[This story contains some spoilers from the Grey’s Anatomy season 23 premiere, “Collide.”]
Twenty-three seasons in and Grey’s Anatomy is not going anywhere.
“No one has said anything to me about when the last season of Grey’s is going to be,” showrunner Meg Marinis tells The Hollywood Reporter when chatting about the new season, which returned Thursday night.
That doesn’t mean she doesn’t ask. As the person charged with running ABC‘s long-running, hit medical drama, Marinis wants to be prepared for whenever that day comes. “But it really seems like they want it to be a collaborative decision with Shonda,” she says of show creator Rhimes. “The series has done so much for the studio and network, they [would] want to do it right. And they’re not ready.”
They are in expansion mode, instead. Grey’s, whose previous spinoffs were Private Practice and Station 19, is getting a new spinoff this 2026-2027 season that will be set at a rural West Texas medical center. Marinis co-created and is writing the untitled series with Rhimes, and Grey’s star/executive producer Ellen Pompeo is also exec producing the new show.
“It’s related to Grey’s, but its stories are going to be different,” teases Marinis, who counts Texas as her home state. She’s always wanted to explore “what’s happening in medical deserts,” as well as “the disparity between people who can afford excellent healthcare and the people who can’t.” The latter comes up in the season 23 premiere of Grey’s, “Collide,” which welcomed Pompeo’s Meredith back to the hospital after the season 22 ending that sparked wedding bells for her and Nick (Scott Speedman).
When Grey’s returned, one month had passed since the exits of beloved doctors Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd), and the episode’s ending sets up more than enough threads to follow in coming weeks. Below, Marinis talks about all of it, including more on the spinoff, how she really feels about medical show competition (we’re looking at you, The Pitt) and how much Pompeo will be on screen this season.
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Congrats on the news about the Grey’s spinoff! We know that the series (which doesn’t yet have a name) will premiere sometime in the 2026-2027 season and that it’s set at a rural West Texas medical center — “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere.” You and Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes are co-creating and writing the show, and Ellen Pompeo is executive producing. How has it been working on this second show amid the Grey’s schedule?
(Laughs.) I have a great team here at Grey’s that I lean on, and Shonda’s doing the new one with me so it’s easier when there’s two of us!
Where are you in your work on the spinoff? Is there a timeline?
We are working away. I can’t say much, but we’re far enough along where I’m really, really excited. We’re digging into the actual communities and true stories of what happens out in rural West Texas. There’s so much going on there that I haven’t seen on TV. I’m thrilled to be able to dive into that world. It’s so different from Grey’s. It’s related to Grey’s, but its stories are going to be different.
Previous Grey’s spinoffs were Private Practice and Station 19, but this feels a world away from Grey’s‘ Seattle hospital. Were there lessons learned from those two shows that you are applying now?
The only lessons are good lessons from those two. They were very successful spinoffs with hardcore fan followings. I loved both of them. This one is something dear to my heart [Marinis is from Houston, Texas] and being on a medical show like Grey’s, and hearing a lot about what’s happening in medical deserts, it’s hard to show that in Seattle. I’ve always been really interested in showing it, and in doing a small town show in Texas.
Will Grey’s launch the Texas show in-show this season?
We have thoughts based on airing schedule and things like that, but we’re still working it out, also because there are so many things going on on Grey’s, I want to make sure to do it where it’s servicing both shows equally.
How do you view this within the larger Grey’s franchise? Does it signal anything about the flagship?
It’s just expanding the flagship. No one has said anything to me about when the last season of Grey’s is going to be. I think it’s never! I always ask and they’re like, “Not now!” You always want to be prepared, as a showrunner of a season 23 show, that you’re aware of when that decision is going to happen. But it really seems like they want it to be a collaborative decision with Shonda. Because the series has done so much for the studio network, they want to do it right. And they’re not ready.
We last spoke after last season’s finale and the exits of Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd’s Teddy and Owen, respectively, which you said was a difficult decision and related to the budget, which is something shows are experiencing across the industry. How did you approach season 23 with your very large ensemble? Will there be characters we see more or less of? Are you still feeling those constraints?
Not yet. I mean, you always feel the general constraints of a large ensemble and what’s going on in the industry, so I’m mindful of how many times we go out on location and things like that. So the general constraints, yes. But no, those conversations usually are when they approach me later in the season — to drop that news on me!
We’re in a positive place right now. On the show, the hospital is having some budget issues as well, but that’s mainly continuing on what we started last year about what’s happening to research funding and funding for healthcare in general. Now Grey Sloan is just feeling more of it.
How much time has passed since the finale to start this premiere, and how is the hospital rebounding from losing veteran doctors, Teddy and Owen?
It’s been about a month. We did that for a couple of reasons. I’ve done direct pickups for the past couple of seasons and I wanted to do something different, to start stories in different places. Also, I didn’t have Nick [Scott Speedman] available to me at the beginning of this season — he was left in the hospital in the finale, and he was busy on [his ABC show] R.J. Decker. That played into the decision. And I really wanted time for this VIP floor to come into play. We didn’t see that floor when we left the season last year.
We don’t mention Teddy and Owen a ton in the premiere, because it’s been a month, and I didn’t want to start on such a down note. But we’re definitely feeling, and I’m feeling, the loss of Teddy and Owen. I’m searching for them in the scripts. We have to get a new chief. We don’t have a head of trauma right now. And it’s just leading to how busy the hospital is, maybe how our ER is not functioning as well as it should be. Winston [Anthony Hill] can do what he can, but he’s not a military trauma surgeon.
James Wolk is a new character who was announced with a four-episode arc. Now we know his role — he’s the new chief. Will that arc extend? And how extensive was your search for the new chief?
I love having him, but, you know, chiefs can come and go quickly on this show! But he’s a great character. He’s very fun to write for. He is also just a delightful human being and he seems to really enjoy his time here. We always have a long list of options [of actors] that people are sending us. He fit that suave look we wanted. He really seems like a villain you learn to love. Even when he’s being snarky about money, he’s still fascinating to watch.
You say you got a long list of actors who want to come and play on Grey’s, a network show in its 23rd season. How does that make you feel as showrunner about how appealing the show still is in the streaming era?
It makes me feel great. I credit it to our show filming in L.A. If you have your family here, it’s really appealing to get to do an arc in L.A. I think there’s a reason we’re in season 23. It works, and I think a lot of people are fans of the show and curious about the show because it’s been going on for so long. And also, we’re really nice over here! People tell me all the time. Guest actors will write me emails and say, “This is the nicest set I’ve ever been on.”
This episode had a line that Debbie Allen’s Catherine said to Ellen Pompeo, when she tells Meredith about hiring a new chief, “Well, you’re not here all the time” — which also could apply to Pompeo’s lesser onscreen role. Did those two have fun doing that scene?
Yeah, they really enjoyed it! Sometimes we write stuff like that and we don’t even really think about it, and then when you watch it on set, you’re like, “I didn’t mean it that way!” (Laughs.) But you know Debbie threw some sass into it and they were they were laughing; the two of them together laughed really hard.
How much will we see Ellen Pompeo on screen this season? I ask you every year, but is it more or less? The same? [Pompeo is also working as an EP on the Texas spinoff.]
Like I say, every year, we take her as much as we can get. I know she has a couple of things going on in the mix, but we’re scheduling around that and she really lets me know ahead of time the days she is around, and it’s the same thing with Scott [Speedman]. It’s a logistics game, right? You want everybody to be able to do all their other projects, because work is work and it’s important right now to keep working in the industry. She and I have a good relationship. We’ll plan things out, and I’m more than happy to schedule around her.
Will you be building towards Meredith and Nick’s wedding this season?
We will definitely see Scott later in the season. In the premiere, we couldn’t work it out. But we’ll see Scott and we’ll definitely tag that engagement.
So engagement, but you’re not confirming a wedding this season…
[Shrugs in coy silence.]
Meredith’s storyline in this premiere highlights the upstairs-downstairs of Grey Sloan. Meredith is fighting back against tiered treatment and Catherine is approaching this as a plan to help with their financials. How is this a larger story you want to tell this season, and why did that interest Ellen for this to be Meredith’s fight, at least for now?
I’m interested in telling that story because I’m seeing it so much now across healthcare. The disparity is growing even wider between people who can afford excellent healthcare and the people who can’t. I think it’s also really interesting because, historically, Grey Sloan has always provided VIP care, the way we’ve told it on the show. So now, are they dividing care into tiers? A lot of our doctors are going to question it.
But these floors are popping up all over the country. Obviously, they’ve had them in L.A. for a while, but also in New York, and even when I went to see my dad and Houston. When he had pneumonia, there was a VIP floor there. I saw the signs and I was like, “What’s the difference between what my dad’s getting and what they’re getting?” I find it fascinating.
There are a lot of stories where sometimes you don’t want to be on the VIP floor because they don’t have all the tools you need if something catastrophic happens. But also, if I had a very chronically ill family member and I had the means, why wouldn’t I throw every dollar I had at helping? It’s an interesting debate to sink our teeth into.
Meredith, especially, is an owner of the hospital, so she understands the business. But her whole career, she has fought for the have-nots. So it’s like, do you keep the hospital doors open? What side do you choose?
Will Ellen be appearing in batches, like a five-episode arc to tell storylines? Or will she pop in and out in a less structured way?
I would love for it to be structured like that, but schedules aren’t working! (Laughs.) But there are runs where she’s in for more than one episode.
Do you have an episode count for her this season?
Not yet.
Are there any other returns you can tease?
Probably not. Obviously, she’s been in the picture, so people know that Jen Landon is returning [as Toni]. But as for old cast series regulars, I can’t tease any of that right now.
The Grey’s social account teased a Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) return, and the fans went wild. They were speculating Yang would maybe come back for Meredith’s wedding to Nick. Anything you can say about that?
She is welcome to walk in these doors anytime! I would love for her to. At one point, she was doing some theater in London, but it would be a dream come true to have her back.
You also kicked this season off with a classic disaster episode, and one that picks up on a lot of relationship threads that were unfinished at the end of last season, taking a backseat to Teddy and Owen’s big goodbye. Did this premiere feel more nostalgic to you — chaos and romance?
You’re right that a lot of stories had to take up smaller real estate in the last couple of episodes at the end of last season, rightfully so, because we were writing off two long-term, beloved characters. I love when people have relationship issues with each other, and you have to throw them on a medical case together. There’s nothing more Grey’s than that. I love all those looks between Amelia and Toni and them having to come together; and Simone [Alexis Floyd] and Lucas [Niko Terho] and West [Trevor Jackson]; Jules [Adelaide Kane] and Winston having to operate with Bailey (Chandra Wilson). It’s quintessential Grey’s when there’s the bubbling underneath it as they’re trying to save someone’s life.
You have a pregnancy reveal at the end of this premiere with Simone.
We do.
Grey’s has tackled pregnancy and abortion storylines before. How will this one be different?
It is different. We’ve never done it this way before. It’s going to take a couple of episodes to play out. I also think this one is different because Simone was just told that she probably wouldn’t be able to have children; to be able to conceive and get pregnant. So that’s going to be top of mind for her. That’s a struggle. She’s someone who’s put career first and she’s worked really hard to get where she is. I think that’s what a lot of us struggle with, right? Do you put the career on pause for a second and start a family? It’s something so many people relate to, so we’ll show that. But it is different. We’ve never done it this way before.
The other bomb at the end of the premiere is Jo (Camilla Luddington) quitting the hospital, as Link (Chris Carmack) is still being secretive about his pills. This couple is always tested!
I know, what can I do? I love torturing them! Sometimes they’ll be like, “Really?!” They have such talent to play funny stories, and we played them very light and funny for a long time. Then I kind of tapped into this talent that I did not know they both had, and it’s amazing to watch. Their performances are so great. Even Jo watching that thing in the elevator? Camilla’s performance is exquisite. So yeah — we’re putting them through it again. (Laughs.)
Blue got fired at the end of last season, and now Harry Shum Jr. is on Dancing With the Stars. Did he come to you for approval to be on that series, and is that impacting his story and all? Obviously, he’s back as a series regular.
It did not impact his story. It just happened to be that he was the character who was quitting, and then he, ABC and his team came to me after and I was like, “Oh, this really worked out, because now people are going to think once he’s announced on DWTS that maybe we went through with [firing him off the show].” But I think there’s been so much social media of him in his scrubs that his return is spoiled!
We’re so happy for him. He’s so talented. A lot of us have gotten to go see the live taping of DWTS. You’ll see him and Jenna Johnson just rehearsing outside in between setups for Grey’s. On Tuesdays, Harry’s not here because Dancing With the Stars films. But other than Tuesdays, he’s really been able to schedule rehearsals around the show. I’m sure he’s exhausted!
Grey’s remains the longest-running medical drama on TV. But more medical shows are popping up on streaming; there’s The Pitt. You could compare that to ER, which was on at the beginning of Grey’s. Does that sharpen what you’re trying to do? Do you ever worry about overlap? How do you feel about medical show competition?
I don’t worry too much about it because I feel like what’s good for one medical show is good for all. It’s trending again. Anytime that it can trend, I think it’s a great thing. We’re so different than The Pitt that I don’t worry about that one. I was a huge ER fan. It had a huge influence on me wanting to be a TV writer. I love medical shows. I love the better ones more. (Laughs.) And then I’m excited to introduce this new [the Texas spinoff] into the fold.
Grey’s is a streaming show too now, on Netflix, courting new generations of viewers. But 23 seasons in, what are your tricks to keeping the show fresh and keeping the cast engaged?
It has been a long time and it can be difficult. It can be tricky, but I also think that medicine has changed so much and the world has changed so much. Between AI and climate change and where money goes toward research, there are always new things that we haven’t explored. Often, we have an overwhelming amount of stories we want to tell and we don’t get to tell all of them, so we have a huge bank of things we’re interested in. Also, knowing that we have a 23-year history of characters who have come and gone and bringing them back. And, you can always introduce new interns!
You have three series originals stars who are still on the show: Ellen, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. Are you never letting them go?
Yes, I will say, I am never letting those three go! I mean, I hope they never go. It’s not gonna be me who writes it!
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Grey’s Anatomy releases new episodes Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC, releasing on Hulu the next day.