plot

The series follows the life of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), the daughter of the famous general surgeon Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), starting from her acceptance into the surgical residency program at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital (later named Seattle Grace Mercy West and finally, Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital). During her time as an intern, Grey works alongside fellow physicians Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O'Malley (T. R. Knight), who each struggle to balance their personal lives with hectic schedules and stressful residency requirements. During their internship, they are overseen by Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), a senior resident, who works with attending physicians Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), head of neurosurgery and Meredith's love interest, and Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), head of cardiothoracic surgery, who becomes Yang's fiancé. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), Chief of Surgery and attending general surgeon, is the former lover of Ellis Grey. During the first 6 seasons, Burke, O'Malley, and Stevens all depart the series.

The series also shows drama and emotions focused on Meredith's life. In addition to Webber, Burke, and Shepherd, the surgical wing is primarily supervised by Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), Shepherd's ex-wife and the head of OB/GYN, neonatal and fetal surgery who leaves for Los Angeles at the end of season 3; Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), head of plastic surgery; Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), a resident who later becomes head of orthopedic surgery and leaves Seattle for New York at the end of the 12th season; Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), as head of cardiothoracic surgery, who leaves Seattle Grace in season 5 after a disagreement with Torres, with whom she shared a brief relationship; Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), as head of trauma who later marries and divorces Yang; Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), as head of pediatric surgery, and later head of maternal / fetal surgery who marries Torres; Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), as head of cardiothoracic surgery who departs at the end of season 8 but returns in season 14; and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), Derek's sister, who is hired to replace him as head of neurosurgery.

Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), Meredith's paternal half-sister, joins the residency program in season 4 until her death with her love-interest Mark Sloan in the plane crash at the end of season 8, after which Seattle Grace is renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in their memory. Former Mercy-West residents April Kepner (Sarah Drew) and Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) join Seattle Grace following an administrative merger in season 6. Other additions include Leah Murphy (Tessa Ferrer), who departs at the end of season 10 but returns during season 13; Shane Ross (Gaius Charles), who leaves with Yang for Zurich, Switzerland, in the season 10 finale; Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton), who resigns at the end of season 13; Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), who marries Karev; Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), the former love interest of Meredith's maternal half sister Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) who also serves as head of cardiothoracic surgery; and Ben Warren (Jason George), an anesthesiologist turned resident turned firefighter[8] who marries Bailey. Season 11 sees the death of Derek Shepherd, and in season 12, attending cardiovascular surgeon Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson) joins the show. In the early episodes of season 14, Thomas Koracick (Greg Germann), an attending neurosurgeon, begins making appearances and Riggs leaves the series to start a life with Owen's long-lost sister Megan (Abigail Spencer); by the season finale, Robbins, Kepner and Warren also depart the show. Midway through the 16th season, Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood) becomes the new Chief of Pediatric Surgery and Karev made his final appearance on the series. During the 17th season, DeLuca is stabbed while chasing a child abductor and despite efforts of Hunt and Altman, he dies. Avery and Koracick also depart in season 17, with Avery moving to Boston to take over his family's Foundation and Koracick leaving to assist him. In Season 18, Hayes moves back to his home country, Hunt and Altman flee the country, Marsh returns to Minnesota, Webber and Fox go on sabbatical, and Bailey resigns as chief of surgery, leaving Grey as chief of surgery of Grey-Sloan Memorial.

Series synopsis

 
Title card

Grey's Anatomy follows the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings at the fictional Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital (formerly Seattle Grace Hospital, Season 1–6, Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, Season 6–9, and then Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, Season 9–present), as the interns gradually develop into seasoned doctors through the mentoring of their residents, attendings, and chiefs of surgery. Each installment typically begins with a voice-over narrative from Meredith Grey or a season regular, foreshadowing the theme of the episode.[9][10] Each season tends to represent the physicians' academic year, with each completed year qualifying the residents at a level higher in the surgical field.[11] The season typically ends with a dramatic event such as a death or character departure.[12] Most installments revolve around the doctors' everyday lives as surgeons, but the show also emphasizes their personal, as well as their professional, lives.[9] The series often sets aside medical ethics concerns in order to foreground character development and relationships. While the physicians treat the illnesses of their patients, often through complex surgeries, they also display competitive spirit and seek praise.[13]

After arriving at the hospital each morning, residents may argue over who gets the challenge of a certain patient who has arrived that day.[14] A hospital superior assigns cases, often generating tension between the residents and their superiors.[15] Within each episode are shifts from the doctors interacting with their patients, to scenes with their co-workers. Once assigned a case, each doctor diagnoses the patient, with the help of his or her attending physician, which usually leads to surgery.[16] The surgeons tend to form personal connections with their patients, with a patient often conveying a message to his or her doctor, which unintentionally relates to the doctor's private life.[17] The show displays the growth of relationships between the doctors, either friendly or romantic, which may produce conflicts between their personal and professional lives. Emotional scenes are often accompanied by an indie rock background song, something that has become a hallmark of the series.[18] At the conclusion of each episode, one of the characters delivers another voiceover, typically contrasting or following up on the initial one.[10]

  1. ^ Credited as Touchstone Television (2005–2007; seasons 1–3 ) and ABC Studios (2007–2020; seasons 4–16)

Cast, characters, and appearance period

Cast table

  = Main cast (credited)
  = Recurring cast (3+)
  = Guest cast (1–2)
Actor Character Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Ellen Pompeo Meredith Grey M
Patrick Dempsey Derek Shepherd M Does not appear R[a] Does not appear
Sandra Oh Cristina Yang M Does not appear
T. R. Knight George O'Malley M Does not appear G Does not appear
Justin Chambers Alex Karev M Does not appear
Katherine Heigl Izzie Stevens M Does not appear
James Pickens Jr. Richard Webber M
Chandra Wilson Miranda Bailey M
Isaiah Washington Preston Burke M Does not appear G Does not appear
Kate Walsh Addison Montgomery G[b] M[c] SG Does not appear R[d] SG
Sara Ramirez Callie Torres Does not appear R M Does not appear
Eric Dane Mark Sloan Does not appear G M[e][f] Does not appear SG Does not appear
Brooke Smith Erica Hahn Does not appear R G M[g] Does not appear
Chyler Leigh Lexie Grey Does not appear G M Does not appear SG Does not appear
Kevin McKidd Owen Hunt Does not appear M[h]
Jessica Capshaw Arizona Robbins Does not appear R M Does not appear
Kim Raver Teddy Altman Does not appear M[i] Does not appear R M
Jesse Williams Jackson Avery Does not appear R M G
Sarah Drew April Kepner Does not appear R M Does not appear G Does not appear
Camilla Luddington Jo Wilson Does not appear R M
Jerrika Hinton Stephanie Edwards Does not appear R M Does not appear
Gaius Charles Shane Ross Does not appear R M Does not appear
Tessa Ferrer Leah Murphy Does not appear R M Does not appear R Does not appear
Caterina Scorsone Amelia Shepherd Does not appear G SG Does not appear R M
Kelly McCreary Maggie Pierce Does not appear G M[j]
Jason George Ben Warren Does not appear R G R M R G
Martin Henderson Nathan Riggs Does not appear M Does not appear
Giacomo Gianniotti Andrew DeLuca Does not appear G M[k] Does not appear
Greg Germann Tom Koracick Does not appear R M G
Jake Borelli Levi Schmitt Does not appear R[l] M
Chris Carmack Atticus Lincoln Does not appear R M
Richard Flood Cormac Hayes Does not appear R M Does not appear
Anthony Hill Winston Ndugu Does not appear G M
Scott Speedman Nick Marsh Does not appear G Does not appear M
Alexis Floyd Simone Griffith Does not appear M
Harry Shum Jr. Benson Kwan Does not appear M
Adelaide Kane Jules Millin Does not appear M
Midori Francis Mika Yasuda Does not appear M
Niko Terho Lucas Adams Does not appear M


Cast notes

  1. ^ Patrick Dempsey is credited as a guest star for his appearances with exception of 17x13 where he is credited as a special guest star.
  2. ^ Kate Walsh was originally set to appear as a recurring character in six episodes of the first season. However, after the season was cut short, Walsh's remaining five appearances aired in the second season before she was promoted to the main cast in what would have been the second episode of season two.
  3. ^ Kate Walsh is initially credited as a special guest star in season two before being promoted to main cast in 2x07.
  4. ^ Kate Walsh is credited as a special guest star in a recurring capacity.
  5. ^ In season three, Eric Dane credited as a series regular from 3x03 onwards but is uncredited in 3x02.
  6. ^ Eric Dane only appears in the first two episodes of season nine, although credited as a series regular.
  7. ^ Brooke Smith is the only series regular to not hold the role for a full season. She was credited as a series regular from 4x5 to 5x7
  8. ^ Kevin McKidd is initially credited as a guest star in season five before being promoted to main cast in 5x14.
  9. ^ Kim Raver is initially credited as guest star in season six before being promoted to main cast in 6x19.
  10. ^ Kelly McCreary is initially credited as a guest star in season eleven before being promoted to main cast in 11x11.
  11. ^ Giacomo Gianniotti is initially credited as a guest star in season twelve before being promoted to main cast in 12x10.
  12. ^ Jake Borelli is initially credited as a co-star in recurring capacity before being upgraded to a guest star in season fifteen.

Main cast

The five characters who are first introduced in the series premiere, as surgical interns, are Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Izzie Stevens, Alex Karev, and George O'Malley.[19] They are initially mentored by Bailey, a senior resident who becomes the hospital's Chief Resident,[20] and later an attending general surgeon, in season 6.[21] The surgical program is initially headed by Richard Webber, the Chief of Surgery, who has a pre-existing personal relationship with Meredith, having had an affair with her mother when Meredith was a child. In Webber's employ are attending neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd, dubbed 'McDreamy' by the residents, and attending cardiothoracic surgeon Preston Burke. Shepherd is introduced as Meredith's love-interest, while Burke begins a relationship with Yang.[22]

Introduced in the show's second season are obstetrician-gynecologist and neonatal surgeon, Addison Montgomery,[23] plastic surgeon Mark Sloan (nicknamed 'McSteamy' by the interns), from New York,[24] and orthopedic surgeon Callie Torres.[25] Montgomery is Shepherd's estranged wife who arrives in Seattle seeking reconciliation with him,[26] Sloan is Shepherd's former best-friend, who aided the breakdown of his marriage by having an affair with Montgomery,[27] while Torres is introduced as a love-interest, and eventual wife for O'Malley. The penultimate episode of season 3 introduces Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister who unexpectedly decides to pursue her internship at Seattle Grace Hospital after her mother's sudden death, and begins an on-again, off-again relationship with Sloan.[28] Burke and Yang, having been engaged,[29] endeavor to plan their wedding, while Montgomery departs the show in the season 3 finale, relocating to California, seeking a new life. The season three finale also shows Burke's exit from the show, after leaving Yang at the altar on their wedding day.[30]

 
The original lead characters of Grey's Anatomy

Grey, Yang, Stevens, Karev are all promoted to residents, in the season 4 premiere,[31] while O'Malley is forced to repeat his internship year, following his failing of the intern exam.[30] Subsequently, Torres and O'Malley divorce one another, due to him having an affair with Stevens, initially concealing it from Torres.[32][33] Early in the fourth season, cardiothoracic surgeon Erica Hahn becomes Torres's love-interest.[34] During the fifth season, Hahn departs from the series after a disagreement with Torres,[35] and O'Malley retakes his intern exam, passes and joins his fellow physicians as a resident.[36] 2 new characters are introduced, former United States Army trauma surgeon Dr. Owen Hunt,[37] and pediatric surgeon Dr. Arizona Robbins.[38] Hunt becomes a love-interest for Yang,[39] while Robbins begins a relationship with Torres.[40] When Stevens is diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma,[41] she and Karev get married at the conclusion of the fifth season.[42] In addition, Meredith and Shepherd marry, with their vows written on a blue post-it note.[43]

O'Malley dies in the premiere of the sixth season, due to injuries sustained from saving a woman from being hit by a bus,[21] and Stevens later departs Seattle following a communication breakdown with her then-husband Karev following the Seattle Grace merger with Mercy West Hospital.[17] Several new characters are introduced as Seattle Grace Hospital merges with Mercy West Hospital.[44] Residents April Kepner, Jackson Avery, Reed Adamson, and Charles Percy, all transfer to Seattle Grace Hospital from Mercy West Hospital, and Avery has a brief relationship with Lexie, until she reunites with Sloan.[45] Subsequently, Teddy Altman is introduced as the new Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery.[46] In the season 6 finale, a deceased patient's grieving husband embarks on a shooting spree at the hospital, injuring Karev, Shepherd, and Hunt, and killing residents Adamson and Percy.[47][48] In the shooting's emotional reverberations, Yang and Hunt abruptly marry, not wanting to risk separation.[49] Torres and Robbins eventually wed, officiated by Bailey.[50] In season eight, Webber steps down and allocates his job to Hunt.[51] As the final year of residency for Meredith, Yang, Karev, Kepner and Avery is coming to a close, the doctors are all planning to relocate to different hospitals to pursue their specialty careers.[52] However, all plans are put on hold when several doctors from Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital are engaged in a plane crash, which kills Lexie and endangers Meredith, Shepherd, Yang, Sloan and Robbins.[12] At the conclusion of the eighth season, Altman is courteously fired by Hunt as she struggles to decide whether or not to take the job as Chief at the United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM).[12]

In the season 9 premiere, Sloan dies due to sustained injuries from the plane crash following a brief relapse of temporary health ("the surge") and the remaining characters work through their post traumatic stress and Arizona Robbins's loss of limb by way of suing Seattle Grace Mercy West, as the hospital was responsible for putting the surgeons on the plane. The season continues with the struggle of the lawsuit and the animosity that it creates within the hospital, Yang and Hunt eventually divorce in order to help the lawsuit.[53][54] The doctors who were on the plane win the lawsuit, but the payout bankrupts the hospital. They all club together and buy Seattle Grace Mercy West, with the help of the Harper Avery Foundation, and they become the Board of Directors, once being called the "Grey-Sloan 7".[55][56][57] One of the changes they implement is renaming the hospital to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in memory of Lexie Grey and Mark Sloan. Robbins cheats on Torres with a visiting facial reconstruction surgeon and Webber gets electrocuted in the season 9 finale. Grey's Anatomy saw the departure of one of its major players, Cristina Yang, played by Sandra Oh in the season 10 finale. The 11th season also saw the introduction of the new Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Maggie Pierce, Richard's secret daughter with Ellis Grey. Towards the end of the 11th season, Derek Shepherd witnesses a car accident and pulls over to help the injured, but his car is hit by a truck with him inside as he attempts to leave the scene. He later dies at another hospital following the doctors' mishandling of his injuries. The season 12 finale saw the departure of one of the show's longest-running characters, Callie Torres, played by Sara Ramirez. Altman returns to Seattle at the beginning of the 14th season while Robbins and Kepner depart in the season finale to pursue other career opportunities. Season 16 was the last to feature Alex Karev, who moved to Kansas to reunite with Stevens, leaving Grey as the last remaining intern from the original cast. Season 17 saw the departure of Andrew DeLuca, after he was stabbed and ultimately died after pursuing the sex trafficker Opal, and was also the last season to feature both Jackson Avery, who moved to Boston in order to run a family foundation and Tom Koracick, who also moved to Boston to assist Avery, as main characters. Cormac Hayes departed the series in its 18th season after deciding to return to Ireland with his kids.

The Grey's Anatomy (season 18) finale showed Altman and Hunt, with their children, on the run to leave the country for being police fugitives. Bailey knew what Hunt and Altman did, and told them she had to call the police, but gave them enough time to flee.[58] The residency program in Grey Sloan was also cancelled due to lack of doctors.[59] Throughout the season, Meredith was traveling to a hospital in Minnesota, and she ultimately made a decision to take a job in the hospital where she was working, which almost ended her career at Grey Sloan. Grey, at the time, had a new love interest Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman), who was a doctor at Mayo Clinic where Meredith's new job opportunity was. In the very end of season 18, Bailey resigned as chief of surgery and made Meredith Grey take over as interim chief, leaving Grey in a state of shock.[60]

Recurring

With the drama's setting being a hospital, numerous medical personnel appear regularly on the show, as well as several other recurring characters. Joe (Steven W. Bailey), is first shown as the owner of the Emerald City Bar and Grill, across the street from the hospital, which is a common relaxation area for the physicians.[23] Also introduced in the pilot, is the legendary former general surgeon, Dr. Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), Meredith's Alzheimer's-stricken mother, who appeared on the show until her death in season 3.[19] In the first season, Olivia Harper (Sarah Utterback), a nurse who appeared on the show occasionally until getting laid off in the merger with Mercy West,[44] engages in a sexual relationship with O'Malley, giving him syphilis.[23] Serving as an assistant and secretary to the Chief of Surgery, former nurse Patricia (Robin Pearson Rose), has appeared on the show since its debut.[19] Tyler Christian (Moe Irvin), a hospital nurse, makes occasional appearances throughout the series.[19] Within the second season, Bailey becomes pregnant by her husband, Tucker Jones (Cress Williams),[61] who makes frequent appearances on Grey's Anatomy, until their divorce in season 5.[43] While Bailey takes a sabbatical, due to her pregnancy, the cheerful Dr. Sydney Heron (Kali Rocha), fills her position as the resident supervising Grey, Yang, Stevens, Karev and O'Malley,[62] and makes occasional appearances until the fifth season.[33]

Thatcher and Susan Grey (Jeff Perry and Mare Winningham), Meredith's estranged father and step-mother, are introduced in season 2,[63] with Susan making appearances until her death in season 3,[64] and Thatcher continuing to appear in the series until his death in season 15.[65] Adele Webber (Loretta Devine), is introduced as Richard's wife,[66] who eventually acquires Alzheimer's, in the seventh season,[67] and continued to make appearances until her death in season 9.[68] Introduced as Preston's mother, Jane Burke (Diahann Carroll) makes occasional appearances until the fourth season. Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a patient with congestive heart failure, originates as one of Burke's patients,[69] who goes on to propose to Stevens, after weeks of bonding between the two.[70] Facing death, Stevens cuts Duquette's left ventricular assist device (LVAD), to elevate his position on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant list.[71] This ultimately ends in his death season 2 finale, marking his initial departure from the show,[66] and placing Stevens on disciplinary probation.[72] Initially conceived as a veterinarian hired for Shepherd's dog, Doc,[63] Dr. Finn Dandridge (Chris O'Donnell) soon becomes a love-interest for Meredith, while Shepherd is with Montgomery.[73] Dandridge is included in a multi-episode story arc in seasons 2 and 3, consisting of 9 episodes, ending when Meredith reunites with Shepherd.[74]

 
Chyler Leigh's character was introduced in the third season and was promoted to series regular in season 4.

In season 3, George's father, Harold O'Malley (George Dzundza), is diagnosed with cancer and dies, with his wife Louise (Debra Monk) and George's brothers Jerry (Greg Pitts) and Ronny (Tim Griffin) by his side.[75] Louise goes on to appear occasionally, and was last seen in season 8.[76] A ferryboat accident brings along Rebecca Pope (Elizabeth Reaser), who is initially introduced as a pregnant amnesiac Jane Doe patient.[77] Pope eventually embarks on a relationship with Karev, until she is diagnosed with a personality disorder in season 4, and makes her final departure.[34] Amidst the crisis of the ferryboat crash, Meredith falls into the water at the disaster site.[77] Although rescued, she goes into cardiac arrest, waking up in what appears to be limbo.[78] Within the limbo, Meredith is entertained by deceased acquaintances Duquette and Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler), who was killed during a bomb crisis in the second season,[79] until eventually being resuscitated.[80] Seeking a cure to her depression, Meredith undergoes therapy sessions with the hospital psychiatrist, Dr. Katharine Wyatt (Amy Madigan),[81] who in addition, serves as a psychiatrist to Hunt.[82]

The season 4 premiere introduces several new interns, to be trained under Meredith, Yang, Stevens, Karev, and eventually O'Malley.[b] Among them are Dr. Steve Mostow (Mark Saul) who continues to make appearances,[31] and Dr. Sadie Harris (Melissa George) who formed a friendship with Meredith while the two were in college.[83] Harris is fired in the fifth season, due to not actually having a medical degree, and departs the show immediately after.[40] Meredith and Shepherd's relationship reaches a crisis, and the two separate, leaving Shepherd to entertain a relationship with Rose (Lauren Stamile), a nurse.[33] Rose appears frequently until season 5, when Derek and Meredith decide to rekindle their flame.[37] Throughout the fifth season, Stevens experiences full-out hallucinations of Duquette,[38] signaling that she is ill,[84] and once she is lucid, he departs, marking his final appearance.[82] Following the announcement of her relationship with Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), Callie's father Carlos Torres (Hector Elizondo) initially contests his daughter's concurrence in homosexuality,[85] but eventually accepts it,[45] and he reappears several times throughout the series.[50]

The hospital's merging with Mercy West introduces new residents: Dr. Reed Adamson (Nora Zehetner) and Dr. Charles Percy (Robert Baker),[45] but the two are both murdered in the season 6 finale.[47][48] Also introduced in the sixth season is Dr. Ben Warren (Jason George), an anesthesiologist[86] and eventual husband to Dr. Miranda Bailey,[12] as well as Sloan Riley (Leven Rambin), Dr. Mark Sloan's estranged pregnant daughter who seeks kinship with him.[46] Robbins receives a grant to aid children in Malawi, which leads to a falling-out between her and Torres.[87] While in Malawi, Robbins is replaced by Dr. Robert Stark (Peter MacNicol),[88] a pediatric surgeon with an interest in Dr. April Kepner,[89] who appears occasionally until season 8. Following the breakdown of Dr. Torres's relationship with Dr. Robbins, Dr. Torres becomes pregnant with Dr. Sloan's baby.[90] Torres's relationship with Robbins is subsequently mended,[91] and the couple endeavors to raise their new daughter, Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, with the help of Dr. Sloan.[92] Dr. Lucy Fields (Rachael Taylor), an obstetrician-gynecologist, is introduced in the seventh season, and serves as a love-interest for Dr. Alex Karev,[93] until eventually taking up Robbins' job in Africa.[94] Shepherd and Meredith also become new parents, with their adoption of Zola, a baby girl from Malawi.[c][94] Conceived as a patient with a tumor condition who later develops diabetes, Henry Burton (Scott Foley) befriends Dr. Altman and eventually joins her in marriage only to get treated using her medical insurance,[95] until he dies while undergoing heart surgery in season 8.[96]

In the season 9 premiere, interns Dr. Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), Dr. Shane Ross (Gaius Charles), Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton), Dr. Leah Murphy (Tessa Ferrer) and Dr. Heather Brooks (Tina Majorino) are introduced.[97][98][99] Steven Culp and William Daniels play Dr. Parker and Dr. Craig Thomas, respectively.[100][101] Dr. Parker is Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Dr. Craig Thomas (William Daniels) is an attending cardiothoracic surgeon at Mayo Clinic, where Cristina worked temporarily. Dr. Alana Cahill (Constance Zimmer)[102] introduced in season 9 is appointed to cut costs at the hospital and she eventually decides the best course of action would be to seek out a new buyer[103] until the 4 crash survivors and Torres on the behalf of Sloan pool their money together in a bid to purchase the hospital themselves. Kepner starts dating a paramedic named Matthew Taylor (Justin Bruening)[104] and they form a deep relationship over the course of seasons 9 and 10 and she eventually agreed to marry before reconciling with Avery in the middle of her wedding ceremony to Matthew.[105] Lauren Boswell (Hilarie Burton) is introduced as a craniofacial surgeon consulting on a case at Grey Sloan Memorial[106][107] who showed romantic interest in Arizona and eventually ended up having a one-night stand with her.[108]

Dr. Heather Brooks dies in the premiere of season 10. She goes to search for Dr. Webber and finds him lying in the basement of the hospital. Trying to save Dr. Webber, she accidentally steps into a puddle and electrocutes herself while hitting her head as she falls.[109] Also introduced in season 10 was Dr. Karev's estranged father Jimmy Evans (James Remar)[110] who tries to form a relationship with his son but fails repeatedly, and dies in a botched surgery.[111][112] The conclusion of season 10 has Cristina leaving Grey Sloan for Dr. Burke's job as head of Klausman Institute for Medical Research in Zurich, while Dr. Ross makes a last-minute decision to follow her in order to study under her. Dr. Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary)[113] unknowingly drops a bombshell that she is the child of Dr. Webber and the late Dr. Grey, and was given up at birth for adoption. Dr. Meredith Grey has to accommodate another half-sister in her life.[114] Also, Dr. Yang privately gives her shares in the hospital to Dr. Karev, also giving him her seat on the board. But Dr. Webber all but promises the seat to Dr. Bailey, so the board has to decide between them. Season 11 begins with new surgical residents coming to the hospital. Introduced in season 11 is Dr. Nicole Herman (Geena Davis),[115] who is Chief of Fetal Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial. Dr. Herman selects Robbins for a fetal surgery fellowship and becomes her mentor. Herman features in a 12-episode arc before departing in episode 14.[116][117]

Production and development

Conception

Shonda Rhimes wanted to make a show that she would enjoy watching,[118] and thought it would be interesting to create a show about "smart women competing against one another".[119]

When asked how she decided to develop a medical drama, Rhimes responded:

I was obsessed with the surgery channels... My sisters and I would call each other up and talk about operations we'd seen on the Discovery Channel. There's something fascinating about the medical world—you see things you'd never imagine, like the fact that doctors talk about their boyfriends or their day while they're cutting somebody open. So when ABC asked me to write another pilot, the [operating room] seemed like the natural setting.[120]

The series was pitched to ABC Entertainment, who gave the green light. The show was picked up as a mid-season replacement for Boston Legal in the 2005 television season.[121] Francie Calfo, executive vice president of development at ABC Entertainment, commented that ABC was looking for a medical show that was unlike the others airing at the time. She pointed out:

Medical shows are hard, and it was hard trying to figure out where ours could be different. But where everybody else is speeding up their medical shows, [Rhimes] found a way to slow it down, so you get to know the characters. There's definitely a strong female appeal to it.[119]

ER is high-speed medicine. The camera flies around, adrenaline is rushing. My show is more personal. The idea for the series began when a doctor told me it was incredibly hard to shave her legs in the hospital shower. At first, that seemed like a silly detail. But then I thought about the fact that it was the only time and place this woman might have to shave her legs. That's how hard the work is.

—Rhimes on the creation of Grey's Anatomy[120]

While creating characters, as well as writing the first script, the series' writers had no character descriptions in mind, and hoped to cast the best actor available for each part. Rhimes has said that if the network had not allowed her to create characters this way, she would have been hesitant about moving forward with the series.[120] Female roles, in particular, were developed as multi-faceted characters.

Rhimes offered her insight:

I wanted to create a world in which you felt as if you were watching very real women. Most of the women I saw on TV didn't seem like people I actually knew. They felt like ideas of what women are. They never got to be nasty or competitive or hungry or angry. They were often just the loving wife or the nice friend. But who gets to be the bitch? Who gets to be the three-dimensional woman?[120]

 
The cover of the book after which Grey's Anatomy was named.

The show's title, Grey's Anatomy, was devised as a play on words: a reference to both Henry Gray's classic English medical textbook, Gray's Anatomy (first published in 1858 and still in print), and the title character Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo).[122][123][124][125] Before the series debuted on March 27, 2005, a few early releases were shown to close friends and family of the producers and actors. The show was scheduled to run in the Boston Legal time slot for 4 weeks.[119]

The show's high ratings and viewership resulted in ABC keeping it in that slot for the remainder of the season.[119] ABC Entertainment President, Steve McPherson, commented on the scheduling change: "Ultimately we decided that, without having adequate lead time or marketing dollars to devote to moving either show so late in the season, we'd continue to let [Grey's Anatomy] build on its tremendous momentum through May."[126] Prior to broadcast, it was announced that the show's title would be changed from Grey's Anatomy to Complications, although this did not take place.[127]

Production team

Grey's Anatomy is produced by ShondaLand, in association with The Mark Gordon Company, and ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone Television).[94] Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Krista Vernoff, Mark Gordon, Rob Corn, and Mark Wilding have all served as executive producers throughout the course of the series.[128] In subsequent seasons, Steve Mulholland, Kent Hodder, Nancy Bordson, James D. Parriott, and Peter Horton have also been executive producers, with Allan Heinberg joining the show in 2006 in this role.[128] As of season eight, the executive producers were Rhimes, Beers, Gordon, Vernoff, Corn, Wilding, and Heinberg.[129]

Rhimes is the series head writer, or its most prolific writer. She often promotes the show by answering fan questions on her Twitter account.[130] Other members of the writing staff are Vernoff, Wilding, Peter Nowalk, Stacy McKee, William Harper, Zoanne Clack, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, and Debora Cahn.[128] From the second through seventh seasons, the writers maintained a blog entitled Grey Matter, where the writer of an episode discussed background of the writing.[131]

Directors vary by episode, with Rob Corn directing most frequently, followed by Tom Verica. Horton, Edward Ornelas, and Jessica Yu have also directed a substantial number of episodes.[128] Cast members Chandra Wilson, Debbie Allen, and Kevin McKidd have each directed multiple episodes.[132]

Grey's Anatomy has been edited by Susan Vaill since the show's inception,[133] and David Greenspan was named an editor in 2006.[134] Casting directors Linda Lowy and John Brace have been a part of the production team since 2005. The production design is led by Donald Lee Harris, assisted by art director Brian Harms, and costume design is led by Mimi Melgaard. Working alongside Melgaard, Thomas Houchins supervises costumes, Ellen Vieira is the makeup artist, and Jerilynn Stevens serves as a hairstylist. The Director of Photography is Herbert Davis. The music coordinator is Danny Lux.[133] Karen Lisa Pike, M.D. is the on-set medical consultant, alongside Linda Klein, an RN.[135] In an interview, Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Grey) stated "We always ask Linda, you know, what is this procedure, what is this surgery, when is this performed, what happens"- various members of the cast spoke of the importance of having real surgeons around especially in learning how to properly hold instruments, how to accurately use medical language and develop their characters in an authentic way; most of the cast members observed real surgery in real life as preparation for their roles. The production staff is part of a Grey's Anatomy softball team that competes against other television shows, such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.[136]

Casting

She brought this energy that felt very fresh. From the beginning, I've been shaping Cristina around Sandra a little bit. One of my favorite things to do is take as much of her dialogue out of a scene as possible because she does so much nonverbally. Then I just watch what she manages to do without having a word to say.

—Rhimes on Oh's audition[137]

Grey's Anatomy used a color-blind casting technique, resulting in a racially diverse ensemble. Each role was cast without the character's race being pre-determined, keeping Rhimes's vision of diversity.[138] The production staff began casting with the program's title character, Dr. Meredith Grey,[120] which Rhimes said was a challenging role to cast.[139] "I kept saying we need a girl like that girl from Moonlight Mile (2002)[a]," said Rhimes, "and after a while, they were like, 'We think we can get that girl from Moonlight Mile."[139] The next to be cast, Sandra Oh (Dr. Cristina Yang), was initially invited to audition for the character of Bailey, but pressed to read for the role of Cristina instead.[140] Many actors read for the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd. Rob Lowe was offered the role, but turned it down as he had already agreed to star in another medical drama Dr. Vegas. When Patrick Dempsey read for the part, "he was just perfect," according to Rhimes.[139]

The only character developed with a racial description in mind was Dr. Miranda Bailey, who is portrayed by Chandra Wilson. Her character was first described as a tiny blonde with curly hair, but when Wilson began speaking, Rhimes reported: "[Wilson] is exactly who Miranda is."[120] James Pickens Jr. was selected to appear as Dr. Richard Webber in the series' pilot and first season.[141] Katherine Heigl wanted to portray Dr. Izzie Stevens as a brunette but was requested to retain her natural blonde for the part.[142] Isaiah Washington, who portrayed Dr. Preston Burke, initially read for the role of Shepherd but was cast as Burke, because the original actor to play Burke had to withdraw.[138] T. R. Knight signed on for the pilot as Dr. George O'Malley, expecting that the role might be short-lived, because he liked that the character was multi-faceted.[143] Rounding out the season 1 cast was Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev, a character who was not originally included in the show's pilot, but added through digital editing and additional scenes.[144][145]

 
Eric Dane originally auditioned for the pilot episode of Grey's Anatomy, but was not cast at that time.

Season 2 marked the introduction of attending doctors Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) and Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez). They were initially cast as recurring characters, but both were given star billing at the opening of season 3.[146][147] Ramirez was cast after ABC executives offered them a role in the network show of their choice;[148] Dane had previously auditioned unsuccessfully for a role in the pilot episode.[147] Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) also joined the show in season 2, after making a guest appearance in the season 1 finale[149]

In October 2006, Washington allegedly insulted Knight with a homophobic slur, during an on-set altercation with Dempsey, and ABC terminated Washington's contract at the end of season 3.[150] Washington returned for a guest appearance in season 10. At the conclusion of season 3, Walsh departed the show to pursue the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice, but continues to make guest appearances.[151]

Chyler Leigh joined the cast as a main character in season 4 as Dr. Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister. Leigh had appeared as a guest-star in the final 2 episodes of season 3.[152] On the selection of Leigh for the role of Lexie, Rhimes said: "Chyler stood out ... It felt like she could be Meredith's sister, but she had a depth that was very interesting."[153]

Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), who first appeared on Grey's Anatomy in season 2, returned as a series regular in season 4.[154] Shortly after the announcement that Smith would be a regular member of the cast, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, reported that her character, Hahn, would depart from Grey's Anatomy on November 6, 2008.[155] E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos asserted that Smith's dismissal from the show had been forced by the ABC network, as part of an attempt to "de-gay" Grey's Anatomy.[156] Rhimes countered these claims, saying that "we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run".[155]

Season 5 introduced actor Kevin McKidd (Dr. Owen Hunt), who was signed as a series regular after originally being cast for a specific story-arc.[157] In addition, Jessica Capshaw (Dr. Arizona Robbins) was originally introduced for a 3-episode arc, but her contract was extended until the end of the season; she became a series regular in the sixth season.[158]

Knight departed the show at the conclusion of season 5, citing an unhappiness with the development and lack of screen-time for his character.[159] Directly following Knight's departure, Entertainment Weekly reported that Heigl had not returned to the set as scheduled after her maternity leave.[160] It was later confirmed that Heigl would not return to the show at all.[161]

Kim Raver, who was cast as recurring character Dr. Teddy Altman in season 6, was given star billing later in the season.[162] Sarah Drew (Dr. April Kepner) and Jesse Williams (Dr. Jackson Avery), who both made their series debuts as recurring characters in the sixth season, and received star-billing in the seventh.[163][164]

The 6 original actors' contracts expired after season 8, but in May 2012, Pompeo, Oh, Chambers, Wilson, Pickens Jr. and Dempsey renewed their contracts with the show for another 2 years.[165] At the conclusion of season 8, Leigh's character Lexie Grey departed from the show at Leigh's request, and with Rhimes's agreement.[166][167] Raver's character Teddy Altman was also written out of the show during the season 8 finale. Rhimes said that Raver had been offered a contract renewal, but declined.[168]

In July 2012, Dane (Sloan) confirmed that he was departing the show to pursue other projects; he made his final appearances in the first 2 episodes of season 9.[169] With the start of season 10, Camilla Luddington, Gaius Charles, Jerrika Hinton and Tessa Ferrer were introduced to the show as series regulars. They were first introduced to the show in season 9 as the new interns. On August 13, 2013, Oh (Cristina) announced that the show's tenth season would be her final one.[170][171] In March 2014, it was announced that Isaiah Washington, who portrayed Preston Burke in the first 3 seasons of the show, would make a guest appearance to coincide with the departure of series regular Sandra Oh, his former on-screen love-interest.[172] Neither Charles's nor Ferrer's contracts were renewed for season 11.[173]

On May 2, 2014, it was announced that, in addition to Pompeo and Dempsey, all the original remaining cast members—apart from Oh—signed 2-year deals, extending their contracts through seasons 11 and 12. Despite joining the series in season 2, Sara Ramirez was on the same negotiation schedule as the season 1 cast and also signed a new 2-year deal.[174][175][176] On April 23, 2015, Dempsey departed the show during the show's 11th season, despite the fact that he still had a year left in his contract.[177] On the night of the season 12 finale, May 19, 2016, Sara Ramirez announced that they would be leaving the show following the decision to not renew their contract.[178]

On January 17, 2018, it was announced by ABC that Ellen Pompeo's contract had been renewed through season 16. Not only did the contract renewal insure that Pompeo will return as Meredith Grey, but it made her a producer of Grey's Anatomy and a co-executive producer of Station 19. The deal made Pompeo the highest-paid actress currently on a dramatic TV series, with her making $575,000 per episode and over $20 million yearly.[179] On March 8, 2018, it was announced that series regulars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew would not be returning for season 15 after executive producers decided to let them go.[180] In May 2018, it was confirmed that Kim Raver, who made returning guest appearances in season 14, would once again become a series regular, beginning with season 15.[181] In January 2020, Justin Chambers announced that he had departed the series and that his final episode had aired on November 14, 2019.[182] In March 2021, Giacomo Gianniotti departed the series after wanting to pursue new things such as directing.[183] In May 2021, Jesse Williams and Greg Germann both left the main cast, although Germann is expected to remain on the show in a guest capacity.[184][185] In September 2021, it was announced that Kate Walsh would be returning as Addison Montgomery for multiple episodes in season 18.[186] In July 2022, it was announced that Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, Adelaide Kane, Midori Francis and Harry Shum Jr. joined the cast as series regular for the nineteenth season.[187] In August 2022, it was announced that Ellen Pompeo will appear in only eight episodes of the upcoming nineteenth season having her role reduce, because she is set to star in Hulu’s Orphan limited series, but she will continue to narrate the episodes and will remain an executive producer.[188]

Filming locations and techniques

 
The Space Needle, in Seattle, is the background to many exterior shots.

Rhimes considered setting the medical drama in her hometown, Chicago, but eventually decided to go with Seattle, to distinguish Grey's Anatomy from the Chicago-based series ER.[139]

Fisher Plaza, which is the headquarters building of the former Fisher Communications (since merged into Sinclair Broadcasting Group) and SBG's ABC-affiliated KOMO radio and television stations in Seattle, is used for some exterior shots of Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. In particular, air ambulances land on the KOMO-TV news copter's helipad. This suggests the hospital is close to the Space Needle (which is directly across the street from Fisher Plaza), the Seattle Monorail, and other local landmarks.

However, the hospital used for most other exterior and a few interior shots is not in Seattle; these scenes are shot at the VA Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills, California, and occasional shots from an interior walkway above the lobby show dry California mountains in the distance.[189] The exterior of Meredith Grey's house, also known as the Intern House, is real. In the show, the address of Grey's home is 613 Harper Lane, but this is not an actual address. The physical house is located at 303 W. Comstock St., on Queen Anne, Seattle, Washington. Most scenes are taped at The Prospect Studios in Los Feliz, just east of Hollywood, where the Grey's Anatomy set occupies 6 sound stages. Some outside scenes are filmed at the Warren G. Magnuson Park in Seattle. Several props used are working medical equipment, including the MRI machine.[190]

When asked about operating room scenes, Sarah Drew said:

We work with bovine organs, which is cow's organs, The smell is repulsive and makes us all gag. And we use an actual soldering tool to solder the organs. It smells like burning flesh. There's also a lot of silicone and blood matter, red jello mixed with blood and chicken fat. It's pretty gross.[191]

Costumes are used to differentiate between attending surgeons, who wear navy blue scrubs, and residents, who wear light blue scrubs.[192] The series is filmed with a single-camera setup, as are many dramas.[193] Grey's Anatomy is often filmed using the "walk-and-talk" filming technique,[194] popularized on television by series such as St. Elsewhere, ER, and The West Wing.[195]

Broadcast history

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankRating
First airedLast aired
19March 27, 2005 (2005-03-27)May 22, 2005 (2005-05-22)811.6
227September 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15)512.5
325September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21)May 17, 2007 (2007-05-17)712.1
417September 27, 2007 (2007-09-27)May 22, 2008 (2008-05-22)910.4
524September 25, 2008 (2008-09-25)May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)109.6
624September 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)119.0
722September 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)177.5
824September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)May 17, 2012 (2012-05-17)217.6
924September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)187.7
1024September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)118.5
1125September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)May 14, 2015 (2015-05-14)177.8
1224September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19)117.9
1324September 22, 2016 (2016-09-22)May 18, 2017 (2017-05-18)167.3
1424September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)May 17, 2018 (2018-05-17)127.1
1525September 27, 2018 (2018-09-27)May 16, 2019 (2019-05-16)206.5
1621September 26, 2019 (2019-09-26)April 9, 2020 (2020-04-09)307.0
1717November 12, 2020 (2020-11-12)June 3, 2021 (2021-06-03)367.6
1820September 30, 2021 (2021-09-30)May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26)346.4
19TBAOctober 6, 2022 (2022-10-06)TBATBATBA
 
Sara Ramirez served as the lead vocalist for the musical episode.

Grey's Anatomy's first season commenced airing as a mid-season replacement to Boston Legal on March 27, 2005, and concluded on May 22, 2005. The 9-episode season aired on Sundays in the 10:00pm EST time slot, following Desperate Housewives.[119] The show was renewed by ABC for a second season,[196] that aired in the same time slot as season 1. Premiering on September 25, 2005, and concluding on May 15, 2006, the season consisted of 27 episodes.[197] As the original first season order was for 13 episodes, 5 episodes were held for season 2, as ABC decided to close the first season of Grey's Anatomy on the same night as Desperate Housewives' finale.[198] During season 2, Grey's Anatomy produced 2 specials recapping the events of recent episodes, narrated by Bailey, entitled "Straight to the Heart" and "Under Pressure". The show was renewed for a third season, which was relocated to the coveted Thursday 9:00 pm EST time slot. The show has remained on Thursdays since then.[199] Commencing on September 21, 2006, and ending on May 17, 2007, season 3 consisted of 25 episodes.[200] 2 more specials were produced during the show's third season, entitled "Complications of the Heart" and "Every Moment Counts", which were narrated by Bailey and Morgan, respectively.

ABC renewed Grey's Anatomy for a fourth season, which aired from September 27, 2007, to May 22, 2008, and ultimately consisted of 17 episodes.[201][202] Season 4 had a reduced number of episodes, due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which caused production to cease from February to April, leaving the show with no writing staff during that time.[203] At the beginning of season 4, the show aired its final special entitled "Come Rain Or Shine", created to transition viewers from Grey's Anatomy to Private Practice, which was narrated by the editors of People magazine.[204] The show received a renewal for a fifth season,[205] which premiered on September 25, 2008, and concluded on May 14, 2009, consisting of 24 episodes.[206] The series was renewed for a sixth season consisting of 24 episodes,[207] which commenced on September 24, 2009, and ended on May 20, 2010.[208] During season 6, Grey's Anatomy aired a series of webisodes entitled Seattle Grace: On Call at ABC.com.[209] ABC renewed the show for a seventh season,[210] which premiered on September 23, 2010, and concluded on May 19, 2011, consisting of 22 episodes.[211] This was followed up with Seattle Grace: On Call, Seattle Grace: Message of Hope, aired during the beginning of season 7.[133] Also during season 7, the series produced a musical episode entitled "Song Beneath the Song", featuring songs that became famous through their use in Grey's Anatomy.[212] The show received a 24-episode eighth season renewal,[213] which commenced on September 22, 2011, with a 2-hour episode, and ended on May 17, 2012.[214] Grey's Anatomy was renewed for a ninth season,[215] which premiered on September 27, 2012, and ended on May 16, 2013.[216] Grey's Anatomy was renewed for a tenth season on May 10, 2013[217] and premiered on September 27, 2013, with a 2-hour episode, and ended on May 15, 2014.

On May 8, 2014, ABC renewed the series for an 11th season that aired from September 25, 2014, to May 14, 2015.[218] In addition, the show was relocated to the Thursday 8:00 pm EST time slot. After four seasons outside the Top 25 rated shows, Grey's Anatomy was the No. 15 show in the 2013–2014 season, the show's tenth. The show also re-entered the Top 5 shows in the 18–49 viewer demographic. On May 7, 2015, ABC renewed the series for a 12th season that premiered on September 24, 2015, and concluded on May 19, 2016.[219] The 13th season aired from September 22, 2016, to May 18, 2017.[220] The 14th season aired from September 28, 2017, to May 17, 2018. The 15th season aired from September 27, 2018, to May 16, 2019. The 16th season aired from September 26, 2019, to April 9, 2020. The 17th season aired from November 12, 2020, to June 3, 2021. On May 10, 2021, the series was renewed for an 18th season,[221] which premiered on September 30, 2021.[222] On January 10, 2022, the series was renewed for a 19th season,[223] which premiered on October 6, 2022.[224]

Distribution

Grey's Anatomy episodes appear regularly on ABC in the United States. All episodes are approximately 43 minutes and broadcast in both high-definition and standard.[225] The series' episodes are also available for download at the iTunes Store in standard and high-definition qualities,[226] and Amazon Video.[227] ABC Video-On-Demand also releases recent episodes of the show for temporary viewing.[228] Recent episodes are also available at ABC's official Grey's Anatomy website,[229] and on Hulu and Xfinity.[230] In 2009, ABC signed a deal allowing Grey's Anatomy episodes to be streamed on Netflix.[231] Grey's Anatomy is syndicated on Lifetime, with one hour blocks weekdays at 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm EST.[232]

Home media releases

 
An interview with Justin Chambers is on the season 4 DVD.

Since its debut, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released the first 13 seasons on DVD to regions 1, 2, and 4.[233] The season 1 DVD, released on February 14, 2006, features an alternate title sequence, bloopers, behind-the-scenes footage, audio commentaries, and an extended edition of the pilot episode.[234] The season 2 DVD, released on September 12, 2006, which includes extended episodes, an interview with Wilson, deleted scenes, a set tour, a "Q&A" with the cast, and a segment on the special effects creation.[235] The season 3 DVD was released on September 11, 2007, with bonus features including extended episodes, an interview with star Dempsey, audio commentaries, and bloopers.[236]

The season 4 DVD released on September 9, 2008, features an interview with Heigl and Chambers, extended episodes, bloopers, and deleted scenes.[237] The season 5 DVD was released on September 15, 2009, and includes unaired scenes, bloopers, and extended episodes.[238] The season 6 DVD, released on September 14, 2010, features deleted scenes, an extended finale, and bloopers.[239] The season 7 DVD, released on September 13, 2011, includes an extended edition of and a behind-the-scenes featurette on the musical episode, bloopers, as well as deleted scenes.[240] In addition, the season 8 DVD was released on September 4, 2012, with several bonus features and deleted scenes.[233]

The season 9 DVD released on August 27, 2013, with several bonus features and deleted scenes. The season 10 DVD was released on September 2, 2014, with new several bonus features and deleted scenes. The season was officially released on DVD as a 6-disc box-set under the title of Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Tenth Season – Live For The Moments on September 2, 2014. In view of the departure of the character of Cristina Yang in the season finale, the DVD set featured an extended episode Do You Know? and a special feature from Sandra Oh titled "An Immeasurable Gift".[241] Season 11 released on DVD as a 6-disc box set on August 18, 2015, with interviews with new series regular Caterina Scorsone and a special feature for Dempsey's departure, titled "How To Say Goodbye Dr. Derek Shepherd". Season 12 released on DVD as a 6-disc box set on August 30, 2016. Season 13 released on DVD as a 6-disc box set on August 29, 2017.

DVD releases

Season Episodes DVD release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Discs
1 9 February 14, 2006 (2006-02-14)[242] July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10)[243] April 26, 2006 (2006-04-26)[244] 2
2 27 September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12)[245] May 28, 2007 (2007-05-28)[246] January 10, 2007 (2007-01-10)[247] 6
3 25 September 11, 2007 (2007-09-11)[248] September 15, 2008 (2008-09-15)[249] October 31, 2007 (2007-10-31)[250] 7
4 17 September 9, 2008 (2008-09-09)[251] November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)[252] November 5, 2008 (2008-11-05)[253] 5
5 24 September 15, 2009 (2009-09-15)[254] August 23, 2010 (2010-08-23)[255] November 4, 2009 (2009-11-04)[256] 7
6 24 September 14, 2010 (2010-09-14)[257] December 5, 2011 (2011-12-05)[258] November 3, 2010 (2010-11-03)[259] 6
7 22 September 13, 2011 (2011-09-13)[260] May 28, 2012 (2012-05-28)[261] November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02)[262] 6
8 24 September 4, 2012 (2012-09-04)[263] December 3, 2012 (2012-12-03)[264] October 17, 2012 (2012-10-17)[265] 6
9 24 August 27, 2013 (2013-08-27)[266] November 4, 2013 (2013-11-04)[267] October 2, 2013 (2013-10-02)[268] 6
10 24 September 2, 2014 (2014-09-02)[269] November 3, 2014 (2014-11-03)[270] October 8, 2014 (2014-10-08)[271] 6
11 25 August 18, 2015 (2015-08-18)[272] October 5, 2015 (2015-10-05)[273] October 7, 2015 (2015-10-07)[271] 6
12 24 August 30, 2016 (2016-08-30)[274] October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03)[275] November 2, 2016 (2016-11-02)[276] 6
13 24 August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29)[277] October 23, 2017 (2017-10-23)[278] November 8, 2017 (2017-11-08)[279] 6
14 24 October 22, 2018 (2018-10-22)[280] 6
15 25 November 25, 2019 (2019-11-25)[281] 7
16 21 November 30, 2020 (2020-11-30)[282] 5
17 17 November 8, 2021 (2021-11-08)[283] 4

Reception

Critical response

Grey's Anatomy offers a different and perhaps more valuable idea of what it means to be strong: the capacity to suffer terribly, break down completely, and then get up again, confident that you're bigger than the sum of the tragedies you've suffered—because everyone else is, too. The layers of history have grown pretty dense and rich, and the friendships that form around them as the characters suffer and survive is the glue of the series, and what—despite a few inevitable hit-or-miss patches—elevates it to something special.

—Laura Hudson of Wired[284]

Grey's Anatomy has been well received among critics. The show holds an average score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.[285] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave an insight on the series' overwhelming success and the lows, writing that the quality arc is "all over the place". She noted the steady build-up in the first season; the series skyrocketing into a phenomenon in the second season; the gradual dip in season three; and "some seriously bumpy moments" in the fourth and the fifth season, which was interrupted by the writers' strike. VanDerWerff felt that the "climb begins again in season six".[286] Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly in a review wrote, "I believe the show's best season to date is season 2. Let me make it clear that I'm not saying seasons 3 through 9 were bad. In my opinion, there have only been a few lulls in the show's history, and most of them didn't last a full season." adding, "I still enjoy the show, and I'll honestly never stop watching. By any standards, Grey's Anatomy has been successful television, ranking highly in the ratings for nine seasons and entering the cultural lexicon via phrases as cloying yet catchy as 'McDreamy', the show has had its periods of being intensely irritating, and it has had its periods when it seems as if Shonda Rhimes has taken leave of her faculties, but it's also got an amazingly high batting average, particularly with every solid season that passes along in this second act of its run." The site lauded the show saying, "On average, it's been very good TV, filled with interesting, driven characters who run the gamut of professions within the show's hospital setting. It's been, by turns, a good soap, a good romantic comedy, a good medical drama, and a good interpersonal show about an unexpected workplace family."[287]

The first season received positive reviews which steadily built up, with Gary Levin of USA Today calling Grey's Anatomy one of the top shows on television.[288] The New York Daily News named Grey's Anatomy a "winner", whereas Newsday expressed a positive opinion by stating "You simply can't stop watching." The Washington Post's Tom Shales was critical of season one, finding it reminiscent of ER and commenting that: "The show is much more a matter of commercial calculation than an honest attempt to try something fresh and different."[289] Shortly after its initial airing, the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan called Grey's Anatomy the new Friends (a concluded National Broadcasting Company (NBC) sitcom following the lives of a group of young adults, that for all of its 10-year run was in the top-5 for viewer ratings).[118] The second season received high critical acclaim: top critics like Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club called the show a "phenomenon", adding the show was, "one of the best TV shows around", while Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly later during the tenth season called the second "the show's best season to date". However, Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures opined that Grey's Anatomy is a mere combination of Scrubs, ER, Sex and the City and The Love Boat.[290] It further garnered positive reviews: Christopher Monfette of IGN added "The second season of this medical drama expertly wove its signature elements of complex relationships, whimsical banter and challenging life-lessons; all to a montage-fetish, indie-rock soundtrack."[291] Todd Gilchrist, also from IGN, called the season "terrific" adding, "Indeed, one of the best currently on television. While it remains to be seen what the creators do with it, now that it's become an outright event program, the season demonstrates that Rhimes and co. know what to do with the opportunities presented them. whether you're male or female, this is the kind of entertainment that small-screen devotees and folks fed up with television need to see."[292]

 
Critics have highlighted Ellen Pompeo's due for an Emmy Award on multiple occasions.[293]

The title character of Grey's Anatomy, Meredith, has received both overwhelmingly positive and weary feedback by critics along the course of the show, with the development of the character garnering praise from majority critics. Earlier reactions for Meredith were mixed; in a 2006 review, Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times dubbed to her as "the heroine of Grey's Anatomy".[294] A reviewer for BuddyTV praised the distinct uniqueness in the character calling Meredith an "unconventional heroine" adding that the character was, "Neither black nor white but always ... wait for it ... many shades of grey. The reviewer and to add that even in her lighter moments, she has still been "dark and twisty."[295] The sentiment was shared by Glenn Diaz who remarked, "You gotta love Mer when she's gloomy." When Pompeo did not receive a nomination 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, for her work as Meredith. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Pompeo, "has worked very hard ... to make Meredith Grey an interesting character", and should have received a nomination.[296] IGN's Monfette, less impressed by the character, criticized her storyline as "some bizarrely under-developed sub-plot about depression and giving Derek a season's worth of reconsidering to do."[291] Robert Rorke of the New York Post was critical of Meredith's relationship with Derek Shepherd, writing: "She used to be the queen of the romantic dilemmas, but lately, she's been a little dopey, what with the endless 'McDreamy' soliloquies."[297] The development of the character has received praise from critics. Reviewing the first part of the eighth season, TV Fanatic wrote: "this season belongs to Meredith Grey. She is the heart and soul of the show and has been outstanding. This is a character that used to be so dark and twisty and has now grown into a more mature woman. Ellen Pompeo has been at the top of her game this season." Rick Porter reviewing the episode "How to Save a Life" from the 11th season for Zap2it wrote, "Without Meredith, and without one of Pompeo's strongest performances in her long time on the show, "How to Save a Life" would have run the risk of coming across as a baldly manipulative death episode, the likes of which the show has done several times before. He added "'How to Save a Life" may not be the ideal Emmy-submission episode for Ellen Pompeo, considering Meredith is off screen for more than half of it. But it's among the best work she's ever done on the show."[298] Janalen Samson of BuddyTV lauded the Meredith's development throughout the series saying, "When one considers how this character has grown over eleven seasons, it really is amazing. Kudos to Ellen Pompeo for her fine work. She's actually done the impossible, because I actually care what happens to Meredith Grey."[295] Reviewing the season 12 premiere, "Sledgehammer", critics including Alex Hawkins of the Western Gazette again highlighted Pompeo's being due for an Emmy Award.

The majority of the supporting cast of Grey's Anatomy have been well received as well, with the New York Post's Rorke deeming Stevens to be "the heart-and-soul" of Grey's Anatomy, whereas Eyder Peralta of the Houston Chronicle was critical of her character development, stating: "[She's] the reason I don't watch Grey's Anatomy anymore."[299] Kelli Catana of The Huffington Post named Yang "the best damn character" and deemed "the Meredith/Yang relationship the most true friendship on network television."[300] Television Without Pity writer Lauren Shotwell claimed Yang is "the only one of these five [residents] that regularly acts like an actual doctor". Analyzing Alex Karev, Rachel Simon called him "underrated", and she pointed out that his personal growth never seems to get acknowledged, as "Alex has evolved, slowly and realistically, into a genuinely good person whose faults don't miraculously disappear, but take a backseat to much better qualities."[301] Robert Bianco of USA Today said Dempsey has a "seemingly effortless way of humanizing Derek's 'dreamy' appeal with ego and vanity".[302] His friendship with Mark Sloan has been well received. Victor Balta said "they've demonstrated an easy chemistry that makes for some of the great comic relief around Seattle Grace Hospital."[303] Addison Montgomery was deemed "sassy and bright and interesting."[304] TV Guide said of Walsh's stint on Grey's Anatomy that she "adds spice to an already hot show."[305] Callie Torres, after having previously received mixed reviews, was praised for her bisexual storyline. Critics added that the character was anchored by stellar performances by Sara Ramirez. Lexie Grey, having initially been criticized, became a critics' favorite in the series. Alex Keen of The Trades wrote that Lexie's "presence and confidence have increased quite a bit ... and actress, Chyler Leigh, does a fantastic job of making this progression feel seamless. Since the series has defused the tension between Little Grey and Big Grey (aka Meredith), Lexie has clear sailing through the season and steals the show as one of the best current characters on the series."[306]

With the departure of several cast members throughout the seasons, many new characters have been added to the drama's ensemble. McKidd and Capshaw were referred to as "fresh additions" to the series, by Monfette of IGN.[307] Matt Roush of TV Guide commented: "Hunt is the most encouraging thing to happen to Grey's Anatomy in quite a while."[308] Matt Mitovich of TV Guide noted that Robbins "quickly established herself as a fan favorite",[309] describing her as "a breath of fresh air in the often-angsty halls of Seattle Grace.[310] On April Kepner and Jackson Avery, Courtney Morrison of TVFanatic wrote, "April has grown since her character was introduced ... she's honest. A girl with principles is a girl you want to do well." He described her and Avery as "a couple for whom viewers can root". Speaking of the new cast members, in addition to the remaining original ones, Robert Bianco from USA Today called them the show's "best ensemble in years".[311]

Regarding season three, Bill Carter of The New York Times called Grey's Anatomy "television's hottest show", adding: "[No show] is expected to challenge Grey's Anatomy for prime-time pre-eminence."[312] Contrasting with Carter's view, Monfette of IGN said that it speedily found itself "mired in the annoying and absurd", adding: "This third season may very well represent a case of over-writing a concept that has, perhaps tragically, run bone-dry on narrative fuel."[291] At the conclusion of season three, Entertainment Weekly's Gregory Kirschling said "the show lacked a defining happy, warm-gooseflesh moment", adding that the season "didn't leave you dying for the [next] season premiere".[313] Speaking of the fourth season, Laura Burrows of IGN said the series became "a little more than mediocre, but less than fantastic", adding: "This season proved that even strong chemistry and good acting cannot save a show that suffers from the inevitable recycled plot."[314]

In contrast to the moderately negative feedback the third and fourth seasons received, Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger said of the fifth season: "Overall, it feels more like the good old days than Grey's Anatomy has in a long time." Misha Davenport from the Chicago Sun-Times said season five "hits on all the things the show does so well", adding: "There is romance, heartbreak, humor and a few moments that will move fans to tears."[315] Brian Lowry of Variety, less impressed, opinionated that the season five displayed the show running out of storylines.[316] Speaking of the sixth season, Bianco of USA Today wrote: "Grey's has always loved grand gestures. You like them or you don't; the only real question is whether the show pulls them off or it doesn't. This year, it did."[317]

The series has a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on five reviews for season seven.[318] In response to the season, Bianco from USA Today commented: "Happily, it now seems to have landed on solid ground." Also of the seventh season, Entertainment Weekly's Jennifer Armstrong said: "It's in the shooting's emotional reverberations that the show is regenerating after the past few hit-and-miss seasons," whereas Verne Gay of Newsday commented: "Unfortunately, they've settled on far-too-easy and facile answers for the most part."[319] HitFix gave a positive review saying that, "season seven overall has been one of the show's strongest ever." and added, "There was a time when Grey's Anatomy was this show where I suffered through a lot of stuff that made me cringe to get to those genius melodrama moments it could do so well. Over the last couple of years, it's evolved into a show that's much more consistent in tone, where it may not move me as often as it did in the early years but also very rarely makes me question my reasons for watching."[320] Speaking of season eight, Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly called it a "so-so season",[321] and Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it "emotional".[322] Also acknowledging the fan base, Verne Gay of Newsday wrote "Grey's has had a good season and has an intensely loyal fan base to prove it." regarding the eighth season.[323]

The ninth season received more positive reviews, Rob Salem of Toronto Star called it "a solid return to form."[324] Praising the friendship between Meredith and Cristina of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "There's still one good reason to keep watching: Where else can you find such deep friendships between female co-workers".[325] The tenth season was also marked with praise, Annie Barrett for Entertainment Weekly wrote "There's true sorrow here along with the passion, which keeps their dynamic so intriguing to me."[326] Caroline Siede from The A.V. Club wrote in her review for the tenth season "At its best, Grey's Anatomy is about everyday bravery, sacrifice, and courage. At its worst, it's a melodramatic, moralizing soap opera. Both sides are on display as the show heads confidently into its 10th season."[327] Many sources, including Rachel Simon of Bustle and Nicole Pomarico of Wetpaint, claimed that Sandra Oh's performance during her final season on Grey's Anatomy is worthy of an Emmy nomination.[328][329]

Bryce Olin of Netflix ranked Grey's 9th among the 50 Best TV Shows on Netflix stating, "It's a tough call, but based on Grey's casting choices and revolutionary portrayals of female doctors in the series, I'm willing to argue that Grey's Anatomy is the best medical drama of all time. Obviously, Shonda Rhimes didn't reinvent the wheel with the series, but there's no denying its popularity." adding, "I understand its significance in the pop culture sphere." He also stated that the show could go higher in the ranks with the upcoming season stating, "Apparently, Grey's Anatomy fans are passionate about their show, although it seems like they've been closeted for the last few years. I'd love to move Grey's Anatomy even higher on the ranking, but I'll have wait until the eleventh season comes to Netflix."[330][331]

The show was criticized for its handling of a controversy: The Grey's Anatomy scandal revolved around actor Isaiah Washington using a homophobic slur on set. Mainstream media coverage scapegoated this scandal as “black masculinity for perpetrating homophobia, thus containing both sexual and racial difference in the name of tolerance.”[332]

Critics' top 10 lists

Critics included Grey's Anatomy in top ten lists for five of its 14 seasons; these are listed below in order of rank.

Impact

Grey's Anatomy makes an impact on how people's perception of the world is created.

—Brian Quick, University of Illinois[338]

 
Grey's Anatomy introduced the "Mc-labeling" surge when it dubbed Patrick Dempsey's character, Derek Shepherd, "McDreamy".

Grey's Anatomy has been considered an impact on culture by Entertainment Weekly's executive editor, Lori Majewski, with her writing: "Grey's Anatomy isn't just a show, it's a phenomenon. When [the] final shows air, every place in New York City is empty. You could get a table at the best restaurants."[339] The Daily Beast's Jace Lacob also considered the show an impact, comparing its success to that of Friends, and calling it a "cultural phenomenon".[340] Steve Sternberg, a media analyst with Magna Global USA explained that the show appeals to a broad audience, writing: "Roughly 80 percent of households during prime time only have one TV set on. People are looking for shows they can watch with other household members."[119] In its initial seasons, Grey's Anatomy introduced a "Mc-labeling" surge, which started when various characters dubbed Dempsey's character "McDreamy". Canadian newspaper the National Post considers this trend a "phenomenon".[341] Analyzing the show's impact on culture, Dessylyn Arnold of Yahoo! Voices noted that the "Mc-labeling" trend has been parodied on other shows including ER and Degrassi: The Next Generation.[342] Mark Lawson of The Guardian has credited Grey's Anatomy with popularizing the "songtage", or musical montage segments.[18] Parodying this, MADtv spoofed the show in 2006, making fun of the series' emotional scenes including those accompanied by a musical montage.[343]

Grey's Anatomy has also been credited to helping redefine "good" television; The A.V. Club writes, "Since The Sopranos burst onto the scene, we've too often classified a show as "good" based on how closely it adhered to the dark, violent, male-centric template set out by that particular show. It's time for that to end. At its best, Grey's Anatomy has been among the very best shows on TV, and at its worst, it's been at least fascinating to watch. To write it off is to unnecessarily narrow the definition of what good TV can be, to limit what the medium is capable of. TV is at its best when it emotionally connects, and even when it seems to be otherwise merrily hurtling off a cliff, Grey's Anatomy is nothing but emotional connection, which is more than other, more consistently better shows can say."[286] The series placed at No. 66 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list in 2007,[344] and was declared the third-highest rated show for the first ten years of the IMDb (2002–2012).[345] The show's premise has inspired the creation of A Corazón Abierto, a Colombian adaptation of Grey's Anatomy,[346] which in turn spawned a Mexican version of the same name.[347]

An additional study conducted by Brian Quick of the University of Illinois indicated that the show's portrayal of doctors being "smart, good looking, capable, and interesting", leads viewers to associating real-world doctors to be that way.[338] Surgical resident Karen Zink, M.D., deemed the show's portrayal of interns inaccurate, adding: "None of [the characters] have bags under their eyes. They all leave the hospital dressed cute, with their hair done and makeup on. That is so far away from the reality of interns. You are just dragging your butt, trying to stay alive. You don't have time to do your hair. You don't have time to put on makeup. Every surgical intern has bags under their eyes."[348]

In 2011, a woman residing in Sheboygan, Wisconsin became unresponsive due to an asthma attack. Unable to wait for an ambulance, her daughter and a friend performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on her, which they learned from Grey's Anatomy.[349] In 2017, an Israeli woman saved her husband by performing cardiac massage she learned from Grey's Anatomy,[350] The woman performed cardiac massage for 20 minutes before medical personal arrived and transferred the husband to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The mid-season premiere of the 14th season was entitled "1-800-799-7233", the National Domestic Violence Hotline; upon release on January 18, 2018, the move was received favorably and viewers variously changed their Twitter usernames to the same and used the platform to bring awareness to both the hotline and the issue of domestic abuse.[351]

U.S. television ratings

Grey's Anatomy has received high viewership and ratings since its debut. The first 4 seasons of the program each ranked in the top 10 among all viewers, reaching its peak Nielsen ratings in the second season, attracting an average of 19.44 million viewers per episode, and ranking at No. 5 overall. Following the show's time-slot being relocated, overall rankings steadily declined, dropping below the top 10 in its fifth season. Grey's Anatomy made its greatest fall from its sixth to seventh season, slipping from #16 to No. 31. The series is on a steady decline in terms of overall viewership and rankings, yet Grey's Anatomy still holds value in charts when numbers are pulled from the digital video recorder (DVR). It was the most recorded show between 2007 and 2011, based on cumulative totals, and has been for several years in a row.[352]

The most-watched episode of the series is "It's the End of the World", with 37.88 million viewers, aided by a lead-in from Super Bowl XL.[353] Grey's Anatomy was the most expensive program on television in the 2007–08 season measured by advertising revenue, with earnings of US$400,000 per 30 seconds.[354] The show was named the fourth (behind Desperate Housewives, Two and a Half Men, and American Idol),[355] and the fifth-highest (behind Glee, Two and a Half Men, The X Factor and American Idol) revenue-earning show, with the earnings of US$2.67 million and US$2.75 million per half hour in 2011 and 2012 respectively.[356] While Grey's Anatomy is no longer ranked in the top numbers for overall ratings, the show's ranking in the key 18–49 demographic has remained high. As of season 8, the series is the highest-rated drama on television in the target demographic.[357] In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that Grey's Anatomy was "most popular in a swath of the middle of the country, particularly in areas with a lower percentage of college graduates".[358]

Below is a table of Grey's Anatomy's seasonal rankings in the U.S. television market, based on average total viewers per episode. Each U.S. network television season starts in September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

U.S. television ratings for Grey's Anatomy
Season Timeslot (EST) No. of
episodes
Premiere Finale TV season Overall rank 18–49 rank Overall viewership
Date Viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions)
1
Sunday 10:00 p.m.
9
March 27, 2005
16.25[359]
May 22, 2005
22.22[360] 2004–05 No. 9[361] No. 5[362] 18.46[361]
2 27
September 25, 2005
18.98[363]
May 15, 2006
22.50[364] 2005–06 No. 5[365] No. 4[366] 19.44[365]
3
Thursday 9:00 p.m.
25
September 21, 2006
25.41[367]
May 17, 2007
22.57[368] 2006–07 No. 8[369] No. 3[370] 19.17[369]
4 17
September 27, 2007
20.93[371]
May 22, 2008
18.09[372] 2007–08 No. 10[373] No. 3[374] 15.92[373]
5 24
September 25, 2008
18.29[375]
May 14, 2009
17.12[376] 2008–09 No. 12[377] No. 3[378] 14.52[377]
6 24
September 24, 2009
17.03[379]
May 20, 2010
16.13[380] 2009–10 No. 16[381] No. 6[382] 13.55[381]
7 22
September 23, 2010
14.32[383]
May 19, 2011
9.89[384] 2010–11 No. 31[385] No. 9[386] 11.41[385]
8 24
September 22, 2011
10.38[387]
May 17, 2012
11.44[388] 2011–12 No. 32[389] No. 10[390] 10.92[389]
9 24
September 27, 2012
11.73[391]
May 16, 2013
8.99[392] 2012–13 No. 26[393] No. 10[393] 11.07[393]
10 24
September 26, 2013
9.27[394]
May 15, 2014
8.92[395] 2013–14 No. 15[396] No. 5[396] 12.12[396]
11
Thursday 8:00 p.m.
25
September 25, 2014
9.81[397]
May 14, 2015
8.33[398] 2014–15 No. 31[399] No. 13[399] 11.57[399]
12 24
September 24, 2015
9.55[400]
May 19, 2016
8.19[401] 2015–16 No. 21[402] No. 8[402] 11.20[402]
13 24
September 22, 2016
8.75[403]
May 18, 2017
7.92[404] 2016–17 No. 19[405] No. 9[405] 10.88[405]
14 24
September 28, 2017
8.07[406]
May 17, 2018
7.60[407] 2017–18 No. 20[408] No. 11[408] 10.83[408]
15 25
September 27, 2018
6.81[409]
May 16, 2019
5.99[410] 2018–19 No. 27[411] No. 8[411] 9.87[411]
16
Thursday 8:00 p.m. (1–9)
Thursday 9:00 p.m. (10–21)
21
September 26, 2019
6.51[412]
April 9, 2020
7.33[413] 2019–20 No. 22[414] No. 6[414] 9.39[414]
17
Thursday 9:00 p.m.
17
November 12, 2020
5.93[415]
June 3, 2021
4.76[416] 2020–21 No.19[417] No.5[417] 8.16[417]
18 20
September 30, 2021
4.77[418]
May 26, 2022
4.19[419] 2021–22 No.34[420] No.8[420] 6.42[420]
19 TBA
October 6, 2022
3.80[421] TBA TBA 2022–23 TBA TBA TBA

Awards and accolades

Grey's Anatomy has won a number of awards. As of July 2012, the show has been nominated for 25 Primetime Emmy Awards, having been nominated for at least 1 every year, except in 2010.[193] At the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2005, Oh was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, which she went on to be nominated for every year until 2009, and Horton was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.[193] The following year, at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, which they were nominated for again in 2007.[193] Also in 2006, Wilson was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, which she went on to be nominated for every year until 2009, and Kyle Chandler was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.[193] The 58th ceremony also honored Rhimes and Vernoff, who were both nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.[193] Rhimes, whose career kicked off in 1995, has since produced yet another ABC series, Scandal, which began on air in 2012 and ended in 2019. Beginning in 2005, Rhimes has been continually nominated for numerous awards, including 3 Emmy Awards: first in 2006 for a dramatic series and a separate nomination for writing a dramatic series, followed by a third nomination in 2007 for a dramatic series.[193]

 
Katherine Heigl is the only star-billed cast member to have received a Primetime Emmy Award

In 2007, at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, Heigl won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, while Knight was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.[193] Numerous guest actresses have been nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, including Burton in 2006 and 2007, Christina Ricci in 2006, Reaser in 2007, Diahann Carroll in 2008, and Sharon Lawrence in 2009, but the only actress to have won the award is Devine in 2011, who was nominated again in 2012.[193] The show has also been nominated for 13 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, having won 3 of them: Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic), and Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special.[193]

The show has received 10 Golden Globe Award nominations since its premiere. At the 63rd Golden Globe Awards, in 2006, the series was nominated for Best Drama Series,[422] Dempsey was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series,[422] which he was nominated for again in 2007,[423] and Oh won the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film.[424] The following year, at the 64th Golden Globe Awards, in 2007, Pompeo was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series,[423] and the show won Best Drama Series.[425] At the 65th Golden Globe Awards, in 2008, Heigl was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film,[426] while the series in whole was nominated for Best Drama Series.[426]

The series has won People's Choice Awards for Best Drama 5 times in 2007, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and has been nominated for several other People's Choice Awards, with nominations received by Oh[427] as well as multiple wins from Dempsey,[428] Pompeo winning in recent years 2013 and 2015,[429][430] Heigl,[428] Wilson,[428] Demi Lovato,[427] for guest starring, and the drama in whole for Favorite TV Drama.[431] In 2007, Rhimes and the female cast were the recipient of the Women in Film Lucy Award, in recognition of the excellence and innovation in the show as a creative work that has enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.[432] The series has been honored with numerous NAACP Image Award nominations, many having been won, including 5 awards for Outstanding Drama Series.[433] Grey's Anatomy has also received several Screen Actors Guild Awards, with nominations received by Dempsey, as well as wins from Oh,[434] Wilson,[435] and the main cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.[435]

Spin-offs and adaptations

Grey's Anatomy has spawned several spin-offs and adaptations.

Private Practice

 
The cast of Grey's Anatomy was displeased with the network's decision to center the spin-off on Kate Walsh's character.

On February 21, 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported that ABC was pursuing a spin-off medical drama television series for Grey's Anatomy featuring Walsh's character, Addison Montgomery.[151] Subsequent reports confirmed the decision, stating that an expanded two-hour broadcast of Grey's Anatomy would serve as a backdoor pilot for the proposed spin-off. The cast of Grey's Anatomy was reportedly unhappy about the decision, as all hoped the spin-off would have been given to them. Pompeo commented that she felt, as the star, she should have been consulted,[436] and Heigl disclosed that she had hoped for a spin-off for Stevens.[437] The backdoor pilot that aired on May 3, 2007, sees Montgomery take a leave of absence from Seattle Grace Hospital, to visit her best-friend from Los Angeles, Naomi Bennett (Merrin Dungey, later Audra McDonald), a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist. While in Los Angeles, she meets Bennett's colleagues at the Oceanside Wellness Center.[64] The two-hour broadcast entitled "The Other Side of This Life" served as the twenty-second and twenty-third episodes of the third season, and was directed by Michael Grossman, according to Variety.[438] The cast included Amy Brenneman, Paul Adelstein, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Chris Lowell, and Merrin Dungey.[439]

KaDee Strickland's character, Charlotte King, who would be introduced in the spin-off's first-season premiere, did not appear in the backdoor pilot. Her addition to the main cast was announced on July 11, 2007, prior to the commencement of the first season.[440] She did not have to audition for the role, but was cast after a meeting with Rhimes.[441] Also not present in the backdoor pilot was McDonald, due to her character, Naomi Bennett, being portrayed by a different actress, Merrin Dungey. However, on June 29, 2007, ABC announced that Dungey would be replaced, with no reason given for the change.[442] The drama was titled Private Practice, and its premiere episode followed the second part of the season debut of Dancing with the Stars, and provided a lead-in to fellow freshman series Dirty Sexy Money. Pushing Daisies, a third new series for the evening, rounded out the lineup as a lead-in to Private Practice.[201] The series ended its run on January 22, 2013, after 6 seasons.[443][444]

Station 19

On May 16, 2017, Channing Dungey announced at the ABC Upfronts that the network ordered another Grey's Anatomy spin-off, this one focusing on firefighters in Seattle. The series premiered mid-season in 2018. Stacy McKee, long-term Grey's writer and executive producer, serves as the spin-off's showrunner.[445] The new show was introduced Season 14, Episode 13, when a house fire brings the firefighters to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. In July 2017, it was announced that Jaina Lee Ortiz was the first actress cast in the spin-off series.[446] In September 2017, it was announced that Jason George, who has played Dr. Ben Warren since season 6, would be leaving Grey's Anatomy to move to the spin-off. He continued to be a series regular on Grey's Anatomy until the spin-off began production.[447] In October 2017, it was announced that 5 new series regulars for the spin-off had been cast being Grey Damon, Jay Hayden, Okieriete Onaodowan, Danielle Savre and Barrett Doss. It was also announced that the spin-off had a 10-episode order for the first season.[448][449] Later in October 2017, it was announced that Miguel Sandoval was cast as the Captain of the firehouse.[450]

Grey's Anatomy: B-Team

On January 9, 2018, it was announced by Sarah Drew on her Instagram page that a 6-episode spin-off series following the new interns of Grey Sloan Memorial would be released for streaming on the ABC app and abc.com on Thursday, January 11, 2018. Grey's Anatomy: B-Team stars Sophia Taylor Ali (Dahlia Qadri), Jake Borelli (Levi Schmitt), Alex Blue Davis (Casey Parker), Jaicy Elliot (Taryn Helm), Rushi Kota (Vik Roy) and Jeanine Mason (Samantha "Sam" Bello) with special guest appearances made by Justin Chambers (Alex Karev), Kelly McCreary (Maggie Pierce), Kevin McKidd (Owen Hunt) and James Pickens Jr. (Richard Webber). The 6 episodes in this series were written by Barbara Kaye Friend with Grey's Anatomy series regular Sarah Drew (April Kepner) making her directorial debut directing each of them.[451]

Crossovers

Grey's Anatomy has several crossover storylines with both spin-offs Private Practice and Station 19 throughout its run.

List of Grey's Anatomy crossover events
Series A Episode title Series B Episode title Air date Crossover type
Grey's Anatomy "The Other Side of This Life" Private Practice "The Other Side of This Life" May 3, 2007 (2007-05-03) Backdoor pilot
"Before and After" "Ex-Life" February 12, 2009 (2009-02-12) Two-part event
"Blink" "Another Second Chance" January 14, 2010 (2010-01-14)
"Have You Seen Me Lately?" "You Break My Heart" February 16, 2012 (2012-02-16)
"You Really Got a Hold on Me" Station 19 "You Really Got a Hold on Me" March 1, 2018 (2018-03-01) Backdoor pilot
"Momma Knows Best" "Under the Surface" October 11, 2018 (2018-10-11) Two-part event
"What I Did for Love" "Always Ready" May 2, 2019 (2019-05-02)
Station 19 "I Know This Bar" Grey's Anatomy "Help Me Through the Night" January 23, 2020 (2020-01-23)
"Nothing Seems the Same" "All Tomorrow's Parties" November 12, 2020 (2020-11-12) Three-part event
"The Center Won't Hold"
"Out of Control" "No Time for Despair" December 17, 2020 (2020-12-17) Four-part event
"Train in Vain" "Helplessly Hoping" March 11, 2021 (2021-03-11)
"Save Yourself" "Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right" April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08) Two-part event
"Phoenix from the Flame" "Here Comes the Sun" September 30, 2021 (2021-09-30)
"Things We Lost in the Fire" "Bottle Up and Explode!" November 11, 2021 (2021-11-11)
"Started from the Bottom" "No Time to Die" February 24, 2022 (2022-02-24)
"Everybody Says Don't" "Thunderstruck" November 10, 2022 (2022-11-10)

International adaptations

An adaptation called Doktorlar ("Doctors") premiered on December 28, 2006, on Turkish network Show TV. It aired for 4 seasons.

In 2010, A Corazón Abierto ("An Open Heart"), an adaptation of the series, was made by the Colombian network RCN TV. It aired for 2 seasons.

In 2011, A Corazón Abierto ("An Open Heart"), an adaptation of the series, was made by the Mexican network TV Azteca. It aired for 2 seasons.

Merchandise

 
Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game includes a plot focused around Cristina Yang, Sandra Oh's character.

The American Broadcasting Company has partnered with J. Larson CafePress and Barco Uniforms to provide the series' branded merchandise through an online store. The products available include shirts, sweatshirts, kitchenware, homeware, and bags, with the Grey's Anatomy logo on it.[e] Also available are custom unisex scrubs and lab coats in a variety of colors and sizes, designed by Barco.[452] The merchandise released by the company is available for purchase at the Grey's Anatomy official website, and US$1 from every purchase is donated to Barco's Nightingales Foundation.[453]

Five volumes of the Grey's Anatomy Original Soundtrack have been released as of 2011. For the first 2 seasons, the show's main title theme was an excerpt from "Cosy in the Rocket", by British duo Psapp; it is featured on the first soundtrack album released via ABC's corporate cousin, Hollywood Records, on September 27, 2005. The second soundtrack, featuring songs from the series' second season, was released on September 12, 2006,[454] followed by a third soundtrack with music from the third season.[455] Following the seventh season musical episode "Song Beneath the Song", "Grey's Anatomy: The Music Event" soundtrack was released,[456] with volume 4 of the soundtrack released subsequently.[457]

In January 2009, Ubisoft announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with ABC Studios to develop a video game based on Grey's Anatomy.[458] Designed for the Wii, Nintendo DS and PC, Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game was released on March 10, 2009.[459] The game lets the player assume the role of one of the main characters, making decisions for the character's personal and professional life, and competing in a number of minigames.[460] It has been criticized by reviewers because of the simplicity of the mini-games and voice actors who do not play the same characters on the series, with Jason Ocampo of IGN giving it a 6/10 overall rating.[460] The Wii release received mixed reviews,[461] and the Windows release received generally unfavorable reviews.[462]

ABC and Nielsen partnered in 2011 to create a Grey's Anatomy application for Apple's iPad. The application was designed to allow viewers to participate in polls and learn trivial facts as they watch a live episode. It uses Nielsen's Media-Sync software to listen for the episode and to post features as the episode progresses.[463]

The creators of the show set up a real online wedding registry to mark the wedding of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd. Instead of buying gifts fans were encouraged to donate money to the American Academy of Neurology Foundation.[464]

Explanatory footnotes

  • a Pompeo starred as the leading role in Moonlight Mile, which explains the significance of her being cast as Meredith.[465]
  • b The character of O'Malley failed his intern test, which is why he was not initially a resident along with Meredith, Yang, Stevens and Karev.[30]
  • c Meredith and Shepherd had decided to adopt, due to Meredith's infertility, which was diagnosed in season 7.[466]
  • d The Chicago Tribune list is not ranked—it consists of 10 shows in alphabetical order.
  • e The Grey's Anatomy logo can be seen in the infobox, above.

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grey, anatomy, this, article, about, television, series, textbook, gray, anatomy, grey, redirects, here, other, uses, grey, disambiguation, american, medical, drama, television, series, that, premiered, march, 2005, season, replacement, series, focuses, lives,. This article is about the television series For the textbook see Gray s Anatomy Grey s redirects here For other uses see Grey disambiguation Grey s Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27 2005 on ABC as a mid season replacement The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns residents and attendings as they develop into seasoned doctors while balancing personal and professional relationships The title is an allusion to Gray s Anatomy a classic human anatomy textbook first published in 1858 in London and written by Henry Gray 1 Shonda Rhimes developed the pilot and continued to write for the series until 2015 Krista Vernoff who previously worked with Rhimes is now the showrunner 2 Rhimes was also one of the executive producers alongside Betsy Beers Mark Gordon Krista Vernoff Rob Corn Mark Wilding Allan Heinberg and Ellen Pompeo Although the series is set in Seattle Washington it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles California and Vancouver British Columbia Grey s AnatomyGenreMedical drama Romantic drama Ensemble drama Dark comedyCreated byShonda RhimesStarringList of cast membersNarrated byEllen Pompeo and various other cast membersTheme music composerPsappOpening theme Cosy in the Rocket seasons 1 3 7 14 Ending theme Cosy in the Rocket instrumental season 1 ComposerDanny LuxCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons19No of episodes406 list of episodes ProductionExecutive producersShonda Rhimes Allan Heinberg Andy Reaser Betsy Beers Debbie Allen James D Parriott Jeannine Renshaw Jeff Rafner Joan Rater Kent Hodder Krista Vernoff Mark Gordon Mark Wilding Marti Noxon Meg Marinis Peter Horton Rob Corn Stacy McKee Steve Mulholland Tony Phelan William Harper Zoanne Clack Ellen PompeoProducersAnn Kindberg Austin Guzman Elisabeth R Finch Gabrielle G Stanton Harry Werksman James E Williams Jeff Rafner Linda Klein Lisa Taylor Mark Foreman Meg Marinis Michael Metzner Mimi Schmir Peter Nowalk Sara E White Stacy McKee Tammy Ann Casper Tia Napolitano William Harper Zoanne ClackCinematographyHerbert DavisEditorsSusan Vaill David Greenspan Edward Ornelas Justin Chinn Briana London Sarah Boyd Stacy Katzman Brandi Bradburn Bjorn MyrholtCamera setupSingle cameraRunning time43 44 minutesProduction companiesShondaland 2005 The Mark Gordon Company 2005 2017 seasons 1 13 Entertainment One 2017 season 14 Trip The Light 2021 season 18 Touchstone Television 2005 2007 ABC Studios 2007 2020 ABC Signature 2020 a 2020 season 17 DistributorBuena Vista Television 2005 2007 Disney ABC Domestic Television 2007 ReleaseOriginal networkABCOriginal releaseMarch 27 2005 2005 03 27 presentChronologyRelatedPrivate Practice Station 19 A corazon abierto Colombian TV series A corazon abierto Mexican TV series The series revolves around Ellen Pompeo s character Dr Meredith Grey until halfway through its 19th season after which it shifts to a more ensemble format with Pompeo only appearing in 8 episodes of season 19 Grey is first featured as an intern and later becomes the chief of general surgery while showcasing the complications of a surgeon s life The original cast consisted of nine star billed actors Pompeo Sandra Oh Katherine Heigl Justin Chambers T R Knight Chandra Wilson James Pickens Jr Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey The cast has undergone major changes throughout the series run At the start of the 19th season the show had a large ensemble of 17 actors including three from the original cast Pompeo Wilson and Pickens Grey s Anatomy is the longest running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC and the longest scripted primetime series carried by ABC Its success catapulted many longtime series regulars including Pompeo Dempsey and Oh to worldwide recognition they were among the top five highest earning television actors in 2013 3 4 While the show s ratings have fallen over the course of its run it was once among the overall top ten shows in the United States it is still one of the highest rated shows among the 18 49 demographic and the 3 drama on all of broadcast television in the United States 5 The series was the highest revenue earning show on television in terms of advertising in the 2007 08 season in 2017 it was ranked tenth on the list In its 15th season Grey s Anatomy ranked as ABC s highest rated drama As of February 28 2019 it was the longest running American primetime medical drama series 6 The show now has a second spin off series named Station 19 7 in addition to Private Practice After the mid season finale of the 19th season Pompeo took to her Instagram to say farewell as she took a step back and exited as a full time character in the show but stated she would return after her exit Grey s Anatomy has been well received by critics throughout much of its run and has been included in various critics year end top 10 lists Since its inception the show has been described by the media outlets as a television phenomenon or a juggernaut owing to its longevity and dominant ratings It is considered to have had a significant effect on popular culture and has received numerous awards including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama and a total of 38 Primetime Emmy Award nominations including two for Outstanding Drama Series The cast members have also received accolades for their individual performances Contents 1 Plot 2 Series synopsis 3 Cast characters and appearance period 3 1 Cast table 3 1 1 Cast notes 3 2 Main cast 3 3 Recurring 4 Production and development 4 1 Conception 4 2 Production team 4 3 Casting 4 4 Filming locations and techniques 5 Broadcast history 6 Distribution 7 Home media releases 7 1 DVD releases 8 Reception 8 1 Critical response 8 1 1 Critics top 10 lists 8 2 Impact 8 3 U S television ratings 8 4 Awards and accolades 9 Spin offs and adaptations 9 1 Private Practice 9 2 Station 19 9 3 Grey s Anatomy B Team 9 4 Crossovers 9 5 International adaptations 10 Merchandise 11 Explanatory footnotes 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External linksPlot EditThe series follows the life of Meredith Grey Ellen Pompeo the daughter of the famous general surgeon Ellis Grey Kate Burton starting from her acceptance into the surgical residency program at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital later named Seattle Grace Mercy West and finally Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital During her time as an intern Grey works alongside fellow physicians Cristina Yang Sandra Oh Izzie Stevens Katherine Heigl Alex Karev Justin Chambers and George O Malley T R Knight who each struggle to balance their personal lives with hectic schedules and stressful residency requirements During their internship they are overseen by Miranda Bailey Chandra Wilson a senior resident who works with attending physicians Derek Shepherd Patrick Dempsey head of neurosurgery and Meredith s love interest and Preston Burke Isaiah Washington head of cardiothoracic surgery who becomes Yang s fiance Richard Webber James Pickens Jr Chief of Surgery and attending general surgeon is the former lover of Ellis Grey During the first 6 seasons Burke O Malley and Stevens all depart the series The series also shows drama and emotions focused on Meredith s life In addition to Webber Burke and Shepherd the surgical wing is primarily supervised by Addison Montgomery Kate Walsh Shepherd s ex wife and the head of OB GYN neonatal and fetal surgery who leaves for Los Angeles at the end of season 3 Mark Sloan Eric Dane head of plastic surgery Callie Torres Sara Ramirez a resident who later becomes head of orthopedic surgery and leaves Seattle for New York at the end of the 12th season Erica Hahn Brooke Smith as head of cardiothoracic surgery who leaves Seattle Grace in season 5 after a disagreement with Torres with whom she shared a brief relationship Owen Hunt Kevin McKidd as head of trauma who later marries and divorces Yang Arizona Robbins Jessica Capshaw as head of pediatric surgery and later head of maternal fetal surgery who marries Torres Teddy Altman Kim Raver as head of cardiothoracic surgery who departs at the end of season 8 but returns in season 14 and Amelia Shepherd Caterina Scorsone Derek s sister who is hired to replace him as head of neurosurgery Lexie Grey Chyler Leigh Meredith s paternal half sister joins the residency program in season 4 until her death with her love interest Mark Sloan in the plane crash at the end of season 8 after which Seattle Grace is renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in their memory Former Mercy West residents April Kepner Sarah Drew and Jackson Avery Jesse Williams join Seattle Grace following an administrative merger in season 6 Other additions include Leah Murphy Tessa Ferrer who departs at the end of season 10 but returns during season 13 Shane Ross Gaius Charles who leaves with Yang for Zurich Switzerland in the season 10 finale Stephanie Edwards Jerrika Hinton who resigns at the end of season 13 Jo Wilson Camilla Luddington who marries Karev Andrew DeLuca Giacomo Gianniotti the former love interest of Meredith s maternal half sister Maggie Pierce Kelly McCreary who also serves as head of cardiothoracic surgery and Ben Warren Jason George an anesthesiologist turned resident turned firefighter 8 who marries Bailey Season 11 sees the death of Derek Shepherd and in season 12 attending cardiovascular surgeon Nathan Riggs Martin Henderson joins the show In the early episodes of season 14 Thomas Koracick Greg Germann an attending neurosurgeon begins making appearances and Riggs leaves the series to start a life with Owen s long lost sister Megan Abigail Spencer by the season finale Robbins Kepner and Warren also depart the show Midway through the 16th season Cormac Hayes Richard Flood becomes the new Chief of Pediatric Surgery and Karev made his final appearance on the series During the 17th season DeLuca is stabbed while chasing a child abductor and despite efforts of Hunt and Altman he dies Avery and Koracick also depart in season 17 with Avery moving to Boston to take over his family s Foundation and Koracick leaving to assist him In Season 18 Hayes moves back to his home country Hunt and Altman flee the country Marsh returns to Minnesota Webber and Fox go on sabbatical and Bailey resigns as chief of surgery leaving Grey as chief of surgery of Grey Sloan Memorial Series synopsis Edit Title card Grey s Anatomy follows the lives of surgical interns residents and attendings at the fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital formerly Seattle Grace Hospital Season 1 6 Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital Season 6 9 and then Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital Season 9 present as the interns gradually develop into seasoned doctors through the mentoring of their residents attendings and chiefs of surgery Each installment typically begins with a voice over narrative from Meredith Grey or a season regular foreshadowing the theme of the episode 9 10 Each season tends to represent the physicians academic year with each completed year qualifying the residents at a level higher in the surgical field 11 The season typically ends with a dramatic event such as a death or character departure 12 Most installments revolve around the doctors everyday lives as surgeons but the show also emphasizes their personal as well as their professional lives 9 The series often sets aside medical ethics concerns in order to foreground character development and relationships While the physicians treat the illnesses of their patients often through complex surgeries they also display competitive spirit and seek praise 13 After arriving at the hospital each morning residents may argue over who gets the challenge of a certain patient who has arrived that day 14 A hospital superior assigns cases often generating tension between the residents and their superiors 15 Within each episode are shifts from the doctors interacting with their patients to scenes with their co workers Once assigned a case each doctor diagnoses the patient with the help of his or her attending physician which usually leads to surgery 16 The surgeons tend to form personal connections with their patients with a patient often conveying a message to his or her doctor which unintentionally relates to the doctor s private life 17 The show displays the growth of relationships between the doctors either friendly or romantic which may produce conflicts between their personal and professional lives Emotional scenes are often accompanied by an indie rock background song something that has become a hallmark of the series 18 At the conclusion of each episode one of the characters delivers another voiceover typically contrasting or following up on the initial one 10 Credited as Touchstone Television 2005 2007 seasons 1 3 and ABC Studios 2007 2020 seasons 4 16 Cast characters and appearance period EditMain articles Cast and Characters Cast table Edit Main cast credited Recurring cast 3 Guest cast 1 2 Actor Character Seasons1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19Ellen Pompeo Meredith Grey MPatrick Dempsey Derek Shepherd M Does not appear R a Does not appearSandra Oh Cristina Yang M Does not appearT R Knight George O Malley M Does not appear G Does not appearJustin Chambers Alex Karev M Does not appearKatherine Heigl Izzie Stevens M Does not appearJames Pickens Jr Richard Webber MChandra Wilson Miranda Bailey MIsaiah Washington Preston Burke M Does not appear G Does not appearKate Walsh Addison Montgomery G b M c SG Does not appear R d SGSara Ramirez Callie Torres Does not appear R M Does not appearEric Dane Mark Sloan Does not appear G M e f Does not appear SG Does not appearBrooke Smith Erica Hahn Does not appear R G M g Does not appearChyler Leigh Lexie Grey Does not appear G M Does not appear SG Does not appearKevin McKidd Owen Hunt Does not appear M h Jessica Capshaw Arizona Robbins Does not appear R M Does not appearKim Raver Teddy Altman Does not appear M i Does not appear R MJesse Williams Jackson Avery Does not appear R M GSarah Drew April Kepner Does not appear R M Does not appear G Does not appearCamilla Luddington Jo Wilson Does not appear R MJerrika Hinton Stephanie Edwards Does not appear R M Does not appearGaius Charles Shane Ross Does not appear R M Does not appearTessa Ferrer Leah Murphy Does not appear R M Does not appear R Does not appearCaterina Scorsone Amelia Shepherd Does not appear G SG Does not appear R MKelly McCreary Maggie Pierce Does not appear G M j Jason George Ben Warren Does not appear R G R M R GMartin Henderson Nathan Riggs Does not appear M Does not appearGiacomo Gianniotti Andrew DeLuca Does not appear G M k Does not appearGreg Germann Tom Koracick Does not appear R M GJake Borelli Levi Schmitt Does not appear R l MChris Carmack Atticus Lincoln Does not appear R MRichard Flood Cormac Hayes Does not appear R M Does not appearAnthony Hill Winston Ndugu Does not appear G MScott Speedman Nick Marsh Does not appear G Does not appear MAlexis Floyd Simone Griffith Does not appear MHarry Shum Jr Benson Kwan Does not appear MAdelaide Kane Jules Millin Does not appear MMidori Francis Mika Yasuda Does not appear MNiko Terho Lucas Adams Does not appear M Cast notes Edit Patrick Dempsey is credited as a guest star for his appearances with exception of 17x13 where he is credited as a special guest star Kate Walsh was originally set to appear as a recurring character in six episodes of the first season However after the season was cut short Walsh s remaining five appearances aired in the second season before she was promoted to the main cast in what would have been the second episode of season two Kate Walsh is initially credited as a special guest star in season two before being promoted to main cast in 2x07 Kate Walsh is credited as a special guest star in a recurring capacity In season three Eric Dane credited as a series regular from 3x03 onwards but is uncredited in 3x02 Eric Dane only appears in the first two episodes of season nine although credited as a series regular Brooke Smith is the only series regular to not hold the role for a full season She was credited as a series regular from 4x5 to 5x7 Kevin McKidd is initially credited as a guest star in season five before being promoted to main cast in 5x14 Kim Raver is initially credited as guest star in season six before being promoted to main cast in 6x19 Kelly McCreary is initially credited as a guest star in season eleven before being promoted to main cast in 11x11 Giacomo Gianniotti is initially credited as a guest star in season twelve before being promoted to main cast in 12x10 Jake Borelli is initially credited as a co star in recurring capacity before being upgraded to a guest star in season fifteen Main cast Edit The five characters who are first introduced in the series premiere as surgical interns are Meredith Grey Cristina Yang Izzie Stevens Alex Karev and George O Malley 19 They are initially mentored by Bailey a senior resident who becomes the hospital s Chief Resident 20 and later an attending general surgeon in season 6 21 The surgical program is initially headed by Richard Webber the Chief of Surgery who has a pre existing personal relationship with Meredith having had an affair with her mother when Meredith was a child In Webber s employ are attending neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd dubbed McDreamy by the residents and attending cardiothoracic surgeon Preston Burke Shepherd is introduced as Meredith s love interest while Burke begins a relationship with Yang 22 Introduced in the show s second season are obstetrician gynecologist and neonatal surgeon Addison Montgomery 23 plastic surgeon Mark Sloan nicknamed McSteamy by the interns from New York 24 and orthopedic surgeon Callie Torres 25 Montgomery is Shepherd s estranged wife who arrives in Seattle seeking reconciliation with him 26 Sloan is Shepherd s former best friend who aided the breakdown of his marriage by having an affair with Montgomery 27 while Torres is introduced as a love interest and eventual wife for O Malley The penultimate episode of season 3 introduces Lexie Grey Meredith s half sister who unexpectedly decides to pursue her internship at Seattle Grace Hospital after her mother s sudden death and begins an on again off again relationship with Sloan 28 Burke and Yang having been engaged 29 endeavor to plan their wedding while Montgomery departs the show in the season 3 finale relocating to California seeking a new life The season three finale also shows Burke s exit from the show after leaving Yang at the altar on their wedding day 30 The original lead characters of Grey s Anatomy Grey Yang Stevens Karev are all promoted to residents in the season 4 premiere 31 while O Malley is forced to repeat his internship year following his failing of the intern exam 30 Subsequently Torres and O Malley divorce one another due to him having an affair with Stevens initially concealing it from Torres 32 33 Early in the fourth season cardiothoracic surgeon Erica Hahn becomes Torres s love interest 34 During the fifth season Hahn departs from the series after a disagreement with Torres 35 and O Malley retakes his intern exam passes and joins his fellow physicians as a resident 36 2 new characters are introduced former United States Army trauma surgeon Dr Owen Hunt 37 and pediatric surgeon Dr Arizona Robbins 38 Hunt becomes a love interest for Yang 39 while Robbins begins a relationship with Torres 40 When Stevens is diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma 41 she and Karev get married at the conclusion of the fifth season 42 In addition Meredith and Shepherd marry with their vows written on a blue post it note 43 O Malley dies in the premiere of the sixth season due to injuries sustained from saving a woman from being hit by a bus 21 and Stevens later departs Seattle following a communication breakdown with her then husband Karev following the Seattle Grace merger with Mercy West Hospital 17 Several new characters are introduced as Seattle Grace Hospital merges with Mercy West Hospital 44 Residents April Kepner Jackson Avery Reed Adamson and Charles Percy all transfer to Seattle Grace Hospital from Mercy West Hospital and Avery has a brief relationship with Lexie until she reunites with Sloan 45 Subsequently Teddy Altman is introduced as the new Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery 46 In the season 6 finale a deceased patient s grieving husband embarks on a shooting spree at the hospital injuring Karev Shepherd and Hunt and killing residents Adamson and Percy 47 48 In the shooting s emotional reverberations Yang and Hunt abruptly marry not wanting to risk separation 49 Torres and Robbins eventually wed officiated by Bailey 50 In season eight Webber steps down and allocates his job to Hunt 51 As the final year of residency for Meredith Yang Karev Kepner and Avery is coming to a close the doctors are all planning to relocate to different hospitals to pursue their specialty careers 52 However all plans are put on hold when several doctors from Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital are engaged in a plane crash which kills Lexie and endangers Meredith Shepherd Yang Sloan and Robbins 12 At the conclusion of the eighth season Altman is courteously fired by Hunt as she struggles to decide whether or not to take the job as Chief at the United States Army Medical Command MEDCOM 12 In the season 9 premiere Sloan dies due to sustained injuries from the plane crash following a brief relapse of temporary health the surge and the remaining characters work through their post traumatic stress and Arizona Robbins s loss of limb by way of suing Seattle Grace Mercy West as the hospital was responsible for putting the surgeons on the plane The season continues with the struggle of the lawsuit and the animosity that it creates within the hospital Yang and Hunt eventually divorce in order to help the lawsuit 53 54 The doctors who were on the plane win the lawsuit but the payout bankrupts the hospital They all club together and buy Seattle Grace Mercy West with the help of the Harper Avery Foundation and they become the Board of Directors once being called the Grey Sloan 7 55 56 57 One of the changes they implement is renaming the hospital to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in memory of Lexie Grey and Mark Sloan Robbins cheats on Torres with a visiting facial reconstruction surgeon and Webber gets electrocuted in the season 9 finale Grey s Anatomy saw the departure of one of its major players Cristina Yang played by Sandra Oh in the season 10 finale The 11th season also saw the introduction of the new Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery Maggie Pierce Richard s secret daughter with Ellis Grey Towards the end of the 11th season Derek Shepherd witnesses a car accident and pulls over to help the injured but his car is hit by a truck with him inside as he attempts to leave the scene He later dies at another hospital following the doctors mishandling of his injuries The season 12 finale saw the departure of one of the show s longest running characters Callie Torres played by Sara Ramirez Altman returns to Seattle at the beginning of the 14th season while Robbins and Kepner depart in the season finale to pursue other career opportunities Season 16 was the last to feature Alex Karev who moved to Kansas to reunite with Stevens leaving Grey as the last remaining intern from the original cast Season 17 saw the departure of Andrew DeLuca after he was stabbed and ultimately died after pursuing the sex trafficker Opal and was also the last season to feature both Jackson Avery who moved to Boston in order to run a family foundation and Tom Koracick who also moved to Boston to assist Avery as main characters Cormac Hayes departed the series in its 18th season after deciding to return to Ireland with his kids The Grey s Anatomy season 18 finale showed Altman and Hunt with their children on the run to leave the country for being police fugitives Bailey knew what Hunt and Altman did and told them she had to call the police but gave them enough time to flee 58 The residency program in Grey Sloan was also cancelled due to lack of doctors 59 Throughout the season Meredith was traveling to a hospital in Minnesota and she ultimately made a decision to take a job in the hospital where she was working which almost ended her career at Grey Sloan Grey at the time had a new love interest Dr Nick Marsh Scott Speedman who was a doctor at Mayo Clinic where Meredith s new job opportunity was In the very end of season 18 Bailey resigned as chief of surgery and made Meredith Grey take over as interim chief leaving Grey in a state of shock 60 Recurring Edit With the drama s setting being a hospital numerous medical personnel appear regularly on the show as well as several other recurring characters Joe Steven W Bailey is first shown as the owner of the Emerald City Bar and Grill across the street from the hospital which is a common relaxation area for the physicians 23 Also introduced in the pilot is the legendary former general surgeon Dr Ellis Grey Kate Burton Meredith s Alzheimer s stricken mother who appeared on the show until her death in season 3 19 In the first season Olivia Harper Sarah Utterback a nurse who appeared on the show occasionally until getting laid off in the merger with Mercy West 44 engages in a sexual relationship with O Malley giving him syphilis 23 Serving as an assistant and secretary to the Chief of Surgery former nurse Patricia Robin Pearson Rose has appeared on the show since its debut 19 Tyler Christian Moe Irvin a hospital nurse makes occasional appearances throughout the series 19 Within the second season Bailey becomes pregnant by her husband Tucker Jones Cress Williams 61 who makes frequent appearances on Grey s Anatomy until their divorce in season 5 43 While Bailey takes a sabbatical due to her pregnancy the cheerful Dr Sydney Heron Kali Rocha fills her position as the resident supervising Grey Yang Stevens Karev and O Malley 62 and makes occasional appearances until the fifth season 33 Thatcher and Susan Grey Jeff Perry and Mare Winningham Meredith s estranged father and step mother are introduced in season 2 63 with Susan making appearances until her death in season 3 64 and Thatcher continuing to appear in the series until his death in season 15 65 Adele Webber Loretta Devine is introduced as Richard s wife 66 who eventually acquires Alzheimer s in the seventh season 67 and continued to make appearances until her death in season 9 68 Introduced as Preston s mother Jane Burke Diahann Carroll makes occasional appearances until the fourth season Denny Duquette Jeffrey Dean Morgan a patient with congestive heart failure originates as one of Burke s patients 69 who goes on to propose to Stevens after weeks of bonding between the two 70 Facing death Stevens cuts Duquette s left ventricular assist device LVAD to elevate his position on the United Network for Organ Sharing UNOS transplant list 71 This ultimately ends in his death season 2 finale marking his initial departure from the show 66 and placing Stevens on disciplinary probation 72 Initially conceived as a veterinarian hired for Shepherd s dog Doc 63 Dr Finn Dandridge Chris O Donnell soon becomes a love interest for Meredith while Shepherd is with Montgomery 73 Dandridge is included in a multi episode story arc in seasons 2 and 3 consisting of 9 episodes ending when Meredith reunites with Shepherd 74 Chyler Leigh s character was introduced in the third season and was promoted to series regular in season 4 In season 3 George s father Harold O Malley George Dzundza is diagnosed with cancer and dies with his wife Louise Debra Monk and George s brothers Jerry Greg Pitts and Ronny Tim Griffin by his side 75 Louise goes on to appear occasionally and was last seen in season 8 76 A ferryboat accident brings along Rebecca Pope Elizabeth Reaser who is initially introduced as a pregnant amnesiac Jane Doe patient 77 Pope eventually embarks on a relationship with Karev until she is diagnosed with a personality disorder in season 4 and makes her final departure 34 Amidst the crisis of the ferryboat crash Meredith falls into the water at the disaster site 77 Although rescued she goes into cardiac arrest waking up in what appears to be limbo 78 Within the limbo Meredith is entertained by deceased acquaintances Duquette and Dylan Young Kyle Chandler who was killed during a bomb crisis in the second season 79 until eventually being resuscitated 80 Seeking a cure to her depression Meredith undergoes therapy sessions with the hospital psychiatrist Dr Katharine Wyatt Amy Madigan 81 who in addition serves as a psychiatrist to Hunt 82 The season 4 premiere introduces several new interns to be trained under Meredith Yang Stevens Karev and eventually O Malley b Among them are Dr Steve Mostow Mark Saul who continues to make appearances 31 and Dr Sadie Harris Melissa George who formed a friendship with Meredith while the two were in college 83 Harris is fired in the fifth season due to not actually having a medical degree and departs the show immediately after 40 Meredith and Shepherd s relationship reaches a crisis and the two separate leaving Shepherd to entertain a relationship with Rose Lauren Stamile a nurse 33 Rose appears frequently until season 5 when Derek and Meredith decide to rekindle their flame 37 Throughout the fifth season Stevens experiences full out hallucinations of Duquette 38 signaling that she is ill 84 and once she is lucid he departs marking his final appearance 82 Following the announcement of her relationship with Robbins Jessica Capshaw Callie s father Carlos Torres Hector Elizondo initially contests his daughter s concurrence in homosexuality 85 but eventually accepts it 45 and he reappears several times throughout the series 50 The hospital s merging with Mercy West introduces new residents Dr Reed Adamson Nora Zehetner and Dr Charles Percy Robert Baker 45 but the two are both murdered in the season 6 finale 47 48 Also introduced in the sixth season is Dr Ben Warren Jason George an anesthesiologist 86 and eventual husband to Dr Miranda Bailey 12 as well as Sloan Riley Leven Rambin Dr Mark Sloan s estranged pregnant daughter who seeks kinship with him 46 Robbins receives a grant to aid children in Malawi which leads to a falling out between her and Torres 87 While in Malawi Robbins is replaced by Dr Robert Stark Peter MacNicol 88 a pediatric surgeon with an interest in Dr April Kepner 89 who appears occasionally until season 8 Following the breakdown of Dr Torres s relationship with Dr Robbins Dr Torres becomes pregnant with Dr Sloan s baby 90 Torres s relationship with Robbins is subsequently mended 91 and the couple endeavors to raise their new daughter Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres with the help of Dr Sloan 92 Dr Lucy Fields Rachael Taylor an obstetrician gynecologist is introduced in the seventh season and serves as a love interest for Dr Alex Karev 93 until eventually taking up Robbins job in Africa 94 Shepherd and Meredith also become new parents with their adoption of Zola a baby girl from Malawi c 94 Conceived as a patient with a tumor condition who later develops diabetes Henry Burton Scott Foley befriends Dr Altman and eventually joins her in marriage only to get treated using her medical insurance 95 until he dies while undergoing heart surgery in season 8 96 In the season 9 premiere interns Dr Jo Wilson Camilla Luddington Dr Shane Ross Gaius Charles Dr Stephanie Edwards Jerrika Hinton Dr Leah Murphy Tessa Ferrer and Dr Heather Brooks Tina Majorino are introduced 97 98 99 Steven Culp and William Daniels play Dr Parker and Dr Craig Thomas respectively 100 101 Dr Parker is Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Dr Craig Thomas William Daniels is an attending cardiothoracic surgeon at Mayo Clinic where Cristina worked temporarily Dr Alana Cahill Constance Zimmer 102 introduced in season 9 is appointed to cut costs at the hospital and she eventually decides the best course of action would be to seek out a new buyer 103 until the 4 crash survivors and Torres on the behalf of Sloan pool their money together in a bid to purchase the hospital themselves Kepner starts dating a paramedic named Matthew Taylor Justin Bruening 104 and they form a deep relationship over the course of seasons 9 and 10 and she eventually agreed to marry before reconciling with Avery in the middle of her wedding ceremony to Matthew 105 Lauren Boswell Hilarie Burton is introduced as a craniofacial surgeon consulting on a case at Grey Sloan Memorial 106 107 who showed romantic interest in Arizona and eventually ended up having a one night stand with her 108 Dr Heather Brooks dies in the premiere of season 10 She goes to search for Dr Webber and finds him lying in the basement of the hospital Trying to save Dr Webber she accidentally steps into a puddle and electrocutes herself while hitting her head as she falls 109 Also introduced in season 10 was Dr Karev s estranged father Jimmy Evans James Remar 110 who tries to form a relationship with his son but fails repeatedly and dies in a botched surgery 111 112 The conclusion of season 10 has Cristina leaving Grey Sloan for Dr Burke s job as head of Klausman Institute for Medical Research in Zurich while Dr Ross makes a last minute decision to follow her in order to study under her Dr Maggie Pierce Kelly McCreary 113 unknowingly drops a bombshell that she is the child of Dr Webber and the late Dr Grey and was given up at birth for adoption Dr Meredith Grey has to accommodate another half sister in her life 114 Also Dr Yang privately gives her shares in the hospital to Dr Karev also giving him her seat on the board But Dr Webber all but promises the seat to Dr Bailey so the board has to decide between them Season 11 begins with new surgical residents coming to the hospital Introduced in season 11 is Dr Nicole Herman Geena Davis 115 who is Chief of Fetal Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Dr Herman selects Robbins for a fetal surgery fellowship and becomes her mentor Herman features in a 12 episode arc before departing in episode 14 116 117 Production and development EditConception Edit Shonda Rhimes wanted to make a show that she would enjoy watching 118 and thought it would be interesting to create a show about smart women competing against one another 119 When asked how she decided to develop a medical drama Rhimes responded I was obsessed with the surgery channels My sisters and I would call each other up and talk about operations we d seen on the Discovery Channel There s something fascinating about the medical world you see things you d never imagine like the fact that doctors talk about their boyfriends or their day while they re cutting somebody open So when ABC asked me to write another pilot the operating room seemed like the natural setting 120 The series was pitched to ABC Entertainment who gave the green light The show was picked up as a mid season replacement for Boston Legal in the 2005 television season 121 Francie Calfo executive vice president of development at ABC Entertainment commented that ABC was looking for a medical show that was unlike the others airing at the time She pointed out Medical shows are hard and it was hard trying to figure out where ours could be different But where everybody else is speeding up their medical shows Rhimes found a way to slow it down so you get to know the characters There s definitely a strong female appeal to it 119 ER is high speed medicine The camera flies around adrenaline is rushing My show is more personal The idea for the series began when a doctor told me it was incredibly hard to shave her legs in the hospital shower At first that seemed like a silly detail But then I thought about the fact that it was the only time and place this woman might have to shave her legs That s how hard the work is Rhimes on the creation of Grey s Anatomy 120 While creating characters as well as writing the first script the series writers had no character descriptions in mind and hoped to cast the best actor available for each part Rhimes has said that if the network had not allowed her to create characters this way she would have been hesitant about moving forward with the series 120 Female roles in particular were developed as multi faceted characters Rhimes offered her insight I wanted to create a world in which you felt as if you were watching very real women Most of the women I saw on TV didn t seem like people I actually knew They felt like ideas of what women are They never got to be nasty or competitive or hungry or angry They were often just the loving wife or the nice friend But who gets to be the bitch Who gets to be the three dimensional woman 120 The cover of the book after which Grey s Anatomy was named The show s title Grey s Anatomy was devised as a play on words a reference to both Henry Gray s classic English medical textbook Gray s Anatomy first published in 1858 and still in print and the title character Dr Meredith Grey Ellen Pompeo 122 123 124 125 Before the series debuted on March 27 2005 a few early releases were shown to close friends and family of the producers and actors The show was scheduled to run in the Boston Legal time slot for 4 weeks 119 The show s high ratings and viewership resulted in ABC keeping it in that slot for the remainder of the season 119 ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson commented on the scheduling change Ultimately we decided that without having adequate lead time or marketing dollars to devote to moving either show so late in the season we d continue to let Grey s Anatomy build on its tremendous momentum through May 126 Prior to broadcast it was announced that the show s title would be changed from Grey s Anatomy to Complications although this did not take place 127 Production team Edit Grey s Anatomy is produced by ShondaLand in association with The Mark Gordon Company and ABC Studios formerly Touchstone Television 94 Rhimes Betsy Beers Krista Vernoff Mark Gordon Rob Corn and Mark Wilding have all served as executive producers throughout the course of the series 128 In subsequent seasons Steve Mulholland Kent Hodder Nancy Bordson James D Parriott and Peter Horton have also been executive producers with Allan Heinberg joining the show in 2006 in this role 128 As of season eight the executive producers were Rhimes Beers Gordon Vernoff Corn Wilding and Heinberg 129 Rhimes is the series head writer or its most prolific writer She often promotes the show by answering fan questions on her Twitter account 130 Other members of the writing staff are Vernoff Wilding Peter Nowalk Stacy McKee William Harper Zoanne Clack Tony Phelan Joan Rater and Debora Cahn 128 From the second through seventh seasons the writers maintained a blog entitled Grey Matter where the writer of an episode discussed background of the writing 131 Directors vary by episode with Rob Corn directing most frequently followed by Tom Verica Horton Edward Ornelas and Jessica Yu have also directed a substantial number of episodes 128 Cast members Chandra Wilson Debbie Allen and Kevin McKidd have each directed multiple episodes 132 Grey s Anatomy has been edited by Susan Vaill since the show s inception 133 and David Greenspan was named an editor in 2006 134 Casting directors Linda Lowy and John Brace have been a part of the production team since 2005 The production design is led by Donald Lee Harris assisted by art director Brian Harms and costume design is led by Mimi Melgaard Working alongside Melgaard Thomas Houchins supervises costumes Ellen Vieira is the makeup artist and Jerilynn Stevens serves as a hairstylist The Director of Photography is Herbert Davis The music coordinator is Danny Lux 133 Karen Lisa Pike M D is the on set medical consultant alongside Linda Klein an RN 135 In an interview Ellen Pompeo Meredith Grey stated We always ask Linda you know what is this procedure what is this surgery when is this performed what happens various members of the cast spoke of the importance of having real surgeons around especially in learning how to properly hold instruments how to accurately use medical language and develop their characters in an authentic way most of the cast members observed real surgery in real life as preparation for their roles The production staff is part of a Grey s Anatomy softball team that competes against other television shows such as CSI Crime Scene Investigation 136 Casting Edit She brought this energy that felt very fresh From the beginning I ve been shaping Cristina around Sandra a little bit One of my favorite things to do is take as much of her dialogue out of a scene as possible because she does so much nonverbally Then I just watch what she manages to do without having a word to say Rhimes on Oh s audition 137 Grey s Anatomy used a color blind casting technique resulting in a racially diverse ensemble Each role was cast without the character s race being pre determined keeping Rhimes s vision of diversity 138 The production staff began casting with the program s title character Dr Meredith Grey 120 which Rhimes said was a challenging role to cast 139 I kept saying we need a girl like that girl from Moonlight Mile 2002 a said Rhimes and after a while they were like We think we can get that girl from Moonlight Mile 139 The next to be cast Sandra Oh Dr Cristina Yang was initially invited to audition for the character of Bailey but pressed to read for the role of Cristina instead 140 Many actors read for the role of Dr Derek Shepherd Rob Lowe was offered the role but turned it down as he had already agreed to star in another medical drama Dr Vegas When Patrick Dempsey read for the part he was just perfect according to Rhimes 139 The only character developed with a racial description in mind was Dr Miranda Bailey who is portrayed by Chandra Wilson Her character was first described as a tiny blonde with curly hair but when Wilson began speaking Rhimes reported Wilson is exactly who Miranda is 120 James Pickens Jr was selected to appear as Dr Richard Webber in the series pilot and first season 141 Katherine Heigl wanted to portray Dr Izzie Stevens as a brunette but was requested to retain her natural blonde for the part 142 Isaiah Washington who portrayed Dr Preston Burke initially read for the role of Shepherd but was cast as Burke because the original actor to play Burke had to withdraw 138 T R Knight signed on for the pilot as Dr George O Malley expecting that the role might be short lived because he liked that the character was multi faceted 143 Rounding out the season 1 cast was Justin Chambers as Dr Alex Karev a character who was not originally included in the show s pilot but added through digital editing and additional scenes 144 145 Eric Dane originally auditioned for the pilot episode of Grey s Anatomy but was not cast at that time Season 2 marked the introduction of attending doctors Mark Sloan Eric Dane and Callie Torres Sara Ramirez They were initially cast as recurring characters but both were given star billing at the opening of season 3 146 147 Ramirez was cast after ABC executives offered them a role in the network show of their choice 148 Dane had previously auditioned unsuccessfully for a role in the pilot episode 147 Dr Addison Montgomery Kate Walsh also joined the show in season 2 after making a guest appearance in the season 1 finale 149 In October 2006 Washington allegedly insulted Knight with a homophobic slur during an on set altercation with Dempsey and ABC terminated Washington s contract at the end of season 3 150 Washington returned for a guest appearance in season 10 At the conclusion of season 3 Walsh departed the show to pursue the Grey s Anatomy spin off Private Practice but continues to make guest appearances 151 Chyler Leigh joined the cast as a main character in season 4 as Dr Lexie Grey Meredith s half sister Leigh had appeared as a guest star in the final 2 episodes of season 3 152 On the selection of Leigh for the role of Lexie Rhimes said Chyler stood out It felt like she could be Meredith s sister but she had a depth that was very interesting 153 Dr Erica Hahn Brooke Smith who first appeared on Grey s Anatomy in season 2 returned as a series regular in season 4 154 Shortly after the announcement that Smith would be a regular member of the cast Entertainment Weekly s Michael Ausiello reported that her character Hahn would depart from Grey s Anatomy on November 6 2008 155 E Online s Kristin Dos Santos asserted that Smith s dismissal from the show had been forced by the ABC network as part of an attempt to de gay Grey s Anatomy 156 Rhimes countered these claims saying that we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke s character would sustain in the long run 155 Season 5 introduced actor Kevin McKidd Dr Owen Hunt who was signed as a series regular after originally being cast for a specific story arc 157 In addition Jessica Capshaw Dr Arizona Robbins was originally introduced for a 3 episode arc but her contract was extended until the end of the season she became a series regular in the sixth season 158 Knight departed the show at the conclusion of season 5 citing an unhappiness with the development and lack of screen time for his character 159 Directly following Knight s departure Entertainment Weekly reported that Heigl had not returned to the set as scheduled after her maternity leave 160 It was later confirmed that Heigl would not return to the show at all 161 Kim Raver who was cast as recurring character Dr Teddy Altman in season 6 was given star billing later in the season 162 Sarah Drew Dr April Kepner and Jesse Williams Dr Jackson Avery who both made their series debuts as recurring characters in the sixth season and received star billing in the seventh 163 164 The 6 original actors contracts expired after season 8 but in May 2012 Pompeo Oh Chambers Wilson Pickens Jr and Dempsey renewed their contracts with the show for another 2 years 165 At the conclusion of season 8 Leigh s character Lexie Grey departed from the show at Leigh s request and with Rhimes s agreement 166 167 Raver s character Teddy Altman was also written out of the show during the season 8 finale Rhimes said that Raver had been offered a contract renewal but declined 168 In July 2012 Dane Sloan confirmed that he was departing the show to pursue other projects he made his final appearances in the first 2 episodes of season 9 169 With the start of season 10 Camilla Luddington Gaius Charles Jerrika Hinton and Tessa Ferrer were introduced to the show as series regulars They were first introduced to the show in season 9 as the new interns On August 13 2013 Oh Cristina announced that the show s tenth season would be her final one 170 171 In March 2014 it was announced that Isaiah Washington who portrayed Preston Burke in the first 3 seasons of the show would make a guest appearance to coincide with the departure of series regular Sandra Oh his former on screen love interest 172 Neither Charles s nor Ferrer s contracts were renewed for season 11 173 On May 2 2014 it was announced that in addition to Pompeo and Dempsey all the original remaining cast members apart from Oh signed 2 year deals extending their contracts through seasons 11 and 12 Despite joining the series in season 2 Sara Ramirez was on the same negotiation schedule as the season 1 cast and also signed a new 2 year deal 174 175 176 On April 23 2015 Dempsey departed the show during the show s 11th season despite the fact that he still had a year left in his contract 177 On the night of the season 12 finale May 19 2016 Sara Ramirez announced that they would be leaving the show following the decision to not renew their contract 178 On January 17 2018 it was announced by ABC that Ellen Pompeo s contract had been renewed through season 16 Not only did the contract renewal insure that Pompeo will return as Meredith Grey but it made her a producer of Grey s Anatomy and a co executive producer of Station 19 The deal made Pompeo the highest paid actress currently on a dramatic TV series with her making 575 000 per episode and over 20 million yearly 179 On March 8 2018 it was announced that series regulars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew would not be returning for season 15 after executive producers decided to let them go 180 In May 2018 it was confirmed that Kim Raver who made returning guest appearances in season 14 would once again become a series regular beginning with season 15 181 In January 2020 Justin Chambers announced that he had departed the series and that his final episode had aired on November 14 2019 182 In March 2021 Giacomo Gianniotti departed the series after wanting to pursue new things such as directing 183 In May 2021 Jesse Williams and Greg Germann both left the main cast although Germann is expected to remain on the show in a guest capacity 184 185 In September 2021 it was announced that Kate Walsh would be returning as Addison Montgomery for multiple episodes in season 18 186 In July 2022 it was announced that Alexis Floyd Niko Terho Adelaide Kane Midori Francis and Harry Shum Jr joined the cast as series regular for the nineteenth season 187 In August 2022 it was announced that Ellen Pompeo will appear in only eight episodes of the upcoming nineteenth season having her role reduce because she is set to star in Hulu s Orphan limited series but she will continue to narrate the episodes and will remain an executive producer 188 Filming locations and techniques Edit The Space Needle in Seattle is the background to many exterior shots Rhimes considered setting the medical drama in her hometown Chicago but eventually decided to go with Seattle to distinguish Grey s Anatomy from the Chicago based series ER 139 Fisher Plaza which is the headquarters building of the former Fisher Communications since merged into Sinclair Broadcasting Group and SBG s ABC affiliated KOMO radio and television stations in Seattle is used for some exterior shots of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital In particular air ambulances land on the KOMO TV news copter s helipad This suggests the hospital is close to the Space Needle which is directly across the street from Fisher Plaza the Seattle Monorail and other local landmarks However the hospital used for most other exterior and a few interior shots is not in Seattle these scenes are shot at the VA Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills California and occasional shots from an interior walkway above the lobby show dry California mountains in the distance 189 The exterior of Meredith Grey s house also known as the Intern House is real In the show the address of Grey s home is 613 Harper Lane but this is not an actual address The physical house is located at 303 W Comstock St on Queen Anne Seattle Washington Most scenes are taped at The Prospect Studios in Los Feliz just east of Hollywood where the Grey s Anatomy set occupies 6 sound stages Some outside scenes are filmed at the Warren G Magnuson Park in Seattle Several props used are working medical equipment including the MRI machine 190 When asked about operating room scenes Sarah Drew said We work with bovine organs which is cow s organs The smell is repulsive and makes us all gag And we use an actual soldering tool to solder the organs It smells like burning flesh There s also a lot of silicone and blood matter red jello mixed with blood and chicken fat It s pretty gross 191 Costumes are used to differentiate between attending surgeons who wear navy blue scrubs and residents who wear light blue scrubs 192 The series is filmed with a single camera setup as are many dramas 193 Grey s Anatomy is often filmed using the walk and talk filming technique 194 popularized on television by series such as St Elsewhere ER and The West Wing 195 Broadcast history EditMain article List of Grey s Anatomy episodes SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankRatingFirst airedLast aired19March 27 2005 2005 03 27 May 22 2005 2005 05 22 811 6227September 25 2005 2005 09 25 May 15 2006 2006 05 15 512 5325September 21 2006 2006 09 21 May 17 2007 2007 05 17 712 1417September 27 2007 2007 09 27 May 22 2008 2008 05 22 910 4524September 25 2008 2008 09 25 May 14 2009 2009 05 14 109 6624September 24 2009 2009 09 24 May 20 2010 2010 05 20 119 0722September 23 2010 2010 09 23 May 19 2011 2011 05 19 177 5824September 22 2011 2011 09 22 May 17 2012 2012 05 17 217 6924September 27 2012 2012 09 27 May 16 2013 2013 05 16 187 71024September 26 2013 2013 09 26 May 15 2014 2014 05 15 118 51125September 25 2014 2014 09 25 May 14 2015 2015 05 14 177 81224September 24 2015 2015 09 24 May 19 2016 2016 05 19 117 91324September 22 2016 2016 09 22 May 18 2017 2017 05 18 167 31424September 28 2017 2017 09 28 May 17 2018 2018 05 17 127 11525September 27 2018 2018 09 27 May 16 2019 2019 05 16 206 51621September 26 2019 2019 09 26 April 9 2020 2020 04 09 307 01717November 12 2020 2020 11 12 June 3 2021 2021 06 03 367 61820September 30 2021 2021 09 30 May 26 2022 2022 05 26 346 419TBAOctober 6 2022 2022 10 06 TBATBATBA Sara Ramirez served as the lead vocalist for the musical episode Grey s Anatomy s first season commenced airing as a mid season replacement to Boston Legal on March 27 2005 and concluded on May 22 2005 The 9 episode season aired on Sundays in the 10 00pm EST time slot following Desperate Housewives 119 The show was renewed by ABC for a second season 196 that aired in the same time slot as season 1 Premiering on September 25 2005 and concluding on May 15 2006 the season consisted of 27 episodes 197 As the original first season order was for 13 episodes 5 episodes were held for season 2 as ABC decided to close the first season of Grey s Anatomy on the same night as Desperate Housewives finale 198 During season 2 Grey s Anatomy produced 2 specials recapping the events of recent episodes narrated by Bailey entitled Straight to the Heart and Under Pressure The show was renewed for a third season which was relocated to the coveted Thursday 9 00 pm EST time slot The show has remained on Thursdays since then 199 Commencing on September 21 2006 and ending on May 17 2007 season 3 consisted of 25 episodes 200 2 more specials were produced during the show s third season entitled Complications of the Heart and Every Moment Counts which were narrated by Bailey and Morgan respectively ABC renewed Grey s Anatomy for a fourth season which aired from September 27 2007 to May 22 2008 and ultimately consisted of 17 episodes 201 202 Season 4 had a reduced number of episodes due to the 2007 08 Writers Guild of America strike which caused production to cease from February to April leaving the show with no writing staff during that time 203 At the beginning of season 4 the show aired its final special entitled Come Rain Or Shine created to transition viewers from Grey s Anatomy to Private Practice which was narrated by the editors of People magazine 204 The show received a renewal for a fifth season 205 which premiered on September 25 2008 and concluded on May 14 2009 consisting of 24 episodes 206 The series was renewed for a sixth season consisting of 24 episodes 207 which commenced on September 24 2009 and ended on May 20 2010 208 During season 6 Grey s Anatomy aired a series of webisodes entitled Seattle Grace On Call at ABC com 209 ABC renewed the show for a seventh season 210 which premiered on September 23 2010 and concluded on May 19 2011 consisting of 22 episodes 211 This was followed up with Seattle Grace On Call Seattle Grace Message of Hope aired during the beginning of season 7 133 Also during season 7 the series produced a musical episode entitled Song Beneath the Song featuring songs that became famous through their use in Grey s Anatomy 212 The show received a 24 episode eighth season renewal 213 which commenced on September 22 2011 with a 2 hour episode and ended on May 17 2012 214 Grey s Anatomy was renewed for a ninth season 215 which premiered on September 27 2012 and ended on May 16 2013 216 Grey s Anatomy was renewed for a tenth season on May 10 2013 217 and premiered on September 27 2013 with a 2 hour episode and ended on May 15 2014 On May 8 2014 ABC renewed the series for an 11th season that aired from September 25 2014 to May 14 2015 218 In addition the show was relocated to the Thursday 8 00 pm EST time slot After four seasons outside the Top 25 rated shows Grey s Anatomy was the No 15 show in the 2013 2014 season the show s tenth The show also re entered the Top 5 shows in the 18 49 viewer demographic On May 7 2015 ABC renewed the series for a 12th season that premiered on September 24 2015 and concluded on May 19 2016 219 The 13th season aired from September 22 2016 to May 18 2017 220 The 14th season aired from September 28 2017 to May 17 2018 The 15th season aired from September 27 2018 to May 16 2019 The 16th season aired from September 26 2019 to April 9 2020 The 17th season aired from November 12 2020 to June 3 2021 On May 10 2021 the series was renewed for an 18th season 221 which premiered on September 30 2021 222 On January 10 2022 the series was renewed for a 19th season 223 which premiered on October 6 2022 224 Distribution EditGrey s Anatomy episodes appear regularly on ABC in the United States All episodes are approximately 43 minutes and broadcast in both high definition and standard 225 The series episodes are also available for download at the iTunes Store in standard and high definition qualities 226 and Amazon Video 227 ABC Video On Demand also releases recent episodes of the show for temporary viewing 228 Recent episodes are also available at ABC s official Grey s Anatomy website 229 and on Hulu and Xfinity 230 In 2009 ABC signed a deal allowing Grey s Anatomy episodes to be streamed on Netflix 231 Grey s Anatomy is syndicated on Lifetime with one hour blocks weekdays at 1 00 pm 2 00 pm and 3 00 pm EST 232 Home media releases Edit An interview with Justin Chambers is on the season 4 DVD Since its debut Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released the first 13 seasons on DVD to regions 1 2 and 4 233 The season 1 DVD released on February 14 2006 features an alternate title sequence bloopers behind the scenes footage audio commentaries and an extended edition of the pilot episode 234 The season 2 DVD released on September 12 2006 which includes extended episodes an interview with Wilson deleted scenes a set tour a Q amp A with the cast and a segment on the special effects creation 235 The season 3 DVD was released on September 11 2007 with bonus features including extended episodes an interview with star Dempsey audio commentaries and bloopers 236 The season 4 DVD released on September 9 2008 features an interview with Heigl and Chambers extended episodes bloopers and deleted scenes 237 The season 5 DVD was released on September 15 2009 and includes unaired scenes bloopers and extended episodes 238 The season 6 DVD released on September 14 2010 features deleted scenes an extended finale and bloopers 239 The season 7 DVD released on September 13 2011 includes an extended edition of and a behind the scenes featurette on the musical episode bloopers as well as deleted scenes 240 In addition the season 8 DVD was released on September 4 2012 with several bonus features and deleted scenes 233 The season 9 DVD released on August 27 2013 with several bonus features and deleted scenes The season 10 DVD was released on September 2 2014 with new several bonus features and deleted scenes The season was officially released on DVD as a 6 disc box set under the title of Grey s Anatomy The Complete Tenth Season Live For The Moments on September 2 2014 In view of the departure of the character of Cristina Yang in the season finale the DVD set featured an extended episode Do You Know and a special feature from Sandra Oh titled An Immeasurable Gift 241 Season 11 released on DVD as a 6 disc box set on August 18 2015 with interviews with new series regular Caterina Scorsone and a special feature for Dempsey s departure titled How To Say Goodbye Dr Derek Shepherd Season 12 released on DVD as a 6 disc box set on August 30 2016 Season 13 released on DVD as a 6 disc box set on August 29 2017 DVD releases Edit Season Episodes DVD release datesRegion 1 Region 2 Region 4 Discs1 9 February 14 2006 2006 02 14 242 July 10 2006 2006 07 10 243 April 26 2006 2006 04 26 244 22 27 September 12 2006 2006 09 12 245 May 28 2007 2007 05 28 246 January 10 2007 2007 01 10 247 63 25 September 11 2007 2007 09 11 248 September 15 2008 2008 09 15 249 October 31 2007 2007 10 31 250 74 17 September 9 2008 2008 09 09 251 November 23 2009 2009 11 23 252 November 5 2008 2008 11 05 253 55 24 September 15 2009 2009 09 15 254 August 23 2010 2010 08 23 255 November 4 2009 2009 11 04 256 76 24 September 14 2010 2010 09 14 257 December 5 2011 2011 12 05 258 November 3 2010 2010 11 03 259 67 22 September 13 2011 2011 09 13 260 May 28 2012 2012 05 28 261 November 2 2011 2011 11 02 262 68 24 September 4 2012 2012 09 04 263 December 3 2012 2012 12 03 264 October 17 2012 2012 10 17 265 69 24 August 27 2013 2013 08 27 266 November 4 2013 2013 11 04 267 October 2 2013 2013 10 02 268 610 24 September 2 2014 2014 09 02 269 November 3 2014 2014 11 03 270 October 8 2014 2014 10 08 271 611 25 August 18 2015 2015 08 18 272 October 5 2015 2015 10 05 273 October 7 2015 2015 10 07 271 612 24 August 30 2016 2016 08 30 274 October 3 2016 2016 10 03 275 November 2 2016 2016 11 02 276 613 24 August 29 2017 2017 08 29 277 October 23 2017 2017 10 23 278 November 8 2017 2017 11 08 279 614 24 October 22 2018 2018 10 22 280 615 25 November 25 2019 2019 11 25 281 716 21 November 30 2020 2020 11 30 282 517 17 November 8 2021 2021 11 08 283 4Reception EditCritical response Edit Grey s Anatomy offers a different and perhaps more valuable idea of what it means to be strong the capacity to suffer terribly break down completely and then get up again confident that you re bigger than the sum of the tragedies you ve suffered because everyone else is too The layers of history have grown pretty dense and rich and the friendships that form around them as the characters suffer and survive is the glue of the series and what despite a few inevitable hit or miss patches elevates it to something special Laura Hudson of Wired 284 Grey s Anatomy has been well received among critics The show holds an average score of 83 on Rotten Tomatoes 285 Emily VanDerWerff of The A V Club gave an insight on the series overwhelming success and the lows writing that the quality arc is all over the place She noted the steady build up in the first season the series skyrocketing into a phenomenon in the second season the gradual dip in season three and some seriously bumpy moments in the fourth and the fifth season which was interrupted by the writers strike VanDerWerff felt that the climb begins again in season six 286 Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly in a review wrote I believe the show s best season to date is season 2 Let me make it clear that I m not saying seasons 3 through 9 were bad In my opinion there have only been a few lulls in the show s history and most of them didn t last a full season adding I still enjoy the show and I ll honestly never stop watching By any standards Grey s Anatomy has been successful television ranking highly in the ratings for nine seasons and entering the cultural lexicon via phrases as cloying yet catchy as McDreamy the show has had its periods of being intensely irritating and it has had its periods when it seems as if Shonda Rhimes has taken leave of her faculties but it s also got an amazingly high batting average particularly with every solid season that passes along in this second act of its run The site lauded the show saying On average it s been very good TV filled with interesting driven characters who run the gamut of professions within the show s hospital setting It s been by turns a good soap a good romantic comedy a good medical drama and a good interpersonal show about an unexpected workplace family 287 The first season received positive reviews which steadily built up with Gary Levin of USA Today calling Grey s Anatomy one of the top shows on television 288 The New York Daily News named Grey s Anatomy a winner whereas Newsday expressed a positive opinion by stating You simply can t stop watching The Washington Post s Tom Shales was critical of season one finding it reminiscent of ER and commenting that The show is much more a matter of commercial calculation than an honest attempt to try something fresh and different 289 Shortly after its initial airing the Chicago Tribune s Maureen Ryan called Grey s Anatomy the new Friends a concluded National Broadcasting Company NBC sitcom following the lives of a group of young adults that for all of its 10 year run was in the top 5 for viewer ratings 118 The second season received high critical acclaim top critics like Emily VanDerWerff of The A V Club called the show a phenomenon adding the show was one of the best TV shows around while Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly later during the tenth season called the second the show s best season to date However Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures opined that Grey s Anatomy is a mere combination of Scrubs ER Sex and the City and The Love Boat 290 It further garnered positive reviews Christopher Monfette of IGN added The second season of this medical drama expertly wove its signature elements of complex relationships whimsical banter and challenging life lessons all to a montage fetish indie rock soundtrack 291 Todd Gilchrist also from IGN called the season terrific adding Indeed one of the best currently on television While it remains to be seen what the creators do with it now that it s become an outright event program the season demonstrates that Rhimes and co know what to do with the opportunities presented them whether you re male or female this is the kind of entertainment that small screen devotees and folks fed up with television need to see 292 Critics have highlighted Ellen Pompeo s due for an Emmy Award on multiple occasions 293 The title character of Grey s Anatomy Meredith has received both overwhelmingly positive and weary feedback by critics along the course of the show with the development of the character garnering praise from majority critics Earlier reactions for Meredith were mixed in a 2006 review Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times dubbed to her as the heroine of Grey s Anatomy 294 A reviewer for BuddyTV praised the distinct uniqueness in the character calling Meredith an unconventional heroine adding that the character was Neither black nor white but always wait for it many shades of grey The reviewer and to add that even in her lighter moments she has still been dark and twisty 295 The sentiment was shared by Glenn Diaz who remarked You gotta love Mer when she s gloomy When Pompeo did not receive a nomination 61st Primetime Emmy Awards for her work as Meredith Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Pompeo has worked very hard to make Meredith Grey an interesting character and should have received a nomination 296 IGN s Monfette less impressed by the character criticized her storyline as some bizarrely under developed sub plot about depression and giving Derek a season s worth of reconsidering to do 291 Robert Rorke of the New York Post was critical of Meredith s relationship with Derek Shepherd writing She used to be the queen of the romantic dilemmas but lately she s been a little dopey what with the endless McDreamy soliloquies 297 The development of the character has received praise from critics Reviewing the first part of the eighth season TV Fanatic wrote this season belongs to Meredith Grey She is the heart and soul of the show and has been outstanding This is a character that used to be so dark and twisty and has now grown into a more mature woman Ellen Pompeo has been at the top of her game this season Rick Porter reviewing the episode How to Save a Life from the 11th season for Zap2it wrote Without Meredith and without one of Pompeo s strongest performances in her long time on the show How to Save a Life would have run the risk of coming across as a baldly manipulative death episode the likes of which the show has done several times before He added How to Save a Life may not be the ideal Emmy submission episode for Ellen Pompeo considering Meredith is off screen for more than half of it But it s among the best work she s ever done on the show 298 Janalen Samson of BuddyTV lauded the Meredith s development throughout the series saying When one considers how this character has grown over eleven seasons it really is amazing Kudos to Ellen Pompeo for her fine work She s actually done the impossible because I actually care what happens to Meredith Grey 295 Reviewing the season 12 premiere Sledgehammer critics including Alex Hawkins of the Western Gazette again highlighted Pompeo s being due for an Emmy Award The majority of the supporting cast of Grey s Anatomy have been well received as well with the New York Post s Rorke deeming Stevens to be the heart and soul of Grey s Anatomy whereas Eyder Peralta of the Houston Chronicle was critical of her character development stating She s the reason I don t watch Grey s Anatomy anymore 299 Kelli Catana of The Huffington Post named Yang the best damn character and deemed the Meredith Yang relationship the most true friendship on network television 300 Television Without Pity writer Lauren Shotwell claimed Yang is the only one of these five residents that regularly acts like an actual doctor Analyzing Alex Karev Rachel Simon called him underrated and she pointed out that his personal growth never seems to get acknowledged as Alex has evolved slowly and realistically into a genuinely good person whose faults don t miraculously disappear but take a backseat to much better qualities 301 Robert Bianco of USA Today said Dempsey has a seemingly effortless way of humanizing Derek s dreamy appeal with ego and vanity 302 His friendship with Mark Sloan has been well received Victor Balta said they ve demonstrated an easy chemistry that makes for some of the great comic relief around Seattle Grace Hospital 303 Addison Montgomery was deemed sassy and bright and interesting 304 TV Guide said of Walsh s stint on Grey s Anatomy that she adds spice to an already hot show 305 Callie Torres after having previously received mixed reviews was praised for her bisexual storyline Critics added that the character was anchored by stellar performances by Sara Ramirez Lexie Grey having initially been criticized became a critics favorite in the series Alex Keen of The Trades wrote that Lexie s presence and confidence have increased quite a bit and actress Chyler Leigh does a fantastic job of making this progression feel seamless Since the series has defused the tension between Little Grey and Big Grey aka Meredith Lexie has clear sailing through the season and steals the show as one of the best current characters on the series 306 With the departure of several cast members throughout the seasons many new characters have been added to the drama s ensemble McKidd and Capshaw were referred to as fresh additions to the series by Monfette of IGN 307 Matt Roush of TV Guide commented Hunt is the most encouraging thing to happen to Grey s Anatomy in quite a while 308 Matt Mitovich of TV Guide noted that Robbins quickly established herself as a fan favorite 309 describing her as a breath of fresh air in the often angsty halls of Seattle Grace 310 On April Kepner and Jackson Avery Courtney Morrison of TVFanatic wrote April has grown since her character was introduced she s honest A girl with principles is a girl you want to do well He described her and Avery as a couple for whom viewers can root Speaking of the new cast members in addition to the remaining original ones Robert Bianco from USA Today called them the show s best ensemble in years 311 Regarding season three Bill Carter of The New York Times called Grey s Anatomy television s hottest show adding No show is expected to challenge Grey s Anatomy for prime time pre eminence 312 Contrasting with Carter s view Monfette of IGN said that it speedily found itself mired in the annoying and absurd adding This third season may very well represent a case of over writing a concept that has perhaps tragically run bone dry on narrative fuel 291 At the conclusion of season three Entertainment Weekly s Gregory Kirschling said the show lacked a defining happy warm gooseflesh moment adding that the season didn t leave you dying for the next season premiere 313 Speaking of the fourth season Laura Burrows of IGN said the series became a little more than mediocre but less than fantastic adding This season proved that even strong chemistry and good acting cannot save a show that suffers from the inevitable recycled plot 314 In contrast to the moderately negative feedback the third and fourth seasons received Alan Sepinwall of The Star Ledger said of the fifth season Overall it feels more like the good old days than Grey s Anatomy has in a long time Misha Davenport from the Chicago Sun Times said season five hits on all the things the show does so well adding There is romance heartbreak humor and a few moments that will move fans to tears 315 Brian Lowry of Variety less impressed opinionated that the season five displayed the show running out of storylines 316 Speaking of the sixth season Bianco of USA Today wrote Grey s has always loved grand gestures You like them or you don t the only real question is whether the show pulls them off or it doesn t This year it did 317 The series has a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic based on five reviews for season seven 318 In response to the season Bianco from USA Today commented Happily it now seems to have landed on solid ground Also of the seventh season Entertainment Weekly s Jennifer Armstrong said It s in the shooting s emotional reverberations that the show is regenerating after the past few hit and miss seasons whereas Verne Gay of Newsday commented Unfortunately they ve settled on far too easy and facile answers for the most part 319 HitFix gave a positive review saying that season seven overall has been one of the show s strongest ever and added There was a time when Grey s Anatomy was this show where I suffered through a lot of stuff that made me cringe to get to those genius melodrama moments it could do so well Over the last couple of years it s evolved into a show that s much more consistent in tone where it may not move me as often as it did in the early years but also very rarely makes me question my reasons for watching 320 Speaking of season eight Entertainment Weekly s Mandi Bierly called it a so so season 321 and Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it emotional 322 Also acknowledging the fan base Verne Gay of Newsday wrote Grey s has had a good season and has an intensely loyal fan base to prove it regarding the eighth season 323 The ninth season received more positive reviews Rob Salem of Toronto Star called it a solid return to form 324 Praising the friendship between Meredith and Cristina of Entertainment Weekly wrote There s still one good reason to keep watching Where else can you find such deep friendships between female co workers 325 The tenth season was also marked with praise Annie Barrett for Entertainment Weekly wrote There s true sorrow here along with the passion which keeps their dynamic so intriguing to me 326 Caroline Siede from The A V Club wrote in her review for the tenth season At its best Grey s Anatomy is about everyday bravery sacrifice and courage At its worst it s a melodramatic moralizing soap opera Both sides are on display as the show heads confidently into its 10th season 327 Many sources including Rachel Simon of Bustle and Nicole Pomarico of Wetpaint claimed that Sandra Oh s performance during her final season on Grey s Anatomy is worthy of an Emmy nomination 328 329 Bryce Olin of Netflix ranked Grey s 9th among the 50 Best TV Shows on Netflix stating It s a tough call but based on Grey s casting choices and revolutionary portrayals of female doctors in the series I m willing to argue that Grey s Anatomy is the best medical drama of all time Obviously Shonda Rhimes didn t reinvent the wheel with the series but there s no denying its popularity adding I understand its significance in the pop culture sphere He also stated that the show could go higher in the ranks with the upcoming season stating Apparently Grey s Anatomy fans are passionate about their show although it seems like they ve been closeted for the last few years I d love to move Grey s Anatomy even higher on the ranking but I ll have wait until the eleventh season comes to Netflix 330 331 The show was criticized for its handling of a controversy The Grey s Anatomy scandal revolved around actor Isaiah Washington using a homophobic slur on set Mainstream media coverage scapegoated this scandal as black masculinity for perpetrating homophobia thus containing both sexual and racial difference in the name of tolerance 332 Critics top 10 lists Edit Critics included Grey s Anatomy in top ten lists for five of its 14 seasons these are listed below in order of rank 2005 333 No 4 USA Today No 6 The New York Times No 7 The Boston Globe No 9 San Jose Mercury News Chicago Tribune d 2006 334 No 2 USA Today No 2 San Jose Mercury News No 4 TV Guide No 9 Orlando Sentinel 2007 335 No 6 USA Today 2010 336 No 10 Movieline 2015 337 No 7 NPR Impact Edit Grey s Anatomy makes an impact on how people s perception of the world is created Brian Quick University of Illinois 338 Grey s Anatomy introduced the Mc labeling surge when it dubbed Patrick Dempsey s character Derek Shepherd McDreamy Grey s Anatomy has been considered an impact on culture by Entertainment Weekly s executive editor Lori Majewski with her writing Grey s Anatomy isn t just a show it s a phenomenon When the final shows air every place in New York City is empty You could get a table at the best restaurants 339 The Daily Beast s Jace Lacob also considered the show an impact comparing its success to that of Friends and calling it a cultural phenomenon 340 Steve Sternberg a media analyst with Magna Global USA explained that the show appeals to a broad audience writing Roughly 80 percent of households during prime time only have one TV set on People are looking for shows they can watch with other household members 119 In its initial seasons Grey s Anatomy introduced a Mc labeling surge which started when various characters dubbed Dempsey s character McDreamy Canadian newspaper the National Post considers this trend a phenomenon 341 Analyzing the show s impact on culture Dessylyn Arnold of Yahoo Voices noted that the Mc labeling trend has been parodied on other shows including ER and Degrassi The Next Generation 342 Mark Lawson of The Guardian has credited Grey s Anatomy with popularizing the songtage or musical montage segments 18 Parodying this MADtv spoofed the show in 2006 making fun of the series emotional scenes including those accompanied by a musical montage 343 Grey s Anatomy has also been credited to helping redefine good television The A V Club writes Since The Sopranos burst onto the scene we ve too often classified a show as good based on how closely it adhered to the dark violent male centric template set out by that particular show It s time for that to end At its best Grey s Anatomy has been among the very best shows on TV and at its worst it s been at least fascinating to watch To write it off is to unnecessarily narrow the definition of what good TV can be to limit what the medium is capable of TV is at its best when it emotionally connects and even when it seems to be otherwise merrily hurtling off a cliff Grey s Anatomy is nothing but emotional connection which is more than other more consistently better shows can say 286 The series placed at No 66 on Entertainment Weekly s New TV Classics list in 2007 344 and was declared the third highest rated show for the first ten years of the IMDb 2002 2012 345 The show s premise has inspired the creation of A Corazon Abierto a Colombian adaptation of Grey s Anatomy 346 which in turn spawned a Mexican version of the same name 347 An additional study conducted by Brian Quick of the University of Illinois indicated that the show s portrayal of doctors being smart good looking capable and interesting leads viewers to associating real world doctors to be that way 338 Surgical resident Karen Zink M D deemed the show s portrayal of interns inaccurate adding None of the characters have bags under their eyes They all leave the hospital dressed cute with their hair done and makeup on That is so far away from the reality of interns You are just dragging your butt trying to stay alive You don t have time to do your hair You don t have time to put on makeup Every surgical intern has bags under their eyes 348 In 2011 a woman residing in Sheboygan Wisconsin became unresponsive due to an asthma attack Unable to wait for an ambulance her daughter and a friend performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR on her which they learned from Grey s Anatomy 349 In 2017 an Israeli woman saved her husband by performing cardiac massage she learned from Grey s Anatomy 350 The woman performed cardiac massage for 20 minutes before medical personal arrived and transferred the husband to Shaare Zedek Medical Center The mid season premiere of the 14th season was entitled 1 800 799 7233 the National Domestic Violence Hotline upon release on January 18 2018 the move was received favorably and viewers variously changed their Twitter usernames to the same and used the platform to bring awareness to both the hotline and the issue of domestic abuse 351 U S television ratings Edit Grey s Anatomy has received high viewership and ratings since its debut The first 4 seasons of the program each ranked in the top 10 among all viewers reaching its peak Nielsen ratings in the second season attracting an average of 19 44 million viewers per episode and ranking at No 5 overall Following the show s time slot being relocated overall rankings steadily declined dropping below the top 10 in its fifth season Grey s Anatomy made its greatest fall from its sixth to seventh season slipping from 16 to No 31 The series is on a steady decline in terms of overall viewership and rankings yet Grey s Anatomy still holds value in charts when numbers are pulled from the digital video recorder DVR It was the most recorded show between 2007 and 2011 based on cumulative totals and has been for several years in a row 352 The most watched episode of the series is It s the End of the World with 37 88 million viewers aided by a lead in from Super Bowl XL 353 Grey s Anatomy was the most expensive program on television in the 2007 08 season measured by advertising revenue with earnings of US 400 000 per 30 seconds 354 The show was named the fourth behind Desperate Housewives Two and a Half Men and American Idol 355 and the fifth highest behind Glee Two and a Half Men The X Factor and American Idol revenue earning show with the earnings of US 2 67 million and US 2 75 million per half hour in 2011 and 2012 respectively 356 While Grey s Anatomy is no longer ranked in the top numbers for overall ratings the show s ranking in the key 18 49 demographic has remained high As of season 8 the series is the highest rated drama on television in the target demographic 357 In 2016 a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that Grey s Anatomy was most popular in a swath of the middle of the country particularly in areas with a lower percentage of college graduates 358 Below is a table of Grey s Anatomy s seasonal rankings in the U S television market based on average total viewers per episode Each U S network television season starts in September and ends in late May which coincides with the completion of May sweeps U S television ratings for Grey s Anatomy Season Timeslot EST No ofepisodes Premiere Finale TV season Overall rank 18 49 rank Overall viewershipDate Viewers millions Date Viewers millions 1 Sunday 10 00 p m 9 March 27 2005 16 25 359 May 22 2005 22 22 360 2004 05 No 9 361 No 5 362 18 46 361 2 27 September 25 2005 18 98 363 May 15 2006 22 50 364 2005 06 No 5 365 No 4 366 19 44 365 3 Thursday 9 00 p m 25 September 21 2006 25 41 367 May 17 2007 22 57 368 2006 07 No 8 369 No 3 370 19 17 369 4 17 September 27 2007 20 93 371 May 22 2008 18 09 372 2007 08 No 10 373 No 3 374 15 92 373 5 24 September 25 2008 18 29 375 May 14 2009 17 12 376 2008 09 No 12 377 No 3 378 14 52 377 6 24 September 24 2009 17 03 379 May 20 2010 16 13 380 2009 10 No 16 381 No 6 382 13 55 381 7 22 September 23 2010 14 32 383 May 19 2011 9 89 384 2010 11 No 31 385 No 9 386 11 41 385 8 24 September 22 2011 10 38 387 May 17 2012 11 44 388 2011 12 No 32 389 No 10 390 10 92 389 9 24 September 27 2012 11 73 391 May 16 2013 8 99 392 2012 13 No 26 393 No 10 393 11 07 393 10 24 September 26 2013 9 27 394 May 15 2014 8 92 395 2013 14 No 15 396 No 5 396 12 12 396 11 Thursday 8 00 p m 25 September 25 2014 9 81 397 May 14 2015 8 33 398 2014 15 No 31 399 No 13 399 11 57 399 12 24 September 24 2015 9 55 400 May 19 2016 8 19 401 2015 16 No 21 402 No 8 402 11 20 402 13 24 September 22 2016 8 75 403 May 18 2017 7 92 404 2016 17 No 19 405 No 9 405 10 88 405 14 24 September 28 2017 8 07 406 May 17 2018 7 60 407 2017 18 No 20 408 No 11 408 10 83 408 15 25 September 27 2018 6 81 409 May 16 2019 5 99 410 2018 19 No 27 411 No 8 411 9 87 411 16 Thursday 8 00 p m 1 9 Thursday 9 00 p m 10 21 21 September 26 2019 6 51 412 April 9 2020 7 33 413 2019 20 No 22 414 No 6 414 9 39 414 17 Thursday 9 00 p m 17 November 12 2020 5 93 415 June 3 2021 4 76 416 2020 21 No 19 417 No 5 417 8 16 417 18 20 September 30 2021 4 77 418 May 26 2022 4 19 419 2021 22 No 34 420 No 8 420 6 42 420 19 TBA October 6 2022 3 80 421 TBA TBA 2022 23 TBA TBA TBAAwards and accolades Edit Main article List of awards and nominations received by Grey s Anatomy Grey s Anatomy has won a number of awards As of July 2012 update the show has been nominated for 25 Primetime Emmy Awards having been nominated for at least 1 every year except in 2010 193 At the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2005 Oh was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series which she went on to be nominated for every year until 2009 and Horton was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series 193 The following year at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards the series received a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series which they were nominated for again in 2007 193 Also in 2006 Wilson was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series which she went on to be nominated for every year until 2009 and Kyle Chandler was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series 193 The 58th ceremony also honored Rhimes and Vernoff who were both nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series 193 Rhimes whose career kicked off in 1995 has since produced yet another ABC series Scandal which began on air in 2012 and ended in 2019 Beginning in 2005 Rhimes has been continually nominated for numerous awards including 3 Emmy Awards first in 2006 for a dramatic series and a separate nomination for writing a dramatic series followed by a third nomination in 2007 for a dramatic series 193 Katherine Heigl is the only star billed cast member to have received a Primetime Emmy Award In 2007 at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards Heigl won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series while Knight was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series 193 Numerous guest actresses have been nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series including Burton in 2006 and 2007 Christina Ricci in 2006 Reaser in 2007 Diahann Carroll in 2008 and Sharon Lawrence in 2009 but the only actress to have won the award is Devine in 2011 who was nominated again in 2012 193 The show has also been nominated for 13 Creative Arts Emmy Awards having won 3 of them Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Outstanding Makeup for a Single Camera Series Non Prosthetic and Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series Miniseries Movie or a Special 193 The show has received 10 Golden Globe Award nominations since its premiere At the 63rd Golden Globe Awards in 2006 the series was nominated for Best Drama Series 422 Dempsey was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series 422 which he was nominated for again in 2007 423 and Oh won the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series Miniseries or Television Film 424 The following year at the 64th Golden Globe Awards in 2007 Pompeo was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series 423 and the show won Best Drama Series 425 At the 65th Golden Globe Awards in 2008 Heigl was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Series Miniseries or Television Film 426 while the series in whole was nominated for Best Drama Series 426 The series has won People s Choice Awards for Best Drama 5 times in 2007 2013 2015 2016 and 2017 and has been nominated for several other People s Choice Awards with nominations received by Oh 427 as well as multiple wins from Dempsey 428 Pompeo winning in recent years 2013 and 2015 429 430 Heigl 428 Wilson 428 Demi Lovato 427 for guest starring and the drama in whole for Favorite TV Drama 431 In 2007 Rhimes and the female cast were the recipient of the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of the excellence and innovation in the show as a creative work that has enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television 432 The series has been honored with numerous NAACP Image Award nominations many having been won including 5 awards for Outstanding Drama Series 433 Grey s Anatomy has also received several Screen Actors Guild Awards with nominations received by Dempsey as well as wins from Oh 434 Wilson 435 and the main cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 435 Spin offs and adaptations EditGrey s Anatomy has spawned several spin offs and adaptations Private Practice Edit Main article Private Practice TV series The cast of Grey s Anatomy was displeased with the network s decision to center the spin off on Kate Walsh s character On February 21 2007 The Wall Street Journal reported that ABC was pursuing a spin off medical drama television series for Grey s Anatomy featuring Walsh s character Addison Montgomery 151 Subsequent reports confirmed the decision stating that an expanded two hour broadcast of Grey s Anatomy would serve as a backdoor pilot for the proposed spin off The cast of Grey s Anatomy was reportedly unhappy about the decision as all hoped the spin off would have been given to them Pompeo commented that she felt as the star she should have been consulted 436 and Heigl disclosed that she had hoped for a spin off for Stevens 437 The backdoor pilot that aired on May 3 2007 sees Montgomery take a leave of absence from Seattle Grace Hospital to visit her best friend from Los Angeles Naomi Bennett Merrin Dungey later Audra McDonald a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist While in Los Angeles she meets Bennett s colleagues at the Oceanside Wellness Center 64 The two hour broadcast entitled The Other Side of This Life served as the twenty second and twenty third episodes of the third season and was directed by Michael Grossman according to Variety 438 The cast included Amy Brenneman Paul Adelstein Tim Daly Taye Diggs Chris Lowell and Merrin Dungey 439 KaDee Strickland s character Charlotte King who would be introduced in the spin off s first season premiere did not appear in the backdoor pilot Her addition to the main cast was announced on July 11 2007 prior to the commencement of the first season 440 She did not have to audition for the role but was cast after a meeting with Rhimes 441 Also not present in the backdoor pilot was McDonald due to her character Naomi Bennett being portrayed by a different actress Merrin Dungey However on June 29 2007 ABC announced that Dungey would be replaced with no reason given for the change 442 The drama was titled Private Practice and its premiere episode followed the second part of the season debut of Dancing with the Stars and provided a lead in to fellow freshman series Dirty Sexy Money Pushing Daisies a third new series for the evening rounded out the lineup as a lead in to Private Practice 201 The series ended its run on January 22 2013 after 6 seasons 443 444 Station 19 Edit Main article Station 19 On May 16 2017 Channing Dungey announced at the ABC Upfronts that the network ordered another Grey s Anatomy spin off this one focusing on firefighters in Seattle The series premiered mid season in 2018 Stacy McKee long term Grey s writer and executive producer serves as the spin off s showrunner 445 The new show was introduced Season 14 Episode 13 when a house fire brings the firefighters to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital In July 2017 it was announced that Jaina Lee Ortiz was the first actress cast in the spin off series 446 In September 2017 it was announced that Jason George who has played Dr Ben Warren since season 6 would be leaving Grey s Anatomy to move to the spin off He continued to be a series regular on Grey s Anatomy until the spin off began production 447 In October 2017 it was announced that 5 new series regulars for the spin off had been cast being Grey Damon Jay Hayden Okieriete Onaodowan Danielle Savre and Barrett Doss It was also announced that the spin off had a 10 episode order for the first season 448 449 Later in October 2017 it was announced that Miguel Sandoval was cast as the Captain of the firehouse 450 Grey s Anatomy B Team Edit On January 9 2018 it was announced by Sarah Drew on her Instagram page that a 6 episode spin off series following the new interns of Grey Sloan Memorial would be released for streaming on the ABC app and abc com on Thursday January 11 2018 Grey s Anatomy B Team stars Sophia Taylor Ali Dahlia Qadri Jake Borelli Levi Schmitt Alex Blue Davis Casey Parker Jaicy Elliot Taryn Helm Rushi Kota Vik Roy and Jeanine Mason Samantha Sam Bello with special guest appearances made by Justin Chambers Alex Karev Kelly McCreary Maggie Pierce Kevin McKidd Owen Hunt and James Pickens Jr Richard Webber The 6 episodes in this series were written by Barbara Kaye Friend with Grey s Anatomy series regular Sarah Drew April Kepner making her directorial debut directing each of them 451 Crossovers Edit Grey s Anatomy has several crossover storylines with both spin offs Private Practice and Station 19 throughout its run List of Grey s Anatomy crossover events Series A Episode title Series B Episode title Air date Crossover typeGrey s Anatomy The Other Side of This Life Private Practice The Other Side of This Life May 3 2007 2007 05 03 Backdoor pilot Before and After Ex Life February 12 2009 2009 02 12 Two part event Blink Another Second Chance January 14 2010 2010 01 14 Have You Seen Me Lately You Break My Heart February 16 2012 2012 02 16 You Really Got a Hold on Me Station 19 You Really Got a Hold on Me March 1 2018 2018 03 01 Backdoor pilot Momma Knows Best Under the Surface October 11 2018 2018 10 11 Two part event What I Did for Love Always Ready May 2 2019 2019 05 02 Station 19 I Know This Bar Grey s Anatomy Help Me Through the Night January 23 2020 2020 01 23 Nothing Seems the Same All Tomorrow s Parties November 12 2020 2020 11 12 Three part event The Center Won t Hold Out of Control No Time for Despair December 17 2020 2020 12 17 Four part event Train in Vain Helplessly Hoping March 11 2021 2021 03 11 Save Yourself Sorry Doesn t Always Make It Right April 8 2021 2021 04 08 Two part event Phoenix from the Flame Here Comes the Sun September 30 2021 2021 09 30 Things We Lost in the Fire Bottle Up and Explode November 11 2021 2021 11 11 Started from the Bottom No Time to Die February 24 2022 2022 02 24 Everybody Says Don t Thunderstruck November 10 2022 2022 11 10 International adaptations Edit An adaptation called Doktorlar Doctors premiered on December 28 2006 on Turkish network Show TV It aired for 4 seasons In 2010 A Corazon Abierto An Open Heart an adaptation of the series was made by the Colombian network RCN TV It aired for 2 seasons In 2011 A Corazon Abierto An Open Heart an adaptation of the series was made by the Mexican network TV Azteca It aired for 2 seasons Merchandise Edit Grey s Anatomy The Video Game includes a plot focused around Cristina Yang Sandra Oh s character The American Broadcasting Company has partnered with J Larson CafePress and Barco Uniforms to provide the series branded merchandise through an online store The products available include shirts sweatshirts kitchenware homeware and bags with the Grey s Anatomy logo on it e Also available are custom unisex scrubs and lab coats in a variety of colors and sizes designed by Barco 452 The merchandise released by the company is available for purchase at the Grey s Anatomy official website and US 1 from every purchase is donated to Barco s Nightingales Foundation 453 Five volumes of the Grey s Anatomy Original Soundtrack have been released as of 2011 update For the first 2 seasons the show s main title theme was an excerpt from Cosy in the Rocket by British duo Psapp it is featured on the first soundtrack album released via ABC s corporate cousin Hollywood Records on September 27 2005 The second soundtrack featuring songs from the series second season was released on September 12 2006 454 followed by a third soundtrack with music from the third season 455 Following the seventh season musical episode Song Beneath the Song Grey s Anatomy The Music Event soundtrack was released 456 with volume 4 of the soundtrack released subsequently 457 In January 2009 Ubisoft announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with ABC Studios to develop a video game based on Grey s Anatomy 458 Designed for the Wii Nintendo DS and PC Grey s Anatomy The Video Game was released on March 10 2009 459 The game lets the player assume the role of one of the main characters making decisions for the character s personal and professional life and competing in a number of minigames 460 It has been criticized by reviewers because of the simplicity of the mini games and voice actors who do not play the same characters on the series with Jason Ocampo of IGN giving it a 6 10 overall rating 460 The Wii release received mixed reviews 461 and the Windows release received generally unfavorable reviews 462 ABC and Nielsen partnered in 2011 to create a Grey s Anatomy application for Apple s iPad The application was designed to allow viewers to participate in polls and learn trivial facts as they watch a live episode It uses Nielsen s Media Sync software to listen for the episode and to post features as the episode progresses 463 The creators of the show set up a real online wedding registry to mark the wedding of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd Instead of buying gifts fans were encouraged to donate money to the American Academy of Neurology Foundation 464 Explanatory footnotes Edit Television portal United States portala Pompeo starred as the leading role in Moonlight Mile which explains the significance of her being cast as Meredith 465 b The character of O Malley failed his intern test which is why he was not initially a resident along with Meredith Yang Stevens and Karev 30 c Meredith and Shepherd had decided to adopt due to Meredith s infertility which was diagnosed in season 7 466 d The Chicago Tribune list is not ranked it consists of 10 shows in alphabetical order e The Grey s Anatomy logo can be seen in the infobox above References Edit Gray s Anatomy an iconic medical textbook Medicographia November 8 2017 Archived from the original on July 17 2020 Retrieved May 19 2020 Shonda Rhimes Talks About Leaving ABC for New Netflix Deal Distractify October 22 2020 Retrieved March 6 2021 Pomarico Nicole May 14 2015 How Much Does The Grey s Anatomy Cast Make Being A TV Doctor Has Its Benefits Bustle Archived from the original on August 2 2017 Retrieved June 24 2017 Newcomb Tim September 21 2013 Which TV Stars Pull in the Most Dollars Per Episode Time Archived from the original on August 8 2017 Retrieved June 24 2017 Grey s Anatomy Scandal How to Get Away with Murder Renewed The Hollywood Reporter February 10 2017 Archived from the original on March 14 2017 Goldberg Lesley February 22 2019 TV s Top 5 Podcast Oscars Preview Marvel Cancellations Decoded The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved February 25 2019 Watch Station 19 TV Show ABC com ABC Retrieved September 16 2021 Watch Grey s Anatomy TV Show ABC Archived from the original on April 19 2016 Retrieved April 20 2016 a b Santucci Pieracarla Grey s Anatomy Made Simple Yahoo Voices Yahoo Inc Archived from the original on October 20 2012 Retrieved May 27 2012 a b Grey s Anatomy of the Narrative Analysis Media and Cultural Analysis Spring 2014 Archived December 22 2015 at the Wayback Machine Karanovic org March 5 2014 Retrieved on December 3 2016 Each season with the exception of one two and three show the doctors residency year first year second year etc being one older than the previous season a b c d Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob May 17 2012 Flight Grey s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 24 American Broadcasting Company Gilbert Matthew May 7 2006 Anatomy of a hit Boston com Boston Globe Electronic Publishing Inc Archived from the original on January 18 2013 Retrieved February 8 2022 Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Goldwyn Tony April 10 2005 Winning a Battle Losing the War Grey s Anatomy Season 1 Episode 3 American Broadcasting Company Writers Phelan Tony and Rater Joan Director Robinson Julie Ann February 1 2007 Wishin and Hopin Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 14 American Broadcasting Company Each episode typically features scenes of a surgery towards the center of the episode a b Writers Phelan Tony and Rater Joan Director Deitch Donna January 21 2010 I Like You So Much Better When You re Naked Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 12 American Broadcasting Company a b Lawson Mark February 8 2009 Top of the docs The Guardian London Archived from the original on September 11 2014 Retrieved May 18 2010 a b c d Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Horton Peter March 27 2005 A Hard Day s Night Grey s Anatomy Season 1 Episode 1 American Broadcasting Company Writer Wilding Mark Director Corn Rob November 15 2007 Forever Young Grey s Anatomy Season 4 Episode 8 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Vernoff Krista Director Ornelas Ed September 24 2009 Good Mourning Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 1 American Broadcasting Company Writer Hamilton Ann Director Coles John David April 24 2006 Shake Your Groove Thing Grey s Anatomy Season 1 Episode 5 American Broadcasting Company a b c Writers Stanton Gabrielle and Werksman Harry Director Stanzler Wendey May 22 2005 Who s Zoomin Who Grey s Anatomy Season 1 Episode 9 American Broadcasting Company Writer Schmir Mimi Director Corn Rob February 19 2006 Yesterday Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 18 American Broadcasting Company Writer McKee Stacy Director Stanzler Wendey February 26 2006 What Have I Done to Deserve This Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 19 American Broadcasting Company Writer McKee Stacy Director Horton Peter September 25 2005 Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 1 American Broadcasting Company Writer Vernoff Krisa Director Davidson Adam October 9 2005 Make Me Lose Control Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 3 American Broadcasting Company Writer Heinberg Allan Director Misiano Christopher May 10 2007 Testing 1 2 3 Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 24 American Broadcasting Company Writer Buchman Eric Director Grossman Michael January 25 2007 Great Expectations Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 13 American Broadcasting Company a b c Writers Phelan Tony and Rater Joan Director Corn Rob May 10 2007 Didn t We Almost Have It All Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 25 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob September 27 2007 A Change Is Gonna Come Grey s Anatomy Season 4 Episode 1 American Broadcasting Company Writer Cahn Debora Director Frawley James March 15 2007 Scars and Souvenirs Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 18 American Broadcasting Company a b c Writers Rhimes Shonda and Vernoff Krista Directors Grossman Michael and Yu Jessica November 22 2007 Crash Into Me Part 1 Grey s Anatomy Season 4 Episode 9 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob May 22 2008 Freedom Part 2 Grey s Anatomy Season 4 Episode 17 American Broadcasting Company Writer Harper William Director Kerns Joanna November 6 2008 Rise Up Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 7 American Broadcasting Company Writer Cahn Debora Director Stoltz Eric October 16 2008 Brave New World Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 4 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob September 25 2008 Dream a Little Dream of Me Part 1 Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 1 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Cahn Debora Director Corn Rob January 8 2009 Wish You Were Here Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 11 American Broadcasting Company Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob September 25 2008 Dream a Little Dream of Me Part 2 Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 2 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Nowalk Peter Director Zisk Randy February 19 2009 An Honest Mistake Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 16 American Broadcasting Company Writer Bans Jenna Director Corn Rob March 12 2009 I Will Follow You Into the Dark Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 17 American Broadcasting Company Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob May 7 2009 What a Difference a Day Makes Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 22 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Cahn Debora Director Corn Rob May 14 2009 Now or Never Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 24 American Broadcasting Company a b Writers Phelan Tony and Rater Joan Director Pressman Michael October 1 2009 I Always Feel Like Somebody s Watchin Me Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 3 American Broadcasting Company a b c Writer Wilding Mark Director Phelan Tony October 15 2009 Invasion Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 5 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Heinberg Allan Director Corn Rob November 12 2009 New History Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 9 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Cragg Stephen May 20 2010 Sanctuary Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 23 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob May 20 2012 Death and All His Friends Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 24 American Broadcasting Company Writer Vernoff Krista Director Corn Rob September 23 2010 With You I m Born Again Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 1 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer McKee Stacy Director Wilson Chandra May 5 2011 White Wedding Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 20 American Broadcasting Company Writer Harper William Director Wilson Chandra September 29 2011 Take the Lead Grey s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 3 American Broadcasting Company Writers Wilding Mark and Bans Jenna Director Cragg Stephen May 10 2012 Migration Grey s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 23 American Broadcasting Company Grey s Anatomy Recap Nothing Says I Love You Like Asking for a Divorce Buddytv com November 29 2012 Retrieved on December 3 2016 Goldberg Lesley May 23 2013 Grey s Anatomy s Shonda Rhimes There s Something Great About Cristina and Owen s Struggle The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on December 22 2015 Retrieved February 8 2022 Grey s Anatomy Recap How to Buy a Hospital Buddytv com February 15 2013 Retrieved on December 3 2016 Grey s Anatomy Recap Avery s In Charge Now Season 9 Episode 16 Archived December 22 2015 at the Wayback Machine Hollywood Life February 21 2013 Retrieved on December 3 2016 Patrick Andy March 14 2013 Grey s Anatomy Season 9 Recap Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital Archived February 16 2016 at the Wayback Machine TVLine Retrieved on December 3 2016 Andreeva Nellie May 27 2022 Grey s Anatomy Season 18 Finale Leaves Fate Of Several Major Characters In Limbo Gives Major Japril Update Deadline Retrieved December 6 2022 Alexandria Ingham Follow aingham69 July 22 2022 Will the Residency Program return in Grey s Anatomy Season 19 Hidden Remote Retrieved December 6 2022 Grey s Anatomy Meredith Says She s Ready to Move on in Shocking and Game Changing Decision Peoplemag Retrieved December 6 2022 Writer Schmir Mimi Director Glatter Lesli Linka November 13 2005 Let It Be Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 8 American Broadcasting Company Writer Clack Zoanne Director Paymer David January 29 2006 Break on Through Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 15 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Robe Blythe Director Mann Seith April 2 2006 The Name of the Game Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 22 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Grossman Michael May 3 2007 The Other Side of This Life Part 2 Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 23 American Broadcasting Company Writer Guzman Austin Director Robin Steve February 10 2011 P Y T Pretty Young Thing Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 14 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Tinker Mark May 15 2006 Losing My Religion Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 27 American Broadcasting Company Writer Nowalk Peter Director Ornelas Edward March 24 2011 This Is How We Do It Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 17 American Broadcasting Company Writer Nowalk Peter Director Underwood Ron April 19 2012 The Girl With No Name Grey s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 20 American Broadcasting Company Writer Koenig Kip Director Yu Jessica January 15 2006 Begin the Begin Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 13 American Broadcasting Company Writers Phelan Tony and Rater Joan Director Corn Rob May 15 2006 Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 26 American Broadcasting Company Writer Wilding Mark Director Minahan Dan May 14 2006 17 Seconds Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 25 American Broadcasting Company Writer McKee Stacy Director Yu Jessica November 2 2006 Let the Angels Commit Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 6 American Broadcasting Company Writer Schmir Mimi Director Goldwyn Tony May 7 2006 Damage Control Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 24 American Broadcasting Company Writer Heinberg Allan Director Lerner Dan October 12 2006 What I Am Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 4 American Broadcasting Company Writer Vernoff Krista Director Yaitaines Greg January 18 2007 Six Days Part 2 Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 12 American Broadcasting Company Writer Guzman Austin Director Yu Jessica November 3 2011 Heart Shaped Box Grey s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 8 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob February 8 2007 Walk on Water Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 15 American Broadcasting Company Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Corn Rob February 15 2007 Drowning on Dry Land Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 16 American Broadcasting Company Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Horton Peter February 12 2006 As We Know It Grey s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 17 American Broadcasting Company Writers Rhimes Shonda and Noxon Marti Director Arkin Adam February 22 2007 Some Kind of Miracle Grey s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 17 American Broadcasting Company Writer Clack Zoanne Director Corn Rob April 24 2008 Where the Wild Things Are Grey s Anatomy Season 4 Episode 12 American Broadcasting Company a b Writer Heinberg Allan Director D Elia Bill May 14 2009 Here s to Future Days Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 23 American Broadcasting Company Writer McKee Stacy Director Stoltz Eric November 13 2008 These Ties That Bind Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 8 American Broadcasting Company Writer Wilding Mark Director Liddi Brown Allison January 22 2009 Stairway to Heaven Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 13 American Broadcasting Company Writer Washington Sonay Director Phelan Tony April 23 2009 Sweet Surrender Grey s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 20 American Broadcasting Company Writer Cahn Debora Director Wilson Chandra March 11 2012 Push Grey s Anatomy Season 6 Episode 17 American Broadcasting Company Writer Guzman Austin Director Phelan Tony November 4 2010 That s Me Trying Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 7 American Broadcasting Company Writer Harper William Director Szwarc Jeannot November 11 2010 Something s Gotta Give Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 8 American Broadcasting Company Writer Cahn Debora Director Allen Debbie February 24 2011 Not Responsible Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 16 American Broadcasting Company Writer Krinsky Natalie Director Jackson Mark January 13 2011 Start Me Up Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 12 American Broadcasting Company Writer Wilding Mark Director McKidd Kevin February 3 2011 Don t Deceive Me Please Don t Go Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 13 American Broadcasting Company Writer Harper William Director Robin Steve April 28 2011 It s a Long Way Back Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 19 American Broadcasting Company Writer Rhimes Shonda Director Phelan Tony March 31 2011 Song Beneath the Song Grey s Anatomy Episode 18 American Broadcasting Company a b c Writer Cahn Debora Director Corn Rob May 19 2011 Unaccompanied Minor Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 22 American Broadcasting Company Writers Phelan Tony and Rater Joan Director Liddi Brown Allison December 2 2010 Adrift and at Peace Grey s Anatomy Season 7 Episode 10 American Broadcasting Company Writer Cahn Debora Director Liddi Brown Allison November 10 2011 Dark Was the Night Grey s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 9 American Broadcasting Company Abrams Natalie August 16 2012 Exclusive True Blood Veronica Mars Alum Tina Majorino Lands a Grey s Gig TV Guide Archived from the original on October 10 2012 Retrieved February 8 2022 Mitovich Matt Webb September 7 2012 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