The Grey’s Anatomy vet, who recurred on Season 3 of Only Murders in the Building, has declared that his time on the Hulu comedy has come to an end.
“I’m not on that show anymore,” he tells People. TVLine has reached out to Hulu for comment.
Williams made his Only Murders debut in last August’s Season 3 premiere when he was introduced as Tobert (pronounced like Robert, but with a T), a filmmaker who became romantically entangled with Selena Gomez’s Mabel Mora.
In the Season 3 finale, Tobert invited Mabel to accompany him to Los Angeles, where he’d just been offered an independent movie. Mabel told him that she would visit, and it has since been revealed that Only Murders will go bicoastal in Season 4. Alas, Williams will not return.
Williams is best known for his starring role as Dr. Jackson Avery on the aforementioned ABC medical soap Grey’s Anatomy. Though he left at the end of Season 17, he has continued to reprise Jackson on a recurring basis, most recently appearing in a pair of Season 19 episodes.
He’ll next produce and star in Costiera, an English-language, Italian action drama for Prime Video. Based on an idea by Luca Bernabei (Devils), the upcoming series centers on Williams’ Daniel De Luca, “a half-Italian former U.S. marine who returns to Italy, the land of his childhood, as a fixer in one of the world’s most luxurious hotels on the spectacular Positano coastline,” per Deadline. “Shortly after Daniel — or DD, as everybody knows him — starts working at the hotel, one of the owner’s daughters disappears. He must do whatever it takes to find her and bring her home while still solving the ever-changing problems of the exclusive hotel guests.”
Emmy-winning writer Adam Bernstein (Breaking Bad, Fargo) on board to direct. The series is due out in 2025.
The show will mark the return of the Public Theater‘s summertime mainstay after an overhaul of its Central Park home, the Decacorte Theater. For decades, the Public has offered productions of Shakespeare and sometimes other classics at no charge to audience members willing to start lining up many hours before curtain time.
Saheem Ali, The Public’s Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director and a Tony Award nominee, is directing the production. Dinklage is playing Malvolio; Ferguson will be Andrew Aguecheeck; Nyong’o is playing Viola; and Oh is Olivia. Additional casting and details of the creative team will be announced this fall, the Public said.
The Delacorte is being significantly upgraded in the $110 million renovation, its first since it opened in 1962. Its seating capacity will remain at 1,872 but the seats themselves will be enhanced, along with extensive improvements to lighting, audio and the backstage area, as well as better wheelchair access and repositioned bathrooms.
The 2025 production of Twelfth Night will be the seventh go-round for the comedy at the Delacorte.
The production was initially announced in May when the Public revealed its full roster of 2024-25 shows.
“Twelfth Night is the epitome of joy,” Ali said in a statement. “It also happens to be the first production I ever saw at the Delacorte, as a college student taking the Chinatown bus from Boston. I’m delighted to be reuniting with my dear friend Lupita Nyong’o, joined by fellow Public Theater alums Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Sandra Oh. Shakespeare in the Park is a gift to our city. I’m honored to be helming this production as we reopen The Delacorte after an extensive and essential revitalization.”
In the Season 20 finale, Levi was having to rethink his future after not doing well enough on the ABSITE test to be eligible for a peds fellowship.
ABC and Shondaland did not respond to requests for comment. If/when they do we will update this post.
Meanwhile, as we recently reported Ellen Pompeo, whose Meredith Grey received a big sendoff in the 2023 midseason premiere, will be appearing in at least seven of Season 21’s 18 episodes, sources told Deadline, a number that is likely to grow.
Pompeo pulled back her on-screen role so she could do other projects, starting with the Hulu limited series Natalia (fka Orphan), based on the Natalia Grace story, which she is starring in and executive producing through her company Calamity Jane. This past season, Pompeo was juggling the two shows, both produced by ABC Signature, but that is no longer a factor: Natalia wrapped ahead of the Season 21 production start for Grey’s Anatomy.
The Scottish actor-director, who has played Dr. Owen Hunt in 16 seasons of Shonda Rhimes’ hit drama, will portray Rob Robinson opposite Nina Toussaint-White (Bodyguard), who is his wife Sarah. Their three children will be played by a trio of emerging young talent in Ava McCarthy, Ida Brooke and Tylan Bailey.
Based on E Nesbit’s classic and penned by Tom Bidwell, The Primrose Railway Children follows Phoebe, her older sister Becks, older brother Perry and their mum who are living a comfortable life in Glasgow when suddenly they are uprooted from their lives and moved to the remote highlands of Scotland. Filming will commence this month in and around Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands. Tracey Beaker author Wilson’s book is based on The Railway Children, which was also remade as a movie recently starring Jenny Agutter, Tom Courtenay and Sheridan Smith.
McKidd has acted in Grey’s Anatomy since 2008. Other credits include Anna Karenina, Journeyman and Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, in which he played Tommy Mackenzie.
“Reading Tom’s brilliant script was a real joy, it captures the spirit and emotion of the original,” said McKidd. “So it was an easy decision to come back and film this in Scotland. I’m always so proud and happy to come home and work with the brilliant crews and talents that Scotland overflows with.”
CBBC has been going big on its adaptations lately and has also made versions of Oliver Twist and The Famous Five.
BBC Studios Kids & Family is producing the feature. Tali Walters is creative lead, Alison Davis is EP and John McKay is producer. The feature has been adapted for screen by Bidwell and will be directed by Julian Kemp. International distribution is being handled by BBC Studios.
The limited series’ ensemble cast includes Ser’Darius Blain (The CW’s Charmed), Lindy Booth (The Librarians), Erin Cahill (Red Widow), Osric Chau (Supernatural), Nazneen Contractor (24), Loretta Devine (Grey’s Anatomy), Noemi Gonzalez (East Los High), Ian Harding (Pretty Little Liars), Dennis Haysbert (24), Rachelle Lefevre (Under the Dome), Virginia Madsen (Witches of East End), John C. McGinley (Scrubs), Holland Roden (Teen Wolf) and Lucille Soong (Fresh Off the Boat).
Holidaze showcases six diverse families, each with distinct backgrounds, cultures, and generations, residing on the same cul-de-sac. As they navigate the joyous chaos of the holiday season, they embrace a family dynamic unique to them. Amid heightened emotions, these families and neighbors engage in both humorous and heartfelt celebrations of their traditions and quirks. Throughout the festivities, they uncover the universal thread binding them all: the various manifestations of love.
From Unity Pictures and Little Engine Productions, Holidazed is executive-produced by Gina Matthews (13 Going on 30), Grant Scharbo (The Gates), Claudia Grazioso (Are We There Yet?) and Ron French (To All the Boys: Always and Forever).
They join the previously announced actors Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Nick Cannon and Michael Chiklis. The project reunites Pino and Chiklis who most recently co-starred in the MGM+ series Hotel Cocaine.
From FOX Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television, Accused is a collection of intense, topical human stories of crime and punishment. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, each episode is a fast-paced provocative thriller, exploring a different crime, in a different city with an entirely original cast. The series is based on the BBC BAFTA Award-winning crime anthology of the same name created by Jimmy McGovern.
Schilling, Chambers and Pino will star in “April’s Story” where a nurse commits a crime that changes the trajectory of her life. Schilling will play ‘April,’ Chambers will play ‘Tyler’ and Pino will play ‘Jake.’
Accused is developed for American TV by Howard Gordon who executive produces with Gordon, Alex Gansa, David Shore, Erin Gunn, and Daniel Pearle. Gordon and Pearle serve as co-showrunners. Milan Cheylov, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, All3Media America’s Jacob Cohen-Holmes, Jimmy McGovern, Sita Williams, Roxy Spencer and Louise Pedersen for All3Media International also EP.
Schilling is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress best known for her starring role as Piper Chapman in the Netflix original series, Orange Is The New Black, which ran for seven seasons. She most recently starred in Jason Katim’s Apple TV+ series Dear Edward and as porn star Erica Boyer in the Hulu limited series Pam & Tommy. She will next be seen in the indie feature film, Queen of Bones opposite Martin Freeman, Julia Butters and Jacob Tremblay. She is represented by Untitled Entertainment, Gersh and GGSSC Law Firm.
Chambers is best known for his portrayal of “Dr. Alex Karev” in the Shonda Rhimes medical series Grey’s Anatomy. He was on the show across 16 seasons. His credits also include Barry Levinson’s Liberty Heights with Ben Foster, The Wedding Planner with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, HBO’s Hysterical Blindness as Uma Thurman’s love interest and Broken City with Mark Wahlberg. Most recently, Chambers played “Marlon Brando” in the Paramount+ limited series The Offer. He is represented by Gersh, Anonymous Content and attorney Darren Trattner.
Pino currently stars as the general manager of the Mutiny Hotel and Club, “Roman Compte,” in the MGM+ series, Hotel Cocaine. Before that, he completed his run in the fifth and final season of FX’s Mayans M.C., where he starred as “Miguel Galindo” and directed two episodes. Additionally, he played opposite Amy Adams in Stephen Chbosky’s film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen and portrayed NYPD detective “Nick Amaro” in four seasons of Law & Order: SVU. Pino also recently completed the short film, Unión De Reyes, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in. He is repped by CAA and manager Geordie Frey.
Pompeo is set to be in at least seven of the Season 21’s 18 episodes, sources tell Deadline. That number is likely to grow, I hear. If the episode count gets into the double-digits, that won’t be far off from the work load of the other veteran Grey’s Anatomy series regulars who, as Deadline reported exclusively, are taking an episode reduction as a cost-cutting measure and will each skip a couple of episodes next season. Reps for ABC and Grey’s Anatomy producers ABC Signature and Shondaland declined comment.
After her Season 19 “exit” episode, Pompeo returned for the finale that season. In Season 20, she ended up appearing in half of the 10 episodes, including having a major presence in the season premiere and finale. That is in addition to her remaining an executive producer and doing the voiceover that frames every episode — something that will continue next season.
“She’s always a huge part of the show; we have an open door policy with her. When she is able to be here, we welcome her with open arms,” Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis told Deadline in March. “She’s constantly in my head, her voice.”
In that interview, Marinis noted her “great relationship” with Pompeo, which has been among the factors fueling speculation last year that Pompeo might consider returning full-time after Marinis took the reins as Grey’s showrunner ahead of Season 20.
There has been an issue with availability. Pompeo pulled back her on-screen role so she could do other projects, starting with the Hulu limited series Natalia (fka Orphan), based on the Natalia Grace story, which she is starring in and executive producing through her company Calamity Jane. This past season, Pompeo was juggling the two shows, both produced by ABC Signature, but that is no longer a factor: Natalia is set to wrap at the end of this week, ahead of the Season 21 production start for Grey’s Anatomy.
Regardless of her on-screen presence over the past year and a half, Pompeo’s continuing top billing on Grey’s Anatomy has reflected the fact that her character Meredith remains the heart of the show.
“We have to let her go and do some other things, but she’s still our queen. She’s still our No. 1,” Grey’s executive producer/director/recurring guest star Debbie Allen said of Pompeo in December.
As for what is in store for Meredith next season, her career is at crossroads after she defied her boss and head of the Catherine Fox Foundation (Allen) by refusing to give up her controversial Alzheimer’s research and hand all her notes to Koracick. Instead, Meredith published an abstract online.
On the bright side, Meredith’s relationship with Nick (Scott Speedman) got a major boost in the finale after he flew in from Boston to profess his love and she revealed that she had put an offer on the house he had scouted for the two of them and Ellen’s kids to move in together.
The 27 Dresses star made an appearance on Shannen Doherty’s podcast, Let’s Be Clear, when the topic came up.
“I don’t know any person except for you that turns down an Emmy nomination,” Doherty said, which made Heigl jump in and say, “Well, I didn’t, and everybody keeps saying that. I didn’t turn it down.”
“You know, you have to submit yourself. You have to submit your work, and then they deliberate and then they decide if they want to give you a nomination,” Heigl explained. “I just didn’t submit my work that year.”
News of Heigl not wanting to be considered for the Emmys was controversial as the actress had won in the Best Supporting Actress category the year before. In a statement from 2008, Heigl said, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention.”
Sixteen years after the controversy, Heigl regrets making that statement saying she “should have said nothing.”
“I should have said, ‘Oh, I forgot [to submit my work],’ because it created such a maelstrom that was so unnecessary, and it really was,” she added. “I was kind of trying to make a bit of a snarky point about my material that year, but I was also just not feeling my material. I didn’t think I had anything that warranted even the consideration for a nomination. I just wasn’t proud of my work.”
She continued, “I would never be so bold or so arrogant to turn down a nomination. I would take that nomination if it came my way. I’d be down. But I just knew there wasn’t anything that would really warrant one that year, and I was trying to be honorable, I guess. I was trying to have some integrity. I wasn’t trying to be a dick.”
Earlier this year, Heigl attended the Emmys, reuniting with her former Grey’s Anatomy co-stars to celebrate the ABC series.
The Grey’s Anatomy alum said he “didn’t leave so much as I was let go” from the long-running Shondaland series, on which he played Dr. Mark Sloan while “struggling” with addiction.
Although he was sober for around four years before joining the cast in 2006, Dane admitted on the Armchair Expert podcast that he was “fucked up longer than I was sober” during his time on the ABC medical drama, partially due to the pressures of mounting fame.
“They didn’t let me go because of that, although it definitely didn’t help,” he explained. “I was starting to become, as most of these actors who have spent significant time on a show, you start to become very expensive for the network. And the network knows that the show is going to do what it’s going to do irrespective of who they keep on it. As long as they have their Grey, they’re fine.
Dane continued, “I wasn’t the same guy they had hired. So I had understood when I was let go. And Shonda [Rhimes] was really great. She protected us fiercely. She protected us publicly. She protected us privately. … But I was probably fired. It wasn’t ceremoniously like, ‘You’re fired,’ it was just like, ‘You’re not coming back.'”
Introduced in Season 2, Sloan was killed off at beginning of Season 9 after succumbing to injuries from a plane crash in the previous season finale. Dane reprised the role along with several deceased characters in a season 17 episode in 2021 that saw Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) hallucinates her dead loved ones on a beach while suffering from COVID-19.
Before exiting the show in 2012, Dane entered a treatment center for an addiction to prescription drugs, which he developed following a sports injury.
As fans await his imminent return to HBO‘s Euphoria for the delayed Season 3, Dane has been cast alongside Jensen Ackles and Jessica Camacho in the upcoming Amazon series Countdown.
Dexter: Original Sin stars Patrick Gibson, who is taking over the titular serial killer role (in his younger years) made famous by Michael C. Hall in the Showtime mothership series. Molly Brown, James Martinez, Christina Milian and Alex Shimizu also star. Production is underway in Miami with Clyde Phillips at the helm.
The 10-episode original drama series follows Dexter in 1991 Miami, a student transitioning into a serial killer in training. When his bloodthirsty urges can no longer be ignored, Dexter finds solace and understanding in Harry. As his only confidant, Harry teaches Dexter a code that’s designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to die — all while avoiding getting caught by law enforcement. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.
“Patrick Dempsey is a beloved actor who is internationally known for the iconic characters he has played and his performances,” said Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global co-CEO and President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. “We are thrilled to have him join our all-star cast of Dexter: Original Sin, the highly anticipated origin story of the franchise.”
Dexter: Original Sin is executive produced by Phillips and produced by Showtime Studios and Counterpart Studios. Scott Reynolds also EPs alongside Hall, Mary Leah Sutton, Tony Hernandez and Lilly Burns, with Robert Lloyd Lewis producing. Michael Lehmann will serve as directing executive producer.
Dempsey is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Derek Shepherd on the ABC series Grey’s Anatomy, which earned him a SAG Award and multiple Golden Globe nominations. He is also known for starring in classic ‘80s films such as Can’t Buy Me Love and Loverboy.
Dempsey can most recently be seen in Michael Mann’s Ferrari in which he portrays Piero Taruffi opposite Adam Driver. Before that, he starred in Eli Roth’s horror film Thanksgiving and the Disney+ film Disenchanted. Additional credits include Bridget Jones’s Baby, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Valentine’s Day, Made of Honor and Enchanted.
He is repped by UTA, Burstein Company, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
Joining Beauvais on the cast are Vaughn W. Hebron (The Game: Reboot, King Richard), who serves as co-producer, Lela Rochon (Any Given Sunday, The Family Business: New Orleans), Emmy winner Loretta Devine (P-Valley, Family Reunion) and Donna Biscoe (The Supremes at Big Earl’s Cafe, Reasonable Doubt). The project reunites Rochon and Devine who previously starred in Terry McMillan’s feature film, Waiting to Exhale.
In Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted by Love, Ava (Beauvais), a world-class renowned chef living in Europe, rushes home to care for her elderly aunt (Biscoe) in South Carolina after she suffers from a fall. Picked up from the long flight by Luke (Hebron), a handsome driver 20 years her junior, the pair feel an unexpected, yet passionate, connection.
With a mutual interest in food, family and fun, Ava and Luke are the perfect recipe for love. Despite her feelings for him, Ava soon realizes that Luke still has so much to experience in life and she must decide what is best for her career and relationships.
McMillan is best known for her novels turned hit films, including How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Her branded Lifetime movies focus on the love and lives of African American women.
The movie is executive produced by D’Angela Proctor for Undaunted Content in association with GroupM Motion Entertainment. McMillan and Beauvais executive produce. Richard Foster and Chet Fenster are executive producers for GroupM Motion Entertainment. Taliah Breon directs from a script written by Tamara T. Gregory.
Hebron is repped by Stewart Talent, CGEM Talent and attorney Mark Temple.
Named after the entertainer, actor, and civil rights leader, the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award recognizes individuals who have used storytelling and the arts to enact change in their communities.
The award ceremony took place following the World Premiere screening of documentary Following Harry, directed and edited by Susanne Rostock (Sing Your Song). The film was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Davis, with the award winners and filmmakers.
Following Harry begins with Harry Belafonte at the age of 84, embarking on a deeply personal journey, disrupting injustice over the next ten years by passionately encouraging a diverse group of entertainers and activists to overcome soaring national unrest and anger by believing that love has the power to redirect oppression into oblivion. Featuring moments with Rosario Dawson, Jesse Williams, Aloe Blacc, aja monet, Matt Post, Carmen Perez-Jordan, RodStarz, Sean Pica, Angela Davis, Phillip Agnew, Jamie Foxx, Chuck D, Talib Kweli, among others, the film encourages today’s youth to use their strength to meet complex social issues with love, compassion, and a fierce determination to stand for justice.
Said Rostock, “With his uniquely postmodern twist on history and his commitment to building a new world, it was exhilarating to witness Harry go beyond accepting that the past is doomed to be repeated by those who do not understand it, to ask: If we cannot position ourselves to see and translate history through our own present day experience, then how can we envision the future that we are rushing so quickly to embrace?”
Following Harry is produced by Frankie Nasso, Edward Zeng, and Rostock, and executive produced by Harry Belafonte, Pamela Belafonte, Jeff Kranzdorf, Karol Martesko-Fenster, and co-produced by Douglas Dicconson.
The Shondaland boss is getting ready to press the button on another day in London’s financial district to mark the release of Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2, which premiered in the English capital last night.
According to Netflix, Rhimes’ day at the stock exchange comes as the Bridgerton universe’ contribution to the UK economy tops £250M ($318M), supporting 5,000 businesses ranging from food to transportation to carpentry. The streamer provided examples including Visit West reporting a boost in visits to the region where much of the show is set.
Rhimes said: “The Bridgerton universe occupies a special space in culture, resonating with young and old alike, creating conversation, starting trends and influencing everything from baby names to weddings. It is clear that the business of art and culture can make a huge economic contribution to local communities. I could not be prouder.”
Rhimes, who was awarded an honorary CBE by King Charles earlier this year, is an American TV icon, with credits including Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and Inventing Anna. Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s biggest hits of all time and millions have been tuning in over the past weeks to see how Colin and Penelope’s love will pan out.
Kicking off the London Stock Exchange has been in vogue for stars of late. Succession icon Brian Cox did the same last March to ring in the new season of Succession.
George has been on Grey’s Anatomy since Season 6 as Ben Warren. He was a series regular from S12-S14 before leaving to help launch spinoff Station 19. For the past seven seasons, George was a series regular on the firefighter drama while making frequent guest appearances on the mothership series, both produced by Shondaland and ABC Signature.
In addition to George, Station 19?s main cast included one more Grey’s Anatomy transplant, Stefania Spampinato who reprised her role as Carina. For now, there are no plans for her to return to the mothership but there is always a possibility for her to pop in as a guest star, something Grey’s Anatomy does frequently with its alums.
George is rejoining the medical drama as it is preparing to bid farewell to two series regulars, Jake Borelli and Midori Francis, who will be back in the fall to wrap their characters’ arcs.
Ben’s Season 7 storyline on Station 19 had him tapping more and more into his medical skills while questioning his future as a firefighter in light of his shoulder injury, setting up a potential return to Grey Sloan. It culminated in the Station 19 series finale, in which Ben told Captain Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) that he was going back to finish his surgical residency. (In 2017, as a fifth year resident at Grey Sloan, Ben found a way to explore a dream second career as a firefighter without jeopardizing his chances at going back one day should he choose to do so.)
Of course, Ben always has had a personal connection to Grey Sloan through his marriage to Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), which was revisited with one final crossover in the Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 finale.
George has been in the Shondaland family for more than two decades. In addition to his runs on Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, he also was a series regular on the company’s 2011 medical drama Off The Map. The actor, who is a board member of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, is repped by Independent Artist Group and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.
The "Grey's Anatomy" star filed for a dissolution of marriage Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. Like we said ... this is coming a good three years after they and Ryan went public with their separation news.
Per the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sara has asked to block the court's ability to award spousal support for either party ... which makes sense because they say there's a prenup. Sara also lists their date of separation as January 2018 ... which is important to note since the exes didn't confirm their split until 2021.
In the separation announcement, Sara wrote ... "We remain loving and supportive in how we are choosing to forge our new individual paths. Thank you for holding space around our choices and respecting our families' privacy as we navigate this process on our own terms."
Sara and Ryan got engaged back in June 2011 after dating for a number of years. They got hitched that next summer in New York ... tying the knot in a private beachside ceremony.
Yet, after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016 ... Sara decided to publicly share they were queer and bisexual ... something their "Grey's Anatomy" character, Dr. Callie Torres, had notably done on a 2009 episode of the medical drama.
Sara offered up another personal update in August 2020 ... sharing they were gender nonbinary. They wrote at the time ... "In me is the capacity to be: girlish boy, boyish girl, boyish boy, girlish girl, all, neither."
Sounds like the divorce has been a long time coming.
His casting shouldn’t be alarming news for Euphoria fans. According to sources, there have been some promising signs as work on Season 3 scripts continues with creator Sam Levinson. Amid a production delay, HBO in March allowed the cast to take other acting jobs.
Should the network proceed with a third season — which I hear is still targeting a start of production later this year for a 2025 debut — filming will have to be done around the schedule of cast members like Dane who have booked new gigs. That is considered challenging but doable. Since March, Dane also signed up for pan-European miniseries Kabul, which is currently in production.
Countdown starts following a suspicious murder in broad daylight, which leads to LAPD officer Mark Meachum (Ackles) being recruited to join a secret task force of undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement to investigate. But as the truth of a more sinister plot comes into focus, the team must overcome their conflicting personal agendas to unite and save a city of millions.
Dane will play Nathan Blythe, Special Agent in Charge who’s been with the Bureau for 22 years. Military cut, trim, fit, and packing an imposing glare, he’s seen a lot in his days on the job, and he has a passion for fighting for justice. Though this isn’t his first task force he’s led, this one is different. He had already been looking into a potential deal going on with a foreign player trying to buy off DHS officers, but was denied when he tried to open an investigation. After Darden’s death, he took matters into his own hands and started going around certain people and keeping things tightly locked, including this opps team. He carefully assembled and handpicked everyone on it and doesn’t hesitate to light a fire under them. He wants this solved by any means necessary.
Camacho plays Special Agent Amber Oliveras. Haas created Countdown and serves as executive producer and showrunner on the 13-episode series, from Amazon MGM Studios.
This marks Dane’s return to playing a military man, which he did as the lead of TNT’s drama series The Last Ship. He is probably known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan on ABC’s long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. On Euphoria, Dane plays Nate’s (Jacob Elordi) dad Cal, a role which earned him a supporting actor nomination at the 2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards.
He currently stars opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride Or Die. Dane will next be seen in Amazon’s motorcycle racing film One Fast Move opposite KJ Apa and in Tony Tost’s directorial debut, Americana, starring alongside fellow Euphoria cast member Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Halsey, which premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival and recently sold to Lionsgate. He is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
Joining him were co-stars Natalie Morales, Camilla Luddington, James Pickens Jr., Anthony Hill, Harry Shum Jr., and Kevin McKidd.
Pink hospital scrubs substituted for Ken’s faux fur coat, sunglasses, and a rainbow-colored cowboy hat as Carmack lip-synched Ryan Gosling’s vocals.
The series was recently renewed by ABC for a 21st season last month. Watch the performance above.
As “Burn It Down” began, Meredith showed up at Grey Sloan certain that her and Amelia’s promising Alzheimer’s research was going to save Teddy’s job. Even as mad as Catherine was, Grey reasoned, “she will not stand in the way of scientific progress.” And she was right about that… kind of. The boss said that Altman could stay on the payroll provided that Mer sent all of her and Amelia’s work to Koracick by day’s end.
Er, come again? Well, since the Fox Foundation, however unwittingly, had funded all of the research, Catherine reckoned that the Fox Foundation now owned it. That being the case, she was going to have the work taken over by someone that she could trust: Tom. If Meredith did as she was told — for once — she, Amelia and Teddy wouldn’t have to apply for unemployment. But “this project,” Catherine added, “is no longer yours.”
Richard’s Ready to Retire
After Webber operated on a patient of Winston’s, said patient died. Ndugu blamed Mika and Jules, whom Richard had allowed to get hands-on experience during the surgery. But it wasn’t their fault, he later admitted to his former son-in-law. In other words, as he told Meredith, “It feels like I need to think about putting the scalpel down.”
Mika and Jules Nearly Kiss
When Millin informed Yasuda that their patient hadn’t made it, the latter was overcome with emotion. In trying to calm her friend, Jules rested her forehead on Mika’s, and for an instant there, it looked like they were about to lean in for a kiss. If only they hadn’t been interrupted by Blue, who’d just come face to face with his amnesiac ex-fiancee Molly in the pit!
Jo’s Pregnant After All
Working in the NICU, Levi was only distracted from aggravating Monica about recommending him for a peds fellowship by Jo’s sudden collapse. WTH? Turned out, despite the fact that she thought her pregnancy scare earlier in the season had been a false alarm, she really was expecting. She wasn’t quite ready to inform Link, though. (Gotta save something for the Season 21 premiere.)
Theo Pulls Through
Badly injured in Station 19’s penultimate episode, firefighter Ruiz looked for a good deal of the Grey’s finale like he wasn’t going to make it. Luckily, Teddy ignored the fact that she’d been axed and pitched in, at one point going so far as to open up the patient in a hallway! Whether Bailey’s nerves survived the day was another question altogether; worries about Ben drove her at least half out of her mind.
Everybody Stands Up for Lucas
After Adams was offered the job at the Chicago heart institute, Catherine prepared to reveal whether he would have to repeat a year of training. Before she could, though, Simone got all of the interns to join her in threatening to quit if Lucas was assigned a do-over. What’s more, the database Derek’s nephew had gotten going to keep tabs on first responders so impressed Bailey that she stood with her residents.
Meredith Publishes Her Research
Rather than cave to Catherine’s demands, Meredith went public with her Alzheimer’s research. “You are just like your mother,” Catherine scoffed. “Great,” Grey replied. “That means I’ll win.” Waiting for Mer outside the hospital was Nick, who admitted that if she moved yet again, he’d probably follow her. He’d prefer not to do that for her, though. “I’d rather do it with you.” Swell, ’cause she’d just put an offer in on a house in Chestnut Hill.
In Other Developments
All of the residents passed the ABSITE test, with Lucas, of all people, earning the highest score. While Levi did fine, he didn’t do fine enough for a peds fellowship. He was going to have to rethink his entire future. Since Helm was about to take off on vacation abroad, she asked, “Wanna rethink it with me in Paris?” Finally, it appeared that Winston and Monica’s one-night stand was going to extend to at least two nights…
Over the past two decades, Grey’s Anatomy has turned season finale cliffhangers into an art form and, closing out its milestone 20th season, the venerable medical drama did not disappoint.
The last episode — aptly double entendre-titled “Burn It Down” as it takes place during a massive wildfire — served a couple of bombshells.
After the pregnancy false alarm in Episode 5, Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack) agreed that they would want to have a baby one day. That day came far quicker than any of them hoped for: tests done after Jo fainted revealed she was pregnant, a fact she chose not to share with the expectant father, punting that conversation to Season 21.
Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) also left us hanging with a bomb he casually dropped, revealing to Adams (Niko Terho) that a wildfire victim with amnesia was his ex-fiancee. With him having only mentioned in passing an ex-girlfriend for the first time in the last episode, the existence of an ex-fiancee is certainly a development that needs serious elaborating next season.
By the end of the episode, nobody’s life was hanging in the balance like in previous Grey’s Anatomy season enders but most doctors — including all interns — found themselves at career crossroads, with their jobs at Grey Sloan in limbo, raising questions about the actors’ future on the show. (More on that later.)
The list includes Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) co-conspirators on her secret Alzheimer’s research Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Teddy (Kim Raver), who both were fired by Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) after Meredith defied her boss at the Catherine Fox foundation by refusing to give up the project and hand all her notes to Koracick. Instead, she published an abstract for the study online.
Owen (Kevin McKidd) also found his badge deactivated after standing up to Catherine and refusing to dismiss Teddy from the team trying to save the life –and the leg — of Station 19‘s Theo Ruiz. (It was a good call as they successfully did so, with Teddy as the team’s MVP.)
For a moment, the Season 20 finale felt like a repeat of the Season 19 closer, with two interns tending to a patient in an OR who subsequently died. This time, it was Millin (Adelaide Kane) and Yasuda (Midori Francis) under the supervision of Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.).
The death rattled Richard, whose confidence already had been shaken by his near sobriety lapse in the Season 19 finale, which he has been working on rebuilding all season.
“I think my time may be up,” he told Meredith. “I know I’ve said it before, I know I’ve taken breaks from the OR in the past but this time it feels different. Feels like I need to think about putting the scalpel down.”
Fortunately, Richard eventually realized that the patient’s death was not a result of the interns’ actions, making him feel better about his judgement and possibly rethink his retirement plans.
Having dismissed Meredith, Amelia, Teddy and Owen, Catherine was not done. She was about to uphold the GME recommendation to make Adams repeat as a first-year intern when the rest of the interns (and some random people in scrubs behind them) walked into the room to defend him.
“We don’t want to leave anyone behind or lose anyone, said Griffith (Alexis Floyd), who recently rekindled her romance with Adams. She had been sounding the alarm all episode that Adams, who got the highest score on the big test, may leave after he was offered a job at the Chicago Heart Center where Maggie works.
Griffith’s threat attempt, “If Adams goes…” was quickly shut down by Catherine who bluntly told the interns that she can replace them by the next day.
That led to the ultimate power move by Bailey (Chandra Wilson) who had an emotional rollercoaster of an episode, fighting to save Theo while worrying sick for her husband Ben while he battled the wildfire on the frontlines. (Who can blame her for having a pit in her stomach after those ominous parting words from Ben, “I love you Miranda Bailey, always have, always will”.) Capping an episode of power moves, she delivered the biggest one by waltzing in and confronting Catherine: “What about me? Can you replace me?” in the finale’s last cliffhanger.
We will have to wait until the fall for Catherine’s answer. As for the future of the cast, as Deadline reported exclusively, Jake Borelli and Midori Francis are set to depart. All other series regulars have signed on to return next season though the veteran cast members likely won’t appear in every single episode, with each potentially skipping a couple.
As expected, Borelli and Francis have closed deals to return in the fall and wrap their characters’ stories over multi-episode arcs. Indeed, the Season 20 finale did not provide closure for neither Levi nor Yasuda.
There was an inkling about Borelli’s Levi who finally secured Beltran’s (Natalie Morales) recommendation for the peds fellowship he had been pursing but it was contingent on his scoring well on the test and he landed in the so-so 62nd percentile.
“I want to rethink my entire life,” he told Helm (Jaicy Elliot) upon seeing his result.
Nothing stood out about Yasuda who found herself in the same boat with the other interns who spoke up on Adams’ behalf. Moments before the four stormed Catherine’s office, she shared an intimate moment with Millin where the two almost kissed.
A couple who did kiss in the closing minutes of the finale were Meredith and Nick (Scott Speedman) who flew in from Boston to again profess his love despite Meredith making it very hard for him to be part of her life, something he acknowledged.
“I’m in, I’ve been in, I can’t seem to get out,” he said, telling Meredith that he would follow her anywhere she decides to move after the secret research debacle though he would like for them to be partners going forward.
She responded with a grand gesture of her own, revealing that she had just put in an offer on the Chestnut Hill house he had mentioned in the last episode as a place they could make into a home together.
In other romantic developments, Beltran and Ndugu (Anthony Hill) are now officially a Grey’s couple after they opened the finale by waking up together and closed it out by making arrangements for a second hookup.
According to sources, there is no deal in place and the exact capacity in which George would return to Grey’s Anatomy is unclear but talks are ongoing, and the intent is to have him back on the show where he has been since Season 6, including a series regular stint from S12-S14, before moving to Station 19. Reps for ABC and ABC Signature, which produces Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, declined comment.
Rumblings about George potentially rejoining Grey’s Anatomy next season started in January. In a March interview with new Grey’s showrunner Meg Martinis, Deadline asked whether Station 19 series regular characters who originated on the medical drama, George’s Ben or Stefania Spampinato’s Carina, could end up back on the mothership.
“How they end their stories [on Station 19] will help me determine whether or not I will be seeing those characters on Grey’s,” Martinis said. The way the firefighter drama wrapped Ben’s story, he is practically headed back to Grey Sloan. More on that in a bit, preceded by a spoiler warning.
Ben Warren always has had a personal connection to Grey’s Anatomy through his marriage to Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). But his professional connection has grown stronger too over the final season of Station 19 as Ben has been stepping up more to use his medical background.
Back in 2017, as a fifth year resident at Grey Sloan, Ben found a way he could explore a dream second career as a firefighter without jeopardizing his chances at going back one day should he choose to do so. Thanks to the elite Medic One program, Ben successfully became an EMT through its fellowship program and, with Miranda’s support, became a firefighter at Station 19.
Across 7 seasons on Station 19, Ben always embraced the duality of his professional passions which at its core center around helping people.
There were many instances where Ben was able to apply his talents as a doctor while working as a firefighter, including performing an amputation in the field. The most notable was probably the launch of his Physician Response Team in Season 3, a mobile emergency room offering on-the-spot assistance to patients who maybe would not survive a trip to the hospital. The initiative, jointly funded by the Seattle Fire Department and Grey Sloan, was short-lived due to critical flaws but it was a touchpoint for Ben that further fueled his love of medicine.
In Station 19‘s penultimate episode, he saved a severely burned man by cutting through the burnt skin to let him breathe but could not lift the gurney the victim was on because of his shoulder injury. That prompted Ben to open up to Vic (Barrett Doss) about the duality to his life, noting that he was a really good doctor that day but his injury was making it impossible for him to be a really good firefighter, hinting at a potential career path reversal.
When Theo (Carlos Miranda) was gravely injured, Ben was there to triage him before accompanying him to Grey Sloan in the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy, seamlessly passing the medical care baton to Owen (Grey’s Kevin McKidd).
SPOILER ALERT: The remaining portion of the story includes mild spoilers about the series finale of Station 19.
In the series finale of Station 19, which saw the crew battling a massive wildfire, Ben was alongside Carina (Spampinato) while she assisted a badly burned mother in labor.
It came at no surprise that by episode’s end, Captain Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) figured out Ben’s plans to retire as a firefighter and return to medicine (and Miranda).
“Let me guess, you’re going back to finish your surgical residency?” Andy asked.
“It’s that obvious, huh? It’s just that between the multiple injuries and constantly being away from Miranda…,” Ben tried to explain before Andy stepped in.
“No explanation needed. It’s alright, I get it,” she said. “Look, you’re a great firefighter but I know that your love of medicine and helping people knows no bounds. We all have our calling.”
As the two later walked back into the main room, Ben couldn’t resist one last quip, “I don’t know if I ever told you but I’m a doctor,” he said to a laugh because Ben reminding everyone he is MD has been a recurring theme on the show.
“I’ve never heard you say that before. Like ever,” Andy deadpanned.
The Station 19 finale flash-forward provided a glimpse at Miranda and Ben’s future as their adopted daughter Prue, daughter of late Station 19 firefighter Dean Miller (Okieriete Onaodowan), is seen graduating from the Fire Academy and joining Station 19. yt
From 'The Hunger Games' to 'True Detective': Dive deep into the remarkable journey of Leven Rambin, the talented actress who brought Glimmer to life in the iconic film, "The Hunger Games." In her short and sweet memoir, Glimmer's Game, Leven offers an intimate look at her rise from the dreams of a young girl in Houston to the bright lights of Hollywood.
Behind-the-Scenes Stories: Leven shares never-before-told stories from her time on set of The Hunger Games, revealing the drama and excitement of filming the blockbuster hit. From her crucial interaction with director Gary Ross to fight training, to her friendships with the rest of the cast, Leven delves into what filming was really like!
Personal Insights and Inspirations: This memoir is more than a collection of behind-the-scenes anecdotes; it's a testament to Leven's resilience and passion for her craft. Readers will be inspired by her determination to chase her dreams and overcome obstacles, both personal and professional.
Exclusive Content: Fans will love the off-camera tea and personal behind-the-scenes photos Leven shares, giving a candid look at her life beyond the spotlight. This book is a must-read for anyone who has followed Leven's career or is simply fascinated by the world of acting.
A Story of Dreams and Determination: Leven's story is one of perseverance and hope. She connects with readers on a personal level, encouraging them to pursue their dreams with the same fervor and dedication that she has.
Join Leven on this Unforgettable Journey: Whether you're a long-time fan or new to her work, Glimmer's Game is a fun and captivating read that sheds light on the realities of Hollywood and the power of perseverance. (Paperback, Kindle)
Newcomers include Edmund Donovan (Civil War), Eva De Dominici (The Cleaning Lady), Jack Falahee (How to Get Away with Murder), T. R. Knight (The Flight Attendant), Sonya Walger (For All Mankind), Raymond Ma (Always Be My Maybe) and Dawn Ying Yuen (The Harvest).
While we’re told Donovan will play a disgraced millionaire involved with art forgery, all other roles are under wraps. Forge‘s leads are Kelly Marie Tran, Andie Ju and Brandon Soo Hoo, as we were first to report.
Marking the feature directorial debut of Malaysian-born filmmaker Jing Ai Ng, the film is set in the underbelly of the Miami art world, where siblings Raymond (Soo Hoo) and Coco Zhang (Ju) run a profitable forgery ring. When the Zhang siblings cross paths with a disgraced millionaire (Donovan), they are coerced into creating counterfeit masterpieces as a front for his old American family’s art collection. Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee (Tran) moves to South Florida and attempts to find the culprits behind a new string of forgeries.
Producers are Liz Daering-Glass under her and Ng’s new label Florida Man Films, Gabrielle Cordero, and Damian Bao (Port Authority) through his production company Qilinverse. Dave A. Liu (Dìdi) will serve as executive producer on the film, which was developed as part of Film Independent’s Screenwriting Lab and Fast Track.
Donovan is repped by Gersh, Entertainment 360, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; De Dominici by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Falahee by A3 Artists Agency, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Knight by Buchwald, Authentic Talent and Literary Management, and Paul Hastings; Walger by Gersh and Authentic; Ma by Almond Talent; and Yuen by Minc Talent.
CBS | Leading out of The Price Is Right at Night (which drew 3.8 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating), Elsbeth‘s freshman finale (4.9 mil/0.3) was up 14% week-to-week.
ABC | 9-1-1 (4.5 mil/0.5) and Station 19 (2.4 mil/0.2) both hit four-episode highs in audience, with the former also rising in the demo. Grey’s Anatomy (3 mil/0.4) added some eyeballs.
NBC | Leading out of this year’s Red Nose Day special (1.5 mil/0.2), The Wall drew 1.5 mil and a 0.2.
FOX | I Can See Your Voice (1.1 mil/0.2) was steady, and Don’t Forget the Lyrics returned to a typical 1.15 mil and 0.2.
‘WE’RE PUBLISHING AN ABSTRACT BASED ON OUR FINDINGS’ | As “I Carry Your Heart” began, Link was cooking to celebrate Jo’s last day as a general surgeon (not that they were in any hurry to eat), Owen was pushing Teddy to check the budget for his proposed teaching program (though she was quick to distract him with nookie), and Lucas and Simone were just plain getting it on. Meanwhile, Mika declined an offer to spend time alone with Helm, and Amelia was surprised to find Catherine in her office. “I think I’ve seen everything I needed to see,” she said ominously. Immediately, Amelia phoned Meredith to say that they had a problem. Gee, ya think?
A commercial break later, Amelia showed up on Meredith’s doorstep with all of their research on hard drives. On a call to Teddy, the sisters-in-law asked the chief to delay Catherine finding out where the hospital’s discretionary funds had gone for a few weeks… or at least four days. To pull off that miracle, Teddy recruited Blue and Jules to input Alzheimer’s data in code. When Meredith revealed that she didn’t plan to present her findings to Catherine but just publish her theory, Amelia balked: It would erase Derek’s research forevermore. “I’ve come too far to throw the towel in,” Mer said, confident that her late husband would feel the same way.
Shortly, Teddy revealed to Owen how she’d used the hospital’s petty change. In turn, he confessed that he’d gone to Catherine himself rather than pressure her to bankroll his project. What was she to do? “Better to come clean than get caught,” he recommended. That, she would do. When Mer told Nick that she might be busted and have to uproot them again, he gently hit the roof. She didn’t get that he really, really wanted to settle down and shack up with her, wedding band and all. Once Blue and Jules were done uploading their data, Mer and Amelia were ecstatic. It was extraordinarily promising. At that point, Amelia was ready to go ahead and publish; that could be how they honored Derek.
GREY’S ANATOMY - “Burn It Down” - Wildfires threaten the Seattle region, leading to a flood of patients and emergency procedures. The doctors juggle overcapacity in the ER, complex surgeries and personal stress. Meanwhile, Meredith makes a rash decision that can’t be undone. THURSDAY, MAY 30 (9:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Anne Marie Fox) ANTHONY HILL, JAMES PICKENS JR.
‘YOU ARE A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES’ | No sooner had Maggie walked out of the elevator at Grey Sloan than she was reunited with Richard and, awkwardly, Winston. Brady, the long-term patient that she’d come from Chicago to treat, needed a heart transplant, she regrettably informed him. Would he live even long enough to marry boyfriend Ian? It soon looked unlikely. The show wasn’t even half over when he wound up in critical condition.
Nearby, Winston and Monica informed young patient Mason that he’d be undergoing a heart-lung transplant — they’d secured both donor organs. Would Maggie scrub in? her soon-to-be ex asked. Why, yes, she would — even though Winston had yet to sign their divorce papers. Hey, would Mason’s heart work for Brady? No, Winston explained. Mason’s heart was adapted to pulmonary hypertension, so its recipient would have to also have that condition.
Nevertheless, Simone raced to tell Maggie that Mason’s heart might save Brady. Ian’s hopes rose sky-high, only for Maggie to determine that the heart wouldn’t work. Not so fast, Winston said. The couple was about to pull off another miracle. “We still got it,” Maggie marveled. “Brady’s getting a new heart.” (And Winston’s was clearly all aflutter.) Not only that, but Maggie was so impressed by Lucas that she offered him a position in cardio in Chicago with her.
‘WE CAN DEFEND YOU’ | When Teddy called Lucas and Bailey into her office, the chief revealed that Sam’s family had decided to settle their lawsuit and that it was being recommended that he repeat his intern year of surgical training. “Your judgment is in question, not your skills,” Teddy clarified. Not that that left Adams any less pouty-pants. Simone blamed herself for the situation that he was in, but he didn’t want her or any of the interns trying to ride to the rescue.
Meanwhile, Richard reported to Bailey that Dorian could move to soft foods. (One step closer to that cheeseburger!) Link and Jo clashed over a case on which he wanted to act, she wanted to wait and see — all with Mika as a reluctant witness. Blue inferred from Jules’ reaction to his dating app that she was jealous. All she’d admit to, though, was a little crush… which led to sex. (Finally!) But they both reinforced that it was just sex, not a budding relationship.
‘IT’S WHAT WE DO… WHAT WE DID’ | As the hour drew to a close, Winston pulled away from a near kiss with Maggie. “I think it’s time for us to let go,” he said, proffering the signed divorce papers. “Goodbye, Maggie Pierce.” In the locker room, Lucas disclosed to Simone that Maggie had offered him a better job in the Windy City. “I’m considering it,” he added. Bailey and Richard pondered how many of the interns had passed that big exam (the results of which were about to come in). Dang it, Mika broke up with Helm. Yasuda felt that she had to choose between her girlfriend and work, and she was choosing work.
Teddy’s confession to Catherine went over extremely well… up to a point. Catherine was clearly about to lower some boom or other. Link and Jo kissed and made up. Winston and Monica were looking awfully chummy over beers at Joe’s. “I just got divorced, too!” she laughed. In no time, they were stripping down and getting over their exes on top of one another. Finally, Meredith told Nick that she didn’t know if she could marry him. But she could promise to love him forever. “The issue is that I put work before you… but just right now. That’s not forever. If you support me, I can do this. Are you in?” They were interrupted by Mer’s phone ringing before he could answer. What was so important? Teddy called to say that Catherine had fired her.
The renewal news came this morning as originating broadcaster CBC renewed the show and unveiled it at its Upfronts.
It marks a bit of good news for The CW, which canceled Walker earlier this week, while Canadian drama The Spencer Sisters, which it also aired, was canceled at CTV.
The show, stars Grey’s Anatomy’s Giacomo Gianniotti, Riverdale’s Vanessa Morgan and Jason Priestley, has been one of The CW’s stronger performers over the last year.
Earlier this month, The CW’s President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz told Deadline that he was keen to bring back the show for more episodes.
Wild Cards is a crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist that follows the unlikely duo of a gruff, sardonic cop and a spirited, clever con woman. Ellis (Gianniotti) plays a demoted detective who has spent the last year on the maritime unit, while Max (Morgan) has been living a transient life elaborately scamming everyone she meets. But when Max gets arrested and ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime, the two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves, with Ellis going back to detective and Max staying out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, with each using their unique skills to solve crimes. Terry Chen and Karin Konoval also star.
It is produced by Blink49 Studios, Front Street Pictures and Piller/Segan with Michael Konyves as showrunner. He exec produces alongside Shawn Piller, James Genn, Lloyd Segan, Alexandra Zarowny and James Thorpe. Produced by Charles Cooper and Virginia Rankin, it is distributed internationally by Fifth Season.
The second season will premiere in winter 2025 on both The CW and CBC and consists of 13 episodes.
“We are thrilled to order a second season of The CW’s breakout series Wild Cards,” said Liz Wise Lyall, Head of Scripted Programming, The CW Network. “Wild Cards has clearly captured the imagination of our viewers thanks to exhilarating storytelling and the crackling chemistry between Vanessa and Giacomo. We are confident Wild Cards is the kind of smart and sexy blue-sky drama that could continually build its audience for years.”
‘MY LUNG IS STILL COLLAPSED, BUT I’M HAVING A GREAT HAIR DAY’ | As the episode began, Helm had just been asked for space by Mika. So she was in an especially foul mood. By contrast, Monica was in an especially good one; she even bought Amelia coffee. Was that flirting? “I don’t have time for whatever this is,” Winston cracked. Jo was ready to tell Teddy that she was quitting general surgery, only to find out from Schmitt that the boss was taking a personal day. Bailey congratulated the interns on regaining their O.R. privileges. But they also had to study for their big exam the following day; a score of under 30, and they’d be working at Joe’s. (Wait, even I might be able to get 30% right on a medical test!)
In the crowded peds ward, Monica and Jules ran some extra tests before operating on a trans girl named Caroline, who’d come from Texas to seek the help of Beltran in particular. (Her rep in the Lone Star State preceded her.) In the bed next to Caroline’s was holy terror Emmy. Soon, Monica and Jules discovered that to eliminate Caroline’s neurofibroma, they would need Amelia’s help. This was potentially a deal-breaker for the nervous patient and her mom. Caroline’s trans status had been so derided by their doctors in Texas that they’d made the trek to see Monica and only Monica.
‘I SWEAR I’M GONNA PUT A TRACKER ON YOU’ | Soon — oh, kids! — both Caroline and Emmy disappeared from their room. As Monica searched for them with Amelia, she admitted that Emmy was her favorite headache. Once the youngsters had been located stocking up on post-procedure snacks, Emmy collapsed. She was OK but couldn’t breathe well enough to name what she was scared of. So Monica guessed — like she had on previous occasions. Later, Caroline requested that Monica do the same for her. Turned out, she was afraid of being naked on a table in front of a whole operating room full of people. Monica assured her that she was a great girl and she herself would make sure that they understood. So the surgery was a go. Not only that, but it went well. “I think [Amelia and I] make a pretty good team,” Monica said afterward.
‘HE’S HOLDING ON, SO I AM, TOO’ | The day of poor Dorian’s laparotomy — and hopefully the removal of his ostomy — Lucas and Simone were on Bailey’s service. That couldn’t be a good sign, could it? Simone was nervous; Lucas, not at all. Another bad sign, right? As complicated as the procedure turned out to be, it was gonna be a long stretch at the operating table, Bailey warned. Did Lucas or Simone want to tap out to study? No, they assured her. Richard wondered whether they should bail, given as many difficulties as Dorian had had. But he’d cheated death once already, so no way was Bailey going to give up just because the going had gotten rough while he was under the knife. Alas, it soon sounded like Dorian didn’t have enough bowel to stay off TPN. Then, um, the opposite of alas, Simone’s cramming led to a change of plans that might reunite Dorian with his beloved cheeseburgers after all. Then — jeez, they were giving us whiplash between hopeful- and hopelessness — the patient flatlined on the table. Bailey shocked him over and over, but as the episode entered its final stretch, it didn’t look good.
‘I HAD A CHEESE AND CHARCUTERIE PLATE WHEN WE REACHED THE TOP’ | On their “relaxing” hike, Teddy and Owen were chasing down a waterfall (and quite possibly going in circles) when they happened upon a guy whose daughter Rosie had fallen into… was that a lava tube? Regardless, before you could say, “Watch your step,” Dad had fallen in, too. Since he was bleeding profusely from his leg wound, Hunt instructed Rosie on how to make a tourniquet of her shirt. Owen suggested that maybe he could slide down to lend a hand. And gravely injure himself? Maybe not, Teddy replied. By halftime in the episode, father and daughter had been ambulanced to Grey Sloan with Owen and Teddy in tow. They even scrubbed in to operate on Dad (and got to reminiscing about working together in the field). “If you hadn’t been there,” Rosie said to Owen, “my dad wouldn’t be here now.” Pop — there went the thought bubble over his head.
‘I DON’T WANT TO BE THE CAUSE OF ANY MARITAL DISCORD’ | As the hour neared its conclusion, Mika approached Helm but not to kiss and make up — to get back into the O.R. “And we’ll talk, eventually,” Yasuda added. Later, Jules tearfully confessed to Mika that her mind kept blanking when she reviewed even test questions that she knew. Sweetly, Mika passed on her chance to hit the O.R. to help her. In other developments, Schmitt was pissed that Jo had decided to quit general surgery 48 hours ago and already seemed to have checked out. But that wasn’t the case, she later explained. She wasn’t checked out but freaked out, obsessed with making sure her OB patients were OK. Ripped lucky socks be damned, Blue was going to nail the exam, Link was sure. Kwan had impressed him all day. Miraculously, Dorian was still hanging on at hour’s end, but there was no telling what shape he would be in when he awakened. (After all this, his story has to have a happy ending, right?)
Finally, Amelia asked Monica out — flat-out out. “Clearly, I misread the situation,” Amelia deduced when she didn’t get an instant response. “No, it’s just… I’m going through a really messy divorce,” Beltran said, “and my wife’s still in Texas.” To be continued… Lucas was upset that, as with Dorian, he didn’t know how to let go. Simone said that he’d taught her to be a braver doctor. Cue the making out (and then some). Off his talk with Rosie, Owen floated the idea to Teddy that they start making videos, etc., to teach others to save lives. Would Teddy fund it? Rather than put her — or, rather, keep her — in that awkward position, Owen approached Catherine, who was going to look into the hospital’s available discretionary funds. In other words, she was about to find out that Teddy gave the dough to Meredith for her Alzheimer’s research.
Drew has been cast as Emily Lane in Mistletoe Murders, which is based on the Audible global hit podcast of the same name. Emily is described as smart, tough, and observant, but also kind, empathetic, and charming with a great — albeit dry — sense of humor.
When Emily isn’t busy running her charming small-town Christmas-themed store, “Under the Mistletoe,” she finds herself compelled to investigate local murders with the help of handsome local police detective and his teen daughter. On the surface, Emily is a perfectly lovely, good-natured mystery lover – but she is hiding a secret past that, if exposed, threatens to destroy the new life she has built in Fletcher’s Grove.
The series comes from eOne Canada and Headspinner Productions and will be distributed by Lionsgate Television. Drew will serve as an EP on the series. Production starts next month in Toronto.
Mistletoe Murders is created by Ken Cuperus, who is also executive producing alongside Jocelyn Hamilton and Michelle Melanson. Award-winning director Grant Harvey, known for his work on Hallmark Channel’s hit series The Way Home, is joining the series.
Besides playing Dr. April Kepner for nine seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, Drew’s other credits include Freeform’s hit series Cruel Summer, and the Apple TV+ series Amber Brown. On the feature side, Drew starred in Mom’s Night Out and was in The Baxter alongside Elizabeth Banks and Paul Rudd. She also appeared in Radio alongside Cuba Gooding and Ed Harris.
Drew has recently been working behind the camera, as well. In addition to starring in Reindeer Games Homecoming for Lifetime, she also wrote and executive produced the film. She also wrote and produced A Cowboy Christmas Romance for last year’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” holiday slate.
Drew also starred in the Hallmark film Branching Out as well as Sony Affirm’s Birthright Outlaw.
She is represented by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment and Yorn Levine.
Others set for roles include Chris Johnson (4400) and Amiah Miller (War for the Planet of the Apes).
Directed by Jeff Fisher (The Image of You), the film follows Ali (Bush), her husband Jeff (Johnson) and their brilliant, vivacious teenage daughter, Katie (Miller) — the absolute center of Ali’s world. When Tom Truby (Carmack) knocks at their door, life as they know it ends. 15 years ago, someone switched Ali and Tom’s babies at the hospital. And now Ali is facing the unthinkable: the daughter she brought home doesn’t belong to her.
An adaptation of the novel from bestselling UK author Adele Parks MBE, who has a multi-picture deal with MPCA, the film was scripted by Chris Sivertson (Monstrous, The Image of You). Produced by Krevoy, its executive producers are Amanda Phillips, Vince Balzano, Garrett VanDusen, Kaan Karahan, Andrew Riach, David Wulf and Jennifer Ricci.
Most recently wrapping production on Bryan Greenberg’s directorial debut, Junction, Bush is also coming off of 2:22 – A Ghost Story, a play on London’s West End. Notable past credits in film and TV include the hit comedy John Tucker Must Die, Chicago P.D., Incredibles 2, One Tree Hill and Good Sam.
Best known for his starring role as country crooner Will Lexington on the CMT drama Nashville, Carmack currently stars as Dr. Lincoln on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Previously, he’s also guest starred on popular procedurals and dramas such as NCIS, CSI: NY, Desperate Housewives, Smallville, The O.C. and CSI: Miami.
Premiering the rom-com Mother of the Bride, starring Brooke Shields, Benjamin Bratt and Miranda Cosgrove, on Netflix on May 9, MPCA earlier this year saw success with Irish Wish, starring Lindsay Lohan and Ed Speleers, which debuted at #1 at 69 countries in its first weekend on the same streamer. Later this year, the company will release two films through Republic Pictures: the rom-com Winter Spring Summer or Fall, starring Jenna Ortega, and The Image of You, starring Sasha Pieterse, Parker Young, Nestor Carbonell and Mira Sorvino.
Bush is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; Carmack by Innovative Artists and Underscore Talent; Johnson by TalentWorks and Haven Entertainment; Miller by CAA, Rogue Management & Production, Entertainment 360, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Fisher by Gersh and BenunLaw; Sivertson by Aperture Entertainment and Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes; and Parks by CAA and Curtis Brown Group.
It was somewhat surprising, then, that the show which stars Grey’s Anatomy’s Giacomo Gianniotti, Riverdale’s Vanessa Morgan and Jason Priestley, hasn’t been quickly snapped up for a second season.
The CW’s President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz told Deadline in February that the network was in conversations with Blink49 Studios about more episodes coming to the network.
Those talks are still ongoing, but the suggestion is very much that it will continue on The CW.
“You’ll probably be hearing more announcements from us very soon,” he told Deadline this morning. “That show did great. It grew 10% versus what The Flash did in the same spot the year before. So, here we are beating shows that everyone’s very romantic about. We’d very much like to renew that one.”
Wild Cards is a co-production with Canada’s CBC Television, which is holding its own Upfront next week so don’t be surprised if that renewal is unveiled then.
Wild Cards is a crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist that follows the unlikely duo of a gruff, sardonic cop and a spirited, clever con woman. Ellis (Gianniotti) plays a demoted detective who has spent the last year on the maritime unit, while Max (Morgan) has been living a transient life elaborately scamming everyone she meets. But when Max gets arrested and ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime, the two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves, with Ellis going back to detective and Max staying out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, with each using their unique skills to solve crimes. Terry Chen and Karin Konoval also star.
It is produced by Blink49 Studios, Front Street Pictures and Piller/Segan with Michael Konyves as showrunner. He exec produces alongside Shawn Piller and Noelle Carbone.
I hear this was an amicable decision. Francis had been looking to branch out for the next step of her career and signed with WME earlier this year. She is the second Grey’s Anatomy series regular who will be departing early next season, along with Jake Borelli who has played Levi Schmitt for seven seasons. Reps for ABC and ABC Signature, which produces Grey’s Anatomy, declined comment.
The scrappy middle child with eight siblings, Yasuda is known for her dark sense of humor which has gotten her in trouble since Day 1 of her surgical internship. She has been part of a ragtag group of five doctors accepted into the newly launched teaching program at Grey Sloan at the start of Season 19.
More recently, Yasuda has been assisting Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) during her recovery from a life-saving surgery. On the personal front, Yasuda has been in a relationship with Taryn Helm (Jaicy Elliot) while rooming with Benson Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) and possibly losing her beloved 1975 Chevy G10 “Leona” as her former home broke down.
Before joining Grey’s Anatomy in 2022, Francis headlined her own series, playing Lily in Netflix’s Dash & Lily, for which she landed a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. She also starred in the first season of Max hit The Sex Lives Of College Girls as Reneé Rapp’s love interest Alicia. She guest starred on the show’s second season while on Grey’s.
Francis’ screen credits also include the Universal movie Good Boys, the Facebook Watch series The Birch, the Netflix film Afterlife of the Party and, most recently, Blumhouse’s Unseen. She also has starred in a number of stage productions, including Ming Peiffer’s Usual Girls, for which she earned a Drama Desk award nomination in the category of Best Leading Actress.
Additionally, ABC this morning unveiled its fall schedule where Grey’s is shifting from 9 PM to 10 PM on Thursdays. Deadline asked Disney TV Group President Craig Erwich whether the moves signal a potential end game for the show.
“We just celebrated the 20th season of Grey’s, which makes it the longest running medical drama on television, and I think the show is creatively firing on all cylinders and continues to be extraordinarily popular — if not the most popular show in terms of past seasons,” he said. “We see new generations coming into the show on a monthly basis, so the show’s in great shape.”
On Grey‘s new time slot, Erwich noted that of the drama’s “very loyal audience,” “well over 80% watches the show on multiple platforms, not specifically live, so we think the move is going to be minimal, as well as it will provide an incredible lead into our local news at 11.”
But could the Thursday shift, along with the budget cut, indicate that Grey’s may be on its last legs, with Season 21 possibly being its final chapter?
“Not at all,” Erwich said, calling the scheduling move “a great opportunity for ABC to launch a new show, as well as to keep Grey’s on a night where it’s been extraordinarily successful for many years.”
As Deadline reported yesterday, Jake Borelli will be departing Grey’s Anatomy after seven years next season. Additionally, veteran cast members are expected to see a reduction of their episodic guarantees, which means that they may be in fewer Season 21 episodes.
Amid overall decline in linear ratings, it has become common practice for broadcast networks to ask for financial concessions on long-running series, which naturally become pricier as they age. As a high-end drama series headed into its 21st season with a large cast, most of whom have been on the show for years, Grey’s is expensive. I hear its renewal — like many other broadcast shows’ these days — came with a budget cut.
That is impacting the cast, with established stars faced with a reduction of their episodic guarantees, which means that they may be in fewer episodes next year, sources said. Reps for ABC and ABC Signature, which produces Grey’s Anatomy, declined comment.
Borelli’s Levi Schmitt has been a popular character on the long-running medical drama who started as an intern at the start of Season 14 and was most recently a senior resident working with the new group of interns at Grey Sloan Memorial.
Over the years, Levi has had major arcs, including spiraling after losing a patient during the 2021-22 season, and he was the only one from his class of interns to stay on after the residency program was disbanded at the end of that season.
Since then, Levi has been focused mostly on guiding the new group of interns through the pitfalls of becoming a surgeon. He did have a moment this season when he ran into his former boyfriend Dr. Nico Kim (Alex Landi) — now in a new relationship and expecting a child via surrogate.
Borelli will always be part of the Grey’s Anatomy history. In season 15, he was part of a major LGBTQ storyline featuring the series’ first openly gay male character, Nico (Landi), the first kiss between two male doctors when Nico and Levi locked lips in an elevator, with the duo’s relationship becoming the first gay romance involving two male doctors on the show. As the groundbreaking storyline kicked off on screen, Borelli also publicly came out as a gay man.
As for the rest of the Grey’s veterans, I hear episodic guarantees — the number of episodic fees per season each series regular is entitled to per their contract — are being renegotiated and are expected to go down across the board.
This way actors are not taking per-episode pay cuts though their overall compensation will go down as they will appear in fewer episodes, something the writers have to be mindful of as they craft next season’s scripts.
This is common cost-saving practice, which also was employed by One Chicago and Law & Order franchise last year across all six series.
A budget-reduction alternative is cutting cast’s salaries, which happened on Blue Bloods last year, or making some of the series regulars recurring, which we saw on shows like Bob Hearts Abishola and Superman & Lois.
Such cuts have become inevitable in the current challenging economic environment as TV production is getting more expensive and media congloms are putting a stronger emphasis on their balance sheets.
The SAG Award-winning actress is combining forces with noted documentary producers Glen Zipper and Sean Stuart for the nonfiction feature The Way Home: Dogs of the Last Frontier, a film about Alaskan sled dogs preparing for retirement. Pompeo and Laura Holstein are producing through Calamity Jane Productions, while Zipper (Undefeated, Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes) produces through his Zipper Bros Films; Stuart (Sly, Willie Nelson & Family) is producing for Sutter Road Picture Company.
Ukrainian native Eddy Gudakov will make his feature directorial debut on the documentary.
“The Way Home: Dogs of the Last Frontier takes place deep in the Alaskan wilderness as two women, musher/adventurer Cindy Abbott and author/illustrator Denise Lawson, prepare a group of elite sled dogs for their most challenging journey yet — retiring and finding new homes as pets all across the United States,” notes a synopsis of the film.
The synopsis continues, “Cindy and Denise have ventured down different paths in life, but a mutual love for dogs and the outdoors has brought them together. Their bond grows as they guide Alaskan sled dogs through their transition from working dogs into retirement, instituting a slow and thoughtful process that allows time for the dogs to learn things that household pets pick up when they are young.”
In a statement, Pompeo said, “We are thrilled to come aboard this project with Glen and Sean who are both masters of documentary filmmaking along with Eddy whose gorgeous cinematic storytelling brings together all the elements needed to make this film captivating to worldwide audiences.”
Zipper wrote and served as executive producer on the Emmy-nominated Dogs, a Netflix docuseries about the incredible relationship between humans and their canine companions.
“When we created our series Dogs for Netflix my mission was about more than just telling stories about dogs,” Zipper commented. “It was about honoring our bond with these special souls and exploring how they are so much more than just our pets. I couldn’t be more excited to be continuing this storytelling tradition with Ellen and Eddy on The Way Home: Dogs of the Last Frontier.”
Zipper is repped by CAA and Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis. Pompeo is repped by CAA, Linden Entertainment, The Lede Company and Hansen Jacobson.
Pompeo is a well-known dog lover and companion to a shelter pup named Tom that she adopted last year from MaeDay Rescue in Los Angeles. In June 2023, MaeDay posted a photo of Pompeo and Tom on Instagram, writing, “He now has an amazing family, dog brothers and sisters and so much love. Tom was born in the desert to a dog that a family found on the streets and didn’t realize was pregnant.”
Before Zipper became a documentary producer, he served as an assistant prosecutor in Hudson County, New Jersey. Back then, a canine encounter set him on a different career trajectory.
“My journey from being a prosecutor to producer started with finding a stray dog on the street, which brought me to an animal shelter and me seeing what those dogs were up against,” Zipper said in an interview with Deadline. “And I literally went to work, turned in my badge and went to volunteer at an animal shelter.”
Zipper explained that the joy he discovered helping dogs inspired him to ask a question of himself. “I said, ‘Well, I want to feel this way for the rest of my life. How am I going to do that? I’m going to pursue my dream of making movies.’ And so when I was able to find some success out here and achieve that dream, I said, I need to pay back this debt.”
That goal led to the Netflix Dogs series and now to The Way Home: Dogs of the Last Frontier.
“One of my agents at CAA, Amanda Lebow, sent me some footage for The Way Home. And I saw the footage and I saw the vision from our filmmaker and I said, ‘I definitely want to be part of this,’” Zipper recalled. “I remember there was about 10 minutes of footage to look at. I stopped it after two minutes and immediately emailed my agent because I didn’t want to risk in the eight minutes it would’ve taken to watch the rest that some other producer would’ve come in and taken it from me. So, I just said, get me a meeting as quickly as possible. I want to be part of this.”
Production is underway on The Way Home: Dogs of the Last Frontier. No anticipated release date has been announced. CAA Media Finance is repping the film for worldwide rights.
‘THEY’RE INTERNS… THEY’RE ALWAYS IN TROUBLE’ | As “She Used to Be Mine” began, Simone and her family moved her grandma into an assisted-living home (cue the “mom”-eries), Mika’s beloved van Leona broke down, and Dorian learned that he was at last being sprung from the ICU. Arriving at Grey Sloan for the day, Teddy noted to Amelia that Owen had been distant lately. Had he said something to his ex? No, Amelia insisted as weirdly as possible. (Mmkaaay… ) Into the ER came Jillian and Cassandra, a couple who’d been in a fender bender when things got steamy during a, ahem, “parking” date. Turned out Jillian was married. D’oh. Soon enough, Jillian got fed up enough with “better half” Aaron that she screamed, “We’re having an affair” — and had been for the last two years. Curiously, her head didn’t hurt when she was yelling. Why? Side effect of a malformation brought on by whiplash, Amelia said. They’d operate that evening.
When Simone checked on a patient named Miles who’d come in with a broken wrist, she found that his pregnant wife Lauren was having contractions. Just Braxton-Hicks, the mom-to-be was sure. But Griffith sent her up to OB to be on the safe side. (Hello, foreshadowing.) In no time, Jo discovered that Lauren was going to be having her second baby sooner than later. But, erm, why did she have a bloody nose? And why was she suddenly having seizures? Ack! Time for a C-section, stat! Once Carina had gotten the baby out, more complications arose. It was “Page Bailey!”-level bad. When Simone entered the O.R., she was understandably shocked by what she saw. Lauren was bleeding a lot — and Griffith had just been telling Miles how well everything was going, too! Immediately, Bailey recruited Simone to help even though she hadn’t completed her logbook yet. To her credit, Griffith kept it together as a scenario unfolded that reminded her of her mother dying giving birth to her. (She even saw her mom in Lauren’s place at one point.) If only Simone hadn’t backed away from the operating table; the patient probably would have appreciated that, as dire as her situation was.
‘I JUST MADE IT WEIRD’ | When a pretty nurse tried flirting with Winston, he pressed pause. “She seems nice,” Richard noted. Which only made things more awkward. (Nothing like having your former father-in-law weighing in on your romantic prospects, eh?) Before we knew it, Winston had asked Teddy to scrub in with Maggie’s dad, presumably so that he didn’t have to. (Hilariously, she made Webber miss Winston even more by dumping her marital concerns and theories on him.) Afterwards, Richard told Winston that he’d come to love him like a son — and assured him that he didn’t have to avoid him. Go, date, have fun! But, um, that hadn’t been why Ndugu had had Altman scrub in, his other surgery had just run long. Oopsie.
No sooner had Dorian been moved into a regular room than he told Lucas and Schmitt that he thought his ostomy bag was leaking. It wasn’t that, though. It was bodily fluids, the docs discovered. Can that poor guy catch a break? Dang. He was going to need a restricted diet (if he ever got to eat again), another surgery and a return trip to the ICU. Upset, Lucas went off on Dorian’s friends. (If we were them, would any of us not have reported his ass? Love Niko Terho, but Adams makes me want to smack him upside the head.) Later, Lucas and Yasuda argued about his treatment of the duo — which seemed oddly normal to him. If you ask me, the interns dodged a bullet when Blue moved into Lucas’ room.
‘IT’S NOT SMUGNESS IF IT’S TRUE’ | Throughout the episode, Blue and Jules took turns upping the stakes of their bet. Drinks, then dinner, then wine pairings with dinner… ! Jules was so confident that she was going to win that she offered to have sex in a car with Blue (a la Jillian and Cassandra) if she lost. They both seemed pretty pleased that, in the end, that seemed to be in store for them. Meanwhile, Simone was a wreck after watching history repeat itself before her eyes, so she got drunk off her ass at Joe’s. When Bailey found her, she ordered Griffith to get up and leave with her. She should have said something to Jo, Simone reckoned. Because of her mother, she knew what the complication with Lauren might have been. “You did everything that we were taught today,” Miranda reassured her. “It is our job to make sure that no one overlooks our patients’ pain.”
As the hour drew to a close, Aaron opened up to Owen about how he and Jillian had stopped talking. He’d been afraid to push it, for fear of losing her, and now he had, anyway. Off that conversation, Hunt admitted to Teddy that he was scared of losing her. He felt like they were on autopilot, but he didn’t want to stress her out. “I miss you,” he said. “I miss us.” Her response? She locked her office door to remind him exactly what he had been missing. Jo and Simone reported to Miles that Lauren had been suffering from eclampsia. She lost a lot of blood but was hanging in there, at least for now. When Simone asked if Miles and Lauren had picked a name, the one she heard first was her own. To Jo’s horror, she realized that if she’d put a rush on Lauren’s lab tests, the patient wouldn’t have wound up in the dreadful predicament that she had. “I think I need to focus all my time on OB,” Wilson told Link. There had to have been something she hadn’t done right, something that she hadn’t asked. So it was bye-bye general surgery for her.
The ABC medical drama is heading to its final episode of season 20 – a ten-part series as a result of the writers and actors strikes of last year.
Showrunner Meg Marinis, in her first season at the helm of the hit drama, said that “things come to a head” in the season finale.
“Heading towards the end of the season, because it’s a shorter season of 10 episodes because of the strikes, we really pay off what we started in episode one at the end of the season. Interns being in trouble, Meredith doing this secret research, things come to a head,” she said.
The interns dealing with the aftermath from the events in the Season 19 finale, in which a patient died in the OR, has been a main storyline all season, as has been Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) secret team-up with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) to continue the controversial Alzheimer’s research behind Catherine’s back, as well as Teddy’s (Kim Raver) recovery.
Marinis talked about Monica Beltran, a pediatric surgeon played by Natalie Morales, who joined this season. She called her a “great addition” and “very different” to Jessica Capshaw’s Arizona Robbins (who also returned this season for a guest appearance). “I think she challenges a lot of our doctors and it was important to bring on a new pediatric surgeon, to be very different to Arizona. All I can say is she’s going to keep challenging our doctors and episode eight is a really amazing episode for that character.”
Camilla Luddingon, who plays Dr Josephine “Jo” Wilson, added that things “really pay off” in the finale. She said it was an “edge of your seat” episode with “cliffhangers.”
Kevin McKidd, who plays Dr. Owen Hunt, called it a “fiery” episode.
Scorsone and Raver were also on the panel, along with original cast member James Pickens Jr whose character Dr. Richard Webber spent the season finding his way back after almost relapsing in his sobriety.
Grey’s Anatomy was renewed last month for season 21. The series is produced by ABC Signature and Shondaland.
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 7.2 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating) was up in both measures, Ghosts (6 mil/0.5) was steady with its Season 2 finale, So Help Me Todd (4.2 mil/0.3) dropped some eyeballs, and Elsbeth (4.2 mil/0.3) rose in the demo.
NBC | Law & Order (3.8 mil/0.3), SVU (4.3 mil/0.4) and Organized Crime (2.6 mil/0.2) were all down.
ABC | 9-1-1 (4.3 mil/0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (2.9 mil/0.4) and Station 19 (2.2 mil/0.2) all dipped.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.7 mil/0.3) and Farmer Wants a Wife (1.9 mil/0.2) were both steady.
THE CW | Patti Stanger: Matchmaker (320K) lost some viewers, while Lovers and Liars (170K) added some.
‘THAT FAMILY FLIES FIRST-CLASS, YOU JUST OFFERED THEM COACH’ | As “The Marathon Continues” began, Link and Amelia squabbled about Scout’s screen time, Helm learned that Mika was ticked because her girlfriend had kept her off an impalement case (remember that?), and Catherine noted that Richard was taking yet another admin day. While Lucas passed on a night of “studying” with Simone, Bailey delivered wellness kits to the interns in hopes that they wouldn’t burn out. They were, predictably, more interested in finishing their logbooks. Blue had a different take on Miranda’s gesture: He suspected that Simone had blabbed to Bailey what he’d said on the roof in the last episode. (She had not.) “If Bailey wanted to make us feel better,” Griffith cracked, “she should give us raises.” Overhearing, Miranda sent them home. Ironically, that was when they began to appreciate Bailey’s wellness kit: Blue cooked them up a lovely meal.
After Link and Monica evaluated Missy, the cyclist daughter of Catherine’s VIP pals, the duo suggested giving the amputee a residual limb revision. That wasn’t nearly groundbreaking enough for the boss, though. She warned them that they’d have to come up with something more exciting, or when donations dipped, the docs’ salaries would, too. Link did come up with an idea — risky as per usual at Grey Sloan, but Monica agreed to it if Missy and her folks did. Later, with an assist from Beltran, who admitted, “This whole thing sucks,” Missy and her family got on board. Anything to get the teenager as close to back to normal as possible. In surgery, a complication arose that would require Link to take more of Missy’s femur than she’d already lost. “Maybe we should have stuck with the original plan,” Dad said. Catherine backed him. But Link managed to convince Mom and Dad that the potential reward outweighed the risk. Thankfully, his Hail Mary pass worked.
‘I WAS SHOT BECAUSE I HAD $40K IN MY PANTS — NOT ALL OF MY IDEAS ARE GOOD’ | Checking in on a still-hospitalized Dorian, Richard and Lucas reported that the patient was anemic. He was also sick of needles and tests and wanted to go home. “Out!” he ordered Adams. Not to worry, Webber told Dorian’s mom. They wouldn’t give up on him. But alone with Lucas, the patient made a compelling case for why he needed a break. Later, Dorian started vomiting blood — and not in an elegant Satine in Moulin Rouge way. When Richard arrived on the scene, he froze — only for a moment, but he did. Then he rode to the rescue like it was as easy as pie, in Lucas’ estimation. Still, Webber seemed shaken afterwards. In other developments, Levi pitched Monica the notion of her backing him for a peds fellowship — to no avail. Maybe if she knew how far he’d come since he was “Glasses”?
In a rarely seen area of Grey Sloan, Teddy and Mika treated a convict named Jimenez who was in for a TB test. A scan revealed that that was definitely not what was ailing the patient. What was? Teddy wouldn’t even say it aloud, it was so bad. Turned out the patient’s insides were covered in lesions. “It’s definitely inoperable,” Teddy thought. Mika was appalled — he’d been getting sick for a while, and nothing had been done to help him. There were treatments that could be considered, Altman said. But they might make Jimenez feel worse, not better — and they wouldn’t save him. That being the case, he elected to pass on treatment. Mika argued that they could get him into a clinical trial. “Just because the system failed him doesn’t mean that we have to.” In response, Teddy said that sometimes they had to trust that their patients knew their lives and their experiences better than they possibly could. It was good that Mika cared, though, she added. Not everyone does.
‘THE BEST STUFF IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS’ | As the hour drew to a close, Bailey complained to Owen about how tired she was, what with her having four jobs and all. “When was the last time you took a day off?” Hunt asked. Maybe she needed to take care of herself a bit. Sweetly, Blue reassured Simone that, while med school had been rough, he’d gotten through it; she didn’t need to worry about him. Off Schmitt’s assist during Missy’s surgery, he pleaded with Monica to offer him some validation. It’s human, he said. “It’s needy,” she replied, challenging him to show her more passion for peds, and then they’d talk. Before Jimenez was taken back to prison, Mika raced to give him a piece of coffee cake. He’d really made an impression on Yasuda. Spying Dorian’s mom hugging Richard, Catherine snarked, “Do I need to tell that woman to keep her hands off my man?” When Amelia happened upon Monica playing something like Candy Crush on a bench outside the hospital, they actually bonded. Beltran had lost a NICU patient and was gutted. Helm apologized to Mika but maintained that she couldn’t play favorites. Taryn also said that Lucas had finished his logbook, so her girlfriend was one step closer to returning to the O.R. “It doesn’t matter,” Yasuda said. Something was definitely up. At Bailey and Ben’s, the couple enjoyed a little self-care in the tub. And finally, Lucas stopped by the intern house… only to find Blue moving in.
Rhimes, the creator of Bridgerton which returns for a third season on Netflix in May, told The Times of London she enjoys watching other TV shows including Succession, Beef and The Bear, but there is one she wishes she had created –the UK’s longrunning sci-fi epic Doctor Who.
She said: “I have been obsessed with that show for ever.”
And when she met Doctor Who’s show-runner, Russell T Davies, credited with rebooting the show over a decade ago and bringing it to new heights? “I was so nervous.”
Rhimes’s achievements are of similar size. Having created Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, she told the newspaper she was persuaded to move to Netflix because she wanted to have fun – she didn’t mention the lure of a reported $150million deal – and said the streamer’s bosses told her, “Just make the shows you want to make.”
They have been rewarded for their trust. On Bridgerton’s debut on Christmas Day 2020, it broke Netflix records becoming its most-watched English-language show. The second season broke that record two years later.
Rhimes told The Times why she thought the show had found such a huge fanbase, with its offer of an antidote to the current world of dating apps and Tinder:
“I think there’s this desire for something simpler, where there are rules to courting. We just said, how do you meet somebody? Well, back then you met somebody because you went to these balls, your parents talked and you had a dance. People seem to love that sort of order to a world, where the rules of love are so clear. There were rules of interaction, like a map, and that doesn’t exist anymore. There are no rules of engagement now in anything.”
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 7.4 million total viewers and a 0.6 rating) drew its second-largest audience of the season and matched its farewell run’s demo high; Ghosts (6.1 mil/0.6) in turn rose to best-since-season premiere numbers. So Help Me Todd (4.3 mil/0.4) and Elsbeth (4.4 mil/0.3) were steady.
ABC | 9-1-1 (4.6 mil/0.6) dropped a handful of eyeballs, Grey’s Anatomy (3.3 mil/0.5) was steady, and Station 19 (2.4 mil/0.3) dipped to a new all-time audience low.
NBC | Law & Order (3.9 mil/0.3) and Organized Crime (2. 9 mil/0.3) both dropped a few viewers but were steady in the demo. SVU (4.1 mil/0.3) dipped in the demo.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.8 mil/0.3) and Farmer Wants a Wife (1.7 mil/0.2) were steady.
OH MY GOD, AND HALF MY JOB IS TEACHING WOMEN HOW NOT TO GET PREGNANT!’ | As “Never Felt So Alone” began, Helm helped Mika study (but not in the fun, naked way that Yasuda preferred), Simone continued to avoid Lucas like he was the plague, and Jo realized that her period was late. But before she and Link had even a second to absorb that shock, they were called into the pit to prep for an incoming trauma along with Bailey and Owen. Turned out, a second-floor deck had collapsed, injuring the sloshed attendees at a white-coat party. One of them, Simone’s patient, almost immediately stole away from his bed, sending her and Blue on a wild-goose chase to find him before he tried to “play doctor” in his state.
Among the other cases, the most serious seemed to be that of med student Sophia, who had a piece of wood severing her spinal cord. Owen and Amelia’s plan was to remove the foreign object and hope for the best. But that didn’t seem to be good enough for Lucas. While operating on Sophia, Owen encouraged Amelia to go further in trying to treat her. “She would want you to,” Lucas called from the gallery. Helpful. Though Amelia was skeptical, the complicated surgery appeared to have worked.
‘YOU’RE PARENTING BY TEXT?’ | In other developments, Meredith learned that Nick had taken lil’ Bailey to the hospital in Boston with appendicitis. She was not pleased. (Is she ever pleased with her significant other?) When Richard happened upon her as she was trying and failing to get an immediate flight out of Seattle, he volunteered to ask Catherine to use her plane. Before take-off, Mer took time to call and berate Nick for not having phoned her immediately rather than wait in hopes that he wouldn’t have to worry her. Any decisions regarding her kids, she made clear, were going to be made by her.
“That sounded like it went well,” Richard remarked drolly. (Apparently, he had time to just fly off to Boston, too.) As Meredith fretted aloud, it came to light that part of her worry was that mistakes happen — like the one that had killed Derek. Once Mom and Richard arrived in Boston and found out that lil’ Bailey’s surgery had gone well, Mer dismissed Nick with her trademark coldness. Mind you, as soon as the boy woke up, Nick was the first person he asked for.
‘I’M NOT GOING TO MOVE AROUND MY SCHEDULE BECAUSE MY PATIENT NEEDS A HUMAN WEIGHTED BLANKET’ | Treating a patient named Gilbert with a rapid heart rate, Winston was distracted by the divorce papers he’d just been delivered. And he and Jules were both distracted by the professional cuddler that Gilbert paid to keep him calm. Later, when Ndugu got pissy that Jules hadn’t prepped the patient for surgery, owing to his accelerating heart rate, she dared to call him on it. She was dying to learn from him, but not this version of him. What had happened to “the coolest attending”? When Gilbert had a panic attack en route to the O.R., “the coolest attending” returned — he acted as the patient’s cuddler. Once Winston was out of surgery, Jules apologized to him, and, in turn, he admitted that he hadn’t been bringing his best self to work lately.
When Simone and Blue tracked down her patient, Eddie, he was on the roof… completely sober… and ready to “let the wind decide” whether he fell off or not. He wasn’t sure whether he’d gone up there to hurt himself, he said. But it was clear that his doing so was not out of the question. By and by, Simone convinced him to at least sit down. If only he’d stayed down. “I think I’m broken,” he said as he tossed his white coat to the street. “I don’t deserve this anymore.” As luck would have it, Ben happened to be visiting Bailey, so the Crisis One vet could race up to the roof to advise. “Calm down and keep him talking,” he told Blue. If Eddie became unstable and went beyond suicidal ideation, Ben and Bailey would intervene. Eddie felt like he was just going through the motions. Blue reached out to him, sharing that the pressure and pain could feel unbearable. He knew all too well, but he was still there. At last, Eddie came down off the ledge.
‘WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER?'” | After Jo took a home pregnancy test, the results read negative. “Whew!” exclaimed Link, who had to admit that parenting was hella hard and he was relieved. Only… wait, no… the test was actually… positive? No. It was neither! The morning after, Jo was able to tell Link with certainty that she was not pregnant — but with him, she did want to have another kid. “I can get there,” he said. “It’s just gonna take me some time.” As the hour drew to a close, Nick barked back at Mer, pointing out that he had been there with and for the kids while she was away. But “I’m all they have,” she said. Except she wasn’t all they had anymore, he pointed out. They have him, too. Anyway, she’d actually come to apologize. “I’ve been doing this a long time alone; it may take me a minute to adjust,” she said. “I’ve got a minute,” Nick replied.
Amelia and Owen reported that Sophia could recover fully — and, promisingly, she was able to wiggle her toes. Mika was stunned to learn that Levi had tried to get her on Sophia’s case, but his co-chief had overruled him. In other words, her own girlfriend had stuck her on crap duty. “Taryn betrayed me” is how she explained what had transpired to Jules. Winston reported to Teddy that she was cleared to return to work the following day; he needed some time off. Lucas happened upon Simone in an on-call room and asked if they could talk. She was too tired for that, but she did pull back the covers to let him climb into bed with her.
Joining Rihanna are Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd and Xolo Maridueña with Kurt Russell and John Goodman.
Chris Miller directs a the new movie based on the Peyo characters. Matt Landon is co-director.
Ryan Harris, Rihanna, Laurence “Jay” Brown and Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith are producers. Rihanna is penning original songs.
The movie hits theaters on February 14, 2025.
When an even spookier mystery grips Crystal Cove, Velma (voiced by Mindy Kaling) — the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang — must find a way to balance her detective work with the demands of her newfound popularity before it’s too late. Meanwhile, her faithful friends Daphne (Constance Wu), Norville (Sam Richardson) and Fred (Glenn Howerton) are powerless to help, thanks to their own personal battles — and worse, detention.
The voice cast also includes Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Sarayu Blue, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, Nicole Byer, Gary Cole, Andia Winslow, and Sara Ramirez.
The show was developed by Charlie Grandy, who executive produces along with Kaling, Howard Klein and Elijah Aron.
Right. But alas, as Oh has maintained since she exited the enduring ABC drama back in Season 10, she has no plans to make a guest appearance the way that everyone from Kate Walsh (Addison) and Jessica Capshaw (Arizona) to Jesse Williams (Jackson) and Sarah Drew (April) have. “I love that people are still [so into it],” the fan favorite told Entertainment Tonight on April 9 on the red carpet for her new HBO series, The Sympathizer. “At one point, I was, ‘Come on, come on.’ But now I love it. I love that you asked me that, because Cristina Yang is, of course, near and dear to my heart.
“[But] I will say,” she hastened to add, she wouldn’t be back. “Not anytime soon, my love.”
A 2005 Golden Globe winner for her work on Grey’s Anatomy, Oh sees the operating room door as being closed. Nevertheless, “I hope people feel like I did my job, which is that I brought to life a character, and she had a growth over 10 seasons, and that it was true,” said the OG cast member. “She was ready to move on, and so have I.”
With the Laws and the Orders on NBC in rerun mode….
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 6.7 million total viewers and a 0.4 rating) and Ghosts (5.9 mil/0.5) were both up in viewers, though the former dipped in the demo. Back from a five-week, post-premiere break, Elsbeth at 9 pm (5.4 mil/0.3) was up 16% in audience from its premiere and also up in the demo. A second episode drew 4.6 mil/0.3.
ABC | 9-1-1 (4.8 mil/0.6) slipped 13 percent in audience, Grey’s Anatomy (3.2 mil/0.5) rose in the demo, and Station 19 (2.6 mil/0.3) was steady.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.9 mil/0.3) and Farmer Wants a Wife (1.8 mil/0.2) each added a few eyeballs.
Oh’s role is being kept under wraps, as is the plot of the movie. Ansari directed from his own script and also produced alongside Anthony Katagas and Alan Yang, with Aniz Adam Ansari and Jonathan McCoy exec producing. At Lionsgate, the film is overseen by Brady Fujikawa and Jon Humphrey.
The film is the second Ansari has looked to direct, on the heels of the Searchlight dramedy Being Mortal, which was shut down amid complaints of inappropriate behavior on the part of cast member Bill Murray in 2022. Previously, he’s helmed his 2022 comedy special Nightclub Comedian for Netflix, as well as 11 episodes of Master of None, the acclaimed Netflix series, which he co-created with Yang.
“It’s always so exciting when I get the opportunity to write a quote for a PR announcement. However, I’m pretty sure no one reads past the headline and gets to my quote except someone vetting this at Lionsgate PR,” admitted Ansari in a statement to Deadline. “If you are genuinely reading up to this point, I’m a bit concerned. Have you read Crime and Punishment? The novellas of Stefan Zweig? I’ve also heard Lonesome Dove is wonderful.
“Anyway,” the actor-filmmaker continued, “Sandra Oh is wonderful and I’m so excited she is a part of our film. I must return to the edit now. Best wishes to all readers.”
Known for leading the acclaimed series Killing Eve and The Chair, and for a longtime role on Grey’s Anatomy, as well as films like Alexander Payne’s Sideways, Oh can currently be seen starring opposite Awkwafina in the 20th/Hulu comedy Quiz Lady, which world premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Up next, she’ll be seen in the buzzy HBO/A24 series The Sympathizer starring recent Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr., which premieres April 14.
Set to return to her theater roots in June with Atlantic Theater Company’s The Welkin, Oh is represented by UTA, Principal Entertainment LA, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.
Jessica Capshaw made her return to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital on Thursday night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Naturally, the case involved fetal medicine, which she’s still been pursuing and advancing since she moved to New York with her daughter Sofia to be closer to her ex Callie.
In this episode, Arizona is called back to Seattle to perform groundbreaking surgery on a fetus with a brain abnormality that would likely result in the baby’s death upon birth.
She teams up with Grey Sloan’s chief neurosurgeon Dr. Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) to essentially perform a miracle and, in the process, inject some faith back into the rest of the staff at the hospital after a series of trying cases. And, of course, she challenges a bit of authority along the way, reminding Bailey (Chandra Wilson) why she’s always been such a fantastic teacher in the first place.
Capshaw referred to the story as a “call back” to her introduction to Grey’s during Season 5 and, while it’s just a one-episode arc for now, she tells Deadline she’s still open for more — which is good news since the series was just renewed for Season 21.
Read her interview below.
DEADLINE: How did this come across your radar and why did you decide now was the right time to return?
JESSICA CAPSHAW: It was really Meg Marinus. She’s such an incredible human being. She’s such a wonderful storyteller. She’s literally woven into the actual fabric of everything that Shonda started to create with Grey’s. She was there from the very beginning. She knows it inside and out. She’s just a hero for having been someone who has the resilience and grit to start in a place as someone who is a writers room assistant and then to ascend to running the whole thing is just kind of bananas. She wrote so many of the things, when I was there, that were just really important Arizona moments. So I knew that she really obviously understood, and she was one of the people that I really, really was so sad to say ‘see you later’ too. When she took the job, I was so excited for her from afar. Then when she reached out, she’s irresistible. Who would ever say no to her? It also just seemed like the right time. The way that she explained it and storyline wise, obviously, they had a shorter season this year. She was hoping there’d be a moment where some light and some joy and maybe even a little reminder that there’s so much magic in healing and them being doctors — and a reminder for Bailey, she’s a teacher. So all of that kind of came together…and it was just the right next step.
DEADLINE: Toward the end of the episode, Richard says something about how no matter how long he is away from the OR, it always comes back to him. Did you feel that way stepping onto those sets?
CAPSHAW: Funnily enough, it all just seemed right. When I came back… it was like every time I turned a corner and saw someone that I hadn’t seen in a while, the just like the joy and squeals and the screams and the laughter and the just the fun that came about was just exactly where we left off. So yes, absolutely. Stepping back into that character and putting on my scrubs was like I’ve done 1,000 times before.
DEADLINE: This is, of course, Arizona’s first time meeting this new interns. She’s obviously worked with previous iterations of Grey Sloan interns, but what was it like to step back into that mentorship role for them?
CAPSHAW: I have heard this was not a unique experience, but I am one of those if that you can point to who…I genuinely always feel new myself. I’m like, ‘What do you mean, they’re younger than me? What are you talking about? They’re younger? No way.’ Then they kind of do look at you like they’re younger. And then you kind of have a giggle. All of the interns are so dynamic, and they’re so great in their roles and eager and generous and kind on set to work with, but then on top of it, their community that they’ve created and the relationship that they have with each other — playing cards in between takes by the chairs or one of them’s like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna order out for food, anyone else want anything?’ — just a very generous and very cohesive spirit. It was so lovely. I really enjoyed spending time with them. I sort of felt like one of them because I was experiencing what they were, which was like, ‘Where are the teachers? What’s going on?’ At the same time, my character was like, ‘Where did your teacher go? You need some.’
DEADLINE: We didn’t hear too much about Arizona’s life back in New York. Did you talk to Meg about anything that’s been going on with her since we last saw her?
CAPSHAW: So I mean, let’s be real. Our personal lives that play out on the show is, I mean, it’s probably 50/50. Right? If not 60/40. You care more about what they’re doing outside the hospital than you do inside. That being said, it felt to me and I heard in a very pointed way, that the part that Meg really wanted to bring Arizona back to the show for this episode, really [for[ the lightness and the joy after for the people who love the show and take great solace in the show. They kind of got gypped this year. They’re only getting 10 episodes instead of 24. So, I think she just wanted to give it that jolt of joy and magical medicine. It seems like these episodes go by so quickly. I mean, they’re an hour long and everything else, but it goes by really quickly. I don’t know that you would have been able to really get to anything of importance in her personal life. If she’d stayed for more episodes, my guess is that you would be hearing more, but I think for this particular episode, it really was about her as a doctor.
DEADLINE: How open are you to coming back for more?
CAPSHAW: I truly feel like you take everything one day at a time and obviously it’s a world that I feel like, on a lot of levels, I grew up in. I’m so grateful to the show for so many things. I’m so grateful to all the people that watch it and everything else. This was an amazing experience to go back and play Arizona, and I feel like it’s always a part of my life even when I’m not there. So I think that this character always exists and there’s always possibilities. It depends on a bunch of different factors.
DEADLINE: We might not have heard about Sofia in this episode, but I do think that Arizona’s growth as a mom shines through in this episode. I can’t imagine Arizona before having a child handling this situation with the same level of empathy.
CAPSHAW: The poignancy of Vida’s character, having to trust so much and have faith in something that she couldn’t see when she lived a life of partial sight…Arizona was speaking about something she knows. There are so many times in her life as a mother with Sofia, literally from her birth, trying to have faith in medicine in general to save her daughter’s life. She was so worried about not being a legitimate parent which was a very unique circumstance, but then obviously, feeling like a legitimate parent and growing in that way, and then through the divorce, having to live through something so hard and uniquely challenging to fight to keep custody of a child. But then, knowing that the right thing for the child was to give up the custody to then change her life. I mean, yes, there’s a million different times in Arizona’s life that were about having faith in something she could not see. So yes, I think that when she says that to [Vida], she certainly isn’t selling her something that she hasn’t bought herself.
DEADLINE: I just have to say, it was so great to have Arizona back, even for one episode. She did bring that joy you were talking about.
CAPSHAW: Which, by the way, definitely felt a little bit like a call back to when the character first was introduced. That season was a little dark, when things had gotten a little more serious. People were already having near death experiences. I came in and was on wheels and challenging and having little snippets with Bailey and brushing up against everyone and pissing everybody off while wearing a big ol’ smile.
‘CAN YOU EVICT FAMILY?’ | As “Baby, Can I Hold You?” began, the surgical residents were questioned about their actions on the fatal — er, fateful — day that Sam died and Max’s DNI was ignored. Of particular note, Simone told the attorneys performing the interviews that she wouldn’t have operated on Sam if Lucas hadn’t already dived in. Mature as ever, he accused her of professionally “slitting my throat.” In turn, she argued that they might have been able to align their stories if he hadn’t abruptly moved out (to become Amelia’s Roommate From Hell).
‘UGH… I HATE BABIES’ | In the big Case of the Week, Arizona teamed up with Amelia to perform a first-of-its-kind surgery on a tot’s brain while it was still in utero. Spooked after two miscarriages, the mom took some convincing, but the team got her from “I can’t” to “OK.” Arizona actually found it tougher to convince Bailey to allow the residents in the O.R. to observe. “If you don’t let them see the magic,” she argued, “then how will they be motivated to get back in?” Despite a scary complication toward the end of the procedure, the surgery was a success. Not that the interns were paying attention. “They didn’t even appreciate the magic,” Bailey marveled.
‘I’D SAY DON’T THINK, BUT YOU’VE ALREADY GOT THAT COVERED’ | In other developments, Jules was mortified when her brother, “wellness influencer” Doug, showed up in support of one of his followers. The patient’s ingrown hair had turned into an abscess that it took help from Owen and Mika to drain — and in such splatteriffic fashion that Doug fainted. Before Owen discharged the faux doctor, he hailed Jules as a promising physician and strongly suggested that the opportunist find another way to “influence” people.
‘YOU’RE NO BOKI’ | Before allowing Teddy to scrub in again, Richard tested her stamina by having her “operate” on a dummy. Once he was satisfied, he invited her into the O.R. with him, only to discover that three weeks without a scalpel in his hand had left him, for the first time, feeling rusty. Meanwhile, Blue froze when Dorian suddenly needed a chest tube. What was up with that? In that moment, he’d seen Max and panicked, Kwan admitted to Levi. That feeling won’t go away, the co-chief resident told him, but the sensation would at least dull.
IN THE END | As the episode drew to a close, Mika became the first intern to complete her log book. But rather than clear her to return to surgery, Bailey said that the bickering residents had to learn to work together. So until they had helped one another finish their log books — d’oh! — they were all still banned from operating. Thawing toward Amelia, Monica offered her a ride home, but she declined. And Lucas worried aloud that maybe he wasn’t cut out to follow in the family tradition. Then the legacy would die with Amelia, she joked. Nah, he’d be fine, she assured her nephew.
The early renewal is a testament to the show’s ability to reinvent itself and stay relevant even with its lead, Ellen Pompeo, not being on-screen full-time as a new group of interns was introduced last season. Pompeo continues to recur in addition to serving as an executive producer and providing the voiceover that opens and closes each episode.
The pickup also is a vote of confidence to Grey’s Anatomy veteran Meg Marinis, who took the reins as new showrunner of the Shonda Rhimes-created series for Season 20.
“The loyalty and love of Grey’s Anatomy fans has propelled us into a historic 21st season, and I could not be more grateful,” Rhimes said. “Meg Marinis’ storytelling is a gift that continues to keep the show vibrant, compelling and alive, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for next season.”
Like is the case with any long-running series, the next step after the renewal is securing veteran cast members with new deals. I hear the contracts of virtually all longtime Grey’s Anatomy actors are up this season. The group includes the two remaining original cast members, Chandra Wilson (Bailey), who is also a co-executive producer, and James Pickens Jr. (Richard) as well as Kevin McKidd (Owen), Kim Raver (Teddy), Camilla Luddington (Jo) and Caterina Scorsone (Amelia).
Twenty seasons in, Grey’s Anatomy, produced by Shondaland and ABC Signature, part of Disney Television Studios, is the #1 most social scripted series on broadcast year-to-date. The medical drama has been enjoying a streaming resurgence, regularly ranking in the Top 5 weekly Nielsen ratings.
“I think the show is as creatively strong as it’s ever been,” Craig Erwich, President of Disney Television Group, said in February. “Not just the live [episodes] you are watching today, but it’s fueling growth for our streaming platform.”
Underlining Grey’s Anatomy‘ importance to the Disney brand, the series’ library became the centerpiece of the company’s recent launch of its one-app experience, with Hulu as the only streamer to offer the entire run of the medical drama, including exclusive next-day availability of all episodes from the current 20th season alongside the 19 prior seasons, shared with Netflix.
“We still have stories to tell,” Marinis told Deadline last month when asked whether Grey’s could go beyond Season 20. “We receive a tremendous amount of support from the studio and the network and from Shondaland. So I’m going to keep going until they tell me to put that pen down.”
Mr. Plankton is about a man who should not have been born. He and the unhappiest woman in the world are forced to accompany one another on the final journey of his life. It’s from writer Jo Yong (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay) and is directed by Hong Jong-chan (Juvenile Justice, Dear My Friends).
The details of Landi’s role are being kept under wraps but he is confirmed to be a series regular. Landi is best known for his ongoing portrayal of Dr. Nico Kim on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. He’s repped by Buchwald and Asian Cinema Entertainment.
The rest of the cast includes Woo Do-hwan as Hae-jo, a man born out of wedlock who’s thrown into a wandering life without family; Lee You-mi as Jae-mi, Hae-jo’s ex and the world’s unhappiest bride-to-be; Oh Jung-se as Jae-mi’s groom-to-be Eo-heung; and Kim Hae-sook as Beom Ho-ja, Eo-heung’s mother.
Mr Plankton is expected to drop in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Opposite the college hoops action and with NBC’s Law & Orders in rerun mode….
ABC | With the conclusion of its three-part season opener, 9-1-1 grew for a second straight week, drawing 5.5 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating. Grey’s Anatomy (3.3 mil/0.4) dipped week-to-week, but Station 19 (2.5 mil/0.3) held steady.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.7 mil/0.3) and Farmer Wants a Wife (1.7 mil/0.2) each dropped just a handful of eyeballs whilst steady in the demo.
‘NO TRADING UNLESS ONE OF YOU PICKED UP A VANILLA LATTE’ | As the episode began, Meredith and Amelia were offered the money that they wanted virtually without question. But the donors, aware of Mer’s affiliation with Catherine, wanted to know if they should get in touch with the Fox Foundation. Er, no. While Lucas took out his upset over his split from Simone on Mika, of all people, Amelia stole a parking space from new peds surgeon Dr. Monica Beltran (guest star Natalie Morales). Winston declined to criticize Bailey’s handling of the residency program this particular day because he was taking off on vacation to Chicago. “Say hi to Maggie,” Richard said. Levi spotted his ex Nico (Alex Landi, back in action) talking to Jo in the waiting room. And who should be teamed up on the case of a sick little girl named Mulan but Amelia and… Monica!
Just then, a major trauma rolled up: a guy trapped in a self-propelled floating bubble. Yeah, looked like Winston might not make his flight after all. Instead, he got busy helping Owen, Link, Simone and Jules in trying to, ahem, burst the patient’s bubble and not his artery. Gathering supplies with Jules, Simone admitted that she wasn’t seeing Lucas anymore because apparently, she was selfish. Simone, in turn, surprised Jules by asking what had happened with her and Blue. When the patient worried aloud that he wouldn’t see his wife again, Simone mentally recorded his message to her for him. Sadly, that turned out to be prescient: The patient didn’t make it.
‘AH, SO IMPATIENCE IS YOUR THING’ | As soon as scans were done on Mulan, Amelia and Monica clashed about an approach to her treatment. Monica even suggested that Amelia was in too big a hurry to bother considering all the options. She also fussed at Blue for telling Mulan’s mom that radiation wouldn’t possibly lend them noise-cancelling headphones. Make it happen, Beltran said. When Richard ran into a frustrated Amelia, who knew Monica’s idea would work but wasn’t comfortable with the associated risks, he said that his new hire had a rep as a boundary pusher. (She oughta fit right in, then.) Ultimately, Amelia came up with a way to take a safer but equally creative approach. “You’re much more effective when you take your time,” Monica observed. Indeed, she was. The procedure worked. “You two are a wonderful team,” Mulan’s mom said.
Shadowing Bailey as she treated Dorian (remember him from last week?) were Mika and Lucas, who was “a smartass to the person holding all the cards,” Yasuda noted. Rather than let Blue get back in the O.R. before him, Lucas ditched Mika with Dorian. (Is there any order Adams is willing to follow? Seriously.) Needless to say, all of the patient’s alarms starting going off while Yasuda was alone with him. Finally, Lucas answered Mika’s page — and took credit for her diligence in front of Bailey. So uncool. She even let Adams perform an emergency procedure on Dorian with her!
‘WHY DOES NICO NEED AN OBGYN?!?’ | When Levi asked Jo about Nico, she refused to tell him why his ex was there. HIPAA, she explained. (So they have heard of it at Grey Sloan!) Later, all became clear when Schmitt ran into Nico… and his partner, Jason. Turned out, they were at Grey Sloan with their surrogate, Erin: They were having a kid! When next Levi spoke with Jo, he expressed his shock that Jason didn’t even know who he was. Schmitt had had no idea that Nico even wanted kids. “You’re just upset that his life has moved farther along than yours,” Wilson suggested. “You want to win? Get in the game.” Seeking out Levi alone, Nico explained that he and Jason had been together for nine months. Nico had never wanted kids, but the idea of not being with Jason was scarier to him than starting a family.
‘YOU ARE LIVING IN A MEDICAL THRILLER BOOK’ | To avoid running into Catherine, Mer went to PT with Teddy. And it was a good thing that she did, too: Mid-conversation, Altman fell on her treadmill and got a sprain. Taking Teddy for an X-ray, Mer was busted by Catherine. Luckily, Teddy covered for her and said that she’d asked Grey to Seattle for a consult. Once Mer blabbed everything about her secret research to Teddy, the chief offered to fork over Grey Sloan’s discretionary fund. As the hour drew to a close, it appeared that Blue had made a positive-ish impression on Monica. Enough, anyway, for her to put him on her service again the next day.
Winston told Owen that Maggie had cancelled on him — and they’d been supposed to decide what was next for them. Again. “At what point do I stop trying?” Ndugu wondered. Maybe, Owen suggested, the better question was, why was he trying? Apparently, Winston’s answer wasn’t very good; he removed his wedding band. In the locker room, Mika ripped into Lucas for his backstabbing d-baggery. Simone refused to let her blame her now-ex for the lousy situation that they were in. But Mika was done. “I don’t want to be your friend anymore,” she told Adams. Can’t say I blame her! Off Jo’s advice, Levi pursued his interest in peds by approaching Monica to pick her brain. And at the intern house, Simone knocked on Lucas’ door asking if they could talk… but when she went in, she found that he’d packed up and moved out.
Opposite CBS’ coverage of the sadly Syracuse Orange-less men’s college hoops tourney….
ABC | 9-1-1 (5.4 mil/0.5) built on its premiere audience by 10% yet dipped in the demo. Grey’s Anatomy (3.5 mil/0.5) and Station 19 (2.6 mil/0.3) ticked down in both measures.
NBC | The newly renewed Law & Order (4 mil/0.3) and Law & Order: SVU (4.1 mil/0.4) both dipped, while on-the-bubble Law & Order: Organized Crime (3.2 mil/0.3) held relatively steady.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.8 mil/0.3) was steady, while TMZ Investigates‘ oof-just-a-bit-premature special on Kate Middleton (1.3 mil/0.2) drew a markedly smaller audience than Farmer Wants a Wife.
‘PLEASE, DON’T PUT ME ON RECTALS’ | As the hour began, everyone, it seemed, had had sex except for Simone and Lucas, who so wanted to. Bailey, for her part, was ready to put her “baby surgeons” through their paces. “You’re going back to basics,” she told them as she assigned them procedure after procedure before they so much as spelled O.R. again. Winston suggested that Teddy focus on her recovery, but she was more concerned about her patients — to the point that she tasked Yasuda with checking on them for her. In the pit, Owen took control of a softball game gone wrong. At the same time, a twentysomething John Doe was brought in with multiple gunshot wounds and “a whole lotta Benjamins.”
Post-opening, Richard, Levi and Simone treated a baker named Dante, who was concerned about his pumpernickel starter — and noted how handsome Schmitt was. Shortly, Simone disclosed that a standard screening had revealed that Dante was HIV-positive. “Get me another doctor,” he insisted. What he really wanted, though, was another diagnosis. In the E.R., Jules checked in with a very pregnant softball player named Allie who’d only hit the diamond because her in-laws were at bat. In no time, Amelia had realized that she could have a spinal injury, which, left untreated for a moment longer, could leave her paralyzed.
‘YOU’RE WALKING AROUND WITH $40K IN A TRASH BAG’ | By and by, the John Doe who had come in loaded with bullets and money was declared dead. Against all odds, Blue got his heart beating again. When Richard confirmed that Dante was HIV-positive, he freaked. But his gall bladder needed to be treated immediately, or else, Webber said. Upon scanning Allie, Amelia discovered that she had… something I cannot spell. (Sorry.) What’s more, Amelia had a way to treat the patient without jeopardizing her pregnancy. Alone with Teddy, Mika observed that the doc needed help… which she refused to get. Before Dante could sign himself out, Levi assured him that he would still date — even hot surgeons like himself. Also, given the pain that he was in, Dante needed treatment, stat.
As Bailey assisted Winston in the O.R., he challenged her decision to forbid the interns to scrub in. How were they supposed to learn if they couldn’t practice? When Owen busted Mika for doing Teddy’s bidding, he rewarded her by checking off a few items from Bailey’s to-do list. In an on-call room, Simone tried to distract herself from the diagnosis that she’d given Dante by getting busy with Lucas. “Are you sure you want this?” he asked. “Maybe we should talk.” Aaand… maybe not. She ran out of the room. (These two give anybody else whiplash? Sheesh.) After operating on Allie, Amelia and Jo reported that she was expected to make a full recovery and so was the “little slugger.”
‘WE POUNDED ON YOUR HEART TO KEEP YOU ALIVE!’ | Alone with Jo, Amelia warned that Link could be sentimental. And no, “he didn’t have to” disclose the change in relationship status, she added. She knew. “We’re already family.” Richard reassured Simone that her instincts with Dante had been fine, and also, the patient was going to be fine. When Mika called Teddy on behaving as if it was business as usual, at last Altman broke down over her near-death experience. In the waiting room, Jules went off on Allie’s in-laws, who were more concerned with who they’d name MVP than anything else. (Surprise: Millin’s outburst won her the award!)
As the hour drew to a close, Levi informed Dante that his surgery had gone well. Simone apologized for delivering the news of his HIV status the way that she had. But he was understanding. Schmitt then agreed to take a break with Dante. (Cute.) When Moneybags’ parents came in to ID John Doe, Blue impressed Bailey with his interaction with them. Teddy admitted to Owen, “I’m a mess.” She was haunted by Sam’s death. That had been something she couldn’t control, he reminded her. But she could control whether or not she rested. Leaving for the day, Amelia confessed to Winston that she missed, well, everybody, and her cat just wasn’t cutting it. Would he have a burger with her? Yes! (Progress.) Bailey marveled to Ben that she had changed since last she was in charge of interns. Maybe Winston had been right to question her methods, she wondered. “Yes, you’ve changed,” her husband assured her. “But for the better.” Arriving home to a feast, Link asked Jo, “When did you have time to prepare for a famine?” A nostalgic seafood dinner laid in store for them. Finally, at the intern house, Simone shared with Lucas that she avoided hard truths. One such? “Now is not a good time for… us,” she said. That being the case, she wanted to put her career first. He didn’t take it well. “From now on,” he hollered, “we’re roommates.”
The event, which is in Denver between May 1 and 5, has added Hasan Minhaj, who will headline a performance at Red Rocks, Minnie Driver and Grey’s Anatomy stars James Pickens Jr, Kevin McKidd and Caterina Scorsone as well as exec producer Betsy Beers.
Minhaj, who was the host of Netflix’s Patriot Act, will close out the event with the show at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Sunday May 5.
There will also be the SeriesFest Soiree, marking the event’s 10th anniversary. The gala will take place on Friday May 3 and will honor Shondaland & Betsy Beers, SAG-AFTRA and Minnie Driver.
National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator, SAG-AFTRA, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland will return to SeriesFest to accept the award, which won a landmark deal with the studios last year to end the actors strike. SAG-AFTRA will receive the Luminaries in Television Award.
Good Will Hunting star Driver is being feted with the Excellence in Acting Award. This comes ahead of her series Serpent Queen at Starz.
Shondaland and Betsy Beers are being honored with the Impact in Television Award to celebrate its slate of shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton, Scandal and upcoming series The Residence.
Alongside Beers, Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis and stars James Pickens Jr, Kevin McKidd and Caterina Scorsone will take part in a panel called Legacy in Television: Grey’s Anatomy.
The full lineup will be revealed soon.
“We are thrilled to celebrate our milestone Season 10 with an extraordinary lineup of talent,” said Randi Kleiner, CEO and Co-Founder of SeriesFest. “From Hasan Minhaj’s comedic genius to the groundbreaking work of Betsy Beers, Shondaland, SAG-AFTRA, the incomparable Minnie Driver and the timeless appeal of Grey’s Anatomy, this year’s festival promises something for everyone. We look forward to welcoming audiences to Denver for five days of unforgettable storytelling.”
Set to return in 2025, the multigenerational family drama with a time-travel twist stars Andie MacDowell, Chyler Leigh, Evan Williams and Sadie Laflamme-Snow. The second season wraps March 31.
“Once again, our cast, writers and entire crew have used their impressive talents to create a story that is just as compelling and addictive as the first season,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, EVP Programming at Hallmark Media. “We’re grateful to the fans who are so passionate about the series and can’t wait for them to see what and when is ahead for Season 3.”
Added VP Development Kelly Garrett: “Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke and Marly Reed continue to blow us away with the cleverly crafted story they’ve created and careful thought they put into every single detail. While some questions will be answered by the end of this season, the Landrys’ journey is far from over and there’s much more to tell.”
Since its second-season debut on January 21, The Way Home has been a hit for Hallmark Channel. It is the No. 1 most-watched program overall on entertainment cable among homes, viewers and women and persons 18+.
Season 2 finds Kat (Leigh) traveling back to 1814 in her quest to find her missing brother Jacob and bring him home. Her time there brings new mysteries, and she bridges the past and present in her attempt to finally reunite her family.
The Way Home is a Neshama Entertainment production in association with MarVista Entertainment. Executive producers are Conkie, Clarke, Reed Fernando Szew, Hannah Pillemer, Larry Grimaldi, Ani Kevork, Arnie Zipursky, Suzanne L. Berger, MacDowell and Leigh. The series is produced by John Calvert.
Written by Katie Robbins, who serves as showrunner, the series is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace and the Midwestern couple who adopted her believing she was a little girl with dwarfism but gradually started to believe she may not be who she said she was.
Duplass will play Michael Barnett, at the time husband of Pompeo’s Kristine Barnett, and adoptive father to Natalia (Imogen Faith Reid).
In 2019, Michael (Duplass), an upbeat Midwestern dad and retail manager, was charged, along with his ex-wife Kristine (Pompeo), for the neglect and abandonment of their daughter Natalia, whom they adopted in 2010. Already in the public eye because of Kristine’s bestselling book The Spark– about raising their son Jacob, a science prodigy– Michael’s world begins to crumble as he and Kristine are forced to defend the narratives they’ve spun about Natalia in the courts of law and public opinion.
Robbins serves as creator, writer and executive producer on the series, which is told from multiple points of view to reflect the conflicting narratives of its central characters. Sarah Sutherland is writer/executive producer. Pompeo executive produces through her production banner Calamity Jane with Laura Holstein. Mike Epps, Dan Spilo, NIles Kirchner and Andrew Stern also executive produce. Liz Garbus directs and executive produces the pilot. ABC Signature is the studio.
Duplass plays Chip Black on Apple TV+s The Morning Show, a role which earned him a 2020 Emmy nomination and a 2022 Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He previously co-created, with his brother Jay, and also starred in HBO’s Togetherness, as part of Duplass Brothers Productions’ first-look deal with HBO. DBP recently released DVP’s Mel Eslyn’s feature directorial debut Biosphere starring Duplass and Sterling K. Brown, as well as the HBO documentary Last Stop Larrimah. Upcoming releases include Nnamdi Asomugha’s The Knife and the third season of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere. Duplass is repped by CAA.
ABC | 9-1-1 christened its new network with 4.93 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating (per Nielsen finals), improving on its average Season 6 audience while rock-steady in the demo. (In fact, it looks to be 9-1-1‘s biggest audience since 6×10.) The first responders drama also improved 26% and 20% on what Station 19 did in the Thursday leadoff spot last season, giving the ABC time slot its largest audience in a little over two years (since Feb. 24, 2022).
Enjoying a beefier lead-in, Grey’s Anatomy (3.6 mil/0.6) improved on its previous averages (3.3 mil/0.4), while Station 19 (2.8 mil/0.4) — now closing out Thursday nights, with its farewell run — hit and matched series lows.
CBS | Facing stiffer competition, Young Sheldon (6.5 mil/0.5), Ghosts (5.5 mil/0.5) and So Help Me Todd (4.2 mil/0.4) each dropped a handful of eyeballs, though Todd rose in the demo.
NBC | Law & Order (4.2 mil/0.4) dropped some eyeballs, SVU (4.7 mil/0.5) was steady and Organized Crime (3.4 mil/0.3) dipped in the demo.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.8 mil/0.3) ticked down, Farmer Wants a Wife (1.8 mil/0.2) held steady.
THE CW | Son of a Critch (349K/0.1) and the Children Ruin Everything season finale (239K/0.1) each added some eyeballs.
The opener started with the interns facing the music after getting themselves in trouble with questionable medical decisions in the Season 19 finale and Nick posing a question to them, “Which one of you am I firing?”
Banned from any doctor duties, the group find themselves in the middle of the action anyway. Simone and Lucas end up in the back of an ambulance trying to stabilize a patient with Bailey and Meredith’s directions while their parked vehicle is being hit by a wayward self-driving car every couple of minutes. (It is unclear why the ambulance was not moved away from the crashing car.) Kwan also got in on the action, saving the day by making the car stop when he slashed its tires.
Trying to save Teddy’s life, Owen makes the difficult decision to agree to a risky surgery and then holds hands with ex-wife Amelia while awaiting for the outcome. After complications, Teddy is out of danger, facing a long recovery.
While promising Catherine that she would return to the conventional approach to Alzheimer’s research to keep her funding, Meredith secretly recruits Amelia to help her continue the controversial new path she had been exploring.
Jo and Link feel guilt over their patient Sam’s death as they prepare to take their relationship public, while Meredith and Nick’s relationship remains on track after their reconciliation in the finale. Meanwhile, Richard asks Bailey to step back until he can trust himself again as he rejoins AA following his almost relapse in the finale.
In an interview with Deadline, Marinis discusses the events in the premiere and how they will shape the characters’ arcs in the coming episodes. For more about Season 20, including Ellen Pompeo’s status as Meredith continues to pop in occasionally, Jessica Capshaw’s and Alex Landi’s returns, the new character played by Natalie Morales and the reason Scott Speedman’s hair looks so different from last season’s finale, read Deadline’s preview.
DEADLINE: Let’s start with Meredith. Following her elevator conversation where Catherine says “I always win,” It looks like she is returning to Boston. Is she, and how will she juggle official and secret research?
MARINIS: Meredith, even though she’s still in Seattle at the end of the episode, she will continue to do her work in Boston because that’s where her daughter goes to school, and her daughter was the primary reason that she moved to Boston. She’s still trying to manage work and family life. But secret research is fun, and to be able to do that with her sister Amelia and to keep that relationship alive as well, when we can’t see Meredith but we see Amelia. And so we keep alive the character of Meredith, being able to know what she’s doing even when we don’t see her. And anything where Debbie Allen [who plays Catherine] is set to play the villain, that is fantastic.
DEADLINE: Scott Speedman’s Nick started the episode firmly in charge of the internship program but ended it by stepping down. What is the future of Speedman, who is listed as a guest star? Will we see him again this season?
MARINIS: Yes, he was listed as a guest star. We’re just so excited for Meredith and Nick to be together, we could see him again. We’ll follow that relationship.
DEADLINE: In another twist, Nick was replaced by Bailey. This is your first season as a showrunner, and one of the first major creative decisions you made was to reset and almost go back to Season 1 with a ragtag group of interns and Bailey in charge. What was the impetus for that decision?
MARINIS: That decision came from when I was thinking about Bailey initially, about where does Bailey go in her career after she’s won the Catherine Fox; in our world, that’s the award of all awards. We’ve seen Meredith win it and go through a career transition after winning it.
And even though the work that she was doing was in reproductive care, the award was for teaching reproductive care. And Bailey is the teacher of all teachers. She’s created surgeons like Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang and Alex Karev and Izzie and George. She doesn’t get the credit that she deserves for all of the teaching and mentorship that she’s done, which has sent all these surgeons out to do amazing things.
And I was thinking of also, where we left the interns at the end of last season, they’re in the messiest of messes. So I thought, who is going to bring them back from that, and I thought, oh, there’s only one person who can bring them back from that and that’s Bailey.
DEADLINE: In the premiere, the interns are all struggling with the fallout from the finale. At the end of last season, romantic relationships among them were forming very fast but they all seem to be pressing pause on that in the premiere. Are you resetting that too, trying to pull back on those relationships?
MARINIS: I think that when you go through something like they did at the end of last season, it is difficult to come back from that. I think that all five of these interns, Grey Sloan was the one program that took them, and none of them want to mess up this last chance that they got to be a surgical intern. And I think when that is put in jeopardy, you start to look around and think, how did I get here and who put me here and is it my fault or is it his fault? I think there’s a lot of questioning, who’s at fault for what happened at the end of the finale.
DEADLINE: There was also an eerie similarity to what happened with Levi who also lost a patient in a similar situation, which sent him into a deep depression. With Lucas, he seems to have come out of it a little easier. Is the worst over for him, and would Levi be helping him and Simone get over losing a patient?
MARINIS: You’re going to see Levi with these interns a lot still this season, using, what you said, his past experiences to help guide them through. I think also there was a difference with what happened with Levi. These interns have only been interns for about five or six months, we’re still in the middle of their intern year, and he was a senior resident and he blatantly didn’t listen to something. So I think there are differences, but that story is not over with the premiere.
DEADLINE: There was this moment between Owen and Amelia while Teddy was in the OR where they were holding hands. Owen has been fully committed to his wife but this is Grey’s Anatomy, and they are exes, so you never know. Are they firmly in the friends zone or could there be something else happening?
MARINIS: Yes, they’re in the friends zone. But it’s a friendship that we find really interesting in the writers room, because they’ve been married. They’ve been through so much together, I think that they feel comfortable being with one another in that space. I think they’ve also been through so much with his relationship with Teddy as well.
DEADLINE: For Teddy, is the worst over, will we see her back and will her recovery be a part of the season?
MARINIS: Yes, her recovery will be part of her season arc for sure. She’s not perfectly back immediately after the premiere.
DEADLINE: For me, the premiere was a lot about guilt. The interns felt it over losing a patient, Jo felt it for not being there to help, Richard felt it for almost succumbing to temptation. Talk about that.
MARINIS: Absolutely. I think that when things like this happen, you immediately go to this space of, how could I have prevented it and could I have prevented it. It feels like we’re dealing with the immediate guilt now, but as we move forward, we’ll see that a lot of our characters will reset in order to start from the beginning and make sure that what they just experienced is not forgotten or unlearned from, if that makes sense.
It’s interesting because it’s still so much of what happened at the end of last year’s finale continues throughout this season. We really don’t just forget about it. Everything still weighs on everyone and how they can truly move forward and not make the same mistakes again.
DEADLINE: I mentioned Link and Jo who are preparing to go public with their relationship. Will there be bumps on the road for them? There are a lot of entanglements for each of them with doctors at the hospital.
MARINIS: Absolutely. I feel like them coming together was two seasons in the making, so I feel like it’s very earned to see them happy for a second. I do think that, like any relationship when you live and co- parent and have a romantic relationship and work together, there’s always going to be challenges. And we’ll just have to be able to watch and wait and see. Can they leave those challenges at work or do they come home with them?
DEADLINE: At the very end, Richard went back to Alcoholics Anonymous and told Bailey that he was stepping back at the hospital. How much of his struggles will we see this season, and how much will Richard pull back from his daily duties as he recovers?
MARINIS: I think the best way to put it is that he is going to simplify his duties at work and that he is making sure that he focuses and concentrates on his wellness at the same time. He’ll still be in the hospital but he says at the end of the episode to Bailey, he wants to be able to trust himself again. And so he needs to go back, make sure that he trusts himself, make sure that his mind is clear so that he isn’t slipping either in his sobriety or at work.
DEADLINE: AI is a big topic these days. You had a malfunctioning self-driving car in the premiere. Why did you decide to tackle AI and is it something that you’re going to do more of on Grey’s?
MARINIS: The AI of it to me, I think a lot of people don’t understand it, and I think it’s moving really fast. So I was interested in seeing that and also, you’re reading about technology that’s not ready that’s been released, I’m always interested in that.
And also, I think that being a doctor where you’re a professional and you keep your own feelings inside when you’re dealing with the patient, but also having to manage the compassionate side of being a human being. I think there’s a lot of interesting things for people in health care where all day long they have to take care of other people, and then at home it’s like a flood of emotions.
Honoring doctors is a huge part of why I love this job, I think they’ve got the hardest job in the world, and I think it’s become harder. So that part of it was also interesting to me, when you use feelings to make decisions, and what about repercussions of that. Because obviously Simone and Lucas had that, Blue had that with Maxine. It is rippling through the episode as well.
DEADLINE: What is the overall theme for Season 20?
MARINIS: A theme for the season is back to basics. You see a lot of people reset in the premiere, and Bailey’s not going to go easy on these interns. It’ll be really fun to watch her put them through their paces.
As soon as Nick revealed to his motley crew of interns that he was outta there — Mer and Boston beckoned — he introduced his replacement, the former chief who first rattled off her “five rules” to residents in the long-running drama’s very first episode. “It’s a perfect moment,” says showrunner Meg Marinis. Agreed.
“When we knew that we wanted to move Nick out of that teaching position, it just seemed so obvious to me that it needed to be Bailey,” the EP continues. “Because she just won the award of awards [the Catherine Fox Award] for surgery, right? And she won it for teaching. Yes, it was for teaching reproductive care, but it was for teaching. Where do you go once you’ve hit the top?”
In Marinis’ estimation, you make tracks for square one and retrace your steps, only better. As she puts it, you “start back over and see what you can do with it. Has Bailey been in that teaching role before? Yes. But now she has 20 years of experience and 20 years of life that she’s lived, so it’ll be an evolved version” of the taskmaster once known as the Nazi.
It isn’t only going to be Bailey who’s getting back to basics in Season 20, either. “That’s a theme that’s coming across in a bunch of stories,” Marinis teases. “You’ll not only see it with Bailey but with others, too.”
“It’s not going to go as easy as they hope. Secret research is never smooth,” showrunner Meg Marinis tells TVLine with a laugh. “There will be challenges.”
One is sure to be Mer and Amelia’s fraught history. “There’s always a way to find conflict between those two,” the EP says. At least the Catherine Fox Award winner no longer considers Derek’s kid sister a hopeless screwup. “Their relationship has come very far. Amelia being seen as a neurosurgeon outside of Derek’s shadow” has helped and continues to help, too.
Which is all well and good, right? Except that, unless Grey’s Anatomy plans to fictitiously cure Alzheimer’s, it would seem like this storyline can only go so far. Marinis has a different POV on that. “Does it trap us? No,” she says. “Part of the fun of research on the show is what’s happening while they’re researching — what’s happening in their relationships, how is their personal life impacting how they’re working on this.
“It’s also really fun to have that sister dynamic, because [Meredith, Amelia and Maggie are no longer] in the same place, so we don’t get to see that as a regular thing so much anymore. So having this shared research between the two of them really brings that nostalgic sister relationship to the fore.”
With regard to actually curing Alzheimer’s, Marinis doesn’t see that as the point of the plot. It’s about “just honoring the experience of everyone that’s living through that disease,” she says, “and the hope that they have.”
As the episode began, Catherine called out Mer for going rogue at the award ceremony and making her foundation “look like a joke” by spouting off about her out-there Alzheimer’s theory. To save face with the donors, Catherine had lied that Grey was just dehydrated. “I haven’t had to dance like that since the ’80s,” she added. In the end, Dr. Moneybags gave Mer an ultimatum: “Shut up, or I shut down your lab. You can go back to Boston now. But not on my plane.”
‘Do Not Move, Do Not Practice Medicine’
Off the events of the Season 19 finale, Nick was at a loss as to how to deal with his interns. He couldn’t even decide which of them to fire. Plus, on the off chance that he didn’t give somebody the axe — scalpel? — they’d all have to be evaluated, he told Mer, and it would be a helluva long time before they were again allowed near a patient. Sure, Jan.
‘Marsh Cannot Find Out About This!’
In no time, Lucas had roped Simone into helping him treat a patient in an ambulance that had broken down before reaching the E.R. entrance — just as the ambulance started being repeatedly rammed by a malfunctioning self-driving car! Before a quick-thinking Blue punctured the vehicle’s tire, triggering its shutdown mechanism, Lucas and Simone had had to perform a tricky procedure with Bailey and Meredith calling the shots from a safe distance.
‘I Gave Her a Smoothie’
Rushing Teddy into the O.R., Winston gave Mika the all-clear to scrub in, Nick’s orders be damned. But when she froze at a critical moment, owing to her trauma over Sam’s death, he replaced her with Levi, at whom he was already steamed for not ordering a CT on the patient. Meanwhile, Owen beat himself up for treating his wife’s toothache with a smoothie. Luckily, all the hand-wringing was for nothing. Not only did Teddy pull through, but Winston and Levi were able to save the leg that she’d been in danger of losing along with her life.
‘She Is Hungry, Talking and Annoyed’
As Max’s condition continued to improve, Jules and Blue danced around their feelings. It was as obvious as the color of their scrubs that they were in love, but she insisted that she hadn’t meant it when she’d dropped the L word on him. That, he lied, was a relief; it would have made things awkward. Anything you say, kids.
‘I Won’t Ever Apologize for Trying’
After her adventure with Lucas that morning, Simone was despondent. She could lose her whole dream of becoming a doctor, and for what? Him. “Because I can’t say no to you, Lucas.” She was still in shock that they had killed Sam in less than two minutes. Did she regret that she and Lucas had gotten together? Not exactly, but… Yeah, she was gonna need a minute. Two oughta do the trick.
‘No One Came Until It Was Too Late’
Jo spent the day being taken to task for Sam’s death. First, his mother chewed her and Link out. Then, Mika blasted her for being MIA when the interns had needed an attending. So by wine o’clock, Jo was feeling seriously guilty about feeling… well, happy. She had Luna, and Link, and was alive, and… In response, her new significant other reassured her that she’d been through enough s—t; she didn’t have to feel guilty about anything. Well, then!
‘I’m One-Day Sober’
As afternoon bled into evening, Richard confided in Bailey that at the award ceremony, he’d come thisclose to taking a drink. “You’ve been here before,” she reminded him. “You know how to get back.” Indeed, it seemed that he did. He next attended an AA meeting at which he admitted that he considered his desire to imbibe a slip, therefore he was hitting “reset” with the group’s help.
‘I Have Five Rules’
In the episode’s final moments, Meredith told Catherine, “I will stick with what’s being funded. You win.” This was no shock to Richard’s better half. “I always do,” she replied. But secretly, Mer met with Amelia and confessed that “I’ve gotten a little further [with the research] than I’ve led you to believe” — and she wanted her sister-in-law to pick up where she left off. Though Nick had been reluctant to leave the interns and move to Boston when they were such a mess, he found the perfect replacement to take over the program: Bailey. And Owen breathed a sigh of relief when at last Teddy awakened.
At the event held at at the Ebell in Los Angeles, Oh was presented with the Luminary Award by Jessica Yu, the director of her 20th/Hulu comedy Quiz Lady. Cast members of Black Cake, including Mia Isaac, Chipo Chung and Simon Wan, joined creator-showrunner Marissa Jo Cerar in accepting the Best in TV Award. Meanwhile, Joy Ride filmmaker Adele Lim was joined by writer-producers Teresa Hsiao and Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, and actors Sherry Cola and Desmond Chiam, in accepting the prize for Best in Film, presented by Baron Davis.
Additional honors included the Julia S. Gouw Next Gen Award, presented to The Creator star Madeleine Yuna Voyles by Gouw and director Gareth Edwards; the Cindy Y. Huang Rising Star Award, presented to It Lives Inside‘s Megan Suri; the Visionary Award, presented to Wish filmmaker Fawn Veerasunthorn; the Actor in TV Award, presented to Expats star Sarayu Blue; the Actor in Film Award, presented to Shortcomings’ Ally Maki by director Randall Park; the Mentor Award presented to Melinda Hsu, showrunner, executive producer and co-founder of the Asian American Writers Brunch; the Decision Maker Award presented to Ramsey Naito, President, Paramount and Nickelodeon Animation; the Deal Maker Award presented to Sophia Yen, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP; the Trailblazer Award presented to author, poet, comedian, and public speaker Alok Vaid-Menon; and the Tastemaker Award bestowed upon content creator, women’s rights advocate, podcast host, and author Drew Afualo.
Hosted by actor and comedian Jenny Yang, the ceremony also featured a special musical performance from artist, writer, producer, and social change artist MILCK.
Proceeds from the evening will go towards sustaining CAPE‘s pathway programs such as the CAPE New Writers Fellowship, CAPE Leaders Fellowship, Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge for API Women and Non-Binary Filmmakers, CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator, CAPE Emerging Executives Committee, and other programs in incubation. All of the aforementioned are intended to help break down the barriers that have held API creatives in the industry back for too long.
Tessa, founder PRISM DJs, a booking agency representing female DJs, served as DJ, with Sechel PR, an Asian woman-founded and women-led PR firm, running the red carpet.
Naturally, the three remaining original cast members, Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., are most prominent.(As Deadline reported in our Season 20 preview, Pompeo, who is an executive producer, will continue to get top billing. While technically no longer a series regular, she still does the voiceovers and recurs, with her character Meredith remaining the heart of the show.)
Among the rest, current couples Owen (Kevin McKidd) & Teddy (Kim Raver) and Link (Chris Carmack) and Jo (Camilla Luddington) are pictured together, as are the five interns.
The poster is just the one of many ways ABC will mark Grey’s big anniversary.
“Right now we’re really focused on the momentous 20th season of Grey’s Anatomy, which is still amazing to say and is amazing to celebrate,” Disney’s Craig Erwich, who oversees ABC told Deadline last month. “You’ll see that celebration on air, both in terms of the stories that they’re telling which continue to be of the highest quality and how we celebrate a show that is so iconic and so associated with ABC and one that we’re just so honored to have. It’s helped define the network over the last 20 seasons.”
https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GRA_s20_KA_Montage_1080x1350_V2_Exclusive6-1.jpg?resize=614,768
Station 19‘s fiery Season 7 poster reminds fans of the show’s pending departure with the tagline “The final season ignites.”
Featuring the 11 series regulars, the poster is anchored by star Jaina Lee Ortiz and Jason George who left Grey’s Anatomy to help launch the spinoff.
“Every show has its own journey so to speak. In the case of Station 19, it was time to bring that story to an end,” Erwich told Deadline last night about the decision to end the series with Season 7. “I love Station 19, and I think what’s amazing about Station 19 is that it was yes, a spinoff of Grey’s. But it really became its own show that stood on its own creatively and was fully realized and unique unto itself, and we’ve been very proud to have it on the air.”
Both series return with new episodes March 14.
Posters: Grey's Anatomy, Station 19.
“It’s the Grey’s Anatomy that fans have been missing for a year,” said Marinis. I’m sad it’s been so long, but we’ll come back, and we’ll come back as strong as ever.”
As revealed in the trailer released by ABC, Season 20 will pick up in the immediate aftermath of the Season 19 finale, which saw Teddy collapse, the interns get in precarious situations, and two couples, Meredith & Nick and Jo & Link, come clean about their feelings.
In an interview with Deadline, Marinis previews Season 20 and reveals its theme. She discusses how much we can expect to see Grey’s Anatomy star/executive producer Ellen Pompeo, who scaled back her on-screen presence last season. Marinis also teases Arizona and Nico’s returns and how Morales’ and Miyares’ characters will fit in.
In the interview, Marinis also speaks about the big final crossover with Station 19, which will involve another “catastrophe,” and whether Jason George and Stefania Spampinato could return to Grey’s after the spinoff series ends. (Read our story here). She also addresses whether Season 20 could be Grey’s last. Check back after the premiere for Deadline’s postmortem interview with Marinis.
Pompeo, who continues to get top billing among Grey’s series regular cast, is featured prominently in the Season 20 trailer and has a major presence in the premiere, written by Marinis who also penned the Season 19 finale.
DEADLINE: Ellen Pompeo is not listed as a guest star this season. What is her status on the show?
MARINIS: Her status is that she’s always a huge part of the show. I don’t know the answer to your question about why they choose to list it that way. But we have an open door policy with her. When she is able to be here, we welcome her with open arms. We work with her schedule, she still does the voiceover.
She was a huge part of the premiere for me, she and I have a great relationship. She’s constantly in my head, her voice. She cares very deeply for the show and even in the episodes that she’s not in, she’s interested to know what’s happening. So, you’ll see her come and go and she will always remain a very important part to the show.
DEADLINE: Can you give us an estimate how much we’ll see of her this season?
MARINIS: I can’t answer that question definitively for now, but I think you’ll be excited to see her in the episodes that she’s in.
Pompeo is believed to be in at least four episodes next season. According to sources, while she is technically not a series regular anymore, her top billing reflects the fact that her character Meredith remains the heart of the show, with her voiceover continuing to bookend every episode.
DEADLINE: Meredith and Nick reconciled in the Season 19 finale. How do you feel about that? Also, what’s up with Scott Speedman’s hair? It’s significantly longer and blonder in the trailer despite the premiere picking up the day after the events in finale?
MARINIS: Well, it’s been awhile since we’ve been on the air. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to shoot the premiere right after we shot the finale, it’s been quite a few months. We do our best to match but we aren’t magicians… yet.
I grew up with Felicity so I’m always a big fan of Scott. We’re just so excited for Meredith and Nick to be together.
For a second consecutive season, Speedman is a recurring guest star on Grey’s. While series regulars are obligated to keep their appearance consistent with their characters, that does not apply to guest stars who can take other jobs.
DEADLINE: How was that decision made to bring back Arizona and Nico? And could we expect other Grey’s characters from the past to come back?
MARINIS: We could always be expecting people to come back from the past. It’s a 20-season show, we’ve got so many people that we’d love to have come and go.
Jessica, it had been so long since we had seen that character. We’re constantly having pitches come up in the writers room, I’m always asking them to think of people that we can see again because it’s such a nice way to honor the show. And also, our show is about teaching and learning.
We’ve got these new interns and she is an innovative surgeon in fetal medicine and she also has the peeds element to her, so I thought, how interesting for her to come back and see this new class. I think there’s got to be so much fun to be had.
I think everyone is going be really happy to see her, we show a lot of the things that people loved about Arizona, her humor, her hard work as a doctor, her teaching, her friendships with the people that she loved at Grey Sloan. And it was such a joy to have Jessica back on set. It was like she’d never left, it was a seamless transition.
DEADLINE: Can you tease how much we’ll see of Arizona and Nico? Is it one-offs or could there be more episodes?
MARINIS: Jessica is one episode, yes.
DEADLINE: Will Levi and Nico rekindle their relationship? The last time Levi broke things off he was spiraling following the death of his patient. Grey’s is known for tying loose ends and giving couples closure. Will we see that with Levi and Nico?
MARINIS: With Levi and Nico, you will see how they interact with one another now that time has passed. They’ve both done a lot of growing in between seeing each other. Nico is not the same Nico that we saw, it’s been some time. Also Levi has done a lot of growing up as a doctor and he’s had a couple of romantic things happen since Nico. And I think seeing each other in these different parts of their lives, it’s really nice. It’s a great story for Levi.
DEADLINE: There is a new recurring character, Monica, played by Natalie Morales, which was introduced in the trailer. She gets off to a bumpy start with Amelia after a run-in in the parking lot. What can you tell us about how the new doctor will fit in at Grey Sloan?
MARINIS: Natalie Morales’ character, she’s a no-nonsense pediatric surgeon so she’s going to butt heads with our doctors because our doctors are about nonsense, right, if you watched the finale, but it’s going to be really fun. She’s not like any of our doctors, and that’s going to create some conflict and tension at the top. And I think that’s what we saw in the trailer, the beginning of that character butting heads with the doctors.
DEADLINE: There was a moment between Amelia and Monica when they were properly introduced. Could there be a romance between the two?
MARINIS: You never know who will be romantic with who. This is Grey’s Anatomy, there’s always going to be some of that.
DEADLINE: What about Freddy Miyares’ Dorian, how will he be introduced?
MERINIS: Oh, he’s great, he’s so wonderful. He goes along with the story with the interns and their teaching and learning. So you’ll see him mainly with the interns.
DEADLINE: What is the overall theme for Season 20 and how has it been for you in this new role as showrunner?
MARINIS: It’s a dream come true. I’ve been here for a long time, watching Krista and Shonda and the mentorship here has been pretty amazing. I feel like I’ve been training for something and I finally got here. Well, it came and then there was the writers strike but [we started after that.]
I think a theme for the season is back to basics for these interns. Just like you recover from an illness, these interns have a recovery to go through.
And so much of what happened at the end of last year’s finale continues throughout this season. We really don’t just forget about it. Everything still weighs on everyone and how they can truly move forward and not make the same mistakes again.
DEADLINE: Could Season 20 be Grey’s Anatomy‘s last? Are you working on it with that possibility in mind?
MARINIS: I’ve not been informed that this is the last season so I’m going to keep going and telling stories as long as they let me. We still have stories to tell. We receive a tremendous amount of support from the studio and the network and from Shondaland. So I’m going to keep going until they tell me to put that pen down.
She also teased upcoming appearances on Grey’s by the two Station 19 series regular characters who originated on the medical drama, Bailey’s husband Ben (Jason George) and Carina (Stefania Spampinato), indicating that Ben will remain part of the Grey’s Anatomy world.
“I haven’t read their last two episodes yet. I know generally where they’re going,” Marinis said when asked about the upcoming Station 19 crossover. “What I can tell you is that the Bailey and Ben relationship will continue to cross over. Those two actors love crossing over and it’s very important to them that what they do over here and what they do over there, that it’s one symbiotic thing.”
Marinis spoke of the “great working relationship and great personal relationship” with new Station 19 showrunners Zoanne Clack & Peter Paige.
“We’re constantly on the phone because I want to be able to help them any way I can succeed in telling amazing ends to their stories — whether it’s a crossover medical case or whether it’s Ben crossing over, whether it’s Carina crossing over. We’ll definitely see Carina on Grey’s at one point.”
As for “that final crossover,” “we like to share catastrophes, that’s what I’m saying,” Marinis said.
Station 19 coming to an end raises speculation whether George and Spampinato could return to Grey’s next season if the medical drama is renewed for Season 21 as expected. George was a series regular on Grey’s before he left in 2017 to help anchor spinoff Station 19. Having recurred on Grey’s, Spampinato started recurring on Station 19 in Season 3 before becoming a series regular the following season.
Could any of them rejoin Grey’s next season?
“I don’t want to answer that because I don’t want to answer anything about Station 19 that I’m not only fully aware of,” Marinis said. “How they end their stories will help me determine whether or not I will be seeing those characters on Grey’s.”
This also marks the first season of Meg Marinis, an 18-year Grey’s Anatomy veteran, as the series’ showrunner. And she is not planning it as the drama’s final chapter.
“I’ve not been informed that this is the last season so I’m going to keep going and telling stories as long as they let me,” she told Deadline in an interview tied to the Season 20 premiere. “We still have stories to tell. We receive a tremendous amount of support from the studio and the network and from Shondaland. So I’m going to keep going until they tell me to put that pen down.”
Created by Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy comes from Rhimes’ Shondaland and ABC Signature, part of Disney Television Studios.
Craig Erwich, President of Disney Television Group that includes ABC Entertainment, was asked about the series’ future at TCA last month.
“I think the show is as creatively strong as it’s ever been,” he said. “Not just the live [episodes] you are watching today, but it’s fueling growth for our streaming platform.”
Season 19 averaged 10.7 million total viewers after 35 days of delayed viewing across linear and digital platforms, making Grey’s Anatomy ABC’s No.1 entertainment series in delayed multi-platform viewing.
The drama is coming off a transformational 19th season season, with Pompeo stepping back, Kelly McCreary leaving and five new main characters joining the show, played by Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho and Midori Francis. The transition has been successful, with all five new cast members returning this season.
Asked by Deadline last month whether renewal conversations have started about a potential 21st season, Erwich declined specifics, saying,
“Right now we’re really focused on the momentous 20th season of Grey’s Anatomy, which is still amazing to say and is amazing to celebrate,” he said. “You’ll see that celebration on air, both in terms of the stories that they’re telling which continue to be of the highest quality and how we celebrate a show that is so iconic and so associated with ABC and one that we’re just so honored to have. It’s helped define the network over the last 20 seasons.”
“Grey’s Anatomy is one of our top performing next-day titles, and we are very excited to now be the only streaming destination to offer every Grey’s episode ever, both past and current,” said Hulu General Manager Lauren Tempest. “In addition to bringing lifelong fans back to Grey Sloan, we hope that new audiences will discover and fall in love with the characters and stories that have captivated us for so many years.”
To celebrate the launch, Hulu has released a new featurette with the most iconic moments from the past 19 seasons and teasing what’s ahead. You can watch it above.
As we reported, under the pact, Hulu and Netflix, the longtime SVOD home of Grey’s will share the co-exclusive domestic streaming rights to all prior 19 seasons of the drama series. All episodes will be available on both the bundled Disney app and the standalone Hulu service.
Securing Grey’s Anatomy for the foreseeable future is part of a short-term domestic content agreement between Disney Entertainment and Netflix in which Disney is licensing 14 popular library TV series to Netflix on a non-exclusive basis for 18 months. The list includes Lost, This Is Us, Prison Break, Archer, How I Met Your Mother, White Collar, Home Improvement, The Resident, ESPN 30 for 30, My Wife and Kids, Reba, The Bernie Mac Show and the recent Wonder Years reboot.
Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres Thursday, March 14 on ABC and begins streaming Friday, March 15, exclusively on Hulu.
Dear Felicity, from producer J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Audio and Spotify’s The Ringer, will debut Wednesday, March 13, with new episodes arriving every Wednesday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.
While most “rewatch” podcasts are structured in an episode-by-episode format, Dear Felicity will instead cover themes and story arcs, with topics focusing on Felicity, The WB, the careers of those involved, and how the television business functioned at the time.
Felicity starred Russell as a young California woman attending college in New York City. Speedman and Foley were her love interests.
Hosted by Felicity stars Amanda Foreman and Greg Grunberg alongside The Ringer’s Juliet Litman, Dear Felicity will bring together cast, crew, executives, and fans of the series. Special guests set to appear include Russell, Abrams, Speedman, Foley, Matt Reeves, Tangi Miller, Ian Gomez, Amy Jo Johnson, Jennifer Garner, Brian Grazer, Keiko Agena, Andrew Jarecki, and more.
Said Abrams, Co-CEO, Bad Robot, “The experience of Felicity was formative for so many involved. It is such a joy to relive that time, re-examine the episodes, and hear from so many of the wonderful and creative people who helped bring the show to life.”
The podcast is produced by Bad Robot Audio and Spotify’s The Ringer; J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves are executive producers, alongside Bad Robot Audio executive producer Christina Choi and producer Shaka Tafari.
Felicity ran on The WB from 1998 to 2002, and is currently available on Hulu.
From writer-director Prince Bagdasarian, the movie is also starring are Hunter Ives (Abstraction), James Di Giacomo (The Kill Room) and social media influencer, Nick Antonyan.
Set in a cabin on Christmas Eve, the film will see US Marshall Jo (Thompson) protecting a pregnant fugitive (White) from a bounty hunter (Ives) and a hitman Santa (Koechner), accompanied by his henchmen of elves.
Washington plays Thompson’s boss, Acting Deputy Director Winters for the US Marshal Service.
James Di Giacomo (Desperation Road) and Sasha Yelaun (The Old Way) are producing, alongside Prince Bagdasarian and Hunter Ives. Filming is underway on location in Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, California.
“I aim to craft a unique blend of dark comedy and action, immersing the audience in a snow-laden Christmas Eve filled with unexpected twists. We explore the chaos of family dynamics, impending motherhood, positivity, and the hilarity of fending off inept hitmen in a winter setting. I’m thrilled to be working with an exceptionally talented cast”, said Bagdasarian.
“The film will offer viewers an entertaining escape into a world where the holiday spirit takes unexpected turns. The script is hilarious and audiences are going to fall in love with the characters we’re bringing to life”, commented producer James Di Giacomo.
Producer Sasha Yelaun added: “This is not only my first Christmas movie, but also my first collaboration with talented director Prince Bagdasarian who I’m thrilled to see craft and deliver another action-packed film that is sure to be a holiday favorite. I’m also excited to be collaborating again with Scottie Thompson and James Di Giacomo from my last films, Hellfire and Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.”
Bagdasarian’s latest film was Abducted, which premiered at the Sedona International Film Festival and was released on Showtime.
Known for roles in Murder at Yellowstone City and SyFy’s 12 Monkeys, Thompson will next be seen starring opposite Stephen Lang and Harvey Keitel in film Hellfire. The Office alum Koechner is also known for his role as Champ Kind in the Anchorman films and most recently appeared in series Underdeveloped and American Dad!
White is known for her roles in Outlaw Johnny Black and Tyler Perry series, The Oval. She recently starred in Trouble Man!, alongside Mike Epps, Orlando Jones, Method Man, and her husband, Michael J. White, who directed the action comedy.
Grey’s Anatomy alum, Washington, is known for The 100, and recently starred as Bass Reeves in Corsicana, in which he also directed.
Thompson is represented by TalentWorks and Mainstay Entertainment; Koechner by Gersh; White by Amsel, Eisenstadt , Frazier & Hinojosa Talent Agency; Washington is with Attorney Ricky Anderson at Anderson & Smith PC.
A new trailer for Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy, which debuts on March 14, gives a look at what’s in store this season, including a visit from none other than Dr. Arizona Robbins. ABC previously revealed that Jessica Capshaw would be reprising her beloved role this season as a guest star, and now we’ve got a better idea of what she’s up to.
In the opening moments of the trailer, Arizona asks the interns who wants to make history as she stands in the lecture hall. It seems as though she’s probably returned to Seattle to perform a groundbreaking fetal surgery.
The trailer also introduces Natalie Morales, who is set to guest star as Monica Beltran, a pediatric surgeon whose pragmatism and level-headedness have made her one of the best in her field. She has a bit of an awkward run-in with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) on her first day at the hospital.
There’s also a larger teaser for what will likely be the big story of the beginning of the season: Teddy’s critical illness. The trailer shows the scenes we’ve seen before of Teddy (Kim Raver) collapsing in the operating room and Winston (Anthony Hill) saying she’s in critical condition. But it also teases that Owen (Kevin McKidd) will have to make a difficult decision about a necessary surgery, which it seems Winston will perform.
Then, of course, there is also all the romance. There’s unresolved feelings between Jules and Blue, as well as Luca and Simone. Link and Jo will also have to deal with their own romance becoming public.
Watch the entire trailer above.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 premieres on ABC on March 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT with next day streaming on Hulu.
Inspired by the bestselling novel Stinger by Robert McCammon, the series follows a disparate group of people on a ranch who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat.
Speedman will play James Chenoweth opposite Strahovski’s character Maggie Chenoweth.
Atomic Monster’s James Wan (The Conjuring Universe, Archive 81), Michael Clear (Archive 81, Swamp Thing) and Rob Hackett (Archive 81, I Know What You Did Last Summer) executive produce alongside writer / executive producer Ian McCulloch (Yellowstone, Chicago Fire), director (101) / executive producer E.L. Katz (The Haunting of Bly Manor, Channel Zero), executive producer/author Robert McCammon, Francisca X. Hu and Kevin Tancharoen. Danielle Bozzone oversees for Atomic Monster. The studio is UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Speedman currently appears on Grey’s Anatomy reprising his role as Dr. Nick Marsh. His previous credits include a recurring arc on the third season of You, as well as TNT’s Animal Kingdom, Felicity and Last Resort. He also can be seen in Lena Dunham’s Sundance film Sharp Stick, which sold to Utopia.
The American Theater Company production begins previews Thursday, May 16, and will open Wednesday, June 12 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30.
Directed by Sarah Benson (Obie Award winner, Fairview), The Welkin is set in Rural Suffolk, England, 1759, as the country waits for Halley’s Comet. A young woman is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder, and when she claims to be pregnant, a jury of twelve matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth or simply trying to escape the noose. Only midwife Lizzy Luke (Oh) is prepared to defend the girl against a mob baying for blood, matrons wrestling with their new authority and the devil in their midst.
Atlantic describes the work as a “dark, fierce, funny play about democracy and housework.”
Also starring in the production are b (Off Broadway’s Toros, TV’s WeCrashed); Tilly Botsford (Off Broadway debut), Paige Gilbert (A Raisin In The Sun, Skin of Our Teeth), Ann Harada (Into the Woods, Avenue Q), Jenn Kidwell (Underground Railroad Game), Mary McCann (Harper Regan, TV’s The Chair), Emily Cass McDonnell (I’m Revolting, The Thin Place), MacKenzie Mercer (Frozen National Tour), Dale Soules (Orange Is The New Black, Hair), Danny Wolohan (Camelot, To Kill a Mockingbird) and Haley Wong (Mary Gets Hers at MCC).
Additional casting will be announced soon.
The Welkin will feature sets by dots, costumes by Kaye Voyce, lights by Stacey Derosier, sound by Palmer Hefferan, special effects by Jeremy Chernick, hair & wigs by Cookie Jordan, makeup by Gabrielle Vincent, movement by David Neumann, and intimacy direction by Crista Marie Jackson.
Williams will play Daniel De Luca, a half-Italian former U.S. marine who returns to Italy, the land of his childhood, as a fixer in one of the world’s most luxurious hotels on the spectacular Positano coastline. Synopsis reads: “Shortly after Daniel, or DD as everybody knows him, starts working at the hotel, one of the owner’s daughters disappears. He must do whatever it takes to find her and bring her home while still solving the ever-changing problems of the exclusive hotel guests.”
Based on an idea by Luca Bernabei, written by Elena Bucaccio, Matthew Parkhill, and Francesco Arlanch, the series is co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Luca Bernabei for Fremantle’s Lux Vide. Under what the companies have described as a “highly innovative deal structure,” Amazon holds on to full exclusive rights in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. Fremantle will handle global sales in all other territories.
The show is one of the biggest being sold by Fremantle this week at the London TV Screenings.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for me to work with Jesse Williams on Costiera. I’ve always admired his work – both on stage and screen, and he’s the first actor that came to my mind for the role of Daniel De Luca,” said Bernstein. “Jesse provides a perfect combination of intelligence, charisma, and humor, and we’re incredibly lucky to have him at the center of our show.’’
Other original Italian productions in the Prime Video catalog include No Activity – Niente da segnalare, Elf Me, Gigolò per caso, and Everybody Loves Diamonds. Lux Vide’s credits include Medici, Leonardo, and Devils, starring Patrick Dempsey.
Ramírez has played nonbinary standup comedian Che Diaz since Season 1, during which the character became a meme-generating object of mockery. In a cover story interview for Variety‘s Pride issue in June 2022, Ramírez said they had tried to avoid the online commentary. “Other people’s opinions of a character — that’s not something I can allow into my process,” they said. “I choose what I receive, right? That’s the beauty of being grown — I don’t have to receive everything!”
In the first season of “And Just Like That,” Che, who had a podcast with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), swept Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) off her feet, causing her marriage to Steve (David Eigenberg) to end. At the end of Season 1, Che and Miranda went to Los Angeles, where Che was filming a pilot. Throughout the second season, the couple’s once-passionate relationship deteriorated, and they broke up. The Season 2 finale concluded with Carrie saying goodbye to her Upper East Side apartment by hosting a final dinner party there, with both Miranda and Che in attendance.
Of late, Ramírez has been an outspoken, prolific proponent for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as reflected on their Instagram. Because of this advocacy, last month, the Daily Mail posted a story that speculated that Ramírez was hinting that they had been fired from “And Just Like That” because of their pro-Palestinian views, pointing to a particular post that stated: “It’s wild how performative so many in Hollywood are. Even more performative than the last character I played.”
Variety‘s sources dispute that Ramírez was fired for their politics or their Instagram presence. These sources say that the Che character had reached a natural conclusion, since their relationship with Miranda had ended.
A spokesperson from Max declined to comment.
In an interview in August with “And Just Like That” showrunner Michael Patrick King after the Season 2 finale, he discussed how the Che character had evolved over the two seasons of the Max hit. “Every time people say they don’t like Che, I go, ‘You mean you don’t like standups!,'” King said. “I mean, you’re standing on stage asking people to think you’re art. It’s a lot, that character. The audience got to see other sides, which is all you’re supposed to be doing if you get more than one season.”
And about the interaction between Miranda and Che in the finale, King said, “Hopefully, at the end, they’re like, “Good they’re not together, and they never will be.”
The series, which stars Grey’s Anatomy’s Giacomo Gianniotti, Riverdale’s Vanessa Morgan and Jason Priestley, launched in January.
It has been averaging over 500,000 in the live overnights, per Nielsen, which The CW President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz says will likely go to around 1M over the first seven days.
This is what constitutes a hit for the network. “That’s a nice success for us. If we can do seven nights a week with a million viewers, that would be goal number one, then two million,” he told Deadline.
Schwartz added that he has already begun discussing a second season of the show, which comes from Blink49 Studios.
“We have not renewed it yet but that is a conversation that’s happening right now. It’s the type of show that could run for ten seasons, those shows don’t exist much anymore. It really could be something,” he added.
Wild Cards is a crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist that follows the unlikely duo of a gruff, sardonic cop and a spirited, clever con woman. Ellis (Gianniotti) plays a demoted detective who has spent the last year on the maritime unit, while Max (Morgan) has been living a transient life elaborately scamming everyone she meets. But when Max gets arrested and ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime, the two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves, with Ellis going back to detective and Max staying out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, with each using their unique skills to solve crimes.
Terry Chen and Karin Konoval also star.
It was originally ordered by Canadian broadcaster CBC and The CW came on board as a co-producer. It is produced by Blink49 Studios, Front Street Pictures and Piller/Segan with Michael Konyves as showrunner. He exec produces alongside Shawn Piller and Noelle Carbone.
Jessica Capshaw is set to guest star in Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy, reprising her beloved role as Dr. Arizona Robbins. Also Alex Landi will return as Dr. Nico Kim.
No word yet on how, exactly, these two will make their way back to Grey Sloan. Capshaw joined the cast in Season 5 and remained until Season 14, when Arizona left Seattle during the finale to move to New York so that her daughter Sophia could be closer to her other mom, Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez).
Landi recurred on the show from Seasons 15 to 18, before exiting in May 2022. While he was on the show, he was in an on-again off-again relationship with his co-worker Dr. Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli), who is still on the show.
Additionally, Grey’s Anatomy is also adding two new faces, Natalie Morales and Freddy Miyares.
Morales will guest star as Monica Beltran, a pediatric surgeon whose pragmatism and level-headedness have made her one of the best in her field. Her willingness to push boundaries can be admirable and aggravating, but it’s always aimed at providing top-quality care to her patients.
Miyares joins the cast in a recurring role as Dorian, an intelligent, warm and likable patient who is involved in a serious accident and is struggling with his future.
ABC says to stay tuned, as additional guest star announcements will follow. Fingers crossed for more returning cast members.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 premieres on ABC on March 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT with next day streaming on Hulu.
“Right now, our focus is on the immediate future of Grey’s Anatomy, which is celebrating its 20th season, a remarkable achievement, creatively and for the network, the audience and the creators,” Erwich said.
As for Grey’s Anatomy‘s longer-term future, “I think the show is as creatively strong as it’s ever been,” Erwich said. “Not just the live [episodes] you are watching today, but it’s fueling growth for our streaming platform.”
As Deadline reported in December, previous seasons of Grey’s Anatomy will be made available for the first time on a Disney streaming platform when they make their debut on the bundled Disney+/Hulu app and the standalone Hulu service starting in March. The current seasons of the show — the longest-running medical drama on TV — also are available next day on Hulu, making this the first time all existing seasons of the Grey’s are available on the same platform.
“I’m really looking forward to when Grey’s comes on and we get the past seasons on Disney+, that seamless experience,” Erwich said.” And then for people who are still starting with Episode one 20 seasons ago, they can watch it all the way through and are concurrently participate in the conversation that the show generates on a weekly basis.”
In his opening remarks, Erwich noted that “Grey’s was Disney+’s #1 show globally, with over a billion hours streamed.:
As was announced earlier this morning, some familiar faces are set to return in the milestone Season 20 of the hit medical drama including Jessica Capshaw and Alex Landi. They will reprise their original roles of Dr. Arizona Robbins and Dr. Nico Kim, respectively.
Capshaw joined the cast in Season 5 and remained until Season 14, when Arizona left Seattle during the finale to move to New York so that her daughter Sophia could be closer to her other mom, Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez).
Landi recurred on the show from Seasons 15 to 18, before exiting in May 2022. While he was on the show, he was in an on-again off-again relationship with his co-worker Dr. Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli), who is still on the show.
Additionally, Grey’s Anatomy is also adding two new faces, Natalie Morales and Freddy Miyares.
Following Ellen Pompeo’s departure as a series regular last season, her Dr. Meredith Grey will also return as a guest next season.
Dr. Meredith Grey is front and center in the new teaser for Season 20, despite Ellen Pompeo moving to a guest star role to make time for her Hulu limited series Orphan. While Meredith might have moved to Boston at the end of Season 19, it appears she’ll be making a few trips back to Seattle to visit Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in the upcoming episodes.
The teaser opens with Meredith seemingly asking Miranda Bailey, “How long do I have to wait?” — although, it’s not clear what she’s waiting on. In another interaction, Bailey tells Meredith that the interns “are in trouble.”
Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) is also back at Grey Sloan and hovering over the interns after the Season 19 finale when he and Meredith professed their feelings for each other in Boston. Speaking of the interns, they seem to be caught in the thick of plenty of messy situations at the hospital.
Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack) are now a thing, and Richard (James Pickens Jr.) is struggling with his sobriety.
The teaser also gives an update on the fate of Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), whose fate was left hanging in the balance at the end of Season 19 when she collapsed after complaining of a toothache. At the end of the teaser, Winston (Anthony Hill) says that she’s in “critical condition.”
Watch the full trailer above, as well as a previous teaser for Season 20 below. Grey’s Anatomy returns to ABC on March 14. (Video)
The 2002 film will hit the streamer on Feb. 15. The movie hasn’t been on streaming platforms or available from digital retailers since its release.
Crossroads features Spears as “Lucy,” a character who reunites with her childhood best friends Kit (Zoë Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning). A cross-country road trip ensues with Mimi’s friend Ben (Anson Mount).
The film was written by Shonda Rhimes. It returned to theaters last year for two nights in October to coincide with the release of Spears’ memoir, The Woman in Me.
Director Tamra Davis said at that time, “I recently rewatched Crossroads and was so enthralled with the time capsule of nostalgia that this incredible ensemble cast brings to the screen. Britney is absolutely breathtaking to watch, and Shonda is showing us her early expertise in writing complicated female characters.”
Netflix announced the news on social media. “The first movie to ever star the one and only Britney Spears has never been available on streaming… but that’s about to change!” the streamer wrote. “We’re thrilled to announce that Crossroads will finally be available on Netflix — GLOBALLY — starting February 15.”
Crossroads also stars Kim Cattrall, Justin Long, Dan Aykroyd, and Jamie Lynn Spears, who plays the younger version of her sister Britney’s character.
Joining Season 2 in recurring roles are James Purefoy (Rome), Brooke Smith (Grey’s Anatomy), Devika Bhise (The Rookie: Feds), Felix Solis (The Rookie: Feds), Young-Ah Kim (Juvenile Justice), Do Hyun Shin (Hospital Playlist), Sanghee Lee (All of Us Are Dead), Omar Maskati (Good Sam) and Alana Hawley Purvis (Range Roads).
They join previously announced new series regular Teo Yoo (Past Lives), along with returning Season 1 series regulars Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks, Aarti Mann as Violet, Colton Dunn as Lester, Fivel Stewart as Hannah, Kristian Bruun as Janus and Vondie Curtis-Hall as Nyland. Kaylah Zander (Amelia), Maddie Hasson (Nichka) and Angel Parker (Dawn) recurred in Season 1 and were promoted to series regulars for Season 2.
Recurring cast for the upcoming season also includes Daniel Quincy Annoh as Terence, Jesse Collin as Dodge and Nathan Fillion as CIA Director Alton West.
Season 2 of The Recruit finds CIA Lawyer Owen Hendricks (Centineo) pulled into a life-threatening espionage situation in South Korea, only to realize that the bigger threat just might be coming from inside the Agency.
Kim plays Grace, a savvy senior intelligence officer and single mother who is under increasing pressure to discover what the CIA is up to in her country.
Solis is Tom Wallace, a senior diplomat in the State Department tasked with bringing American hostages home, he will talk to anyone to get our people back – even the worst of America’s enemies.
Purefoy portrays Olive Bonner-Jones, a charming, rich British businessman who lives in a world between legal and illegal.
Shin plays Yoo Jin Lee, a free-spirited young woman with a childhood connection to Owen.
Sanghee Lee portrays Nan Hee, a passionate and nurturing Korean aide worker with a sly sense of humor.
Maskati plays Jae King, a jet-setting rich kid with a charming and affable personality.
Smith portrays Marcy Potter, a seasoned and serious CIA Counter Espionage Group officer leading a crucial investigation.
Bhise plays Juno Marsh, an eager CIA Counter Espionage Group officer whose buttoned-up persona masks a bit of a wild side.
Purvis portrays Amanda Fern, a stern and by-the-book CIA Station Chief in Seoul who’s resistant to taking any instruction from a CIA operative.
Yoo plays Jang Kyun, a clever and driven South Korean NIS agent.
Hawley is the show’s creator, showrunner and executive producer. Additionally, Centineo, Doug Liman, Gene Klein, David Bartis, Adam Ciralsky, Charlie Ebersol and Julian Holmes also EP. Lionsgate Television is the studio.
Francis has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her performance as Lily in the Netflix series Dash & Lily from the producers of Stranger Things. Francis can currently be seen in Mindy Kaling’s Max dramedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls and on ABC’s long-running medical series Grey’s Anatomy, where she portrays Dr. Mika Yasuda.
On the feature front, she can be seen starring in Blumhouse’s Unseen for MGM+ alongside Missi Pyle, Jolene Purdy and Ren Hanami, and Netflix’s Afterlife of the Party with Victoria Justice and Adam Garcia.
Midori is recognized for her breakout performance in Universal’s Good Boys from producer Seth Rogen as well as her Drama Desk-nominated performance in NYT Critics’ Pick Usual Girls at the Roundabout Theatre.
Additional credits include The Wolves at Lincoln Center, which is also an NYT Critics’ Pick and Obie Award and Drama Desk Winner and Connected at 59E59 Theaters, an NYIT Award winner. Other credits include Gotham on Fox, The Birch on Facebook Watch and the indie film South Mountain which premiered at SXSW.
She continues to be represented by Circle of Confusion and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
The actors join previously cast series regulars Josh Duhamel, Minka Kelly, James Brolin, Eoin Macken and Lizzy Greene.
Based on the book series by Jodi Thomas, Ransom Canyon is a romance-fueled family drama and contemporary Western saga that charts the intersecting lives of three ranching families, all set against the rugged expanse of Texas Hill Country.
Tejada plays the rough and whip-smart Ellie Estevez, who is the personification of “Do no harm, but take no sh*t,” specifically from resident curmudgeon Cap (Brolin), whom she looks after. Ellie’s young, hungry and driven to make her mark in Ransom Canyon. She has no interest in settling down with a romantic partner, at least not yet, which is why she’s a bit thrown when she crosses paths with mysterious newcomer Yancy.
Schumacher plays the charming yet enigmatic Yancy Grey, a drifter with a secretive, troubled past. No one knows much about this newcomer, and Yancy would like to keep it that way. But his past catches up to him as he fights to hide it from Ellie, Cap, and the town he’s starting to call home.
Wareing plays Lucas Russell. While struggling to provide for his family by working at the Double K Ranch, Lucas is always on the outside looking in. He’s determined to achieve a brighter future than Ransom Canyon has to offer, and he’s got the mind and work ethic to propel him there. This mind-set aligns perfectly with head cheerleader Lauren’s (Greene) desire to leave Ransom, and the two find that may not be the only desire they have in common.
Liner plays Reid Collins. Toeing the line between confident and cocky, Reid seemingly has the perfect life as the star quarterback of Ransom High, Lauren’s boyfriend and heir to the Collins family ranch. He was devastated when his cousin was killed in a car accident but doesn’t let that stop him from living life to the fullest as a 16-year-old with nothing to lose. Behind the arrogant exterior, though, lies a caring, emotional boy eager to be loved and with a secret that’s haunting him.
Robledo plays Jack Yellowbird. Jack is Lucas’ best friend. He is a member of the high school band and has a car. Jack believes in love and does not like guys who are handed a “hall pass” through life.
Johnson plays Kit Russell, Lucas’ well-meaning brother who’s a magnet for trouble. He has a penchant for drinking and women. But despite all his flaws, Kit is a dedicated brother trying his best to take on the role of parent to Lucas.
Ens is Ashley, Lauren’s fellow cheerleader and on- and off-again best friend.
Cullen plays Senator Samuel “Sam” Kirkland, a charismatic, self-serving politician and Staten’s (Duhamel) father. Sam only comes into town with a political angle or to show off his newest wife on occasion. Sam will go as far as to double-cross his own son to get the water pipeline running through Ransom.
Burton plays Katherine Bullock, Quinn’s (Kelly) music mentor. A tough but compassionate New Yorker and the director of the New York Philharmonic, she is determined to whisk Quinn away from Ransom Canyon and return her to the world of classical music in New York City, where she believes Quinn’s talent belongs.
Guardado plays Tim O’Grady, Reid’s eternal shadow and the wide receiver on the football team. Together, Tim and Reid have been through a lot – and are harboring some heavy secrets. Although he butts heads with his mother, Angie, Tim has a strong relationship with his Aunt Quinn.
Winchester plays Sheriff Dan Brigman, Ransom Canyon PD’s no-nonsense sheriff and Lauren’s loving but strict father, determined to keep her away from Lucas. Dan faces the challenges of raising a strong-willed daughter whose only goal is to leave home and caring for a wife with alcohol and mental health issues who abandons her family, all while investigating the hit-and-run death of Staten’s son.
Cortez plays Kai, a deputy on the Ransom Canyon Police Force under Sheriff Dan Lazano. Kai is learning the ropes in his job: picking up drunks, working security detail, and handing out parking tickets when needed. Kai is wary and suspicious of the new foreman in town, Yancy. Kai is protective of Ellie and doesn’t want to see Ellie hurt by Yancy.
Miller plays Freddie, Yancy’s menacing old prison mate. He’s spent time behind bars and it shows. Threatening to expose Yancy’s past (or worse), Freddie follows Yancy to Ransom with the hope of joining whatever con it is Yancy’s hiding
April Blair is the series creator, writer and executive producer. Amanda Marsalis is set to direct the first two of Season 1’s 10 episodes.
Tejada is repped by Karli Doumanis and Jake Miller at Zero Gravity and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman. Schumacher is repped by Stewart Talent. Miller is repped by Joseph Le Talent Agency and Matt Sherman Management.
Ellen Pompeo was joined onstage in a makeshift hospital room by Katherine Heigl, James Pickens, Chandra Wilson and Justin Chambers. Each actor then shared a moment from the show’s long history.
“When the first episode aired in March 2005, Shonda was not sure she knew she created a show that had a lasting imprint,” Pompeo began.
“Over 400 episodes and counting!” continued Chambers, who left the show in 2020. “It’s a tribute to everyone who’s been a part of our family.”
Heigl, who left the show in 2010, had the fun line. “Oh yes there have been some changes over the years, but one thing that has remained a constant is the wonderful fan base.”
Wilson then had the chance to remind everyone “we are officially the longest running primetime medical drama.”
“And it would not be possible without you,” Pickens said.
Producers manufactured several mini-reunion’s at tonight’s ceremony to help celebrate the Emmys’ 75th Anniversary. Other reunions included Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli from The Sopranos and Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold and Anthony Payne III from Martin.
The bit started with Flockhart standing in front of a mirror in a replica of the show’s famous unisex bathroom.
“I knew I drank too much water; I had to take my Spanx off, I had to put my dress back on,” Flockhart is heard “thinking” in a voiceover before she takes a look in the mirror and tells herself, “Girl, you look good.”
That is when there is a series of three toilet flushes, each followed by an Ally McBeal cast member, MacNicol, Bellows and Germann, coming out of a bathroom stall.
One of the signature songs from the show, Barry White’s “You’re the First, The Last, My Everything,” begins playing and the four start dancing, recreating one of the show’s most recognizable scenes. (Below you can watch two versions of the dance from Ally McBeal, including the one in the bathroom.)
“I loved working with Peter, Gil and Greg, and I still do,” Flockhart said as her husband, Harrison Ford, looked on. “The entire Ally McBeal cast was so talented, magical and the show created by the brilliant, 11-time Emmy winner David E. Kelley, groundbreaking, revolutionary, introducing us to a dancing baby and unisex bathrooms. Ally McBeal defied convention with humor and humanity.
Ally McBeal starred Flockhart as Ally, a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish along with her ex-lover and his wife, and followed Ally’s trials and tribulations through life as she looked for love and fulfillment. The main focus of the dramedy was the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, often using legal proceedings as plot device.
The series won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1999, one of seven Emmys and a slew of other major awards for its run. Ally McBeal‘s original cast also included Jane Krakowski, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Lisa Nicole Carson, who were subsequently joined by other actors, including Lucy Liu, Portia de Rossi, musician Vonda Shepard as well as Robert Downey Jr. in one of his first big roles following his 1990s legal troubles en route to his blockbuster career comeback in Iron Man.
Ally McBeal transcended television to become a pop culture phenom and generate memes before memes existed with its infamous dancing baby. It remains influential two decades after its end, with She-Hulk‘s creative team recently listing the dramedy as an inspiration for their Marvel series.
There have been multiple attempts to reboot the series, most recently by ABC in 2022.
Ellen Pompeo, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, James Pickens Jr. and Chandra Wilson will present during the ceremony. And they’re not the only ones.
Some of the actors from Sopranos, Ally McBeal, Martin and more will take the stage on Monday night. Here are all the reunions set for the show:
Sopranos: Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli (also nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama Series)
Martin: Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, Carl Anthony Payne II and Tichina Arnold
Ally McBeal: Calista Flockhart, Greg Germann, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows
SNL Weekend Update: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (also nominated for Outstanding Host, Reality or Competition Program)
American Horror Story: Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott
Grey’s Anatomy: Ellen Pompeo, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, James Pickens Jr. and Chandra Wilson
The TV Academy also teased tributes to All In The Family, Cheers, I Love Lucy.
Additionally, Charlie Puth will perform with husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty for this year’s “In Memoriam.” Blink-182’s Travis Barker is set to open the show with a performance alongside host Anthony Anderson.
THE SHOW OF THE YEAR
Grey’s Anatomy
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Only Murders in the Building
Saturday Night Live
Ted Lasso
The Bear
The Last of Us
Vanderpump Rules
THE DRAMA SHOW OF THE YEAR
Chicago Fire
Ginny & Georgia
Grey’s Anatomy
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Outer Banks
Succession
The Last of Us
The Morning Show
You’ll recall that back in Season 18, Levi pulled the plug on his relationship with on-again/off-again love interest Nico after his flouting of “the Webber Method” cost a patient his life and sent him spiraling into a pit of despair. Schmitt even vowed that he wouldn’t be returning to work at Grey Sloan. (We all know how that turned out.)
Subsequently, Levi tried to explain to Nico that when his significant other had paid him a visit, he’d been in terrible pain. When the shoe had been on the other foot, Schmitt added, he’d continued to show up for Nico.
“I guess that’s the difference between me and you,” Nico said. And that was that. He ended up taking a job with the Seattle Mariners and scrubbing out of Grey Sloan. (Rewatch the fraught scene below.)
Whether Landi’s Grey’s Anatomy comeback means that Nico and Levi will try, try again remains to be seen. His post is a photo of himself in scrubs with a caption that reads simply “Season 20.”
Elsewhere in the only-partially-new trailer for the WGA- and SAG-AFTRA-strike-delayed season, Mer — looming large despite OG Ellen Pompeo’s reduced presence on the long-running drama — expresses her impatience. No doubt she’s hitting a speed bump on the road that she hoped to barrel down in order to cure Alzheimer’s disease stat.
Also, we’re reminded that Link and Jo are now coupled up, Simone slept with Lucas on what was supposed to be her and Trey’s wedding day, and Richard is facing temptation in the form of a vodka tonic. As for Teddy, who you’ll recall had been felled by a toothache, she’s wound up in critical condition, Winston reports. (Mind you, we can only be so worried, considering that Kim Raver’s contract status was announced before her character landed with a thud on the floor of the O.R.)
Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres on Thursday, March 14, at 9/8c, preceding rather than following spinoff Station 19, which returns for its seventh and final season that same night at 10/9.
Williams will be feted with the inaugural HRTS Change Maker Award during a gala event December 14 at the Beverly Hilton, where he will join HRTS Board President, HRTS Foundation Board Member and Head of Drama Series, Amazon Studios, Odetta Watkins for an onstage conversation about his career and activism.
The event will be hosted by Matt Friend.
Williams recently appeared in Paramount’s Secret Headquarters with Owen Wilson, Netflix’s Your Place or Mine with Reese Witherspoon, and Season 3 of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building with Meryl Streep, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez.
Williams operates multimedia company Visibility, co-founded with artist Glenn Kaino, all while connecting students to more than $100 million in scholarship money via college scholarship app Scholly, where he is both a company partner and ambassador. He is also the youngest to sit on the board of directors for both Advancement Project, a leading national civil rights organization, and Harry Belafonte’s arts and social justice organization Sankofa.org.
“We are honored to see The HRTS Foundation Gala emerge as the annual gathering point for the entertainment community following last year’s HRTS 75th Anniversary Gala, which launched the HRTS Foundation,” said Watkins. “And we are thrilled to honor Jesse Williams, who’s inclusive and justice-centered approach to his career embodies the mission of The HRTS Foundation.”
Hulu and Netflix, the longtime SVOD home of the venerable series, will share the co-exclusive domestic streaming rights to all prior 19 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, which is headed into Season 20 on ABC, extending its record as the longest-running primetime medical drama. The series will be available on both the bundled Disney app and the standalone Hulu service.
Securing Grey’s Anatomy for the foreseeable future is part of a short-term domestic content agreement between Disney Entertainment and Netflix — now being finalized — in which Disney is licensing 14 popular library TV series to Netflix on a non-exclusive basis for 18 months. The list includes Lost, This Is Us, Prison Break, Archer, How I Met Your Mother, White Collar, Home Improvement, The Resident, ESPN 30 for 30, My Wife and Kids, Reba, The Bernie Mac Show and the recent Wonder Years reboot.
During the 18-month window, the series will continue to be available on the Disney platform they are currently on (Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+) as well as other third-parties, SVOD, AVOD or linear that they have been licensed to.
The 14th show, The Hughleys, will become available to stream for the first time next year on both Hulu and Netflix. You can see a full list of the titles with their Netflix launch dates at the bottom of the story.
Disney CEO Bob Iger alluded to the deal during the company’s Q4 investor call last month, noting that Disney was “in discussion” with Netflix about “some opportunities” in the content licensing space.
The pact comes at a time of streaming resurgence for Grey’s Anatomy, which has been a Top 3 fixture in the weekly Nielsen ratings during the past couple of months, getting as high as No.2 multiple times and twice crossing the 1 billion-minute mark.
Securing Grey’s Anatomy for the official launch of Disney’s “one-app experience” — whose beta version rolled out Wednesday for bundle subscribers — makes a statement and was important to Disney brass, I hear.
While not quite on the same scale, the move draws parallels to Disney’s efforts to make all Star Wars movies available for the launch of Disney+. Their streaming rights also were tied up at the time, so the company had to reach an agreement to make the films available on Disney+ within its first year of operation.
Much like Star Wars has been synonymous with the Disney brand since its acquisition of Lucasfilm, Grey’s Anatomy has been one of the company’s most recognizable global TV titles for the past two decades and the only current ABC hit whose library is not available on Hulu. (Last year, Hulu made a deal for the Warner Bros. TV-produced Abbott Elementary to share it with WBTV sibling Max.)
With Hulu also having in-season stacking rights to all ABC series, it will be the only streamer to offer the entire run of Grey’s Anatomy, with exclusive next-day availability of all episodes from the upcoming 20th season alongside the 19 prior seasons, shared with Netflix.
Hulu has been beefing up its library offerings, recently licensing such popular series titles from outside studios as House, 30 Rock, Schitt’s Creek, Living Single and Who’s the Boss, as well as two Disney-produced shows, New Girl, which had been exclusive to Netflix for years, and Moonlighting, making its long-awaited streaming debut.
The Disney deal also benefits Netflix, whose initial success was built entirely on licensed programming. The streamer likes the economics of the model and has done well with mainstay library titles such as Grey’s Anatomy and Gilmore Girls, which have been Nielsen Top 10 staples, and previously The Office and Friends. On the heels of the massive success of Suits on the platform, Netflix has been looking for opportunities to license more well known (sometimes slightly forgotten) series, and most of the Disney shows on the list fit that bill.
“We believe this will deliver additional value for our members (i.e., engagement), as well as for rights holders who benefit from the increased awareness and revenue that Netflix delivers, in addition to the new life that success on Netflix can drive,” the company said in its Q3 earnings results in October, signaling its renewed licensing efforts.
After a push for exclusivity in the early years of the streaming wars, traditional media companies gradually have reverted to a model balancing exclusivity and sharing content through licensing for an additional revenue stream amid a renewed focus to profitability.
“It’s the more natural state of the business,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last week at the UBS media conference. “They’ve always built the studios to license. The unnatural state was, I think, the kind of forced vertical integration. So I think that there will be opportunities for us to license, and I think more than just opportunities.”
Multiple licensed series under the new deal, including Lost, Archer and How I Met Your Mother, previously had been on Netflix, where they had done well before leaving the platform to stay within the ecosystem of their studios’ parent companies. (Years ago, Prison Break was available on Netflix in several international territories.)
“We’ve been licensing content to Netflix, and are going to continue to,” Iger said on the Disney Q4 call. “We’re actually in discussion with them now about some opportunities, but I wouldn’t expect that we will license our core brands to them.”
He went on to specify what kind of programming the company would not be licensing.
“Those are obviously competitive advantages for us and differentiators,” he said. “Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, for instance — they are all doing very, very well on our platform and I don’t see why, just to basically chase bucks, we should do that when they are really really important building blocks to the current and future of our streaming business.”
Also held back are successful current animated series like Family Guy or classic titles like Golden Girls, which have been exclusive to Hulu for streaming and have consistently done well, continuing to drive demand.
The 14 series included in the licensing agreement with Netflix come from various Disney TV production units. The vast majority of them have had successful original runs on broadcast/cable, which have ended, in syndication and, with the exception of The Hughleys, have also had exposure to streaming, so they have already brought in substantial value — and revenue.
Now they will look for new and wider audiences by expanding their presence beyond Hulu in the way NBCU’s Suits has found new viewers beyond Peacock and Prime Video once it was shared on Netflix earlier this year in a similar limited non-exclusive secondary window.
HBO also has started licensing some of its previously exclusive original series to Netflix. Like the Disney batch, most of them are well known, hit shows like Six Feet Under or Insecure but not part of signature HBO franchises like Game of Thrones.
With its intricate, serialized storytelling, This Is Us appears well suited for a successful Netflix run. The streamer actually was among the bidders for the SVOD rights to the hit NBC drama, which Hulu landed in 2017.
Meanwhile, Netflix might look for lightning to strike twice with White Collar, which was part of the same successful era of “blue sky” USA Network dramas as Suits.
The success of Suits on Netflix revived interest in the series, leading to a new Los Angeles-set offshoot series, as Deadline exclusively reported.
Sarandos referenced the Suits spinoff at UBS, noting that “we added a ton of value to that IP.”
Hulu and Prison Break studio 20th TV likely are hoping for a similar surge for the former Fox drama from the added Netflix run since, as Deadline reported exclusively, a new Prison Break installment is in the works at Hulu.
The Disney-Netflix deal starts a new chapter for Grey’s Anatomy, whose influence has transcended its own success. It was one of the first broadcast series to hit it big on Netflix, opening the door for others to find new audiences on streaming. The strong performance of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix also played a major part of the streamer’s pursuit of series’ creator Shonda Rhimes, whose pact there brought a seismic change to the TV overall deal business.
The medical drama’s continuous popularity on Netflix has exposed it to new generations of fans who discover it and stick with it. That likely has helped the series’ longevity as it remains a top ratings draw on ABC 19 seasons in. (But that also had kept Grey’s Anatomy exclusive to Netflix for streaming as the platform’s deals for broadcast series typically expire several years after the end of their network run.)
Last season, Grey’s ranked as the No. 1 broadcast drama among Women 18-34 and finished among the Top 3 with Adults 18-34, Women 18-49 and Women 25-54. The show averaged 9.6 million total viewers and 3.02 adults 18-49 rating after 35 days across linear and streaming, nearly tripling its initial Live+Same Day average viewership and shooting up a staggering 586% among 18-49.
Here is a list of the Disney series getting a Netflix window with the start date:
The Wonder Years: 1/1/2024
This is Us: 1/8/2024
My Wife & Kids: 2/5/2024
ESPN 30 for 30: 25 episodes; premiere dates vary between from February to December
The Resident: 3/4/2024
White Collar: 4/1/2024
Reba: 5/6/2024
Archer: 5/13/2024
How I Met You Mother: 6/3/2024
Lost: 7/1/2024
Prison Break: 7/29/2024
The Hughleys: 9/2/2024 (also coming to Hulu)
The Bernie Mac Show: 1/1/2025
Home Improvement: 2/1/2025.
Before it signs off, Station 19 will hit the 100th episode mark in Season 7, which was impacted by the double Hollywood strikes. The series has aired 95 episodes to date; its seventh season will consist of 10 episodes.
Boosted by frequent Grey’s Anatomy crossovers, over the last few seasons, Station 19 established itself as ABC’s No.2 drama series behind Grey’s. Over its run, the series also has been lauded for tackling important — and sometimes difficult — topics and recently received a Sentinel Award from Hollywood, Health & Society for its depiction of systemic racism in Season 6.
Station 19 has undergone significant changes heading into Season 7. It has new showrunners in Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige who succeeded Krista Vernoff. (Clack had been named head writer in August 2022 amid an upheaval in the series’ writers room, which exposed long-simmering racial issues on the show.)
In Season 7, which premieres March 14, Station 19 also is moving from 8 PM to 10 PM on Thursday and will now follow Grey’s Anatomy vs. being its lead-in. As Deadline reported last month, the scheduling tweak signals a new dynamic between the two dramas, with the spinoff being less reliant on the mothership series and standing on its own, with only one crossover currently planned for the upcoming abbreviated season.
In addition to Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige, Stacy McKee, Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Paris Barclay also serve as executive producers on the series, produced by ABC Signature, part of Disney TV Studios, and Shondaland.
“For seven seasons Station 19 has been a highlight of the ABC lineup thanks to Shonda and Betsy’s incredible vision, beloved characters and compelling storytelling,” said Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group. “With Zoanne and Peter at the helm of the upcoming farewell season, we have so much to look forward to, most notably the celebration of the show’s milestone 100th episode.”
Created by McKee, Station 19 is set in Seattle and focuses on the lives of the men and women at Seattle Fire Station 19. It stars Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon, Barrett Doss, Alberto Frezza, Jay Hayden, Okieriete Onaodowan, Danielle Savre, Miguel Sandoval, Boris Kodjoe, Stefania Spampinato, Carlos Miranda, Josh Randall, Merle Dandridge, and Pat Healy.
As Station 19 is planning its exit, ABC is adding a new first responder drama, Fox transplant 9-1-1, which will be taking over Station 19?s Thursday 8 PM slot.
Currently in production in Montenegro, the film follows a charming young man (Withers) who makes himself part of a destination wedding to exact revenge on the family’s patriarch (Dane) by seducing his affluent goddaughter (Mitchell) and befriending the groom-to-be (Doherty). But as their relationship gets steamier, the truth gets closer to the surface, forcing the question of whether anyone is safe… and who is conning who?
Directing the pic is Malik Vitthal, the filmmaker best known for his law enforcement horror Body Cam starring Mary J. Blige and Nat Wolff, as well as the John Boyega Netflix drama Imperial Dreams, which won the Best of Next! Audience Award at Sundance. Writers of the most recent draft of the script are Shanrah Wakefield and Adrienne Love.
Kaplan produces for ACE Entertainment, which is also financing the feature, with Christopher Foss, Matthew Janzen, Aubrey Bendix, and Braden Bochner overseeing production for the company. Samantha Schlaifer is co-producing.
Best known for roles on Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy, Dane most recently wrapped production on the thriller Borderline with Samara Weaving and the motorcycle racing pic One Fast Move opposite K.J. Apa. Next, he can be seen in Tony Tost’s directorial debut National Anthem from Bron Studios, co-starring Sydney Sweeney, Halsey, and Paul Walter Hauser, which premiered at SXSW.
One of the stars of ABC’s The Fosters and its spin-off Good Trouble, as well as an EP on the latter, Mitchell can currently be seen opposite Thomas Brodie-Sangster and David Thewlis in the Star Original Series The Artful Dodger, an Australian production that is available globally on Disney+, and on Hulu in the U.S.
In addition to the Rebel Wilson Netflix pic Senior Year, Withers has been seen on shows like Atlanta, Tell Me Lies and Legacies, among others.
Previously starring in Max’s Gossip Girl reboot, as well as the Sony horror thriller The Invitation opposite Nathalie Emmanuel, Doherty’s other TV credits include Hulu’s High Fidelity and HBO/Sky Atlantic’s Catherine the Great. Up next for him is Dandelion, an IFC pic in which he’ll be seen starring opposite KiKi Layne.
Founded by Kaplan in 2017, ACE Entertainment is best known for producing Netflix’s beloved To All the Boys series, as well as such titles as The Perfect Date, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between, Love in Taipei, and Love at First Sight. Most recently, the company wrapped production on Recipe for Love, starring Maia Reficco, Kit Connor, and Kate del Castillo, and writer-director Tommy Dorfman’s I Wish You All The Best starring Corey Fogelmanis, Alexandra Daddario, Cole Sprouse, and Lena Dunham.
Dane is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Mitchell by WME, Anonymous Content, and Myman Greenspan Fox; Withers by Paradigm, Forward Talent, and Play Management; Doherty by WME, Anonymous Content, Olivia Bell in the UK, and Peikoff Mahan Law Office; and Vitthal by CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Presented by Hollywood, Health & Society at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center for more than two decades, the Sentinel Awards recognize writers for meaningful and accurate portrayals onscreen on such timely topics as abortion, systemic racism, climate change and mental health. Larry Wilmore hosted the ceremony, which came the night that Lear died at age 101.
Attendees heard a statement from Lyn Lear read at the start of the show by Marty Kaplan, founding director of the Norman Lear Center.
“I would have been there tonight if not for the passing of our beloved Norman,” she wrote. “He was so proud of the work of The Lear Center and Hollywood Health and Society. And he would not have wanted all of us to mourn. He would want us to celebrate the important shows you are honoring tonight, and most of all… he would want us to laugh.”
Wilmore joked, “Well you got to say this about Norman – the man knew how to make an exit. He knew his audience. And wanted us to make sure we were all listening.”
He continued, “A giant has left us and we’re going to do him proud. This evening meant a lot to Norman, because he believed television can reflect our best. That’s why the Sentinel Awards were created – to honor television’s best and brightest writing.”
Here are the winners of the 2023 Sentinel Awards:
Depiction of Abortion
Julie Wong, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), “When I Get to the Border”
Depiction of A.I.
Tara Hernandez & Damon Lindelof, Mrs. Davis (Peacock), “The Final Intercut: So I’m Your Horse”
Depiction of Breast Cancer
Brent Fletcher & Todd Helbing, Superman & Lois (The CW), four-episode storyline
Depiction of Disabilities
Matt Fleckenstein, Zach Anner, and Gillian Grassie, Best Foot Forward (Apple TV+), “Halloween”
Depiction of Climate Change
Scott Z. Burns, Extrapolations (Apple TV+), ‘2046: Whale Fall”
Depiction of Diplomacy
Debora Cahn and Anna Haden, The Diplomat (Netflix), “Some Lusty Tornado”
Depiction of Economic Disparities
Chris Estrada, Matt Ingebretson, Pat Bishop, Jake Weisman, This Fool (Hulu), “Los Botes”
Depiction of End of Life
Liz Tigelaar, Tiny Beautiful Things (Hulu), “The Nose”
Depiction of Maternal Health
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman Is in Trouble (FX on Hulu), “Me-Time”
Depiction of Mental Health
Adam Kay, This is Going to Hurt (AMC+) “Episode 6”, BBC
Depiction of Systemic Racism
Zoanne Clack and Zaiver Sinnett, Station 19 (ABC), “We Build Then We Break”
Pompeo, who starred as Meredith Grey in the ABC medical drama since the series’ launch, appeared as a series regular through Season 19. She last appeared as a series regular in the February 23 winter return, her final day at Grey Sloan Memorial as she heads off to Boston where she has accepted a job offer to work on Alzheimer’s research.
“The first episode is the one I’m going to direct, so she won’t be too far,” Allen said of Pompeo. “We have to let her go and do some other things, but she’s still our queen. She’s still our number one.”
Pompeo remains an executive producer on Grey’s and provides the voiceover that opens and closes each episode.
Pompeo scaled back her appearances in Season 19 to eight episodes as she segued to doing new projects, starting with a Hulu limited series which she is starring in and executive producing. There was no acting deal for Pompeo beyond Season 19, but it was expected that she would make periodic returns to the show. As previously announced, there also will be a new showrunner in Season 20 with Meg Marinis replacing Krista Vernoff after four seasons.
New original series Wild Cards starring Vanessa Morgan (Riverdale) and Giacomo Gianniotti (Grey’s Anatomy) will lead starting at 8/7c. The series is a crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist that follows the unlikely duo of a by-the-book, sardonic cop and a spirited, clever con woman.
“Cole Ellis (Gianniotti) is a demoted detective who has begrudgingly spent the last year on the maritime unit, while Max Mitchell (Morgan) has been living a transient life elaborately scamming everyone she meets,” reads the official description. “But while arrested and being held at the station, Max ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime. The two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves — Ellis needs to get back to his detective post and Max needs to stay out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, each using their unique skills to solve crimes. For Ellis, that means hard-boiled shoe leather police work; for Max, it means accents, disguises, schemes and generally befriending everyone in sight, while driving Ellis absolutely nuts. The two will have to learn what it means to trust another person and maybe actually become partners.”
Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills, 90210) joins the series as George, Max’s father who taught her everything she knows. Although he’s in prison, he still holds major influence throughout his surroundings, both with inmates and guards.
Following at 9/8c will be Season 3 of Canadian import Family Law, which follows Abby (Jewel Staite) and her dysfunctional family as they help other dysfunctional families — all while navigating their own personal dramas.
“Clear of her probation and divorce, Abby is riding high at Svensson & Svensson, but the hard work of reckoning with her past is just beginning,” reads the description. “She moves on to AA’s Step Four — writing her moral inventory — and begins her nesting arrangement with Frank (Luke Camilleri). On her off weeks, she still lives with her mother Joanne (Lauren Holly), whose rekindled relationship with Harry (Victor Garber) is churning up all of Abby’s childhood trauma. Meanwhile, Harry revels in Abby and Daniel’s (Zach Smadu) cutthroat competition for top earner at the firm until his reckless past comes back to haunt him. Daniel’s romance with Martina (Miranda Edwards) is cut short when her boyfriend Quinn (Thomas Cadrot) returns – and takes on a new layer of complexity when Quinn befriends Daniel. And Lucy (Genelle Williams), trying to find her feet after Maggie’s (Ali Liebert) betrayal, throws herself into a new relationship — one that she intends to make work no matter what.”
Current Wednesday night occupants Sullivan’s Crossing (previously renewed for Season 2) and The Spencer Sisters wrap their freshman runs on Dec. 13.
For a third year in a row, the Black Reel Awards will fete a slate of special honorees, awarding the Oscar Micheaux Memorial, Sidney Poitier Trailblazer, Ruby Dee Humanitarian and its Vanguard Award among others. The latter will now be known as the Chadwick Boseman Vanguard Award to honor both the recipient and memory of the prolific Boseman, who died of cancer in 2020 at age 43.
The first Chadwick Boseman Vanguard Award recipient is Colman Domingo, who this year can be seen portraying civil rights leader Bayard Rustin in the Netflix film Rustin and as Mister in the movie musical The Color Purple.
The Black Reel awards committee also this year created the Diahann Carroll Icon Award to recognize outstanding work in television, and will give the inaugural Diahann Carroll Executive Award to Shonda Rhimes. The producer, author and screenwriter is known for her run of successful series including Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Station 19, Bridgerton and more.
The Oscar Micheaux Memorial Award, which recognizes the work of an industry executive, will be awarded this year to costume designer Ruth E. Carter, the only African-American woman to win multiple Oscars. Her credits include Spike Lee projects School Daze, Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X and with Marvel and Ryan Coogler in both of the Black Panther movies.
The Sidney Poitier Trailblazer Award, which recognizes the work of an outstanding actor, will be awarded to Samuel L. Jackson. The Ruby Dee Humanitarian award will be presented to Abbott Elementary star and activist Sheryl Lee Ralph.
“I am pleased to salute the lifelong accomplishments of our 2024 honorees,” Black Reel Awards founder and CEO Tim Gordon said today. “However, I am most proud that our organization has taken the opportunity to honor the legacy left behind by a talent that seemed to be overlooked by others, Chadwick Boseman. The inclusion of his name along with the introduction of the Diahann Carroll award gives me great joy.”
The 24th Annual Black Reel Awards will be broadcast on January 16, 2024.
“You know, I don’t live in LA. So I wasn’t on the picket lines every day. I wasn’t going to lose my job, or my house, or my car, or not be able to pay my kid’s school tuition. But the strike was for those people, for the people who make much less as writers than I do, who are trying to get a living wage. And we’re trying to make sure that their futures are assured.”
During a Q&A at The New York Times DealBook conference, she was asked if she ever worried about being blamed to some extent for moving viewers to Netflix as streaming services (led by Netflix) disrupted the television landscape. Streaming residuals were a big issue in both the writers and actors in the recent strikes. Rhimes was one of the first to sign a major talent deal with the company in 2017, jumping from her longtime home at ABC.
“I will admit that I was sort of waiting for someone to say, ‘You made the first big deal that started people moving into streaming…And therefore, like, this is partially your fault.”
She did not make the move for the money, which was substantial, but for a change and creative freedom. “I’d been making television at one place for such a long time, she said, referencing her long-time home at Disney. “And at the time, I remember The Crown was on Netflix [and] someone was telling me that they spent $12 million an episode on The Crown. And I thought, that’s an insane, amazing…And you could see that they could do things there that you can’t do on [broadcast] television. I liked the challenge of that.”
She recalled a conversation with co-CEO Ted Sarandos “where I said, ‘I just want to make shows and be left alone’.” And she went, followed by Ryan Murphy and others. ”It started a big sort of chain of people moving to streaming.”
On the economics of streaming, she cautioned, “It works for Netflix, but doesn’t work for anybody else.”
Asked what she’s watching, she said, “I’m not watching television….I mean, I encourage everyone to watch Netflix obviously. But I have not watched narrative programming in a while. And I think it’s because I wanted to give my brain a break.” There’s “some really great stuff out there” and she doesn’t want it to influence her projects or writing. “But I also have been watching a lot more documentary programming, sports programming. I don’t know why, but that’s what’s interesting to me right now.”
Season two starts where season one finale left off, with Kat Landry (Leigh) exclaiming to her mom Del (MacDowell) that she knows what happened to Jacob Landry (Remy Smith). As Kat continues her quest to find Jacob and bring him home, mother and daughter uncover unexpected revelations about their origins that bring answers to some questions while new ones are raised.
The new direction was underscored by a scheduling change the following season, swapping medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, which had been airing Thursdays at 8 PM, and first responder series Station 19, which had been occupying the 9 PM hour.
The tweak made crossovers seamless, with Station 19‘s firefighters and paramedics responding to an accident and then taking patients to Grey Sloan Memorial where the doctors from Grey’s Anatomy would treat them.
That has been the case for the past three and a half seasons, punctuated by frequent crossovers. But today, ABC unveiled its midseason schedule, in which Station 19 is moving from 8 PM to 10 PM for Season 7 to make room for fellow first responder drama 9-1-1. In the new setup, Station 19 will follow Grey’s Anatomy, which remains at 9 PM for its 20th season. That is not very conducive to integrated storylines and crossovers.
With Vernoff departing both Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 at the end of last season and each series getting a new showrunner, the two shows’ storytelling is expected to diverge and become more independent.
For instance, only one crossover is currently planned for the upcoming abbreviated season, in which Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 are expected to produce 10 episodes each due to the double strike, I hear.
Going forward, Station 19 is expected to be less reliant on Grey’s Anatomy and stand on its own, focused on its own evolution.
MONDAY, JAN. 22
8:00 p.m. “The Bachelor” (two hours)
10:01 p.m. “20/20” (all-new limited edition true-crime series, title to be announced)
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7
8:00 p.m. “The Conners”
8:30 p.m. “Not Dead Yet”
9:00 p.m. “Abbott Elementary” (one-hour premiere)
10:00 p.m. “Judge Steve Harvey”
SUNDAY, FEB. 18
8:00 p.m. “American Idol” (two hours)
10:00 p.m. “What Would You Do?”
TUESDAY, FEB. 20
8:00 p.m. “Will Trent”
9:00 p.m. “The Rookie”
10:00 p.m. “The Good Doctor”
THURSDAY, MARCH 14
8:00 p.m. “9-1-1” (First Look)
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Station 19”
As Deadline reported Wednesday night, just minutes after the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike was announced after the actors guild and the studios reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, TV casts and crews started receiving notifications for tentative start dates in late November and early December.
Here is a running list of the TV series that will be leading the way in return to production. We will be updating it continuously as new production dates are set, including for series like Netflix’s Stranger Things, Max’s The Penguin, Welcome To Derry and Hacks and Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, which are expected to start filming very soon. All dates are tentative and subject to change.
For now, it looks like NBC/Warner Bros TV’s NIGHT COURT would be leading the way in post-strike production restart with a 11/15 target return to production.
Other series looking at a tentative late-November production start, with a post-Thanksgiving 11/27 kickoff the most common:
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
THE ROOKIE
GREY’S ANATOMY
BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA
NCIS
TRACKER
YOUNG SHELDON
FBI
FBI: INTERNATIONAL
FBI: MOST WANTED
THE EQUALIZER
BLUE BLOODS
CHICAGO FIRE
CHICAGO PD
CHICAGO MED
LAW & ORDER
LAW & ORDER: SVU
THE IRRATIONAL
QUANTUM LEAP
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
THE SANDMAN
Early December start:
THE CLEANING LADY,
ALL AMERICAN
9-1-1
WILL TRENT
GHOSTS
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
DUSTER
GROWN-ISH
“I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life,” the 57-year-old actor told the magazine. “It’s nice to have the recognition, and certainly my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive.”
When first told that he would be People’s next sexy cover man, Dempsey said “I was completely shocked, and then I started laughing, like, this is a joke, right? I’ve always been the bridesmaid! I’d completely forgotten about it and never even contemplated being in this position. So my ego is good.”
Dempsey, who left Grey‘s in 2015 but made a cameo as McDreamy in 2021, is set to appear as Italian driver Piero Taruffi next month in Michael Mann’s Ferrari. The actor made a big splash at D23 Expo last year when he showed up with a very white head of hair; he bleached it for the role as the F1 driver.
Dempsey, who is an accomplished racer himself, told Deadline at the Venice Film Festival that he went after the role aggressively, and called the script “the best I’ve read in and around the motorsport world.”
As weeks went by with SAG-AFTRA and the studios talking but no deal, the goal post started moving again as it had done in July, August and September, a period when network series would typically be in production but remained idle due to the double strike.
Nothing is set in stone but 10 episodes has emerged as a threshold — a “sweet spot” as one agent put it — for season length during the strikes-impacted 2023-24 season. A shorter order is not considered very feasible given the expenses involved in getting production up and running and then winding it down, making episodes more expensive when the overall cost is amortized across the season.
I hear ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy is among the top series that (for the moment) are planning to produce a 10-episode season. CBS’ CSI: Vegas is another series that is looking at a 10-episode season.
The Wolf Entertainment dramas, including the One Chicago and Law & Order franchises on NBC and the FBI trio for CBS, are currently positioned to deliver 13 episodes, I hear.
Most other returning series fall into that 10-13 episode target range. I hear some established shows could get early renewals for next season and film the two orders back-to-back, to air in midseason 2024 and fall 2024 run. Reps for the broadcast networks and studios declined comment.
Of course, this is all fluid and can easily change as SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP continue talks. Because things have been shifting so often, I hear networks and studios’ finance departments have been re-crunching numbers weekly — if not daily — calculating costs based on revised production start date and episode order projections.
Originally, when the writers strike ended Sept. 27, the broadcast networks and the studios that supply them were betting on a seamless transition — for the SAG-AFTRA strike to end within a month after the WGA work stoppage so series could go into production the moment there is enough scripts written to kick off filming. For well oiled machines like the Wolf series, I hear that window was about five weeks of a writers room, so they could’ve started production next week if an actors agreement had been reached.
That has not happened, and a returning series does need 3-6 weeks for prep and pre-production, so, with the Thanksgiving holiday around the corner, the hope now is for a SAG-AFTRA deal and a call to end of the strike during ratification in the next week so filming on the first shows can start at the end of November or start of December. That would allow established series to produce 13 episodes, which would fit within the broadcast season.
A beginning of January start could also work for some shows to be able to produce 10 episodes that would be able to air before the end of the season in May.
A shortened Christmas break and six-day weeks of filming also are being considered to get episodes in the can faster, I hear.
As for launch pads, mid-February after the Super Bowl has been a main target to get fresh scripted episodes on the air, with early March also in consideration.
The situation is far more complicated with new series, which need more time to get production up and running and often need longer to get traction with viewers. Facing tight production schedule and limited runway in spring 2024, ABC’s high-profile new entry High Potential already was pushed to fall; there likely will be others as we get further into November.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by last night’s tragedy in my hometown,” Dempsey wrote on Instagram Thursday. “Maine’s great strength is it’s [sic] sense of community, and how we are being asked to come together to support everyone that has been devastated by this senseless act. My family and I are heartbroken for the victims, their family and the community.”
Dempsey’s reaction to a massacre in the small town where he grew up recalls that of Matthew McConaughey who, less than a year ago, found himself reacting to the senseless killing of 19 students and two adults in a school shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas (pop. 15,000).
Comedians Pete Davidson and John Mulaney each postponed their weekend shows in Maine in the wake of the tragedy last night.
A suspect in the shooting is still at large.
According to sources, going back on Monday are the writers rooms for ABC Signature’s Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) and Criminal Minds: Evolution (co-production with CBS Studios for Paramount+). Disney TV Studios sibling 20th Television has series 9-1-1 (now on ABC) and the animated Fox trio of Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons also are set for a Monday start.
Showtime/eOne’s Yellowjackets, whose Season 3 writers room shut down after one day as the WGA strike started, will resume Wednesday, I hear.
Starting early next week are also writers rooms for CBS Studios’ CBS series Ghosts, NCIS, Fire Country, and The Neighborhood, among others, sources said.
Also intended to open next week are the writers rooms for Warner Bros. TV’s Abbott Elementary (ABC, co-production with 20th TV), The Sex Lives of College Girls (Max), Young Sheldon (CBS) as well as The Cleaning Lady and the upcoming Rescue: Hi-Surf (Fox, co-productions with Fox Entertainment), along with Fox Entertainment’s Animal Control (Fox) and Sony TV/Fox Entertainment’s Alert (Fox)
Universal Television’s NBC drama Quantum Leap, which was in production when the WGA strike started, will reopen its Season 2 writers room on Monday, I hear. The studio’s Law & Order (NBC) and FBI (CBS, co-production with CBS Studios) also are expected to be back writing next week, possibly joined by Law & Order: SVU. Additionally, eying a writers room opening next week is Mike Schur’s new Netflix comedy series The Mole Agent starring Ted Danson, I hear.
There is a slew of series teed up for a writers room kickoff the week of Oct. 6.
For HBO, the main priority now is getting tentpoles The White Lotus, Euphoria and The Last Of Us up and running right away. All three were supposed to start writing the new seasons just before or during of the WGA strike for planned 2024 launches. All thee also have been written solely by their creators, Mike White, Sam Levinson and Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann, respectively, something they can continue to do so under the new WGA deal.
There has been a flurry of activity at the TV studios over the past week, following the tentative agreement reached by the WGA and AMPTP Sunday night.
“While everyone had been preparing for months, the resolution with the deal still felt sudden,” one industry insider said in reference to the mad dash this week.
Additionally, studios also had not been able to speak with their showrunners until Wednesday of this week. The two sides have been in conversations since about when it would make sense to open a writers room for each show based on when production might start.
That applies especially to broadcast where writing and filming overlap. Timing on film and TV production restart is still up in the air as SAG-AFTRA remains on strike. (But the guild and AMPTP are restarting negotiations on Monday riding the momentum from WGA and AMPTP closing their deal.)
Broadcast series are already months behind their regular schedule. As the networks try to get as many episodes of their most popular scripted series on the air as possible, the earlier the writers rooms open, the more in-season episodes a show can produce if the SAG-AFTRA strike ends within the next month or so. The most they could get is expected to be 12-13 for a drama.
Studio executives have also been busy this week parsing through the Memorandum of the WGA agreement to decipher how it would impact the different aspects of development and production. There are significant changes coming to writers rooms, including sizes (with minimum staffing) and writers’ guaranteed involvement in production, which, if the agreement is ratified, will come into effect Dec. 1 for seasons that start the writing process after that date.
New series in general will take a little longer to open writers rooms because they need to get staffing done first and also have to account for a lengthier pre-production, including casting and stage building.
In years past, the so call “staffing season” created a feeding frenzy in April and May when the the broadcast series — then the biggest game in town — went through a hiring process of writers for the new season.
I hear there is a similar frenzy now as thousands of TV writers are launching job searches at the same time post-strike, making for a very competitive staffing season. The pool of available writers looking for work is wider because, as Deadline reported, a number of term deals reinstated after the strike this week were not extended. Additionally, there were a slew of cancellations and unrenewals during the work stoppage, releasing dozens of writers.
The Oct. 14 event, to take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, also will recognize four transgender kids and teenagers, Grayson McFerrin, Libby Gonzales, Hobbes Chukumba, and Daniel Trujillo, who organized Trans Youth Prom.
Rhimes will be honored with the National Equality Award, Waithe with the Visibility Award and Bomer with the Impact Award.
HRC also is launching a new event as part of the weekend, the Equality Convention, which will take place the night before the dinner. The event will feature political and cultural figures as well as volunteers and other movement leaders to talk about LGBTQ+ equality.
Kelley Robinson, president of HRC, said in a statement that the three honorees “are pioneers in their field and deserve to be celebrated for the immeasurable contributions they’ve made to the LGBTQ+ community.”
In June, HRC declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States, citing the wave of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ rights. More than 525 bills were introduced in 41 states in 2023, according to the group.
In Season 3 of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Meryl Streep’s struggling actress Loretta Durkin lands the audition of a lifetime. “It’s an offshoot of an offshoot of a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff,” she explains in Episode 3 (out Tuesday). And the name of that spinoff is… Grey’s New Orleans: Family Burn Unit.
“It’s for the mother of a dermatologist, so she has a backstory. And lines!” an excited Loretta tells Oliver. “And the producers said they might give her a limp, so… it’s juicy!”
Naturally, we needed to know what Grey’s vet Jesse Williams (aka Tobert) thought about the show within a show, so we went to series boss John Hoffman for the scoop.
“Jesse was very sweet about that,” he tells TVLine of the Artist Formerly Known as Dr. Jackson Avery. “He was howling [during our Zoom table read] about the reference. And it’s a real homage. I mean, has there been a more successful show than Grey’s Anatomy? What a windfall for an actress [like Loretta] to have that opportunity…. Watching Meryl Streep get excited about that for herself is just a dream.”
Later on, Loretta’s manager Dickie brings her the good news: She got the part! And the limp! Oliver is reluctant to let Loretta out of her Death Rattle contract, but he doesn’t want to hold her back. He agrees to release her if she’ll do him one favor: Sing for mother-son duo Donna and Cliff DeMayo, and convince them that his musical is worth producing. What follows is a mesmerizing performance of the original show tune “Look for the Light,” which was written for Only Murders by Oscar-, Grammy-, Tony- and Golden Globe-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, along with fellow Grammy winner Sara Bareilles.
“The onus was so heavy on that song — what it needed to do for that episode, what it needed to do for the themes that reverberate through the stories that we’re following, and what it needed to do for our [entire] season — and working with Pasek and Paul was incredible,” Hoffman says. “They called up and said, ‘We would like to work with Sara Bareilles on this,’ and I thought, ‘Sure, have at it!’
“After many deep talks with Pasek and Paul and Sara about what the song needed to be, and what resonance it had to have for our story, they sent a video with Justin at the piano and Sara singing that lullaby,” he recalls. “I’ll never forget that moment of just, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And I’ll never forget when I Zoomed with Meryl and said, ‘I’m going to play you this video of Sara singing your song.’ When Sara hit that line — ‘my love is a light house, so darling, look for the light’ — Meryl kind of just collapsed over on her side.”
Loretta ultimately decides to forfeit the role on Grey’s New Orleans and honor her commitment to Death Rattle — but that doesn’t mean we’ve heard the last about Family Burn Unit. “More to come on that one,” Hoffman teases. “Hang tight.”
The Hallmark Channel is kicking off its “Fall Into Love”-themed programming blitz with four movie premieres in September featuring very familiar TV faces. The Vampire Diaries’ Zach Roerig will find love in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Rookie Blue’s Peter Mooney reunites with an old flame at a wilderness retreat, General Hospital’s Ryan Paevey tackles romance after his pro football career is sidelined, and more!
In the midst of all that romance, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will make your heart race in a different sort of way with three new movies that involve strange encounters. Grey’s Anatomy’s Sarah Drew gets guidance from an unexpected (non-human!) source, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Elizabeth Henstridge finds herself trapped on an island following a murder, and Tamera Mowry-Housley (Tia & Tamera) gets ghosted in the literal sense.
Of course, the movie slate won’t interrupt When Calls the Heart, which premiered Season 10 on July 30, and will continue with new episodes every week at 9 pm ET/PT.
Love in the Great Smokey Mountains: A National Park Romance
Premieres: Saturday, September 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Synopsis: Former sweethearts (played by The Vampire Diaries’ Zach Roerig and 9-1-1?s Arielle Kebbel) reunite at an archeological dig in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While working alongside each other and competing for the same research grant, they discover they might still have feelings for one another.
Fourth Down and Love
Premieres: Saturday, September 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Synopsis: Sparks are reignited when a single mom (played by When Calls the Heart’s Pascale Hutton) and a pro football player (General Hospital’s Ryan Paevey) coincidentally meet again on her daughter’s flag football field after his career is derailed by a injury.
Retreat to You
Premieres: Saturday, September 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Synopsis: Abby (Chesapeake Shores’ Emilie Ullerup) and Sean (Rookie Blue’s Peter Mooney) were best friends in high school until they had a falling out at their graduation party. Years later, when Abby’s friend Rachel (Sex/Life’s Meghan Heffern) brings her to a wilderness retreat, she is shocked to run into Sean. When then get separated from the group, will they find their way back to the campsite… or back into each other’s arms?
A Very Venice Romance
Premieres: Saturday, September 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Synopsis: Amy (Defiance’s Stephanie Leonidas) is a New York City executive working for a wellness company trying to launch deliverable meal prep kits. She needs to find an expert to help guide the venture and tries to woo Marcello Barone (Raniero Monaco Di Lapio), an Italian chef. When Amy contacts him, he turns her down, so she enrolls in his cooking school in a Venetian palazzo. Will Amy then return home, or pursue amore?
Premiering on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries:
Guiding Emily
Premieres: Friday, September 8 at 9 pm ET/PT
Synopsis: Emily (Grey’s Anatomy’s Sarah Drew) sees her life veer off course after an accident leaves her permanently blind and she struggles to cope with her new reality. Meanwhile, a potential guide dog named Garth (voiced by Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack) faces his own struggles in the training department. With Garth by her side Emily takes on her biggest challenge yet — learning to throw a Frisbee opening her heart. Blood & Treasure’s Anthony Cupo and Nancy Drew’s Sharon Taylor also star.
Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major
Premieres: Friday, September 22 at 9 pm ET/PT
Synopsis: Former orchestra conductor Gethsemane Brown (Sister, Sister’s Tamera Mowry-Housley) moves to the Irish countryside to teach music at a boarding school. There, she meets a handsome math teacher (Virgin River’s Marco Grazzini) who helps her professionally, and a renowned composer Eamon McCarthy (The Power’s Risteard Cooper) who is rumored to be behind the death of his longtime love. Oh, did we mention that Eamon’s actually a ghost hot to solve his murder? Supernatural’s Adam Fergus also stars.
Mystery Island
Premieres: Friday, September 29 at 9 pm ET/PT
Synopsis: London Police psychiatrist Dr. Emilia Priestly (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Elizabeth Henstridge) needs to take a relaxing break from her stressful job, so her wealthy friend invites her to Mystery Island, an immersive murder-mystery-themed resort hosting a special retreat for the original investors. As the mystery game begins, tragedy strikes when the resort’s reclusive founder is murdered. Emilia “partners” with local detective Jason Trent (How to Get Away With Murder’s Charlie Weber) to investigate. u
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The Grey’s Anatomy star lashed out at Netflix after the streamer posted a meme on TikTok that featured her Grey’s character Meredith Grey with a stern look on her face, accompanied by the caption: “Me when there’s a [bomb] in the chest cavity.” (That’s a reference to a famous Season 2 episode that found the Grey’s docs treating a patient with a bomb lodged in his chest.) Pompeo fired back on Instagram, reposting the meme and adding her own caption: “Also me when [Netflix] doesn’t pay actors residuals.”
Pompeo’s comments refer to the heated negotiations surrounding the current SAG-AFTRA strike, with actors on Netflix shows claiming that they’re paid mere pennies in residuals, even if their show was a hit. (Some cast members of Orange Is the New Black voiced those complaints in a recent New Yorker story.) Grey’s Anatomy does stream on Netflix as well, but it should be noted: The streamer wouldn’t be paying those actors residuals; those would come from the show’s producers like ABC Studios, who license Grey’s to Netflix.
SAG-AFTRA officially went on strike on July 13, seeking an increase in streaming residuals along with other issues like AI and revenue sharing. They join writers’ guild the WGA, who went on strike back on May 1 after stalling in negotiations with Hollywood producer union AMPTP over many of the same issues. The strikes are already affecting Grey’s Anatomy fans: The popular drama is nowhere to be found on ABC’s fall schedule, which is dominated by reality TV and game shows. Grey’s is slated for midseason (for now), but the longer the strikes continue, the fewer episodes we’ll likely see in Season 20… whenever we see it.
Premiering Friday, Sept. 8 at 9/8c to coincide with National Service Dog Month, Guiding Emily features Drew as the titular heroine, whose “life veers off course when she becomes permanently blind after an unfortunate rock-climbing accident and struggles to cope with her new reality,” per the official synopsis. “Meanwhile, a potential guide dog named Garth” — whose thoughts are voiced by McCormack — “is also struggling with his rigorous training. With the help of Emily’s friend Matthew (Blood & Treasure’s Antonio Cupo) and Garth’s trainer Katie (Altered Carbon’s Sharon Taylor), both make headway in their important transitions. Through a series of missed encounters, both overcome their obstacles and Garth ends up being paired with Emily. With Garth by her side, Emily takes on her biggest challenge yet: opening her heart.”
“Shooting Guiding Emily was a deeply moving experience that allowed me to enter into the blind and partially sighted community in a very powerful way,” Drew said in a statement. “We were honored to have two actresses from the community play roles in the film, and sitting with them both and hearing their stories was transformative for me and for our crew.”
“I was also honored to visit the Guide Dogs of America open house the weekend before we started shooting and was able to tour the facility and learn all about the process for raising service dogs and the sacrifice puppy raisers make to train them for two years and then send them off to a member of the blind and partially sighted community to partner with them,” Drew added. “Guiding Emily walks the audience into this world in a moving, tender, educational and compassionate way. I hope the audience will be as affected by this film as we all were making it.”
In addition to her nine-season run as April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy, Drew is known for her roles on Everwood and Cruel Summer Season 1. She’s also no stranger to Hallmark, having starred in the movies One Summer and Christmas in Vienna. McCormack, meanwhile, previously co-starred in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film A Heavenly Christmas.
The Full House actress will star in Blessings of Christmas (working title), which will premiere as part of Great American Christmas that returns October 20. New holiday movies will premiere every Saturday and Sunday through the end of the year.
In Blessings of Christmas, Loughlin stars as renowned TV star Mandy Gilmore, who is saying goodbye to her hit culinary series, A World of Food, so she can travel the globe and dine in all 142 Michelin star restaurants. Before jetting to Paris, Mandy stops in Milwaukee with the deed to her deceased aunt’s food pantry, Angel’s Fare, recently purchased by adjacent business owner, Adam Carraway (James Tupper). It’s a simple transaction until pantry volunteer Otto Nessen (Jesse Hutch) reminds everyone that Aunt Susie’s love of cooking was actually love of feeding — which inspires one more holiday feast for those who need it most.
Loughlin’s last movie for GAF was Fall Into Winter. She previously appeared on GAF in When Hope Calls Christmas, which premiered on the network in December of 2021.
Blessings of Christmas is executive produced by Brad Krevoy, Amy Krell, Vince Balzano, Alfonso Moreno, Lori Loughlin, Susie Belzberg Krevoy, Jameson Parker, David Winning, Doran S. Chandler, Trevor McWhinney. Produced by Brian Dick. Supervising producer is Bradley Goodman. David Winning directs from an original screenplay Blessings of Christmas by Alfonso H. Moreno. Revisions by Andrea Stevens.
“I am ready for the Queen. Call me! I’m dying to see how Gupta has moved up in the world,” Oh told EW in a recent interview.
The Grey’s Anatomy alum played the role of Geraldine Gupta in the 2001 Gary Marshall-directed film. Gupta was the vice principal of the school Anne Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis attended.
Oh’s comedic acting transcended as vice principal Gupta and during the interview she recalled a moment she had with a fan of the film.
“I remember it was like 2015, I was walking down the street in Chicago, and there [was] a young person, who at that point in 2015, was not my usual demographic, which was like a college-aged, straight white guy,” she recalled. “He passed me and then he ran back up to me and did the line: ‘Uh huh. Uh huh. Uh huh. The Queen is coming.'”
She continued, “I was like, ‘Who is this 20-year-old frat boy?’ He was coming up to me doing that line.”
It was in November 2022 that Disney confirmed Aadrita Mukerji and Debra Martin Chase were working on a third installment of The Princess Diaries saga with Anne Hathaway reportedly attached to return. Earlier this year, Hathaway asked fans to be patient about the development of the film.
“We feel the exact same, and I know it’s probably very frustrating,” she told People. “It’s a process that requires patience, and so everybody should consider themselves a part of the movie business now, because this is how long it actually takes to make things.”
Relive Oh’s performance in The Princess Diaries in the video posted here.
How She Caught a Killer follows Detective Linda Murphy (Drew), a fresh-out-of-the-police academy rookie who overhears her boss, detective David Goodman (Eric Keenleyside) talking about a serial killer in the area who seems to be targeting sex workers. Teaming up with FBI agent Neil Carter (Jamall Johnson), Linda fights to go undercover to help solve the murders and, if all goes accordingly, capture a serial killer.
Delilah Hamlin is also set to star as a former sex worker and aspiring nurse who is the killer’s first victim.
Inspired by a true story, How She Caught a Killer will debut Saturday, August 19 at 8p/7c on Lifetime.
How She Caught a Killer is produced for Lifetime by Suspense Productions and Tiny Riot. The film is executive produced by Tim Johnson, Stacy Mandelberg, Jason Egenberg, and Drew, who has an overall movie deal with Lifetime.
Robin Hays directs off a script by Yuri Baranovsky and Angela Gulner.
Drew previously starred in the Lifetime movies Stolen By Their Father: The Lizbeth Meredith Story(2022); Reindeer Games Homecoming (2022) which she also wrote; Twinkle All the Way (2019) and Christmas Pen Pals (2018).
Drew is represented by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment and Yorn Levine.
“You don’t move on because you’re ready to,” says Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) at the beginning of the trailer dropped today by Max. “You move on because you’ve outgrown the person you used to be.”
Picking up more than a year after Big’s (Chris Noth) unexpected death, Season 2 finds Carrie dating and reconnecting with her ex-fiance Aidan (John Corbett). The final scene in the trailer shows Carrie and Aidan sitting and laughing at a restaurant. “Sitting here with you, it’s like 10 years just— (snaps his fingers),” says Aidan.
Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Sara Ramírez, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Christopher Jackson, Niall Cunningham, Cathy Ang and Alexa Swinton will all return for Season 2.
There is no sign of Kim Cattrall in the trailer, but as we reported yesterday, Cattrall will be returning for a cameo, reprising her Samantha role.
When Season 2 returns, Carrie (Parker), Charlotte (Davis) and Miranda (Nixon) are reunited and catching up on all the latest with Anthony (Cantone). While the show was on break, everyone was living it up in New York City.
And Just Like That... is developed and executive produced by Michael Patrick King, alongside executive producers John Melfi, Julie Rottenberg, Elisa Zuritsky, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon. Writers included Michael Patrick King, Samantha Irby, Susan Fales-Hill, Lucas Froehlich, Rachel Palmer, Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky. Directors included Michael Patrick King, Cynthia Nixon, Ry Russo-Young and Julie Rottenberg. The HBO series Sex and the City was created by Darren Star and based on the book Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell.
The 11-episode second season will debut with two episodes on June 22, followed by the remaining nine episodes weekly on Thursdays.
Check out the trailer above.
The two actresses -- who once starred opposite each other on "Grey's Anatomy," before KH left the show in 2010 -- are set to be paired up for Variety's latest season of 'Actors on Actors' ... where stars interview each other and talk shop about their craft/projects.
There were a ton of other duos announced Saturday, but Kat/Ellen's stands out -- as these two haven't publicly sat down and talked for a very long time ... and this would mark the first time they've done so since Katherine exited 'Grey's' under controversial circumstances.
Fans of the show probably remember this time well -- Katherine asked showrunner Shonda Rhimes to be let out of her contract 18 months early ... citing harsh work conditions, which she aired out publicly at the time. Plus, she was blowing up as a movie star back then.
Of course, she was allowed to leave ... and her character, Dr. Izzie Stevens, was written off after 6 seasons. Katherine was a fan fave and a staple in the series, until she wasn't.
Since then, Ellen has walked the line when discussing Katherine's departure -- which she rarely has -- but in 2013 ... she offered a candid review of the saga to the New York Post.
She was quoted as saying, "When Katie left, it was tough. You could understand why she wanted to go -- when you’re offered $12 million a movie and you’re only 26. But Katie’s problem is that she should not have renewed her contract. She re-upped, took a big raise and then tried to get off the show. And then her movie career did not take off."
More recently, however, EP has actually praised Heigl for speaking up the way she did in the 2010s ... consenting that the hours were grueling and not conducive to a healthy workplace.
There doesn't appear to be any beef between the two ladies -- the same can't be said for Kat and ex-'Grey's' costar Isaiah Washington -- but people are undoubtedly interested to tune in to see them talk about the old days. BTW, the interview has already been shot.
It'll air on June 15th ... grab the popcorn!Lineup for ‘Actors On Actors’ series, curated by Variety:
Jennifer Coolidge & Jeremy Allen-White
Jennifer Garner & Sheryl Lee Ralph
Jenna Ortega & Elle Fanning
Theo James & Brett Goldstein
Katherine Heigl & Ellen Pompeo
Steven Yeun & Pedro Pascal
Hayden Christensen & Diego Luna
Meghann Fahy & Elizabeth Olsen
Natasha Lyonne & Melanie Lynskey
Taron Egerton & Rachel Weisz
Claire Danes & Kieran Culkin
Emily Blunt & Brian Cox
Jason Segel & Ali Wong.
CBS | Sheldon (with 6.6 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating) was steady, while So Help Me Todd (4.4 mil/0.3) and CSI: Vegas (2.7 mil/0.2) both dipped opposite Grey’s Anatomy‘s two-hour season ender, with the latter hitting/tying series lows.
ABC | Station 19 (3.6 mil/0.4) and Grey’s (averaging 3 mil/0.4) were both steady, with the latter’s second hour skewing much younger than what Alaska Daily had done.
NBC | Law & Order (3.8 mil/0.3) and Organized Crime (3.9 mil/0.4) were both steady, while SVU (4.3 mil/0.4) dipped in the demo.
THE CW | Now leading out of reruns, 100 Days to Indy (140K/0.0) dropped to an audience low.
‘I WISH I WOULD’VE TAKEN THE GIRLS ON ONE LAST RIDE’ | As “Wedding Bell Blues” began, Teddy, whose toothache would become a major plot point in two hours’ time, appointed Winston head of cardio. Simone made tracks to Grey Sloan to see Lucas — but not to say, “Yes, the entire audience is right, I’m being an idiot marrying Trey, whom no one likes.” She had promised Toby that she’d be there for her mastectomy and now couldn’t be, what with the wedding and all. Would Lucas look after her for Simone? “I’d do anything for you,” he replied. (Credit where it’s due: Niko Terho has that puppy-dog expression down pat.) In other developments, Jo and Sam’s flirtation continued to irk Link, and Blue helped prove that a single mom hadn’t given her 8-year-old Fentanyl.
Max — whose presence at the hospital might qualify as an actual painkiller, she’s such a delight — further bonded with Blue. “I can see why Jules is falling for you,” she remarked. But soon, as has been a lingering fear since Juliet Mills started her scene-stealing guest-starring run, Max coded. Rather than respect her DNR order, Blue acted fast and kept her alive… but in a way that she absolutely would not have wanted. En route to Simone’s wedding, Mika thanked Helm for standing up for her to Teddy. Now able to sleep eight hours a night, Yasuda felt like a superhero who’d had Kryptonite taken out of her shoe. “Can I kiss you at this red light?” she asked. “Totally,” Taryn replied. (Love for Helm… at last!)
‘THIS IS NOT HOW I’M SUPPOSED TO DIE!’ | Getting ready to tie the knot, Simone told Jules that red robins had been her mom’s favorite bird, and she’d seen one on her first date with Trey — a sure sign, Griffith thought, that her mom would want her to marry her fiancé. Cue a red robin fatally crashing into the window. And Simone’s wedding dress ripping. And Grandma coming in, speaking to Simone as if she was her late mom. “Denise” didn’t have to marry Keith if she really wanted Dwayne, Grandma said. After spotting the ill-fated robin on her way down the aisle, Simone asked her father if her mom had been engaged to someone else before him. (Yup.) Before you could say, “I don’t,” she’d left the ceremony, hightailed it to Grey Sloan and made love with Lucas in an on-call room.
Flying to Boston, Richard, Catherine, Bailey, Winston, Nick and Amelia experienced turbulence even before they took off. Winston went so far as to switch seats to get away from Amelia, who instead of bug him pushed Nick to give Meredith another chance. “You really enjoy interfering in other people’s relationships,” Ndugu observed. When actual turbulence hit, Richard reached for Catherine’s martini and would’ve drunk, had Bailey not swatted the glass from his hand. Once the plane had landed safely, Nick split from the group to pay Meredith a house call. To his — and our! — surprise, the door of her mammoth home was opened by Gilles Marini, who suggested that “it’s probably best if you text” rather than just show up. Snap!
‘THAT EXPLAINS WHY THE DOCTOR WHO SAVED MY LIFE NOW LOOKS LIKE HE WANTS TO KILL ME’ | “Happily Ever After?” began with Jules tearing into Blue for ignoring Max’s wishes. Since Millin is her roommate’s medical proxy, thanks to Kwan, “I might have to decide to unplug my favorite person in the world.” When Max awakened, intubated and terrified, Jules and Blue calmed her with promises to play Tom Jones. It looked like the patient was going to make it, but with Grey’s Anatomy, you can never be too sure, especially with guest stars. Jules’ feeling for Blue, as complicated as they already were, had become even trickier to navigate. “Now I don’t just get to hate you, I have to love you, too,” she said. “You saved my favorite person.”
At the same time, Sam deduced that Link’s more and more open hostility toward him stemmed from love for Jo. Pfft, no, she replied. In that case, as soon as Sam was sprung from his hospital bed, he was going to sweep her off her feet, he said. (Don’t count on it, buddy.) Next thing we knew, Lucas was checking on Sam, and, in a matter of seconds, he went from “I feel funny” to code blue. Where was his primary doctor? Outside, arguing with Jo about their relationship. “I’m so completely in love with you,” he finally declared. “How do you not see that?!?” He’d almost said it 100 times. And whether he’d ever managed to spit it out, “I love you, and I’m gonna love you forever.” Jo’s response? “You unbelievable dummy. I love you, too.”
‘MAINTAIN THE RESPECT YOU HAVE BUILT FOR YOURSELF’ | In Boston, Meredith summoned Nick as well as the rest of her Grey Sloan family to her lab. She had a radical new theory about curing Alzheimer’s. It might be correct, but in the years that it would take to prove it, Mer would be seen as crazy, Richard warned. She could destroy her whole career. Plus, Amelia noted, “What you are hypothesizing insults Derek’s work.” During a moment alone with Mer, Nick was cold. He didn’t mention Michael and didn’t want to bother with small talk. Impractical but understandable.
At Grey Sloan, Trey was ambulanced in after crashing into a tree. While being treated, he surmised that Lucas was the reason he’d been jilted and slugged him. “I didn’t leave you for another man, I left because I’m not the person I was,” Simone tried to explain. Also, you always came off like a jerk, Trey. (That was me there, not Simone, obv.) Back in Boston, Maggie recruited Winston to zip her dress before the Catherine Fox Awards, and soon, both of them had ditched their clothes and hit the sheets. At the ceremony, Mer couldn’t keep her lips zipped about her Alzheimer’s theory; she blurted it out to Catherine’s table full of moneybags.
‘I CAN’T BELIEVE I UGLY-CRIED IN FRONT OF THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED SURGEONS IN THE WORLD’ | Just as Bailey was being passed over as presenter in favor of Meredith, Ben showed up. But Miranda wasn’t being dissed, it turned out. The Catherine Fox Award was going to someone who wasn’t even a nominee, Grey explained. For her tireless work in training the next generation of doctors to provide reproductive care in these impossible times, Bailey was being given the prize! After the ceremony, Maggie and Winston pondered divorce and… seemed not to really come to any conclusions. (Maybe next season, when someone new catches his eye?)
After Amelia invited Richard to a meeting, he stayed behind in the ballroom… and was served a vodka tonic. Meredith slipped a note under Nick’s hotel-room door. When he opened it, they finally talked. She’d been tired and scared and overwhelmed when she’d pretended not to hear his “I love you.” She was still all of those things… but she missed him. Um, and what about Michael? He’s Zola’s tutor, and he’s gay, Mer laughed. In that case, Nick said, he wanted a life full of “love and mess and pain and you.” With that, there was smiling, laughing, kissing…
In the season’s final moments, Teddy was just about to perform life-saving surgery on Sam when she collapsed without so much as a pulse. (Must’ve been some toothache!) Since when it rains in Seattle, it pours, Sam also went code blue. If the residents were going to save him, they had to act fast immediately — they couldn’t wait for an attending. (Do they ever wait anymore?) As Lucas and Simone began to tag-team the procedure, Owen arrived and started trying to shock Teddy back into consciousness. Hell of a way to wrap a season, no?
The finale also symbolized the passing of the baton from outgoing longtime Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff to new showrunner Meg Marinis, who will be taking the reins next season. The two co-wrote Part 1 of the finale, directed by series star Kevin McKidd, while Marinis penned solo Part 2, directed by Grey’s executive producer and recurring guest star Debbie Allen.
Part 1’s title, Wedding Bell Blues, pretty much sums up the episode. Simone tried to go through with her wedding to Trey despite her having feelings for Lucas and Lucas having professed his love to her – and despite the universe sending her signs in the form of a wedding dress zipper malfunction and a dead red robin. (It was her mom’s favorite bird so when a robin had showed up at her first date with Trey, she had taken it as a seal of approval from her late mother.)
In the end, Simone did get cold feet while literally walking down the aisle. In a scene straight out of a romantic movie, she ran, in her flowing wedding gown, to the hospital — and in Lucas’ arms — as the two went straight to the break room for some alone time.
Their bliss didn’t last because in Part 2 of the finale, Trey was admitted to Grey Sloan with a fractured arm, potentially jeopardizing his surgical career. The jilted groom had gotten in a traffic accident while chasing Simone to the hospital to talk to her. He proceeded to punch Lucas in the face with his good arm, with Simone left devastated.
“I hurt people,” she said, again pulling away from Lucas.
Winston, Nick, Bailey, Amelia, Richard and Catherine flew on a private jet to Boston for the Catherine Fox awards where Nick, as well as Winston and Maggie were nominated. All were left shaken by severe turbulence, which made Winston and Amelia finally stop bickering over Winston and Maggie’s separation and hold hands. The fear of dying also tempted Richard to have a drink and convinced Nick that he had to give his relationship with Meredith one more try. Nick ran to Meredith’s house where a handsome man opened the door to tell him that she was at work.
Meredith indeed was at the lab where she delivered a bombshell to her former co-workers — she wanted to challenge previous Alzheimer’s Research, discrediting Derek’s work in the process, with a new take on what causes the disease. They all advised her to keep this quiet for now to protect her funding and her reputation.
But at the awards show, when Meredith was introduced to major donors, she blurted out her revolutionary – and controversial – theory, possibly jeopardizing her financing.
At the ceremony, Meredith also presented the Catherine Fox award, which did not go to any of the nominees but to a stunned Bailey for her work “protecting reproductive rights and training the next generation of doctors on how to perform reproductive care.”
Nick, Winston and Maggie didn’t mind. Maggie, sporting a glossy new haircut, and Winston had just had sex, picking up where they had left off before the breakup and looking very much in love to the delight of fans after some ugly fights earlier this season. But just as the two seemed like they might get back together, Winston brought up getting divorced because “I want to excel at my job,” he said. Maggie put a pin in it for the moment.
Meanwhile, Meredith and Nick had the type of heart to heart fans had been pining over for months, since their disastrous farewell meeting and the heartbreaking followup phone call. Meredith went to Nick’s hotel to slip him a note under the door. He opened the door and told her about his near death experience on the plane, which “made me realize how badly I want to live… live a whole life with love and mess and pain and you.”
Unlike the last time on the plane, when Meredith pretended she didn’t hear when Nick told her he loved her and hung up, she reciprocated his feelings. With the two eyeing a possible future together in Boston, they may be the answer to the “Happily Ever After?” question from the finale Part 2’s title. And the guy who opened the door at Meredith’s house – turned out he was her daughter’s tutor, and he also happened to be gay.
Another set of longtime star-crossed Grey’s lovers, Link and Jo, finally revealed their feelings for each other at the very end of Part 2. Link was the one who professed his love first after he couldn’t take it anymore, having suffered for days watching Jo flirt with their hunky patient Sam.
Speaking of Sam, he found himself on the operating table bleeding profusely in the final seconds of the finale, with Lucas refusing to wait for an attending and stepping up to perform the surgery in an eerie throwback to last season’s episode where Levi took a similar risk, which didn’t pay off, and his patient died.
Sam’s fate was left in limbo, along with that of the attending who was supposed to lead the surgery, Teddy.
Overworked as the new chief, she never found the time to go see a dentist for a debilitating toothache that had been bothering her during the entire two-part finale. In the end, she collapsed in the ER, with Owen rushing to her side and trying to revive her with a defibrillator.
While Teddy’s life is in grave danger, as Deadline revealed earlier today, Kim Raver, who plays her, along with fellow longtime Grey’s cast members James Pickens Jr. (Richard), Chandra Wilson (Bailey), Kevin McKidd (Owen), Camilla Luddington (Jo) and Caterina Scorsone (Amelia), have signed on to continue on the show next season.
In other developments from the Grey’s finale, Jules and Kwan took their love-hate relationship to another level when he ignored the DNR and DNI requests of Jules’ beloved roommate Max — and ended up saving her life.
He was emboldened to do that after sticking his neck out for a single mother accused of giving her little boy fentanyl and winning that battle, with the mom cleared of wrongdoing and her son making a recovery.
Mika had a good day at the office – asserting herself at the hospital while also finding love as she and Helm kissed to become official as a couple.
Richard and Amelia were both feeling overwhelmed after the severe turbulence on the plane and Meredith’s daring theory. Needing support, Amelia left to find an AA meeting while Richard was last seen staring at a vodka tonic he had ordered.
That includes the last two remaining original cast members James Pickens Jr., who plays Richard and Chandra Wilson (Bailey) as well as Kevin McKidd (Owen), who has been on the show since Season 5, Kim Raver (Teddy), who started in Season 6 and then rejoined in Season 14 after a five-year break, Camilla Luddington (Jo), a cast member since Season 9, and Caterina Scorsone, who joined in Season 10 after guest starring appearances. (Both Luddington and Scorsone recurred for a season before becoming series regulars.)
Locking in Grey’s Anatomy‘s longest tenured cast members provides continuity after a big, transitional Season 19, which featured the departure as a series regular of the show’s lead, Ellen Pompeo, as well two other major exits, that of long-time cast member Kelly McCreary and showrunner Krista Vernoff.
Adding to Season 19’s transformational nature was the arrival of five new cast additions, Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, and Midori Francis. I hear the show has not yet picked up options on the freshmen but they are all expected to come back.
Pickens, Wilson, McKidd, Raver, Luddington, Scorsone, as well as newer cast members like Chris Carmack and Jake Borelli, helped Grey’s Anatomy to successfully navigate through a generational shift and reinvent itself without its title character by ranking as ABC’s No. 1 entertainment series and No. 1 entertainment series in delayed multi-platform viewing this season.
As for Pompeo, the door is left open for her to return on-screen next season, and, while nothing is set in stone, it remains a possibility. (She continues to serve as an executive producer and provide the series’ voiceover).
The two-part Season 19 finale of Grey’s Anatomy airs tonight at 9 PM.
The network has unveiled its schedule ahead of its Upfront presentation that has no original scripted titles, instead saving them for a hopeful midseason bow.
Other unscripted series on in the fall include Celebrity Jeopardy, Bachelor in Paradise keeps its fall spot, having previously been a summer favorite, Judge Steve Harvey, ABC News’ What Would You Do, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, The $100,000 Pyramid, Shark Tank and America’s Funniest Home Videos.
ABC is the only broadcast network to have a fully strike proof schedule, with CBS unveiling one with plenty of scripted series, while NBC also has a slew of scripted shows such as Night Court and Quantum Leap, although the latter says that it is in “good shape, given the circumstances”. Fox has yet to unveil a schedule.
Here is ABC’s fall schedule.
ABC FALL 2023-24 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8 PM — Dancing with the Stars (two hours)
10 PM — THE GOLDEN BACHELOR
TUESDAY
8 PM — Celebrity Jeopardy!
9 PM — Bachelor in Paradise (two hours)
WEDNESDAY
8 PM — Judge Steve Harvey
9 PM — Abbott Elementary (Encore)
9:30 PM — Abbott Elementary (Encore)
10 PM — What Would You Do?
THURSDAY
8 PM — Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
9 PM — Press Your Luck
10 PM — The $100,000 Pyramid
FRIDAY
8 PM — Shark Tank
9:01 PM — 20/20 (two hours)
SATURDAY
7:30 PM — College Football
SUNDAY
7 PM — America’s Funniest Home Videos
8 PM — The Wonderful World of Disney (three hours)
Disney has been preparing for the strike for the last few months and the schedule reflects that. The return of Dancing with the Stars to the network after a season on sibling streamer Disney+ was in the works regardless of the strike. It returns to its previous home of Monday between 8pm-10pm.
Bachelor In Paradise has been paired back to a two-hour block on Tuesdays at 9pm after Celebrity Jeopardy, having previously aired between 8pm and 10pm on Mondays and Tuesdays last fall. The Golden Bachelor, which follows older folk looking for love, follows Dancing on Mondays at 10pm, in place of The Good Doctor, which was recently renewed for its seventh season.
Judge Steve Harvey, which currently airs midseason on Tuesdays, is moving to a slightly earlier timeslot of 8pm, replacing The Conners, which was renewed, and The Goldbergs, which has ended. It will be followed by an hour block of Abbott Elementary repeats, staying in its Wednesday 9pm comedy home – the slot previously that housed Modern Family – as well as the spot previously home to Home Economics, which remains in limbo.
At 10pm, ABC’s What Would You Do? gets a primetime slot in place of Big Sky, which was canceled after three seasons.
Thursdays, best known as the night of Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, as well as last season’s journalist drama Alaska Daily, which was canceled after one season, is becoming a game show night with Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck and The $100,000 Pyramid. The former previously aired on Sundays and the latter pair aired in midseason.
Friday and Saturday remain unchanged with Shark Tank and 20/20 airing on Friday and College Football on Saturday.
America’s Funniest Home Videos keeps its Sunday 7pm slot and will be followed by a three-hour block of The Wonderful World of Disney movies. Sundays previously housed The Rookie, which was renewed for season six, at 10pm.
In terms of scripted, the network is hopeful that its tranche of shows can return midseason but is mindful of designating slots given the current situation with the writers.
This includes 9-1-1, which is moving from Fox, Abbott Elementary, The Conners, The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, new series High Potential, Not Dead Yet, The Rookie, Station 19, and Will Trent as well as reality series American Idol and The Bachelor.
“We are proud to be home to beloved series and meaningful narratives that audiences continue to embrace, and we’re fortunate that our solid, stable roster continues to leverage the enormous success of our established hits, with originals airing every night of the week,” said Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group.
“They’re completely different engines,” Rhimes told Vulture in an interview. “ABC was a very powerful, very storied institution. There’s a ton of bureaucracy. The process was you get answered ‘no’ initially and then you have to find your way.”
Rhimes continued, “Even getting Scandal to start what was live-tweeting, they were like, ‘Why would anybody do that? No.’ And then they came around to a ‘yes,’ but we just did it on our own until they saw it. We accomplished a lot in terms of exploring a woman’s right to choose, stuff I thought was just storytelling but turned out to be a real sort of quiet battle on my part to make happen on TV.”
The Shondaland production company founder signed a multi-million deal with Netflix back in 2017, which she extended in 2021 to cover films, gaming and VR content, in addition to TV. As opposed to network television, Rhimes said that “Netflix was a baby in this business” when she started working with them.
“They start with ‘yes’ and then figure out how to make something happen. And the attitude of a place that says ‘yes’ has a lot to do with your enthusiasm for doing the projects,” she added.
In terms of budget between the two, Rhimes said she “was so obsessed with Netflix in the beginning” was because someone told her that The Crown had a budget of $12 million per episode.
“I just couldn’t get over it. That is so much money. Think about what you could do with a much bigger playground,” Rhimes said.
Most of the shows that Rhimes has created drive conversations on social media and with a vocal fan base suggesting ideas of what the characters should do next, things could get tricky. However, the producer and writer doesn’t let fans dictate her creative decisions.
“I think I’m pretty famous for being a person who says I don’t pay attention to fans,” she revealed. “I don’t mean that in a bad way; I mean, the only way I know how to tell a story is to sort of be its keeper, and I therefore can’t take in all the outside influences from people’s reactions to the story. It doesn’t help me in figuring out a way to be creative in my job.”
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 6.5 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating) dipped week-to-week. Ghosts (6.3 mil/0.6) ended Season 2 with its best audience since March 9 and also ticked up in the demo. So Help Me Todd (4.4 mil.0.4) also rose in the demo, while CSI: Vegas (3.2 mil/0.3) was steady.
NBC | Law & Order (3.9 mil/0.3), SVU (4.1 mil/0.4) and Organized Crime (3.4 mil/0.3) were all steady in the demo, with the latter also adding viewers. #RollinsEffect
ABC | Station 19 (3.4 mil/0.4) and Grey’s Anatomy (2.9 mil/0.4) both dipped in the demo, with the latter falling below 3 million viewers for the first time ever.
THE CW | Walker (500K/0.1) dropped a handful of eyeballs with its season finale; 100 Days to Indy (230K/0.0) added viewers.
FOX | The doubly-renewed Next Level Chef (averaging 1.7 mil and a 0.3) dipped with its two-hour finale.
‘IT’S BAD LUCK FOR THE BRIDE TO SEE THE ROOMMATE BEFORE THE WEDDING’ | As “Ready to Run” got underway, Simone tried on her gown with Mika’s help, only to have Lucas walk in. Ack! Or, in his word, “Wow.” At Grey Sloan’s coffee cart, Levi encouraged Helm to come back, if only for the java. Oh, “and you get to save lives,” he added, “in your pajamas.” Soon, Teddy and Richard announced that two of Grey Sloan’s doctors had been nominated for the Catherine Fox Award, Nick and Winston (in conjunction with Maggie). Patient Sam was cheerful, what with having shown his doctors how to treat someone who had broken 93 bones. But what had happened to Jo, he wanted to know. Had she just said that she was single because he might be dying? Cue Link looking like WTF. Nearby, Jules swapped out with Blue to join Bailey in treating roommate Max, who started making oodles of requests about what she’d like to happen in the event of her passing. Including feeding her cat, Mr. Darcy. At the same time, Teddy tantalized Lucas and Simone with a triple A: an abdominal aortic aneurysm. If only the patient wasn’t so eager to bolt that the doctors were forced to give chase.
Following our first commercial break, Jo noticed when Sam asked for her that Link was annoyed with her and her “Disney princess eyes.” Nonetheless, she visited Sam. At first, he thanked her for saving his life. But then he admitted that he hoped maybe he could flirt with her while they played cards. Busy, she said. Still, sparks flew between them. He even deduced that she’d stalked his social media. (How was she not melting?) Later, she cracked that if he asked for a sponge bath, she was outta there. But she did help him with an itch inside of one of his casts. “Women don’t love aggressive flirting, at least from men,” Mika advised him. Nevertheless, Jo returned and, checking Sam, discovered a problem with his leg’s blood supply. At once, Wilson performed a ghastly procedure — and if that didn’t bond her and Sam, what was gonna?
‘YOU’RE TERRIBLE AT DRAWING’ | Pursuing runaway patient Ray, Teddy warned him that he could be in big trouble, medically speaking, if he didn’t get the surgery that he needed, stat. “You can’t force me to do this!” argued the illustrator. True. Once he had escaped his pursuers, Lucas caught up with him and spent more time with him than any doctor in history ever has with me, with the help of doodles, convinced him to go under the knife. “If a problem comes up, we have ways to address it,” Lucas assured him. Shortly, he revealed to Teddy that Ray had signed the consent forms. As he was being scanned, his aneurysm ruptured. Teddy would have to open him up on the CT table. Never a dull moment! Precious seconds passed, and still, Ray had no pulse. Seconds turned into minutes, and ultimately, he was pronounced dead. [Bleep]!
Off that heartbreak, Lucas phoned Ray’s family. “Those calls are never easy,” Nick said, adding that Adams had fought for the patient. “That matters.” Lucas replied that Ray had known he was dying. He understood that — he’d known his whole life that he was different. Why hadn’t his family realized that he had ADHD? “Maybe they were too busy being disappointed in me,” he said, adding that he hoped Nick would bag the Catherine Fox Award. “If I win, then we aren’t just losers?” Nick asked. Something like that. In other developments, Simone established that Mika was coming to the wedding; Lucas, not so much. When Helm came by, Mika said that “I need to be mad at you for a minute” for yelling at Teddy on her behalf. Apparently, they were not yet a couple; Mika refused to make the first move (hence, she had no plus-one).
‘SHE’S AN ANGEL, IF A DOCTOR CAN BE AN ANGEL’ | Moments after Max’s friends surprised her in her new room, Jules’ roommate took a fall going to the bathroom. Turned out, she had a brain lesion. Though Max was talking about being euthanized like an animal, Bailey pulled Jules from the case — for good. She clearly considered Max family. As the patient was wheeled into the O.R., she spoke of estranged son Pete, who was so independent… and Jules, whom she got to mother instead. Which didn’t make Millin lucky, Max said, “I’m the lucky one.” Thankfully, owing to Amelia’s expertise, the patient pulled through. After Nick said that he had no intention of attending the award ceremony, Richard approached Winston, worried that it would be awkward for him to be there with his ex-wife. No prob, he said. He’d be there. In that case, couldn’t Nick reconsider, regardless of Meredith? He wasn’t keen to, thanks all the same, but Webber barked that a no-show would be an insult.
As the hour neared its conclusion, Richard admitted to Levi that Helm’s requests before returning made sense. Then “please,” Schmitt said, “give her what she wants.” When Blue reported to Jules that Max was OK, he tried to be open with her. “I’m here for you,” he said. But she wasn’t having it… not in front of him, anyway. Alone, she broke down and wept. After Jo “sliced into [Sam’s] leg like it was a steak,” making Mika a third wheel in a patient room, Wilson signed the patient’s cast. “See?” he told Mika. “Ya gotta at least ask.” Soon, Helm reported to Levi that she was returning to Grey Sloan… as co-chief resident with him. His response? A big hug. Seconds later, Mika asked Helm to Simone’s wedding. “I like you-like you,” she admitted. Even if Taryn said no, “at least I asked.” Alas, Helm replied that she was about to be Yasuda’s boss. Then again, if the wedding was that weekend, their date would predate Taryn’s rehire. Yay! Moved by his interaction with Lucas, Nick agreed to take the flight to the Catherine Fox Awards. In Sam’s room, Jo scratched the back of the pilot’s neck for him… as Link walked in. “This woman is my hero,” Sam said. Though he had a reaction to the revelation that his crush and Link were roommates, he was undaunted in his pursuit of her. Finally, at the residents’ house, Lucas confided in Simone that he had ADHD… and that it meant that he had trouble saying what he meant. Overcoming that, “Don’t get married,” he pleaded with her. “Trey doesn’t see you, but… I see you. And I love… every single thing I see.” #tears
The film heading into production in August follows Nick Venere (Travolta), who is a modern-day ‘Marty’ – he’s never been married and his best dating years are well behind him. He’s never heard the words ‘I love you” and figures he never will. Patty Amore (Heigl) has her share of problems, as well. Shy and introverted, she’s filled with various tics and nervous habits. A secret from her past, combined with her over-protective father, have caused her to withdraw from the dating game. But when Nick and Patty meet, literally bumping into one another, they share an immediate connection. When these two emotionally damaged people attempt to date one another, their families get involved, and the results are hilarious.
Vallelonga will produce through his Vallelonga Productions, alongside Cassian Elwes for Elevated FIlms, and Brenda Emmett & Vince Emmett of American Troubadours. David Polemeni will exec produce alongside Tamara Birkemoe and Mark Damon of the newly-launched global sales banner Palisades Park Pictures, who will introduce the film to international buyers at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Elwes will co-represent U.S. rights with PPP.
Others aboard the project include two-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Dante Spinotti (The Last of the Mohicans), Academy Award-winning production designer Gianni Quaranta (A Room with a View), three-time Academy Award-nominated editor Steven Rosenblum (Braveheart) and costume designer Betsy Heimann (Green Book).
“We could not be more excited to announce That’s Amore! as the first title on PPP’s slate,” said CEO Tamara Birkemoe. “This film’s unparalleled star power and endearing, romantic charm is a testament to the quality of films that PPP will continue to present to buyers at forthcoming film markets.”
Recently landing his third Emmy nomination for a role in The Roku Channel’s Die Hart, Travolta prior to that starred on the TV side in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. The actor, who has also been recognized over the course of his career with two Academy Award noms, two Golden Globes, and numerous other accolades is best known on the film side for turns in Pulp Fiction, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Carrie, Get Shorty, Michael and Hairspray, among other iconic projects.
Perhaps best known for her Emmy-winning role as Grey’s Anatomy‘s Dr. Izzie Stevens, Heigl has previously starred in four romantic comedies that grossed over $100M at the worldwide box office — Knocked Up, 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth and Life as We Know It. Since 2021, she has exec produced and starred in the popular Netflix series Firefly Lane.
Notable film credits for Walken, the Academy Award winner who can currently be seen starring in Apple TV+’s Severance, include The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, King of New York, Pulp Fiction, Sleepy Hollow, Catch Me If You Can, Wedding Crashers and Hairspray.
Vallelonga won his two Oscars, along with a Golden Globe and other prizes, as the writer and producer of Universal Pictures’ Best Picture victor Green Book, based on the true story of his father, Tony Lip, which grossed over $321M worldwide. He’s also an actor, who most recently appeared in the Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark.
Travolta is represented by Artists First, Randi Michel and Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp; Heigl by CAA, Mainstay Entertainment and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Walken by CAA; and Vallelonga by Gersh and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
“I might be a very old lady by the time we reach its last season because it doesn’t seem to be stopping which is wonderful and I feel the world really belongs to the fans and the fans have been really clear about what they want,” Rhimes told E! News in an interview.
The long-running ABC medical drama is close to wrapping Season 19 of the show and viewers continue to respond well to it as the show has transformed throughout its history.
“It’s such an amazing show and it’s doing so well as it’s moving forward,” she added. “I’m going to leaver it alone and see where it goes, and we’re going to stay a show as long as everybody wants to be there and as long as the fans want to be there.”
The current season saw the exit of Ellen Pompeo, something that Rhimes said was “heartbreaking for everybody.”
“Knowing that she could come back anytime was also important for me,” Rhimes said noting that any of the past characters that have left have the door open to return.
Rhimes continued, “Ellen’s an amazing person and she and I have been having conversations the whole time, discussing when it was time and what it was feeling like. We’ve always been having those discussions because I’ve always wanted her to be excited and invested and enjoying herself as much as she was at the beginning.”
Despite Pompeo not physically acting in the series, she is still providing voiceover work making Rhimes say, “I don’t think of her as gone from the show, she’s still doing the voiceovers, she’s still there.”
ABC | Station 19 (with 3.7 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating) and Grey’s Anatomy (3 mil/0.4) each dropped some eyeballs yet held steady in the demo, though Grey’s is looking at a new audience low.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.9 mil/0.5), Ghosts (6.2 mil/0.5) and CSI: Vegas (3.1 mil/0.3) were all steady in the demo, whereas So Help Me Todd (4.7 mil/0.3) dipped.
THE CW | Walker (510K/0.1) ticked down to a new audience low; 100 Days to Indy (220K/0.1) improved a bit on its debut.
NBC | Law & Order (4 mil/0.3) and SVU (4.2 mil/0.4) both dipped to demo lows, while Ghosts: Organized Crime (3 mil/0.3) was steady.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.7 mil/0.4) and the Animal Control finale (990K/0.2) were steady, while Call Me Kat (1 mil/0.1) with its Season 3 finale slipped to its second-smallest audience ever and a new demo low.
‘DON’T WORRY, IT FEELS WORSE THAN IT LOOKS’ | As “Come Fly With Me” got underway, Nick showed up at Grey Sloan early and was stood up, he told Amelia. Um, by whom? Lucas, it turned out. Nick had a long list of tasks for the resident, and he hadn’t shown up to take them down. Mika feared that Helm, during a “rage blackout,” had so vehemently defended her to Teddy that she was about to be fired. Instead, the new chief held an emergency meeting to revisit the conditions under which the residents were working and living. Jules worked hard not to appear to be peeved by Blue’s new flirtation. (But she clearly was.) Bailey thanked Kwan for tackling the pro-lifer who’d tried to attack her, and soon, he’d bumped into Jules’ roommate Max, who’d awakened feeling under the weather. And Owen recruited Link for a consult. En route to meet Sam Sutton (guest star Sam Page), an Air Force pilot injured in a base-jumping accident, Link asked Owen which of his bones were broken. Hunt’s answer? Pretty much all of them.
“Is it annoying if I say that you’re really lucky?” Link asked after meeting the patient. Kinda. But as Owen assured Sam, if anyone could help him, it was Link. Sam’s wingman Kwame, aware of what had happened to Tank, wasn’t so sure. “So don’t have [another] bad day.” In response, Link said that he’d do his best — and his best was pretty damn good. Looking at Sam’s X-rays, Jules marveled that “nothing is where it’s supposed to be.” And to get any of it back where it’s supposed to be, Link was going to need to perform multiple surgeries over several days. Sam wasn’t into that idea… couldn’t they do it all at once? As Owen strongly recommended, much to Link’s chagrin, yes. As Sam asked Simone and Jules to call Kwame’s wife if he should die, Link and Owen clashed over the course of treatment, with Hunt bringing to bear his status as a vet. When Jo checked in with Link, he confessed his fears — and that he needed a whole team of doctors. Count me in, she said. As soon as she entered Sam’s room, he took note. “I may be dying in the next 18 hours,” he blurted out, “so… are you single?” Simone, as well as Link still suffering some aftereffects of losing Tank, questioned Link’s Owen’s approach to his surgery and was summarily shut down by Hunt.
‘I AM YOUR NEW MAID OF HONOR… DID HE NOT TELL YOU?’ | Examining Max (Juliet Mills, interviewed here), Blue was pumped by Jules’ roomie about their relationship. But she would disclose nothing herself. “Girl code.” Meanwhile, Jules revealed to Simone that she’d replaced Lucas as her person of honor at her wedding. Mind you, Jules didn’t know at the time that she was revealing this; she’d assumed that Lucas would’ve told the bride. (Nope.) Nonetheless, Jules proved to Simone that she knew her plenty well enough to do the job. (Actually, pretty sweet the way the show backed into that friendship.) Later, Levi shared with Max that she had a UTI, and she shared with Blue that she’d never told “the one that got away” how she’d felt. Yes, lotsa sharing. After Blue got fussed at for leaving Max unattended and she went on a walkabout, she mistook Levi for her grandson and was diagnosed with delirium from the UTI. “What the hell happened?” Jules wanted to know when she was paged to Max’s room. Millin was ticked that, as Max’s emergency contact, she hadn’t been called. She was further enraged that Blue had left her unattended.
‘WHERE CAN YOU GET THREE MEALS A DAY FOR $15?’ | After a patient went into hypoglycemic shock owing to Lucas’ negligence, Nick chewed him a new one. “If you want me on your side, you need to grow up,” Marsh barked, adding that Adams had better get his ADHD meds straight, stat. When he disclosed to Mika what he had done, she hollered that of course he hadn’t been fired for it — he was related to surgical legends. In Teddy’s meeting about the residents, Richard poo-pooed how bad things were for the interns. At which point, Bailey mentioned that he had been the attending who’d kept her from going to a loved one’s funeral when she was a resident! Soon, Webber, Bailey and Amelia were all sharing resident horror stories. “There is something to be said for adversity making people stronger,” Teddy admitted. That was no excuse, Amelia acknowledged, for her yelling at Mika. Soon, Yasuda entered the meeting and quit rather than be fired. Rather than accept her resignation, Teddy announced that a grant was being started to help residents in need. “You have no idea how much that means to me,” Mika said.
‘I ALWAYS THOUGHT I WAS JUST THE BLACK SHEEP’ | As the hour neared its conclusion, Sam’s epic surgery got underway. Simone was able to give Kwame an update, but there were still gory miles to go. When at last Sam was bandaged up like the proverbial mummy, Link and the surgical team were given a round of applause. Owen told Kwame that Link was able to save all of Sam’s limbs. But Link was concerned that Hunt had overpromised. “If you ever put me in that position again in front of a patient,” he said, “we’re going to have a problem.” To Mika’s shock, Amelia apologized for taking out her anger on her. Nick apologized to Lucas for calling him out on the ADHD that he didn’t even know that he had. “The signs… they’re all there,” Nick said. “Maybe it just takes one to know one.” Yeah, he had ADHD, too. Adams would get checked out, and they’d take it from there. As tired as he was, Link was determined to stay at Sam’s bedside until he woke up. Then Jo would stay with him, she said. Simone sat with Jules as she watched over Max. Richard showed up at Joe’s to admit that he hadn’t listened to Helm when he’d tried to get her to come back to Grey Sloan. He was listening now, though. What would it take? Finally, Amelia apologized to Winston for lashing out at him. “I was wrong, and I’m sorry.” Big whoop, he replied with the way that he stalked off from her.
Funny, fearless and capable of turning a reading of the phonebook into an acting masterclass, Mills is now casting her spell on Grey’s Anatomy in the recurring role of Maxine Anderson, the unlikely roommate of Adelaide Kane’s Dr. Jules Millin.
Wait a second… Juliet Mills? Jules Millin? That can’t merely be a coincidence, can it?
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Mills tells TVLine. “I believe this was fate and meant to be. And don’t forget, I’m referred to as ‘Max’ quite a bit in the show, and that’s my husband’s name. So it’s not just J.M. and J.M., it’s also Max. When I was doing the self tape, I actually thought that all boded well for me.”
After making a memorable impression with viewers in the March 30 episode, for which she was named one of TVLine’s Performer of the Week honorable mentions, Mills makes her triumphant return to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital tonight (May 4 ABC, 9/8c).
Below, she discusses her fated role with TVLine, from that wild first episode (“I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is crazy!'”) to the more “serious” turn her arc will soon take. Plus, she tackles the one question that should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind: Why hasn’t Peacock made Passions available to stream?
TVLINE | I’m already in love with Maxine. How did you wind up in her shoes?
I’ve always loved the show, so when [the audition] came up, I thought, “Yeah, I’ll have a go at this.” She’s a real character. She’s feisty, full of herself and full of good advice for everybody. She’s a very positive person who enjoys life, and I thought it would be fun to play. It’s not far off from what I am, so I did the self-tape and there we go.
TVLINE | How do you feel about self-taping? It seems like actors have pretty mixed feelings about it.
It has changed the whole business and made it more difficult for actors to get jobs, because instead of a casting director seeing about 20 people in a room in downtown LA, they can see about 100 tapes sitting at home. The competition is stiffer, that’s for sure. At the same time, I like being able to fine-tune an audition piece. If you don’t like it, you can do it over again, which you can’t do if you go into the casting office. So there are pros and cons, I suppose.
TVLINE | And what did you think of the role once you got it? A gonorrhea diagnosis is quite an introduction.
I thought, “Oh my God, this is crazy!” Then I read further, and it got even crazier with my friend Norma and me bonking the same old guy who neither of us knew the other was carrying on with. It was a very funny premise, and I could see that it was meant to be the light relief in a very serious, dramatic episode. I like being the light relief, though it all gets a bit more serious further on in my arc.
TVLINE | You had that tremendous speech in your first episode about women becoming invisible after a certain age. Was it sort of liberating for you to be able to say all of that?
Yes, it was actually. And it’s surprising how many people who saw the show — friends and fans alike — have referred to that as kind of an important speech and how they really appreciated it. That’s what’s so clever about the writing on this show. They make points, and they’re always very current. I liked that speech very much, and I thought was important what I saying. It’s very relevant to a lot of people.
TVLINE | It must be wild to guest-star on a show that you’ve been watching, especially one that’s been running like a machine for 19 seasons.
It was exciting, though it’s always always a bit nerve wracking to be the new girl at school when everybody else has been working together forever. You don’t know where you are or where you’re going, but it was so exciting to suddenly be in the hospital. It’s huge! You have to be led around by an A.D. so you don’t get lost and end up on one of the operating rooms. And of course it’s the most wonderful crew and cast. Everybody made me feel so welcome.
TVLINE | Grey’s is such a comfort show for a lot of people. Do you have any personal comfort shows?
I’m mostly a Netflix girl. And Disney+, of course. I watch a lot of streaming streaming shows. Ted Lasso is a huge favorite of mine because I’m a soccer head. I don’t really watch series on a weekly basis, but Grey’s has been an exception, because I’m fascinated by hospitals and operations and things like that. And [my husband Maxwell Caulfield] played a doctor on a nighttime soap in England, so he got very much into all of that medical stuff.
TVLINE | I still consider Passions a comfort show. I find myself watching old episodes on YouTube quite a bit.
Oh, that show was a great experience. It was nearly nine years we did that. It’s the hardest work I’ve ever done in my life. The amount of dialogue I had to learn was absolutely astronomical. Tabitha was often doing spells and talking to inanimate objects and dolls and bowls and animals and stuff, so I had these endless monologues. Looking back, I really don’t know how I did it, but it was a wonderful show to be involved with. It was a very different soap from any other, and it was a great group of people. I was very, very fond of Josh Ryan Evans [who played Timmy], too. He was a great friend of mine, a wonderful person. It was very sad when we lost him [during the show’s run in 2002], both for me personally and for the show.
TVLINE | Since you’re a streaming girl, I’m sure you agree that Passions would be a huge hit on Peacock.
Yes, I don’t understand why they don’t. I mean, they could. I don’t understand why it seems like soaps never do get streamed
TVLINE | Well, the 25th anniversary is next year. I think if we start lobbying, we can make it happen.
Please, you start lobbying and I’ll chime in. Anything I can do — any letter I can write or anybody I can talk to — I’d be happy to do it.
“Gold House’s A100 List is a vital representation of the diverse opportunities and achievements of and for Asian Pacific leaders. Becoming begins with seeing–and it shows how we’re just getting started. I’m so proud to be part of past classes and applaud this year’s class.” said Michelle Yeoh, Academy Award-winning actor, Gold House A100 Hall of Famer, and inaugural Gold Gala Honoree last year.
Gold House will celebrate these honorees through a slate of events from May 5 through May 7, including the Gold Gala on May 6, the premier and most-viewed Asian Pacific gathering, which convenes over 750 Asian Pacific and multicultural luminaries across industries and highlights several major initiatives that will define the next wave of the Asian Pacific movement.
“In the past year, from Everything Everywhere All At Once at the Oscars to IPOs on the NYSE and NASDAQ, we’ve moved from Asian Pacific community firsts to global industry firsts. This is no longer about just having a seat at the table or belonging–the A100 and the powerful Gold Gala are about building new houses by breaking established ceilings for all communities.” said Bing Chen and Jeremy Tran, CEO and COO of Gold House. “By distilling and punctuating the Asian Pacific community’s essential impact on culture, we reimagine what’s possible for our community and redefine how we’re seen in society.”
Honorees on this year’s A100 include:
• A1 in Activism & Journalism: Geena Rocero (Author, Producer, Director, Trans Rights Advocate)
• A1 in Business & Technology: Neal Mohan (CEO, YouTube)
• A1 in Entertainment & Media: Bela Bajaria (Chief Content Officer, Netflix)
• A1 in Fashion & Lifestyle: Radhika Jones (Editor-in-Chief, Vanity Fair)
• A1 in Sports & Gaming: Shohei Ohtani (Professional Baseball Player, Anaheim Angels)
Additionally, fourteen individuals who have been selected for prior A100 Lists were selected for induction into the Hall of Fame.
The A100 also includes special honors:
• SeeHer Award for artists who advocate for gender equality, portray characters with authenticity, defy stereotypes, and push boundaries in front of and behind the camera: Sandra Oh (Actor, Producer)
• Leading Man Honor for the most impactful gentleman across representation, business, and community: Ke Huy Quan (Academy Award-winning Actor)
• New Gold Honor for a rising leader who will redefine canon for the Asian Pacific community: Iman Vellani (Award-winning Actor)
• Gold Legend Honor for a lifetime of indelible contributions to the success and representation of the Asian Pacific community: Andrew and Peggy Cherng (Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Panda Express); Dominic Ng (Chairman & CEO, East West Bank); and Lea Salonga (Tony Award winner, Disney Legend, Singing voice of Mulan)
• Gold Icon Honor for a transformational moment for the Asian Pacific community: Everything Everywhere All At Once Cast & Creators
• Gold Generation Honor for a moment with ongoing cultural impact that is felt across generations: Joy Luck Club Cast & Creators
• Gold Ally Honor for multicultural leaders committed to progressing culture for all: Eva Longoria (Actor, Producer, Director)
Activism & Journalism
• Alex Wagner (Journalist and News Anchor, MSNBC)
• Amanda Nguyen (Founder, Rise)
• Amna Nawaz (Co-anchor, PBS NewsHour: Contributor, NBC News)
• Erika L. Moritsugu (Public Servant)
• Geena Rocero (Author, Producer, Director, Trans Rights Advocate)
• Jose Antonio Vargas (Writer, Producer, Director; Founder, Define American)
• Juju Chang (Emmy Award-Winning Journalist; Co-anchor, ABC News’ Nightline)
• Mina Na-Rae Fedor (Founder and Executive Director, API Youth Rising)
• Rob Bonta (California Attorney General)
• Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA (U.S. Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services)
Business & Technology
• Anjula Acharia (Founder and CEO, A-Series Management and Investments)
• Ann Mukherjee (Chairman and CEO, Pernod Ricard North America)
• Anne Jakrajutatip (CEO, JKN Global Group Public Company Limited; Owner, Miss Universe Organization)
• David Lee & Kinjil Mathur (Chief Creative Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, Squarespace)
• Emilie Choi (President and COO, Coinbase)
• Garry Tan (President and CEO, Y Combinator)
• Ida Liu (Global Head, Citi Private Bank)
• Jen Wong (COO, Reddit)
• Joseph Bae (Co-CEO, KKR)
• Laxman Narasimhan (CEO, Starbucks)
• Lisa Chang (Global Chief People Officer, The Coca-Cola Company)
• Lisa Su (CEO, Advanced Micro Devices)
• Mala Gaonkar (Founder, SurgoCap Partners)
• Melanie Perkins (Co-founder and CEO, Canva)
• Neal Mohan (CEO, YouTube)
• Neha Parikh (CEO, President, Board Director)
• Paul Kwan (Managing Director, General Catalyst)
• Peggy Fang Roe (EVP and Chief Customer Officer, Marriott International)
• Prakash Janakiraman (Co-founder Emeritus, Nextdoor)
• Selena Deckelmann (Chief Product and Technology Officer, Wikimedia Foundation)
• Susan Li (CFO, Meta)
• Tim Hwang (Chairman and CEO, FiscalNote)
Entertainment & Media
• Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, & Lee Sung Jin (Lead Cast & Creator, BEEF)
• Amber Midthunder (Actor)
• Asad Ayaz (Chief Brand Officer, The Walt Disney Company)
• Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Adele Lim, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao (Lead Cast & Creators of Joy Ride)
• Ben Wang, Jimmy Liu, Gene Luen Yang, Kelvin Yu, Destin Daniel Cretton, & Melvin Mar (Lead Cast & Creators of American Born Chinese)
• Craig Robinson (Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, NBCUniversal)
• Deborah Chow (Director)
• Devika Bulchandani (Global CEO, Ogilvy)
• Diep Tran (Editor-in-Chief, Playbill)
• Hannah Yang (Chief Growth Officer, The New York Times)
• Hong Chau (Actor)
• Iman Vellani (Award-winning Actor, Ms. Marvel)
• Jackson Wang (Artist)
• Jameela Jamil, Ginger Gonzaga, “Malia Arrayah” Nahinu, Trevor Salter, Benedict Wong, Anu Valia, & Jessica Gao (Lead Cast & Creators, She Hulk: Attorney at Law)
• Jen Yamato (Film Reporter, Los Angeles Times)
• Jinny Howe & Brandon Riegg (VP and Head of Drama Series & VP of Unscripted and Documentary Series, Netflix)
• Joel Kim Booster (Comedian, Writer, Actor)
• Jonathan Wang & Daniel Kwan (Filmmakers, Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Joseph Chang (EVP and Global Strategy Officer, Kakao Entertainment)
• Ke Huy Quan (Academy Award-Winning Actor)
• KJ Apa, Charles Melton (Cast, Riverdale)
• Michelle Tang (Chief Growth Officer, McCann)
• Mike Van (President, Billboard)
• Nancy Lee (Chief of Staff to CEO and EVP, International, Disney)
• NewJeans (K-Pop Girl Group)
• Randall Park (Actor, Comedian, Director, Writer)
• Rina Sawayama (Musical Artist)
• Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Domee Shi, & Julia Cho (Lead Cast & Creators of Turning Red
• Sana Amanat (Producer)
• Sweetie (Musical Artist)
• Stephanie Hsu (Actor)
• Stephanie Wu (Editor-in-Chief, Eater)
• Steve W. Chung (Chief Global Officer, CJ ENM)
• Steve Lacy (Musical Artist)
• Sulinna Ong (Global Head of Editorial, Spotify)
• Tesa Aragones (President, AKQA North America)
• Tilane Jones (President, ARRAY)
Fashion & Lifestyle
• Alfred Chang (CEO, Fear of God)
• Anna Sui (Fashion Designer)
• Bernard Kim (CEO, Match Group)
• David Tran (Founder, Huy Fong Foods)
• Debby Soo (CEO, OpenTable)
• Jeanne Yang (Producer, Manager, Stylist)
• Joanna Gaines (Interior Designer and Host)
• Ken Ohashi (CEO, Brooks Brothers)
• Margaret Zhang (Editor-in-Chief, Vogue China)
• Melissa King (Chef)
• Patrick Ta (Makeup Artist; Co-founder, Patrick Ta Beauty)
• ‘Bonney Nola Gabriel (Miss Universe 2022 and Miss USA 2022)
• Shay Mitchell (Actor; Co-founder, BEIS)
• Tariq M. Shaukat & Anuradha B. Subramanian (President & CFO, Bumble, Inc.)
• Tracy Romulus (Chief Brand Officer, KKW Brands)
Sports & Gaming
• Alex Chang (Chief Marketing Officer, San Francisco 49ers)
• Eileen Gu (Freestyle Skier; Olympic Gold Medalist)
• Hidetaka Miyazaki (Director, Elden Ring)
• Jason Robertson (Professional Hockey Player, Dallas Stars)
• Jessica Pegula (Professional Tennis Player)
• Jocelyn Alo (Professional Softball Player, Oklahoma City Spark)
• Kathryn Kai-Ling Frederick (Chief Marketing Officer, Los Angeles Rams)
• Laura Lee (Chief Content Officer, Twitch)
• Lester Chen & Andrew Chen (Partner & General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz)
• Li Li Leung (President & CEO, USA Gymnastics)
• Natalie Nakase (Assistant Coach, Las Vegas Aces)
• Pablo Sison Torre (Host, Writer, Commentator, ESPN, Meadowlark Media)
• Shohei Ohtani (Professional Baseball Player, Los Angeles Angels)
• Tammy Henault (Chief Marketing Officer, NBA)
• Whalen Rozelle (COO, Esports, Riot Games)
• Yuta Watanabe (Professional Basketball Player, Brooklyn Nets)
The film currently shooting in Los Angeles watches as an enterprising Sugar Baby, offered ten grand to move in with her Sugar Daddy, comes to discover the dark secrets trapped within his home. Pic is described as part biting dark comedy, part erotic thriller — but above all, a story about sex work through a feminist and queer lens.
Kelly Parker’s Mary Ellen Moffat is producing the film based on Bree Essirig and Garroni’s script. Exec producers include Barrone, Garroni, Essrig, Simon Brook and Brook Productions.
Bloomgarden was part of the core cast of Peacock’s darkly comedic mystery series The Resort from Palm Springs scribe Andy Siara and has also been seen in indies like Jane and Good Girl Jane, as well as the Netflix dramedy Fatherhood led by Kevin Hart. She appeared alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Arquette in the Amazon pilot Hot Pink and will next be seen in the film It’s What’s Inside from writer-director Greg Jardin.
Tupper is perhaps best known for his work on such series as Big Little Lies, The Hardy Boys, A Million Little Things, Revenge and Men in Trees, among others. He’s also over the years been seen in films like Playing for Keeps, Mr. Popper’s Penguins and Me and Orson Welles, in the latter Richard Linklater title, portraying iconic actor Joseph Cotten. Also coming up for him is the thriller Cold Copy, which has him starring alongside Bel Powley, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jacob Tremblay and more.
Most recently appearing in John Logan’s slasher They/Them for Universal, Peacock and Blumhouse, Germaine has also been seen on series like 4400, Work in Progress and The Politician.
Collins led the indie dramedy Big House and has also been seen on shows like Good Girls and Better Call Saul.
Bloomgarden is repped by UTA, The Artists Partnership in the UK, Artists First and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Tupper by Gersh, The Characters Talent Agency, Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Germaine by Gersh, Avalon Management and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; and Collins by The Culbertson Group and Mrk Mgmt.
Returning series regulars include Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Sara Ramírez, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Christopher Jackson, Niall Cunningham, Cathy Ang and Alexa Swinton.
The series is executive produced by Michael Patrick King, John Melfi, Julie Rottenberg, Elisa Zuritsky, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon. Writers included King, Samantha Irby, Susan Fales-Hill, Lucas Froehlich, Rachel Palmer, Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky. Directors included King, Cynthia Nixon, Ry Russo-Young and Julie Rottenberg.
ABC | Station 19 (with 3.8 million total viewers and a 0.5 rating) celebrated its Season 7 renewal by ticking up in the demo. Grey’s Anatomy (3.3 mil/0.4) added a few eyeballs and was steady in the demo.
CBS | The aforementioned Young Sheldon rerun drew just shy of 4 million total viewers. (Is its end nigh?!?!?!)
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.8 mil/0.4, way to go, Pilar!) and Animal Control (1.1 mil/0.2) were both steady.
‘EXHAUSTION IS A CONSTRUCT’ | As “Gunpowder and Lead” got underway, Jules turned down Blue’s invitation to join him on what sounded suspiciously like a date. Soon, she was teamed up with Lucas to treat Matt, a patient injured in a live-action role-play accident involving a foam sword. Jo went off on Link for starting to teach Scout sign language before she’d had time to process Luna’s hearing loss. Bailey discovered that Addison was back in town to stock up the PRT — and see baby Connor in the NICU. Richard and Mika were consulting with a man named Russell who was in for a colonoscopy when he suddenly freaked out. Not about the colonoscopy, though; he outta nowhere didn’t know who they were, where he was or how he’d gotten there. Wife Grace said that he’d been experiencing some brain fog but nothing like this, at least not until now. Upon getting a scan of Russell, Richard and Mika discovered that he had three bullets still in his body from a shooting a while back — he was suffering from lead poisoning.
Once Owen was called in to consult on the case, he explained to Russell that if they removed the bullets, his symptoms would dissipate… except possibly for the confusion. Nonetheless, he agreed to have the surgery. Owen, considering Amelia the only person qualified to perform the operation, had Mika go shake her out of her post-breakup funk. When Amelia arrived at Grey Sloan, she confided in Addison that, in the wake of Mer and Maggie’s departures, she’d been dumped by Kai. “And you know how well I do with abandonment.” Not well at all, we all know. As Amelia consulted with Owen, Winston, Simone and Mika, her hostility was palpable. Not remotely unheard of for a doctor at Grey Sloan to bring their personal s–t to work, but still, not a great look. Scrubbing in, Amelia unleashed the bulk of her anger on Winston. “You let your ego destroy what was once true love,” she told him. Maggie might someday forgive his “smallness,” but Amelia wouldn’t. During surgery, Mika slipped up and was ordered not only out of the O.R. but off Amelia’s service forevermore. Oh, Amelia. Come on.
After Amelia’s part of the surgery was done, Winston complained to Owen that she blamed him for Maggie leaving, which hardly seemed fair. When Amelia is pissed, Hunt replied, it’s rarely fair. Since Maggie no longer worked at Grey Sloan, Winston told Simone that she could perform a tricky part of the procedure. Owen wanted to step in when a problem arose, but Winston insisted that Simone see the crisis through. Once Hunt was out of the O.R., he marveled to Teddy that the country used to grieve together after a shooting. Now we were so used to it, it was barely a blip. Mika apologized to Amelia, who responded with nastiness. Overhearing, Addison pulled her friend aside and asked if she was using again. Since she wasn’t, Addison ordered her to go to a meeting and figure out a way to be of service to the world rather than adding to its pain. “No one has abandoned you,” Addison pointed out. “Everyone’s just doing the best that they can.” Stop the spiral or find someone to help stop it! (Go, Addison!)
‘YOU ARE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD, NOT ME!’ | In the ER, a middle-aged guy complaining of what he said were probably kidney stones asked Blue to page Bailey, who at that very moment was commiserating with Addison about the doxing that had turned her life upside-down. “I just hope to God these lunatics move on before I have a second heart attack,” Miranda said. At least being around the babies — and old friends like Addison — helped a bit. By the time Bailey reached the patient’s bedside, Blue had revealed to her that the patient had lied about having only one kidney. His issue, it would soon become clear, had been but a ruse to gain access to Bailey. “How’s the new place? Boys settling in OK?” he creepily asked her. Shaken, Miranda retreated, but the psycho chased after her and would’ve continued yelling at her, or worse, had Blue not subdued him. Later, Teddy explained to Blue that he hadn’t attacked the patient, he’d simply fallen while pursuing Bailey — that was their story, and they were sticking with it.
When Addison handed Bailey hot chocolate outside the hospital, Miranda chucked it, thinking that it would make her feel better. It didn’t. So Addison encouraged her to let loose her feelings on her. Bailey did, expressing her horror that this nut job had threatened little Pru and her boys. How could her mother have ever said “kill them with kindness”? That gave Addison an idea. She had Teddy give Bailey’s fellow doctors the numbers of her most frequent callers. The docs then phoned the pro-lifers and respectfully explained what the clinic actually did and what a wonderful doctor Bailey is. Maybe if they knew that she wasn’t the monster they imagined, the reasoning went, they’d leave her the hell alone.
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? YOU HATE PREGNANT WOMEN’ | In other developments, Jo reported to Levi that she was awaiting the results of tests that would reveal whether Luna’s hearing loss was the result of an underlying condition. “My job as a mom just changed in the blink of an eye,” she said, “and I’m not sure I’m going to be any good at it.” She would be, Schmitt assured her, adding that he knew how to say three things in ASL (including “butt”). Oh, and as for Matt, he was dying to get back to the renaissance fair to proclaim his love to the princess of his dreams. When Jules wouldn’t let him leave, he said that she had the heart of a troll. Or did she? Lucas thought she seemed jealous when she saw new hero Blue with another doctor. Shortly, Matt’s airway closed up, and Lucas and Jules defied protocol to perform an emergency tracheotomy on the patient right then, right there, without an attending. It was that or let Matt die. Though the patient survived thanks to their fast action, Levi read Lucas and Jules the riot act and insisted that next time, they wait. Later, Jules confided in Lucas about the stupid, obsessive crush that had once cost her so much. Maybe there’s a difference between that and love? Adams suggested.
As the episode drew to a close, Matt’s crush showed up and was excited to hear that he’d spoken about her. Russell wept and admitted that he hadn’t realized how much he’d hated having those bullets in him. Jo received the call that she’d been waiting for and ran to Link: Luna’s healthy! She just has isolated hearing loss. “I was an ass,” she admitted, “and I’m sorry.” In the locker room, Lucas told Jules that he needed her to take his place as Simone’s person of honor. “You must really love her,” Jules cracked. And she was noticeably peeved at seeing Blue leave with the doctor with whom he’d been flirting. Winston approached Teddy to be considered for cardio chief. Seeing how Mika was struggling to pay her bills and study and live, Helm marched into Grey Sloan and yelled at Teddy to do better by the hospital’s residents. Maggie FaceTimed Richard to update him on how things were going in Chicago. Seeing Amelia leaving the hospital, he quickly approached her and said that he was in a spiral, too. Maybe they could go to a meeting together? Finally, Addison copped to coming to Grey Sloan just for the day to check on Bailey. Aw, and the supplies with which they loaded up the PRT… were from Cristina.
The network also has confirmed that Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige will serve as showrunners and exec producers after Deadline revealed that Krista Vernoff was stepping down from Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy, with the pair likely to step up.
Over the past few years, the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff has been getting renewals alongside its mothership series. However, Grey’s was renewed for its 20th season last month, and Deadline understood that the holdup on Station 19 was the size of the order, which ABC has not revealed. Previous seasons have generally been 16-18 episodes.
Helping this renewal was the fact that the main cast have contracts that cover next season and beyond.
Clack had added exec producer and head writer duties on Station 19 under Vernoff, and this marks her second promotion in eight months. She joined the show in August amid an upheaval in the series’ writers room following an incident involving racial slur used by a racist character in a draft of an outline, which exposed long-simmering racial issues on the show.
Clack will share the role with The Fosters and Good Trouble co-creator Peter Paige, who joined the show in 2020 during season four as a director and became an exec producer in season six.
Stacy McKee, Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, and Paris Barclay serve as executive producers on the series. It is produced by Shondaland and ABC Signature.
Station 19, which was created by Stacy McKee, is set in Seattle and focuses on the lives of the men and women at Seattle Fire Station 19. It stars Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon, Barrett Doss, Alberto Frezza, Jay Hayden, Okieriete Onaodowan, Danielle Savre, Miguel Sandoval, Boris Kodjoe, Stefania Spampinato, Carlos Miranda, Josh Randall, Merle Dandridge, and Pat Healy.
The season six finale will air on May 18.
It is the latest renewal for ABC as we head into May Upfronts; earlier this week it renewed The Good Doctor for season seven, Will Trent for its second season and The Rookie for its sixth season as well as hit comedy Abbott Elementary for its third season in January and Grey’s last month. With The Goldbergs ending with its tenth season and A Million Little Things also coming to an end, this leaves The Connors, The Rookie: Feds, Big Sky, The Company You Keep, Not Dead Yet, Alaska Daily and Home Economics waiting on decisions.
Zoanne Clack said, “I feel incredibly honored to be entrusted with this dynamic and relevant show alongside Peter. The diversity of the cast, writers, and crew in addition to their enormous talent and dedication to their craft makes this a thrilling adventure to undertake. We are excited about the stories we get to tell using this worldwide platform and both understand the responsibility of being able to share them as we reach into millions of homes weekly. Many thanks to Krista and Shondaland for this opportunity and their faith in us.”
Peter Paige added, “I’m beyond honored to be handed the reins to Station 19 – a show I love, full of incredible, complex characters, and resonant, important stories. To get to partner with a talent like Zoanne as showrunners truly makes it all the more exciting – we share a similar vision for the show, and we’ve got some incredible twists and turns planned for the coming season. A huge thank you to the entire team at Shondaland, and everyone at ABC for their faith in us. And eternal gratitude to Krista Vernoff, for bringing me into the 19 family, and for modeling conscious leadership in such a powerful and deliberate way.”
Clack is represented by CAA, Circle of Confusion and Felker Toczek Suddelson Abramsib McGinnis Ryan LLP and Paige is represented by Anonymous Content and Jackoway, Tyerman, Wertheimer, Austen, Mandelbaum, Morris, & Klein.r
"NASHVILLE" The Reunion Tour is headed this way. The tour will include Clare Bowen, Charles Esten, Jonathan Jackson and Sam Palladio, who will perform classic songs from the series along with their original material. After a five-year hiatus from touring in the United States as a group, the singing actors will play shows in Nashville and Chicago before heading for a run of concerts in the U.K. Chris Carmack will join his castmates on stage in Chicago on September 23.
"I'm thrilled to be reuniting on stage with these wonderful Nashville friends here in the U.S. First, at Chicago's beautiful @rosemonttheatre and then, most fittingly, on that historic stage where @nashvillecmt said it's final goodbye and sang its last song - the Mother Church herself- @theryman," Esten wrote on Instagram.
The four artists will play the Ryman Auditorium on September 25, before heading to the U.K. on October 11. Due to overwhelming demand, additional dates were added to the U.K. tour, which will visit Glasglow, Birmingham, Manchester, London and Cardiff.
"NASHVILLE" debuted in 2012 against the backdrop of Nashville's music scene, and the show followed the lives of Clare Bowen (Scarlett O'Connor), Chris Carmack (Will Lexington), Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne), Jonathan Jackson (Avery Barkley) and Sam Palladio (Gunnar Scott) as they tried to make lives in the country music business.
The show reached 225 territories worldwide before its final season in 2018 and spawned 22 soundtracks, including a Christmas album, which collectively sold millions of copies.
Tickets for Chicago and Nashville go on sale on Friday, April 21 at 10:00 am CST. Ticket information for all U.S. and U.K. shows can be found at www.nashvillereuniontour.com.
"NASHVILLE" THE REUNION TOUR
SAT 23 SEP 2023 CHICAGO, IL - ROSEMONT THEATRE *
MON 25 SEP 2023 NASHVILLE, TN - RYMAN AUDITORIUM
WED 11 OCT 2023 GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEC ARMADILLO
THU 12 OCT 2023 GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEC ARMADILLO – SOLD OUT
FRI 13 OCT 2023 BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - RESORTS WORLD ARENA
SAT 14 OCT 2023 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - O2 APOLLO - MATINEE
SAT 14 OCT 2023 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - O2 APOLLO – EVENING – SOLD OUT
MON 16 OCT 2023 LONDON, ENGLAND - EVENTIM APOLLO
TUE 17 OCT 2023 LONDON, ENGLAND - EVENTIM APOLLO – SOLD OUT
WED 18 OCT 2023 CARDIFF, WALES - INTERNATIONAL ARENA
“Grey’s Anatomy is such an extraordinary platform, such an extraordinary microphone,” she said. “It’s in hundreds of territories worldwide, and it has a very real impact on hearts and minds, and sometimes it literally saves lives. We get letters from people [that say], ‘I was able to save the life of my baby because of what I saw on Grey’s Anatomy.’ ‘I was able to save my brother who was drowning because I saw CPR on Grey’s Anatomy.’ We get these letters that — I have full body chills as I talk about it — and so I’m proud of it all.
“If I say any more,” she added, “I’ll start to cry.”
Vernoff will shed no tears, however, over stories that may not have played out as well as she might have hoped they would. “Oh my gosh, I’m sure that if I looked at some of the early stuff, there would be do-overs that I would want,” she acknowledged. “But the only way to survive in Hollywood is to filter out anything that doesn’t feel good anymore. I think we’ve done phenomenal work.”
Grey’s Anatomy has already been renewed for Season 20, with executive producer Meg Marinis stepping up to the plate to succeed Vernoff as showrunner.
ABC | Station 19 (with 3.8 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating) was steady. Grey’s Anatomy (3.3 mil/0.3) was steady with its first hour, but the second (3 mil/0.3) slipped to series lows.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.6 mil/0.4) and Ghosts (6.1 mil/0.4) were both down in audience and respectively hit and tied demo lows. So Help Me Todd (4.5 mil/0.3) and CSI: Vegas (3.3 mil/0.3) each added eyeballs and were steady in the demo.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.6 mil/0.3) slipped to at least season lows, while Animal Control (1 mil/0.2) hit and matched its lowest numbers to date.
The Shondaland CEO, whose credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton and Scandal, will receive the award that is given to people who have made a “significant, inspiring and outstanding contribution to film, games and TV.” At the New York event on May 3, she will partake in a fireside chat and cocktail reception, marking the first BAFTA U.S. in-person award presentation since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Shonda’s trailblazing work has captured our hearts and inspired audiences around the world,” said BAFTA North America Board Chair Kathryn Busby. “We are honored to be presenting a BAFTA mask to such a deeply respected and admired artist.
BAFTA Chair Krishnendu Majumdar added that Rhimes has “built the foundation and platform to launch global careers.”
In mega-hits Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Scandal, Rhimes is the first woman to have achieved the 100-episode milestone with three different shows.
In 2017 she launched Shondaland and struck an unprecedented exclusive agreement with Netflix, which has spawned royal smash Bridgerton and the likes of Inventing Anna about Anna Delvey. Many similar agreements with top talent have been struck since.
‘YOU ARE DONUTS IN HUMAN FORM’ | In “Shadow of Your Love,” a patient who’d tried to mail himself to his girlfriend as a grand gesture inspired very different reactions from Teddy and Owen. “What’s the lesson here? Romance can be fatal,” she said. Nah, her husband reassured the fella after his significant other dumped him for being so stupid. It had taken Owen an eternity to get the timing right with Teddy, he explained. If the guy really thought she was the one, he should try again. Hilariously, he didn’t think she was the one after all. But Owen’s pep talk had had a big impact on Teddy, who drolly remarked as they left for the day, “You really went for your two favorite things in that speech — proving me wrong and getting laid.” The latter of which, he was about to. Link, too, had been moved — so moved that he was ready to tell Jo, “Although I hate most of humanity, I don’t hate you.” He even filled their apartment with flowers and set the scene for dinner by candlelight. Alas, before he could open his heart to his BFF, she phoned in tears: The nursery had just informed her that there seemed to be something wrong with Luna’s hearing. D’oh! That’s a thousand bucks’ worth of flora down the drain!
‘SHE IS NOT THE QUEEN OF SPIRALS, SHE IS JUST A QUEEN’ | Spending the day with Kai, Amelia admitted that she had a long and colorful history of spiraling when people leave her, and with Meredith gone and Maggie going… eesh. Kai remained unfazed, pointing out that that tendency was but a small part of their girlfriend. “You are underestimating my ability to fall off the deep end,” Amelia cracked. (But seriously, she’s right.) Only after she had had a good cry over the loss of her sisters did Kai finally confess that they’d been asked to open a lab in London. “I wanted to tell you earlier,” they said, “but you were already so sad.” And Amelia was about to get even sadder: Kai had accepted the job. Back at Grey Sloan, Richard barked at Levi upon learning that he had yet to apply for a fellowship. Webber wouldn’t realize that he had in that instance failed his chief resident until Schmitt indirectly called him out for it while they were operating on a boy named Grayson whose real-life concerns Blue had dismissed. “Sometimes being a good doctor, or even a good mentor,” Levi said, “means listening to what the other person needs.” Snap!
‘SHE’S NOT POP-ROCK, SHE’S LED ZEPPELIN’ | Chicago-bound Maggie had one foot out the door when she was aggressively paged by a woman named Viv, who’d driven 400 miles to get her “platonic soulmate” Nola’s tumor removed. Though most of us can’t even get a doctor’s office to return a phone call, Pierce pushed her flight back and tackled the case with Winston, who she hadn’t even been sure would answer her page. “You’re still my boss till the end of the day,” he noted. By and by, the estranged couple came up with an ingenious way to take out the tumor that was crushing Nola’s heart. The surgery was going to be hella tricky, though. So “no interns,” Maggie said. “There’s no margin for error. Just you and me.” After they pulled off the miraculous procedure, they went to inform Viv, who broke down in tears, thinking that her friend had died. “Those were not ‘I just saved a life against all odds’ faces!” she told the Bickersons. As the couple left the hospital, they took turns praising one another’s work. “The way you accessed that jugular today!” Maggie marveled. The end of the sentence was clearly “It was so sexy!” because the next thing we knew, the two of them were getting naked.
‘WE CAN’T LET ADAMS NEAR YOUR INSEAM’ | In other developments, Bailey at first rejected Ben’s suggestion that, having been doxed, they should move into an Airbnb and change her number. “I’ve known that number longer than I’ve known you,” she exclaimed. But at day’s end, after receiving a texted photo of Tuck leaving school, Miranda informed her husband that yeah, they were pulling the kids out of school and hightailing it to a rental. Throughout Episode No. 1, Simone took Jules’ attitude toward marriage — it’s a distraction, Millin agued — as a criticism of her plans to wed Trey. But it wasn’t marriage that was a distraction, it was wedding planning, said Griffith, having a mini-meltdown over the fact that she didn’t have time to get fitted for her dress. Sweetly, Jules then took Simone’s measurements for her; they certainly couldn’t let “man of honor” Lucas do it!
‘I LOVE YOU, BUT… ’ | In “Mama Who Bore Me,” Amelia was distracted from her busy schedule of being heartbroken and ticked at Kai by a complicated surgery to install a 3D-printed vertebra in a patient who was allergic to the metal in the screws and plate that had been stabilizing her spine. (Whew — got all that?) Once she’d completed the operation with Owen, he suggested that she talk to Teddy and perhaps get Kai hired at Grey Sloan. Amelia did exactly that, but it didn’t matter. As Kai pointed out, when they’d told their girlfriend the news, she’d offered up zero words of encouragement and made it all about her. “I love you,” they added. “‘But,’” Amelia noted. “That’s what people say before they abandon you.” Elsewhere in the hospital, Simone roped Maggie into consulting on the case of a young lawyer with nipple discharge. So Pierce was on hand when the woman — Toby — remarked that her mother had warned her against being too ambitious; looking back at her career 20 years from now wouldn’t make her smile. You bet it will, Maggie countered. “You loving your job is a beautiful thing. It doesn’t make you cold, it makes you passionate.” Though Simone was initially reluctant to break the news to Toby that she had breast cancer, she ultimately stepped up.
‘I’LL SNEAK YOU A BAGEL LATER’ | When Grayson balked at the idea of rescheduling his bar mitzvah, Levi got the idea to have the ceremony and reception at the hospital. That way his elderly Zayde, who might not ever be able to make the trip to Seattle again, would be able to take part. Though Grayson was reluctant at first, he eventually warmed to the idea and seemed to have a swell time. Noticing the feat that Levi had pulled off, Richard floated the idea that pediatrics was the fellowship that he should pursue. Meanwhile, in Link and Jo’s storyline, he shuffled his schedule so that he could be there when Luna’s mom took her to get her hearing checked. The news was not good: The tot was diagnosed with progressive hearing loss. Link, as Link is wont to do, tried to cheerlead, but Jo pushed him away; she needed time to process this development.
‘YOU ARE MOVING, YOU’RE NOT DYING’ | The morning after Maggie and Winston’s farewell romp, she asked him to come with her to Chicago and work on their marriage. And what? Let her get him another job? He couldn’t. He was just starting to gain respect at Grey Sloan. Instead, she should stay, he said. Stay and fight the part of her that was as cold as Ellis. Ah, another day, another impasse. After Richard laid a guilt trip on Maggie, she pleaded her case to Catherine, who reassured her that her dedication to her career was “not coldness, focus.” Maggie, it seemed to Catherine, was following her heart — something that she suspected both her husband and Ellis wished they’d done way back when. After Winston kept Nola from succumbing to a blood clot in her jugular, Jules, awestruck, told him how eager she was to be on his service. As the second episode drew to a close, Richard apologized to Maggie and gave her a going-away present: a miniature of the bench where he’d learned he had a daughter. In one last moment with Winston, Maggie reminded him that both of her mothers had stayed in their marriages to keep other people happy, not themselves. She wouldn’t do the same. “We did the best we could,” she said. “I love you, but I have to go.” In response, he sadly told her, “I love you, too, and I have to stay.” As if to solidify in Maggie’s mind that she was making the right decision, as she took an elevator ride to her future, she saw both Ellis and Diane by her side.
TVLINE | I was happily surprised that Maggie and Winston’s parting wound up being so, in a way, inspiring. Did you have a hand in that?
I thought, “I’m making this request to find a way to wrap up Maggie’s storyline.” Beyond that, I sort of had to leave it in the hands of the writers, and I loved the way they did it. It honored her time at Grey Sloan and with the family that she had made there in such a beautiful way. Yes, there were definitely bitter moments, but it wasn’t all bitter. Nothing is ever all one thing. Everything has elements of dark and light and shades of gray in between. So it was pretty wonderful to have that reflected in the last couple of episodes.
TVLINE | Was it hard for you to pull the plug on this on-screen relationship you’d worked so hard to build?
I feel like the way they did it was really right and appropriate. I also feel like, especially in comparison to the way Maggie’s previous relationships have ended, it was mature and civil. More than civil, there was real understanding and compassion between Maggie and Winston in the end. It leaves the door open for them [to reunite], maybe in some other universe, maybe in Chicago. [Laughs]
TVLINE | The last shot of Maggie with her two mothers was so powerful. What in your mind was Maggie thinking in the moment before she saw them and the moment after?
I think she was wrestling with the question of who is she and what does she want. She’s been doing that since she first got to Grey Sloan, but she’s been doing it more than ever since the conflict in her relationship began at the end of last season. She’s been like, “What am I doing? Who do I want to be? Where will I get the tools?” And she finds that she’s been given them by her mothers. And now, it’s like, “Great, what is my responsibility to their legacy? How do I take what they gave me and build on it and honor them?”
TVLINE | Do you think Maggie has thought through what it might feel like to come back to Seattle and find that Winston has moved on with someone else?
Oooh. That’s a great question. I think Maggie is living her absolute best life in Chicago, and she wants that for him. That is the beautiful thing that they leave each other with is that understanding. “I’ve gotta stay here, you’ve gotta go. It sucks. Maybe we could have worked it out if we were able to stay here together, but that’s really neither here nor there, because we just don’t want the same things out of life right now.”
TVLINE | Looking back, what story arc are you the most proud of?
It’s hard to rate them. I love the Diane stuff — and recovering from [her passing]. Maggie was going through such a difficult time, and she was handled with compassion and love by everyone but also with a firm shoulder shake by everyone at the hospital. That was beautiful. She went through a tough thing, and I love being able to keep that with her. I always thought of Diane and Ellis — they were the foundation of my backstory and all the choices I would make about the character and what she wanted. I always thought about what they gave her. It’s impossible to escape the influence of your parents, whether they’re here or not.
TVLINE | I’ve gotta ask. Fans had such strong feelings about Maggie and Jackson’s pairing. Did the stepsibling factor give you pause?
Honestly, I’ve gotta say, that was so weird, because they were not stepsiblings. They were not related at all! And they were adults. But I get it. Once something gets in your mind and sort of disrupts your ability to go along with something, you’ll find lots of reasons to criticize it. So that was what it was, I guess.
The episodes chronicled Maggie’s last day at Grey Sloan and her departure for her new job in Chicago. Compared to Meredith, who got a big going-away party, Maggie’s sendoff was more subdued, but she had heartfelt goodbye scenes with several longtime surgeons, most notably her dad Richard who gave her a present: a business-card holder shaped like the bench they sat on when he found out she was his daughter.
Maggie and Winston pulled off one last medical miracle together, teaming to save a woman with a giant tumor near her heart. They also rekindled their passion, spending Maggie’s last night in Seattle together. But they remained on separate tracks, and he aced the follow-up surgery on the patient with the removed tumor alone, declining Maggie’s help.
“I love you, but I have to go,” Maggie told Winston in the duo’s farewell conversation.
“I love you, too. But I have to stay,” replied Winston.
The two didn’t have a proper goodbye as Winston turned around and left when he saw Maggie hugging her dad goodbye.
Will they see each other again and maybe get closure when Maggie returns to Grey Sloan later this season? In an interview with Deadline, McCreary teases her upcoming guest appearance, revealing that it will be during the Season 19 finale, which also will mark Pompeo’s return to the show. McCreary explains why she decided to leave Grey’s Anatomy after nine seasons and how Maggie and Winston’s storyline in the Season 18 finale — when she questioned whether the two did not marry too quickly — influenced that decision. She discusses Maggie’s story arc this season, the disintegration of her marriage to Winston after a string of failed previous relationships, and ultimately her choosing her career and leaving Seattle. McCreary also reflects on her years on Grey’s, addresses whether she would return to the show next season and beyond and what is next for her — and for Maggie.
You can take a look at Maggie’s journey on Grey’s, from her arrival to tonight’s farewell, in the retrospective video above.
DEADLINE: When did you decide to leave Grey’s Anatomy after so many years and why?
MCCREARY: Well, it was a lot of years but specifically at the end of Season 18, Maggie and Winston were at this challenging crisis, and I just kept thinking about how the show really is about people showing up at the hospital and growing up and learning a lot of hard lessons and becoming the best version of themselves and then at some point, for whatever reason, the actors and characters move on, usually after a pretty long period of time.
Maggie came here on a very specific mission; she came to Seattle, to Grey Sloan, to know more about her family — and by extension herself — and every season I asked that question, has Maggie figured out what she wants, does she have a new question? I wondered if the struggles she was facing, the compatibility questions she was having with her husband were really questions about herself and who she really was and what she really wanted, and I thought, maybe that’s a sign that it’s time for her to move on. And so I went to [showrunner] Krista [Vernoff] and I said, “I think it’s I think it’s time for Maggie to move on.”
DEADLINE: When you told the producers that you’d be leaving, did you know that Ellen Pompeo also would be leaving in Season 19?
MCCREARY: No, I didn’t know that.
DEADLINE: Did you have an input into Maggie’s exit arc? Did you ask for a heroic death like those of many major Grey’s characters?
MCCREARY: Well, I knew I might be throwing a wrench into their plans with the request so I was open to anything. I was like, “Look, if you’ve got to kill me I get it, tragic things happen to Meredith’s friends and family all the time, so if that’s where we have to go out, I understand.” But they have something else in mind, and I think it really is in keeping with with the journey that Maggie has been on, which is growing into more and more of herself as she discovers who that is. I always wondered if there was a part of her that forgot her youthful ambition, forgot her youthful genius or youthful talent and might have that reawakened in her. So, it wasn’t my idea for her to go out the way that she did but I was consulted on the pitch, and I thought it was a great idea. I was really happy with that.
DEADLINE: Maggie has always been career-driven and a perfectionist. Talk about her decision to choose career over love. It must have been heart-wrenching.
MCCREARY: It was definitely heart-wrenching. I think it was heart-wrenching mostly because she wanted to be different, but, like you said, she always was ultimately fueled by this passion for medicine, for science. I think it’s just disappointing that you can’t be all the things and do all the things you want in life, not at the same time at least. So yeah, I think, as the perfectionist that she is, it’s heartbreaking to have failed at it. And it’s heartbreaking to not be able to do all the things that you say you’re going to do. But I think that there’s still hope it might come around and maybe once Maggie figures out this ambition thing, maybe she can be settled and happy in love someday down the road in some other universe.
DEADLINE: When are you coming back to Grey’s this season? And since Winston and Maggie didn’t have a formal goodbye, will they get closure when you return?
MCCREARY: Maggie will appear again. And she and Winston will talk some more, I’ll put it that way.
DEADLINE: Is long-distance relationship in the cards for those two?
MCCREARY: I honestly don’t know. But what I think is really great is that these two characters shared this enormous success. And Winston has the opportunity to build from that too. I think they both might have an awakening of their ambition. So I can’t say because I don’t know, but I think that they’re both set on a positive course because of the work they did together.
DEADLINE: You mentioned Maggie and Winston’s work together. They performed two miraculous surgeries this season. After the first one where they saved a little baby, they had one of their fights and then in Episode 14 tonight, after removing a giant tumor, they went home together, showing everyone that they still have love for each other. Talk about that juxtaposition and the couple’s relationship we watched deteriorate in real time over the season.
MCCREARY: I think the short answer to that question is that it’s not all one thing, it’s not all wonderful, and it’s not all bad, this relationship and these people in this dynamic. Some parts of it really, really work, in some ways they’re each other’s best match, and in other ways they’re not. And so, like in any relationship, it’s a question of, do you want to stay connected? Do you want to keep working on it or not? I think it’s very painful for them to both say that at this moment they want to work on other things — or Maggie wants to work on something else — but not because there isn’t a lot of love, not because there isn’t a desire to have it all. It’s just that it’s impossible. It’s impossible for them to have it all given that they both really want different things at this moment.
DEADLINE: How was it for you to play that out this season, sinking further and further, with no salvation for the relationship, including the gut-wrenching scene between Maggie and Richard last month when she asked him “How did you know?“, maybe sensing that it was over for her and Winston?
MCCREARY: I think Maggie has always had self-doubt when it comes to her relationships; she has not really known how to do it. So I think it’s a genuine question, it isn’t like, is this over or is this something you can work through? She doesn’t know, she doesn’t have the experience, she doesn’t have a history of having resilient relationships. It’s sad — I’m referring to the scene with Maggie and Richard — it feels sad, but it really is a request for help. I think ultimately, she would want to make it better if she could. And that’s why there is still love between them. If it could go any other way, they would try it but it’s just not in the cards at this moment.
DEADLINE: What was the final scene you filmed (in this episode, since you’re coming back)? What happened after? Were there hugs, tears?
MCCREARY: Well, the last scene that I shot had been kicked down the schedule a couple of weeks because of the weather, the rain that we had this winter and other issues that had come up and made things move because it was an outdoor scene; it was the scene with Caterina [Scorsone] who plays Amelia at the coffee cart. And because it had kept getting rescheduled and kicked down the schedule, it made the departure really stretched out.
It kind of caught everybody by surprise that it was the last scene because it was just like, we finally got the scene on the calendar, let’s shoot it. And then it was over so yes, there was a very sudden emotional outburst at the end because I don’t think anybody really realized how quickly it would go and the magnitude of it. And, like you said, I am going back to shoot scenes in the finale so it didn’t really feel that final. It’s definitely the end of a story arc but I’ll be back for the finale, but yes, there was a lot of hugging.
DEADLINE: It’s funny that Maggie’s relationships were not very strong, but you found love on the show and have a beautiful baby and a husband whom you met on Grey’s. Looking back at your and Maggie’s journey, what will you miss the most about being on the show?
MCCREARY: It feels like leaving your hometown, it feels like moving away from home. I was there for nine years and those folks are my teammates, my family, my community, my first community in L.A. — I more or less moved here for the job from New York. So it’s definitely the end of something that’s really special. Like you said, I have had a lot of life lived in the last nine years. And so, in many ways, it feels like I grew up there, growing to my womanhood. I’m a different person than I was when I started; I’m certainly a different actor than I was when I started. I’m a mom, I’m a wife. A lot of life happened in that time, and all of those people were there with me, the cast and the crew and everything.
DEADLINE: What is next for you? And would you come back occasionally to reprise your role next season and beyond since Maggie’s not dead?
MCCREARY: She’s not dead, and she’s still got family and friends in Seattle so if they want me to come, I would humbly and gratefully run over because, like I said, this story arc has closed but she’s still deeply connected to Seattle and to the Grey Sloan family so the door is certainly open on my end.
Next for me is a little bit of rest and then seeking out opportunities to play some different characters using all of the tools and experiences I’ve had and collaboration and world-building, building Maggie’s world out on Grey’s. It’s been an incredible place to play all kinds of things, comedy, drama, a little bit of action, a little bit of satire; we’ve had everything on the show, so I’ve had a little taste of a lot of different things I want to do going forward. Definitely suspense, definitely some thriller moments. I’ve had the opportunity to dip my toe in a lot of waters that I would love to dive in later.
Also on the list for the committee are musician Jon Batiste; Constance M. Carroll, president of the California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Association; actor George Clooney; Harvard professor Philip J. Deloria; M. Angélica Garcia, president of Berkeley City College; actress Jennifer Garner, art historian, museum director and curator Nora Halpern; bookstore owner and former congressman Steve Israel; producer-writer Marta Kauffman; producer Ricky Kirshner; actor Troy Kotsur; Bad Robot Prods. co-CEO Katie McGrath; Laura Penn, executive director of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; artist and educator Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya; author and Stanford Professor Emeritus Arnold Rampersad; producer and author Shonda Rhimes; retired attorney and CPA Kimberly Richter Shirley; educator and journalist Horacio Sierra; writer and actress Anna Deavere Smith; singer-songwriter Joe Walsh; actress, director and producer Kerry Washington; and Pauline Yu, president emerita of the American Council of Learned Sciences.
Biden announced last year that he was reviving the committee, which was disbanded during the presidency of Donald Trump.
The committee, set up in 1982 during Ronald Reagan’s administration, advises the president and heads of cultural agencies on ways to elevate the importance of the arts, including through federal support.
In 2017, remaining Obama-era members of the committee resigned in protest of Trump’s response to the Charlottesville riots. Trump did not renew the executive order for the committee.
Biden issued an executive order in September reviving the committee.
In the order, Biden pledged that his administration would “advance the cultural vitality of the United States by promoting the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services,” including when it comes to advancing equity, accessibility and opportunity. The order also pledges to “strengthen America’s creative and cultural economy, including by enhancing and expanding opportunities for artists, humanities scholars, students, educators, and cultural heritage practitioners, as well as the museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, colleges and universities, and other institutions that support their work.”
A number of the members of the committee have ties to Biden, including as campaign donors and supporters. Along with Stephanie Cutter, Kirschner served as executive producer of Biden’s inaugural. Kaufmann hosted First Lady Jill Biden at her home for a midterm fundraising event in September. Batiste performed at a White House state dinner in December.
During the Obama administration, Cohen also served as the entertainment industry liaison for Joining Forces, the initiative from First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to support military service members, veterans and their families. Lady Gaga performed at Biden’s inauguration, and traveled with him to support an initiative to address campus sexual assault.
The initiative comes from CAA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), in partnership with the non-partisan group Campaign for Our Shared Future.
“History is clear: good ideas are strengthened through contest, as governments are through debate. Since time immemorial, book banning has been the refuge of leaders who fear that their arguments and writs cannot withstand scrutiny. Its violence is born of weakness. And we are not a weak people – fighting book bans is an act of patriotism and a show of strength,” stated Emmy Award-winning actress, Julianna Margulies.
Between July 2021 and June 2022, 2,571 unique books that fairly address issues of race, gender, and culture in age-appropriate ways were at risk of being banned from classroom and library shelves by state or local officials.
“I am a reader. I think all books have some value, but the life-changing books that have fought for that space in the school Canon of literature, they represent what has been so vital to America. Eli Wiesel’s books and “The Diary of Anne Frank” taught me the importance of never forgetting. And to keep tragedies alive in writing teaches the resilience we have. They went through it and they wrote about it so one day we won’t have to,” stated actress Selma Blair.
States including Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma, have proposed or passed legislation to eliminate some books. The book titles at risk include Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Beloved”, Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, and “The 1619 Project”, a Pulitzer Prize-winning report from The New York Times on the legacy of slavery in the U.S.
CAA Foundation Executive Deborah Marcus says, “This current wave of book banning in the U.S. is an issue that we all need to be deeply concerned about. Librarians and teachers across the country are being targeted, threatened, and fired for putting books on shelves that are age-appropriate, historically sound, and reflective of society during the time periods in which they were set. The bans and these tactics pose a direct threat to the health of our entire educational ecosystem and to our democracy.”
Campaign for Our Shared Future Executive Director, Heather Harding, Ed.D. added, “Books have the power to introduce us to new places, cultures, and perspectives. But right now students across the country are facing empty bookshelves in their classrooms and school libraries. Books that have been read for generations are being banned by extremists who appoint themselves judge and jury on what’s appropriate for everyone else.”
To learn more about #LetAmericaRead, the dangers of book bans, and actions you can take, visit the website here.
The Boat Rocker-produced Amber Brown, which also stars Darin Brooks and newcomer Liliana Inouye, was written and directed by Bonnie Hunt, who also served as executive producer and showrunner.
The series stars Rose as the title character, an everykid who is going through what children of divorced partners experience, and making sense of her new family dynamic through her sketches and video diary. Drew plays Amber’s mother; Brooks plays Sarah’s boyfriend, Max; Inouye plays Amber’s friend Brandi Colwin.
Bob Higgins and Jon Rutherford executive produced for Boat Rocker.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are returning to direct from a script by Chris Bremner, which sees the previous cast from Bad Boys: For Life, including Paola Núnez, Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig, returning for the fourth installment.
Jerry Bruckheimer, Smith through his Westbrook banner, and Doug Belgrad are back producing; with Martin Lawrence, James Lassiter, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Barry Waldman and Jon Mone serving as executive producers. Plot is being kept under wraps. Dane is expected to play villain in pic.
Dane can currently be seen in the Emmy nominated HBO series Euphoria starring alongside Zendaya. He was nominated for a 2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Award for “Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama” for his performance in the show; and the series was also recently nominated for the 2023 Critics Choice Award for “Best Drama Series.”
Dane is best known for his role in ABC’s critically-acclaimed, Golden Globe-award-winning and Emmy-nominated series Grey’s Anatomy. He recently wrapped production on Luckychap’s Borderline and the motorcycle racing film, One Fast Move opposite KJ Apa. Next, Dane can be seen in Tony Tost’s directorial debut National Anthem from Bron Studios, co-starring with Sydney Sweeney, Halsey, and Paul Walter Hauser, which premiered out of SXSW.
Dane is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman. The news was first reported on The Hot Mic podcast.
What lies ahead is “something that’s really going to test Richard like maybe nothing before has up to this point,” OG James Pickens Jr. told TVLine at the ABC drama’s recent PaleyFest panel. “His focus is going to be ushering her on and cheerleading her. He’ll try to not dwell on [the potential of her dying] as much as possible, if that can be done.
“But I think he wants to just make her landing, wherever that is,” he added, “as comfortable as possible.”
The harrowing storyline is certainly challenging Pickens and leading lady Debbie Allen, who not only plays Catherine but directed the second hour of the two-part Thursday, May 18, finale (starting at 9/8c). “Obviously, we both have longtime spouses, and so you get in the mindset of ‘Oh my God, what if this were really my wife or husband or something? How do you deal with that?’ So, it’s kind of cathartic in that way.”
Too soon — way too soon, we know — but we had to ask: Should the worst happen, does Pickens think that Richard happened to hang onto the phone number of flirtatious Gemma (Jasmine Guy)? “Oh my God, I’m not going to talk about that,” he said with a laugh. “That’s all secret.”
NBC | Law & Order (with 4.3 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating), SVU (4.4 mil/0.5) and Organized Crime (3.2 mil/0.4) each added eyeballs and held steady in the demo.
ABC | Station 19 (3.6 mil/0.4) and Grey’s Anatomy (3.2 mil/0.4) both dipped, while Diane Sawyer’s sitdown with Jeremy Renner (3.4 mil/0.3) drew the time slot’s best audience since Alaska Daily‘s series opener.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.9 mil/0.4) and Animal Control (1.2 mil/0.3) were both steady, while Call Me Kat (1.2 mil/0.3) ticked up in both measures and posted only its fourth 0.3 rating of the season-to-date.
‘THERE ARE NO WRONG ANSWERS HERE’ | As the Chandra Wilson-directed “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” began, Maggie and Winston were singing one another’s praises to a marriage counselor. Or trying to, anyway. Maggie somehow took her husband saying that he appreciated how hard she works as a diss. Elsewhere, Ben, worried about his wife’s safety at the clinic, drove Bailey to work. Mika discovered that she was too underweight to make 75 bucks selling her plasma and was reduced to eating donuts out of the garbage. At Grey Sloan, Levi learned that Carlos had finished his gig in Seattle and had moved on to his next location. Simone awkwardly asked Jules to be her maid of honor. Pass, said Millin, suggesting Mika instead. (Um, how well does the job pay?) Teddy was stunned to discover that Maggie was being poached; the article on the partial-heart transplant had made her an extra-hot commodity. Finally, Georgia the Bull Rider was choppered in.
Back in Maggie and Winston’s counseling session, she expressed excitement about possibly relocating to Chicago. “I’ve already moved across the country for you once,” he pointed out, adding that when he’d volunteered to change specialties for her, she’d lost all respect for him. Needless to say, it was not going well. When Maggie was paged and announced that she had to go, Winston majorly pouted… until his wife pointed out that she was on trauma call. D’oh! Soon, she made her way to the hospital to consult on Georgia’s case. Maggie felt that Amelia should operate first to make sure that the patient didn’t wind up paralyzed. However risky the surgery was, Georgia’s parents wanted her to have it. “Save our daughter’s ability to ride.” In the O.R., Amelia asked why Maggie hadn’t told her she’d been receiving job offers. Maggie didn’t have to move to achieve whatever she wanted to, Amelia said. She need only ask Bailey and Richard for funding.
‘CAN WE KEEP ALL NONESSENTIAL CHATTER TO A MINIMUM?’ | In the O.R., Maggie made Amelia and Owen tense. On one hand, it was like Pierce had a vise on the room. On the other, wouldn’t we all like to think that somebody was taking our surgery as seriously as Maggie was taking Georgia’s? Suddenly, the hematoma that was also an issue for the patient exploded, and despite the fact that her spine was exposed, her surgery had to be taken over right then, right there by Maggie. (Words you never want to hear: “Get the saw ready.”) Miraculously, Georgia pulled through, but Maggie and Amelia wanted to discuss the bull-riding with Mom. The doctors assumed that the girl was being pushed into the dangerous “sport.” But, in fact, Georgia was addicted to it. It was her passion. Maggie could relate. She, too, seemed to feel like everyone was telling her not to love the thing that she loved. When Georgia awakened, Maggie explained how well she understood what she was going through and begged for the chance to safeguard the kid’s future.
‘YOU SCREW UP ONCE, YOU’RE A SCREW-UP FOREVER’ | In the ER, Richard treated a man named Seth who complained of abdominal pain — and wasn’t too keen on being a teachable moment for Simone and Lucas. What was really going on, it at first seemed, was that he was going from hospital to hospital to get prescriptions for painkillers. Only Lucas suspected that what they were dealing with wasn’t addiction — and reminded Simone that he hadn’t listened to his gut with Tessa, and look how that had turned out. So Griffith relented and had his back. But when Levi discovered that they hadn’t discharged Seth as ordered, he barked at them. Nonetheless, Simone and Lucas disobeyed, and off Richard’s words of wisdom about X-rays, they deduced that something really was wrong with Seth. At the same time, Bailey counseled Levi that he might want to take a different approach with the residents. He had wanted to be the residency program’s vagina, after all. Turned out, Seth had a toothpick stuck inside him! Riding high off their success, Simone… oh, no, kid. No, no, no. She asked Lucas to be her “man of honor.” Seriously? Just then, Schmitt, taking a different tact with the youngsters, invited them out for drinks at Joe’s. There, Mika asked Taryn if the bar needed an extra tender, and the ex-resident said she’d put in a good word for her.
‘WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR ME TO REST?’ | Jo insisted to Link that she was sick, but he could tell that she wasn’t sick-sick. She just badly needed a day off. So he took one, too, and brought her latte and tiny donuts. Why, she wondered, was it so hard for her to rest? He didn’t know, but he did know why he found it difficult. When he’d had cancer, he’d spent a lot of time in bed listening to his parents fight, so he associated rest with misery. Jo countered that he only felt safe when he was taking care of somebody else, like he’d learned to do with his parents. That was when he felt comfortable enough to relax. Sweetly, he then ventured that maybe she couldn’t rest because she’d never had somebody who made her feel safe enough to rest. (At last, progress in their relationship.)
In other developments, after seeing a woman who refused a chest X-ray because she couldn’t afford anything more than antibiotics, Mika pleaded with Teddy to let her get proper care pro bono. No dice, said the chief. The woman insisted that she couldn’t miss work to fill out forms to obtain free care and yelled at Mika that she was a doctor with a cushy salary, she didn’t understand what it was like to be so poor. Mika set the woman straight and convinced her to get treatment, come what may. As the episode concluded, Maggie reminded Winston that he’d abandoned her during their first Zoom with his family. He’d shown her who he was at that point — she should have believed him. He protected himself no matter what. Their marriage could survive a job in Chicago, she said. But he didn’t seem to want it to survive. He’d already taken his love and retreated.
“It isn’t your heart” that she disrespects, Maggie told her husband. “It’s your cowardice.” So hell yeah, she was going to Chicago. Winston could stay there and pretend that he’d been abandoned (and this photo certainly makes it look like he was). But he’d never sell that version of their story to her. (How on earth could she then ask him in the scenes from next week to go with her?) Jo admitted to Link was she was feeling better and looked at him dreamily. Jules confessed that she was turned on by Blue’s staunch anti-animal cruelty stance. (Why wouldn’t she be? Compassion is sexy!) And Ben found Miranda’s picture slapped on every car windshield in the lot. Written on the pieces of paper: the words “baby killer” and their home address and phone number!
Not only does OG Ellen Pompeo return for her first post-series-regular appearance as Meredith — perhaps to tie up loose ends with Scott Speedman’s Nick? — but some major s—t goes down. So on one hand, since McKidd’s longtime castmate is scrubbing in and “the place isn’t the same without her… it’s celebratory,” said the vet, who’s played Owen since Season 5.
But on the other, “it’s also quite shocking. There are going to be some things in it that people are going to be kind of surprised and shocked at.” Not to mention, apparently, heartbroken over; just look at what Camilla Luddington (Jo) tweeted on April 4.
For his part, McKidd is only too delighted that the Thursday, May 18, season ender (starting at 9/8) has been supersized. “Sometimes we do a two-hour finale, sometimes we don’t,” he noted. “I’ve directed the first hour of the two-hour finales before, so this isn’t a new feeling for me, but it’s always fun because I get to collaborate with the [other director, in this case] the legend Debbie Allen,” the EP who also recurs as Catherine. “Our episodes are connected. So we very much have to work together to get those episodes working in tandem and in concert with each other. So that’s a really fun side of a two-hour finale.”
Page will make his first appearance during the May 4 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” playing Sam Sutton. According to the character description provided by ABC, Sam is “an Air Force pilot who is seriously injured in a base-jumping accident. Although he’s coping with trauma, he somehow maintains his sense of humor and charm.” The episode is titled “Come Fly With Me,” and in the logline, it says the character of Link (Chris Carmack) willl be wrestling “with his own self-doubt as he preps for a massive surgery.”
Will that massive surgery be performed on Sam? Perhaps!
Page co-starred on the series “The Bold Type” — a five-season-long Freeform show that drew a cult following, especially among media people — as a publishing executive (and endgame for Meghann Fahy’s character, Sutton). He also appeared as a recurring cast member on the original “Gossip Girl,” “Desperate Housewives,” “House of Cards,” and on “Mad Men,” on which he played Greg Harris, Joan’s (rapist!) husband.
Page is represented by UTA, Silver Lining Management and attorney Alan Wertheimer.
Last month, ABC announced an early renewal for “Grey’s Anatomy” for a historic 20th season. Executive producer Meg Marinis will take over as showrunner from Krista Vernoff, an original writer for the medical drama who’s been running “Grey’s” since Season 14. The Season 20 status of Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey — around whom “Grey’s Anatomy” has revolved since its 2005 premiere, but who said goodbye to Seattle on the Feb. 23 episode — remains in flux.
But our upset is music to the ears of outgoing showrunner Krista Vernoff (who’ll be succeeded by EP Meg Marinis next season). “I love putting a viewer through a good wringer,” the Grey’s Anatomy vet told TVLine at the show’s recent PaleyFest Q&A. “I think the tone has really been a return to form, where there’s high drama, there’s high emotion, and there’s also a lot of funny, a lot of humor, a lot of heart.
“It’s a magical combination that is a joy to write,” she added, “and a joy, I see, for these actors to play. I’m glad the fans are going on the ride.”
That, we are. And as we approach the two-hour Season 19 finale (airing on Thursday, May 18, at 9/8c), we’ve gleaned a whole lotta intel about what to expect in the episodes to come from the series’ regulars:
Hi, Anxiety: Thus far, Bailey has held it together admirably as anti-abortion protesters have targeted the reproductive-health clinic that she named after her late mother. But “at some point, it’s going to start to touch her personally,” said Chandra Wilson, the OG who plays Miranda. “So I’m excited for our audience to be able to go through that journey with her. It’s one thing to watch somebody you know [and quite another] when it’s like, ‘Oh, but wait a minute, she’s me,’ and to see what that awakens in people when you get rid of all the noise and just get down to the basics of healthcare. That’s the story that we’re trying to tell.”
Flying Solo: Brother Derek is long gone. Sister-in-law Meredith has taken off for Boston. And in the Thursday, April 13, episode, Kelly McCreary last airs as Maggie. Is Amelia equipped to absorb the blow of yet another loss? “One of the things that we’ve learned about her over the years,” said portrayer Caterina Scorsone, “is that her No. 1 skill, yes, is neurosurgery and, yes, being a mom and a friend, but her No. 1 skill [aside from all that] is resilience. So I think Amelia can get through just about anything” at this point.
Set to 'Simmer': Amelia’s romance with Kai has been back-burnered a bit this season, but Scorsone is nonetheless thrilled that she gets to play out the on-screen relationship with E.R. Fightmaster at all. “One of the things that I’m so excited about with Grey’s Anatomy is that we touch on issues that need to be unpacked for people who maybe don’t have tons of access to information or all sides of the story,” she said. “One that I feel very passionately about, obviously, is right now the country is so polarized and there’s been so much violence against LGBTQ and trans people, and last year, we introduced our first nonbinary doctor and got to present to the world the full humanity and depth of someone in that community. I feel so privileged to be a part of that storyline.”
A Love With Some Real Life to It: Given the response to Amelia and Kai’s pairing, we’re all but assured to get more of them. How could we not? As Scorsone noted, “That ship exploded when it came on screen. People saw chemistry there from the beginning and became huge champions of that relationship. So we haven’t seen tons of it this year, but every time we have seen it, there’s been a lot of excitement about it.”
Mum's the Word: Derek’s nephew Lucas has been scrubbing in at Grey Sloan for almost an entire season now, and we still don’t know which of McDreamy and Amelia’s sisters is the resident’s mother. Will we ever? “I have no doubt that you will,” Vernoff said, “next season.” So, er, probably not before we get to this finale? “Probably not this season.” Well, what’s a summer, anyway, without a little suspense?
Lesson Learned?: Even after Owen bankrupted his family, nearly went to prison and almost lost his medical license, he’s not exactly an altogether changed man, theorized portrayer Kevin McKidd. “He is always going to do things that are out of the box. He leads with his heart, not his head a lot of the time, and it gets him in trouble.” Mind you, Hunt would prefer not to repeat past mistakes. “I think he’s a little wiser now after what happened,” McKidd offered. “Hopefully, he’ll go through the correct protocols more [moving forward]. But he’s always going to have this kind of rogue element to him.”
Can This Marriage Be Saved?: Before Owen finally said to Teddy those two magic words — “I’m sorry” — things looked awfully bleak for the couple. So he’s aware that he’s probably pushed it as far as he can with his wife, said McKidd, adding that “what’s beautiful about the way they crafted the second half of the season is they’ve started to show them heal all these wounds [from the affair with Koracick on]. They’ve been through a lot the last three or four years. And we really start to see them in a more mature couple place.”
At the Crossroads of Business and Pleasure: Ironically, Teddy’s new position at Grey Sloan is one of the things that has the greatest positive impact on her and Owen’s home life. “Her being chief and him having been chief makes him go, ‘This is the toughest job here,'” said McKidd. “It’s bonding them. It’s reconnecting them, because he’s been in those shoes, and he starts to show up for her. Who doesn’t like that in your partner? So we kind of see their love start to reignite.”
Less 'Goodbye' Than 'TTFN': Some viewers were surprised that Ellen Pompeo’s send-off as a series regular didn’t feel like a real send-off. But that was by design, Vernoff explained. “It wasn’t a farewell episode, it was a leaving-Seattle episode, because we knew we were going to see Meredith again this season and more next season as well. So it was a different kind of farewell than some that we’ve done where it’s like, ‘That’s the last you’re ever going to see that person.’ We didn’t want to do that. We wanted a sweet ‘See you later’ kind of thing for Ellen. And then, we’ve still got her voiceover anchoring the show, which I think has a much bigger impact than anyone is fully aware of. Maybe for that reason, I have felt that the show’s been pretty steady.”
Spin Cycle: If Grey’s Anatomy were to birth another offshoot down the road, McKidd would be more than up for it. “That would be fantastic,” he said. “Listen, I’m down. I’ll be there. There’s a lot of life left in all of these characters. We expanded the world into Station 19. I don’t see why we can’t expand it yet further. I’m not quite sure how — maybe it’s an army medicine thing — but there could be something really fun and quite vital there.”
Although the EP wouldn’t get into specifics, “what I can say is that I still have hope for them as a couple,” she offered. “I think there’s a lot of good there, and fans will have to wait and see” how — and if — they resolve their issues.
We won’t have to wait too terribly long, either. Vernoff hinted that we’d have a sense of where Meredith and Nick’s relationship is headed by the end of Season 19, which wraps on Thursday, May 18, with a two-hour finale marked by Ellen Pompeo’s first post-series-regular appearance. (Leading man Scott Speedman continues to recur.) “I don’t believe in closure as a rule, in life or in storytelling. I think it’s a misnomer,” Vernoff said. “But I think there will be [some]” for Drs. Grey and Marsh.
Certainly, there will be some closure for Vernoff when Season 19 concludes: After six years at the helm, she’s stepping down and leaving her post in Season 20 to Meg Marinis, who has been with the show since Season 3 (and has been an EP since Season 15). Also on her way out is Kelly McCreary, who after nine seasons will last air in a series-regular capacity as Maggie in the Thursday, April 13, episode. Like Pompeo, she is is expected to continue to make guest appearances now and again.
In a moving Instagram post on Monday, the actress revealed, “A couple of months ago my house burned down… while getting my kids ready for bed and finishing bath time,” before adding, “Smoke began to seep up through the grout around the tub. When I looked down the hallway a river of thick black smoke had already formed and was filling the house.
“One thing about fires: they happen fast,” Scorsone continued. “I had about two minutes to get my three kids out of the house, and we escaped with less than shoes on our feet. But we got out. And for that I am eternally grateful.”
Sadly, Scorsone says she and her family “lost all four of our pets” in the blaze, a loss “we are still sitting with.”
The longtime Grey Sloan doc went on to thank all of “the incredible people that showed up and the incredible ways that they did,” including the firefighters, investigators and her colleagues at Grey’s Anatomy.
“What we learned is that the only thing that matters are the people (and beings) that you love,” Scorsone concluded. “The only thing that matters is community. We would not be here without it and we are so grateful.”
"I haven't been back since 2019. It's really special that [creator] Frank [Hursley] continues to ask me to come back," Wilson tells ET's Will Marfuggi. "This is the first time I've come back as a character that I played before, 'cause usually I'm playing someone different, so I'm very honored to do that."
Wilson is not only honored to be featured on the daytime drama because of its iconic history, but more so because she's such a fan of it personally.
"It is comfort food to me because it's been in my life [as long as] I can remember," she says of General Hospital. "... I looked forward to every summer vacation as a kid because then I could get all caught up. It didn't seem like you missed too much after the school year, and this just continued with me as an adult. This is my everyday viewing. I don't watch anything else. I watch General Hospital every day."
Wilson won over the General Hospital cast thanks to her clear love of the show, with Laura Wright gushing to ET about how Wilson "was so excited to be here" and Evan Hofer remarking that "it's so cool how much she loves General Hospital."
Kelly Monaco calls Wilson's appearance "amazing" and "iconic," as other cast members praise the actress for how she handled her role.
"They wrote her really heavy with a lot of lines, she came in letter perfect, knew every word, didn't even have her script in her hand, just knew everything to say," Jacklyn Zeman says. "She's a real pro."
"She's such a professional," Kirsten Storms agrees. "First of all, they gave her a mouthful to say and she handled it like such a pro. It's been great. She's kind and giving as an actor and funny. I had a couple scenes with her, so it was a lot of fun."
Meanwhile, Donnell Turner says Wilson "brings such great energy and talent to the show," and Michael Easton notes that "it's really special when she's here."
Also making Wilson's appearance all the more special is the fact that it takes place during the daytime drama's fictional fundraiser, The Nurses Ball.
"It's our biggest event that we do," Storms says. "Every time as a cast member when we hear The Nurses Ball is coming, there's nerves and excitement... It's a fun time."
There's no better way to celebrate the show's diamond anniversary, which Turner calls "priceless."
"There's not many shows that can say that they have 60 years and General Hospital's just that engine that could," he says.
"I'm pleased to be part of it."
The 60th anniversary episodes of General Hospital begin airing April 2 on ABC.
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 6.9 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating) and Ghosts (6.2 mil/0.5) were both down, while So Help Me Todd (4.2 mil/0.3) and that emotionally charged CSI: Vegas (3.2 mil/0.3) were both steady.
ABC | Station 19 (3.7 mil/0.4) dipped, while Grey’s Anatomy (3.6 mil/0.4) and “bubble” drama Alaska Daily‘s season finale (2.7 mil and its seventh consecutive 0.2) were steady. Season to date, Alaska Daily is averaging 5.4 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating (with Live+7 playback); out of the 10 dramas ABC has aired this TV season, it ranks No. 6 in audience but ties fellow freshman The Company You Keep for last in the demo.
NBC | Law & Order (4.1 mil/0.4), SVU (4.2 mi/0.5) and Organized Crime (2.8 mil/0.4) each dropped some eyeballs but were steady in the demo.
THE CW | Walker (620K/0.1) matched its audience low.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.8 mil/0.3) matched series lows, Animal Control (1.2 mil/0.3) was steady and Call Me Kat (1.1 mil/0.2) dipped.
‘REMEMBER WHEN BEING A DOCTOR WAS CONSIDERED HEROIC?’ | As the second half of the two-parter began — read the recap of Part 1 here — chaos reigned. Addison and Tia (the pregnant OB) were ambulanced from the clinic to Grey Sloan, and Teddy put the hospital in lockdown. “I was only clipped on the shoulder,” Addison immediately informed Bailey. Montgomery, badass that she is, didn’t even want sedation before having Link pop her shoulder back into place. She wanted to pitch in and help save Tia’s baby, whom she’d already named Connor. (Odds weren’t great, though, since the mom-to-be was only 28 weeks along.) Before the first commercial break, Carina was beginning a C-section. Once the newborn had made his debut, Tia was rushed to the O.R., and Bailey called the patient’s husband. In the NICU, poor Connor had to undergo teeny tiny chest compressions. Just watching Addison save the boy’s life almost gave Simone a heart attack. Though Addison was hurting — Amelia could tell — she kept right on working. But that’s Montgomery for ya, Amelia told Link, adding that she thought Addison was the fates’ make-good for her own terrible sisters.
Meanwhile, in the O.R., Tia started the traditional 30-minutes-into-an-episode coding. Owen wanted to keep operating, but Tia had so very much wrong with her that Bailey wanted to send her to the ICU to give her a break. She felt especially responsible for Tia since the young woman’s program hadn’t required her to come to Grey Sloan, she’d wanted to. She’d been the first to sign up, in fact. In the NICU, before lil’ Connor underwent yet another procedure to ensure that he could breathe, Simone marveled at Addison. Having been in that very NICU when she was born, Griffith noted that someone like Montgomery had worked to save her life. After Link insisted on seeing Addison, Lucas joined Simone in the NICU. (Googly eyes commenced.) Alone with Amelia, Addison marveled that she was being targeted for performing abortions when that was what she saw patients the least for.
‘WE’RE AWFUL PEOPLE’ | At the entrance, Ben and Maya were barred entry by a security guard — only essential personnel were allowed in during the lockdown — until Teddy happened by and let them come check on Bailey and Carina, respectively. Ben got a lovely “I’m OK” from Bailey when he glimpsed her in the O.R. Maya had a brief, awkward interaction with Carina. As Ben got Pru out of daycare, he pointed out to Maya that the terror that they’d felt that day as they worried about their spouses was how Carina and Bailey felt every day (what with their being married to firefighters and all).
‘WHY DO YOU LIVE WITH A 90-YEAR OLD?’ | Since Amelia feared that Blue could be concussed and he couldn’t go home because he lived alone — nobody to monitor him if he lost consciousness — Jules was tasked with watching him. Soon, the secret lovers were busy treating Jules’ roommate Maxine (Juliet Mills) and her friend Norma. The former might have a UTI, the latter was having knee issues. As Maxine and Norma leered at Link, he taught Jules and Blue how to aspirate a knee. When the ladies’ test results came back, Jules and Levi informed them that they both had gonorrhea. Hilariously, their calls to their recent partner… both went to the same guy, Hal. Turned out, Max and Norma were far from loverboy’s only partners! (How amazing was Max’s end-of-episode monologue!)
‘IF I KEEP TELLING MYSELF THAT EVERYTHING IS FINE, EVENTUALLY IT WILL BE TRUE’ | When Winston sought out Maggie to check on her, they shared what had to be their warmest moment in ages. Things were still fraught, however. And they were going to get worse — somehow the article on the partial lung transplant quoted Maggie as saying that she’d put together a team of “assistants” for the procedure. No way would Winston take that well! Ah — and he didn’t. By the time Maggie got to Winston, he’d read the article and seen that he hadn’t gotten so much as a mention, even though they’d come up with the procedure together. “I want to fix this,” Maggie said. “There’s no fix,” Winston said. “Say you’re sorry. Say you respect me and mean it.” She did so, but alas, he didn’t believe her.
‘SURGEONS CAN’T FREEZE’ | Midway through the episode, Richard happened upon Mika, who was totally (and understandably) freaked out. He kindly reassured her that reacting to trauma was what made her human. No sooner had Mika emerged from hiding than she was thrust into helping Miranda perform an emergency procedure on Tia. Yasuda was still hella tense, but she managed to keep it together and assist in saving the new mom’s life. As the hour neared its conclusion, Teddy reported to Bailey that the anti-abortion driver who’d hit Tia had been caught. When Tia’s husband Brandon arrived, Bailey told him that there were no guarantees that she’d pull through, but they were hopeful. From there, we seemed to flash-forward a bit. Levi and Carlos’ romance had clearly developed — they were at the Carlos-bringing-Levi-coffee stage. As Addison left, Bailey urged her to please be safe out there. When Tia awakened, she feared that she’d lost the baby. But Brandon was there to reassure her that Connor was fine. Alone in an elevator with Jo, Link told her that she didn’t have to hold it in anymore, and at last, she broke down crying. And our last shot? Addison getting into the PRT and setting out again.
The two lifelong friends had been estranged for awhile after Kate (Sarah Chalke) severed ties following the car accident Tully (Katherine Heigl) got into with Kate and Johnny’s daughter Darah in the car. Kate had a change of heart in the Season 2 midseason finale. After getting diagnosed with cancer, she found herself knocking on Tully’s door, only to miss her by a minute as Tully, heartbroken over the dissolution of their friendship, took off to film a documentary in Antarctica.
The Season 2B trailer starts with a glimpse at Tully’s stay in Antarctica and ends with Tully and Kate’s big reunion. The final episodes of the series, which drop April 27, also will fill in some gaps in earlier time periods, including Kate’s relationship with one-time British boyfriend Theo, who proposes to her in the trailer, as well as Johnny’s first wedding to Kate (and possibly his first proposal too). It also provides some “revealing” Tully-Danny updates.
You can watch the trailer above.
Firefly Lane, which is ending with the current second season, was created by Maggie Friedman based on the book by Kristin Hannah. Friedman serves as executive producer and showrunner. Heigl and Shawn Williamson also executive produce alongside Michael Spiller and Stephanie Germain.
For the past several years, ABC had renewed Grey’s Anatomy and spinoff Station 19 in tandem. I hear deals for Station 19 are still being worked out and the first responder drama is likely coming back.
After the big sendoff episode for Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey in the midseason premiere, she will be returning for the Season 19 finale of Grey’s Anatomy on May 18. While there is no acting deal for her beyond this season, I hear there is likelihood that she will appear on the show next season. Pompeo remains an executive producer on Grey’s, and provides the voiceover that opens and closes each episode.
In a recent interview, she hinted that she may not be done playing Meredith Grey, and I hear the showrunner change on Grey’s may increase the probability of her reprising her role in Season 20.
The contracts for several other longtime Grey’s cast members are also up this season, I hear, including Kevin McKidd (Owen), Kim Raver (Teddy), Camilla Luddington (Jo) and Caterina Scorsone (Amelia). Producing studio ABC Signature would have to make new deals with any of them to come back.
Grey’s Anatomy is wrapping up a transformational season, with Pompeo stepping back, Kelly McCreary leaving and five new main characters joining the show, played by Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, and Midori Francis. The new cast additions have been mostly well received, with most — in not all — expected to be picked up for another season.
Nineteen seasons in, Grey’s Anatomy still ranks as ABC’s #1 entertainment series this season in adults 18-49. It is among the season’s Top 5 highest-rated dramas in the demo (#5-tie). Grey’s Anatomy averages 10.7 million total viewers after 35 days of delayed viewing across linear and digital platforms to rank as ABC’s #1 entertainment series in delayed multi-platform viewing.
Marinis is repped by UTA and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum.
‘I’VE SEEN THE DESPERATION, I’VE SEEN THE PAIN, I’VE SEEN THE LIVES LOST’ | As “Training Day” began, Bailey coaxed Pru to brush her teeth (with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”), Trey FaceTimed Simone to make wedding plans (no, Griffith; just no), and Owen reveled in the fact that he could once again play doctor without supervision. Wasting no time, he ordered everything in trauma reverted back to his m.o., not Winston’s (even though Winston had bought everyone lunch on Fridays). Meanwhile, the residents groused about the fact that Lucas had forgotten to pay the gas bill — no hot water at Mer’s former house; painful. After Addison arrived on the scene, newly extra (in)famous after a Chicago Tribune article, she, Bailey and Jo welcomed their out-of-state advocacy fellows. At the same time, Maggie urged a young woman named Jessica to accept a lung transplant over a two-lung transplant that wasn’t available, owing to the fact that she’d been waiting for two years to breathe easy. All the while, protesters grew louder and rowdier outside the hospital’s doors.
Post-first commercial break, a guy named Ryan was ambulanced in with blunt force trauma to the chest. (Welcome back, Hunt.) Turned out, Ryan was Jessica’s boyfriend and supposed to donate that much-needed lung to her. At the rate that his condition was declining, though, he might soon have two available, it seemed. Oh dear — it was his lungs that had been injured. Scratch that, then. Alone with Maggie, Nick admitted that he had told Mer that he loved her and she’d pretended that she hadn’t heard him. “She’s complicated,” Pierce said. Mm, that’s one way to put it. While Maggie rode Lucas hard over his prioritizing household issues, Amelia offered him no help. Scrubbing in for surgery, Jules invited Simone to shower at her place. In the O.R., Winston threw a Hail Mary to save Ryan’s lung for later transplant; all the patient had to do was, uh, live. Outside, Lucas confided in Nick how lost he was since Mer had left. He wanted to think that he was there because of his own merits, but… erm. In response, Nick reassured Shep that Mer wouldn’t have accepted him to the program out of sentimentality.
‘YOU MADE ME A PLAYLIST… FOR MY ABORTION?’ | Thanks to the protesters, security wanted to close the clinic. “Stay open, call for backup,” Teddy told Bailey and Addison. Nearby, Mika and Blue treated a young woman who had come in for an abortion. With her: her BFF, who was also pregnant and wanted to be. As Addison marveled at the excellence of the OB/GYN trainees, Bailey encouraged her to come back for monthly sessions. Just then, a brick came flying through the window and knocked Blue to the ground, bleeding! (“Montgomery murders” was written on it.) While Mika was treating Blue, one of the trainees admitted that she’d posted on social media about her plans for the day. She was mortified that she had accidentally directed protesters to Addison and the clinic. Seeing the direction in which the day was going, Bailey explained to the young doctors that the clinic was named after her mom and, like her mom had, they had to help each other up. Just then, the young woman having an abortion announced that her friend’s water had broken.
Shortly, Bailey found Addison crying in a supply closet. “I got a bulletproof vest,” Montgomery admitted. “Clinics are being set on fire… ” Acid is being thrown at doctors. Addison’s cellphone number has been put online. Her family has been terrorized. But “I’m not gonna quit,” Addison assured Miranda. How she was going to go on, however, remained a big question mark. Understandably, she was not doing well. Teddy was large and in charge, however. As clinic patients flooded the hospital since they were unable to get into the clinic, she said that no, they were not closing the ER. As the protesters grew ever louder, the woman in labor became ever more panicked. Bailey calmed her by singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” (What doesn’t that work for? It soon became a full-on sing-along!) Overhearing from the supply closet, Addison appeared to be buoyed. So much so that she pitched in to deliver the baby, who was momentarily stuck.
‘CAN YOU PLEASE QUIET YOUR VOICES SO I CAN HEAR THE ONE IN MY HEAD?’ | As the hour drew to a close, Jessica asked Lucas if she could stick around post-discharge so that she could see Ryan when he came out of surgery. Not only could she, she recalled aloud to him their first kiss. “You changed my life in an instant,” she told him. (How awkward for Simone standing there with Lucas.) Richard congratulated Teddy on making it through a challenging day. Lucas shared a brainstorm with Nick that might help Jessica. In turn, Marsh revealed that he had needed help to become a good doctor, too. He even showed Lucas how to present a case to Maggie in a better way. Between surgeries, Simone told Trey that she wanted to get married asap — like next month, so that her grandma could attend. Owen encouraged Winston not to change specialties after seeing what he pulled off in the O.R. that day. Finally, as the hospital staff was led out by security, the pregnant OB/GYN trainee and Addison were struck by a protester’s car as they talked.
“After nine seasons, I am saying goodbye to Maggie Pierce and her Grey Sloan family,” said McCreary who thanked Grey’s Anatomy creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes, executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff, and ABC for the opportunity to be a part of the “legendary television institution” that the long-running medical drama is. “Playing Maggie Pierce has been one of the true joys of my life, and I leave with profound gratitude for every step of this journey. I am excited for this next chapter, and what the future holds.” (You can read McCreary’s farewell message in full below and take a look at her character through the years.)
Like was the case with Pompeo, whose Meredith Grey left Seattle in the midseason premiere, Pierce’s Grey’s exit also has been carefully planned. I hear she approached the producers ahead of time about her desire to leave and pursue other opportunities, which led to Maggie’s Season 19 arc being crafted as the character’s final chapter at Grey Sloan, building toward her upcoming exit. That final storyline has revolved largely around Maggie and Winston’s (Anthony Hill) deepening marital problems.
“Kelly McCreary is a writer’s dream come true; brilliant, nuanced, thoughtful, and kind,” Vernoff said. “We will deeply miss her and her beautifully crafted Dr. Maggie Pierce.”
Known for her perfectionism and drive to be in control, Maggie was introduced in the penultimate episode of Season 10. In a finale bombshell, it was revealed an episode later that Maggie was the biological daughter of Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and Meredith’s late mother, Ellis Grey (Kate Burton).
McCreary returned in Season 11, starting off as a recurring and quickly getting promoted to a series regular. She has been a member of the core cast ever since, only taking a short break at the start of Season 18 in the fall of 2021 when she gave birth to her first child with director Pete Chatmon, whom she had met on the set of Grey’s Anatomy.
There has been a lot of heartbreak for Maggie through the years. She was with her mom as she lost her cancer battle, and she also met a cousin who later died on her operating table.
Maggie went through several relationships, most notably with DeLuca and Jackson, until she met Winston, one of her residents at Tufts who followed her to Seattle. They married during Grey’s Covid-themed Season 17, holding two weddings, a smaller one in Meredith’s back yard and a larger one on the beach.
The first signs of trouble for Maggie and Winston came in the Season 18 finale when she questioned whether the two did not marry too quickly without getting to know each other well. He quickly erased her doubts with an emotional speech about their love for each other.
However, Winston’s well-intentioned idea to change specialties and leave cardio in order to protect their marriage soon created a new rift. They have been arguing ever since and famously fought in the attic of Meredith’s house as it got hit by lightning, starting a fire. Even as they pulled off a professional “miracle” by performing successfully a first-of-its-kind risky partial heart transplant surgery on a newborn baby, Winston and Maggie continued to drift apart, which led to her moving in with Amelia and seeking advice from her dad.
At the end of last week’s episode, Maggie tearfully asked Richard how he and Catherine knew that what they were going through “was just a rough patch and it wasn’t something more… malignant.” While Richard was reassuring, the way his words were intertwined with Meredith’s end-of-episode voiceover made the exchange ominous. The scene culminated with Richard saying, “Whatever’s going on, you and Winston have so much love between you that whatever it is, you work through it, I know you will,” followed by Meredith’s line, “Sometimes, despite our schooling and centuries of medical advancement, the disease wins.”
Kelly McCreary on leaving Grey’s Anatomy:
After nine seasons, I am saying goodbye to Maggie Pierce and her Grey Sloan family. It has been a tremendous honor to be a part of such a legendary television institution as Grey’s Anatomy. I will always be grateful to Shonda Rhimes, Krista Vernoff, and ABC for the opportunity, and to the incredible fans for their passionate support. To spend nine years exploring a character inside and out, while reaching a global audience with impactful stories, is a rare gift. It has afforded me an opportunity to collaborate with, learn from, and be inspired by countless brilliant artists both in front of and behind the camera. Playing Maggie Pierce has been one of the true joys of my life and I leave with profound gratitude for every step of this journey. I am excited for this next chapter, and what the future holds.
CBS | Primetime coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball championship tournament averaged 3.2 million total viewers and a 0.8 demo rating.
ABC | Station 19 (4.2 mil/0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (3.4 mil/0.4) and Alaska Daily (2.9 mil/0.2) all added viewers and were steady in the demo, with Alaska Daily matching its best audience since Episode 2.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.9 mil/0.4) was steady, while Animal Control (1.4 mil/0.3) and Call Me Kat (1.3 mil/0.3) both ticked up.
In other twists of plot, Lucas and Blue volunteered to pull what just might be the ultimate d–k move, Owen managed to stun Teddy anew (do they even like each other anymore?), and alas, things were looking bleak for Natalia, the patient whose divorce ceremony was the most romantic on record. But those are just the bullet points; read on, and we’ll get into the nitty gritty.
‘HOW IS THAT A FRIEND?’ | As “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” began — sans the Eurythmics song, sadly — Simone was being kept up by the noisy sex that Lucas was having with Kara, an annoying rando from internal medicine, in the next room. At Amelia’s, Maggie was proving to be the most annoying roommate ever. At Richard and Catherine’s, she was undergoing Reiki ahead of her surgery that day. Jo and Levi were bickering over which of them worked harder when in front of them appeared hot nurse Carlos from the residents’ party. Hilariously, Schmitt didn’t want to see him just then because the traveling nurse was under the impression that the erstwhile Glasses was cool. In the chief’s office, Owen revealed to Teddy that he had taken steps to be assessed that very day in hopes of being granted permission to practice medicine again. Since Link’s surgery was cancelled, his interns — Lucas and Blue — were reassigned to Catherine. Natalia seemed to be doing well following last week’s procedure. And Amelia, Simone and Mika treated a woman named Barbara whose sisters were almost gleefully sure that she was next in line to get cancer.
After buttering up Bailey with compliments about her pie, Teddy asked her former boss to supervise Owen. Nope, said Bailey. Busy. Link agreed to babysit Altman’s husband, but Hunt’s first patient didn’t want to have the doctor who killed Tank working on him with a doctor who was on probation. In other words, the assessment was off to a rocky start. Owen’s next patient was in too big a hurry to wait to get treatment — so from rocky to rockier. Luckily (?), into the ER next came a patient in seriously bad shape. Link advised caution, but Owen insisted that there wasn’t time. As the patient was wheeled into surgery following initial treatment, it was impossible to tell whether Hunt’s assessor was impressed or distressed. Later, after telling Bailey that the assessor had seen enough and left, Owen defended his actions. How about instead of yell about everything that he did right, he apologize to his wife already? Jeez, Owen!
‘HOW DOES HE PEE… SIDEWAYS?’ | Treating Gerald, a patient suffering from Peyronie’s disease, Catherine, Lucas, Blue and Levi learned that he had told his wife and loved ones that he was at a conference. Lucas and Blue were horrified to learn that Gerald had “bone in his bone.” So horrified — and amused — that Levi wisely encouraged them to get all of their penis jokes out of the way before they hit the O.R. Alone with Schmitt, Gerald worried aloud that his condition would be permanent. Levi doubted that that would be the case. But based on what the patient had said, the chief resident was sure that his marriage to Gloria could withstand even that turn of events. In the O.R., the surgery proved to be too much for Blue, who fainted. Catherine would’ve bet Lucas would pass out, not Blue, she laughed. (Same, honestly.) Post-surgery, Gerald’s wife showed up to make sure he was OK. She handled all their insurance payments, so he hadn’t covered his tracks as well as he’d thought. She didn’t want Catherine to tell him she’d been there, though; she just wanted to make sure he’d be OK — and he would. The surgery had been a success.
‘WE’LL SEE SUNSETS EVERY DAY’ | Before Natalia’s next surgery, she began coughing up blood. Things turned out to be so dire that Maggie actually called in Winston for a consult. She didn’t like what he had to say, though. There was nothing to be done for the patient but try to alleviate her pain on her way out. Instead of inform Elliot, Natalia pleaded with her doctors to keep him in the dark and let them plan their dream trip. He quickly figured out that something was up. Something bad. “Is she dying?” he asked when he had a moment alone with Jules. Millin didn’t disregard Natalia’s wishes, but by the time Elliot was done talking to Jules, he knew that this would be his ex-wife’s last day. Later, Jules told Richard that she couldn’t believe that they weren’t doing everything they could to save Natalia. Wouldn’t Webber want them to do everything they could if it was his wife? (Foreshadowing.) Living with the fact that sometimes there is nothing you can do, Richard told Jules, is one of the hardest parts of the job. As Natalia’s hours dwindled down to minutes, Elliot described the trip they’d never get to take.
‘HOW DO YOU GET COFFEE FOR A DEAD PERSON?’ | Understandably, Simone and Mika were bewildered by Barbara’s sisters, who brought yet another sibling’s ashes with them. She’d had cancer, too, but died after a fall from a ladder. That didn’t mean that Mika shouldn’t also get her coffee, though. Umm… what? Amusingly, Amelia lied that Barbara had a thready pulse to get rid of her sisters. In case the surgery went south, the patient made Amelia promise not to let her family carry her around in a box. After surgery, Amelia revealed to Barbara and her sibs that she didn’t have cancer. Weird as they were, the sisters “reassured” Barbara that she’d get it eventually. But she didn’t want it, she admitted. At last, Barbara’s sisters admitted they yeah, cancer sucks. Also, that wasn’t their sister in the box — it had been cat litter since the real ashes got lost in Reno!
As the episode drew a close, Owen apologized to Teddy for his many (many!) failings. In turn, Teddy apologized for being angry and tipsy rather than loving and supporting. And by the way, he had passed his evaluation and was cleared to reclaim his post as chief of trauma. While Simone took a call from Trey, Lucas took off with Kara. Levi, high off his surgery with Catherine, realized that he isn’t Glasses anymore, he’s cool, so he walked right over to where Carlos was working and asked him out. At Richard and Catherine’s, he shared his suspicion that something was wrong and she was trying to protect him. “Whatever it is,” he said, “I’m ready to hear it.” At last, his wife revealed that her cancer was progressing. Maggie asked Amelia to stay one more night; after that, she’d move into a hotel. “Just because Meredith moved doesn’t mean anything has changed between us,” Amelia reassured her. “But get your own cereal.” And at the interns’ house, the kids played dressup and painted — kinda just what Jules needed after Natalia’s passing.
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 7.4 million total viewers and a 0.7 rating) and Ghosts (6.5 mil/0.6) both rose in the demo, while So Help Me Todd (4.5 mil/0.3) and the conclusion of CSI: Vegas‘ Silver Ink Killer arc (3.3 mil/0.3) were steady.
ABC | Station 19 (3.9 mil/0.5) and Grey’s Anatomy (3.2 mil/0.4) both added a handful of eyeballs while steady in the demo. Alaska Daily dipped to an audience low (2.5 mil) while posting its fourth straight 0.2 rating.
FOX | Next Level Chef (1.8 mil/0.3) ticked down, Animal Control (1.3 mil/0.2) saw its first demo decline while sliding in audience for a third straight week, and Call Me Kat (1.2 mil/0.2) was steady.
‘TEAM SKYWALKER’ | As “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” began, Mika was decorating for the blowout at the interns’ residence while, upstairs, Simone and Trey were having it out over his lack of support during her last job. Still having it out, in fact. (They’d been at it, it seemed, since he arrived.) Overhearing the fight, Mika reassured Lucas that he still had a shot with Simone. It had not been lost on Yasuda that “you two were seconds away from boning last night.” When Simone and Trey finally talked for a moment rather than yelled, he asked if he’d waited too long to come after her and try to make things right. Dodging the question, she said that she just wanted to have fun at the party… but was soon admitting that she’d missed him, too, and kissing him. (Hurry, Lucas. Hurry.)
As the bash got underway, Taryn encouraged Levi to get laid. But it looked more and more like she might get lucky instead. (Hi, Mika!) By and by, Trey lost more ground with Simone by dissing the new friends that she considered “my people” and dissing Grey Sloan’s residency program. She was still steamed over that when Lucas pleaded his case, telling her how perfect she was in a lovely, heartfelt way. Simone was so moved that clothes were coming off before the commercial break. “Baby, I’m sorry for what I said,” Trey pleaded from the other side of the door. “I’ll be better.” Aw, damn. The unwitting c–k-block worked. “If you love him,” Lucas advised as he re-dressed, “you should fight for him.” Did she love him? Her non-answer was answer enough for the obviously better choice. To add insult to injury, she wanted to check behind the door to see that Trey was gone before leaving the bedroom. “Now you can say you’re sorry,” Lucas huffed. Damn — so close!
Downstairs, as Trey stole away Simone, Mika took Taryn to see the hole in the roof. Outside, Levi was approached by a traveling nurse named Carlos. Flirtatious from the get-go, he’d even brought his own drinks. “I work way too hard to drink whatever surgical interns can afford.” Later, Simone admitted that she’d spent so many nights waiting for Trey to show up on her doorstep. “What changed?” he asked. “Nothing,” she said. (Ugh! Simone!) In response, Trey got down on one knee and re-proposed to her as a devastated Lucas looked on. (Go get some of Carlos’ better beer, man.)
‘I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE PICKED UP MORE WINE’ | At Owen and Teddy’s, she was chagrinned to learn as Ben and Bailey were on their way over that Allison had bitten Pru again. When Altman and Hunt’s guests arrived, the tension was thick. “She’s exhausted after one day of doing the job that we did for years,” Owen cracked to Bailey. Eventually, conversation skirted the biting issue… but Teddy quickly steered it away. “Can you help me in the kitchen?” Teddy asked. “Can’t,” Owen cracked. “Don’t have a license.” Over dinner, as Bailey asked if Teddy had looked over the resumés for a new chief of trauma, Owen was shocked to learn that his wife wasn’t hiring an interim chief but a permanent one. “This is a business decision,” she said, “so deal with it.” When the couple launched into a performance of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Bailey hollered at them to get help — and told Ben to get the pie she’d brought.
‘DON’T KILL ANYONE’ | Hearing about the Ivor Lewis procedure for which Blue would be scrubbing in with Maggie the following morning, Jules got herself added to the O.R. — if she wasn’t tired after her overnight shift. But long before surgery could begin on patient Natalia, she suffered a grand mal seizure, and Amelia discovered that she needed a different procedure, urgently and immedlately. When Blue and Jules brought Natalia and husband Elliot the consent form, Kwan asked how deep in debt the couple was. Hearing how bad off they were, Blue suggested that they divorce — Natalia might qualify for more insurance, and it might protect what few assets they have from the medical bills that were piling up. Hearing this, Maggie chewed out Blue. Before, the patient’s brain was bleeding. “Now her brain is bleeding, and she’s arguing with her husband.” Alone with Elliot, Jules advised him that if he loved his wife enough to marry her, he could love her enough to divorce her. Not only did Elliot agree to the tactic, he and Natalia had the most romantic, heartbreaking “breakup” ceremony ever. (If there had even been any before.) Since Maggie uninvited Blue from the surgery, despite the fact that his idea had been brilliant, only Jules was in the O.R. when Amelia operated. (Knock wood, it looked like Natalia might make it… at least through this first procedure.)
‘MY ANXIETY HOVERS AROUND AN EIGHT WHEN I’M NOT IN LABOR’ | In other developments, Amelia made plans for a visit from Kai. (Boy, has that relationship been moved to the back of the back burner.) After Amelia dropped Scout with Link, who had been egged by some Tank fans, he and Jo tended to a pregnant woman whose wife was N/A as she went into labor. As the episode drew to a close, Bailey, alone with Ben, called him on the resentment she’d been sensing from him. What was it about? They’d been doing so well before she went back to work, he confessed. But she was prioritizing their family, she argued. To be continued… Rather than let Lucas grieve what could have been, Mika pumped up a jam and got him dancing with her and Taryn while, outside, Levi made out with Carlos. Catching Blue bringing Elliot breakfast, Maggie barked at him anew, prompting him to explain what his family had been through when his mother was dying. Off that interaction, Maggie asked Richard how he knew that his and Catherine’s rough patch was only a patch. There had still been love underneath it all, he said, adding that he was sure that his daughter and Winston would work through their issues. As Jo marveled at how wonderful Link had been all night and pondered how Amelia had given him up, his babymama said that he hadn’t been right for her… but maybe he was right for Jo.
TVLine has learned exclusively that Willson will reprise her role as WXPC fashion editor Sydney Val Jean at the upcoming Nurses Ball. On top of that, we have a handful of first-look photos from the glam gala, featuring Wilson and some GH favorites.
This marks “GH superfan” Wilson’s fourth appearance on the long-running daytime serial, and her second as Sydney.
The return of the Nurses Ball is but one part of GH‘s 60th anniversary celebration, which kicks off Wednesday, March 29 with a special episode honoring the late Sonya Eddy (who played head nurse Epiphany Johnson from 2006 until her passing last December).
Then, during the week of April 3, GH brings back the beloved Nurses Ball, a (fictional) charity gala dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness. Famously abundant with red-carpet fashion and musical performances from the citizens of Port Charles, the must-see event debuted in June 1994 (where it was co-chaired by Lucy Coe and Bobbie Jones) and has been held 15 times since, but not since August 2020.
The anniversary festivities will then continue as “icons of Port Charles unite to stop a legendary threat from the past,” at revealed at this year’s TCA winter press tour. Additionally, Daytime Emmy winner Jane Elliot is set to reprise her role as the legendary Tracy Quartermaine in April.
General Hospital debuted April 1, 1963. To honor its upcoming 60-year milestone, ABC on Friday, March 31 will present the cast and crew with a stage dedication on the Prospect Studios lot, permanently commemorating the show’s legacy and serving as a reminder of the history that has been made in that very spot.
The former Grey's Anatomy star took to Twitter to make the announcement, explaining that past criticism of his character played a part in his decision.
Washington said, "Those who have been Following/Witnessing my journey here on T---ter since 2011 all know that I have fought the good fight, but it seems that the haters, provocateurs and the Useful Idiots have won."
He continued, "I'm no longer interested in the back and forth regarding a 'color construct' that keeps us human beings divided nor am I interested in politics or anything vitriolic."
As you may recall, Washington was fired from his role as Preston Burke in Grey's Anatomy in 2007 after making anti-gay remarks to his costar T.R. Knight on set and repeating them at the Golden Globe Awards that year. He later apologized and said he would seek help, admitting there "are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul."
Washington says his future plans included traveling around the country "before it falls into Socialism and then Communism."
His upcoming film, Corsicana, will be his final onscreen performance.
ABC | Station 19 (3.8 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating, per Nielsen finals) was steady, while Grey’s Anatomy (3.1 mil/0.4) matched its audience low and also dipped in the demo. Back from a three-and-a-half month break (!), Alaska Daily (2.8 mil/0.2) was right on part with its fall finale (2.5 mil/0.2) and its fall averages (2.9 mil/0.2).
CBS | Young Sheldon (7.6 mil/0.6) was steady in the demo, Ghosts (6.5 mil/0.5) and Todd (4.6 mil/0.3) dipped, and CSI: Vegas (3.2 mil/0.3) ticked up.
THE CW | Walker (620K/0.1) hit an audience low, while fellow “bubble” drama Walker Independence (441K/0.0) matched lows with its finale.
FOX | Next Level Chef (2 mil/0.4), Animal Control (1.5 mil/0.3) and Call Me Kat (1.2 mil/0.2) were all steady.
‘THE HOSPITAL NEEDS THIS’ | As “All Star” began, Simone, Lucas and Mika put a fresh coat of paint on Mer’s their house and drew names for the biggest bedroom. Simone got it, but there was still the matter of the second-best bedroom to be settled. Link was fretting to Jo about the Tank, aka the Seahawk whose career was going to be in his hands in the O.R. Teddy bought until 6 pm to tell Richard whether she was accepting the chief position. The chill between Maggie and Winston was so palpable, Amelia all but wondered whether the AC was up too high in the hospital. And when a fellow stumbled into the E.R. not having taken a crap for… too long, Levi suggested that he reduce his stress, prompting the man to reply, in essence, that he was full of s–t. Surgery, Schmitt said, was going to be their last option to clean him out. Before that happened, Mika told Lucas that she’d give the guy an enema in exchange for the other good room. Success! “I feel like I lost 10 pounds,” the patient said after taking a dump at last.
Nearby, a pregnant woman named Sierra told Jules that she’d been spotting for days. An ultrasound was ordered to discover the cause of the bleeding. Jo later reported that her pregnancy was progressing just fine; she only had to avoid stress. Easier said than done. It seemed like her childcare wasn’t going to be available for her two kids. Later, Sierra shared with Jules that she hadn’t been trying to get pregnant again; she just didn’t like the way the pill made her feel, so she and her husband used condoms and, well, one broke. After the first two kids, Sierra had been so overwhelmed, it had gotten really dark. Pills for postpartum hadn’t helped. It was so bad that she’d felt like she couldn’t breathe. She’d actually been relieved when she’d started spotting. By and by, she asked Jules how much an abortion cost, and the doc called for a consult. When Jo returned, she explained to the patient how an abortion would work. Sierra wanted to stay alive, to be OK for her kids. So Jo would perform the procedure with Jules assisting. As soon as it was over, Sierra reassured herself, “I’m OK, I’m OK.” And she was.
‘EYES FORWARD’ | After everyone took turns posing for selfies with the Tank, Simone told the rising star that she’d had a similar injury back when she’d been a competitive ice skater in college. In turn, he explained why it was so important that he keep playing: He wanted to bring his family over from Haiti and finally get them all back together. “What happens if it doesn’t work and I’m back bagging groceries?” he wondered. As if there wasn’t enough pressure to go around, the Tank’s mother ordered Simone and Blue over cellphone to “take care of my baby.” Before the procedure started, Jo swung by to lend Link moral support and remind him that he’d never folded before; he wasn’t going to start now.
During surgery, Link explained that the Tank at best had a six-year career ahead of him — that was average, based on the stress to players’ knees. “Let’s hope he’s better than average,” Link added. After the seemingly successful operation, the gallery gave Link, Blue and Simone a standing ovation. But before they could call Tank’s mom, oops. He started coding. What the what? He needs an emergency embolectomy, Winston advised. So back to surgery, the Tank was rolled. In the O.R., Tank crashed yet again. “Eyes forward,” Simone whispered, recalling the saying Tank and his mom had used. The docs took turns desperately trying to revive Tank, but he was down for the count. Winston offered to walk out first, stall the press. But Link would do it himself. The press just sees stats and dollar signs, he said. The Tank was just a kid doing what he loved. And now he was gone. “That’s on me.”
‘THIS SEEMS LIKE A ONE-PARENT JOB; LET’S MAKE THIS ONE YOU’ | Meanwhile, Owen tried to convince Teddy to take the chief job, if only because he’d get to be trauma chief again if she did. Just then, they were paged to the nursery — Allison had bitten Pru, apparently. Discussing the position with Bailey, Teddy learned that the pay bump was more of a nudge and not worth the complaints and paperwork. Miranda advised Altman to “ask for the moon and the planets and Pluto.” In turn, Teddy went to Richard and listed her demands, from an assistant to an additional three weeks off to double the pay increase on offer. Hmm, in that case, Richard was going to need some time himself to think over the decision. Later, he informed Teddy that he’d decided to take the job himself. Suddenly, she was willing to renegotiate. As Bailey spied on their talk, Amelia interrupted to announce that she wanted to be considered for the chief position. “You have got to be kidding me,” Teddy exclaimed.
As Maggie went over her notes from the partial heart transplant, she wondered why she had written down “socks.” Winston would probably know, Amelia pointed out, but Maggie wasn’t willing to ask her husband. The silent treatment wasn’t going to make the hard parts of their marriage easier, Amelia said, it was only going to make them last longer. When Owen asked Winston how things were going, he reminded Hunt that the last advice he’d given had blown up in his face. It was Winston’s own fault, though, he said; he should’ve known better than to take advice from Owen. (Amen!) As the episode drew to a close, Jo complimented Jules on her ability to connect with a patient. The resident was stunned. She had grown up “a little left of normal” and hadn’t had anyone compliment her work before. Well, “you saved that woman’s life today,” Jo said. Nearby, since Amelia’s list of chiefly demands was even more over-the-top than Teddy’s, Richard said that he couldn’t consider her interest since he’d already offered the post to Altman, most of whose demands he met. “You’re welcome,” Amelia told Teddy afterward. “Bailey sent me in here. I don’t wanna be chief.”
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?’ | After losing Tank, a despondent Simon told Blue that she’d offered to call the patient’s mom for Link. Blue would make the call with her. He knew firsthand that there was no right way to say those words. Outside, Maggie told Winston that she’d heard about Tank and was sorry. If her husband wanted, he could send him the intro to the paper on the partial heart transplant as a distraction. Wrong suggestion, per Winston. Once again, they fought over their difference of opinion. And at least he agreed with her on one thing: “Not everyone can be resuscitated.” Or everything… like their marriage. In the elevator, Simone kissed Lucas. Ah, and minutes after Teddy became chief, she learned from Owen that the press was saying that Link had killed the Tank. The ortho doc, meanwhile, was drinking and blaming himself and half-listening as Jo assured him that what happened could have happened to anyone. He went to kiss her, and she pulled away. (Oh, these two!) As he turned to go, she pulled him back, and they hit the couch holding one another. Finally, when Simone and Lucas got home, they were surprised to find waiting for her… her ex-fiancé Trey, with flowers and an apparently keen interest in kissing and making up. Who’s this dude? he asked. Lucas? Um, “he’s my roommate,” Simone said. Man, that was a fast trip to the friend zone!
The drama that stars Andie MacDowell and Chyler Leigh has been a ratings winner since premiering Jan. 15, regularly topping Bravo’s Real Housewives of Potomac, TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, and HGTV’s Home Town on Sunday nights. It ranks as the No. 1 most-watched program on Sundays among households, P2+, W18+ and P18+ on a L+SD basis.
The audience has also increased throughout the season among women and younger viewers (+54% with W25-54, +42% with P25-54, +59% with W18-49 and +34% with P18-49). On a L+3 basis through Feb. 19, The Way Home is the No. 2 most-watched program overall with HHs, P2+, W18+ and P18+, second only to Hallmark’s own original movie.
“The press and our audience have enthusiastically embraced The Way Home from the first episode making the decision to renew the series an easy one,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President, Programming, Hallmark Media. “We’re thrilled to be able to continue the journey of the Landry family and can’t wait for fans to see what’s next.”
“Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke and Marly Reed have created a rich, textured story filled with heart and mixed with intrigue that’s proven to be a winning combination,” added Laurie Ferneau, Senior Vice President, Development, Hallmark Media. “Season two is sure to bring more drama and mystery as the Landry family’s history is revealed.”
The series follows three generations of Landry women who embark on a journey to find their way back to each other while learning important lessons about their family’s past. The cast of the multigenerational family drama includes MacDowell (Maid), Leigh (Supergirl), Evan Williams (Blonde), Sadie Laflamme-Snow (The Apprentice), Alex Hook (I Am Frankie), Al Mukadam (Pretty Hard Cases, The Detail), Jefferson Brown (Masters of Romance, Slasher) and David Webster (Luckiest Girl Alive, In the Dark).
The Way Home is executive produced by Marly Reed, Arnie Zipursky and Lauren MacKinlay for Neshama Entertainment; Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment; and Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke, MacDowell and Leigh.
In last week’s episode, Simone, one of Season 19’s new class of surgical interns, entered into a situationship with Lucas (Niko Terho). Their courtship is complicated, though, by the fact that they’re now both living in Meredith’s old house, along with fellow intern Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis) — fixing it up after a fire nearly destroyed it. Trey will be coming along to make that incipient romance even knottier, presumably.
In the logline for this week’s episode, furnished by ABC, the Trey character is alluded to. “Teddy makes a challenging decision,” it reads. “Meanwhile, Maggie and Winston aren’t on speaking terms and Link leans on Jo for emotional support as he preps for a surgery on a well-known athlete. Simone and Lucas are surprised by an unlikely visitor.”
Martinez has recently been in Netflix’s “Kaleidoscope,” and has also appeared in “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” “FBI” and “The Blacklist,” and will soon be seen in the upcoming film “Sweetly Salted.” According to his official biography, Martinez’s family is from the Dominican Republic, he was born in New York City and “he hopes to work in films/series that tackle diversity and advocate for Latino actors.” He’s represented by Silver Lining Entertainment and DGRW.
“Grey’s Anatomy” is currently in its 19th season on ABC.
NBC | Law & Order (with 4.6 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating) and Organized Crime (3.6 mil/0.5) were steady in the demo, while SVU (4.9 mil/0.6) dipped.
ABC | Back from a 3-1/2 month break, Station 19 (3.9 mil/0.5) and Grey’s Anatomy (3.5 mil/0.5) each dropped a handful of eyeballs while steady in the demo.
THE CW | Walker (680K/0.1) slipped to its second-smallest audience of the season, while Independence Guest-Starring Jared Padalecki (450K/0.1) was steady.
FOX | Next Level Chef (2 mil/0.4) was steady, Animal Control (1.6 mil/0.3) lost some viewers vs. its debut but held steady in the demo, and Call Me Kat (1.3 mil/0.2) dipped.
‘I’LL PROBABLY BE BACK NEXT WEEK’ | As “I’ll Follow the Sun” began, the residents competed to see which of them would be allowed to scrub in on the groundbreaking partial heart transplant that Maggie and Winston were going to perform on baby Arlo. Mika, already having a s–t day, owing to her house/van being towed, quickly became frustrated by her less-than-stellar stitching and ran to Joe’s to get a tutorial from Helm. (Hello, sparks!) When Arlo’s mom got cold feet, it was Amelia, recalling her experience with ill-fated Christopher, that changed her mind.
After Maggie and Winston pulled off a miracle in the O.R., the marrieds finally talked about their fight in the midseason finale (recapped here). Apparently, in the two weeks that had passed on screen, he’d been waiting for an apology for her remark that she didn’t respect his willingness to change specialties to save their marriage. But at this point, he realized that no “I’m sorry” was forthcoming. What’s more, he realized that over the course of their relationship, he’d overlooked his wife’s coldness, an aspect of her personality that he didn’t respect.
‘I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS DAY’ | Speaking of couples at a crossroads, Meredith and Nick also had it out. He was mad that she hadn’t returned his call. She was mad that he hadn’t said “I love you” back to her. He was mad that she’d decided to move without talking to him. She was mad that he’d sent such mixed signals that she’d thought it was OK to decide to move without talking to him. In disbelief that his (ex?) girlfriend was blaming him for the state of their relationship, he stormed off in a huff. (Oh, children — please!)
Thankfully (?), Mer and Nick soon had a more pressing issue to resolve: Kids-book author Tessa was back and bleeding out. Lucas wanted to fight to send her to the O.R. immediately but didn’t for fear of what others would think. As a result, she later died on the operating table. Afterwards, Meredith made her feelings as plain as she could. “I want you in my life if you want to be in my life,” she told Nick. “But if I have to choose, I pick me, I pick my kids, and I pick what’s best for us, and I am not going to beg you to love me.” Well said, Mer. Later, licking her wounds with Simone, the intern was able to cheer Mer up by revealing that Tessa had saved her last book on a thumb drive.
‘THIS PLACE WON’T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU’ | In other developments, Teddy pitched herself hard to Richard as a potential new chief. Then, when he offered her the job, she asked to think about it. (D’oh!) Jules traded Blue the story of why she feared babies for another hookup. And while the staff of Grey Sloan made toasts to Meredith and ate bar-mitzvah cake (thanks to a bakery screw-up), Taryn poured out some whiskey and candor for Nick at Joe’s. The gist of her scolding: Meredith is amazing and for some reason loves him, and if he blows it, he’s an idiot.
Off Helm’s lecture, Nick tried to make it to the airport in time for a cinematic reunion with Mer. When it became clear that he would be too late, he phoned to say that he loved her, and she… pretended that she couldn’t quite hear him. (D’oh!) As the hour drew to a close, Maggie asked to spend the night at Amelia’s new place, and Lucas and Simone both showed up at Mer’s smokehouse — Amelia had invited him to stay there, and Mer had invited her. The temptation to hook up was there, but Simone, who’d only recently been engaged, didn’t want to put Lucas through a rebound — especially not now that they were roomies.
A third wheel was on the way, anyway: Maggie had invited Mika to stay at the house, too. Sure, it had a hole in the attic, but there was no beating the rent.
Titled “I’ll Follow the Sun,” the episode, written by outgoing Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff and directed by the series’ executive producer/director Debbie Allen, marked Pompeo’s last as a full-time cast member. She is leaving to do a Hulu limited series and other projects — but will return for the Season 19 finale and could appear beyond that if the show is renewed for Season 20, which is fully expected, as Deadline reported.
Meredith’s last day in Seattle featured a heartwarming moment when Maggie and Winston performed successfully a first-of-its-kind risky partial heart transplant surgery on a newborn baby, and the surgical staff later gathered together to see Meredith off with a toast and heartfelt speeches.
But the day was mostly filled with heartbreak — for Maggie and Winston, who, shortly after “taking in the miracle,” had another bitter fight over their future, for Lucas, who was beating himself up over not pushing harder to save a patient, and for Meredith. She got to perform one last surgery when famous author Tessa Hobbes (Patricia Richardson) who had undergone a Whipple in the previous episode, was back with sharp pain after lifting groceries and was rushed into the OR with a massive internal bleeding. Meredith and Nick teamed up on the surgery but could not save Tessa who died on the operating table.
The star-crossed lovers could not save their relationship either. Nick first walked into Meredith’s office to confront her about not returning his call and planning to move across country without speaking with him. Meredith brought up an earlier office encounter where she told Nick “I love you” and he didn’t say it back, blaming his desire to take things slowly for not consulting with him when she made the decision to move to Boston. Feeling that Meredith was making their falling-out his fault, Nick stormed out.
After more teasing by Meredith about a woman living alone who is set in her ways and is hard to change and ask for help while she and Nick were reviewing Tessa’s CT scan, the two found themselves alone immediately following Tessa’s death.
“I hate this day, I hate everything about this day,” Nick said, to which Meredith replied, “Me too.”
Nick tried to explain why he was taking things slow: “I’m a transplant surgeon, I’m trained to wait.”
But Meredith was not having it. “I want you in my life if you want to be in my life but if I have to choose, I’m going to pick me, I pick my kids, and I pick what’s best for us, and I’m not going to beg you to love me,” she shot back.
The last act of the episode played like a romcom trope — Nick sitting at a bar, with a sidekick — in this case surgical-resident-turned-bartender Taryn — telling him what a fool he is and urging him to go get his girl.
He obliged and rushed to the hospital to only be told that Meredith had left for the airport. He followed her there but his mission was thwarted by traffic so he ended up calling Meredith when she and her kids had already boarded the plane.
“I love you. I fell in love with you the first day I met you, I fell in love with you the second day I met you, and I’ve loved you every minute of every day that I’ve known you,” Nick blurted out to dead silence on the other end.
Meredith clearly heard every word but opted for a cold, “I can’t quite hear you. We are about to take off. I’ll call you when we get settled,” before hanging up.
A despondent Nick sitting in his car may be the last we see of Scott Speedman, at least for the time being. But Grey’s Anatomy could take a page out of its own playbook and give fans a Meredith-Nick update when Pompeo returns in the Season 19 finale.
Last season, Grey’s veteran Jesse Williams also departed as a series regular in midseason as Jackson’s potential new romance with ex April was up in the air. Williams, along with Sarah Drew, then returned as guest stars in the Season 18 finale where they confirmed that Jackson and April have rekindled their relationship by kissing in the Grey Sloan elevator.
In another possible nod to the Grey’s pilot, whose first scene was in Meredith’s house where she woke up after a one-night stand with Derek, tonight’s episode wrapped at the same house, with Lucas, Simone and Mika all moving in, giving the ending a passing of the baton feel.
What’s more, the traditional end-of-episode montage featured mostly the five new interns introduced this season. Mika, as well as Lucas and Simone who have been fighting off their physical attraction, became roommates in Meredith’s partially burnt-down house, which is steeped in Grey’s lore, while Benson and Jules had a steamy encounter in a dark hospital office, another longstanding Grey’s tradition. There is also the fact that, in addition to her multiple rendezvous with Nick, Meredith’s only one-on-one scene in the episode was with Simone, as the freshmen are being positioned as a new backbone of the series, which is preparing for a future without its title character.
During the montage, Meredith was reading Tessa’s final book, “Tessa and the Rising Sun”, to her kids on the plane after a thumb drive with the manuscript was found in Tessa’s purse. The reading replaced the traditional Grey’s Anatomy end-of-episode voiceover. And while it was written by Tessa, the excerpt very much applies to Meredith.
“I’ve flown rockets and slayed dragons, I’ve saved lives and I’ve had my life saved. I’ve been through broken bones and a broken home and the death of people I love but I’m still here,” it went. “I’ve had adventures that most people only dream about and I’ve had losses that I still dream about, and if there is one thing I’ve learned in all my adventures, is that there is no such thing as a life lived happily ever after, unless the happily means simply that we are still alive, that the sun is rising on another day because with every sunrise comes the possibility of happiness and also the possibility of heartache. And sometimes, it’s all rolled up together.”
Tessa’s book, Meredith’s Seattle chapter and Pompeo’s 18-year run as Grey’s Anatomy‘s star all came to an end on a hopeful note: “As long as the sun rises on your life, there will be new dragons to slay. So the end of my story is not any kind of ever after, because I’m still alive, I’m still here, and the sun still rises on my life.”
The Hurt Unit follows a highly skilled team of trauma surgeons and nurses led by Danny (McKenzie), a self-made surgeon, who race into the field to treat the patients who won’t make it to the hospital in time. When the sick and the injured can’t get to the ER, the Hurt Unit (Hospital Urgent Response Team) brings the ER to them.
George will play Dr. Ashcroft, the Head of Psychiatry and Deputy Chief of Administration at Nashville’s City South Hospital. In that latter capacity she gets into frequent and epic clashes with Dr. Danny Marsh (MxKenzie). A brilliant and intuitive psychotherapist, Rachel plays a crucial role in the ongoing care of the badly traumatized patients of the Hurt Unit — and on occasion, in counseling the deeply flawed doctors themselves.
In addition to McKenzie, George joins previously cast series regulars Michelle Ortiz, Augustus Prew and Jaime Lee Kirchner who play members of the unit. Glenn and Webb executive produce the ABC Signature pilot.
This marks George’s return to ABC where she did a major arc on another medical drama, stalwart Grey’s Anatomy. She also headlined the NBC medical drama Heartbeat. George is coming off a starring role opposite Justin Theroux in Mosquito Coast, which ran on Apple TV+ for two seasons, reuniting with the actor she first worked with on David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. She also can be seen in the movie De Son Vivant opposite Catherine Deneuve, which premiered at Cannes this year. George is repped by Gersh, Inspire Entertainment and attorney Mitch Smelkinson at GGSSC.
Spyglass had no comment.
The Thanksgiving trailer presented the gory teaser about a pseudo movie in which a slasher makes his own carving board out of the inhabitants of a Massachusetts town that makes a big annual fuss over the annual turkey day. One of the pivotal scenes involved Roth himself, separated from his head while in the throes of passion with a date in a convertible. It was popular enough that plans formulated to make a feature-length blood feast with Roth at the helm, but 15 years has passed since the original Grindhouse release and you could be forgiven for thinking that Thanksgiving was never coming.
While the rest of the ensemble is expected to be a bunch of rising stars, Roth wanted a face front and center and thought Dempsey would be perfect given its not the typical role you usually see the former Greys Anatomy star in.
Dempsey was most recently seen in the Disney+ sequel Disenchanted, reprising his role opposite Amy Adams. He can be seen next in Michael Mann’s Ferrari starring Adam Driver.
He is repped by UTA and Burstein Company.
Originally set to stream on Thursday, June 8, the series will now return on Thursday, April 27. Star Katherine Heigl revealed the change in an Instagram post.
Based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Kristin Hannah, Firefly Lane charts Tully (Heigl) and Kate’s (Sarah Chalke) friendship over a 30-year period. The ensemble also includes Ben Lawson, Beau Garrett, Ali Skovbye, Roan Curtis and Yael Yurman, while India de Beaufort (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Greg Germann (Grey’s Anatomy), Jolene Purdy (Orange Is the New Black) and Ignacio Serricchio (Lost in Space) are among the Season 2 additions.
FAVORITE VOICE FROM AN ANIMATED MOVIE (FEMALE)
Awkwafina (Tarantula, The Bad Guys)
Keke Palmer (Izzy Hawthorne, Lightyear)
Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)
Sandra Oh (Ming, Turning Red)
Selena Gomez (Mavis, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania)
Taraji P. Henson (Belle Bottom, Minions: The Rise of Gru).
The actor appeared to tease a potential comeback on Instagram Tuesday, sharing a photo of a Grey’s-adorned coffee mug above the caption, “A fresh cup of Grey’s.”
But a Grey’s insider maintains that Alex is not checking back in to Grey Sloan Memorial. “There’s no truth to the rumor,” the source insists.
Save for a small role in Paramount+’s limited series The Offer, Chambers has maintained a fairly low profile since departing Grey’s amid controversy. The actor’s last episode aired in November 2019, but viewers were not aware it was his swan song until his exit was announced publicly two months later. Chambers later returned, but only in a voiceover capacity, for his send-off installment in March 2020, which revealed that Alex had left his wife Jo and reunited with ex Izzie, who’d had his children.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers said back then in a statement. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time. As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rhimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”
“She’s awesome … she’s great,” the actor, who worked with Heigl in 2010’s “Life As We Know It” and 2011’s “New Year’s Eve,” said Sunday on Barstool Sports’ “Chicks in the Office” podcast.
“She probably said some things that she wishes she could’ve taken back, but my experience, on and off screen with her, was awesome.”
Duhamel, 50, added that he feels Heigl, 44, may have been mischaracterized due to a few isolated incidents.
“I think that’s probably what happened to Katie is that, you know, she had a couple bad moments and that’s what everybody wants to just — that’s her label now, and it’s not really fair,” the “Shotgun Wedding” star concluded.
Heigl has been accused of being “difficult” for criticizing projects she had worked on.
After starring in Judd Apatow’s box office hit “Knocked Up,” the Washington, DC-born actress insinuated that the rom-com was sexist.
“It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys,” she told Vanity Fair in 2008.
“It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a bitch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie.”
That same year, Heigl withdrew her name from the 2008 Emmys list of TV contenders for her role as Izzie Stevens in “Grey’s Anatomy,” explaining to the LA Times at the time that she did “not feel that I was given material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination.”
The move was considered a slight to creator Shonda Rhimes.
In 2014, Heigl expressed regret over some of her decisions.
“I’ve made mistakes and unwittingly or carelessly spoken or acted but I always try to make any wrong right,” the “Ugly Truth” star said in a Q&A at the time.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t stand up for myself by drawing boundaries and asking to be treated kindly and respectfully,” she continued, “but I don’t do that with any rude or unkind intentions, just with the same strength and honestly I think every one of us is entitled to.”
Then in 2016, Heigl confessed to Howard Stern that she actually ended up having to go to therapy because of her bad reputation.
“I was really struggling with it, and how not to take it all really personally, and not to feel there’s something really deeply wrong with me,” the “Firefly Lane” star previously told the radio host.
Duhamel is not the only actor to come to his co-star’s defense, though. “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo recently praised Heigl for speaking up for herself.
“I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working — and she was 100 percent right,” the TV star, 53, said on her podcast, “Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo,” in April 2022.
“Had she said that today, she’d be a complete hero, but she’s ahead of her time. [She] made a statement about our crazy hours and, of course, let’s slam a woman and call her ungrateful.”
“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to be entrusted to run Grey’s Anatomy for the past six years and Station 19 for the last four,” Vernoff said in a statement to Deadline. “The passion of the dedicated fandoms and the impact that these shows have on hearts and minds cannot be overstated. The amount of talent in these two extraordinary casts and these two brilliant writers rooms is beyond measure — and these crews work magic week after week.”
After working on the first seven seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, rising to head writer and executive producer, Vernoff returned to the medical drama as executive producer and showrunner at the start of Season 14 in 2017 and has led the show’s recent resurgence.
Since adding Station 19 to her purview in 2019, Vernoff has strengthened the two series’ ties, building an integrated universe highlighted by frequent crossovers. In the first season after Vernoff took over Station 19, the drama improved its year-over-year ratings by double digits, a virtually impossible task amid steadily declining linear viewership.
“Krista Vernoff has poured her heart and soul into Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, and her voice has been pivotal to the success of these beloved series,” said Craig Erwich, President, ABC Entertainment, Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals. “It takes a formidable leader to run two shows simultaneously and Krista has done so effortlessly. Her creative force has left an indelible mark and thanks to her, our viewers will continue to be invested in these dynamic and cherished characters for many years to come.”
After creator, executive producer and original showrunner Shonda Rhimes, who remains a creative force on the hugely popular series, Vernoff has been arguably the most influential writer-producer on Grey’s Anatomy over its 19-season run to date. She was behind the dream beach motif during the Covid-themed Season 17, which brought back several beloved Grey’s characters, led by Patrick Dempsey’s Derek, and put the series back in the center of the cultural zeitgeist.
“Krista’s creativity, vision and dedicated leadership have allowed Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 to continue to flourish,” Rhimes said. “I am incredibly grateful to her for all her hard work. She will always remain part of the Shondaland family.”
Vernoff also acknowledged her mentor and the companies behind the series. “I will be forever grateful to Shonda Rhimes for her trust and to Disney and ABC for their support,” she said.
The writer-producer has been under an overall deal at Grey’s and Station 19 studio ABC Signature since she returned to Grey’s five and a half years ago and will continue to develop through her company Trip the Light Productions, with several projects already in the works, including one at Hulu, I hear.
The succession plan for Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 is still being finalized, with deals currently being hammered out contingent on the shows getting renewed for next season, which is considered a safe bet based on their performance.
I hear Grey’s Anatomy veteran Meg Marinis, who has been on the show since the very beginning, rising from a researcher all the way to executive producer, is tipped to succeed Vernoff as showrunner on the medical drama.
Fellow Grey’s Anatomy exec producer Zoanne Clack, MD, MPH, who had added executive producer and head writer duties on spinoff Station 19 under Vernoff, would become co-showrunner of the first-responders drama, sources said. I hear she would share the role with The Fosters and Good Trouble co-creator Peter Paige, co-showrunner on the mothership series and showrunner on the spinoff, who has done a stint on Station 19 as a consulting producer.
This would mark the second promotion in six months for Clack. She joined Station 19 in August amid an upheaval in the series’ writers room following an incident involving racial slur use by a racist character in a draft of an outline which exposed long-simmering racial issues on the show. At the time, Clack also remained an executive producer on Grey’s.
This marks the second big Grey’s Anatomy departure this season; star/executive producer Ellen Pompeo is bidding farewell as a full-time cast member in the Feb. 23 midseason premiere episode, “I’ll Follow the Sun” which was written by Vernoff. Pompeo will return for the Season 19 finale, which also will mark Vernoff’s final Grey’s episode — at least for now, as the showrunner is not ruling out a second return.
“The last time I left Grey’s Anatomy, I was gone for seven seasons and the show was still going when Shonda called me to run it,” she said. “So I’m not saying goodbye because that would be too bitter sweet. I’m saying ‘See you in seven seasons.’”
It’s Loughlin’s first rom-com role since serving time behind bars in 2020 for the college admissions scandal. She last appeared on GAF in When Hope Calls Christmas, which premiered on the network, December, 2021.
In Fall Into Winter, life quickly changes for Kerry (Loughlin) as she is suddenly forced to work alongside former nemesis, Brooks (Tupper), an old friend of her brother’swho unexpectedly buys out half of Kerry’s family-owned confectionery business.
Fall Into Winter is executive produced by Brad Krevoy, Susie Belzberg Krevoy, Amy Krell, Lorenzo Nardini, Lori Loughlin, TW Peacocke, Micheline Blais. David Anselmo produces for HP Into Winter Productions, Inc. Fall IntoWinter is written by Cara J. Russell. Supervising Producers are James Mou and Kelly Martin.
The 44-year-old actress was criticized in the late aughts for her vocal complaints about the gruelling working conditions on Grey’s Anatomy and for branding her comedy Knocked Up “sexist”.
She admitted she was “confused” as to why her remarks were taken so badly and regrets subsequently issuing multiple apologies.
“I’m not the only person in the industry who’s had ups and downs…,” she told the February issue of Red magazine.
“But it’s like as soon as things were going too well, there was this need to say, ‘Slow down there – let’s humble her.’ I felt betrayed; I felt confused, wondering, ‘How could they turn on me so quickly? I’m just trying to entertain people.’
“I kept apologizing, which I now realize just kept giving the whole thing a heartbeat. I thought self-flagellation in front of everybody would make them happy, but actually it made me weaker in people’s eyes and made me feel weak. I now think that one apology was enough.”
The Firefly Lane actress has vowed to keep speaking out about important issues but has learned there are some subjects she should keep private.
“I will always stand up for things I believe in…,” she said. “But I also know that airing dirty laundry is not necessary and will just fuel gossip.
“For example, I’ll continue to take a hard stand about long working hours for cast and crew on movie sets, because it’s not good for people’s mental or physical health. I’m not going to apologize for that stance, and I don’t really care if people agree with me or not.
“I’ll also keep talking about animal rights, because that’s something I’m passionate about.
“But if it’s a personal matter – if I’ve had a problem with somebody in a work capacity – I’ve learned to keep that a little more private.”
And Heigl has grown to understand she shouldn’t pay attention to what other people think of her.
“My father used to say, ‘Don’t read the good reviews if you won’t read the bad.’ I now understand his point. Whether they hate you or love you, it doesn’t matter.
“You have to know who you are; you can’t depend on public opinion for your self-esteem.”
In the episode, written by Grey’s executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff and directed by series’ executive producer Debbie Allen, it’s Meredith’s last day at Grey Sloan Memorial and the doctors plan a goodbye surprise, while Nick confronts her about the future of their relationship. Elsewhere, the interns compete to scrub in on Maggie and Winston’s groundbreaking partial heart transplant procedure, and Richard asks Teddy an important question.
“Sometimes change is good, sometimes change is everything,” Meredith says in the voiceover for the promo.
And when she is toasted by her colleagues on her final day at the hospital, she deadpans, “You know I probably will be back next week.”
There isn’t much revealed about what else happens to Meredith on her “big last day” but from the smiles on both her and Nick’s (Scott Speedman) faces as they walk away from each other — she with a carryon, he with a backpack — it is clear that whatever confrontation they have ends pretty amicably. (This may be the last we see of Nick as Speedman, a series regular last season, is recurring this season.)
It has been revealed on the show in the last two episodes that Meredith has decided to move with her children to Boston, which has become a Grey’s outpost, with Jackson, April and Koracick all there. Meredith accepted a job offer by Jackson to work on Alzheimer’s research.
As Deadline revealed in August, Pompeo is scaling back her on-screen presence on Grey’s Anatomy this season to eight episodes as she segues to doing new projects, starting with a Hulu limited series which she is starring in and executive producing.
Pompeo is expected to return for Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 19 finale. She remains an executive producer and will provide the voiceover narration for all episodes this season. Like other prominent former cast members, including Jesse Williams (Jackson), Pompeo could continue to make appearances on the series beyond this season, I hear. She may also continue to do the series’ voiceover.
In anticipation of Pompeo’s departure as Grey’s title character, the series this fall introduced a new group of interns in its biggest cast infusion to date. The move, which has been received well by fans, makes a record 20th season of TV’s longest-running medical drama likely. On Grey’s studio ABC Signature’s agenda, along with closing a renewal with ABC, is making new deals with a number of actors on the show whose contracts are up at the end of this season, including the last remaining original cast members, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr.
Grey’s Anatomy stars Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Wilson as Miranda Bailey, Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt, Chris Carmack as Atticus “Link” Lincoln, Anthony Hill as Winston Ndugu, Alexis Floyd as Simone Griffith, Harry Shum Jr. as Benson “Blue” Kwan, Adelaide Kane as Jules Millin, Midori Francis as Mika Yasuda, Niko Terho as Lucas Adams and Speedman as Nick Marsh.
The series was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer. Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Allen, Meg Marinis, Zoanne Clack and Pompeo are executive producers.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” alum and “Jawbreaker” star took a trip to Cabo with their kids and stayed close as they disembarked from a boat.
As the pair made their way back to the dock, Dane could be seen either keeping his arm around Gayheart or holding her hand.
The “Marley & Me” actor, 50, and Gayheart, 51, also grabbed lunch aboard the vessel, where Dane opted to dine shirtless while his maybe-estranged wife wore a T-shirt over her bathing suit.
The duo have been sparking “Are they or aren’t they?” questions since the summer when they enjoyed a family vacation to Europe.
The actress shared an Instagram photo in August with a silly shot of Dane with daughters Billie, 12, and Georgia, 11.
“This is us, family vacay 2022. #familia #travel #goodtimes #moretocome #eurodanes,” Gayheart captioned the post.
Gayheart and Dane married in October 2004 and started their family six years later. The former model filed for divorce from the “Burlesque” actor in February 2018.
She cited irreconcilable differences for the split, asking for spousal support as well as joint legal and physical custody of their daughters.
“After 14 years together we have decided that ending our marriage is the best decision for our family,” she and the actor wrote in a joint statement at the time.
“We will continue our friendship and work as a team to co-parent our two beautiful girls as they are the most important thing in the world to us.”
In July of the following year, Gayheart spoke to People about her family of four’s “new normal.”
“We are doing our best to co-parent and maintain a family even though we’re not married,” she explained. “Legally we’re still married, but separated. And I think we’re doing a pretty good job of it.”
Still peeved about Grey’s decision to leave Seattle for the sake of daughter Zola — without so much as mentioning to him that she was thinking about doing so — Nick confronts his on-again/off-again significant other. Elsewhere in the episode, as you can see in the exclusive image above, Mer and new resident Simone have a heart-to-heart and really let their emotions out. And the competition among the interns heats up as Maggie prepares to perform a never-before-done partial heart transplant; whichever of the rookies fares the most impressively in practice will get to scrub in with her.
As previously reported, original cast member Ellen Pompeo is stepping down as a series regular to pursue other interests (hence, the need for Mer’s move). But despite the fact that the actress “is a powerhouse, and Meredith is iconic,” as showrunner Krista Vernoff put it when speaking with TVLine this fall, the show has “always had a tremendous cast of actors who can carry any amount of the story.
“So while we will desperately miss Ellen and Meredith,” she added, “I think there’s a lot of story to tell” for other characters.
Finch admitted to The Ankler that she never had “any form of cancer,” nor did her older brother Eric commit suicide — another lie she perpetuated while writing for the ABC drama. Her brother is actually alive and working in Florida as a doctor.
“I know it’s absolutely wrong what I did,” she said. “I lied and there’s no excuse for it. But there’s context for it. The best way I can explain it is when you experience a level of trauma a lot of people adopt a maladaptive coping mechanism. Some people drink to hide or forget things. Drug addicts try to alter their reality. Some people cut. I lied. That was my coping and my way to feel safe and seen and heard.”
In March, The Ankler questioned Finch’s medical history and some of her past claims like how she was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, how she lost a kidney and part of her leg but was then misdiagnosed, and how she had endured verbal and sexual abuse by a male director while writing for The Vampire Diaries. Before Disney could launch an investigation, Finch made the decision to leave the drama and check herself into an Arizona facility.
Since then, Finch told The Ankler that not only has her wife left her but family members have disowned her and she’s no longer allowed to see the children she helped to raise. Her days are apparently filled with unanswered emails and meetings with a therapist.
“I wish I had a grid that would show who’s not talking to me because they can’t [legally],” she said. “Who’s not talking to me because they don’t know what to say. Who’s not talking to me because they’re pissed off. And then who’s sitting there waiting for me to reach out. I have no clue … it’s been a very quiet, very sad time. There were people who, when your article came out, were immediately very, very nasty on text. Family and friends who called me a monster and a fraud and said that’s all I’ll ever be known for and soon more truth would come out.”
Finch claims her lies started during the 2007 Writers Strike, when she hurt her knee while hiking. She ended up getting knee-replacement surgery. “Everyone was so amazing and so wonderful leading up to all the surgeries,” she told The Ankler. “They were so supportive. And then I got my knee replacement. It was one hell of a recovery period and then it was dead quiet because everyone naturally was like Yay! You’re healed. But it was dead quiet. And I had no support and went back to my old maladaptive coping mechanism — I lied and made something up because I needed support and attention and that’s the way I went after it. That’s where that lie started — in that silence.”
Besides writing for Grey’s, Finch was a prolific freelancer who shared her personal medical stories with outlets like Elle, The Hollywood Reporter and the Shondaland website. Her previous credits include Vampire Diaries, No Ordinary Family and True Blood. She joined Grey’s Anatomy in 2015.
THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2022: Ellen Pompeo
The Paley Center for Media revealed that 2023’s event will return to the Dolby Theatre between March 31 and April 4.
The ABC comedy and medical drama, Star Wars spinoff series and Paramount Network cowboy series will be joined by a full lineup of panels, to be announced on January 17, when ticket sales will also kick off.
Last year, which was the first in-person event to be held in three years, featured conversations with the casts of This Is Us, Black-ish, Ghosts and NCIS among others.
“We are thrilled to announce the first selections for the 40th anniversary of PaleyFest,” said Maureen J. Reidy, The Paley Center for Media’s President and CEO. “PaleyFest features the leading talent and creative minds from today’s top TV shows, and we are delighted to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with our Members and passionate TV fans. We thank our friends at Citi and the William S. Paley Foundation for their continued support of this iconic festival as it enters its 40th anniversary of celebrating the best of television.”
The actress recalled on “The View” Monday that just three days after she and her husband, Josh Kelley, adopted the then-9-month-old from South Korea in 2009, she had to get on a plane to film the ABC medical drama in Atlanta.
“I never saw that baby,” she said. “I was at work with three triplets who were playing my goddaughter, and I spent more time with them than I did with my new daughter.”
Heigl, 44, shared that Naleigh, now 14, “bonded” with Kelley, 42, but did not get as much personal time with her at first.
“I was always afraid that I had missed that opportunity to really bond with her and that she didn’t love me — in that moment,” she admitted.
The Emmy winner explained that she initially thought she could juggle being a present mom and having a flourishing career.
Despite the initial difficulties of being a first-time mother, Heigl wanted to further expand her family, telling Gala magazine in 2010 that she and Kelley “would love to have a second child, adopted or biological.”
“We’re not ruling it out,” she added at the time.
The couple, who married in 2007, went on to adopt another daughter, Adalaide, now 10, in 2012. The “27 Dresses” star then gave birth to a son, Joshua Jr., now 5, in 2017.
Pompeo said she is “eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support” fans have shown for her and her character Meredith Grey for 19 seasons. “You know the show must go on and I’ll definitely be back to visit,” she wrote on Instagram.
As Deadline revealed in August, Pompeo is scaling back her on-screen presence on Grey’s Anatomy this season to eight episodes. Her Feb. 23 farewell as a core cast member, aptly titled “I’ll Follow the Sun” and written by Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff, is Episode 7. Pompeo, who is segueing to a Hulu limited series which she is starring in and executive producing, is expected to return for Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 19 finale.
She remains an executive producer and will provide the voiceover narration for all episodes this season. In the Nov. 10 fall finale, Meredith announced her departure from Grey Sloan in an email.
Per Nielsen finals….
ABC | With their fall finale crossover, Station 19 (4 mil/0.5) drew its second-best audience of the season/was steady in the demo, while Grey’s Anatomy (3.7 mil/0.5) nearly tied a season high in audience/rose in the demo. A broadcast sampling of Hulu’s Reasonable Doubt legal drama drew 1.8 mil and a 0.2 at 10 pm.
CBS | Young Sheldon (7.1 mil/0.6), Ghosts (6.6 mil/0.6), So Help Me Todd (4.4 mil/0.3) and CSI: Vegas (3.5 mil/0.3) all added viewers and held steady in the demo.
NBC | Law & Order (4 mil/0.4), SVU (4 mil/0.5) and Organized Crime (2.9 mil/0.4) were all steady.
THE CW | Walker (770K/0.1) added a few eyeballs, while Independence (470K/0.1) lost some.
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (1.9 mil/0.4) and Call Me Kat (1.1 mil/0.2) both dipped, while Flatch (850K/0.2) was steady.
For those following Meredith’s (Pompeo) storyline this season, that won’t be a surprise since she made the decision to move to Boston in last week’s episode after Zola fell in love with a school there and Jackson offered Meredith a job working on Alzheimer’s research.
As Deadline revealed in August, Pompeo is scaling back her on-screen presence on Grey’s Anatomy this season to eight episodes. Her Feb. 23 farewell as a core cast member, aptly titled “I’ll Follow the Sun” and written by Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff, is Episode 7. Pompeo, who is segueing to a Hulu limited series which she is starring in and executive producing, is expected to return for Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 19 finale.
She remains an executive producer and will provide the voiceover narration for all episodes this season. In anticipation of Pompeo’s departure as Grey’s title character, the series this fall introduced a new group of interns in its biggest cast infusion to date.
The creative overhaul seems to be paying off, with the new characters receiving largely warm reception by fans, making a record 20th season of TV’s longest-running medical drama likely. According to sources, renewal talks have not started yet but are expected to soon.
Like other prominent former cast members, including Jesse Williams (Jackson), Pompeo could continue to make appearances on the series beyond this season, I hear.
In tonight’s fall finale, Meredith announced her departure from Grey Sloan in an email. Understandably, her making the decision without consulting Nick upset him so he would not commit when Richard asked him whether he can count on him staying in Seattle. (Given the fact that Scott Speedman, who plays Nick, is not a series regular this season, the decision is pretty obvious.)
To make Meredith’s move even more permanent, her house burned to the ground with only the post-it she and Derek wrote their vows on surviving.
Still, no one was hurt and Meredith wrapped her last day at Grey Sloan in high spirits, being toasted by all her colleagues.
‘YOU WILL SEE GNARLY INJURIES’ | As “Thunderstruck” began, Meredith sent an email to her Grey Sloan colleagues announcing that she was leaving. How was Nick taking the news? They weren’t talking about it, Mer informed Amelia and Maggie. Lucas and Simone turned up their chemistry to 11. (Sue me — I already love them). And Link reminded Jo that women don’t just need abortions during nice weather, so she still had to go to work at the clinic. Unfortunately, once she arrived, she learned that bureaucracy had brought the wheels of progress to a halt, and the clinic couldn’t open yet. Elsewhere, annoyed that Lucas had yet to tell his fellow residents that they are not sleeping together, Amelia hauled him in front of his classmates and forced him to confess that he’s a Shepherd. “We are not now and have never been having sex,” she clarified. Er, “with each other.” Though the interns feared that Mer’s departure would mean the end of the residency program, Nick assured them that that was not the case — they, not any one surgeon, were the program.
Shortly, into the E.R. came Jonathan, the TV reporter whose helicopter had been struck by lightning on Station 19, leaving him in such bad shape that he had to be transported to the hospital in the extracted chair from the chopper. When the patient apologized to wife Paola for resenting the fact that she’d wanted him to give up his dream of being a war correspondent for her, a light bulb seemed to go on over Teddy’s head. Was Owen about to get freed from the doghouse? After Teddy and Owen reported to Paola that Jonathan was going to pull through, Mika told Altman that watching her in action had restored her faith that she could be anything. Teddy was a “badass boss lady surgeon, and I want to be you when I grow up.”
As Mer got autographs for her kids from a children’s book author named Tessa who had pancreatitis, Mer passed on obtaining one for herself — she already had the writer’s Jane Hancock from when she was a youngster. (Tessa was a Seattle legend, doncha know?) Before scrubbing in on Tessa’s whipple procedure, Simone asked Lucas if he felt better now that his deep, dark secret was out. Not so much better as different, he replied. (Of course, the point of the scene was really how well-prepared for the whipple she was. That, and them going from flirty to flirtier.) Ahead of the surgery, Nick gave Lucas a pep talk and assured him that he was good enough to make a name for himself. In the O.R., Nick encouraged Lucas, Mer was more cautious. She decided that Adams was too pooped to perform and replaced him with Simone. And that was just the beginning of the drama in that O.R.
‘WHEN SHE LEAVES, THIS PLACE WILL FEEL IT’ | When Richard approached Nick to ask whether he, along with Mer, would be leaving, her boyfriend admitted that he didn’t know. He struggled with figuring out how to answer questions with her. “She’s worth it,” Richard told him. Was she, though? Mer hadn’t even told Nick that Lucas was a Shepherd. When the couple argued/talked at last, Nick marveled at the position in which she’d put him. He didn’t even know how to fight for them and hated the idea of deserting his class of residents. In other developments, Jo, pitching in in the pit, gave Levi a hard time about his little bit of power having gone to his head. Jules delighted in outsmarting Blue when he asked for a consult. Later, they bonded, revealing a whole lot more about their pasts than one ordinarily would with just a one-night stand.
At Mer’s, Winston showed up to help Maggie pack for her sister — and to ruin her plan to avoid him and any discussion of his changing specialties. As far as he was concerned, though, the decision was made. He was going to take part in Grey Sloan’s vascular surgery fellowship. “If we keep working together, we’re not gonna make it. I love cardio,” Winston said, “but I love you more.” This was not the answer that Maggie wanted. She didn’t know if she respected it, even. While Winston absorbed that blow, the house was struck by lightning! Shortly, back at Grey Sloan, Bailey received a call from Ben, and Richard interrupted Nick and Mer’s operation on Tessa to tell Grey that there was a fire at her house. Off she went, to find her home in flames but the kids OK. At day’s end, Jo, Bailey and Carina were at last able to open the clinic (which was named for Miranda’s late mom, Elena). In the locker room, Simone reported to Lucas that Tessa was OK. But all he wanted to do was beat himself up over his failing in the O.R. As they argued, he impulsively kissed her, but she couldn’t go there. Um, why? Curiouser and curiouser. And at Mer’s, at least saved from the blaze were her and Derek’s Post-It’d vows.
The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.
Described as a “blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping spy novel and a powerful story of love and friendship,” the novel is hailed as a new classic of war fiction and has been compared to the works of Kafka, Orwell, and le Carré.
Oh will play Ms. Sofia Mori, a liberated feminist who in the midst of a love triangle begins to awaken to the complexity of her own Asian American identity.
Chinh portrays the Major’s Mother. Homesick for Vietnam, she doesn’t find an easy fit with her new circumstances, in contrast to her son who has jumped in feet first.
Nguyen is Madame, the General’s wife and elegant and commanding matriarch who’s desperate to keep her daughter modest and her husband from unraveling as they restart their lives as refugees.
They join Downey Jr., who is set to play multiple supporting roles as the main antagonists, all of whom represent a different arm of the American establishment. Main cast also includes Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le and Alan Trong.
The series is currently in production, with filming in Los Angeles and Thailand.
Oldboy director Park Chan-wook is on board as co-showrunner, along with Don McKellar, and also will direct the series. Park and McKellar will also exec produce along with Downey, Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell for Team Downey. Niv Fichman will also exec produce through Rhombus Media as will Kim Ly. The series is a co-production between HBO, A24 and Rhombus Media in association with Cinetic Media and Moho Film. Jennifer Venditti is casting director.
Oh recently wrapped the fourth and final season of the Emmy-winning series Killing Eve. She was also recently seen starring in the Netflix dramedy series The Chair and voiced characters in Amazon’s Invincible and Netflix’s The Sandman. She is repped by UTA, Principal Entertainment LA and Hansen Jacobson Teller.
Chinh is a Vietnamese-American actress with six decades of international credits from Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, China, and Canada. She came to the U.S. under the sponsorship of actress Tippi Hedren, who helped her gain employment in Hollywood. Chinh is best known in the U.S. for her appearances in M*A*S*H and Dynasty. Chinh is repped by Allen Edelman Management.
Vietnamese-American actress Nguyen is best known for co-hosting Vietnam’s popular variety show Paris by Night. She is the youngest daughter of South Vietnam’s former Prime Minister and Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky. Nguyen is repped by Prestigious Powerhouse Agency.
Hello, which has been acquired by Scott Koondel’s Sox Entertainment, features Allen in one-on-one conversations with top artists, authors, writers and directors. The list of guests so far include Shonda Rhimes, Phylicia Rashad, Tyler Perry, Ava DuVernay, Whoopi Goldberg and Stevie Wonder, with additional episodes to be taped.
The hourlong show, described as informative, inspiring, sometimes painful and laugh-out-loud funny, is being shopped to streaming platforms.
“Hello is a series of interviews in which the iconic talent Debbie Allen has a intimate conversation with another entertainment icon,” said Koondel. “I’m thrilled for Sox Entertainment to distribute this phenomenal series as we now enter the talk genre at the highest level of talent.”
Former top CBS executive Koondel launched his company with Judith Sheindlin’ Judy Justice at Amazon Freevee and recently added a second court show with Sheindlin at the streamer, Tribunal.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher revealed the development in a TikTok video captioned “@disney pulls the plug on vaccine mandates! Way to go Mickey!!!!”
“I must applaud Disney for taking the position not to vaccine mandate their sets any longer,” Drescher said.
Disney, as well as Netflix, were the biggest studios to implement a blanket policy on their U.S.-based productions last year, mandating vaccinations for everyone working in “Zone A,” which consists of the actors and those who come in close proximity to them.
Netflix has not returned an email from Deadline seeking comment but I hear the company dropped the mandate awhile ago. The other major U.S. studios have had their vaccine requirements on a show-by-show basis.
The return-to-work protocols agreed upon by the Hollywood unions and major studios and extended multiple times give producers “the option to implement mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A on a production-by-production basis.”
Virtually all U.S.-produced Disney series adopted the mandate last year, which led to several high-profile cast member exits, including Emilio Estevez from Disney+’s Mighty Ducks, Rockmond Dunbar from Fox’s 9-1-1 (He ended up suing Disney) and Steve Burton & Ingo Rademacher from ABC’s General Hospital.
Harris began his Grey’s Anatomy stint with Season 3 in 2006 and stayed with the show through the Season 11 final in 2015, spanning more than 200 episodes of the ABC hospital drama. His most recent gig was on the 2016-21 ABC sitcom American Housewife, working on all of its 103 episodes.
“He rarely let anything ruffle his feathers, and was appreciated for his incredible design acumen, calm and kind demeanor,” Harris’ last agent, Amanda Pecora-Sutphen, said in a social media post (read it in full below). “He would simply say, “OK, fine” when last-minute changes would have had anyone else ripping their hair out. He loved designing and his passion will undoubtedly live on through his work. … Donald’s design skills have informed future generations of designers, and inspired those who worked alongside him."
Harris began his career in the 1970s, first in the art department for an episode of hit variety series Donny & Marie and then as an art director on films including Flesh Gordon — in which he got his only acting credit — and Swap Meet. He served in that role for other 1980s pics such as Movers & Shakers and Aloha Summer and got his first production designer credits on a pair of mid-’80s TV movies and the features Can’t Buy Me Love and World Gone Wild.
As PD, he worked mostly on telefilm and miniseries — including Babe Ruth, Billy the Kid and Love, Lies & Murder — before landing his first series gig with the 1991-92 NBC sci-fi drama Eerie, Indiana. Harris continued to work mostly on TV movies through the ’90s before landing the production designer job on Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle, which helped usher in the wave of single-camera comedies on broadcast TV, in 2000. He would work on the series throughout its seven-season run.
“Donald Lee Harris was one of the most creative, patient and diligent artists I’ve ever known,” Malcolm in the Middle creator Linwood Boomer said in a statement to Deadline. “Two decades ago, he showed everyone in television how great single-camera comedies could look. Everyone who’s worked with him will miss him terribly.”
He left that gig to work as PD on the six-episode first season of NBC comedy The Office. His next job was Grey’s Anatomy.
In 2016, Harris served as production designer on the short-lived 2016 Fox comedy Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life. He then joined American Housewife as production designer for its 2016 pilot and stayed through that Katy Mixon-led series through its finale.
“Donald was an amazing production designer. Extremely talented and unflappable. And he was an amazing person. Kind, smart and funny,” said Kenny Schwartz, who served as executive producer/co-showrunner on the ABC comedy alongside Rick Wiener. “After the pilot of American Housewife, Donald said he was going to retire. Rick and I coaxed him into staying for its entire 5 year run. We would have been lost without him.”
Harris is survived by his wife, Laurie Harris, and children Travis and Vanessa. A memorial will be held Dec. 4, with more details to come.
Here is the full text of Pecora-Sutphen’s tribute to Harris:
It’s with a very heavy heart that I share the news of an immense loss in the creative world. Production Designer, Husband, Father, Friend & BRILLIANT mind, Donald Lee Harris passed away yesterday surrounded by his loving family after his heroic battle with cancer came to a close.
I personally had the pleasure of working with Donald on my very first job in the film industry, “Grey’s Anatomy”. He rarely let anything ruffle his feathers & I not only admired his design, I was always struck by his calm & kind demeanor. He would simply say, “ok fine” when last minute changes would have had anyone want to rip their hair out.
Years later, I had the esteemed pleasure of working with Donald as his agent. I will never forget how it felt getting to work alongside someone I had so admired early in my career. He LOVED designing & his passion will undoubtedly live on through his work. From “Can’t Buy Me Love” to “Malcolm in the Middle” to “The Office” & “American Housewife” and everything in between, Donald’s design speaks not only to future generations of designers, but to those who worked alongside him. Even more, those who invited his work into their homes, while creating quality time with their families enjoying their favorite TV series or feature film. Those of us who come from the world of entertainment, often forget how these seemingly simple moments in time create a sense of cherished remembrance. As we age, we can often recall fond childhood memories, sitting amongst family in front of the television with a shared a bowl of popcorn. There is something universal about the moments where we allow ourselves to be swept away from daily stress & responsibilities, and into a world created for that stillness… a world in which our imaginations can run wild. While being a highly stressful career path that stretches far beyond Hollywood glam & red carpet attire, there aren’t many professions in which creating another world is the entire essence of the job description… Donald dedicated his life to doing just that. He created fabulous “worlds” for our enjoyment, while still raising a family & creating a beautiful home & life alongside his beautiful wife, best friend & soulmate, Laurie.
I was outside admiring an incredible sunset last evening when I heard the news… the weight of this immeasurable loss while unbearable, also made me take pause & give gratitude for those who cross our paths, making enormous impacts along the way. I realized in that moment, the sunset which was radiant with pink hues & moody blues would be the image I would hold in my heart & mind when honoring Donald’s memory. The infinite New Mexico skies, the ever-changing beauty, the vibrant palette, all part of the set we call “life”. When I asked Donald’s family if there was a picture I could share with this tribute, I received this perfect representation of the kind & thoughtful man I had the pleasure of calling “friend”. It beautifully captures his nature as well as his passage over the rainbow. Rest in Peace Dear Friend.
Opposite the well-watched Fall Classique, all but one (1) show ceded viewers….
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.7 mil/0.5) dipped but still landed in a three-way tie for the nightly demo win (amongst non-sports fare). Ghosts (6 mil/0.5), So Help Me Todd (3.9 mil/0.3) and CSI: Vegas (3.1 mil/0.3) were all steady in the demo.
ABC | Station 19 (3.5 mil/0.4), Grey’s Anatomy (3.1 mil/0.4) and Alaska Daily (2.6 mil/0.2) all dipped.
NBC | Law & Order (3.6 mil/0.4), SVU (3.7 mil/0.5) and Organized Crime (2.9 mil/0.4) all dipped.
THE CW | Walker (772K/0.1) dropped a handful of eyeballs, while scrappy Walker Independence (556K/0.1) ticked up in both measures.
‘TWO MILLIMETERS IS NOT WORTH THIS CONVERSATION’ | As “When I Get to the Border” began, Meredith and Zola were touring Brookline Steam Academy in Boston. (Zola was not impressed but agreed to spend the day shadowing a student, anyway). Elsewhere in town, Catherine fibbed to Jackson that she and Koracick were working on a project. Once the coconspirators had taken off, Jackson and Mer reunited, and she revealed what Zola was going through. If only Grey could cure Alzheimer’s, then she could ease her daughter’s anxiety. Why not do that? Jackson suggested. In no time, they were talking seriously about Mer possibly doing exactly that. Look what she had done for Parkinson’s! Plus, Grey working to cure the disease that killed her mother is a story — it would get the foundation funding. No go, Mer said. Zola had been through enough and had to be her focus. Fine. “But I’m not gonna give up on this, not entirely,” Jackson said. Later, he shared with Mer that spending time with his father a couple of years ago had, in a roundabout way, led him to his current life. Maybe that was why Mer was staying up nights researching Alzheimer’s for Zola — she wasn’t having a breakdown but a breakthrough. Wouldn’t seeing her mom try inspire Zola?
Meanwhile, Tom reported to Catherine that her tumor was two millimeters bigger than in her last scans. No longer in remission, she needed more treatment, and she needed to let her son and husband in on what was going on, Tom argued. In response, Catherine reminded him whose name was on the building. Besides, she was getting help, she insisted. She had an acupuncturist and a medicine man, and neither of them made her sick. “This is my cancer, my choice,” she said. Later, Tom started in on Catherine anew. But she was grateful that she wasn’t in an oncology ward. Whatever time she had, she wanted to spend it living. If she was going to be in a hospital, she was going to be in one as a doctor. And what about when her loved ones find out she spent all that time lying? She was protecting her privacy and peace, she said.
‘WHAT DO I KNOW, I’M JUST THE CHAUFFEUR?’ | At the same time as all that was going on, Bailey and Addison made tracks to Washington to visit Miranda’s first-year college roommate Cynthia, who ran a clinic there. Cynthia was thrilled that they were coming; the abortion protesters who greeted them, terrifyingly less so. Inside, Bailey and Addison began making progress seeing patients… only to have their pile of to-be-seen patients’ files grow even faster than they could work their way through it. Soon, “the medical Thelma and Louise” were on the road again to reach a patient named Susan in Idaho with an ectopic pregnancy attached to her C-section scar. Sadly, Susan reported that her 5-year-old only wanted one thing for her birthday: a sister. Oh dear… suddenly, Susan started hemorrhaging. To keep her from bleeding out, Addison basically inflated a balloon inside her. That bought the doctors some time… but could it possibly be enough? Dead ahead was traffic at a standstill. Susan was desperate to stay alive so that she could watch her little girl grow up. “I’m not ready to go,” she sobbed. And right on cue, her heart stopped beating. Bailey and Addison performed CPR on the side of the road, but alas, their efforts were in vain. The lawmakers should be made to come out there, Addison cried, and see the carnage that they had wrought. How were she and Bailey supposed to be doctors under these conditions? “I am infuriated! Women’s lives are on the line, and our hands that are trained to help them… are tied!”
‘I WONDER WHAT OTHER KINDS OF FAVORS HE DOES FOR HER’ | At Grey Sloan, Lucas balked at how many familial tasks Amelia had given him — including taking Scout to daycare. But she cheerfully informed him that she’d ask any competent resident to drop off her kid for her. (Hilariously, Scout seemed to call Lucas Dada in front of his peers.) Later, Lucas got a 911 text — about the tot. What was the accident? The kind that happened… in a kid’s pants. As Adams bought Scout replacement clothes, he was caught by his fellow residents, furthering their certainty that he and Amelia were sleeping together. Later, Blue assured Amelia that her and Lucas’ secret was safe. She was surprised that he knew. Only when Blue started suggesting that he had skills outside the O.R. did she begin to catch on. Then Lucas finally explained what his peers thought to Amelia. Gads, she couldn’t have people think that she was having sex with her nephew. “Fix it!” she told him.
‘IF THIS IS THE FUTURE, IT’S BLEAK’ | In the episode’s last few moments, Bailey shared that she had miscarried and needed a DNC because the miscarriage was incomplete. So she wanted to prepare healthcare professionals at Grey Sloan to help, lest the next generation not be trained. Addison wanted to help, too — and not just in L.A. “I know I can make a difference.” In particular, in the places where women were having to cross state lines for care. Reassuring Addison that Susan’s death wasn’t on her, Bailey realized that what they had needed was Ben’s no-longer-in-use PRT. Back at Grey Sloan, Lucas reminded Amelia that he’d only asked her not to blow his cover. He’d always been the loser of the Shepherds, he wanted to try to succeed not as a Shepherd. Unmoved, she gave him three days to set the record straight. In Boston, Zola worried about what would happen if they moved and she still had panic attacks. That kind of concern was Mom’s domain, Grey assured her. Plus, Jackson had offered her a job. In that case, Zola was all in — she loved Brookline. “I’m in,” Mer texted Jackson. “We’re moving to Boston.” Maybe eventually she’d also let Nick know?
This year’s CMA Awards presenters include two-time World Series Champ, MVP and Los Angeles Dodgers Star Mookie Betts; CMA Musical Event of the Year nominee this year, BRELAND; from the much-anticipated upcoming limited series, “George & Tammy,” Academy Award® winner Jessica Chastain; two-time CMA nominee this year, Jordan Davis; Apple TV’s “Amber Brown” and Lifetime’s “Reindeer Games Homecoming,” Sarah Drew; Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” star Cole Hauser; multiplatinum and award-winning songwriter/artist Tyler Hubbard; five-time GRAMMY® winner, Country Music Hall of Fame Member and half of the legendary duo The Judds, Wynonna Judd; CMA Vocal Group of the Year nominee this year, Lady A; CBS’s “Young Sheldon” and ABC’s “Big Sky: Deadly Trails” actor Rex Linn; multiple CMA Award-winning band and Vocal Group of the Year nominee this year, Little Big Town; CMA New Artist of the Year nominee this year, Parker McCollum; six-time CMA Awards winner and Country Music Hall of Fame member, Reba McEntire; stars of the hit HGTV shows “HomeTown” and “HomeTown Takeover,” Ben and Erin Napier; 55-year Grand Ole Opry member with over 5,000 performances and the third female Country artist to win a GRAMMY, Jeannie Seely; from the much-anticipated upcoming limited series, “George & Tammy,” Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon; and six-time CMA nominee this year, Lainey Wilson.
With unforgettable solo performances, never-before-seen collaborations and special tributes from some of the biggest names in music, “The 56th Annual CMA Awards” is a must-see event. Artists taking the CMA Awards stage include Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Brandy Clark, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Combs, Caylee Hammack, HARDY, Cody Johnson, Elle King, Marcus King, Miranda Lambert, Patty Loveless, Ashley McBryde, Reba McEntire, John Osborne, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Katy Perry, Pillbox Patti, Chris Stapleton, Cole Swindell, The Black Keys, The War and Treaty, Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, and Zac Brown Band.
“The 56th Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer; Alan Carter is the director, and Jon Macks is the head writer.
In the preview embedded above, Sarah Chalke and Katherine Heigl’s BFFs navigate everything from new professional endeavors (Tully’s making a documentary!) to complicated romances (Kate and Johnny aren’t really over, right?). And it seems their long friendship with one another might hit a few snags, too, if the 1:40-ish mark of the trailer is any indication.
Netflix announced in October that Firefly Lane would conclude with Season 2. The 16 new episodes will be released in two parts, with nine arriving on Friday, Dec. 2, and the final seven dropping in 2023.
Based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Kristin Hannah, Firefly Lane charts Tully and Kate’s friendship over a 30-year period. The ensemble also includes Ben Lawson, Beau Garrett, Ali Skovbye, Roan Curtis and Yael Yurman, while India de Beaufort (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Greg Germann (Grey’s Anatomy), Jolene Purdy (Orange Is the New Black) and Ignacio Serricchio (Lost in Space) are among the Season 2 additions.
Disenchanted picks up ten years after Princess Giselle (Amy Adams) wed the cynical New York attorney Robert (Patrick Dempsey). Over the course of time, Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so she and Robert move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. But unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for. Suburbia has a whole new set of rules and a local queen bee, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), who makes Giselle feel more out of place than ever. Frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, she turns to the magic of Andalasia for help, accidentally transforming the entire town into a real-life fairy tale and placing her family’s future happiness in jeopardy. Now, Giselle is in a race against time to reverse the spell and determine what happily ever after truly means to her and her family.
Disenchanted will also see the return of Enchanted cast member James Marsden, along with the introduction of actors including Gabriella Baldacchino, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Jayma Mays. More information on the pic directed by Adam Shankman can be found below. Watch today’s new trailer above.
The project, which is in development, is among four new features being launched at the American Film Market this week by Canadian sales outfit Mongrel International, a division of Toronto-based independent film distributor Mongrel Media.
Set in the near future, the film unfolds in a reality where, in order to save the planet, “death is everyone’s job”, with 50-year-olds making the sacrifice, while teenage artists have to document it.
Fleming and Oh previously collaborated on the award-winning 2016 animated feature Window Horses. Producers on the new project are Eric Mussolum and Jayme Pfahl.
Mongrel will also launch sales on two other projects in development: Jason Lapeyre’s crime thriller Stealing Is Bad starring Nick Stahl (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and Kevin Pollak (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and Sam McGlynn’s 1989, a prequel to the Fubar cult hits.
Stealing Is Bad revolves around an ambitious teenager who teams up with a middle-aged ex-convict to pull off a heist at the fast-food restaurant where they work. Juliette Hagopian produces.
1989 is billed as a prequel to the 2002 cult film Fubar, set against the world of heavy metal fandom, and its sequel Fubar 2. Dave Lawrence, one of the headbanging protagonists of the original is blasted back to 1989.
Paul Spence, who co-created the Fubar franchise, takes writing credits, with McGlynn directing. Spence produces with Kyle Irving.
Further new additions to the slate include the completed horror thriller Hands That Bind by Kyle Armstrong.
The drama unfolds in a struggling farming community hit by mysterious occurrences such as cattle mutilations, drought, a missing teenager, paranoia, and unexplained lights in the sky.
The cast features Paul Sparks (House of Cards), Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Will Oldham (A Ghost Story) and Nicholas Campbell (Goon) and it is produced by Blake McWilliam.
World rights for all territories are available, except Canada, where Mongrel Media will distribute.
“Our 2022 AFM lineup is an eclectic mix of genre with highly original storytelling,” said Andrew Frank, co-president of Canadian distributor Mongrel Media, who is overseeing sales at AFM on behalf of Mongrel International.
“We know how critical cast is in the marketplace, and our three films in development already have key cast attached. Our finished film, Hands That Bind, has a stellar cast with Bruce Dern and Paul Sparks.”
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 6.6 million total viewers and a 0.5 rating) actually dipped in the demo week-to-week, while Ghosts‘ Halloween episode (6.4 mil/0.5), So Help Me Todd (4.5 mil/0.3) and CSI: Vegas (3.4 mil/0.3) were all steady. Audience-wise, Ghosts is looking at its best overnight tally since Jan. 20.
ABC | Station 19 (4 mil/0.5) and Alaska Daily (3.1 mil/0.3) both ticked up, while Grey’s Anatomy (3.6 mil/0.5) was steady.
THE CW | Pending maybe-possible small adjustment due to a smidgen of sports preemptions, Walker (807K/0.1) is currently up 16 percent in audience to a season high, while Walker Independence (545K/0.0) also added eyeballs.
NBC | Back from a one-week break, Law & Order (4 mil/0.4), SVU (4.3 mil/0.5) and Organized Crime (3.1 mil/0.4) were all down a tick in the demo.
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (2.3 mil/0.5), Welcome to Flatch (1.3 mil/0.3) and Call Me Kat (1.7 mil/0.3) were all up sharply — preemptions, anyone…?
In A Man in Full, when Atlanta real estate mogul Charlie Croker (Daniels) faces sudden bankruptcy, political and business interests collide as he defends his empire from those attempting to capitalize on his fall from grace.
Hinton will play Henrietta White. Henrietta guides her husband, Roger (Aml Ameen), though a moment of soul-searching to protect what’s best for their family.
Kelley serves as writer, executive producer and showrunner, with King directing three episodes and exec producing as part of her first-look deal with Netflix via her Royal Ties production company. Matthew Tinker also executive produces.
Hinton stars in Amazon’s conspiracy thriller drama series Hunters from Monkeypaw Productions. She previously recurred on M. Night Shyamalan’s Apple TV+ thriller Servant and was a series regular on HBO’s drama Here and Now. Hinton is repped by Paradigm and Trademark Talent.
‘I ALREADY HATE THIS’ | As the episode began, Richard wheeled in a cart full of pumpkins on which the interns were to practice their carving skills. Hilariously, this was Mika’s worst fear — she had pumpkinphobia. She was even scared of pumpkin bread. Luckily, Nick soon scored enough actual bodies for them to Ginsu instead. On Link’s cancer-versary, he invited Jo to dinner and a foot rub. Alas, she had to work. So he was going to find a sexy-nurse date on Tinder instead. The first patients of the night were a couple of teens who’d taken LSD and jumped off a roof into a pool. Well, toward a pool, anyway — only one of the flying idiots hit the water. Still high as a kite after making a splash, the boy snuck out of the ER and leapt off an ambulance right onto poor Jo while she was dealing with a patient in labor. So much for Link’s sexy nurse. When the kids’ fathers showed up, they busied themselves with a shouting match over which youngster had given the other drugs. They were so loud that Bailey had to intervene — parenting is hard enough, she told them. They couldn’t turn on each other.
In Owen’s trauma training session with the cadavers, Winston upped the stakes by offering a chance to scrub in with him to whichever intern demonstrated the most impressive technique. While the residents fumbled, Winston confided in Owen that Maggie had taken to commenting on pretty much everything that he did — from his cases to the way he heats water. To raise Winston’s spirits, Owen suggested that they terrorize the interns a bit. After the “patient died,” Jules, whose parents were donating their bodies to science, was horrified to learn that Owen had stabbed all of the cadavers for the purposes of the newbies’ training. But how else would they learn? During round two, Winston remarked that observing the interns was like “watching kids stick their fingers into electrical sockets.” (Interesting reveal: Blue had no father. OK.) This time, the residents saved the “patient.” Who won the chance to scrub in? Well, they’d all contributed, Lucas noted. Could they all scrub in? Sure. Before leaving, Owen encouraged Winston not to let resentment take over his marriage. His solution? Considering leaving cardio to save their relationship.
‘I’M A LOT SCARIER WITHOUT THE SHEET’ | At Meredith’s, Amelia encouraged her sister-in-law and Nick to go enjoy a romantic evening. She’d babysit the kiddos while Zola was at a sleepover. Instead of take his girlfriend to his place, though, Nick got them a fancy hotel room. In which they seemed to spend most of their time drinking champagne and talking about Zola. Relating to the child’s situation, Nick told a story about how his mom had bought an RV to show him the whole wide world in which no one knew that he was the kid whose father had left him. So… road trip for Mer and Zola? Anyway, just then, the poor kid called in tears, and off Mer and Nick went to pick her up. She’d been trying to go to sleep, and all she could think about was her mom and her aunt and Alzheimer’s. It would get better, Mom promised. Even if they had to find her a school outside of Seattle. Ah, is that how Ellen Pompeo will leave after a few more episodes?
‘WHO DOES ALL THE WORK, STACY? ME!’ | After campaigning to be chief resident, Levi buckled under the pressure of the job and barked at a nurse in front of Richard. Naturally, Webber pulled him aside. “Can you just say the thing I need to hear?” an impatient Schmitt asked. “Take a break,” Richard replied. Levi couldn’t, though — if he “took a break” and someone else died, he wouldn’t be able to come back from that. Later, Richard went to the bar to ask Helm to come back to work. No dice. She’d be leaving her bartending job with $800 that very night. In the episode’s last few minutes, Richard told Levi that he’d failed him and his class. Webber was going to ask all the attendings to pick up the slack left when they lost the last class of interns.
‘TONIGHT WAS ENOUGH TO MAKE ME DREAD LETTING MY KIDS GROW UP’ | In surgery with Maggie, Simone’s phone beeped and beeped. (Uh-oh, I thought. Grandma?) Nonetheless, the kid who missed the swimming pool pulled through. After the incident in the O.R., Maggie asked Simone what was up — Pierce knew that Griffith was the intern to watch. So what happened? Simone had been a model resident in the gig she was asked to leave after finally voicing concerns about racial issues. That was why her phone had been going off: A video of her losing her ish — and understandably, after the mistreatment she’d received — had gone viral, and she had been trying to get it taken down. Later, Simone shared with her peers that she was the resident in the video. Finally, as the hour drew to a close, Teddy and Link commiserated over how one stupid impulse could ruin your life at any stage of the game. “I’m kinda crazy about Jo,” he blurted out. It hadn’t been an option… then it was… and now? “I blew it,” he said. “Just keep sleeping with other women until those feelings pass,” she advised. Don’t let what happened to her and Owen happen to him and Jo. Off that convo, Teddy found Owen sleeping in the lounge and reminded him of how he’d managed to give her several holidays in one while they were deployed. It was a sweet moment… during which he dozed back off.
While promoting her new Bridgerton book this week, the uber-producer told Good Morning America that she wouldn’t mind revisiting Private Practice. She was asked by the hosts to name one of her popular shows from ABC that she’d love to bring back.
“I miss my Scandal family so badly that I would come back with them at any point, but I actually feel like we didn’t finish telling our stories on Private Practice,” Rhimes said. “We had so many more stories we could tell … I just felt like we had so much more to say with those characters and so much further to go, and that also felt like a show that had endless possibility where you are learning and seeing things happen at the same things happen medically.”
Launched in 2007, Private Practice featured Kate Walsh as Addison — a character that was introduced in the first season on Grey’s Anatomy. Her character is a gynecological and neonatal surgeon and, as MerDer fans know, she was once married to Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Private Practice lasted until 2013.
Walsh’s popularity with Grey‘s fans, however, never waned: She has returned repeatedly to the action at Grey Sloan.
Rhimes left ABC in 2017 for a multi-million dollar deal at Netflix, which also covered her production company Shondaland and her producing partner Betsy Beers. It was extended in 2021.
Voting for the 2022 People’s Choice Awards runs today (Oct 26) through Wednesday, November 9 at 11:59 pm ET. Fans can either vote online at http://www.votepca.com or on Twitter.
Show of 2022
Abbott Elementary
Better Call Saul
Grey’s Anatomy
House of the Dragon
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Saturday Night Live
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Drama Show of 2022
Better Call Saul
Cobra Kai
Euphoria
Grey’s Anatomy
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Ozark
The Walking Dead
This Is Us
Female TV Star of 2022
Millie Bobby Brown – Stranger Things
Ellen Pompeo – Grey’s Anatomy
Kristen Bell – The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – Never Have I Ever
Mandy Moore – This Is Us
Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
Selena Gomez – Only Murders in the Building
Drama TV Star of 2022
Ellen Pompeo – Grey’s Anatomy
Jason Bateman – Ozark
Mandy Moore – This Is Us
Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Norman Reedus – The Walking Dead
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us
Sydney Sweeney – Euphoria
Zendaya – Euphoria
Williams is an activist/actor/entrepreneur and former high school teacher. He earned a Tony Award nomination in his Broadway debut in the Tony-winning revival of Take Me Out this year and will next be seen in Your Place or Mine with Reese Witherspoon, as well as in his return to Broadway for the newly extended run of Take Me Out.
Williams spent 12 seasons playing Dr. Jackson Avery on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and has appeared in TV and films including The Cabin in the Woods, Little Fires Everywhere, Brooklyn’s Finest and the Paramount action comedy Secret Headquarters with Owen Wilson.
Williams executive produced the 2021 Oscar-winning short film Two Distant Strangers and served as both senior producer and correspondent alongside Norman Lear for their Epix docuseries America Divided. Williams is a partner and board member of the No. 1 scholarship app in the world, Scholly, which has matched students with more than $100 million to date. He also is co-founder of both BLeBRiTY and Ebroji mobile apps and executive producer of Question Bridge: Black Males, a transmedia art installation in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture’s permanent collection. He sits on the board of directors for both Advancement Project and Harry Belafonte’s arts and social justice organization Sankofa.org.
Williams is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360 and André Des Rochers of Granderson Des Rochers.
Only Murders in the Building, produced by 20th Television, racked up 17 Emmy nominations this past season and won three. The series hails from co-creators and writers Martin and John Hoffman, who executive produce along with Short, Gomez, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.
With NBC’s Law & Order shows in rerun mode….
CBS | Young Sheldon (with 6.5 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating), Ghosts (5.9 mil/0.5) and So Help Me Todd (4.2 mil/0.3) all dipped, while CSI: Vegas (3.6 mil/0.3) rose to a season high in audience and was steady in the demo.
ABC | Station 19 (3.8 mil/0.4) and Grey’s Anatomy (3.5 mil/0.4) both ticked up in audience while hitting all-time demo lows. Alaska Daily (2.9 mil/0.2) ticked down in both measures.
THE CW | Walker (702K/0.1) added some eyeballs, while Walker Independence (528K/0.1) dropped some.
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (2.1 mil/0.4), Welcome to Flatch (1.2 mil/0.2) and Call Me Kat (1.5 mil/0.2) were all steady in the demo, with the sitcoms both (conspicuously?) surging to season highs in audience.
’YOU’RE GETTING PAID TO TALK ABOUT SEX TODAY’ | As “Let’s Talk About Sex” began, Lucas skateboarded to Grey Sloan, Amelia struggled to find a way to get to see long-distance love Kai, only to discover that they were already in Seattle (surprise!), and Zola came to the hospital with Meredith rather than go to school (as the youngster was still having panic attacks). Nearby, Bailey turned up at her old stomping grounds, having been given permission by Nick to use the interns in the sex-ed project that she and Jo had mounted in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned. When Addison, in town to work with Bailey and Jo, crossed paths with Lucas, she warmly greeted him as Shep… before he discreetly made it clear that she wasn’t supposed to acknowledge that he was Derek’s nephew. From the get-go, the interns tried to make excuses not to participate — and that was before they found out that they wouldn’t just be speaking to a video camera, they’d be speaking to a roomful of real kids. As the interns bombed reading from Jo’s script, one of the teenage girls fled from the room and admitted to Addison that she was late. Back in the auditorium, another girl keeled over in pain.
While Jules got the kids’ attention by explaining where the clitoris is, and Blue shared why the pullout method was so ineffective, Girl No. 2 turned out to have a giant cyst. Called in to the O.R., Addison tasked Levi with reassuring Girl No. 1 as she waited for test results. So he had to be the person who confirmed for her that yes, she’d gotten pregnant after the first time she ever had sex. But at least he was able to explain that they could give her pills to medically abort so long as they’d caught the pregnancy early enough. (They had.) Eventually, Jules recruited Owen and Teddy, of all couples, to teach the youngsters about consent. The interns also schooled the kids on how different actual sex was from porn sex. (Spoiler alert: very.)
‘I’M A VERY HAPPY PERSON, HE’S JUST BITTER AND BROKEN’ | Though Lucas supported Bailey, Jo and Addison’s project, he needed more pit time, so he volunteered to help Teddy (especially since Owen was worse than useless to her at present). Soon, he was assigned by Levi to help Joyce (aka Simone’s grandmother) find her daughter, who she believed was giving birth that day. (As we already knew, Simone’s mother died at Seattle Grace giving birth to her.) Soon enough, Joyce said that if her daughter had a girl, she’d be named Simone. Lightbulb moment for Lucas. Then, in a horrifying moment, Simone had to tell her grandmother again that her mom had died. Meredith to the rescue. (Well, insofar as she could help, what with not being able to resurrect Simone’s mom.) Griffith wasn’t sure that she could handle her grandmother’s condition. But Grey assured her that as she’d had to be with Ellis, Griffith could be with her grandmother. After Mer suggested that letting Joyce live in her reality might be the kindest option (as opposed to telling her over and over that her daughter has died), Simone went ahead and played her mom for Joyce. (Heartbreaking stuff.) Later, Simone thanked Lucas for staying with her grandma all day and asked him not to tell anyone about her condition. If he could keep his lips zipped, Simone added, she wouldn’t reveal that he was a Shepherd — yeah, she’d figured it out after he’d been so weird with “Aunt Addie.”
‘TEN YEARS OF TRAINING, AND I’M BASICALLY PLAYING A VIDEO GAME’ | Bored with her homework, Zola snuck out of Mer’s office in search of a surgery to watch but wound up being intercepted by Nick, who showed her cool gadgetry in his lab. Did he always know that he wanted to be a doctor? she asked. No, not until his mom had died. When Kai came in, they were impressed by Zola’s cognitive abilities on neurological tests that were lying around. So was Nick, who called in Amelia and Maggie to see how brilliant Zola is. When Mer arrived on the scene, ticked that her daughter had taken these tests without her consent, Maggie and Kai suggested that Zola’s genius might be what was sparking the panic attacks.
‘WHAT ARE WE POINTING AT?’ | As the hour neared its conclusion, the docs all busted out dance moves for the sex-ed reel. (Glee vet Harry Shum Jr. was, of course, killer.) When Richard asked Bailey when they’d see her again, she suggested… tomorrow. Given that there was a humanitarian crisis going on, she wanted to open the clinic again to protect reproductive rights and work as an attending the rest of the time. “That’s my best and final offer,” she said. Natch, Webber accepted it. Zola’s brilliance sparked memories in Maggie of her own childhood; she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t noticed it in her niece. What had helped Maggie? Amelia asked. A child therapist had given her coping tools. Zola would get her tools, Amelia promised. Richard invited Addison to dinner, but she wanted to work. After Roe v. Wade, she felt “erased.” He encouraged her to live, too, and eat. Finally, Mer admitted to Nick that she was lost as to what to do for Zola. He saw the upside of the day — they now had a piece of the puzzle that they hadn’t had before. At home, inspired by their sex-ed presentation, Teddy gave Owen consent to get it on with her. And at the same time, Amelia and Kai got busy. (Not all of them together, mind you.) And as Link massaged Jo’s feet, she shared that she’d learned that even they had erogenous zones. “Should I stop?” Hell, no. At the hospital, Lucas and Simone looked to be getting awfully chummy, and Blue and Jules snuck into the on-call room to have sex. “I don’t even like you,” she said. “I’m not for everyone,” he replied. Love! These! Interns!
TVLine has learned exclusively that Greg Germann is set to reprise his role as Tom Koracick in the Nov. 3 episode, the same installment that marks Williams’ comeback as Jackson Avery.
Germann left what had become a series-regular role in Season 17, when Koracick, having won his battle with COVID but having lost Teddy to Owen, decided to move to Boston to help Jackson run his mother’s Catherine Fox Foundation.
In the Nov. 3 outing, Koracick reaches out to Catherine (who is in Boston) regarding a personal matter. Meredith, meanwhile, also spends the episode in Boston, catching up with Jackson.
After exiting Grey’s last year, Germann joined the second and final season of Netflix’s Firefly Lane (which kicks off Dec. 2) in a recurring role. The Ally McBeal vet also turns up in this week’s episode of The Good Fight.
When Germann’s Grey’s departure was announced in May 2021, showrunner Krista Vernoff all but confirmed that Koracick would be back.
“Greg Germann is a comic genius and we are so lucky that he brought his talents to our show these last few years,” Vernoff said at the time. “We will miss Greg terribly in the day to day — but we plan to see Tom Koracick again!”
Williams departed Grey’s as a series regular in spring 2021 after 12 seasons. In the May 6, 2021 Season 17 episode “Look Up Child” it was revealed Jackson was leaving Grey Sloan to move to Boston to take over the family foundation. He was followed there by his ex, April (Sarah Drew), who relocated with their daughter. Williams made a couple of more appearances in Season 17.
He, along with Drew, then returned to guest star in the Season 18 finale last May, in which they confirmed that Jackson and April have rekindled their relation by kissing in the elevator at Grey Sloan Memorial.
Drew will not be In Episode 1905, in which Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) catches up with Jackson (Williams) on a trip to Boston but Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/director Debbie Allen will reprise her recurring role as Jackson’s mother, Catherine.
In other “When I Get to the Border” developments, Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Addison (Kate Walsh) take a road trip to volunteer at a family planning center, but a patient’s ectopic pregnancy leads to complications. Elsewhere, the interns play detective about Lucas’ (Niko Terho) relationship with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone).
Williams also served as a director on ABC series Rebel, from Grey’s showrunner and executive producer Krista Vernoff. An activist and a tech entrepreneur, he also executive produced the 2021 Oscar-winning film Two Distant Strangers. Williams is returning to Broadway in the baseball-themed Take Me Out, for which he was nominated for a Tony. He recently starred alongside Owen Wilson in Paramount+’s Secret Headquarters and will next be seen in Netflix’s Your Place or Mine with Reese Witherspoon.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.9 million viewers/0.6 rating), Ghosts (6.2 mil/0.6) and So Help Me Todd (4.4 mil/0.4) all ticked up in the demo, while CSI: Vegas (3.2 mil/0.3) was steady. Sheldon is looking at its best audience since April 21, while Ghosts is poised to report its best since Jan. 20.
ABC | Station 19 (3.6 mil/0.5) and Alaska Daily (3 mil/0.3) were steady in the demo, but Grey’s (3.2 mil/0.5) dipped.
NBC | Law & Order (3.9 mil/0.4) was steady, while SVU (4.3 mil/0.6) and Organized Crime (3 mil/0.5) ticked up.
THE CW | Pending possible adjustment due to a teeny amount of preemptions, Walker (687K/0.1) dropped a few eyeballs whereas Walker Independence (617K/0.0) matched its premiere audience (but dipped in the demo).
FOX | Pending adjustment due to what I have to imagine are some preemptions (?), Hell’s Kitchen (2.7 mil/0.5), Welcome to Flatch (2 mil/0.3) and Call Me Kat (2.1 mil/0.3) are all currently up sharply.
You see, Jesse is being sued over a car crash and the lawyer for the other driver has subpoenaed the actor to sit for a deposition. Jesse is afraid the close quarters during the depo will expose him to the virus. If he gets sick, well he'll violate the Broadway mantra, "The show must go on!" In other words, if there's no Jesse, there's no play.
It's not that Jesse doesn't want his depo taken -- he's more than willing to do it over Zoom -- but he says an in-person depo is just too risky.
As for the lawsuit, as we reported ... the woman in the other car claims the "Grey's Anatomy" star rear-ended her and then fled the scene.
We're told Jesse admits to rear-ending the other car but insists he did not book it out of there.
‘TWO INTERNS MAKE A WHOLE DOCTOR’ | As “Wasn’t Expecting That” began, Simone’s grandma (Marla Gibbs) gave her a TV remote for her lunch, Jules learned that Mika was living in her van, Amelia learned that Lucas was living in the on-call room (and invited him to move into Mer’s), and Grey was surprised that Nick was actually doing the job of residency advisor without hanging around her like a lovesick puppy dog. Speaking of Nick, he introduced Schmitt to the newbies as their new chief resident. His best advice? “Don’t drop anything inside a patient.”
Reporting for Owen’s service, Mika learned that Hunt was married to Teddy, she was the new trauma chief since he could only work under the supervision of an attending, and he was in super-hot water with his missus. So yeah, fun service to be on! (Also, ticked Teddy is hilarious.) Things were so heated between the marrieds that a patient’s wife snarked, “We should’ve gone to Seattle Pres.” (And that was before it was discovered that her better half had shoved her cell up his butt because she never put it down!) Mika begged Levi not to make her work with velociraptor Teddy, but he was unmoved. Desperate for backup, Schmitt ran to Joe’s and pleaded with Helm to quit her bartending job and come back to work. No way, she said. She made more money slinging beer. Back at the hospital, Teddy testily admitted to Webber that yes, she was enjoying three damn glasses of wine a night, and he would be, too, if he was married to Owen.
‘I’M THE GUY WHO KILLED HIS COLLEGE ROOMMATE; THERE ARE GONNA BE PODCASTS ABOUT ME’ | In the pit, Simone and Jules treated two guys who were having trouble not barfing all over the place. Oh — and Chase, the worse-off one of the two, was Nolan “Luke” Gould from Modern Family; it’s been a minute! He was not only sick to his stomach, he also had a terrible rash, Mer discovered upon taking a look. Soon, the patient became unresponsive and started bleeding, seemingly randomly. “What the hell is wrong with this kid?” Grey exclaimed. And therein lay the $64k question. She consulted with Richard and Teddy, then tasked the interns to find the answer that she couldn’t.
Shortly, Link informed Jules and Mer that Chase’s leg would have to be amputated — and Millin was going to do it. “Are you flirting with me?” she asked when she discovered that he’d written “CUT THIS LEG OFF, NOT THIS LEG” on the patient. He was not, he insisted. He was being a supportive teacher. While Chase’s roommate told Simone everything he knew about his pal, she guessed that he hadn’t had all of his vaccinations. What was killing him, she realized, was… something you can’t possibly think I can spell. While all that was going on, Mer and Richard questioned (but didn’t necessarily mind) the changes Nick was making to the residency program. If he had moved to Seattle for Grey, Webber assured him, she was worth it.
‘WHEN WINSTON GETS IRRITATED, HE TALKS LIKE SCISSORS’ | While Winston continued to chafe at working under Maggie, the tension got so high that even Amelia noticed. Ultimately, Pierce apologized to her husband for constantly yanking him off of cases, and they made peace. Amelia, helping find an apartment for Lucas, accidentally further gave Blue the impression that they were sleeping together. (They’re auntie and nephew, you’ll recall.) Picnicking with Bailey, Pru and Luna, Jo was appalled to realize that Miranda didn’t want to be her mom friend, she wanted intel about what was going on at the hospital. Bailey was particularly annoyed to hear that changes she’d tried to make to the residency program were now being implemented… under Nick. (Oh, and she did consider Jo a mom friend as well as a mole.) As the episode neared its conclusion, the guy who’d just had a phone removed from his butt coded, and Owen had Mika bag him, so technically (?), he didn’t treat a patient without an attending supervising. After calling Richard to supervise him, Owen unloaded his issues with how much Teddy resented him and how crappily she was treating him. Chase, if not his leg, was saved, thanks to Simone’s quick thinking. Mer encouraged Griffith to be there for Jules, who was verklempt after issues arose during Chase’s amputation. (Oh, and Meningococcus — that was what he had; thanks, Google.)
Finally, Mer confronted Nick about the fact that he hadn’t said two words to her since he scrubbed in at Grey Sloan. Their conversation didn’t get far before Owen barged in and pleaded not to work under Teddy anymore — couldn’t he be a teacher instead? Sure he could, it was decided. Resuming her conversation with Nick, Mer explained that “I went numb” after a crap day, “and you didn’t have my back.” That was why she hadn’t called him for six months. She was still in love with him, though. “So if that’s what you need to hear, I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear.” In response, he asked her to dinner. She countered by inviting him to Zola’s big presentation. Aw, and the little girl choked during her presentation on her grandmother, Ellis, when she realized that her mom and Aunt Maggie were likely to come down with Alzheimer’s, too, and die. And back at Grey Sloan, Blue blurted out to the residents that Lucas was sleeping with Amelia. Unwilling to reveal their actual connection, Adams remained mum.
The former chief “got really tired of carrying Grey Sloan on her shoulders” in Season 18, showrunner Krista Vernoff reminds us, “and she made a decision to step away for her sanity and her well-being” (in so doing, passing off the job to Meredith).
In Season 19, the question becomes, what is her next step? How does she move forward? “One of the conversations with [series creator] Shonda [Rhimes] has been for a long time, ‘What does a very ambitious person do with all of that ambition when they sort of reach the top rung of where they want to go?'” Vernoff relates. “With that, we really looked at, ‘What does a whole human being need to feel successful in life? When you’re driven by ambition and you’ve reached the top of your career, where else can that ambition be applied?’
“For Bailey, it’s in so many areas,” she continues. It may also be a case of, in some ways, more being less. The key may lie in “finding the joy in taking a lesser title at work in favor of having a richer, happier life.”
ABC | Station 19 returned to 4.6 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating, matching its previous averages. Grey’s did same, with 4.2 mil and a 0.6 rating. The freshman drama Alaska Daily debuted to 4 mil and a 0.4, easily improving on Big Sky‘s averages in the time slot.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.7 mil/0.5) and CSI: Vegas (3.2 mil/0.3) were steady, while Ghosts (6 mil/0.5) and So Help Me Todd (4.4 mil/0.3) both dipped.
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (1.8 mil/0.3) dipped, while Flatch (940K/0.2) and Call Me Kat (1.1 mil/0.2) were steady.
NBC | Law & Order (3.9 mil/0.4) and Organized Crime (2.9 mil/0.4) ticked down — with the latter matching series lows — but SVU (4 mil/0.5) was steady.
THE CW | Pending adjustment due to preemptions, Walker (800K/0.1) is down a few viewers versus its sophomore average, while Walker Independence (630K/0.1) is looking at a much bigger audience than Legacies (370K/0.1) averaged last season.
‘I’LL BE THE VAGINA’ | Six months after the events of the Season 18 finale, “Everything Has Changed” found Grey Sloan restarting its residency program with a group of newbs that Bailey — still very much on leave, thank you very much — wrote off as having been scraped from “the bottom of the barrel.” One of them, Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane), had just had a one-night stand with an unwitting Link, in whose face she laughed when he nervously suggested that they report their nonexistent relationship to HR. (Shades of Meredith and Derek’s origins, no?) Another of the freshmen, Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis), was quickly taught that a dark sense of humor still doesn’t make “organpalooza” an appropriate term for a tornado-based bus accident that left a whole lotta people about to donate the hearts and livers and so on that they no longer needed. Resident No. 3 Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd) showed up late on day one owing to a panic attack brought on by the fact that she’d be working in the same hospital where her mother had died giving birth to her. The fourth of our fresh faces, Benson Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) shared that everyone called him Blue “as in the ribbon, ‘cause I always win.” (Was I the only one who saw a spark between him and Simone?) Last but not least, we met Lucas Adams (Niko Terho), who has Nico-worthy abs, an aptitude for [bleeping] up… and was Derek’s favorite nephew. That wasn’t why Meredith had hired him, though, she told Amelia. Lucas didn’t remind Grey of her late husband, he reminded her of Amelia!
With the residency program getting back up and running, Levi seized the opportunity to ditch his loathed OB residency with Jo and plead with Richard to make him chief resident. Not only was Schmitt what Webber needed — a senior resident, not a first-year — but “if I’m ever tempted to go soft,” the doctor formerly known as Glasses promised, “I will picture a return to OB, and I will get stronger like a vagina, which I’ve been forced to learn can stretch to 200 times its natural size and lift a 30-lb. weight just by flexing.” All Levi had to do was get chief Grey’s OK, and she was so all for it that she suggested it herself. In other staffing news, while Nick was at Grey Sloan to pick up an organ for transplant, Meredith, face to face with her (ex?) boyfriend for the first time in six months, asked him to become the new residency director. Not only had his past inspired her to hire what other hospitals might have considered “rejects,” but he wouldn’t have to travel so much. Meaning that, although she’d hurt him by not doing more than call out his name after telling him to go back to Minnesota, she wanted to make their relationship work. In still more staffing news, Teddy and Owen paid Mer a visit, during which they revealed that they’d been cleared to return to work. Well, Altman had. After a whole lot of attorney fees to get Hunt out of his legal quagmire, he was only cleared to return to work under supervision for the next six months. (His medical license had been suspended.)
‘I WANT TO BE A TREE’ | Later in the episode, Jo shared with Link that she was switching the OB department’s scrubs to black since “the female body has become a war zone in this country, and pink is a peacetime color.” Given the plenitude of organs suddenly available for harvesting, Maggie was able to tell a patient named Howard that he’d be getting a new heart. When it proved to be unviable, the task of breaking the news to Howard and his husband went to… Jules, the Pierce superfan, who’d obsessed over an article she’d written and blurted out that “it wasn’t a great picture” that had accompanied it. A compliment… probably? Meanwhile, Lucas won the First Big Screwup Award by telling the wrong mother named Jane that her son was brain-dead. This temporarily put in jeopardy all of the organs that Mer had hoped to transplant into a patient named Sara, who wanted to be planted in a whole other way if she died. Eventually, Jane was told again that her son was brain-dead and inspired to donate his organs to Sara by Blue, who lied that he always thought of the people that his late brother’s organs had saved. (He didn’t even have a brother, he later admitted!) Despite Lucas’ almost catastrophic gaffe, Nick invited him to scrub in on Sara’s surgery. “End your day better than it started,” Marsh said. And that, Lucas did, even quoting Uncle Derek in the O.R. “It’s a beautiful day to save lives.”
In another likely nod to the Grey’s Anatomy pilot — which famously started with Meredith having a one-night stand with Patrick Dempsey’s Derek — one of the new interns, Jules (Kane), also accidentally had slept with an attending, Link, on the eve of her starting the program. The revelation sent Link on a wild HR goose chase, with Meredith deadpanning, “I’m in no position to judge you on this. I do recommend that you stay away from elevators,” a reference to one of the Grey’s early-years hallmarks, its signature elevator scenes.
We learned a lot about the new interns who were front and center in the premiere, as their personalities and back stories started to emerge. Floyd’s Simone Griffith, who showed a lot of resourcefulness and quick thinking, shared with Dr. Webber that her mother died giving birth to her in this very hospital. Shum’s Benson Kwan was calculating and opportunistic, ready to cross a line in order to get what he wants, including making up a brother with a tragic story. Francis’ Mika Yasuda, whose inappropriate organ donor quip got her in hot water, redeemed herself with her compassion.
The biggest surprise came from Terho’s Lucas Adams. Seemingly the weakest link in a group of rejects from other surgical intern programs with non-remarkable academic achievements, he picked up a fireable offense on his very fist day when he told the wrong parent that their child was brain dead. It was later revealed, in a conversation between Meredith and Amelia, that Lucas is a Shepherd, and was Derek’s favorite nephew.
With the new characters getting most of the attention, we got sporadic updates on Grey’s returning favorites, most notably Meredith who guided the interns in her role as interim chief of surgery. She reunited with Nick after their wrenching falling-out in the Season 18 finale and, by the end of the premiere, she offered him a job as residency director. Also at the end of the episode, Owen and Teddy returned, his legal problems behind him and both ready to resume their surgical duties, with Owen requiring supervision for six months.
Richard also was back after traveling abroad, while Bailey remained off-duty after quitting in the Season 18 finale; with Pompeo slated for about seven episodes this fall and then a leave to do a Hulu limited series before returning for the Season 19 finale, Meredith may soon vacate the interim chief position for Bailey to retake it.
Meanwhile, we found out that, following the shutdown of Grey Sloan’s teaching program, Levi switched to OB/GYN but he didn’t love it and, in the premiere, he asked — and was swiftly approved — to become chief surgical resident.
In an interview with Deadline, Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff, who wrote the premiere, talks about the infusion of new characters and what it means for the future of the show, what is next for Meredith and Nick, will any other Season 18 residents join Levi to fill a gaping hole at the hospital, why is the show adding another Shepherd and could we see Dempsey’s Derek in Lucas flashbacks.
She also addresses Pompeo’s future on the show and speculation that Grey’s could be bidding farewell to Meredith in the Season 19 finale as well as Jo’s remark that “the female body has become war zone in this country,” revealing how Grey’s Anatomy will deal with the overturn of Roe v. Wade this season.
DEADLINE: The premiere feels a little bit like a backdoor pilot. Are you looking to spin it off into something new or is it a Grey’s refresh, shifting to new characters with Ellen Pompeo not being in this season as much?
KRISTA VERNOFF: It’s interesting you call it a backdoor pilot. We certainly treated it like a pilot in the casting, in that we took a lot of time and care finding these five actors and fleshing out these five characters. But our hope is that we’re refreshing Grey’s Anatomy, so that we can return to the roots of teaching and learning and what it is to be a surgical intern. The life-and-death stakes of the early years of the show; every medical case had intense stakes because these doctors were new at this. And so the hope is that we’re just adding juice and yes, potentially adding years, but I wouldn’t call it any kind of a spinoff. It’s still Grey’s Anatomy.
DEADLINE: There’s a big focus on the incoming cast in the premiere. Will there be more of a balance going forward? How much are we going to see of our favorites?
VERNOFF: We are going to see our favorites, we’re working hard to balance it. It’s a big task and for sure, with this many series regulars, there’s less story to go around for everybody, but we’re doing our best to maximize the benefit of everyone we’ve got.
DEADLINE: What can you say about the big question, is this going to be Ellen’s final season?
VERNOFF: I don’t have an answer to that, that’s always up to Ellen. She’s got some new projects on the horizon that she’s really excited about but Grey’s Anatomy is is her heart, she keeps saying it is her heart, so we’ll see.
DEADLINE: So there are no plans for the finale to be a farewell episode for Meredith?
VERNOFF: The finale of this season? No.
DEADLINE: Talk about the decision to bring another Shepherd into the fold with the new intern, Lucas. Does that open the door to potential flashbacks with Patrick Dempsey since Derek and Lucas were close?
VERNOFF: The decision to bring another Shepherd into the fold, it was an early idea as we looked at who this new class was going to be. We wanted to wink at the roots of the show without trying to reinvent any of those original characters, and the fun of having a Shepherd who we meet when he’s an intern felt like, money. We only knew Derek when he was a surgical attending who was already vying for chief of surgery. But to get to know one of the Shepherds when he’s just starting out felt like it gave us a wink at the early characters or our connection to the early characters without retreading territory.
DEADLINE: So does that mean that there’s no possibility of Patrick coming back in a flashback?
VERNOFF: Oh, I would never say never.
DEADLINE: When Deadline interviewed Patrick at D23 last month, he indicated he was open to coming back, and said it was up to the creators.
VERNOFF: I’ll say this. There have been no conversations about that at this point. But never say never.
DEADLINE: Besides Levi, is there any possibility for any Season 18 residents to come back?
VERNOFF: There’s one and that is Taryn, you’re going to learn the fate of Taryn Helm. And there’s going to be a question as to whether or not she could come back to the program.
DEADLINE: In the premiere, you play a little bit with Meredith and Nick. Is their relationship back on? He has an enticing job offer from Meredith to mull.
VERNOFF: Yeah, he has an enticing job offer, and the question of what might become of them, it feels like they are two people who really fell in love and then hurt each other. Can we bring them back from that is the question, and the way that we had them break off abruptly and painfully at the end of last season, as Meredith collapsed into an older version of herself, allows us a big will-they-won’t-they for this season.
DEADLINE: Fans are certainly rooting for them to get together. But with Ellen not being in as many episodes, the worry is as to how many episodes we can expect to see him in or is he going to exit this season?
VERNOFF: Yes.
DEADLINE: Yes to which part?
VERNOFF: All of it. We want people to wonder and tune in to see what’s going to happen with that.
DEADLINE: There’s a line in the premiere that the female body has become a war zone in this country. Will there be a Roe v Wade storyline on the show this season?
VERNOFF: Absolutely. The impact of that Supreme Court decision has been massive. And, just like there was no way to do a medical show without looking at the impact of Covid, there’s no way to do a medical show without looking at the impact of that decision.
DEADLINE: So is that an over-arching theme for the season or just something smaller?
VERNOFF: I mean, you’ve met me, right.
“This season is really about returning to the roots of the show,” showrunner Krista Vernoff tells TVLine. “What can you do when you have five series-regular interns the way that we did in those early years? [Back then,] we wanted to focus on what it is to try and become a surgeon when you don’t know anything — how frightening and life-and-death everything is.
“This new class,” she adds, “allows us to get back to that.”
The rookie doctors may be diamonds in the rough, but the quintet of familiar faces that plays them is made up of gems. “We spent a long time very carefully casting this group,” says Vernoff. “I love all five of the actors and all five of the characters, and that’s a really exciting place to start from.”
While counting down the minutes until the ABC drama’s return on Thursday (at 9/8c), read on for previews of what’s in store for Addison, Bailey, Owen and Teddy, Winston and Maggie, and more.
Grey’s Without Grey
With Ellen Pompeo going part-time (and appearing in just eight episodes), we’ll be seeing a lot less of Meredith. But as the leading lady herself said in September, Grey’s Anatomy is “going to be just fine without me.” For her part, Vernoff knows that the OG’s absence will be a terrible blow: “Ellen is a powerhouse, and Meredith is iconic.” But the EP remains confident that the series will still be able to raise our blood pressure and break our hearts. “From the very beginning, it was an ensemble show,” she says. “It’s always had a tremendous cast of actors who can carry any amount of the story. So while we will desperately miss Ellen and Meredith, I think there’s a lot of story to tell” for other characters.
Addison’s Return
Kate Walsh’s alter ego “comes back as a part of her activism this season,” Vernoff says. “We’re telling a really powerful story about Addison and Bailey joining forces that is in turns funny and gut-wrenching.” Along the way, we also “learn a little bit more about Addison’s life back in Los Angeles.”
Love On the Run?
When last we saw Leo and Allison’s folks, they had resigned from Grey Sloan and were on the lam from the law. How soon will their fate be addressed? “We went back and forth on this in the writers’ room for a long time,” Vernoff says, “and what we came up with made us laugh so hard that what you’re getting is an answer in the premiere as to what the past six months have been for Owen and Teddy. We also lean hard into the impact on their marriage of Owen’s decision-making and also Teddy’s decision-making. It is actually one of our favorite things that we’re doing this season.”
It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
Though Jo and Link decided at the end of Season 18 to be friends without benefits, “the ‘Will they or won’t they?’ of them is a little bit of a driving force this season,” Vernoff reveals. “He’d had a big crush on her back in the day, and him telling her that opened a big Pandora’s box of possibility for her. And then when she said, ‘Look, I fell in love with you,’ it opened the Pandora’s box for him, but it was sort of too late because they were trying to protect their friendship. Now we’re really asking, ‘Is the friendship the thing that you protect at all costs, or do you take a chance on more?’”
Marry in Haste…
… repent in leisure? As Season 18 came to a close, Maggie was beginning to wonder whether she and Winston had tied the knot too quickly — and that’s not a question that can be answered overnight. “They were a pandemic love story, and the pandemic intensified and sped up everything,” Vernoff notes. “So one of the questions we were asking last season was, ‘What happens when you skip large portions of what would have been a traditional courtship and relationship and jump to the marriage?’ You have to unpack what you skipped and get to know each other on a deeper level.” And as the newlyweds will discover in Season 19, “that can be challenging.”
The series, from creator Maggie Friedman, returns for a supersized second season in December but will not return for a third season.
The show will have a 16-episode second season.
The first nine episodes will air on December 2 and the second tranche of seven episodes will premiere in 2023.
In the series based on the novel by Kristin Hannah, when unlikely duo Tully (Heigl) and Kate (Chalke) meet at age 14, they couldn’t be more different. Tully is the brash and bold girl you can’t ignore, while Kate is the mousy shy girl you never notice. But when a tragedy brings them together, they are bonded for life — forever inseparable best friends. Together they experience 30 years of ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, heartbreak and joy and a love triangle that strains their friendship. One goes on to fabulous wealth and fame, the other chooses marriage and motherhood, but through the decades, their bond remains — until it faces the ultimate test.
The second season will feature new cast members including India de Beaufort, Greg Germann, Jolene Purdy and Ignacio Serricchio.
They join Ben Lawson, Beau Garrett, Ali Skovbye, Roan Curtis and Yael Yurman.
The series was created by Friedman, who serves as executive producer and showrunner. Heigl and Shawn Williamson also executive produce alongside Michael Spiller and Stephanie Germain.
The movie follows two scrappy sisters, who after discovering their mother has fatally overdosed, are terrified they’ll be separated by an overburdened foster care system. As such, they conceal the body. However, the local police chief, mom’s drug counselor, and her volatile ex-boyfriend get closer to uncovering the truth, and the girls must decide just how far they are willing to go to keep their secret buried.
Kay in addition to directing, wrote the script which he developed with Julia Keller. Jojo Regina of Where the Crawdads Sing also stars with Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things), Forrest Goodluck (Cherry), Fernanda Andrade (Moon Knight) and Malia Baker (The Babysitter’s Club).
Grace stars as Spider and Regina as her sister, Jessie.
Grace and Williams will also serve as executive producers.
Hungry Bull Productions led by Joseph Restaino (Pig) and Jeff Hoffman (Lansky) from Above The Clouds are producing and co-financing. Production is underway in Florida.
“I’m so grateful to be a part of this important story about addiction and how it affects not only the addict, but those around them. I was aware of how prevalent drug use and addiction was, but in doing this film, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of just how big of a problem it is. Many of our own cast and crew have shared their experiences and it’s heartbreaking. Doing this is more than just making a film, it’s creating and being a part of something that is bigger than ourselves,” said Grace.
“I am honored to join this incredible producing team and cast led by words and direction of Dan Kay. Shining a light on the shared human conditions that lead to, and from addiction provides us an opportunity to examine our compassion for those impacted today as well as for those pathologized in our recent past,” said Williams.
“I’ve been interested in telling stories about addiction and the opioid epidemic for years because, like millions of Americans, I have seen firsthand how this insidious disease not only destroys the life of the addict but tears apart the fabric and foundation of the addict’s family. This damage – the collateral damage caused by addiction – compelled me to tell this heartbreaking but vital story about opioid orphans,” said Kay.
“Dan’s vision for Spider & Jessie is a true testament of his unique voice as a writer/director, and one that we can’t wait to introduce to audiences across the world. Having such an incredible cast attached, led by Mckenna Grace and Jojo Regina, speaks directly to the special nature of the story Dan has devised. At Hungry Bull Productions, our focus has always been to work with the best talent and bring forward meaningful stories, Spider & Jessie represents precisely that. We are thrilled to be working with such great partners on this project in Above the Clouds as well,” said Restaino.
“When I first read Kay’s powerful script, I cried and laughed and was touched to my soul by these sisters in the story having to survive the loss of their mother to an opioid overdose. Watching this script come to life with such amazing performances, incredible locations and beautiful cinematography is nothing short of a miracle, and will greatly raise awareness of this tragic epidemic,” said Hoffman.
Grace received a Guest Actress Drama Series Emmy nom for The Handmaid’s Tale last year, making her the youngest-ever nominee ever in that category. She starred in Sony’s $204M-grossing hit Ghostbusters: Afterlife. On television, she is about to star in A Friend of the Family, a true-crime limited series, opposite Anna Paquin and Jake Lacy. Earlier this month Grace starred in The Bad Seed Returns for Lifetime, a feature which she also executive produced and co-wrote with her father. Other notable film roles include starring opposite Viola Davis in Amazon’s feature Troop Zero and opposite Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer in Gifted, as well as the $1.1 billion grossing Captain Marvel as young Carol Danvers and the Oscar winning I, Tonya.
Williams earned a Tony Award nomination in his Broadway debut in the Tony Award winning revival of Take Me Out and will next be seen in Netflix’s Your Place or Mine with Reese Witherspoon as well as in his return to Broadway for the newly-extended run of Take Me Out. He spent 12 seasons in his acclaimed role as Dr. Jackson Avery on ABC’s hit series Grey’s Anatomy and has appeared in TV and films including The Cabin in the Woods, Little Fires Everywhere, Brooklyn’s Finest and the Paramount action/comedy film Secret Headquarters, with Owen Wilson. Williams executive produced the 2021 Oscar winning short film Two Distant Strangers and served as both senior producer and correspondent alongside Norman Lear for their EPIX docuseries America Divided. Williams is a partner and board member of the #1 scholarship app in the world, Scholly, which has matched students with over $100M. He is co-founder of both BLeBRiTY and Ebroji mobile apps and executive producer of Question Bridge: Black Males, a transmedia art installation in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture’s permanent collection. He sits on the Board of Directors for both Advancement Project and Harry Belafonte’s arts and social justice organization, Sankofa.org.
Also producing are Tony Stopperan, Kay, and Dan Sima with EPs Grace, Williams, Russell Gray, Yaniv Hoffman and Leal Naim. WME Independent is repping the project’s worldwide rights.
Grace is repped by CAA and Stewart Brookman. Jojo Regina is repped by Paradigm and ESI Network. Williams is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Granderson Des Rochers; Montgomery is with CAA, Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern and 3Arts, Goodluck is Gersh and Artists First, Baker is with Entertainment 360 and Andrade is with Buchwald and Entertainment 360. Kay is repped by Myman Greenspan, APA and Circle of Confusion.
Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons) has been cast in a multi-episode guest arc as Joyce Ward, grandmother of one of the new residents, Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd), who lives in Seattle. Gibbs’ character will be introduced in Episode 1902 and will also appear in 1903. (Floyd’s character was originally announced as Simone Griffin. The last name has been changed to Griffith.)
Simone is described as a funny, whip smart, high achiever with a complicated family dynamic who grew up in Seattle, but never wanted to work at Grey Sloan because of a painful personal history with the hospital. Gibbs’ Joyce will likely shed light on both Simone’s family dynamic and history with Grey Sloan.
Grey’s Anatomy is adding five new cast members this season — Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Floyd, Niko Terho, and Midori Francis — all playing new interns.
TV veteran Gibbs is known for her role as Florence Johnston on The Jeffersons, which earned her five Emmy nominations. She reprised her role in a surprise appearance on ABC’s 2019 special Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’.
Gibbs’ extensive resume includes an arcs on Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Station 19 as well as another Shondaland drama, Scandal. She recently had a major recurring role on Days Of Our Lives.
In the just-released promo above — which arrives two weeks ahead of the ABC medical drama’s Oct. 6 return — Scott Speedman’s Nick (back from Minnesota) announces, “It’s been six months.” Ellen Pompeo’s Mer, meanwhile, ominously adds, “It’s been a very difficult six months.”
Of course, the duo’s possible parting of the ways was essentially foreshadowed over the summer when news broke that Pompeo would be drastically scaling back her presence on Grey’s this season. According to sources, Pompeo is set to depart after roughly a half-dozen episodes, before turning up again next May for the Season 19 finale. (The actress will spend her time away from Grey Sloan producing and starring in an as-yet-untitled limited series for Hulu.)
Earlier this month, Pompeo assured fans that Grey’s is “going to be just fine without me,” adding. “I’m going to always be a part of that show. I’m an executive producer. I spent two decades of my career on [Grey’s] — it’s my heart and soul. I’ll never truly be gone as long as [it’s] on the air.”
To help fill the looming Meredith void, Grey’s is introducing a slew of rookies — all of whom are prominently featured in the above trailer. Also appearing in the video: Chandra Wilson’s Bailey, who tendered her resignation in the Season 18 finale. When asked about her surprise return, she responds, “I heard about the new class.”
This episode’s celebrity contestants include Kristen Schaal (playing for Feeding America), Kevin McKidd (playing for UNICEF) and Ron Funches (playing for School on Wheels).
Oh was seen in the past couple of hours or so and Twitter has been abuzz with the arrival of the Grey’s Anatomy star.
Oh was appointed an Order of Canada as an Officer a few months ago and was dressed in black with a Canadian badge pinned in front, according to the BBC.
The honor is the second highest that can be received in Canada, a Commonwealth country, and Oh was granted it due to an “artistic career filled with memorable stage, television and film roles in Canada and abroad”. She played Dr Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy for a decade, winning a stack of awards, and has more recently been lauded for her role as Eve in Killing Eve.
As with the UK, Canada has been observing a period of mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died Thursday 8 September and whose funeral is currently taking place, watched by billions across the world.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also present, alongside world leaders such as Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Italian President Sergio Mattarella for the major occasion. Royals are present including all of the Queen’s grandchildren, the children of the now-Prince of Wales Prince William, who is next in line to the throne behind his father, King Charles III.
Other celebrities present include adventure TV star Bear Grylls, a chief scout who tweeted last week saying the Queen had left a “bright legacy of hope and promise for future generations.”
Sophie Winkleman, who played Big Suze in Channel 4 cult comedy Peep Show, is also present as she is a minor royal. She is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent.
The funeral procession is currently taking place, with coverage on virtually all British TV channels and simulcast around the world. It is expected to be one of the most-watched TV broadcasts of all time.
The actor filed new legal docs that seek to change the custody order that was agreed to earlier this year when he was starting his Spring run for the baseball play "Take Me Out," when he and Aryn Drake-Lee settled on him having his kids 4 consecutive days a month in NYC.
In the paperwork, obtained by TMZ, Jesse is asking to tweak that a bit ... seeing how he's going back to Broadway in the fall for yet another outing in the production. He wanted the same deal -- 4 consecutive days/month -- starting in October ... but says Aryn refused to play ball, so he's going to court over it and wants a few other tweaks.
For the month of October, Jesse is requesting he get his kids in the Big Apple for 4 days between Oct. 7 through Oct. 12 -- as well as 4 days through the Thanksgiving break ... and wants a similar arrangement to continue through January.
Now, you'd think that'd be A-OK since both he and Aryn signed off on a very similar arrangement back in March ... but, unfortunately, Jesse's saying they're fighting again over the dates for this go-around -- with him alleging that Aryn's refusing his requests.
Namely, he claims she'll only agree to his dates ... just so long as the kids aren't forced to head to New York, which is a no-go for Jesse, since that's where he's living at the moment.
Essentially, he's saying Aryn's being unreasonable and trying to enforce conditions that'll deprive him of seeing his children for nearly 2 months -- and now wants a judge to weigh in.
New Zealand’s Kingfisher Films and About Joan co-producer Blinder Films are co-producing, in association with another Kiwi firm, Southern Light Films. Te Puna Kairangi, the New Zealand Government’s Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund and New Zealand’s Screen Production Grant; Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann; NZ On Air; and the BAI Sound & Vision Fund have all supported the production. Red Arrow Studios International has the distribution rights.
The Gone stars Flood as Theo Richter, an Irish detective who teams with Kiwi cop Diana Huia (Kupe) to find a young Irish couple vanish from an infamous rural North Island New Zealand town. Amidst the search and a race against time, the pair have to contend with a community’s growing disquiet that the disappearances may be linked to a series of historical murders.
Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones), Carolyn Bracken (The Dublin Murders) , Liam Carney (Gangs of New York) and Aaron Monaghan (Assassin’s Creed) have also been cast along with Aotearoa/New Zealand’s Wayne Hapi (Tuhoe, Whakatohea, Ngati Porou), Manu Bennett (Te Arawa, Ngati Kahungunu), Vanessa Rare (Ngati Pu, Ngati Porou, Ngati Pukenga, Ngapuhi) and Scott Wills.
Flood is coming off a three-year run on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, where he played Dr Cormac Hayes. He’s also known for European-U.S. procedural Crossing Lines, Irish crime drama Red Rock and a role in Showtime’s Shameless. Kupe most recently appeared as Susan Corman in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Apple TV+ series Mr Corman and is set to appear in season two of Acorn TV and TVNZ’s comedy-drama series Under the Vines.
The Gone‘s writers are Michael Bennett (In Dark Places) and Anna McPartlin (Striking Out, Holby City), with Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger (One Lane Bridge, Until Proven Innocent, Resolve) and Hannah Quinn (Vikings Valhalla, Blood, The Stranger) directing.
Executive Producers are Karl Zohrab for Kingfisher Films; Yvonne Donohoe (Striking Out, Extra Ordinary) and Katie Holly (Mr Malcolm’s List, Love & Friendship) for Blinder Films along with Greg Bailey. Southern Light’s Timothy White is a producer alongside Reikura Kahi. Simone Nathan (Our Flag Means Death, Kid Sister) and Karl Zohrab created the series, developed by McPartlin, Bennett and Donohoe.
“What an adventure it’s been so far, working across Aotearoa New Zealand and Ireland with our colleagues at Blinder Films on the development of this gripping mystery,” said Zohrab. “We can’t wait to see these scripts brought to life by series directors Peter and Hannah, along with our terrific cast and crew.
“The process of bringing The Gone to screen has been a true international cultural collaboration & a journey of learning, challenging, sharing stories and ideas; merging brilliant writing, directing, acting and creative talent from Ireland and New Zealand, two countries full of beauty, complexity and with many similarities,” said Donohoe. “We’re so thankful for the immense support from all our partners and we can’t wait for audiences to spend time with our characters, fall into the mysterious web of our story and be immersed in the two contrasting worlds of the series.”
“The Gone series transports us to a picturesque small town with characters and storylines that reflect how culturally unique Aotearoa is,” added producer Kahi. “Te reo Maori [Maori language] is weaved organically through the series, reflective of a nation that is on a journey towards embracing the Maori language.”
RTE worked with Blinder on Irish legal drama Striking Out and the broadcaster’s Director of Acquisitions & Co-Productions Dermot Horan said of The Gone: “It promises to be a cracking drama and one which will hopefully have viewers glued to their seats both in Ireland and New Zealand. We are particularly happy to be working with our fellow national broadcaster, TVNZ and with Red Arrow, who will be distributing this high-end drama to international broadcasters and platforms.”
Cate Slater, TVNZ Director of Content, added: “We’re delighted to be continuing our commitment to co-productions to bring the very best premium content to TVNZ. The Gone is a thrilling concept that is sure to resonate with our viewers across TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+.”
Flood is represented by More Medavoy Management, Denton Brierley, and Gersh. Kupe is represented by Gail Cowan Management in New Zealand and Rigmarole Management in the UK.
“[Grey’s is] still gonna be just fine without me — I’m still gonna do the voiceover,” Pompeo told Deadline today on the red carpet for the Disney Legends ceremony at the D23 Expo, confirming that she will still do the series’ narration as Meredith. She said she hopes her fans would “come with me” to check out the Hulu series, in which she plays the mom in a drama inspired by the true story of Ukrainian-born Natalia Grace and her U.S. adoptive parents who claimed that she was an adult sociopath pretending to be a child. “I’m gonna put the same heart and passion into that.”
Pompeo, who remains a Grey’s Anatomy executive producer, also revealed when she will be back on the show as Meredith after taking a break to film the Hulu series.
“And I’ll be back at Grey’s for the finale, and we’ll see if we can keep it going,” she said. “I’m gonna always be a part of that show – I’m an exec producer on that show, I’ve spent two decades of my career on that show, it’s my heart and soul, and I’ll never truly be gone as long as that show’s on the air.”
Pompeo also said that the upcoming season sets up the next generation of Grey’s. In one of the biggest new cast infusions on the show, which has reinvented itself multiple times throughout its run with major cast changes there are five new additions joining the cast for next season: Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, and Midori Francis.
“We’re really trying to set up the next generation,” she said. “I’m really excited for them – they’re really great actors. …They’re really excited to be there and they’re excited to tell these stories.
“It helps all of us who have been there since the beginning — it helps keep it new and fresh, so we’re really grateful to them.”
At D23, Pompeo was enshrined as Disney Legends alongside her former Grey’s castmate Patrick Dempsey as well as Anthony Anderson, Kristen Bell, Chadwick Boseman, Rob’t Coltrin, Robert Price “Bob” Foster, Jonathan Groff, Don Hahn, Josh Gad, Doris Hardoon, Idina Menzel, Chris Montan and Tracee Ellis Ross.
Grey’s Anatomy fans who were in attendance at the D23 Expo Friday were probably surprised to see Dempsey with very white hair. When Deadline asked him on the red carpet if he’s planning a special HOTD cameo, he revealed the real reason behind his shocking, snowy ‘do.
Dempsey is playing Piero Taruffi, the Italian race car driver who won the 1957 Mille Miglia, in Michael Mann’s upcoming Ferrari. The movie also stars Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley and Penélope Cruz.
“I’m having a great time, I get to drive a lot of fast cars,” he said.
Earlier Friday, Dempsey received the Legends Award alongside his longtime Grey’s co-star Ellen Pompeo. He choked up as he reflected on his 37 years in the business and the “incredible platform” that was provided to him by Grey’s Anatomy. For one, it helped him to launch the Dempsey Center For Cancer Hope and Healing. “Fame is not everything,” said Dempsey. “Sometimes it’s very empty. The most important thing is to be of service.”
The pic will be released exclusively on Disney+ on November 24.
“Well Giselle still has the love and joy, she now finds herself in slightly different position, as mother of infant and teenager, and wife, looking to find her way in the world,” Adams said Friday onstage in Anaheim. “She tries to move forward with best intentions.”
The movie takes place 15 years after Giselle (Adams) and Robert (Dempsey) wed, but Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. Unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for. Suburbia has a whole new set of rules and a local queen bee, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), who makes Giselle feel more out of place than ever. She turns to the magic of Andalasia for help, accidentally transforming the entire town into a real-life fairy tale and placing her family’s future happiness in jeopardy.
Dempsey says his character’ biggest challenge? “His commute. He grew up in Manhattan, little bit longer commute. A challenge getting to office every day.”
As show in the trailer Rudolph plays Adams’ foe: “It was really fun,” she said. “I like you am a huge fan of the original Enchanted. I can’t believe I got to be a part of this — it’s not easy being mean to Amy Adams but we had so much fun together. We made a fun meal out of being nasty to one other.”
Idina Menzel and James Marsden also star in the musical pic along with Gabriella Baldacchino, Yvette Nicole Brown and Jayma Mays. Adam Shankman directs, and it features new songs from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Barry Josephson, Barry Sonnenfeld and Adams are producers.
Check out the trailer above.
The ABC stars and the lead of Black Panther, along with Frozen‘s Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad, Imagineer Robert Coltrin, the late Robert Price “Bob” Foster (who procured the land for Walt Disney World), film producer Don Hahn, Imagineer Doris Hardoon and music producer Chris Montan were named Disney Legends for their “extraordinary contributions” to the studio’s legacy.
Pompeo was celebrated first for her starring role in ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Dubbed a superhero in scrubs by host Tamron Hall, Pompeo took the stage and began with an anecdote about her daughter Stella and how she caught her watching an episode of blackish last night.
“I said, ‘what is about blackish you love so much?’ She said, ‘it’s so relatable, mom.’ That’s the power of storytelling,” Pompeo told the crowd. “To be a storyteller and to work with the best storytellers in the world is quite a magical thing and we couldn’t do it without you. We tell the stories for you.”
Pompeo’s longtime co-star Dempsey, who also stars in the studio’s Enchanted movie franchise, choked up as he reflected on his 37 years in the business and the “incredible platform” that was provided to him by Grey’s Anatomy. For one, it helped him to launch the Dempsey Center For Cancer Hope and Healing. “Fame is not everything,” said Dempsey. “Sometimes it’s very empty. The most important thing is to be of service.”
Anderson talked about growing up in Compton, CA. and how Disney was “always in the background.” “Disney has always been a part of my life, my upbringing, my childhood and it has informed me and allowed me to be the entertainer and the man that I am today,” said Anderson, who wore a rose-colored suit for the occasion. “Disney has taught all of us to dream, and to dream big.”
Ellis Ross thanked Disney for giving the “ish” franchise a platform and thanked Kenya Barris for creating a show that “truly changed the landscape of modern television.” “It feels really legendary to advocate for and breath life into a joyful Black woman for eight years on a great show.” She also hopes blackish gives way to “more Black women-centered stories that reflect the truth and diversity of who we are in the world.”
Montan made a funny at the podium by asking the audience to name their five favorite Paramount songs (hint: there aren’t any) before asking them to recall all their favorite Disney tunes.
Groff talked about how “Disney was my complete life as a kid” and how “as a young gay boy growing up in the late 80s early 90s in Pennsylvania, Disney VHS tapes were my primary source of escape and self expression.”
Bell said, “I’m sorry to every parent who has to listen to Frozen on loop. I feel you.” Gad hilariously called out the Disney employee who refused to hire him as a jungle cruise operator when he was 18. And Menzel said it was Disney tunes that she sung as a child that inspired her to pursue a career in music. She then crooned a few bars of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
The ceremony wrapped with a tribute to Boseman. His brother/preacher Derrick accepted the award. “I wish he was here to receive it. Him not being here has been a point of immense pain for my whole family.”
After receiving their awards, each recipient was photographed with Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who opened the ceremony by promising “our biggest, most over the top D23 Expo ever.”
The Disney Legends Awards program is a 35-year tradition of The Walt Disney Company, which began when Fred MacMurray was honored in 1987.
The three-day, D23 Expo continues through Sunday in Anaheim.
The actress, who made her debut as Addison Montgomery in the long-running ABC drama’s Season 1 finale, stayed with the show through Season 3, at which point she was tapped to headline her own spinoff, the L.A.-set Private Practice, which ran for six seasons. After guest-starring here and there on Grey’s through Season 8, Walsh reprised her role in Season 18, for a short arc that allowed Addison to not only perform a groundbreaking uterine transplant but make peace with the passing of ex-husband Derek Shepherd.
The fan favorite’s first episode of Season 19, which kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 9/8c, will be its third. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know that original cast member Ellen Pompeo (AKA Meredith) will appear in the upcoming season only in a “limited capacity.” In turn, Scott Speedman (who plays her significant other, Nick) has been bumped from series-regular to recurring status.
Continuing on as series regulars are OGs James Pickens Jr. (Richard) and Chandra Wilson (Bailey) as well as Caterina Scorsone (Amelia), Kevin McKidd (Owen), Kim Raver (Teddy), Kelly McCreary (Maggie), Anthony Hill (Winston), Camilla Luddington (Jo), Chris Carmack (Link) and Jake Borelli (Levi).
New to the series as first-year medical residents are Harry Shum Jr. (Glee), Adelaide Kane (Reign), Alexis Floyd (Inventing Anna), Niko Terho (who starred opposite Borelli in the Freeform rom-com The Thing About Harry) and Midori Francis (Sex Lives of College Girls).
The film currently in post-production will have been completed in less than 10 weeks from the date of Roe’s overturning — which eliminated the longstanding constitutional right to abortion — in an effort to ensure this is a response and not a delayed reaction. The creators, cast and crew have made a significant effort to expedite the process in order to start a conversation with audiences about the importance of bodily autonomy and address the dysfunction of a democracy that is not protecting the needs of a majority of the population.
Give Me An A will also star Monique Coleman, Parker Young, Regina Ting Chen, Ian Nelson, Trent Garrett, Kristen Ariza, Carolina Ravassa, Maze Felix, Kevin Fonteyne, Galen Howard, Andrea Cortés, Julia Vasi, Courtney Dietz and Avital Ash.
The anthology will be tied together with a wraparound piece, directed by the project’s EP Natasha Halevi, which features increasingly furious cheerleaders that inspired the film’s name. The segments comprising the anthology come from filmmakers including Valerie Finkel, Megan Rosati, Bonnie Discepolo, Monica Moore-Suriyage, Meg Swertlow, Loren Escandon, Francesca Maldonado, Avital Ash, Erica Wright, Mary C. Russell, Danin Jacquay, Sarah Kopkin, Hannah Alline and Caitlin Hargraves. Writers on the project included Lexx Fusco, Annie Bond, Savannah Rose Scaffe, Rowan Fitzgibbon, Danielle Aufiero and Laura Covelli.
In addition to Halevi, the producing team includes Giselle Gilbert, Jordan Crucchiola, Jonna Jackson, Jessica Taylor Galmor, Charlene Fitzgibbon and Alyssa Matusiak.
Holland stars as Agent Emilia Harcourt on HBO Max’s Peacemaker, having first played the role in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. She’s also been seen on series like Sun Records and American Horror Story, among many others.
Gunn has played Kraglin in all three Guardians of the Galaxy films, including the upcoming Vol. 3, also handling motion capture for the character of Rocket. The actor has also played these parts in films including Thor: Love and Thunder, Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War. Other notable film credits include The Suicide Squad, Agnes, The Belko Experiment and Super.
Best known for her role as Alexis Castle on ABC’s Castle, Quinn has also appeared in films like Agnes, Doctor Sleep, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and We’re the Millers, to name a few.
George is known for turns on series like Station 19, Grey’s Anatomy, Mistresses, Eastwick and Eli Stone, among many others, and in such films as Playing for Keeps, Bewitched, Barbershop and Clockstoppers.
Tohn played Melanie Rosen on Netflix’s GLOW and has also been seen on series like The Boys and The Good Place. Notable film credits include The Opening Act, A Futile and Stupid Gesture, CHIPS and Jem and the Holograms. The actress will next be seen in the comedy Old Dads, marking the feature directorial debut of comedian Bill Burr.
Holland is repped by CAA, Atlas Artists and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Gunn by UTA, Mitch Clem Management and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Quinn by Paradigm, 11:11 Entertainment and Brecheen Feldman Breimer; George by APA and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; and Tohn by CAA, Armada Partners and Myman Greenspan Fox.
This year’s honorees are Anthony Anderson, Kristen Bell, Chadwick Boseman, Rob’t Coltrin, Patrick Dempsey, Robert Price “Bob” Foster, Jonathan Groff, Don Hahn, Josh Gad, Doris Hardoon, Idina Menzel, Chris Montan, Ellen Pompeo, and Tracee Ellis Ross.
Tamron Hall will host the ceremony.
“For nearly a century, Disney has been entertaining and inspiring people around the world,” said Chapek in a statement today. “I can’t wait to give fans a first look at what we have in store for our hundredth anniversary, and how we’re using this occasion to celebrate all the fans and families who have welcomed Disney into their lives.”
The Disney Legends Awards program begin in 1987 with Fred MacMurray becoming the first Disney Legend. Including this year’s honorees, 304 Disney Legends have been named, including Tim Allen, Julie Andrews, Robert Downey Jr., Annette Funicello, Whoopi Goldberg, Sir Elton John, Angela Lansbury, George Lucas, Steve Martin, Robin Roberts, Marty Sklar, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Ming-Na Wen, Betty White and Robin Williams.
As part of the same presentation on September 9 at 10:30, Chapek will help kick off Disney’s 100th anniversary celebration, dubbed Disney100.
Written and executive produced by Karin Gist (Mike), I hear the new show will follow a young Black woman who joins the law firm from the original series (or its current incarnation) straight out of law school. The young woman is believed to be the daughter of Ally McBeal’s (Flockhart) D.A. roommate Renée Raddick, who was played by Lisa Nicole Carson on the mothership series.
I hear Flockhart has been approached to reprise her title role from the original in some capacity and to executive produce the follow-up. A decision on her potential involvement likely won’t be made until a script has been written.
Kelley created and executive produced Ally McBeal through his overall deal at 20th Television that had his David E. Kelley Productions function as a mini studio, giving the prolific producer a bigger say in exploiting existing IP. I hear Kelley has been looped in on the idea and has given his blessing for the follow-up. Given the new show’s focus on a new character who is a Black woman, I hear Kelley felt he was not needed and graciously stepped aside out of respect for Gist being able to tell that character’s story. There are no current plans for Kelley to be involved in the sequel, which Ally McBeal studio 20th Television, part of Disney TV Studios, is producing. Gist serves as showrunner and executive produces through her production banner, The Gist of It, alongside the company’s EVP Claire Brown.
Reps for ABC and 20th TV declined comment.
Executives at 20th TV had been looking to bring back Ally McBeal in some shape or form for years; the efforts were stepped up after the 2019 Disney acquisition of Fox assets, including 20th TV, fueled by how well the series’ DNA fits into ABC’s core brand of female-driven character dramas with levity. I hear Gist’s take was very well received across the board, leading to the pitch’s sale to ABC for development.
The setup of the Ally McBeal follow-up is reminiscent of NBC’s upcoming Night Court sequel series, which also features a new lead character (Melissa Rauch) who is the daughter of a character from the original series and has the original lead, John Larroquette, reprising his role alongside her.
Ally McBeal, which aired on Fox from 1997-2002, starred Flockhart as Ally, a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish along with her ex-lover and his wife, and followed Ally’s trials and tribulations through life as she looked for love and fulfillment. The main focus of the dramedy was the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, often using legal proceedings as plot device.
The series won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1999, one of seven Emmys and a slew of other major awards for its run. Ally McBeal was known for its strong ensemble cast, led by Flockhart and featuring Courtney Thorne-Smith, Greg Germann, Carson, Jane Krakowski, Peter MacNicol, Gil Bellows, Lucy Liu, Portia de Rossi as well as musician Vonda Shepard who rose to fame on the show. Additionally, the series gave Robert Downey Jr. one of his first big roles following his 1990s legal troubles en route to his blockbuster career comeback in Iron Man.
Ally McBeal transcended television to become a pop culture phenom and generate memes before memes existed with its infamous dancing baby. It remains influential two decades after its end, with She-Hulk‘s creative team recently listing the dramedy as an inspiration for their Marvel series.
Gist is among the top creators/showrunners on 20th TV’s roster of overall deals. Under the pact, she is executive producer and showrunner on the new Mike Tyson limited series Mike for Hulu. She co-created, executive produced and showran the Fox series Our Kind of People and served as executive producer and showrunner on the ABC comedy mixed-ish.
Previously, Gist served as executive producer and showrunner of Fox’s Star for Seasons 2 and 3. Before that, she was a co-executive producer on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy from 2015-17. Additional writing and producing credits include WB/CW’s One Tree Hill, Showtime’s House of Lies and ABC’s Revenge. Her film writing credits include Disney’s Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2, Jump In and VH1’s Drumline: A New Beat. She is repped by Adventure Media, Joel McKuin and ID PR.
Watch the trailer below.
The 10-episode drama starring Tom Sturridge and based on Gaiman’s popular DC Comics series has remained at No. 1 on the Netflix Top 10 TV list (English) for a second week in a row with 196.98 million hours viewed since its August 5 debut. The series also appeared in the Top 10 in 93 countries.
The animated “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” portion stars Tom Sturridge in his The Sandman role as Dream. Guest voice cast members include Oh as The Prophet, Rosie Day as The Tabby Kitten, David Gyasi as The Grey Cat, Joe Lycett as The Black Cat, Gaiman as Crow/Skull Bird, McAvoy as Golden-Haired Man, David Tennant as Don, Georgia Tennant as Laura Lynn, Sheen as Paul, Anna Lundberg as Marion, Nonso Anozie as Wyvern, Diane Morgan as Gryphon, and Tom Wu as Hippogriff.
“We endeavored to make the animated version of ‘A Dream of a Thousand Cats’ as mesmerizing and hypnotic as we could by utilizing the magic of real oil paintings on canvas,” said director Hisko Hulsing. “We combined the paintings with classically drawn 2D animation, based on realistic 3D animation of telepathic cats in order to create a trippy world that feels both grounded and dreamy at the same time. Untold Studios in London created the breathtaking 3D animation of the cats. The wonderful 2D animation, oil paintings and stylizing were all done at Submarine Studios in Amsterdam.”
Louise Hooper directed the live-action story “Calliope” portion, featuring Sturridge along with Melissanthi Mahut as Calliope, Arthur Darvill as Richard Madoc, Nina Wadia as Fate Mother, Souad Faress as Fate Crone, Dinita Gohil as Fate Maiden, Kevin Harvey as Larry, Amita Suman as Nora, and Derek Jacobi as Erasmus Fry.
Catherine Smyth-McMullen penned the teleplay for the hybrid episode, which was developed and executive produced by Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg. Sam Mucke served as producer.
The Sandman is produced by Warner Bros. Television, based on the DC Comic by Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringeberg. (Video)
Deadline already broke the news that star Ellen Pompeo will be scaling back her on-screen presence, appearing in eight episodes next season while remaining an executive producer. Also switching from a series regular to recurring status for Season 19 is Scott Speedman. The news is not surprising; the former Animal Kingdom star had signed a one-year series regular contract for Season 18 as a romantic interest for Pompeo’s Meredith. At the end of the Season 18 finale, Meredith and Speedman’s Nick had a falling out, she told him that he should probably go back to Minnesota. He walked out, she eventually ran after him but he was gone in one of the finale’s many cliffhangers.
With Speedman set to return in Season 19 as a recurring guest star, Meredith and Nick’s storyline is expected to get a proper wrap.
Except for Pompeo, Speedman as well as Richard Flood, who left the series last spring, all other Season 18 series regular cast members will be back full-time for Season 19. That includes Chandra Wilson, James Pickens, Jr., Kevin McKidd, Kim Raver, Camilla Luddington, Caterina Scorsone, Kelly McCreary, Chris Carmack, Jake Borelli and Anthony Hill.
I hear of the group, only McCreary’s contract was up this year and was renewed. I hear a slew of Grey’s Anatomy series regulars’ deals are up next May, which will make for a suspenseful second half of the season. ABC has not said yet whether the upcoming 19th season will be the series’ last, a possibility with Pompeo’s reduced presence as the show’s titular character.
Some of the other Season 18 finale cliffhangers involved Pickens, Jr.’s Richard left with little to do as the Grey Sloan teaching program was shut down, sending current residents, including Borelli’s Levi packing; Wilson’s Bailey quit, with Meredith becoming an interim Chief Of Surgery; while McKidd’s Owen and Raver’s Teddy were last seen on the run, flying on a plane with their kids, likely to another country.
Season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres Oct. 6.
As TVLine reported earlier this month, Pompeo, who last January extended her deal with the venerable ABC medical drama through the upcoming 19th season, will continue to narrate the show but will only appear in a “limited capacity” — said to be just eight episodes (or less than half of the roughly 20-23 that will be produced). In her newly free time, she will be producing and starring in an as-yet-untitled limited series for Hulu.
“The fact that she’s not leaving the show and is just scaling back a bit” really impresses McKidd, who adds, “What I think is beautiful about it is it shows her love for the show still.”
In an interview with Extra, Jesse Williams seconds that emotion. “That woman has worked so hard all year, every year, for the last 20 years building that franchise globally,” he says. “Any time off she gets is well-earned.”
Besides, Williams is confident that Grey’s Anatomy has a plan to fill the void left by Meredith’s occasional absence. “I’m sure they have something creative up their sleeve,” he says. No doubt, it includes the series’ slew of new hires. “We have these new amazing interns,” McKidd notes, and those incoming doctors will be pumping “new blood in the show.”
Season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 9/8c.
Written by Richard Greenberg and directed by Scott Ellis, Take Me Out bowed in the spring and went on to glove Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play and Best Featured Actor for Ferguson. The show won widespread critical acclaim — and some unwanted headlines when an audience member recorded and posted on social media some nude scenes.
Here is the show’s stat line: When Darren Lemming (Williams), the star center fielder for the Empires, comes out of the closet, the reception off the field reveals a barrage of long-held unspoken prejudices dealing with sexuality and masculinity, money and power, and race and class. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to contend with the challenges of being a gay person of color within the confines of a classic American institution. As the Empires struggle to rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties, and the price of victory.
The rest of the cast is TBA.
“Second Stage’s Tony Award-winning production was one of the most buzzed-about plays of the spring season, and its limited run was too brief to capture the interest and demand for tickets,” producer Barry Weissler said in a statement.
The creative team for Take Me Out includes scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Bray Poor and casting by Jim Carnahan.
On Station 19, Clack is succeeding Kiley Donovan who has stepped down. Donovan also had dual responsibilities across the two Grey’s Anatomy franchise dramas and will continue as co-executive producer on the mothership series.
The change follows a recent upheaval in the Station 19 writers room following an incident involving racial slur use by a racist character in a draft of an outline that exposed long-simmering racial issues on the show and prompted producer Shondaland to act swiftly, using the situation as an opportunity “to reimagine the structure of leadership in the name of creating a more respectful and inclusive workplace.”
Dr. Clack, who started her TV writing career on Presidio Med and was a consultant on ER, has been with Grey’s Anatomy since the start as a writer and a medical adviser, assisting in production of all medical aspects of the show. She attended Northwestern University, UT Southwestern Medical School, and Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and completed a residency in Emergency Medicine, a fellowship in Injury Prevention, and spent a year at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clack is a staunch advocate of promoting public health issues through the media. She served on the Board of the WGA and is now a Trustee on the board of the Producer-WGA Pension & Health Fund.
The recently-wrapped film starring Luke Evans and Billy Porter will follow a divorcing couple fighting for custody of their eight-year-old son. Oliver and Peter Nickowitz wrote the script, with Fernando Loureiro (Frances Ha) and Guilherme Coelho (Fala Tu) producing via their company Tigresa, along with Eric Binns (Lansky), Jennifer 8. Lee (The Price) and Christopher Lin. Alex Peace-Power is serving as co-producer, with CAA Media Finance representing the film’s distribution rights.
Rannells is a Grammy winner and Tony Award nominee whose recent credits include Peacock’s Girls5eva and Showtime’s Black Monday, along with such films as The Boys in the Band and The Prom. He’s lent his voice to such animated series as Invincible and Big Mouth, and will next be seen in a recurring role on Robert Siegel’s Hulu limited series Immigrant, alongside Kumail Nanjiani, Annaleigh Ashford and Murray Bartlett.
Weigert is an Emmy-nominated actress best known for playing Calamity Jane in HBO’s Deadwood and its film continuation, and for her role as Ally Lowen on Sons of Anarchy. The actress has also been seen on series like American Horror Story, Big Little Lies and Dietland, among many others. Notable film credits include Bombshell, Mississippi Grind, Pawn Sacrifice, The Sessions, Synecdoche, New York and The Good German.
Burton is a three-time Tony and three-time Emmy nominee who has recently been seen on Netflix’s Inventing Anna, Hulu’s The Dropout, Amazon Freevee’s Bosch: Legacy and Showtime’s The First Lady, which had her playing former First Lady Hillary Clinton. The actress has also been seen on such series as Grey’s Anatomy, Supergirl, Charmed, Scandal and The Practice, among many others. Up next for her is the Bleecker Street thriller Breaking with John Boyega, which is slated for release on August 26.
Rashad is a two-time Tony Award winner and six-time Emmy nominee best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show who has recently been seen on such series as This Is Us, David Makes Man and Grey’s Anatomy, also featuring in such films as Soul, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Black Box and tick, tick… BOOM!. Up next for the actress is the Michael B. Jordan-directed Creed III, in which she’ll reprise her role as Mary Anne Creed.
Freeman plays Vivian Banks in Peacock’s Bel-Air, and has also been seen on series including The Last O.G., For Life, The Enemy Within, Luke Cage and Single Ladies, among others. Notable film credits include Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Monsters and Men, Spike Lee’s Inside Man and Chris Rock’s I Think I Love My Wife.
Powell has been seen on such series as American Horror Story and Modern Love, and in films like Dear Evan Hansen. Other upcoming film projects for the actor include Susanna Fogel’s Cat Person, produced by 30West and StudioCanal, and Sophie Kargman’s dramatic thriller Susie Searches, with Kiersey Clemons and Alex Wolff.
Rannells is represented by UTA, Rise Management and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Weigert by Innovative Artists, Thruline Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Burton by Lou Coulson Associates in the UK, Gersh and Principal Entertainment LA; Rashad by Innovative Artists and BKEntertainment; Freeman by Buchwald, One Entertainment and Granderson Des Rochers; and Powell by CAA, Impression Entertainment and Schreck Rose Dapello.
Leigh plays Kat Landry, who moved away from her small, Canadian farm town of Port Haven many years ago following a family tragedy, and remains estranged from her mother Del (MacDowell) to this day. With her marriage coming to an end and having just been laid off from her job, Kat decides to return home after receiving an unexpected letter from Del urging her to come back. Although her 15-year-old daughter Alice is none-too-thrilled, Kat and her daughter arrive at her family’s farm, though the reunion isn’t what Kat had envisioned. As the three generations of women slowly work on finding their footing as a family, they embark on an enlightening – and surprising – journey none of them could have imagined.
The Way Home is the first primetime series to be ordered under the leadership of Lisa Hamilton Daly, the executive vice president of programming for Crown Media Family Networks. The Way Home is a family drama that follows the lives of three generations of women within the Landry family — and it comes with a time travel twist
“Chyler Leigh and Andie MacDowell are the perfect mother-daughter pairing for our new series, The Way Home,” said Daly. “We at Hallmark Channel cannot wait for her to grace our screens as a member of this cast.”
Leigh is best known for playing Dr. Lexie Grey on Grey’s Anatomy. She went on to play Alex Danvers on The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow for CW.
The Way Home is executive produced by Marly Reed and Arnie Zipursky for Neshama Entertainment; Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment; and Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke, Andie MacDowell and Chyler Leigh.
Leigh is represented by The Burstein Company, UTA and attorney Mitch Smelkinson.
“I think if I had any desire honestly it would be to be less sort of preachy in one episode about certain things,” Pompeo said on the latest episode of her Tell Me podcast. “It’s like, we do one episode about let’s see … Asian hate crimes is one that we did this past season that was really moving. I think I’d like to see things happen a little more subtly and over time. You know, consistently and less sort of hit you over the head for just one hour and then we never talk about it again.”
She added, “I wish we could touch on these social issues that are important and have them be threads throughout.”
As we reported Wednesday, Pompeo is scaling back her work on Grey’s after taking on a starring role in Hulu’s Orphan limited series. She will appear in her role as Meredith Grey in eight episodes of the upcoming 19th season, which is now starting production. She will continue to narrate (but may not do voiceover in every episode) and will remain an executive producer on the show, which remains ABC’s top scripted series.
Created and written by Katie Robbins (The Affair), the Hulu limited series is inspired by the true story of Ukranian-born Natalia Grace and her US adoptive parents who claimed that she was an adult “sociopath” pretending to be a child. Pompeo will executive produce, as well as star in the series.
The scale-back comes as Pompeo takes on her first role other than Meredith Grey in almost two decades — she is set to star in Hulu’s Orphan limited series inspired by the true story of Ukranian-born Natalia Grace and her US adoptive parents who claimed that she was an adult “sociopath” pretending to be a child.
Pompeo’s desire to branch out and take on new acting challenges is believed to be behind the decision to do fewer episodes of Grey’s. The ABC drama has been keeping her busy as it has been producing as many as 25 episodes a year for a total of 400 to date. (Season 19 will likely consist of about 22 episodes, I hear.)
Pompeo had seen her workload on the show reduced a bit the last two seasons as Meredith spent a sizable part of the pandemic-themed Season 17 in a coma and was in Minnesota for most of Season 19.
While there has been chatter that Pompeo may be wrapping Meredith’s storyline next season, I hear there is no decision yet whether Season 19 would be the last for Pompeo as a star — or the show’s final chapter. Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes has said that she does not see Grey’s continuing without its leading lady. (There had been talk on and off about possibly extending the franchise with a new medical drama spinoff if and when the mothership series comes to an end.)
Pompeo, who had been making the case for ending Grey’s Anatomy over the past couple of years, last October spoke about her post-Grey’s career plans.
“I probably wouldn’t do movies per se, but I probably will do some streaming television,” Pompeo, who had acted primarily in movies until she was cast in Grey’s Anatomy in 2004, said at the time. She had already started expanding into other fields, including audio series with her Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast which debuted in September.
“I’m just trying to play in some different areas and do a few new things but I’m sure I’ll act again,” she said in October.
Shortly after that, ABC and Grey’s Anatomy studio ABC Signature began conversations with Pompeo about continuing on Grey’s. She ultimately agreed to return for Season 19, securing the show’s renewal, which was announced in January.
I hear back then, Pompeo already had decided to do only a portion of the episodes while continuing as narrator and EP as she also takes on new acting challenges. After months of back-and-forth, she and the producers settled on 8 episodes. She started conversations about joining the Orphan series earlier this summer.
Meanwhile, she sparked to Orphan, produced by same studio as Grey’s, ABC Signature, and came on board as star and EP, helping the project secure a green light.
Eighteen years in, Grey’s Anatomy has been able to reinvent itself multiple times as it went through numerous casting changes, with Pompeo as the glue keeping the show together. The highly rated medical drama is headed to another transformational season, with Pompeo stepping back and five new additions joining the cast, Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, and Midori Francis.
As she takes on the Untitled Orphan Project, Grey’s Anatomy star Pompeo will be scaling back her on-screen presence on the ABC medical drama next season to eight episodes. She will remain a narrator and executive producer on the show.
The shocking case, which has drawn parallels to the 2009 horror movie Orphan, made national headlines in September 2019 when Kristine Barnett and her ex-husband Michael Barnett were charged with neglect for allegedly abandoning their adopted daughter Natalia, who has a rare form of dwarfism, in 2013 when she was 9. (After putting her up in an apartment, they had moved to Canada.) The parents have claimed that Natalia, whom they adopted when they thought she was 6, is in fact a mentally disturbed adult woman who threatened their lives. Most of the charges against the Barnetts eventually were dismissed; Natalia has denied the accusations that she is a grownup con artist.
The limited series was created and written by Katie Robbins (The Affair). Here is the logline: Inspired by the true story of the Midwestern couple who adopts what they believe is a little girl with dwarfism. As they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is. As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ultimately their marriage.
Pompeo will play the mother.
The project has been in the works at Hulu for a year and a half. Mike Epps and his managers Dan Spilo and Niles Kirchner had originally obtained the rights to Michael Barnett’s story before taking the idea to the Disney-controlled streamer. Hulu optioned the rights to Michael Barnett in January 2021, and Robbins was brought in to write the script. Pompeo came on board earlier this summer.
Erin Levy will serve as showrunner on the series and executive produce alongside Robbins. Pompeo will executive produce through her production banner Calamity Jane with Laura Holstein. Epps, Spilo and Niles Kirchner also executive produce alongside Andrew Stearn, who at the time of the Hulu sale had a deal at ABC Signature predecessor ABC Studios.
This marks Pompeo’s first major acting role outside of the Grey’s Anatomy franchise since the 2005 feature Life of the Party. Pompeo acted primarily in movies before she was cast as Meredith Grey in Grey’s Anatomy 18 years ago and has been focused on the hit show ever since. In addition to starring, Pompeo serves as an executive producer on ABC’s hugely popular medical drama, which is headed to its 19th season. She is repped by CAA, John Carrabino Management, The Lede Company and Hansen Jacobson.
Robbins is repped by UTA, Aaron Kogan Management and attorney Jonathan Shikora. Levy is repped by WME. Michael Barnett was repped in the deal by attorney Terrance Kinnard.
As announced in recent weeks, a quintet of first-year surgical residents are about to roam the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial this fall. You have Adelaide Kane (Reign) as Jules Millin, who was raised by drug addled artist/hippies “and somehow emerged as the only real grown-up in the family,” plus Harry Shum Jr. (Glee) as Daniel “Blue” Kwan, a sharp-witted, impatient and brilliant resident who is “generous by nature but competitive to a fault.”
Also new for Season 19 are Niko Terho — who starred opposite Grey’s‘ Jake Borelli in the 2020 Freeform movie The Thing About Harry — as Lucas Adams, who is determined to prove himself as a surgeon (just like many in his family that have come before him), and Midori Francis (Sex Lives of College Girls) as Mika Yasuda, a middle child with eight siblings who is used to being overlooked and underestimated (and uses it to her advantage).
Last but perhaps most curiously, you have Alexis Floyd (Inventing Anna) playing Simone Griffin, a high-achieving and whip-smart young woman who grew up in Seattle… “but never wanted to work at Grey Sloan because of a painful personal history with the hospital.”
Series vet Scorsone, who plays Amelia, tweeted on Saturday night that she had the season premiere script in hand and was memorizing her lines, before adding, “The classic cast is ready and revving. The new cast additions are exciting and gorgeous. Inside and out.”
The film is set during the summer of 1957. Ex-racecar driver, Ferrari (Driver), is in crisis. Bankruptcy stalks the company he and his wife, Laura (Woodley), built from nothing ten years earlier. Their tempestuous marriage struggles with the mourning for one son and the acknowledgement of another. He decides to counter his losses by rolling the dice on one race – 1,000 miles across Italy, the iconic Mille Miglia.
Troy Kennedy Martin co-wrote the script with Mann, which is based on Brock Yates’ book Enzo Ferrari – The Man and the Machine. Mann is also producing via his Moto Productions banner alongside P.J. van Sandwijk and producer John Lesher, as well as, John Friedberg, Lars Sylvest, Thorsten Schumacher and Gareth West with Niels Juul executive-producing.
The pic will be released worldwide by STX Entertainment and its partners.
Next up for Gadon independent feature, North of Normal, which is based on the acclaimed biography by Cea Sunrise Pearson and directed by Carly Stone. Her past feature work includes collaborations with filmmakers David Cronenberg, Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams, amongst others. Gadon is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, Creative Drive Artists and attorney Jeff Bernstein.
O’Connell is best known for his work on ‘71 and Unbroken, which is based on the true story of Olympian Louis Zamperini. Next up for O’Connell is the Sony and Netflix co-production Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which is expected to keep him busy on the festival circuit this fall. He also has the limited series SAS: Rogue Heroes that bows next month. O’Connell is represented by UTA, Conway van Gelder Grant and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Dempsey stars in the Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted, premiering on Disney+ this fall, as well as, the second season of the SKY international television series Devils. Dempsey is represented by UTA, The Burstein Company, attorney Mitch Smelkinson.
Shum’s Daniel “Blue” Kwan is sharp-witted, impatient and brilliant. He is generous by nature but competitive to a fault, naturally gifted, and used to winning at everything. A family crisis interfered with his career plans and now he’s got a lot to prove.
The character description hints at a backstory that would explain why Daniel is a little older than your typical medical resident.
Known for his roles in Fox’s Glee and Freeform’s Shadowhunters, Shum also starred in, produced and co-choreographed The LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers), a Hulu dance series created by Jon M. Chu who also directed Shum in the hit movie Crazy Rich Asians. He’s next set to reprise his Crazy Rich Asians‘ role of Charlie Wu in the upcoming spinoff movie which centers around Gemma Chan’s character of Astrid Young Teo and her romance with Charlie.
Shum plays one of the leads in this year’s breakout indie hit Everything Everywhere All at Once. He also stars in and executive produces technological thriller Broadcast Signal Intrusion, which premiered at SXSW and had a domestic theatrical/VOD release in fall 2021. It is now available on-demand. Last year, Shum starred alongside Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang in Netflix’s holiday movie Love Hard.
Additionally, Shum has partnered with The Conscious Kid and is working with the organization’s Anti-Racist Children’s Book Education Fund initiative. He is repped by Paradigm, Triniti Management, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
Kane’s Jules Millin was raised by drug addled artist/hippies and somehow emerged as the only real grown-up in the family. Because she always had to take care of herself and her parents, she can be a little bossy – but her heart is always in the right place. She’s not afraid to break the rules to save a life, and sometimes it gets her in trouble.
Like many other Australian actors, Kane got her acting start on the long-running Australian soap Neighbours. In the US, she played the lead in the CW series Reign and recurred on ABC’s Once Upon a Time and MTV’s Teen Wolf. She recently did an arc on NBC’s This Is Us and recurred on CBS’ SEAL Team.
Kane whose feature credits include The Purge, wrapped production on the indie Songs Of Revenge for director Mathieu Bonzon and can next be seen in the indie Cosmic Sin opposite Bruce Willis. She is repped by Gersh, ROAR and HJTH.
Francis’ Mika Yasuda is a middle child with eight siblings. She is used to being overlooked and underestimated and uses it to her advantage. Mika is dealing with overwhelming student loans from med school, but she’s scrappy and confident she can make it in the program and rise to the top.
Francis plays Alicia, the leader of the Essex College Women’s Center, on HBO Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls. She had a one-year series regular deal and will continue on the show’s upcoming second season as a recurring, which had been the plan for the character from the start, I hear.
Previously, Francis starred as Lily in the Netflix series Dash & Lily, landing a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for her role, and in Universal’s 2019 movie Good Boys, which premiered at SXSW. She also was seen in the Facebook Watch series The Birch and in the Netflix film Afterlife of the Party.
Francis has starred in a number of stage productions including Ming Peiffer’s Usual Girls, for which she earned a Drama Desk award nomination in the category of Best Leading Actress. She is repped by One Entertainment, A3 Artists Agency and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole.
“I can’t say too much but because it’s 1920s China, I’m not playing Billy because he wasn’t around,” Galligan shared following his surprise appearance on the panel. “So I’m playing this cool character. It was really fun and amazing to work with a new group of creative people who are taking a fresh look at the franchise and are expanding the mythology—who knows what they’re going to add. Maybe they’ll add a new transformation or a new rule we don’t know about yet… I think Gremlins fans are going to eat it up.”
Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei and Bowen Yang were also announced as series guest stars. They join an all-star lineup of Asian American actors lending their voice talents to the series including Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, BD Wong and Izaac Wang.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai travels back to 1920s Shanghai to reveal the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie) met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.
The series is produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros Animation. Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, and Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, presidents of Amblin Television, are executive producers. Tze Chun serves as showrunner and executive producer. Brendan Hay serves as executive producer with Dan Krall serving as supervising producer.
Like Floyd, Terho will play a first-year surgical resident at Grey Sloan. Terho’s Lucas Adams is the charming black sheep of his family. Likable to a fault, he has a great mind, but doesn’t have the grades to match. He’s determined to prove himself as a surgeon, just like many in his family that have come before him, but he will have to stop relying on his people skills and put in the work.
Also like Floyd, who starred in Netflix’s hit limited series Inventing Anna, created and executive produced by Grey’s Anatomy creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes, Terho’s breakout role has a Grey’s Anatomy connection. Terho’s first starring turn was as the title character in the Freeform movie The Thing About Harry where his co-lead was played by Grey’s Anatomy series regular Jake Borelli who also plays a surgical resident, Dr. Levi Schmitt. In the Season 18 finale of Grey’s Anatomy, Schmitt, along with the rest of the Grey Sloan surgical residents, is sent packing when the hospital’s teaching program is shut down.
Terho is a homegrown Disney talent who came out of the ABC Discovers Showcase. Just weeks after he participated in the program, he landed the lead role in The Thing About Harry on ABC’s sibling network Freeform.
Raised in Barbados by a Bajan mother and Finnish father, Terho was recruited to play professional soccer in England when he was 15. At the age of 18 he moved to New York to pursue his passion of acting, studying at the William Esper Studio. He is repped by Buchwald, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Myman Greenspan.
Floyd will play Simone Griffin, a new first-year surgical resident at Grey Sloan. A funny, whip smart, high achiever with a complicated family dynamic. She grew up in Seattle, but never wanted to work at Grey Sloan because of a painful personal history with the hospital.
In the Season 18 finale of Grey’s Anatomy, the teaching program at Grey Sloan was shut down, with the hospital asked to start fresh and rebuild it. The move sent Grey Sloan’s current surgical residents packing.
Floyd, a singer, choreographer and a stage and screen actor with a degree from Carnegie Mellon in musical theater, first drew attention with her major recurring role in the third season of Freeform’s The Bold Type. Floyd’s career-making moment came in 2019 when, working as a concierge at a yoga studio in New York City while pursuing acting, she sent in an audition tape for Inventing Anna to play Neff, the fictional version of Neffatari Davis, a concierge at NYC hotel 11 Howard who befriended frequent guest — and infamous grifter — Anna Delvey. Floyd landed the role in the smash hit Netflix limited series, created and executive produced by Grey’s Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes. Both Inventing Anna and Grey’s Anatomy come from Rhimes’ Shondaland production banner. Grey’s Anatomy is produced by ABC Signature.
“Grey’s Anatomy, like all of Shonda’s canon, is a genre re-defining show that remains masterfully committed to diversity, relevancy and vulnerability,” Floyd said. “Joining the cast in its 19th season is an immeasurable honor, and quite simply, it’s gonna be wicked fun.”
Floyd, who has starred off-Broadway in If Sand Were Stone at Theatre Row, Mitad Del Mundo at LaMama Theatre, and Wanderlust at Ice Factory Theatre, also appeared in the feature Life’s Poison, directed by Malcolm D. Lee. She is repped by WME, Industry Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Killing Eve • BBC America • Sid Gentle Films Ltd. for BBC America
Jodie Comer as Villanelle
Ozark • Netflix • MRC for Netflix
Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde
Yellowjackets • Showtime • SHOWTIME Presents, Entertainment One
Melanie Lynskey as Shauna
Killing Eve • BBC America • Sid Gentle Films Ltd. for BBC America
Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri
The Morning Show • Apple TV+ • Media Res in association with Apple
Reese Witherspoon as Bradley Jackson
Euphoria • HBO/HBO Max • HBO in association with ADD Content Agency | HOT | TCDY Productions, Dreamcrew, Tiny Goat, A24 and The Reasonable Bunch
Zendaya as Rue
Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama
Eric Dane, Euphoria (HBO)
Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul (AMC)
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul (AMC)
Jon Huertas, This is Us (NBC)
Justin Hartley, This is Us (NBC)
Kieran Culkin, Succession (HBO)
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession (HBO)
Michael Mando, Better Call Saul (AMC)
Best Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama
Freema Agyeman, New Amsterdam (NBC)
Juliette Lewis, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve (AMC)
Kelly Reilly, Yellowstone (Paramount Network)
Mandy Moore, This is Us (NBC)
Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve (AMC)
Zendaya, Euphoria (HBO)
In the action-adventure pic from writer-director Kelly Blatz, a dishonorably discharged soldier (Apa) seeks out his estranged father (Dane) to help him pursue his dream of racing Supersport motorcycles. While training, he meets a small-town aspiring singer who begins to break down the walls his father’s absence had built up. Gulfstream Pictures is providing full financing for the film, with Mike Karz and Bill Bindley producing for the company, in association with Matt Luber and Lena Roklin of Luber Roklin Entertainment.
One Fast Move is Gulfstream’s second project with Luber Roklin, following the Josephine Langford-led rom-com The Other Zoey, with Drew Starkey, Archie Renaux, Andie MacDowell, Heather Graham and Patrick Fabian, which is currently in post-production.
Dane plays Cal Jacobs—father to Jacob Elordi’s Nate—on HBO’s hit series Euphoria from creator Sam Levinson. He’s otherwise best known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan on ABC’s long-running medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy. The actor has also appeared on series like TNT’s The Last Ship, and in films including X-Men: The Last Stand. He’ll also soon be seen in John Swab’s thriller Little Dixie with Frank Grillo, Tony Tost’s crime pic National Anthem with Sydney Sweeney, Zahn McClarnon and Halsey, and John Barr’s thriller Dangerous Waters with Odeya Rush, Saffron Burrows and the late Ray Liotta.
Dane is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
The news was revealed in a statement that announced next year’s two dozen honorees. The selectees were chosen from among hundreds of nominations and ratified by the chamber on Wednesday. Being named doesn’t automatically mean a star will be granted. Honorees have two years to take action on accepting the award, which carries a fee.
“The Selection Panel, made up of fellow Walk of Famers, hand-picks a group of honorees each year that represent various genres of the entertainment world,” chairwoman and Walk of Fame star recipient Ellen K said in a statement, “The panel thoughtfully selected these talented individuals, and we can’t wait to celebrate them as they become part of Hollywood’s history with the unveiling of their star on the world’s most famous walkway!”
The Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2023 are:
Motion pictures
Ludacris
Bill Pullman
Uma Thurman
Vince Vaughn
John Waters
Juanita Moore (posthumous)
Paul Walker (posthumous)
Television
Jon Favreau
Mindy Kaling
Martin Lawrence
Ralph Macchio
Garrett Morris
Ellen Pompeo
Recording
Marc Anthony
Irving Azoff
Sheila E
Jonas Brothers
Lenny Kravitz
Blake Shelton
Charlie Wilson
Jenni Rivera (posthumous)
Live theater/live performance
Lang Lang
Melba Moore
Pentatonix
Summer may have ended, but romance awaits as “Bachelor in Paradise” turns up the heat on TUESDAY, SEPT. 27 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), followed by the debut of “The Rookie” spinoff series, “The Rookie: Feds,” starring Niecy Nash-Betts (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT). The search for love continues as “BIP” begins its two-night weekly run on MONDAY, OCT. 3 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), preceding the return of hit drama “The Good Doctor,” which hits 100 episodes this season.
ABC’s No. 1 comedy last season in Adults 18-49, Quinta Brunson-helmed “Abbott Elementary,” returns on its new night, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21 (9:00-9:31 p.m. EDT), joining network comedy staples “The Conners” (8:00-8:30 p.m. EDT), “The Goldbergs” (8:30-9:00 p.m. EDT) and “Home Economics” (9:31-10:00 p.m. EDT) for a laugh-filled evening. Then, Reba McEntire and Jensen Ackles step into the world of “Big Sky” on its new night, bringing with them a new mystery to unravel as the mercurial matriarch of an established local family and the new sheriff in town, respectively.
“Alaska Daily” (10:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), from Oscar®-winning writer Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”) and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, joins “Station 19” (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) and TV’s longest-running primetime medical drama, “Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on THURSDAY, OCT. 6.
Sundays on ABC are synonymous with family fun as Hollywood stars test their knowledge with the ultimate game of trivia on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), debuting SEPT. 25, and followed by the return of “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT). The evening culminates with “The Rookie” (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), and “AFV” joins the Sunday lineup on OCT. 2 (7:00-8:00 p.m. EDT).
The first-ever live episode of “Shark Tank,” featuring all six original Sharks, swims into the weekend FRIDAY, SEPT. 23 (8:00-9:01 p.m. EDT). A new season of ABC News’ “20/20” (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT) follows.
Additional premiere dates for the 2022-2023 season will be announced at a later date.
ABC’S FALL PRIMETIME SCHEDULE (all times listed are Eastern/Pacific) follows below. New shows are in bold.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21
8:00 p.m. “The Conners”
8:30 p.m. “The Goldbergs”
9:00 p.m. “Abbott Elementary” (new night)
9:31 p.m. “Home Economics”
10:00 p.m. “Big Sky” (new night)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 23
8:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
9:01 p.m. “20/20” (two hours)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 25
8:00 p.m. “Celebrity Jeopardy!”
9:00 p.m. “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune”
10:00 p.m. “The Rookie”
TUESDAY, SEPT. 27
8:00 p.m. “Bachelor in Paradise”
10:00 p.m. “The Rookie: Feds”
SUNDAY, OCT. 2
7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
MONDAY, OCT. 3
8:00 p.m. “Bachelor in Paradise”
10:00 p.m. “The Good Doctor”
THURSDAY, OCT. 6
8:00 p.m. “Station 19”
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:01 p.m. “Alaska Daily”
NEW FALL SERIES
“ALASKA DAILY” (Thursday, Oct. 6, at 10:01 p.m. EDT)
From the mind of Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”), “Alaska Daily” stars Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a recently disgraced reporter who leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.
Alongside Swank, “Alaska Daily” stars Jeff Perry as Stanley Cornik, Matt Malloy as Bob Young, Meredith Holzman as Claire Muncy, Grace Dove as Rosalind “Roz” Friendly, Pablo Castelblanco as Gabriel Martin, Ami Park as Jieun Park and Craig Frank as Austin Greene.
Tom McCarthy is the creator and executive producer of “Alaska Daily.” Hilary Swank, Melissa Wells, Bert Salke (co-lab21), Kyle Hopkins (Anchorage Daily News) and Ryan Binkley (Anchorage Daily News) are executive producers on the series. Rae Baron is a co-producer. “Alaska Daily” is produced by 20th Television.
“CELEBRITY JEOPARDY!” (Sunday, Sept. 25, at 8:00 p.m. EDT)
“Celebrity Jeopardy!,” produced by Sony Pictures Television, is an all-new game show premiering this fall. This new series welcomes celebrity contestants to compete for a chance to win money for a charity of their choice.
“Celebrity Jeopardy!” is executive produced by Michael Davies.
“THE ROOKIE: FEDS” (Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 10:00 p.m. EDT)
From the executive producers of flagship series “The Rookie” comes “The Rookie: Feds,” starring Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy. The spinoff was introduced as a two-part event during the fourth season of “The Rookie,” where Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and the LA division of the FBI enlist the help of Simone Clark when one of her former students is a suspect in a terror attack.
“The Rookie: Feds” stars Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark and Felix Solis as Special Agent Matthew Garza.
Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter are co-creators and executive producers. Mark Gordon, Niecy Nash-Betts, Nathan Fillion, Michelle Chapman, Bill Norcross and Corey Miller are executive producers. Entertainment One (eOne) is the lead studio and international distributor of “The Rookie: Feds,” a co-production with ABC Signature.
The pledge, while noting that the “responsibility lies with lax gun laws supported by those politicians more afraid of losing power than saving lives,” acknowledges that “America’s storytellers” have the power to “effect change.”
“Cultural attitudes toward smoking, drunk driving, seatbelts and marriage equality have all evolved due in large part to movies’ and TV’s influence. It’s time to take on gun safety,” the Brady pledge states, and goes on to ask writers, directors and producers to, whenever possible, to:
Use creativity “to model responsible gun ownership and show consequences for reckless gun use;” “make a conscious effort to show characters locking their guns safely and making them inaccessible to children”;
“Have at least one conversation during pre-production regarding the way guns will be portrayed on screen and consider alternatives that could be employed without sacrificing narrative integrity”;
“Limit scenes including children and guns, bearing in mind that guns are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents.”
The pledge further states, “We are under no illusions that these actions are a substitute for common sense gun legislation. Furthermore, this list does not incorporate every nuance of guns on screen. However, these are small things that we can do as a community to try and end this national nightmare. If you are a writer, director or producer, join us by signing here.”
For more information about the pledge, visit the Brady website here.
“Felicity” alum Scott Speedman joked that his never-aging good looks is thanks to the “Tom Brady diet” of drinking copious amounts of water.
When Page Six half-seriously asked the “Grey’s Anatomy” actor if he has an oil portrait of himself rotting away in the attic à la “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” he revealed that he simply drinks a ton of water.
“I’m on the Tom Brady diet, a lot of water,” the 46-year-old told us at the New York premiere of “Crimes of the Future” on Thursday night, before insisting that he had aged. “If you look at pictures of me even five years ago, I’ve aged.”
The famous quarterback has said he drinks between 14 and 37 eight-ounce glasses of water per day.
Perhaps another key to his youthful appearance is his natural athleticism.
Before taking up acting, Speedman was a member of the Canadian Junior National Swim Team and placed ninth at the 1992 Olympic Trials, but his potential to make it in the sport was derailed by a neck injury.
“Even if I had made the Olympics I would never have been like anyone amazing,” he shared. “I wasn’t going to be a top swimmer.”
He added, “I would have loved to have gone, it would have been great, but I love swimming. I love watching the Olympics every four years. I end up back in the pool, running and swimming.”
Speedman is currently starring in the David Cronenberg movie along with Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart.
Christopher Sean (You), Tanner Stine (Impulse), Abigail Klein (Code Black), Colton Little (General Hospital) and Victoria Grace (All of Us Are Dead) will also appear in the five-episode season that will stream from July 11-15. The previously announced cast include Kristian Alfonso (Hope Williams Brady); Peter Reckell (Bo Brady); Deidre Hall (Dr. Marlena Evans); Drake Hogestyn (John Black); Steve Burton (Harris Michaels); Stephen Nichols (Steve “Patch” Johnson); Mary Beth Evans (Kayla Brady Johnson); Lucas Adams (Tripp Johnson); Camila Banus (Gabi Hernandez); Victoria Konefal (Ciara Brady); Robert Scott Wilson (Ben Weston) and Remington Hoffman (Li Shin).
Here’s the official logline for the second installment of Beyond Salem: “In an epic, action-packed tale that spans the entire globe, from Monte Carlo to Hong Kong, beloved characters from Days of our Lives once again go Beyond Salem! as they trade the comforts of home for an adventure of a lifetime! Supercouple Steve and Kayla make a surprise visit to their children in Seattle, while private eye John Black travels to San Francisco to see his son, Paul. Meanwhile, new parents Ben and Ciara drop anchor in Montreal – where they are greeted by a much-missed Hope! Over the course of five thrilling episodes, heartwarming family reunions take a dangerous turn as a mysterious adversary wreaks havoc on their lives.”
Beyond Salem was recently nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards including: Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing, and Outstanding Casting. It’s produced by Corday Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television. Ken Corday is the executive producer with co-executive producer Albert Alarr. Ron Carlivati serves as head writer.
Peacock is also the exclusive streaming home of Days of Our Lives. The daytime soap also airs weekdays on NBC.
The first installment of Beyond Salem debuted last September. Lisa Rinna reprised her role as Billie Reed, with Hall as Marlena and Hogestyn as John.
Heigl is an Emmy Award winner and two-time Golden Globe nominee who currently exec produces and stars in Netflix’s popular series Firefly Lane. The drama from creator Maggie Friedman is based on Kristin Hannah’s novel of the same name. It centers on Tully (Heigl) and Kate (Sarah Chalke), who support each other through good times and bad with an unbreakable bond that carries them from their teens in the 1970s to their forties in the early 2000s. Heigl recently completed shooting the show’s second season, which is slated to debut on the streamer this year.
Heigl is also known for starring on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy for six seasons, as Dr. Izzie Stevens. Her work on the series earned her an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress, as well as a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She also starred in the final two seasons of the critically acclaimed series Suits, which aired on USA Network between 2018 and 2019.
Heigl found her star-making role on the film side in Judd Apatow’s 2007 comedy Knocked Up, which had her starring alongside Seth Rogen as a recently promoted E! reporter, who wound up having a child with her slacker one-night stand. The actress has also appeared in such notable big-screen titles as Aline Brosh McKenna’s 27 Dresses, Greg Berlanti’s Life as We Know It, Robert Luketic’s The Ugly Truth and Garry Marshall’s New Year’s Eve, among others.
Heigl continues to be represented by Nancy Heigl, Mainstay Entertainment, Jill Fritzo Public Relations and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.
Grey’s Anatomy alum Sara Ramírez’s non-binary podcaster/stand-up comic character chopped it up with Carrie and eventually wooed Miranda during the Sex and the City follow-up’s freshman run, which premiered last December. At the close of Season 1, Che decamped to Los Angeles to shoot a TV pilot — with love interest Miranda in tow.
But if you had speculated that the nascent LGBTQ romance might sink as Che’s career soared, and the comic would not be seen again, think again.
“One of my burning passions about Season 2 is Che,” showrunner Michael Patrick King told our sister site Variety, as part of a Pride Month cover story. “I want to show the dimension of Che that people didn’t see, for whatever reason — because they were blinded, out of fear or terror. I want to show more of Che rather than less of Che. Like, really.”
King said he still marvels at how polarizing Che proved to be, noting that amid a vast TV landscape peppered with truly loathsome characters, “what everybody’s concerned about is a nonbinary stand-up comic in the present day.”
Ramírez also is familiar with, though purposely avoids immersing themself in, the backlash. Ramirez told the New York Times in February that they have been tuning out the “hate that exists online” regarding Che, adding, “I have to protect my own mental health and my own artistry. And that’s way more important to me because I’m a real human being. I’m really proud of the representation that we’ve created. We have built a character who is a human being, who is imperfect, who’s complex, who is not here to be liked, who’s not here for anybody’s approval. They’re here to be themselves.”
And in the new Variety piece, Ramírez says, “Other people’s opinions of a character — that’s not something I can allow into my process.”
“That’s the beauty of being grown — I don’t have to receive everything!” they note. “And this is Michael’s baby. He created this role. He wrote it. Those are his and his writing team’s jokes.”
Variety‘s cover story notes that the yet-to-be-scheduled second season of AJLT will pick up three weeks later, meaning Miranda and Che’s “great adventure” is still fresh and new. And thus not necessarily tested.
“It could be the biggest mistake [Miranda] ever made,” And Just Like That scribe Elisa Zuritsky previously told TVLine. “It could be a horrible betrayal of her role as a mother and a New Yorker. This is Miranda following her heart and not her head for the first time in her life.” But as such, it could also turn out to be “the greatest adventure she ever took.
Over on ABC, Grey’s Anatomy‘s double-episode season ender averaged shy of four million total viewers along with a night-leading 0.6 rating, holding steady week-to-week.
Lastly, Fox’s MasterChef Junior (1.8 mil/0.3) dipped, while Welcome to Flatch‘s final Season 1 episodes did 730K/0.1 and 630K/0.1, down a bit from last week’s double pump.
‘IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE DYING, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?’ | As “Out for Blood” began, Ellis haunted Mer, telling her that Grey Sloan had really hit the skids and criticizing as only she could. Later, Mer and Zola started looking at homes in Minnesota, and Amelia revealed that her, her sister-in-law and Kai’s Parkinson’s research had been published. Arriving at work, Jo admitted to Link that she’d had sex with Todd for the first time, and he’d said that he loved her. She clearly did not love him back. Dude sang when he was, er, finished. (Which couldn’t have been too bad; it’s Skylar Astin!) Maggie wished that she and Winston could stay in bed all day. But with the accreditation council coming, they couldn’t. Meanwhile, he obsessed over getting back the $10k that Wendell conned her out of. In the pit, Owen was fretting over the blood shortage when a man named John approached him to help his wife Rosie, a very sick Marine. And by “help,” the man meant help her die. If Owen wouldn’t assist her in passing with dignity, John would report what he’d done with Noah and others, he threatened.
Shortly, Bailey assembled Grey Sloan’s team to encourage them to donate blood. Except for Levi, he noted to Taryn, since blood donations are not allowed from gay men who have been sexually active in the last three months. Nearby, Nick recruited Mer to consult on the case of seemingly doomed Cora, who at best they could make more comfortable — a worrying prognosis since she cared for Aunt Sally, who’d raised her. Soon, though, the docs decided to perform a whipple outside the patient’s body. Richard gave the idea a big thumbs-down, but Mer was a honey badger — she didn’t care and booked the O.R. “It is your only chance of survival,” Grey told the patient. With no other option, Cora agreed.
‘I NEED TO REPORT A CRIME ONE OF YOUR DOCTORS COMMITTED’ | When Owen confided in Teddy what John was demanding, she insisted that they find another way to help Rosie. That way? Relocate the couple to Washington and help them cover the costs so that she could receive physician-assisted suicide. “My wife is dying,” cried John. “She’s not going to relocate and fill out papers.” He didn’t want to hear about ethics. He’d heard that Owen was a veteran — what about honor? No, Teddy said, cutting off Owen. “We just can’t.” With that, off John went, Owen’s (and his family’s) fate in his hands. (Side note: Given that Owen had wanted to protect Teddy from any involvement in what he’d been doing, didn’t it seem beyond strange that he’d bring her with him to discuss the matter with John?) Before we knew it, there John was, telling Bailey that he needed to report one of her doctors.
‘YOU BREAK UP WITH PAVAROTTI?’ | In other twists of plot, all of a sudden, Kristen started yelling through the halls that Simon had begun struggling to breathe. He didn’t want to be intubated, but after he lost consciousness, his wife gave the order to do so. When Jo checked in on Link to see how he was doing with his patient’s downturn, it became clearer and clearer that Todd didn’t have a shot of holding onto her. Consulting, Maggie and Winston weren’t optimistic, no matter how badly Link wanted Simon to live long enough to meet his son. Nonetheless, they floated the idea of putting the patient on ECMO in hopes of keeping him breathing until Kristen could give birth. If it meant her having to unplug him, it would be just one more impossible thing that the expectant mother would have to do. While Simon underwent the procedure to prepare for ECMO, Link assured Kristen that she wasn’t selfish and recalled the first time that he’d seen Scout.
‘THIS IS NOT A SPA’ | As Amelia and Maggie gave blood, the former lamented her breakup with Kai, and the latter stated her objection to the way that Winston had said that she didn’t know what it was like to have siblings… or at least siblings like Amelia’s biological ones. “There’s a lotta stuff that I don’t know” about my husband, Maggie was realizing. When Jamarah Blake showed up from the accreditation council, Bailey was chagrined to find the residents giving blood during a shift. As she and Richard showed her around to see that her fixes had been made, they happened into the gallery as Mer and Nick were performing the surgery on Cora that Webber had nixed. As Bailey became more desperate for blood, Levi beseeched her to accept his “sexually active gay blood.” She agreed that the rule was ridiculous but couldn’t accept him as a donor.
‘IT’S A SEX BEAR’ | As the episode drew to a close, Todd brought Jo a thank-you-for-the-sex bear… and she broke up with him. Xander blabbed to Jamarah that he was glad that Mer had decided to put off leaving — the first the decision-maker had heard that she was leaving! Miraculously, Simon pulled through his procedure and revealed to Kristen that he’d even come up with a name for the baby: Jamal. Getting real with Winston, Maggie confessed that she felt that she knew her husband better back when they were a long-distance couple. She was really hung up on his sibling remark; he handled it poorly, asking why she was making it a fight. “I love you,” she told him. But “maybe we got married too quickly.” Yikes. Elsewhere, Teddy busily packed up her locker. “We are running,” she told Owen, “because that is the only option you left us!” Just then, in came Bailey, futilely hoping that she’d be told John was a madman. Instead, Owen admitted that yes, he’d stolen drugs from Grey Sloan. At the same time, things went south during Nick and Mer’s surgery on Cora. “We should stop,” Grey decided. They needed blood for the patient. At that very moment, Bailey learned from Ben that there had been an accident — her blood was all over the damn street!
‘I HOPE YOU LIVE FOREVER’ | As “You Are the Blood” began, nooo! Jackson was reading a eulogy to Catherine. Oh. Phew. He was amusing his mother, alive and well, by doing it in front of her, April and Harriet. When it was Kepner’s turn to sing her ex-mother-in-law’s praises, Jackson excused himself to go try to charm Jamarah into continuing the residency program. It didn’t go well. She was all about Mer planning to leave without her knowing anything about it. Jamarah even wondered what secrets Jackson was keeping. When April wandered into the doctors lounge during Bailey’s rant at Owen and Teddy, Miranda realized that no one was covering the pit. Kepner, do it, Bailey ordered. Soon, Ben showed up with 37 units of blood — which was something but not nearly enough to keep Trauma open. “Bailey’s definitely going to yell about that,” Kepner knew. While April gave blood, Amelia unloaded on her about her breakup with Kai. She hadn’t fallen in love, she’d just fit with her now-ex. Was Amelia sure it was over? ‘Cause sometimes love comes back around, April said. “Japril” 2.0?
‘YOU WORK TO CHANGE THE LAW, YOU DON’T BREAK THE LAW!’ | Though Bailey didn’t seem inclined to budge, Owen and Teddy pleaded with her to understand that he’d had to help the dying vets. “The world is broken in a thousand different ways that I cannot fix,” Miranda lamented. Now she had to call the police or she could be sent to prison. But she had to manage the blood crisis, which would take a few hours. In that time, she’d accept Teddy and Owen’s resignations and wished them both the best of luck. With the time that Bailey had bought them, Hunt and Altman were on their way to grab the kids and flee when the cops arrived at the hospital. For them? Unclear. When Amelia brought the kids to Joe’s Bar, she begged Owen and Teddy to tell her what was up. They wouldn’t, though.
‘THIS IS YOUR ARENA… HOW WELL YOU PLAY, THAT’S UP TO YOU’ | When no blood arrived to allow Mer and Nick to complete their wild surgery on Cora, Richard called her on the carpet and accused her of maybe not just killing the patient but the residency program. Boy, “Ellis would finally be proud of you,” he barked. Alone with Nick, Mer admitted that her mother had told her not to come to Grey Sloan. He noted that she had pushed to operate on Cora that day. Did he think she was arrogant or trying to sabotage the residency program? (Just me, or has she oddly often seemed eager to pick fights with him?) Sadly, Mer and Nick were not able to save Cora, even with flashbacks to Derek’s shooting and eventual death to keep Grey pushing. When Mer broke the news to Sally that Cora had passed away, the poor woman’s response was “Who?”
‘HELLO FOREVER’ | As Kristen started experiencing pains that might or might not have been contractions, she suddenly began bleeding… a lot.”Stay alive,” she told her husband. One way or another, Jo was going to be delivering the baby stat. Since Kristen needed blood and she and Simon were the same blood type, he insisted that she receive the blood that was earmarked for him. “I’m a dead man,” he said. “Save them, please.” Winston arrived with Simon’s blood for Kristen just in time. At that point, Winston raced newborn Jamal to Simon’s bedside, where the new dad was able to meet the baby, however briefly. Following Simon’s death, Link got an apology from Amelia for breaking his heart. If she’d remembered how badly it hurt, she would’ve handled it differently. He wasn’t sorry, though. “You gave me a son, and I get to be his dad,” he said. “So I don’t hate you, I love you — but not in the painful way anymore.”
‘GET YOUR SPEECH READY, WE HAVE A LOT TO CELEBRATE’ | While all that was going on, Amelia was able to happily report to Catherine and Richard that she was responding to treatment — she was living with, not dying from cancer. Levi vowed to fight the blood ban on sexually active gay men, and Bailey swore that she’d do so right there with him. “Yass, queen,” cheered Xander. When Miranda returned to her office, Jamarah was waiting for her. Bailey admitted that Owen and Teddy had resigned, and Mer was leaving. Jamarah, in turn, described Grey Sloan as a dysfunctional family and shut down the residency program, challenging the chief to rebuild, start over. As hour No. 2 and the season drew to a close, the residents sadly cleaned out their lockers (while we saw flashbacks to the OGs). Teddy and Owen boarded a flight to who knows where with Leo and Allison. In the parking lot, Winston shared with Maggie that he’d never said “I love you” to anyone before her. It just takes him more time to open up, he said. He didn’t think that they got married too fast, he just thought that they needed to keep learning each other. Her kiss suggested that she was OK with that.
In the nursery, Jo asked Link over to watch Encanto (again) with the kids, because he was her favorite person. OK, he said — but he was gonna sing! Jackson approached Mer and asked her to stick around. Her article was “noisy” — her rep was how Grey Sloan would rebuild. Bailey then approached, announcing that she was quitting with no notice. She put the keys to the chief’s office in Mer’s hand and told her, “You broke it, you bought it.” Desperate, Jackson offered Mer a raise, the title of interim chief and the night to think it over. Alone in the elevator, Jackson and April kissed. Aw, they were together again. As Amelia left for the day, Kai approached her and admitted, “I can’t sleep.” Aw, they weren’t over after all. (This ending had me “Aw”-ing a lot.) In the chief’s — well, now Mer’s — office, Grey told her boyfriend to go back to Minnesota. He didn’t think that she’d intentionally sabotaged the residency program, he insisted. Wrong thing to say. An argument ensued. Why hadn’t he stopped her from operating on Cora if he’d thought Mer was wrong? He respected her enough to admit that he might be wrong and knew she didn’t like to be told that she was wrong. Again, she tearfully told him to go back to Minnesota, and this time, he went. Seconds later, she ran after him, but by then, he was gone.
Set in the fantastical prehistoric world of Rocky Falls, Eureka! follows the story of Eureka (Righi), a young girl inventor who is way ahead of her time. She designs inventions and contraptions in the hopes of making the world a better place and moving her prehistoric community into a more modern era.
Goldsberry and Howery voice Eureka’s parents Roxy and Rolle, and Muñoz portrays her teacher, Ohm.
Devine will voice Eureka’s grandmother, Wanda, while Sheila E. and Copeland will voice the characters of Yurt, a traveling musician, and Rockanne, a dance teacher, respectively. Kemper recurs as the school librarian, Chee; McBrayer as a pet kanga bird; Bathé as Barry’s mom, Sierra; and Pierce as Barry’s father, Cliff.
Rounding out the voice cast is Kai Zen (Amphibia) as Pepper, Devin Trey Campbell (Broadway’s Kinky Boots) as Barry, Fred Tatasciore (Big Hero 6 The Series) as Murphy, Cree Summer (Vampirina) as Verna, Kevin Michael Richardson (Family Guy) as Dima, Aydrea Walden (The Mandalorian) as Olive and Groopy, Connor Andrade (We Baby Bears) as Clod, Cade Tropeano (Raising Dion) as Bog, Madigan Kacmar (Chuggington) as Julia, Vivienne Rutherford (SEAL Team) as Lark, Judah Howery (Uncle Drew) as twins Spruce and Cypress Stoneland, Dee Bradley Baker (Phineas and Ferb) as Ptero and André Sogliuzzo (American Dad) as Link.
Eureka! is produced by Oscar-nominated animation studio Brown Bag Films (Doc McStuffins) in association with Disney Junior. Emmy winner Norton Virgien (Doc McStuffins) and award-winning children’s book author/illustrator Niamh Sharkey (Henry Hugglemonster) are the series’ creators and executive producers. Emmy-nominated Erica Rothschild (Sofia the First) developed the series with Virgien and Sharkey and serves as co-executive producer and story editor. Film and television writer and director Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood) and Emmy-nominated television producer Donna Brown Guillaume (Happily Ever After: Fairytales for Every Child) are consulting producers.
Christiana “Chee” McGuigan, a science educator who has worked at the California Science Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, serves as the series’ science education consultant. Biomedical scientist, social entrepreneur and former senior policy advisor for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Knatokie Ford, advised on the original series development. Engineering experts from Disney’s Imagineering team advised on the early development of Eureka‘s inventions.
Singer, songwriter and producer Kari Kimmel (“Spirit Riding Free”) is the series’ songwriter, and Emmy-winning Frederik Wiedmann (“All Hail King Julien”) is the composer.
The series is set to premiere Wednesday, June 22, at 7:30 pm EDT/PDT on Disney Junior. An initial batch of episodes will also premiere the same day on on-demand platforms and streaming on Disney+. (Video)
The promo for the finale (you can watch it below) promises the high drama and major cliffhangers we have grown to expect from a Grey’s season ender. The episode also features the return of alums Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew who are reprising their fan-favorite roles as Jackson and April.
“It’s the 400th episode so we wanted to go big. Sarah and Jesse were both available and game to play which was thrilling,” Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff told Deadline. “It was great to see them and we know fans are excited to see them too! Jesse is doing brilliant work right now on a Broadway play so we only had one day to work with him. We made the most of it!”
Williams recently received a Tony nomination for his performance in the Broadway production of Take Me Out, while Drew is in the upcoming Apple TV+ comedy series Amber Brown.
After the end of her nine-year season tenure on Grey’s, Drew first returned to to the show for the May 2021 episode that revealed Williams’ exit. In it, Jackson told ex April that he was moving to Boston to take over the family foundation, and she agreed to follow him there so he can be close to their daughter while revealing that she had separated from her husband.
After helping give Williams’ Jackson a proper sendoff, Drew said she didn’t necessarily expect to be asked back.
“After we shot that episode, there was a lot of interest in seeing Jackson and April in Boston. So I had an inkling that maybe someday we’d get a little peek into that world, seeing the fans kept asking for it,” she said. “But no, it was a surprise to me, and I was asked to do it about two weeks before I was on set shooting. So it all happened very quickly.”
She revealed a little detail about April’s new life in Boston.
“What was pitched to me was that April is now working with the foundation as well,” she said. “There’s a whole bunch of drama happening at the hospital, and since he’s heading up the foundation, he has to go [Grey Sloan] to try to sort all of that stuff out. So I come also as a representative of the foundation with him. And that is as much as I can tell you.”
The drama Drew is referring to is the showdown over the fate of Grey Sloan’s training program that is coming to a head in the finale.
“The wonderful Dawnn Lewis returns as Jamarah Blake,” Vernoff said about the storyline. “Her presence is stressful enough as it is, but on this particular day, Grey Sloan is having a perfect storm of stress.”
As teased in the promo, that will include a threat for Owen’s side project providing drugs to terminally ill veterans being exposed, which may put Owen’s career on the the line and his relationship with Teddy to the test.
“Owen’s storyline is a part of the perfect storm of stress that the hospital and Bailey are going through,” Vernoff said. “There are no easy solutions to the problem he and Teddy are presented with in the finale.”
The biggest question asked in the promo, which Season 18 has been building toward, is whether Meredith will stay or go?
“In the finale, Meredith has a really difficult day at Grey Sloan,” Vernoff said. “To some degree, Meredith has had a difficult 18 seasons at Grey Sloan. As she contemplates leaving, she’s haunted by the memories of the time she has spent here. It’s tough to leave. It’s tough to stay.”
The promo also has Bailey dispatching April to the EP (aka The Pit).
“You will get to see me in the Pit which is really fun,” Drew said. “I am handling a situation involving the blood shortage with Ben when he comes comes to the ER, and we have a whole discussion out there about how to handle the blood shortage in the hospital. So you will see April in action a little bit.”
There will be something for Japril fans too — “you will get a small peek into” the current state of their relationship, Drew said.
She is well aware of the big online interest for a Jackson & April Grey’s Anatomy spinoff.
“I see the love for it from the fans daily but in terms of in terms of officially, there’s not been any any conversation about that,” Drew said. “It only exists in the fandom at this point.”
Returning to Grey’s is always special but doing it for the show’s 400th episode took that to another level for Drew.
“I felt really, really honored and grateful to be asked to participate in such a momentous episode. It made me really feel like I have never really left and I’ve always been part of the family, and that felt really good,” she said. “In terms of the way it felt shooting the episode, the experience was pretty surreal because last year when I came back, I was just on location at April’s house and only working with Jesse, and I wasn’t even working with our normal crew because we were on a special unit filming that episode. So it was a pretty surreal and extraordinary experience being back on set on the stages, walking the hallway of the place that I lived in for nine years with the people that worked with and I love so much. I found myself shooting a scene with Chandra and just sitting and thinking, this just feels so normal. It feels like I was just here yesterday. But the reality is that we’ve all lived four years of life since the last time I was in that scenario. So it’s pretty surreal because it felt very normal and just every day and regular.”
Drew hinted at a major cliffhanger for her and Williams’ characters.
“It definitely leaves open the possibility that you might be checking in with them,” she said. “After the script was released, I had texts flying in from cast and crew asking if I was coming back next year because of how the episode ends. But as of now that is not on the table. It’s not something that anyone has discussed with me in any kind of official capacity. But there’s a lot of open ended questions at the end of this episode. I think you’ll leave this episode with giant question marks,: Where do we go from here? How is the hospital going to recover? What is going to happen? What is the next year gonna look like? So I think there are a million questions and a million possibilities.”
If the opportunity presents itself, would Drew return for more?
“I’ve always kept the door open for Grey’s, for my family over there,” she said. “In terms of being there in any kind of permanent capacity. I don’t know,” she said. “I’m on an Apple TV show that’s coming out in July and waiting to hear about a pickup for that, and I have a whole bunch of projects that I’m working on right now. So it’s all kind of up in the air but in terms of popping in for a visit, I will always say yes to that.
Vernoff is still wrapping her head around the fact that she just presided over Grey’s 400th episode but she feels the finale will live up to the occasion.
“My mind is blown. All of our minds are blown,” she said. “It means so much to us that the show means so much to so many people in the world. The 400th episode is dramatic! We were lucky enough to have the 400th episode fall on the season finale so we pulled out all the stops.”
Here is the promo for the Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 finale, which airs Thursday, May 26. (Video Promo)
Sheldon opened CBS’ night with 6.7 million viewers and a 0.6 rating, steady week-to-week. United States of Al (4.6 mil/0.4) dipped with its series finale, while the similarly cancelled How We Roll (3.3 mil/0.3, 3 mil/0.3) was down a bit with its final double pump.
Bull closed things out with 3.5 mil (its smallest audience to date) and a 0.3 rating, ahead of next week’s series finale.
Over on ABC, Station 19‘s season finale (4 mil/0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (3.6 mil/0.5) and the recently renewed Big Sky‘s season finale (2.4 mil/0.2) were all steady in the demo, though the latter added a few eyeballs (Supernatural fans?).
NBC’s Law & Order (3.8 mil/0.4) and Organized Crime (3.3 mil/0.5) were both steady, while SVU (4.4 mil/0.5) dipped with its own season finale.
Fox’s MasterChef Junior (1.9 mil/0.2) was steady, while the recently renewed Welcome to Flatch did a bit better with this week’s double pump (870K/0.2, 650K/0.1).
‘I DON’T REMEMBER GETTING A WELCOME PARTY’ | As “Stronger Than Hate” began, Maggie and Winston were busy preparing Mer’s house for the big getting-to-know-you dinner. Amelia was helping, too. enjoying some sexytime with Kai. Leaving Grey Sloan, Nick told Mer how much he was relishing being in the same city as her. Nearby, Richard told Catherine that he wasn’t going to the soiree, he was staying at the hospital while she underwent chemo. No sooner had Amelia and Kai made it to Mer’s than Nick arrived with not nearly enough wine in hand. Next in the door were Owen and Teddy unfashionably on time. As Mer was leaving, a woman named Alice was wheeled into the ER after being assaulted by a man hurling racial slurs. Looked like Nick was gonna be on his own for a while.
As expected, Mer’s boyfriend got a good grilling. And to his credit, he was as open as a book. When Link arrived, he politely acknowledged Kai — progress. Once Bailey arrived, Teddy beseeched her to play Boggle. “Couldn’t Maggie have put out some crackers?” Miranda asked. Or showed up? And still guests kept arriving. Next up — uninvited — was Wendell, with flowers. (Funnily, right after Maggie had told Nick that wine was always the better gift, as it didn’t make the hostess scramble to find a vase.) Winston wanted to ask Wendell to go, but Maggie said that wasn’t necessary — even though her brother-in-law was “a walking sales pitch.” Outside, Nick made awkward small talk with Link that only got more awkward when Marsh admitted what a Kai fan he is.
‘I COULD BE THE CLOSER; I’M PRETTY BORING’ | In the kitchen, Winston asked Wendell how bad his situation really was. Before the schemer could answer, though, Nick interrupted. Seeing Wendell and Nick talk, Maggie wondered if Mer was dating a con man, too, because he was the only person she knew who had charmed her as much as her brother-in-law. Finally, Nick made some progress with Bailey when it turned out that they were on the same page about Scrabble — it was about the math, not the vocabulary. Shortly, Wendell admitted that the people he owed money to were not good people; that was why he had to disappear for a while. Wait, Winston yelled, Wendell was going into hiding from these people, and he’d come to Mer’s, with freaking children there?!? Leave Seattle now, Winston ordered his brother. And with that, Winston left the house, leaving Wendell behind?!? WTH?
Alone with Owen, Kai shared that they didn’t want kids. “My career is my baby. Why? Are you trying to unload one of yours?” Kai sounded to him like Amelia before she had Scout. Outside, Link was surprised to learn that Jo had told Teddy that they’d slept together. Did Link have feelings for Jo? “Sometimes… maybe… a little.” Should he tell her? That he had occasional, small feelings? Uh, no, Teddy said. In the kitchen, Maggie and Nick bonded over his ne’er-do-well sister and her no-good brother-in-law. When finally Amelia rejoined Kai, they expressed anew that they didn’t want kids. They didn’t want to put aside their personal and professional plans for a family and weren’t going to ever change their mind. “I thought this was going really well,” Amelia said. So had Kai. But they didn’t want to lead on Amelia. As Owen and Teddy left the party, they climbed into their SUV for a quickie but were interrupted by Bailey. When Winston returned, Maggie revealed that she’d given Wendell the money to pay off his lenders. “Maggie,” her husband said, “I gave him the money, too.” Ooo — that stung.
‘NOBODY WANTS TO BE ALONE’ | While Catherine underwent chemo, she introduced her oncologist Richard to Simon and Kristen. “Please tell me everything” about the baby, Catherine told the couple. “I need a distraction” since all her husband wanted to do was discuss trials and treatment options. Soon, Catherine got more of a distraction than she’d even wanted when Kristen doubled over in pain. It was too early for contractions, so what was it? Braxton Hicks, Jo soon reported. Alone with Richard, Kristen shared that she had been sure that Simon would beat cancer. If she got pregnant, he had to live, she’d thought. She hadn’t realized that by not letting him deal with the possibility that he wouldn’t survive, she’d left him alone with that fact.
As Mer and Levi treated Alice, Nico was called in for an ortho consult and immediately deduced that what had happened to the patient had been a hate crime. Understandably, the case deeply affected Grey Sloan’s Asian doctors as well as BokHee. “Do you think we’ll ever stop being seen as foreign?” Nico asked Michelle. “We are American,” BokHee told him. “Your faces are American.” (I didn’t watch Grey’s in the early days; was that BokHee’s first line ever?) Later, Levi approached Nico to ask if he was OK. “I’m fine,” he said… despite the fact that his hand was so red, it looked like he’d punched a wall. Later, Alice crashed, and Mer leapt into action to save her.
‘I WANT HER LIFE TO BE FULL OF LOVE AND JOY’ | As the episode rounded the corner toward the finish line, Mer worked feverishly to keep Alice alive and at last was able to report to her family that she had pulled through. Off his conversation with Kristen, Richard told Catherine that if she was going through chemo just for him, she didn’t need to. She did want to do it, she insisted. She just wanted to be in the moment sometimes, and he was always so serious. “I have cancer, and that sucks,” she said, “but I still want to live. I still want to laugh.” Sweetly, he offered to come up with a good joke. Finally, Amelia shared a moment alone with Nick and admitted what he already knew: that everyone had been vetting him. “I think you make her happy, and she deserves to be happy,” she said, adding that she wanted him to want that, too. When at last Mer arrived, Nick had set up dinner by candlelight for her. “I love you,” she whispered. “I love you, too,” he replied.
The blue-chip revenge thriller, set on a cruise ship in the Arctic, is aiming to shoot in September on location in Greenland and Iceland.
Amazon is already in place for domestic. Producers are Oscar winner John Lesher (Birdman) and Oscar nominee JoAnne Sellar (There Will Be Blood). Studiocanal and Film4 are in final negotiations to join with the former launching sales on the Riviera.
Moore will play Verna, a 60-year-old retired physiotherapist and twice a widow, who embarks on a luxurious cruise into the magnificent and silently thawing Arctic Northwest Passage, populated by a crowd of privileged influencers and wealthy retirees. On the ship, Verna meets the friendly and charming Grace (Oh), and the seemingly ordinary Bob (casting in process), an unaccompanied man in his mid-sixties who inherited a family business. Although he doesn’t have a fraction of Verna’s elegance and wit, Bob tries to seduce her. But he might not be the foolish yet harmless man he initially appears to be, and his presence troubles Verna. As wounds and humiliations from her past resurface, the smooth atmosphere of the cruise will be disturbed by a shocking act.
Ramsay said of the movie: “With the current repeal in women’s rights across the world, particularly regarding the overturning of Roe v Wade in America, this story, with its themes of stolen motherhood and unaccounted sexual abuse, feels more important than ever.”
Script comes from Ramsay and Tom Townend. Dylan Weathered (The Pale Blue Eye) and Daniel Lupi (West Side Story) are exec producers. Studiocanal will hold onto its territories of France, UK, Germany and Aus/NZ.
Ramsay expanded: “I first read Margaret Atwood when I was a teenager, and her work has gripped me ever since. She is simply one of the most intelligent, prophetic and engaging writers around and Stone Mattress is another perfect illustration of that. I was immediately gripped by the way it framed the deeply buried trauma of a post-menopausal woman – an age group we hear from all too rarely – through the dynamic and multifaceted character of Verna.”
She continued: “From its tongue-in-cheek humor to its moments of icy vengeance and delicate portrayal of an emotional repression specific to the boomer generation, it is a story I’ve wanted to materialize on-screen since my first reading. With the current repeal in women’s rights across the world, particularly regarding the overturning of Roe v Wade in America, this story, with its themes of stolen motherhood and unaccounted sexual abuse, feels more important than ever. The opportunity to shoot in the Arctic, on the frontline of the most urgent threat to our world and on the verge of irredeemable transformation, will lend the story another layer of devastation. Just like the icecaps that melt to reveal ancient histories, Stone Mattress sees years of Verna’s pain and fury thaw before our eyes to expose the raw emotion underneath.”
Ramsay is repped by WME and Josh Varney at 42. Moore is represented by WME and Entertainment 360. Oh is repped by UTA and Principal Entertainment.
“We haven’t made any decisions at all” for the upcoming Season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy and Season 10 of The Goldbergs potentially being the last, ABC Entertainment President Craig Erwich told Deadline in an interview tied to the network’s upfront presentation.
“We just celebrated Grey’s 400th episode, which is a remarkable achievement for any show, and I think The Goldbergs continues to be as strong as ever,” he said. “We have Adam’s graduation coming up which I think is going to be a signature event in the life of that series.”
Erwich also underscored that Grey’s star and executive producer Ellen Pompeo remains committed to the show.
For the first time in its history, A Million Little Things, created by DJ Nash, will not be on in the fall, with its fifth season held for 2023. This is widely believed to be the drama’s final installment through Erwich said that “we haven’t made any decisions yet.”
“I’ve had some really good creative conversations with DJ about what next season would be, I think fans will really enjoy it,” Erwich said. “The show is ending on a really strong note which I think will take us into a good place for next season.”
TUESDAY
8 PM — Bachelor in Paradise
10 PM — THE ROOKIE: FEDS
WEDNESDAY
8 PM — The Conners
8:30 PM– The Goldbergs
9 PM — Abbott Elementary (new night)
9:30 PM — Home Economics
10 PM — Big Sky (new night)
THURSDAY
8 PM — Station 19
9 PM — Grey’s Anatomy
10 PM — ALASKA
FRIDAY
8 PM — Shark Tank
9 PM — 20/20 (two hours)
SATURDAY
8 PM College Football
SUNDAY
7 PM — America’s Funniest Home Videos
8 PM — CELEBRITY JEOPARDY!
9 PM — Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
10 PM — The Rookie
The actor finally responded to those leaked pictures and videos that had fans and celebs hot and bothered.
“I’m not down about it,” Williams told the Associated Press on Thursday. “Our job is to go out there every night, no matter what.
“I’m not really worrying about it. I can’t sweat that. We do need to keep advocating for ourselves,” he continued. “And it’s wonderful to see a community push back and make clear what we do stand for, what we don’t.
“Consent is important, I thought. So, let’s keep that in mind universally,” Williams, 40, added.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” heartthrob may be OK with the leak, but co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the show’s theater and Actors’ Equity Association all have different takes.
"Consent is important." Jesse Williams responds to the leaked footage of his nude scene in the Broadway play "Take Me Out.''
Full story by @jacarucci: https://t.co/rio4rByQfM pic.twitter.com/5MXuW79PAD— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) May 13, 2022
“And truly, if nudity is what you are coming for… you are in for a long boring night,” Ferguson wrote in a separate tweet Tuesday.
Actors’ Equity also released a statement, saying the recording constituted “sexual harassment and an appalling breach of consent.”
I'm appalled by the disrespect shown to the actors of our company whose vulnerability on stage ever night is crucial to Take Me Out. Anyone who applauds or trivializes this behavior has no place in the theater which has always been a safe space for artists & audience members. https://t.co/eYEqbQBrc6— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (he/him/his) (@jessetyler) May 10, 2022
Second Stage Theater, home of “Take Me Out,” told Deadline that it will now install infrared cameras to monitor the audience’s use of cameras and other suspicious activity during the show.
Spectators are already required to seal their electronic devices in Yondr cases throughout the performance.
“Theater is a sacred space, and everybody doesn’t understand that. Everybody doesn’t necessarily respect or regard that in a way that maybe they should, or we’d like,” Williams told AP.
ABC’s Station 19 this week drew 3.8 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating, marking series lows…. Grey’s (3.5 mil/0.5, read recap) hit and tied series lows… and “bubble” drama Big Sky slipped to lows of 2.1 mil/02. ahead of next week’s finale.
Over on NBC, Law & Order (3.7 mil/0.4) and SVU (4.4 mil/0.6) were steady in the demo, while Organized Crime (3.1 mil/0.5) dipped.
CBS’ Young Sheldon (6.6 mil/0.6) was steady, tying SVU for the demo win while also drawing Thursday’s largest audience. United States of Al (4.8 mil/0.5) ticked up in the wake of its cancellation news. The freshly cancelled How We Roll (3.7 mil/0.4, 3.2 mil/0.3) matched last week’s double pup, while Bull (3.8 mil/0.3) tied its series lows.
Fox’s MasterChef Junior (1.8 mil/0.3) dipped, while the latter of “bubble” comedy Welcome to Flatch‘s back-to-back episodes (790K/0.2, 560K/0.1) hit lows.
‘MY OFFICE HAS A SMELL THAT IS NOT BRINGING ME JOY’ | As “I’ll Cover You” began, Link got it on with a woman we’d never seen before while Jo pulled double duty at Grey Sloan. As Catherine left home to try to save the residency program, Richard grabbed her cannabis-green smoothie from the fridge. (Here comes trouble… ) When Bailey gave Pru a tour of the hospital, she quickly realized that it couldn’t function without her. In the doctors lounge, Richard gave Nick the cold shoulder… or so it appeared. Webber was actually just really, really anxious to find some snacks. Turned out, he hadn’t even noticed Meredith and Nick in the room. (How strong was that smoothie?) Later, Link treated his longtime patient Simon, whose pregnant wife Kristen was worried that chemo might have gotten the better of him. When Link brought in Jo to consult, he called her on the fact that she’d asked him to babysit Luna when he asked to hang out with her. But they soon had a bigger issue: Simon’s cancer was progressing faster than previously thought. Jo would have to operate, and Link could scrub in — almost like they were hanging out. When the duo broke the news to the couple, Kristen broke down — Simon had to live to meet their baby. Ahead of surgery, the father-to-be beseeched Link to make sure that Kristen didn’t name the child after him. Link countered by suggesting that he get his head in the game instead.
In the O.R., Jo saw how bad off Simon was and did what she could to make the patient more comfortable in his last weeks. But there would be no saving him. He wasn’t going to meet his child. When Link and Jo told Kristen, she begged for an immediate C-section. It was too soon, Jo said. So Link told Kristen that Jo was just an OB student, he’d consult with Carina, her teacher. In the supply closet, Link then railed against Jo for using him, first for sex, then as a babysitter. “I fell in love with you,” Jo finally admitted. When he hadn’t seemed to do the same, she’d asked him to move out to protect their friendship. What’s more, she had had enough education to know that Kristen’s baby couldn’t be delivered at 32 weeks. Intense!
‘THAT IS VERY NOT AT ALL FUNNY’ | Elsewhere, Meredith investigated Richard’s strange behavior and informed him that he’d drunk a pot smoothie. “I don’t know if you know this, but I don’t drink or do drugs,” Webber told Grey, who wanted to call Catherine. But she couldn’t do that; Catherine had to save the program! Who could babysit Richard? Not Levi. He wasn’t on Mer’s service anymore that day, he was on Nick’s, Grey told him; Marsh could take her cases. She’d keep an eye on Richard. Meanwhile, Nick met with Bailey, who pretended that she didn’t know she was being hostile toward him. “I need more than surgeons, I need surgeons who can teach,” she snapped. He could do that — heck, he’d taught Jordan! But if she didn’t want to accept Nick’s offer of help, fine. Off that unpleasant meeting, Nick, having been granted privileges, if barely, was told by Levi that he couldn’t reveal Mer’s whereabouts, but he was to take her service. At the same time, Mer and Richard spoke a bit more openly about why she had to leave Seattle. It wasn’t Nick, it was the city. “Everywhere you look,” he acknowledged, “there’s a memory of people who aren’t here anymore” — like Ellis, for him. Not Adele? No, Ellis.
In the O.R., Bailey barked at Nick for taking over Mer’s cases and intimidated Levi as he was faced with a situation reminiscent of Devon’s. After daring to tell Bailey to hush for the sake of the patient, Nick encouraged Levi to write a new ending to the story — and he did, just as Richard snuck away from Mer and peeked in from the gallery. Shortly, Amelia took over for Mer on Richard duty. Upset over losing 10 years of sobriety, he couldn’t understand why Catherine had even had a pot shake around. At least Webber had had an idea about how to redesign the residency program. It had become too much about data, not enough about people. So they needed to rewrite that story. While all this was going on, Mer confronted Bailey, who admitted that she felt like she, the first female chief, was failing. She didn’t know why she was torturing Nick, it just all felt like it was out of her control. She was thankful to Mer for staying and to Nick for coming, but she wasn’t sure it was enough. At last, apologies we’re made. “I’m sorry,” Miranda said, “for calling you ‘that girl.’”
‘YOU… CAN… GO’ | In other developments, Maggie and Winston treated a woman named Margot who was suffering from terrible back pain and insistent on her wife not being called. Turned out, she’d been lying to her missus and the doctors, the former about having already taken care of the issue, the latter about when the pain had started. Needless to say, she needed surgery. Before the operation, Winston got rather intense about how they’d now have to call her emergency contact, and maybe Margot shouldn’t have lied to her wife in the first place. He was so intense, in fact, that Maggie sent him packing. As the episode rounded the corner toward the end, she challenged him to explain why he hadn’t been himself since Wendell had shown up. When Winston was 16, Wendell had asked him to pick up him and a friend at the mall. Winston had — and had realized too late that he’d driven a getaway car. Winston had taken the fall, and Wendell had talked his way out of it. Now he wanted Winston to lie to Bailey about his crap heart monitors. He’s the sucker who fell for the BS over and over — that was who Maggie had married. But “we will be OK,” he added, “because I love you.”
In therapy, Owen and Teddy were advised to let Leo be “gender creative” for now. The child’s parents’ job was to support and affirm — not easy for Altman when circumstances were ambiguous, her husband couldn’t resist noting. Later, at Grey Sloan, Teddy consulted with Amelia on a case and was stunned when she advised that they “wait and see.” Clearly, Teddy wasn’t talking about the case. She was talking about Leo, she admitted. “I like direction and answers and knowing what to say.” And she had none of that in this instance. In response, Amelia talked about how like herself she’d begun to feel since falling for Kai. Things don’t have to be super-defined. Near the end of the episode, Kristen warned Simon that if he didn’t live long enough to meet their baby, she’d name him Simon Simon! Levi thanked Bailey for letting him come back; the day had been hard but had reminded him why he wanted to be a surgeon. Link, after the worst day ever, asked Amelia for some Scout time. And Catherine, having been called by Mer, arrived to take Richard home. Why, he asked, did she have pot in the house? Her cancer had progressed, she admitted, and the pot was for her pain. Nooo!
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Alfie Allen, “Hangmen”
Chuck Cooper, “Trouble in Mind”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Take Me Out”
Ron Cephas Jones, “Clyde’s”
Michael Oberholtzer, “Take Me Out”
Jesse Williams, “Take Me Out”
Season-to-date, Call Me Kat is averaging just shy of 3 million total weekly viewers and a 0.6 demo rating (with Live+7 playback), down 29 and 33 percent from its freshman numbers. Among the seven comedies Fox has aired this TV season, it ranks No. 1 in audience and third in the demo.
Bookending the Mayim Bialik comedy, MasterChef Junior (1.9 mil/0.4) was steady while Welcome to Flatch (860K/0.2) was up in audience.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.1 mil/0.5) and Big Sky (2.4 mil/0.3) were steady in the demo, while Grey’s Anatomy (3.8 mil/0.6) ticked up. S19 however slipped to a series low in audience, whereas Grey’s drew its third-smallest crowd.
NBC | Law & Order (4.1 mil/0.4) dipped in the demo, while SVU (4.7 mil/0.6) and Organized Crime (4 mil/0.5) were steady.
THE CW | Walker (690K/0.1) was steady, while Legacies (380K/0.1) gained viewers.
CBS | Adrift in a sea of reruns, How We Roll (2.9 mil/0.2) hit lows.
‘IF THAT’S HOW YOU SPEAK TO YOUR RESIDENTS, NO WONDER WE ARE ON PROBATION’ | As the hour began, Catherine arrived at Grey Sloan with smoke coming out of her ears. Since the surgical residency program was put on probation, the Medical Accreditation Council had inquired about visiting 20 (!) more Fox Foundation hospitals, she told Bailey and Richard. And no way in hell was Catherine going to let her legacy shrivel up and die just because Grey Sloan couldn’t get its act together. Desperate, Bailey begged Jo to give up her OB residency and come back as a surgical attending. Though she had a date that night with nice guy Todd, she asked Link to join them. She could talk to Laura’s brother, sure, but not about medical stuff, and this felt like a request that she couldn’t deny.
Later, Bailey informed Jordan — in front of Catherine — that she was transferring him back to the clinic in Minnesota. If she was unable to save the surgical residency program, he might be “orphaned,” so to speak, and “I want to protect your future.” Besides, she added, “you can still learn from Meredith Grey there!” That evening, Todd and Link helped Jo figure out that she could keep her OB residency and still grant Bailey’s request by “moonlighting” for her. Link would help Luna’s mom with the baby. Todd, too, said the eager beaver, quickly retracting his offer upon realizing that he’d overstepped. Meanwhile, Bailey informed Catherine that, hospital be damned, she was taking a vacation day. “I’m done being the superhero,” said Miranda. “If Meredith Grey can go away, then so can I.” And to be clear, Bailey wasn’t quitting or even taking a leave, she hastened to add. She was just taking a day off. Maybe two.
‘I’M NOT A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, I DON’T CARE WHO’S TALKING TO WHO’ | As Addison returned to Grey Sloan to check on Tovah, who was feeling inexplicable pressure in her belly at 11 weeks pregnant with her late husband’s baby, Dr. Montgomery found Meredith being given a hard time right and left about leaving the hospital when it needed her most. Nonetheless, Grey and Richard would have to put aside their differences when it turned out that blood clots were threatening both Tovah’s transplanted uterus and the baby. “We’re all adults here,” Addison reminded her colleagues. “Let’s act like it!” Easier said than done. Richard took shots at Mer every chance he got, prompting her to marvel during surgery, “When did it become a thing that you owe the hospital you trained in?” Of course it was more than that for Mer and Grey Sloan. As Addison put it, somewhere along the line, Grey had “become some kind of hospital mascot.”
Sadly, despite throwing a Hail Mary in the O.R., Mer and Addison were only able to save Tovah’s uterus, not her baby. Which made immediately after surgery the absolute wrong time for Catherine to barge in and start yelling at Mer. A woman had just fought to have her late husband’s child, and she had lost, Addison pointed out. “Can we just take a moment and honor her?!” Later, after Addison broke the news to Tovah, Levi tried to ease the patient’s pain by reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish with her. Richard, for his part, attempted to console Addison, who was surprised that he so fondly remembered her residency. If it had been such a rough program, why hadn’t anyone complained before? They couldn’t, she noted. What he had to get into his head and keep there was that the program he was trying to save was old and broken. So “what’s the new way to train surgeons?” With the Webber Method, he’d tried to answer that question and failed. “Well,” said Addison, “try again.”
‘IF LEO SAYS “I’M A GIRL,” I’M GONNA LISTEN’ | En route to drop the kids off at Grey Sloan’s daycare, Owen and Teddy had very different reactions to Leo’s assertion that he wasn’t a cowboy but a girl. They didn’t get into it immediately, though, because before they could, in came a man whose arm had been ripped from his body by a conveyer belt. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he flatlined in the O.R. Owen performed CPR to save his life, but the patient was too unstable to undergo the 10-hour surgery to reattach his arm. Thinking fast, Owen utilized a technique that the military had been testing when he and Teddy were in Iraq to keep the arm viable. Um, that technique hasn’t been approved for civilian use, Teddy noted. Did Owen really want to draw the military’s attention to himself when he’s been helping dying veterans end their lives on the DL? He didn’t care, he just wanted to — and did — save the arm. Later, Teddy expressed her reservations about letting Leo decide his gender before he was old enough to tie his shoes. “Let’s just love Leo,” said Owen. “Let’s listen when he tells us who he is” and “not be our kid’s first bully.” In the meantime, they’d get a therapist so that they themselves could agree on how to do everything right by Allison’s sibling.
Elsewhere in the hospital, after a morning elevator ride in which they said nothing to one another, Levi and Nico finally spoke as they were leaving work. “I was in pain when you came to see me,” offered Schmitt by way of apology. In response, Nico pointed out that Levi had dumped him. True. But when Nico had been in pain, Levi had kept showing up. “I guess that’s the difference between me and you,” said Nico, reverting to jerky form. Meanwhile, Winston and Maggie tried out the HeartPatch that Wendell was peddling, only to discover that it didn’t work. “My brother is a walking pawn shop,” Winston lamented. It got worse. Wendell soon admitted that he didn’t really have a job but had taken out a $10k loan (and not from a bank) to buy the HeartPatches after seeing a demo online. “How could you be this stupid?” marveled Winston. “How could I be this stupid?” More pressing was the question of what they were going to do about it now. “You have to help me sell them,” Wendell told Winston, “or pay back the loan.”
‘I’VE EARNED THE RIGHT TO LEAVE’ | When Mer returned home at the end of the day, she was delighted to find Nick waiting for her… until he began to speak. “Don’t come to Minnesota,” he told her. The people she cared about wouldn’t be OK, and she’d always resent him for taking her away from them. Instead, he’d get a place in Seattle, take some time off from the clinic and work at Grey Sloan. “We can be together here.” Mer was not pleased. She resented being made to feel disloyal for wanting to leave in the first place, and thank you very much, “it’s my decision, so this is all very patronizing.” Once she’d cooled down, Nick admitted that her angry side… well, “I’m not gonna lie, it was kinda scary.” She also warmed to his idea — up to a point. “OK, fine,” she said, “we can stay, but just for a little while.”
The story, which is based on a script by Mark Jackson and a story by Barr, follows a sailing holiday which spirals out of control when a teenage daughter (Rush) uncovers the dark past of her mother’s new boyfriend.
The film is currently shooting in the Dominican Republic. It’s produced by Rio Luna Films’ Suza Horvat and Signature Films’ Marc Goldberg. Exec producers include Capstone Global’s Christian Mercuri and Signature’s Sarah Gabriel and Gareth Williams, as well as co-producers Brianna Johnson and Ben Jacques.
Capstone Global are handling worldwide sales and launching the project to buyers at Cannes this month.
The project is the second feature from Barr, who previously directed Blood And Money with Tom Berenger. The director was a cinematographer on projects including This Teacher, Once Upon A Time In Queens and American Bully.
Rush is represented by CAA, MGMT Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Shenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Dane is repped by CAA, Management 360 and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Burrows is repped by ICM, Berwick & Kovacik, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman. Liotta is repped by The Gersh Agency, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Viewpoint. Barr is repped by Zero Gravity Management.
Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew are set to reprise their roles as Jackson and April in Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 18 finale on May 26, Deadline reports.
This will mark the longtime co-stars’ first joint appearance on the show in more than a year. Last May, Drew returned to help set up Williams’ departure from the show as Jackson asked his former wife to uproot her life in Seattle and move to Boston so that he could be close to daughter Harriet as he ran his family’s foundation there. Only then did he — and we — learn that since last we had seen April, she had split from husband Matthew.
May is going to be a busy month for Grey’s Anatomy comebacks. As we reported in early April, Kate Walsh is set to make another appearance as Addison in the Thursday, May 5 episode.
The actress — who played the first Mrs. McDreamy from the ABC drama’s Season 1 finale through Season 3 before headlining her own spinoff, Private Practice — already scrubbed back in for a two-episode arc in October of last year. Though her character was in Seattle to perform a groundbreaking uterine transplant, she also schooled Grey Sloan’s residents, taking a particular shine to Levi, reconnected with old pal Amelia and struggled to make peace with the fact that her ex really, truly was gone.
The former “Grey’s Anatomy” actress — who was “blacklisted” from Hollywood amid claims she was “difficult” and “unprofessional” — is now being praised by her former co-star, Ellen Pompeo.
Heigl, 43, starred alongside Pompeo, 52, on six seasons of the ABC medical drama before she quit the series in 2010 after publicly complaining about long hours on set.
“I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working — and she was 100% right,” Pompeo said Wednesday in a new episode of her podcast, “Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo.”
“Had she said that today, she’d be a complete hero,” Pompeo continued. “But she’s ahead of her time. [She] made a statement about our crazy hours and, of course, let’s slam a woman and call her ungrateful.”
Heigl and Pompeo are pictured together in 2007.
Pompeo further said Heigl was “f – – king ballsy” for speaking out, adding that “she was telling the truth. She wasn’t lying.”
Back in 2009, Heigl famously appeared on “The David Letterman Show”, where she spoke about the long hours she was working on the Shonda Rhimes series.
“I’m gonna keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them,” Heigl told Letterman, claiming she had just worked a “17-hour day,” which she thought was “cruel and mean.”
Heigl and Pompeo are pictured on "Grey's Anatomy" with co-stars Justin Chambers and Sandra Oh.
Heigl exited the show the following year amid allegations that she was continually clashing with execs.
Prior to leaving “Grey’s Anatomy,” Heigl’s movie career was blossoming, with roles in hit films such as “Knocked Up,” “27 Dresses” and “Life As We Know It.”
However, the actress’ career suffered in the wake of her “Grey’s Anatomy” exit, with a producer telling the Hollywood Reporter in a 2013 article that she was “difficult” and “not worth it.”
Last year, Heigl hit back in a profile with the Washington Post, discussing how her career had suffered because of her public complaints.
“I may have said a couple of things you didn’t like, but then that escalated to, ‘She’s ungrateful,’ then that escalated to, ‘She’s difficult,’ and that escalated to, ‘She’s unprofessional,'” she stated.
The outspoken star refused to be silenced, adding: “What is your definition of difficult? Somebody with an opinion that you don’t like? … That s – – t pisses me off.”
The comedy-drama, starring Patrick J. Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jesse Williams, will now run through Saturday, June 11.
The extension, announced today by producer Second Stage Theater, comes just days after Take Me Out opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews on April 4.
Directed by Scott Ellis, Take Me Out also features cast members Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Brandon J. Dirden, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks.
The play charts the aftermath when a big-time baseball star (Williams) comes out as gay.
The docs, obtained by TMZ, say Jesse's original payments of $40,000 a month have been "temporarily modified" to $6,413 ... following last month's request from the actor.
As you'll recall, he asked for his monthly payments to be reduced since his switch from TV to Broadway profoundly affected his bottom line ... telling the court he was currently earning $1,668 per week on Broadway with the production "Take Me Out."
As we reported, Jesse and ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee reached a child custody agreement at the end of February ... the judge denied her request to reduce his physical time with the kids.
This has been one of the bitterest divorces in Hollywood.
Once Jesse's show wraps in the summer, the two will be back in court to deal with the remaining issues in their case.
Station 19 (4.4 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating), Grey’s (4.1 mil/0.6) and Big Sky (2.6 mil/0.3) were all steady in the demo.
Over on NBC, Law & Order (3.8 mil/0.4) hit revival lows, SVU (4.2 mil/0.5) appears to have matched its all-time demo low, and Organized Crime (2.9 mil/0.4) dipped to series lows.
The CW’s Walker (920K/0.1) and Legacies (390K/0.1) Both dropped a few eyeballs.
In Week 2 and without a fresh Ghosts lead-in, CBS’ How We Roll (2.9 mil/0.3) dropped a buncha viewers yet held steady in the demo; the terminal Bull (3.7 mil/0.2) followed with series lows. Lastly, Fox’s MasterChef Junior (2 mil/0.3) hit season lows, while Call Me Kat (1.8 mil/0.3) and Welcome to Flatch (940K/0.2) were both up in viewers/steady in the demo.
‘GO IMPRESS SOMEBODY’ | As the episode began, Bailey psyched herself up for what promised to be a particularly trying day. Nick arrived at Grey Sloan via Catherine’s private jet and limo with a kidney for transplant. Helm visited Levi’s mom’s to tell him that he had to show up for the assessment to help save the residency program. “If you have any fight in you, any at all,” she pleaded, “get up.” Back at the hospital, Bailey and Richard prepped their colleagues for their interviews. But no, Maggie was told, they could not be told who had complained about the program. (We’d find out soon enough.) Richard was scheduled to be interviewed first, but he bailed — it was time for his physician assessment… by David and Kai, of all people!
On grand rounds, the residents learned from Mer and Nick that the aforementioned kidney was being donated to a brain-dead patient. Wait, what? A pig kidney. Suddenly, the whippersnappers were plenty into the groundbreaking procedure. If it worked, it would be bigger than big! When the brain-dead patient’s wife showed up at the hospital, she was desperate to see him. But if she entered the room, it would be game over for the procedure. So Nick just held her as she cried. Sadder still, it soon seemed like the procedure hadn’t worked.
‘YOU’RE TRYING TO POACH MEREDITH GREY!’ | Before Richard’s assessment, Amelia wished him luck, in so doing, revealing that Kai had blabbed about it to her. Alone with her new lover, Amelia didn’t exactly say to lie about the results, but she did impress upon Kai that it was important to the hospital that he pass. As his testing got underway, he seemed to do well. Even David assured Richard that slowing down a little was very different from being a danger in the O.R. But as they talked about the difficulty of finding a replacement for doctors as good as them, Richard deduced that David was trying to steal away Mer. You betcha! “The offer nearly broke the clinic’s budget,” Hamilton admitted.
At Levi’s mom’s, Schmitt confronted his mother after discovering that she had posted all over the Internet, blaming Grey Sloan for him killing a patient while he was still basically a trainee. It wasn’t his fault, she argued, it was theirs for putting him in that situation. And just like that, she went tumbling down a flight of stairs! And right when Levi seemed like he was regaining his spunk! Immediately, he called 911, but it soon became clear that he’d have to leap into action himself before the ambulance arrived. Needing counsel, he rang Richard, interrupting his assessment. With Webber on the line, Levi cut into his mother to save her life. Just then, the ambulance got there to rush Mama Schmitt to Grey Sloan.
‘MY HUSBAND LEFT ME AND I HAD A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN’ | As the accreditation team toured the hospital with Bailey, they happened upon the residents cheering over the opportunity to work with Meredith — a rare opportunity, noted an assessor. As the interviews got underway, Maggie and Winston were grilled about their relationship, including the one that the team imagined that they’d had when she was his teacher. Owen and Teddy were questioned about the deaths of soldiers exposed to burn pits. Link answered a question with a commentary on his sad, sad life as a single dad. Jo tried to sing Bailey’s praises, but the team did its best to turn her life choices against her. Jo wasn’t having it, though. She put them right in their place. Off a tip from Richard, Bailey confronted Mer about leaving Grey Sloan for Minnesota. “You’re still that same little girl who’s following her attending around, her married attending,” Miranda spat. “Why are you speaking to me this way?” Grey challenged her. Nick’s “here doing us a favor!” Suddenly, Bailey looked… dazed… like she wasn’t sure what was going on.
‘IT’S ALL MY FAULT!’ | As the hour neared its conclusion, Meredith marveled at the way Bailey had come at her. “I do love her,” Grey told Nick. “I do not like her very much right now, but I do love her.” Just then, Jordan reported that the brain-dead patient had taken a turn… not for the better, exactly, but it looked like the procedure might have worked after all. Nearby, Maggie was able to assure Bailey that she hadn’t had another cardiac event. But she was headed for one if she kept going full-steam the way she was. Along the way, Bailey accidentally let slip that Mer was possibly moving to Minnesota. Outside, Link happened upon Amelia and Kai talking, leading to one of the more awkward introductions ever. Thankfully, at that moment, Levi arrived in the ambulance with his mom. Schitt quickly explained to Webber that his mom had been the one that had put the residency program in danger, then sobbed in his mentor’s arms… as an assessor looked on.
‘THE SENSE OF FAMILY IS COMPLETELY PALPABLE’ | Finally, Bailey and Richard flashed back to bygone days at Grey Sloan as he met with the accreditation team. At the same time, Levi talked to David. “When I was a resident, I thought saving a life was the highest calling I could aspire to,” said Webber, “then I started teaching.” Schmitt wanted David to know that, no matter what Richard’s tests revealed, he was the best. Even just that day, he’d helped Schmitt save his mother’s life. “I don’t even want to think what could have happened without him.” If the accreditation team wanted Richard to step down to keep the program going, although he didn’t want to, he would. With that, Richard went and finished David and Kai’s tests — nailing them. Amelia then happily reported that Mama Schmitt was going to make it. “Not everyone gets another chance in the O.R.,” David told Richard. “Take advantage.” Pulling herself together, Bailey offered to show the assessors around some more. However, there was no need. Grey Sloan’s surgical program was one of the best they’d ever seen. But — uh-oh, there was a “but” — the hospital didn’t have enough doctors to maintain a residency program. So it would be put on probation and given a chance to make changes. If Bailey couldn’t do so, and fast, the program would be shut down — on her watch. At least Nick’s transplant had been a success, and he was at last able to let the poor brain-dead guy’s wife say goodbye. “I’m definitely ready to start over,” Mer told Nick. “I’m gonna take that offer.”
TVLine can report exclusively that Addison will reappear on Thursday, May 5 (the series’ first outing after the brief hiatus that follows this week’s installment).
The actress — who played Addison Montgomery from the ABC drama’s Season 1 finale through Season 3 before headlining her own spinoff, Private Practice — already scrubbed back in for a two-episode arc in February of this year. Though Derek’s first wife was in Seattle to perform a groundbreaking uterine transplant, she also schooled Grey Sloan’s residents, taking a particular shine to Levi, reconnected with old pal Amelia and struggled to make peace with the fact that her ex really, truly was gone.
Since Private Practice closed up shop in 2013, Walsh has worked more or less non-stop, starring in the short-lived Bad Judge and appearing on such series as 13 Reasons Why, The Umbrella Academy and Emily in Paris. When she spoke with TVLine about a potential Addison return back in 2017, she said, “I feel like we wrapped it up.”
She then hastened to add, “I’m not saying if [series creator] Shonda [Rhimes] was like, ‘We’re gonna do a very special episode of Grey’s where… ‘ [that I wouldn’t do it]. But she really consciously, we did it all. We had the spinoff, and we had all that. It was an amazing experience and journey.” Thankfully, it’s one that turned out to still be ongoing.
Elsewhere on CBS, Young Sheldon‘s 100th episode (6.6 mil/0.5), United States of Al (4.8 mil/0.4) and Bull (4 mil/0.3) all dipped in the demo, while Ghosts (6 mil/0.5) was steady and landed in a four-way tie for the nightly demo win.
Elsewhere, with all of the Laws and every single one of the Orders in rerun mode….
THE CW | Walker (979K/0.1) and Legacies (421K/0.1) respectively gained 18 and 61 percent in viewers, with the latter serving up its second-largest audience of the season. All told, The CW had its most watched Thursday since Jan. 22.
FOX | MasterChef Junior (1.9 mil/0.4), Call Me Kat (1.5 mil/0.3) and Welcome to Flatch (830K/0.2) all dropped some eyeballs while holding steady in the demo.
ABC | Station 19 (4.3 mil/0.5) and Grey’s Anatomy (3.9 mil/0.5) both dipped, while “bubble” show Big Sky (2.5 mil/0.3) held steady.
“I will always remain one of Grey’s Anatomy’s biggest fans,” according to a statement provided to Deadline. “I loved the show from day one and had the honor to write for it since season 11. The proudest moment of my career was watching survivors of rape receive the episode ‘Silent All These Years.’ Grey’s Anatomy is one big-hearted, brilliant family. As hard as it is to take some time away right now, I know it is more important that I focus on my own family and my health. I’m immensely grateful to Disney, ABC, and Shondaland for allowing me to do so and for supporting me through this very difficult time.”
Earlier this month, The Ankler questioned Finch’s medical history and some of her past claims like how she was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, how she lost a kidney and part of her leg but was then misdiagnosed, and how she had endured verbal and sexual abuse by a male director while writing for The Vampire Diaries.
The Los Angeles law firm of Lavely & Singer, which represents Finch, said that “Ms. Finch will not disclose her private health matters. Likewise, she will not speak about her pending divorce from her estranged wife, Jennifer Beyer, or comment on any statements that Ms. Beyer may have made to third parties about Ms. Finch.”
Besides writing for Grey’s, Finch was a prolific freelancer who shared her personal medical stories with outlets like Elle, The Hollywood Reporter and the Shondaland website. Her previous credits include Vampire Diaries, No Ordinary Family and True Blood. She joined Grey’s Anatomy in 2015.
‘HE PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T GET ME FIRED’ | As “Road Trippin’” began, Maggie and Winston presented to Team Grey Sloan about Fierce Fernanda, a 13-year-old who was about to undergo the very rare Ross Procedure. The youngster was about to arrive in Seattle by RV. The only question was, who would be scrubbing in with the marrieds? Nearby, Amelia refused to allow Owen to return to work for two more weeks. And at Mer’s house, she and Zola, both suffering from colds, were spending the day in. “You sound gross,” said Bailey when she called. And Richard didn’t want to fill in until he’d been assessed. “You are fine,” Miranda assured him. “We all have good days, bad days… ” He couldn’t tap out during a physician shortage! Watch me, he all but said. After being chosen to scrub in with Maggie and Winston, Helm was beside herself. But the couple soon had a failed aortic dissection to deal with. Ack! It wasn’t that at all! It turned out to be Winston’s prankster brother, Wendell (Rome Flynn, whom you surely recognized from How to Get Away With Murder). Soon, tensions rose as Winston noted that Wendell hadn’t even RSVP’d to his and Maggie’s wedding. Wendell had good news, though: He was now a pharmaceutical rep. And he could keep himself busy while the newlyweds treated Fierce Fernanda.
When the RV arrived, Fernanda was already in trouble. Like, so much that she immediately passed out. As the family blamed themselves for letting Fernanda and her brother stop to sight-see, Dad experienced troubling back pain. Gee, when it rains, it pours! Soon, Maggie and Winston discovered that Fernanda’s delayed arrival had left her condition critical. He advised that they change course but would support whatever his wife decided. Which was… a variation of the Ross Procedure involving cutting the girl’s heart in half. “She could go into complete heart block,” Maggie admitted. But she hoped that Fernanda’s parents would continue to trust her. It was, the doc said, the best option to replace her valve. Outside, Winston tried to calm Fernanda’s brother, who confessed that their family was falling apart trying to take care of her. It felt like they were being punished for taking a couple of days to try to be a normal family. So if she didn’t make it, neither would they. Before surgery, Maggie assured Winston that as terrifying as the operation was, she could handle it. But she needed him in there with her. Did she need to call Teddy instead? In response, he opened up about his father and the way his mother had used the money for her cancer treatment to bail him out when his drinking landed him behind bars. That had started Winston having panic attacks, and that day, it had left him scared that Wendell was going to begin the pattern all over again. “We have a whole family to save,” he said. And they would, because his wife is a genius.
‘SHE THINKS O.R. 2 HAS A BUZZING SOUND, BUT IT DOESN’T’ | When Owen noticed how shorthanded Bailey was, he offered to pitch in and be her substitute chief for the day to allow her to scrub in. And he seemed to thrive in the role — though he did have to remind Helm that he’d been chief of surgery for five years. Hearing this, Wendell pounced, pitching the idea of sending defibrillators in drones ahead of ambulances. He even charmed Amelia, having read about her work. “You should come to dinner,” she told him. Privately, Wendell defended himself to Winston — he was just doing his job. “Some of these people are my bosses,” Winston noted. How did he think Wendell had gotten the job? He’d used Winston’s name, even Richard’s, even though he’d never met him. Their father had told Wendell not to come, he said. “Guess Dad was right.” Snap. Shortly, Owen was called on the carpet for complaints that had been lodged against Grey Sloan’s residency program. And why was the rep even talking to him instead of Bailey or Richard? Suddenly, his fun day was a whole lot less fun. No wonder the job brought Bailey so little joy!
‘YOU DO REALIZE THAT I’M NOT LESS PREGNANT THAN THE LAST TIME WE TRIED THIS SURGERY’ | With Maggie busy with Fernanda, Teddy took over on Laura’s case with Jo… just as Todd brought his crush a giant fruit basket. Um, it was actually for his sister. Except that she couldn’t eat before surgery. In that case, sure, it was for Jo. That’s the ticket! As Teddy observed, amused, Jo turned down Todd’s request for a date. Off that, she assured Altman that it was over with Link. Wait, “you slept with Link?!?” Teddy blurted out. She didn’t remember s–t from their day-drinking session. “Did I tell you anything at the bar?” Teddy asked. Later, Jo shared with Laura that she was studying for a major exam — in other words, if there was one person in the world who could help, it was her.
‘WELCOME BACK, FIERCE FERNANDA’ | As the hour neared its conclusion, Maggie and Winston threw their Hail Mary to save Fernanda — and pulled it off. “It worked,” Pierce happily reported to the tearful family. “So far, so good.” Elsewhere in the hospital, Todd brought Jo flowers and study snacks — no fruit, though, because “I thought I overfruited earlier.” Somehow, he managed to leave the room without kissing her because people come to libraries to study, not neck. (Since when?!?) Back at Mer’s, she and Zola huddled up under blankets. “Is it weird that I wish we got sick together more?” asked Zola. “Yes, but I was thinking the same thing,” Grey admitted. Zola noticed that her mom was ignoring David’s calls and not answering Nick’s texts. So Mer admitted that she’d been offered a job in Minnesota, one that would mean relocating. “Would the job save a lot of lives?” asked Zola. “Maybe,” Mom said. And if it meant that she’d see more of Nick and that would make her happy, Zola said that she’d follow Mer anywhere. Finally, Winston admitted to Wendell that he blamed his brother for their mom’s death. “I know that’s not fair,” he added. “Her cancer, it took us both out… and she would be so angry if she knew that we let it take us away from each other.” With that, Winston admitted that he missed Wendell and even offered to introduce him to some people at the hospital. When Bailey returned to her office at day’s end, her mood light, Owen soured it by filling her in that the residency program was… ack! In danger of being shut down!
According to ABC’s description of Wendell, the character is “a typical younger sibling with a mischievous sense of humor — he’s hoping to impress Winston with his new sales rep role at a medical technology company.” The logline of Thursday’s episode suggests that the physician shortage at Grey Sloan Memorial, prompted by the pandemic, is starting to become a true crisis — though it’s unclear whether “Grey’s Anatomy” viewers will learn more about Winston’s recently revealed expertise about snakes (or how Wendell might feel about snakes).
After making his television debut on CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” from 2015-2017, and winning a Daytime Emmy for younger actor in a drama series, Flynn has recurred on the final season of Netflix’s “Dear White People” as David and on Season 2 of the streamer’s “Raising Dion,” which dropped in February. Flynn is also an R&B singer.
As Gabriel on “How to Get Away With Murder,” Flynn played the son of Sam Keating (Tom Verica) who was also a law student of Annalise’s (Viola Davis), and became enmeshed in the twisty, murderous doings of ABC’s #TGIF show until its conclusion. Additionally, he was a series regular on Gloria Calderón Kellett’s comedy “With Love,” which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in December.
Flynn is represented by Weiner Dale Management, Innovative Artists, Emily Downs at Meyer & Downs and imPRint.
The men’s college hoops’ strongest half-hour came at 9/8c, when the crowd eclipsed 10.5 million viewers and the demo number rose to a 2.6.
Elsewhere, with NBC and The CW in rerun mode:
ABC | Station 19 (4.4 mil/0.6) and Grey’s Anatomy (4.1 mil/0.6) both ticked up, in viewers and in the demo, while Big Sky (2.8 mil/0.3) only added eyeballs.
FOX | MasterChef Junior (2 mil/0.4) was steady, Call Me Kat (1.9 mil/0.3) dipped and Welcome to Flatch (975K/0.2) slipped beneath a million viewers.
‘NOT EVERYONE BELONGS IN AN ER’ | As “Put the Squeeze on Me” began, Bailey and Ben relished having Pru now in their custody (via an agreement struck with the Millers during Station 19). Warren also relished teasing his wife about Jordan’s kiss. (Who wouldn’t?) At Jo’s, she and Luna were dealing with Link and Scout no longer residing there. At Richard and Catherine’s, she marveled that he was still calling Levi (to no avail). And at Owen and Teddy’s, Megan revealed that their dining room was now her brother’s gym. In Minnesota, David, before The Clinic’s staff, extended an offer to Meredith to stay on permanently and run the Grey Center. Needless to say, that was music to Nick’s ears. At Grey Sloan, Jordan awkwardly reported for duty on Bailey’s service. Just then, a fella came running in saying that his boyfriend was in the car with Gigi… who turned out to be a Burmese python! With that, we were off and running!
Back in Minnesota, Mer told Nick that she was done with the Parkinson’s research. So “what if I just wanna go home and spend time with my kids?” She could still do that, her beau said. Though David understood that she felt ambushed by his public job offer, he nonetheless tempted her with the Grey Center’s just-approved budget and the number that would be her salary. Alone with Nick, Mer said that she wasn’t ungrateful for the offer, but it complicated things. She hadn’t realized that the millions David was offering could help Nick’s research. What? he said. “You think I’m in a relationship with you to get grant funding?” It seemed to him that she took good things and then looked for ways to make them harder than they needed to be. She could have a life there with him. But the choice was hers to make. Later, Kai apologized to Mer for David’s ambush and expressed their hope that he hadn’t scared her away. And yes, they were seeing Amelia. And yes, David was impossible — but he’d also been super supportive when they’d changed their name and pronouns.
‘I HAD A QUESTIONABLE PINEAPPLE THIS MORNING, SO IT COULD BE THAT’ | After Taryn retrieved Richard to consult on the snake case and she saw what they were dealing with, she just said, “No, no, no” and backed the hell away. Turned out, Gigi had been the patient’s second-grade class’ pet… and she’d just kept growing and growing. When Maggie discovered how into snakes Winston was, she gasped, “Who are you?” Someone whose knowledge of snakes was going to be a great asset, it soon seemed. Rubbing alcohol sprayed around Gigi’s mouth would irritate her and make her loosen her bite, Winston explained. So Richard sprayed… Oh, no. Actually, Bailey jumped in to spray some rubbing alcohol instead. Once Gigi released the patient, Link and Jordan uncoiled the snake and helped the man out of the car (leaving the snake inside). Soon, a CT of the patient revealed that his abdominal organs had been squeezed into his chest cavity. Operating on the patient, Winston mortified Bailey by telling Jordan about his crush on his mentor — to whom he was now married. Things went so badly in the O.R. that the surgery had to be put off till the next day. But the patient’s condition took such a sudden turn for the worse en route to the ICU that it couldn’t wait.
‘I HAVE NOW MENTIONED MY PHD TWICE, AND YOU THINK I’M GROSS’ | Elsewhere, Jo and Link admitted that they missed one another. “For the record,” he added, “I blame Amelia.” She ruined everything in his life, so why not his friendship with Jo, too? Hilariously, Jo liked “Petty Link.” When Maggie and Jo were called in to treat a pregnant woman named Laurie — weak heart valve — we also met her concerned brother, Todd (Astin). Immediately, Laurie took a shine to Jo and tried to set her up with Todd. But he managed to charm her pretty thoroughly himself. Operating on Laurie, Jo insisted to Maggie that she couldn’t possibly deal with dating while also working and raising Luna. It was touch-and-go in the O.R. for a minute, but Jo saved the day — and Laurie. (Owing to the complication, her actual procedure would have to be performed another day.) When Jo reported to Todd that his sister’s heart had briefly stopped, but she was fine, the twosome turned it into an opportunity to flirt some more. “We’re not weird Game of Thrones siblings,” he made clear. That being the case, she asked him out for a drink at Joe’s with an E.
‘YOU’RE EASIER TO READ THAN LEO’S DR. SEUSS BOOKS’ | Before Megan and Farouk headed back West, she made sure to insist that Owen and Teddy talk about whatever was troubling them as soon as their house was no longer full. “Fix it,” she ordered on her way out the door. “Love you.” Once the marrieds were alone, they bickered about his PT before they full-on started fighting about the way Owen was helping dying veterans pass on their own terms. (Lord, they’re exhausting, said my household in unison.) Teddy was still for death with dignity but was livid that, without a word to her, Owen had made a decision that put their family at risk forevermore. During the height of their argument, she walked away, and miraculously, he walked after her. Who needs PT?
‘TRUST ME THAT I WILL TALK YOU OUT OF DOING SOMETHING STUPID’ | As the episode neared its conclusion, Amelia tried to be friendly to Link, but he wasn’t ready to make small talk. So she reminded him that he had never wanted them to end up like his parents. “I need to hate you for a little while,” he said, “because when I can’t hate you, I love you, and we can’t have that, right?” Alas, no. The guy Gigi hugged way too hard was still alive at the end of the hour, but Bailey could only promise his partner that they’d do everything that they could. “What you did today was an education on so many levels,” Jordan told her. But he assured her that his crush would go no further — even though she’d sent him a signal. Wait, what? “I see you, and I felt it,” he said. As Jo was heading out on her date, Link was dying to unwind with her. (Cue his sad look as she left the hospital with another guy. To be clear, that is not a picture of his sad look.)
At Owen and Teddy’s, she admitted that she was as exhausted as we were by them. She wasn’t going to leave him, but she needed to know that she and the kids came first. Next time, whatever he was going to do, he had to, had to, had to come to her before he did it. Deal? Deal. Or so it seemed. At Bailey and Ben’s, she wondered aloud if they were “ignoring the snake” by sending mixed signals to people like Ingrid (from Station 19) and Jordan. “Are we feeding a life that’s squeezing our marriage to death?” she asked. Maybe, he admitted. But he wasn’t available to anyone but her. Some quality “we time” was clearly in order. At Richard and Catherine’s, he confessed to his wife that he’d made a bad call with the snake guy — maybe he was the person who didn’t belong in an ER. So he asked for an assessment to figure out whether he should hang up his stethoscope. Finally, at Mer’s house, she reunited with her kids — and at last introduced them to Nick. Biiig step. “Do you like chocolate pudding surprise?” asked Ellis. “Only if the surprise is gummy worms,” he replied. Point scored.
CBS’ primetime March Madness coverage averaged 5.3 mil and a 1.4 in prelim numbers, dominating Thursday on both counts.
Over on ABC, Station 19 (4.1 mil/0.5) and Big Sky (2.4 mil/0.2) hit demo lows, while Grey’s Anatomy (3.5 mil/0.5, read recap) slipped to an all-time audience low.
The long-delayed Season 8 premiere of Fox’s MasterChef Junior (1.9 mil/0.3) was down sharply from the show’s previous averages (2.8 mil/0.7), Call Me Kat (1.9 mil/0.3) added eyeballs while steady in the demo, and Welcome to Flatch (1 mil/0.2) debuted on par with time slot predecessor Pivoting‘s (meager) averages.
The revered writer, who is 44, is best known for penning “Silent All These Years,” a 2015 episode about a rape victim that also featured Finch in a non-speaking role as a nurse. (She’s the one leading the gurney in the clip here: Video).
According to a report in The Ankler, part of Finch’s appeal within Grey’s Anatomy producer Shondaland is how open and honest she’s been about her past medical woes. Some of her past claims included how she was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, how she lost a kidney and part of her leg but was then misdiagnosed, and how she had endured verbal and sexual abuse by a male director while writing for The Vampire Diaries.
Besides writing for Grey’s, Finch was a prolific freelancer who shared her personal medical stories with outlets like Elle, The Hollywood Reporter and the Shondaland website. A rep for Shondlanda told The Ankler, “Only Elisabeth can speak to her personal story.”
ABC is obviously walking a tightrope with its investigation since medical records are private. Finch is still an accomplished TV writer, whose previous credits include Vampire Diaries, No Ordinary Family and True Blood. She joined Grey’s Anatomy in 2015.
An ABC spokesperson declined comment.
Occurring during a Tarzana, CA location shoot for the Shonda Rhimes-created series in March 2021, the incident involving Ernest Simon Jr., an African-American Disney employee, looks to resemble far too many similar events involving L.A. police.
“March 18, 2021 began as a typical work day for Mr. Simon, who was working as a driver on the production of the popular television show Grey’s Anatomy as an employee of The Walt Disney Company’s General Entertainment Division (“Disney”),” says the suit (read it here), filed Thursday in federal court against the LAPD, top cop Michel Moore, two unnamed officers and the City of Los Angeles. “His ordinary work day, however, took a drastic turn after Mr. Simon—a thirty-one year old African American male—was targeted by LAPD police officers who, without any legal justification, initiated a racially motivated ‘high risk’ traffic stop,” reads the document, which seeks a jury trial.
The attack played out in front of a number of Gray’s crew members at the production’s base camp, with the two officers pulling out their guns and asserting the van Simon was driving was stolen. The filing notes that a production security guard and crew members informed the officers that Simon was a driver on the Gray’s team and the “van had been rented by Disney,” to seemingly no avail. Significantly, the police appeared to ignore other Black crew members’ insistence of Simon’s true status.
“Multiple LAPD police officers then forced Mr. Simon to lie prone on an asphalt lot at gunpoint for over 20 minutes, using an overwhelming and unjustified show of force against Mr. Simon that caused him to legitimately (and understandably) fear that he was going to be shot at his workplace in front of his co-workers for simply being a Black man in the wrong neighborhood,” read the suit from attorneys at Larson LLP.
“The Doe Officer Defendants’ unjustified hostility and mistreatment of Mr. Simon only ended approximately ten minutes later when another co-worker of Mr. Simon, this time a white male, spoke to Doe Officer Defendants and reiterated what the security guard, Mr. Simon, and Mr. Simon’s African American co-worker had previously told them: that the van was rented and operated by Disney and that Mr. Simon was a Disney employee who was authorized to be inside the Basecamp,” the filing says. “Only after listening to Mr. Simon’s white co-worker did Doe Officer Defendants finally release Mr. Simon from custody.”
The police displayed “malice and reckless indifference to Mr. Simon’s rights” with “racial animus and their implicit bias,” the document goes on to say.
Contacted by Deadline, an LAPD spokesperson said “the department cannot comment on pending litigation.”
Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes and series producer ABC Signature, however, had plenty to say.
“What happened to Mr. Simon was beyond unacceptable,” said Rhimes, the Grey’s and Bridgerton executive producer.
“It was another example of a broken system that puts valuable lives in danger and damages spirits,” she added. “Shondaland stands with Mr. Simon and his family in this complaint.”
The Disney-owned ABC Signature had less brevity, but similar outrage.
“On March 18 of last year, Mr. Simon, a member of our transportation team, was pulled over by Los Angeles police officers while he was working, removed roughly from his vehicle and treated in a manner that was overly aggressive and inappropriate,” the production company said in a statement. “We filed a formal request then with the LAPD for an immediate investigation into this matter and for the appropriate action to be taken promptly. We were disappointed to learn that no action was taken and support Mr. Simon in his complaint.”
In a near constant multimillion-dollar cycle of settling these types of cases with citizens injured, assaulted and even killed, the question will be whether the city that is the home of Hollywood stands behind the Blue Line on this one or steps out in to the light.
CABIN FEVER | As “The Makings of You” began, Nick ushered Mer to a magnificent “cabin” in Minnesota for a romantic getaway… where, no matter how sparkly his eyes were, she had trouble putting out of her head the report she was writing on David’s groundbreaking surgery. That is, until her beau distracted her with sex just long enough for his niece Charlotte to walk in on them with her “soulmate” Oak Silver. Once Nick and Mer got some clothes on, introductions were made, and Charlotte’s uncle wondered aloud… um, why was she so far from school? Also, why was she with an idiot like Silver, who was into micro-dosing on shrooms to get in touch with his shadow self? Over dinner, he revealed that he and Charlotte were headed to Costa Rica. She was leaving school, she announced. (Crickets.)
Once Nick found his voice, it was loud. Silver did not help. Every syllable out of his mouth just made Nick want to smack him upside the head more. Eventually, everyone went to separate corners — Nick’s involving chopping wood. “If you keep trying to control her,” Mer warned him, “you will lose her.” But she didn’t get it, he said. Owing to Charlotte’s mother, she was predisposed to making terrible decisions. Later, alone with Charlotte, Mer admitted that she reminded her a lot of herself. Charlotte wasn’t rebelling, she assured her uncle’s gf. She just wanted something new — she wasn’t becoming a train wreck like her mother. “Will you talk to him?” Charlotte asked. “You can,” Mer assured her. And with some difficulty, she did. She wanted to figure out some stuff and wanted him to trust in the job that he had done raising her. “And if I do drugs,” she cracked, “they will be plant-based.” (Tension broken.) After Charlotte and Silver left, Nick admitted that he wasn’t used to having help. If he was gonna be with Mer, he’d have to get used to it, she said. And vice versa, he shot back. They both appeared to be considering sorta career changes. She might not be able to go back to Grey Sloan and just be chief of general, she admitted. Not after working on David’s case at the clinic.
BAR NONE | At Mer’s clinic, Amelia and Kai briefly, lightly clashed over David’s withholding of his underlying condition and what could’ve been done to prevent it. Nonetheless, the spark between them was still burning brightly. After submitting their final report, Kai invited Amelia to a show that night since her flight back to Seattle didn’t leave till morning. Once at the bar, Kai stunned Amelia when it turned out that they were the headliner. And they were pretty rollicking and awesome, too. If I didn’t love them before, I had to after this. So, it seemed, did Amelia, with whom they got extremely hot and heavy post-show in a tangle of sheets. Afterwards, Kai introduced Amelia to their plants and admitted that they loved kids too much to want any. They also talked about playing the rock star on stage and challenged Amelia to see that she, too, was one. Why did she self-deprecate? It’s her shield of armor, she theorized. If she loved every part of her, she’d deserve a love that did the same.
LETTER HAVE IT | Back in Seattle, Maggie was recovering from the flu while babysitting Mer’s kids with Winston. Soon, a game of hide and seek led Zola to discover a box of the late Ellis’ stuff — including a letter for “Margaret.” After Winston shared his grief over mementos lost, Maggie mustered the courage to read her mother’s message, written after she learned that she was dying and had little time left to grapple with her mortality and mistakes. (Hello, Kate Burton!) As Ellis, appearing to Maggie, read her missive aloud, she interacted with her daughter… by the hardest. (Is anything involving Ellis ever easy?) At the same time, Winston bonded with Zola over her fears that she still might one day lose her mom. Later, they got even closer playing Emergency Room and treating Bailey’s cut.
All the while, Maggie pleaded with her vision of her mother to give her answers. Had she gone into cardio because her mother had wanted to? But Ellis was as cutting as a scalpel, damn near equating her daughter with “the inconsequential.” To Maggie’s astonishment, she learned that Ellis had chosen her adoptive parents and declined to receive updates on her. “I’m not a dinner invitation” to be accepted or declined, Maggie said. “That decision not to see you, I do not regret,” Ellis yelled. In fact, she was proud of it. Jeez! “She was exactly how Meredith described her,” Maggie cried to Winston. She understandably didn’t even want to finish reading the letter. Ultimately, though, she heard Ellis out, allowing her to express her wish that she’d been able to be “true sisters” with Mer. (Better late than never.) Aww… then a feverish Maggie saw a vision of her beloved adoptive mother, who was everything that Ellis was not.
SINCERELY YOURS | As the episode neared its conclusion, Mer admitted to Nick that — shocker — she also has a temper. She wasn’t scared that he was a hothead. “I just… when I’m falling in love, it scares me,” he said. “I don’t love the feeling of losing control.” And he was doing exactly that with Mer. Back in Seattle, Zola asked Winston if he thought her birth mother ever thought about her. He assured her that it was normal to wonder. (OK, those two are super sweet.) As Amelia packed up to leave Minnesota, Kai reminded her that she could stay. But she couldn’t — she was a mom. “I hope that part of me doesn’t scare you away,” she added. Once Mer was home, she marveled that Ellis’ letter didn’t even seem like her. “Are you glad you read it?” asked Amelia. Maggie wasn’t sure, she just felt like she should. She’d long felt like something was missing and that something was Ellis, but she didn’t think so anymore. With that, she burned the letter. (Um, shouldn’t Mer’s fire alarms have been going crazy?)
‘YOU JUST GOT AN OFFER TO GO TO SPACE?’ | Early on in “Legacy,” Bailey disclosed to her biggest fan Jordan that an old med-school friend had invited her to join them in working for NASA — a prospect made all the more appealing by Tom’s return to Grey Sloan to scrub in on David’s surgery. In other developments, Jo continued to avoid Link like the plague (but on the plus side, her hair was back to normal), and while Owen proved the old adage about doctors making the worst patients, Teddy got her day-drink on at Joe’s. When Jo ran into her there, they both decided to get sloshed. Teddy was tired of lying to her Leo and Allison that everything was A-OK and unsure whether she should’ve already called time of death on her marriage. For her part, Jo admitted that she not only had slept with but might be in love with Link. Oh, and their kids would simply have to understand that for the love of God, sometimes Mommy just needs a break and a screwdriver!
Though Nick had to miss Mer’s big day in the O.R. — send “doc pics,” he said, only realizing afterwards how it had sounded — it started off swimmingly. Grey even got the patient to agree to throw open the gallery to everyone in the hospital since it was one of the teaching variety. Before surgery, Kai demonstrated just what a terrible public speaker they are — “I chose research for a reason” — and Bailey and Jordan continued to bond over their adorkable passions. Only after the procedure was well underway did Amelia get paged to another O.R.: Owen was suffering from complications from his own recent surgery. She couldn’t go, of course. “It’s not like Shepherd’s sitting around doing Sudoku,” cracked Tom. But Amelia really wanted to run to her ex’s side — a shock to Kai. Finally, Mer reminded Amelia that all of their work would be for naught if she left the room, so Koracick, of all people, was dispatched to fix up Owen.
‘WE ALL KILL PEOPLE’ | While all of this was going on, Richard paid a visit to Levi’s mom’s basement, where Schmitt was sacked out playing video games. Webber did his best to relate to the resident formerly known as Glasses, sharing the story of a patient to whom he’d felt close, one that he’d also lost. But Levi just turned up the volume on the TV. He liked the game, he later explained, because no matter how many times he died, he always got a do-over. He could begin again as someone altogether new. Well, he could do that in medicine, too, Richard argued. He could choose a new specialty, pursue research or teaching… Pass, said Levi. In his mind, he’d already “bled out. There’s nothing left to save.” In Minnesota, Nick made it a point to meet the parents of the boy whose death had provided the liver for the transplant he’d be performing that day. He then impressed upon his resident the importance of the donor. “You cannot forget the person who gave the gifts,” he said.
Following Owen’s procedure, Teddy, no doubt hungover as hell, was by his side. When Tom had called to tell her that her husband was undergoing surgery, it had reminded her of the poor decisions she’d made when she’d been triggered. Ah, but Owen wasn’t triggered, he said. He stood by his decision to help dying veterans end their lives — a stance that it appeared might also end his marriage. Following David’s groundbreaking surgery, Kai marveled that Amelia had even considered leaving the O.R. “Then it dawned on me,” they said. “You are someone who loves her people so hard and so much that the second they are in trouble, everything else just falls away.” Luckily for Amelia, Kai found that as inspiring as infuriating. At Jo’s, a chance encounter with a naked Link led to her kissing him… then pushing him away… then saying no, of course, she didn’t want him to move out… or maybe she did?
And in the episode’s final moments, as Mer showed up on Nick’s doorstep in Minnesota, Bailey told Jordan that no, she had turned down the job offer. He then made all kinds of Stars Wars references that I didn’t get to suggest that she was making a mistake and might be the chosen one. “The only bright spot around here lately,” she said, tickled, “has been you.” With that, he kissed her! Immediately, it became clear that no, sir, that had not been what that moment called for, and he left skid marks across the parking lot as he excused himself from the situation at warp speed.
Leading out of that, SVU (4.4 mil/0.6) dipped but still landed in a four-way tie for the nightly demo win, while OC (3.1 mil/0.5) was steady.
Elsewhere:
FOX | Joe Millionaire (1.3 mil/0.2), Call Me Kat (1.2 mil/0.2) and Pivoting (720K/0.1) all hit lows.
ABC | Station 19 (4.3 mil/0.6) and Grey’s Anatomy (3.8 mil/0.6) both slipped two tenths in the demo, while Big Sky (2.3 mil/0.3) was steady (yet slipped to its smallest audience ever).
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.2 mil/0.6), Ghosts (5.4 mil/0.5) and Bull (3.9 mil/0.3) all dipped a tenth in the demo, with Bull matching its series low. Swapping time slots this week, B Positive (4.6 mil/0.4) was steady, but United States of Al (3.8 mil/0.3) dropped to series lows leading out of Ghosts. Huh.
THE CW | Walker (910K/0.1) returned down a few viewers, while Legacies (360K/0.1) rebounded from last week’s all-time audience low.
Deadline has confirmed that Astin will appear as Todd Earnes. Charming and handsome with a gentle soul, Eames holds a PhD in environmental sciences and loves a good spreadsheet. He is close with his sister, who is a pregnant patient at Grey Sloan Memorial. He will first appear as Todd in “Put the Squeeze on Me,” which will air on March 24.
News of latest addition to the cast comes nearly a week after the series’ midseason return. Deadline exclusively learned that this week’s upcoming episode will bid farewell to Richard Flood, who appeared Dr. Cormac Hayes for three seasons.
Astin recently starred alongside Jane Levy in NBC’s Emmy-winning Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist as Max. His recent television credits also include Roku’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Astin starred as Jake in the Pitch Perfect opposite Anna Kendrick. Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld and Adam Devine. His additional credits include Graves, Hot Air, Wreck It Ralph, Ground Floor and Girls.
Flood — whose previous TV credits included Crossing Lines and Shameless — first appeared on Grey’s midway through Season 16 and was promoted to series regular starting with Season 17.
“Having three years on the show felt right for me,” Flood told our sister site Deadline, “and I think that the arc of the character with all the developments in the story was probably coming to its natural end, which was great. I was very happy that everybody felt the same.”
In the lonnnnng-running medical drama’s March 3 episode, and as hinted the week prior, Flood’s Cormac followed through on his decision to resign from Grey Sloan, conflicted as he was about colleague Owen’s side gig helping terminally ill veterans end their suffering/lives — but not before Mer called him on his plan to bolt without saying goodbye.
“’Cause if I said goodbye to you, Mer, I might not ever leave,” he admitted. “You made me believe that there might actually be life after Abigail.”
Moments later, in the parking lot, Teddy pleaded with Cormac to tell her what her husband Owen wouldn’t, about the recent car accident. But, since Owen had essentially saved Hayes’ life, he kept his lips zipped. “Goodbye, Altman.”
Speaking to what might have been between Cormac and Meredith, Flood told Deadline that if he had stayed, “I suppose you’d wonder would they have gotten together, would they not? If they had got together properly, would it have worked? I think the fans may have liked to have seen more of what that dynamic might have been — it’s certainly, the response I’m getting — but it’s not really for me to say.”
‘I’M GOING TO KEEP TELLING HIM THE TRUTH’ | As “Living in a House Divided” began, we were headed toward the Morbidity and Mortality Conference to evaluate what went wrong during the surgery that killed Devon the Podcaster. (Levi didn’t wait for an attending — case closed?) At the hospital, Maggie shared with Winston that she’d yet to get to speak to her father about the incident. Bailey, what with having to run the M&M, assigned Mer a surgery. Levi was expected to present but arrived looking like he was likelier to be checked into the hospital than anything else. Still, he managed to get the job done, at which point Bailey encouraged — insisted upon — questions. Taryn piped up to say that at the point at which Levi asked for the stapler, everything looked good. But, as Bailey was quick to note, that wasn’t a question. Ultimately, Schmitt broke down. “I killed him,” he cried before running out of the room. At that point, Richard was tasked with taking Levi’s place.
In other words, he was seated squarely on the hot seat. Maggie and Dr. Lin hit him especially hard — so hard that Catherine chimed in to tell Michelle, “This is a teaching tool, my dear,” not some risky cure for cancer. In Richard’s corner, Winston asked if this was an M&M on what had happened to the patient or an M&M on the Webber Method. Uncomfortable as hell, but Devon would surely agree, needed. Afterwards, Catherine put the decision as to whether to continue with the Webber Method in Bailey’s hands. Once more, Miranda threw a surgery onto Mer’s packed schedule. Grey did her one better, saying that she knew someone who could pitch in, too. (Hey, Nick!) In a moment alone, Maggie and Winston found themselves on very opposite sides when it came to the virtues and dangers of the Webber Method.
‘FOR ALL I KNOW, HE’S GOT A SECRET WIFE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY’ | In other developments, Teddy beseeched Owen to tell her what went down in that SUV between him and Cormac and was upset to find that he wouldn’t spill even a drop of tea. Catching McWidow in the halls, Mer called him on his plan to leave suddenly without saying goodbye. “’Cause if I said goodbye to you, Mer, I might not ever leave,” he admitted. “You made me believe that there might actually be life after Abigail.” With that, he was off… or so it seemed. In the parking lot, Teddy pleaded with Cormac to tell her what her husband wouldn’t. But, since Owen had essentially saved Hayes’ life, he kept his lips zipped. “Goodbye, Altman.” Next, Teddy questioned Megan, who easily imagined Owen doing something heroic and stupid. Whatever he’s doing, said Hunt’s sister, “he must believe that it’s his only option.”
‘I’VE BEEN ON A DIET SINCE 1992’ | Off Link and Jo’s night of passion, he was delighted. “You were right,” he told her. “This is fun.” But of course, it was more than that for her. At Grey Sloan, Link treated a teacher named Lila… badly. He prescribed her a cortisone shot and advised her to lose weight. Only when she walked away did he notice that Zander had been right and she needed an MRI. Snap outta that sex fog, Link! Perez even called his attending on the carpet in the O.R., justifiably so, for making a snap judgment about Lila and her weight.
Meanwhile, Amelia treated Francesca, who was back in the hospital with back pain… and quickly called a GYN consult: Carina and Jo, who was immediately awkward around Link’s babymama. In no time, Carina deduced that maybe it was endometriosis. OK by the patient. She had things to do — in other words, her boyfriend. Sensing that Link was confiding in Jo about their split, Amelia asked her to be normal for the sake of their patients. Off that conversation, Carina realized that Jo was having sex with a friend about whom she felt more than friendship. If you love him, you have to tell him, Carina advised. That, or stop having sex with him. “Is there an option No. 3?” asked Jo’s expression.
’HOW DID I GET DRAGGED INTO THIS?’ | When Maggie approached Richard after having “publicly humiliated” him, she tried to suggest that she knew what it was like for a surgeon to lose a patient over a mistake. Richard assumed that she did: “Remember what happened to my niece… Sadie?” Maggie argued that the Webber Method hadn’t been properly vetted, sending her father into a righteous rage. Afterwards, Maggie unloaded on Mer, admitting that Richard felt like they’d all abandoned him. Later, Maggie and Mer joined in Webber’s private conversation — private AA meeting? — with Amelia. They wanted him to feel their presence and explain themselves. The surgeon holding the scalpel is ultimately at fault, Maggie agreed. But there were other factors, and they deserved to be scrutinized from every single angle. “These students are unlike any I’ve ever taught,” Richard said. He’d wanted to give them something to be excited about. “They just need you,” then, said Mer.
‘TELL ME WHAT YOU JUST TOOK OUT OF MY HUSBAND’S CAR’ | As the hour rounded the corner and headed for the finish line, Amelia and Maggie noticed Mer talking to Nick. Needless to say, they were keenly interested. “I have a thing,” said Mer, “to go do.” Before skedaddling, Amelia admitted to Maggie that “I have a thing,” too. At Jo’s, she… struggled. “Link,” she finally said, “we shouldn’t have sex.” Though he gave her “the look” and asked if she was sure, she was. (As if.)
Approaching Richard, Bailey said that she had let him down when he introduced the Webber Method. “I should’ve said more” about concerns that she had. What’s more, she wanted to suspend the Webber Method permanently. He was OK with that. Bailey had, in fact, said something, he reminded her. “And I had my wife overrule you.” Finally, Nico showed up at Levi’s mom’s house, begging him to come back to work, lest he lose his residency spot. In response, Schmitt dumped him. As Nick was due to head back to Minnesota, he and Mer expressed how little they enjoyed having to be parted. Catching Noah’s wife in Owen’s room, Teddy refused to drop her investigation; she went after the widow and busted her retrieving the life-ending drugs from Hunt’s car.
In the episode, Hayes, in street clothes, bumped into Meredith (Pompeo) at Grey Sloan Memorial after he’d handed Bailey his resignation last week, telling her that he was returning to Ireland with his kids.
“So what, your whole life flashed before your eyes, and you realized you are unhappy and need to quit?,” Meredith asked him.
“Something like that,” replied Hayes who actually resigned after learning Owen’s (Kevin McKidd) secret that he had been assisting terminally veterans who want to end their lives. (He had already been reevaluating his life and priorities.)
Hayes confirmed to Meredith that his plan had been to leave without saying goodbye.
“Because if I say goodbye to you Grey, I might not actually leave,” he said. “In all the years since Abigail died, you are the first person who got it. You made me feel less alone. You helped me believe that there might even be life after Abigail. Thank you for that.”
Check back after the end of the broadcast for Deadline exclusive Q&A with Flood. The Irish actor joined Grey’s Anatomy in Season 16 as a recurring and was promoted to series regular in Season 17.
“He is great, I love working with Richard,” Flood’s Grey’s Anatomy co-star Kevin McKidd recently told Deadline. “He is such a great actor to work with. He is so talented, he is so committed and such a nice guy. I’m Scottish, he is Irish so we are basically blood brothers, essentially, there is a long, deep connection between the Scotts and the Irish. So I’m very sad personally to see him go. I think he is a great actor he’s had a great career for these years, and he’s going to continue that. I’m excited to see what he is doing next.
So says Sandra Oh’s newly tormented character in Umma. And she should know. Check out the trailer for the Sam Raimi-produced horror flick above and the poster below.
Umma — the Korean word for “mother” — follows Amanda (Killing Eve star Oh) and her daughter (Fivel Stewart), who are living a quiet life of beekeeping on an American farm with no phones. But when the remains of her estranged mother arrive from Korea, Amanda becomes haunted by the fear of turning into Mom. And with good reason.
“Her anger will grow as long as she remains in this box,” Amanda ominously is told by the man who brings her mom’s ashes. When her daughter begins asking questions about the grandma she never knew, Amanda says: “I remember so much screaming. … I didn’t want you to know her.”
Cue the terror.
Iris K. Shim wrote the screenplay and makes her feature directing debut on the PG-13 pic, which also stars Dermot Mulroney, MeeWha Alana Lee, Odeya Rush and Tom Yi. It’s the first project produced by Raimi and Zainab Azizi of Raimi Productions through their development deal with Starlight Media.
Sony’s Stage 6 Films opens the creepshow on March 18 exclusively in theaters.
According to docs, the exes were in court last week when the judge signed off on a few custody modifications. Although Aryn and Jesse maintain shared legal custody ... the judge denied her request to reduce his physical time with the kids -- presumably because he's gonna be spending a lot of time in NYC.
The former "Grey's Anatomy" star was hanging at a Knicks game back in January, but he'll be working in the Big Apple soon ... starring in the Broadway production, "Take Me Out" from March thru June.
As a result, the judge is now giving Jesse 4 consecutive days with the children -- 8-year-old Sadie and 6-year-old Maceo -- in NYC each month, and 2 of those days can be weekends.
Talk about a sign of the times ... the agreement also addresses how they will handle COVID disputes. The judge granted Jesse "tie-breaking authority" for 2022 if, for some reason, he and Aryn can't agree on things like vaccinations or face masks for the kids.
One more thing ... no flip-flopping on parenting time for Jesse. At Aryn's request, the judge agreed the actor can't cancel and then "uncancel" his scheduled daddy time.
Once Jesse's play closes in the summer, they'll be back in court to modify custody again.
And because someone will wonder: L&O‘s 2010 series finale did 7.6 mil/1.9.
Leading out of that, SVU (5 mil/0.7) ticked up from its last fresh outing, while Organized Crime (3.4 mil/0.5) was steady.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.8 mil/0.7) and Grey’s Anatomy (4.4 mil/0.7) both returned from their long winter break up, while Big Sky (2.3 mil/0.3) was steady.
THE CW | Legacies (290K/0.1) returned to a season low in audience while steady in the demo.
FOX | Joe Millionaire (1.4 mil/0.3) was steady, Call Me Kat (1.3 mil/0.2) slipped to series lows, and Pivoting (790K!/0.2) hit a new audience low.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.8 mil/0.7), United States of Al (4.9 mil/0.4), Ghosts (5.6 mil/0.5) and B Positive (4.4 mil/0.4) all returned down (with freshman hit Ghosts tying its demo low), while Bull (4.3 mil/0.4) was steady.
The last time we saw Kevin McKidd’s Owen Hunt, he was in an SUV, rolling down a ravine. The Station 19-Grey’s Anatomy midseason premiere crossover revealed Owen’s fate. He was rescued by the Station 19 crew and taken to Grey Sloan Memorial where he was treated for his extensive injuries, including to his spine and a shattered leg. He underent a successful emergency surgery on both.
Also successful was Farouk’s “miracle” heart transplant surgery despite a bruise the donor heart had sustained in the crash. Amid the joy, there was heartache too. Schmitt was having a very hard time after losing his first patient in the OR. The shock sent him into a catatonic state as he spent the episode vigorously scrubbing his hands until his friends intervened.
All three passangers in the SUV that crashed in the winter finale were dealing with the aftermath. While Owen was the only one seriously hurt physically, Teddy had a difficult time seeing him in pain while Hayes was struggling with the ethical dilemma posed by Owen in the finale when, thinking that he would most likely die, he asked Hayes to continue his efforts helping terminally ill soldiers get drugs for physician-assisted deaths.
Hayes confronted Owen who was undeterred in his commitment to help the veterans. Facing serious repercussions as an accessory if he didn’t report his friend, Hayes opted to resign, telling Bailey that he was moving back to Ireland with his children. (Richard Flood, who plays Hayes, is said to be leaving Grey’s Anatomy.)
In romantic developments, Nick flew in to see Meredith, Amelia and Kai had another date while Joe and Link hooked up after months of sexual tension and cohabitation.
In an interview with Deadline, McKidd spoke about the crash and its aftermath, Owen’s decision in the car to sacrifice himself so Teddy and Hayes can live, the long recovery in front of him and what else is in store for the rest of the season. McKidd also addressed the issue of euthanasia.
DEADLINE: When you got the script for the winter finale, were you concerned about Owen’s fate?
MCKIDD: I remember back in Season 5 or 6 when we had the shooter episode, and Owen was shot in the chest. I remember that table read distinctly because I had only been on the show for two years. The table read was, Owen falls on the floor. Christina yells, “Meredith, is he alive?” and then I had to turn this page to see what Meredith’s response was. I remember that page turn was in slow motion to find out. She said, “yeah, he’s got a pulse” and I was oh, OK.
It kind of felt like a repeat of that, which is the life of an actor. Such a strange life we live, at the stroke of a pen, a character could be gone. It’s been an interesting, nerve-wracking time.
DEADLINE: What do you think about Owen’s decision to send Teddy and Hayes to safety and stay behind in the car, knowing that he would likely die?
MCKIDD: For better or for worse, Owen is quite an impulsive man and has been for many years. He goes with his gut, sometimes he gets it right, sometimes he gets it wrong. In this instance, sitting in the front of the car, he sees the writing on the wall, and I think it was the right call. it was pretty noble of him to do that. I love that about Owen. He is very flawed as a man — as many people are — but he’s got a very good heart at the end of the day. I think what he is doing with the veterans is all heart, putting himself in jeopardy, bending the rules, that’s the way he operates. Seeing these other vets in so much pain, he’s found it morally very hard to deal with it but he is led by his heart.
DEADLINE: What is your position on physician-assisted death?
MCKIDD: It’s a very hard topic. I think on balance, I support it as a concept because there is that thing of Do No Harm as an axiom for doctors but some of these [patients] are in so much pain that by withholding some way to help them, you are causing harm to that patient. Any case of euthanasia or assisted death has to be taken on its face value and on a case by case. I think in principal, the only correct criteria would be, if nothing else can be done medically, and there is so much discomfort and so much pain on the part of the patient, ethically I do support it.
DEADLINE: What is ahead for Owen in terns of recovery?
MCKIDD: He is in a lot of pain. He was mangled, mangled up in this car at the bottom of this ravine. He really took one for the team. His legs are in a complete mess. Basically what we will see is a slow road to recovery. And also there is some real medical jeopardy, he has a spinal injury as well his leg injury. The spine injury can potentially paralyze him or make him very compromised for the rest of his life. So he is not out of the woods by any means.
In Station 19, they recover his body in that mangled car wreck. He has a long way to go, it’s going to be interesting. It’s been fun playing him. He is a man of action, Owen, and to see him really struggle with his physicality has been kind of fun to see in a strange way, walking around on crutches has been fun too. And there are a couple of episodes where I get to lay down a lot which is always pleasant, to get to lay down.
This brings out a lot of stuff between Owen and Teddy as recovery is frustrating for him. He just wants to get back to work, he wants to get to doing good medicine, to help the veterans, continue that project he feels very passionated about.
He gets impatient, and also there is a big debate between Teddy and Owen as things go forward. As the truth about what Owen has been doing comes out, Teddy has a lot of feelings about that so there is a lot of emotional fallout from this crash but also the work he has been doing with these terminally ill veterans.
This is going to cause a lot of emotional fallout in the second half of the season. It’s very intense.
DEADLINE: You mentioned crutches, which is a good sign, but can you say whether Owen will be walking again?
MCKIDD: I can’t say.
DEADLINE: We talked about Owen’s physical recovery? What about his mental recovery? He has a long history of PTSD, and the crash was certainly a traumatic experience.
MCKIDD: In the episodes we’ve shot so far, he is dealing with the physical side. We haven’t quite gotten to the psychological side. Most people, when they have gone through something like that, they would physically get themselves back from the brink and then the psychological fallout happens later. We haven’t quite touched on that but I’m interested to see where that leads, whether it would trigger his PTSD or not.
DEADLINE: What will the impact of Owen continuing to help veterans be on his career? We saw Hayes quit over fears that it might be illegal.
MCKIDD: In Washington State, physician-assisted death is actually legal. But there is some grey areas within it. Owens does not follow the correct protocols. He does put himself in the harm’s way, and it’s very interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out because I can’t tell you what happens but it’s a thing that I think Owen wants to get back to, the work that Noah, his veteran friend, was doing, trying to put pressure on Congress and take it to that level in trying to advocate for these veterans, get better care and bring more awareness. As far as potential fallout for Owen, that will continue to be a thread through the rest of season.
DEADLINE: How do you feel about Owen being the reason Hayes quit his job?
MCKIDD: The character of Hayes was already reassessing his life in Seattle, and I think this was probably another factor in his decision, he’d already been mulling over where his life was headed. I think morally, Hayes feels very conflicted. Owen sees Hayes’ life so Hayes and and his child can go on and have a fruitful life so, in a strange way, Hayes kind of owes something to Owen but he also doesn’t quite know where he stands on the ethics of physician-assisted death so I think it just creates that area where Hayes is. It pushes him towards a decision he was already on the way to.
DEADLINE: How were you able to keep Owen’s fate secret over the past couple of months?
MCKIDD: I’m terrible at keeping secrets so I decided… If you notice on my social media feed, I have been absent which is not like me. I just thought, I’m going spoil something, so I have been very away, and Ii think it helped create that mystery. Once the episode airs, I will be back online more. A lot of people have been asking me, I’ve been itching to tell them but couldn’t.
‘WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS, HUH?’ | As “No Time to Die” began, we rewound a bit from Station 19 to see Cormac catch a ride back to Grey Sloan in the same car that Teddy had flagged down. They’d made it to the hospital in time for the donor heart to be viable for Farouk, but dammit, it was bruised. Maggie, for fear that the boy would go into cardiac arrest, advised that Winston not perform the transplant. But reluctant to waste the opportunity at hand, he decided, “I’m gonna take the miracle and trust my gut.” Thankfully, his gut was very trustworthy, and Farouk pulled through. “His heart is beating,” Winston was able to tell Megan after completing the surgery with his wife’s help, “and it’s beating well.” Whew!
Meanwhile, as Teddy tried to process the overwhelming feelings with which she was left by the sound of Owen’s car going over the cliff, her spouse, having been rescued by the first-responders of Stations 19 and 23, was being treated by Amelia and Link, who was barely able to contain his hurt over seeing his babymama kissing Kai. Of course Scout’s parents had more pressing matters at hand, like the fact that they’d both be operating on different parts of Owen at the same time, and one wrong move could leave him paralyzed. (Focus, people!) Before being wheeled into the O.R., Owen beseeched Cormac to forget what he’d told him about dispensing life-ending drugs to dying veterans. Hunt even played the “I fell off a cliff so you didn’t have to” card. However, Hayes remained unsure whether he could remain silent and make himself complicit.
‘THE SURGEON WHO HASN’T LOST A PATIENT HASN’T DONE ENOUGH SURGERIES’ | During Owen’s surgery, Link noticed Kai come into the gallery and ordered it cleared. Light-bulb moment for Amelia, who realized that he must have seen her kissing Dr. Bartley. Following the operation(s), the exes finally had it out, with Link marveling that Amelia had “just moved on like the last year and a half didn’t matter.” In turn, she argued that she hadn’t “just moved on,” she’d had to work at it. And now “you want to gaslight me into thinking that I played you?” Mm-mm. No. That wasn’t gonna fly. It was a good, intense fight, the kind that after the dust settles, should allow them to happily co-parent Scout.
Elsewhere in the hospital, in the wake of Levi breaking Webber Method protocol and killing a patient, Bailey suspended the program… at which point Richard pulled rank on her. All the while, Levi was understandably freaking the freak out. In fact, he spent most of the rest of the episode washing his hands to the point that they began to bleed. Eventually, Jo recruited Taryn and Jordan to intervene, and when the hospital’s newest resident physically moved Schmitt away from the sink, he completely lost it and, a shattered shell of his former self, had to be carried out of the room. Greys anatomy recap season 18 episode 9
‘THIS WILL BE MY LAST SHIFT’ | Following David’s surgery, Meredith read him the riot act for keeping his condition a secret, thereby risking all the work that she and Kai had done over the last year. When Grey stormed out, Kai remarked, “Yeah, I’m walking out, too… but only ’cause I need more coffee.” (Dr. Bartley really sneaks up on ya; they’re quickly becoming a favorite.) Later, Cormac approached Bailey, it seemed like, to rat out Owen. But Miranda’s speech about what a good man Hunt is stopped Hayes in his tracks. Whether he really had been going to disclose what Owen had been doing, he didn’t. Instead, he said that his boys weren’t thriving in Seattle, and he was moving back to Ireland. Immediately.
As the episode rounded the bend toward its conclusion, Nick arrived in Seattle to take Mer to dinner — or straight to the nearby hotel he’d also booked to order room service. Amelia revealed to Kai just how messy her life was. Their perfect response? They offered Shepherd some more French fries. In front of a roaring fireplace, Jo encouraged Link not to feel bad about Amelia all over again. “There are other women who would love to love you,” she noted. And seconds later, though they wondered if they were making a mistake, she became one of them. Finally, Owen awakened following surgery and was informed by Teddy that yes, he would walk again. But, aware that Cormac had suddenly quit, she wanted to know WTH had happened between them in that car.
‘I SEE GOO’ | Early on in “Started From the Bottom,” we met McAllister’s replacement, Natasha Ross (Greenleaf vet Merle Dandrige), an ex-Marine who knew Sullivan 15 years ago in San Diego. (How well-acquainted “Tasha” and “Sully” were remained unclear.) Quickly, the new chief established herself as no-nonsense and as transparent as a freshly washed window pane. Aside from breaking up the old boys club that McAllister had made of the SFD, her first order of business was to green-light the health clinic that Ben, Jack and Carina had pitched. “You can celebrate,” she told Warren and Gibson. But they didn’t much feel like doing so, given that the city was offering only about a fifth of the money they’d need.
After most of the firefighters were called away to the scene of Owen’s unfortunate cliff dive, Jack brainstormed fundraising ideas with Carina and Vic, who jogged over because she couldn’t sit home alone anymore grieving for Dean and wondering whether she and Theo were still a couple. Soon, they were distracted by the arrival of a couple of kids, one of whom was, unbeknownst to her, having her first period. Later, Vic confided in Carina that she had been having palpitations, prompting the doctor to insist that she accompany her to the ER. As you’d expect, Hughes balked. But if she told Carina there was a gas leak, so she’d better jump out a window, the doc would do it. In other words, Vic had no choice but to be sensible.
‘DRIVE FAST’ | En route to the ravine in which Owen was trapped, Sullivan assured Maya that he’d support her if Natasha asked for a reference but insisted he didn’t really know the new chief. (Hmm… ) For his part, Travis wanted Vic back at work pronto so that she could process her grief around her family. At the scene of the accident, incident commander Andy kicked butt, doing her best to assure that Ben didn’t go rogue and put anyone in harm’s way to try to save his friend. Not that her best prevented Warren from doing exactly that by rushing down the ravine with Sullivan right behind him, basically saying over and over, “Dude, wait, no, stop, think.” By the hardest, Owen, who was conscious but trapped with a shattered leg, was eventually extricated from the SUV. As if to underscore how poorly Ben was taking orders, he had himself hoisted up with Owen when he was lifted to the top of the embankment to be taken to Grey Sloan. (It looked like he’d make it, but we wouldn’t know for sure for sure until Grey’s Anatomy — soon to be recapped here.)
After the stunts he’d pulled, Warren was, predictably, in hot water. “You risked your patient’s life,” barked Beckett. “You risked your team’s lives.” The water Beckett was in wasn’t exactly tepid, either. Natasha had already warned him that he’d used up his second chance. And, as Andy noted to him — impressing Natasha in doing so — “Your team isn’t well. Get them in order before I have to bury another friend.” Moving on to Ben, Andy asked if he was OK. It was all well and good for everyone to think of him as “Dad,” but it also put a lotta pressure on him, she acknowledged. Meanwhile, taking Travis aside, Natasha observed that his record made him a perfect candidate for promotion. Respectfully pass, said Michael’s widower. “When people die at work, I don’t wanna be the one who made the call that got ’em killed.”
‘DID YOU KNOW YOU’RE PREGNANT?’ | As the hour drew to a close, Travis asked Maya to talk to Beckett about getting Vic put back to work, Beckett informed Ben that desk duty and counseling were in his future, and having observed Sullivan in action and reviewed his record, Natasha gave him what she considered a long-overdue promotion to lieutenant. Afterwards, he followed her out to the parking lot. Ack, she all but said. “I just made you lieutenant,” she reminded him. “Don’t let them know that we’re friends.” He didn’t want anyone to know, either. If they found out, he’d lose all the credibility he’d worked so hard to build back up. Finally, Carina told Vic that her heart was fine, but… surprise! She was pregnant.
I hear Richard Flood, who has played Dr. Cormac Hayes for the past three seasons, is leaving the venerable medical drama. According to sources, his final episode will be next week. Reps for ABC and Shondaland declined comment.
In tonight’s midseason premiere, Hayes handed Bailey his resignation and told her that he was returning to Ireland with his kids. His decision was prompted by Owen’s request in the winter finale to carry on with his plan of providing dying soldiers with drugs in doctor-assisted deaths. Owen asked Hayes for help in case he didn’t survive the car accident, which had the two of them and Teddy perched on a cliff. Owen sacrificed himself, making Teddy and Hayes get out of the car while he stayed behind and tumbled down the cliff soon after Hayes had gotten to safety.
Owen survived but, as Hayes faced an ethical dilemma of having to report Owen or risk losing his medical license as an accessory, he chose to quit the hospital.
Hayes joined Grey’s Anatomy in Season 16 as a recurring and was promoted to series regular in Season 17. He was eyed as a potential love interest for Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith, with that storyline — along with others — interrupted by the pandemic.
There was chatter over the summer that Flood may be heaving ahead of Season 18. He stayed on, and Hayes briefly created a potential love triangle with Meredith and her new love interest, Nick (Scott Speedman).
“I actually think that the last episode of our season will be 400, if there are no further COVID delays and we don’t end up dropping an episode,” she told TVLine during this year’s SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) TVfest, which streams this Thursday through Saturday (passes are available for purchase here). But “that’s a big ‘if.,” she acknowledged.
Vernoff is well aware that expectations for the hour are high, after the 200th episode (Season 10’s “Puttin’ On the Ritz”) glammed up the docs for a three-ring circus of a fundraiser, and the 300th (Season 14’s Vernoff-penned “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”) paid homage to much-missed past characters. How could the series top those efforts for the big 4-0-0? Maybe with a riff on the Golden Age of the silver screen, we (jokingly?) suggested? “No, we’re not doing a black-and-white movie musical,” Vernoff said with a chuckle, “but it’s going to be a pretty big event, I think.”
As it is, Grey’s Anatomy, which was recently renewed for Season 19, is coming up on what could be a couple of game-changers: When Season 18 resumes with its ninth episode on Thursday, Feb. 24, it’ll reveal the outcome of the midseason-finale cliffhangers that left Link’s heart in pieces and Owen’s fate in question.
The film is a Page Fifty-Four Pictures and Bron Studios production in association with Creative Wealth Media. Page Fifty-Four’s Alex Saks and Bron Studios’ Aaron L. Gilbert are producing. Creative Wealth Media’s Jason Cloth is an executive producer. Native American activist Marcus RedThunder serves as a consultant on the film.
The film revolves around a gritty hunt for a valuable rare Lakota Native American Ghost Shirt. Some are hunting for fortune, others for personal freedom, while others simply want to return it properly to its home. No longer will the marginalized be ignored — all must learn to survive or else.
Bron Releasing and WME are handling sales.
Best known for his work on Grey’s Anatomy, Dane is getting some of the best reviews of his career with his role as Nate’s father on the hit HBO series Euphoria. McClarnon was recently seen in FX’s Reservation Dogs and Westworld.
Dane is repped by CAA, Management 360, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. McClarnon is repped by AEFH and Goodman, Genow. Cerrone is repped by Gersh.
Sunset Beach made its television debut on NBC on January 6, 1997. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in the Orange County coastal area named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California. Sunset Beach won two Daytime Emmy Awards and was nominated another eleven times during its three-year run. The last episode aired on December 31, 1999. This was the first daytime soap opera produced by legendary television producer Aaron Spelling.
The limited series, written by Rater and Phelan, follows twentysomething Miep Gies who, when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II, didn’t hesitate. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls (Otto Frank, his wife Edith and daughters Anne and Margot as well as four others) in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne’s Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
A Small Light was deep into the greenlighting process when last month 60 Minutes aired a bombshell report about a years-long investigation that revealed a suspect in the 78-year-old mystery who betrayed the Franks whose hiding place was raised by the Nazis in August 1944, naming a prominent Jewish figure. The revelation, which has since been questioned, had no impact on Nat Geo’s plans for A Small Light as it does not affect the story the limited series planned to tell, sources said.
Un unlikely heroine who is celebrated for her heroism and humanity, Gies died in 2010 at the age of 100. It is something Gies said late in her life that inspired the title for the Disney+ series: “I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.”
Fogel will direct multiple episodes of A Small Light, produced ABC Signature produces in partnership with Keshet Studios. Rater, Phelan and Fogel executive produce alongside Keshet Studios’ Peter Traugott, Keshet International’s Alon Shtruzman and Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir.
Casting of the three main characters of the seven-episode series, Miep, Otto and Jan, is currently underway. Filming is slated to begin in Europe in the coming months.
This marks the second Nat Geo scripted series for Disney+ following The Right Stuff. A Small Light also is Keshet Studios’ first series for the Disney streamer.
Phelan and Rater just received a pilot order from CBS for drama Cal Fire, executive produced by Max Thieriot. The husband-and-wife writers-showrunners created, executive produced and showran CBS drama series Doubt and NBC’s Council of Dads. The pair previously co-ran seasons seven through 10 of Grey’s Anatomy alongside creator Shonda Rhimes after joining the series as writers during Season 2.
Fogel directed and executive produced the first two episodes of HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, earning a DGA Award and Emmy nomination. She also helmed the pilot for Amazon’s The Wilds, directed, executive produced and co-wrote The Spy Who Dumped Me starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, and co-wrote the acclaimed 2019 feature film comedy Booksmart.
Cal Fire is inspired by Thieriot’s experiences growing up in Northern California fire country and stems from an original idea by the actor. Phelan and Rater wrote the teleplay from a story they co-wrote with Thieriot.
In Cal Fire, seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence, young convict Bode Donovan joins a firefighting program that returns him to his small Northern California hometown, where he and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region.
Thieriot, Phelan and Rater executive produce alongside Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed for Jerry Bruckheimer Television. CBS Studios is the studio.
Born and raised in Occidental, CA where he currently lives with his family, Theriot stars as Clay Spenser on Paramount+ drama SEAL Team, which aired for four seasons on CBS. It just wrapped its fifth season on Paramount+ and was renewed for a sixth.
Launching a drama procedural about first responders has been a priority for CBS; this cycle, the network also is developed Rescue: MIA, also executive produced by a star of one of its procedurals, NCIS: Los Angeles‘ Eric Christian Olsen.
Husband-and-wife writers-showrunners Rater and Phelan created, executive produced and showran CBS drama series Doubt and NBC’s Council of Dads, which was produced by JBTV.
Jerry Bruckheimer TV has been behind some of CBS’ biggest procedural drama series of the past two decades, led by the CSI franchise, which is back on CBS with CSI: Vegas.
Euphoria’s renewal comes as its sophomore season continues to deliver ratings records for both HBO and HBO Max. The Season 2 premiere currently boasts 14 million total viewers across all HBO platforms.
In Season 2, Zendaya returns as Rue, who’s relapsed since Jules (Hunter Schafer) left her for the city. With school back in session, Rue faces new obstacles to her sobriety and her relationship with Jules. Tensions also rise between Nate (Jacob Elordi), Maddy (Alexa Demie) and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), while Lexi (Maude Apatow) takes on a creative venture.
Written, directed and executive produced by Levinson, Euphoria has been a hit critically and culturally. Beyond trending on Twitter with nearly each episode, Euphoria took home three prizes at the 2020 Primetime Emmys, including Zendaya’s history-making Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series win. That year, Euphoria also won Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. At the 2021 Primetime Awards, Euphoria received three nominations.
“Sam, Zendaya, and the entire cast and crew of Euphoria have taken Season 2 to extraordinary heights, challenging narrative convention and form, while maintaining its heart. We couldn’t be more honored to work with this gifted, wildly talented team or more excited to continue our journey with them into Season 3,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP of HBO Programming.
Euphoria also features Nika King, Eric Dane, Angus Cloud, Algee Smith, Barbie Ferreira, Javon Walton, Dominic Fike, Storm Reid and Austin Abrams. Season 2 wraps on February 27.
Levinson executive produces Euphoria with Kevin Turen, Ravi Nandan, Drake, Adel “Future” Nur, Zendaya, Will Greenfield, Ashley Levinson, Ron Leshem, Daphna Levin, and Hadas Mozes Lichtenstein. The series, produced in partnership with A24, is based on the Israeli series of the same name that was created by Ron Leshem and Daphna Levin, from HOT. The transgender consultant is Scott Turner Schofield. Kenneth Yu serves as a producer; Harrison Kreiss, Julio Perez and Jeremy O. Harris are co-producers.
The Fallen Angels Murder Club anthology pics feature Braxton as Hollis Morgan, an ex-con-turned-amateur sleuth set out to investigate a series of murders at her book club. Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 2, followed by Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons a week later, at 8 p.m. April 9. Read more about the films below.
Stolen by Their Father premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5. It stars Drew as Lizbeth Meredith, a mother who says goodbye to her young daughters for a non-custodial visit with their father — her abusive ex-husband — only to discover days later that he has kidnapped the girls and taken them to Greece. For the next two years, fueled by the memories of her own childhood kidnapping, Lizbeth travels to the White House and Greece, burning through every dime and favor to get her children back. One false move, and her ex-husband will vanish with her children, guaranteeing that she never will see them again. Two false moves, and he’ll make good on his promise to kill her.
Valentina Battrick and Carina Battrick also star in the Cineflix Productions film formerly titled Stolen Hearts: The Lizbeth Meredith Story.
Stolen by Their Father‘s debut will be followed by a Beyond the Headlines documentary about the real Lizbeth Meredith and her daughters.
Here are the synopses of the Fallen Angels Murder Club movies, which are based on the Fallen Angels Book Club novels by R. Franklin James and produced by Brain Power Studio:
Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For
The members of the Fallen Angels Murder Club must have two things in common: a love for books and a criminal record. Hollis Morgan (Braxton) meets both requirements. Left holding the bag in an insurance fraud scheme concocted by her ex-husband, Hollis served her time and now hopes the court will pardon her conviction so she can fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer. But when a member of her book club is murdered in a scene straight out of the previous night’s novel, Hollis becomes the subject of police scrutiny. Refusing to get stuck with another bad rap, Hollis sets out to investigate her fellow club members and after a second book-inspired murder, she races to identify the killer before she becomes the next victim. Eddie Cibrian also stars.
Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons
The members of the Fallen Angels Murder Club must band together again as they search for answers surrounding the death of one of their own. Hollis finds herself at the center of the investigation when a journalist reporting on the murder also winds up dead. As bodies begin to stack up, and Hollis connects the dots, she must solve the murders before it’s too late. Kelly Hu also stars.
The ensemble casts also includes Lisa Berry, Yanic Truesdale, Humberly González, Rainbow Sun Francks, Raoul Bhaneja, Henderson Wade, Kaitlyn Leeb, Rob Stewart, Keith D. Robinson and Shawn Ahmed.
“Do you know the fable about the scorpion and the frog?” Sandra Oh’s Eve asks Jodie Comer’s Villanelle. “They both die, because the scorpion can’t change its nature.”
The trailer also teases more tense moments between the series’ two leads, tidbits of Carolyn and Konstantin’s Season 4 arcs and more. Killing Eve Season 4 will premiere on February 27 on BBC America and AMC+. The premiere comes to AMC on February 28.
In Season 4, Eve (Oh), Villanelle (Comer) and Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) are in very different places. Following Eve and Villanelle’s exchange on the bridge, the former is on a revenge mission, while the latter has found a brand new community in an attempt to prove she’s not a “monster.” Having killed Paul, Carolyn goes to extraordinary lengths to continue to chase down The Twelve and the person that ordered Kenny’s hit.
Executive producers for the upcoming season are Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Gina Mingacci, Damon Thomas, Laura Neal and Oh.
Watch the trailer above.
Outstanding Drama Series
9-1-1: Lone Star (FOX)
Batwoman (The CW)
The Chi (Showtime)
Doom Patrol (HBO Max)
Good Trouble (Freeform)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
The L Word: Generation Q (Showtime)
Pose (FX)
Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+)
Supergirl (The CW)
The woman, Paula Bruce, just filed a personal injury lawsuit against the "Grey's Anatomy" star claiming he caused a January 2020 accident in L.A., and then fled the scene. Bruce says she's suffered emotional distress and lost out on wages because of injuries suffered in the crash.
However, Jesse's attorney, William Briggs, tells the story differently -- admitting Williams did rear-end Bruce but absolutely did not "flee" the scene.
Briggs tells us after the crash, Bruce told Jesse she was alright, and when Jesse called the cops they advised both parties to simply exchange insurance info, as there were no injuries. Briggs says Jesse stuck around to take photos of the crash (which he provided to us) and got Bruce's insurance and license info.
After all info was exchanged, Briggs says Jesse's assistant came and waited at the scene for a tow truck, and Jesse left to avoid the paparazzi arriving.
Briggs tells us Jesse checked in on Bruce a few days after the crash -- who allegedly still said she was fine -- and he thought it would all be handled by insurance.
Briggs says all was quiet until a couple weeks ago when Bruce's attorney contacted Jesse's insurance to demand $1.6 million for a "hit and run." Briggs says he attempted to speak with Bruce's attorney, who informed him the lawsuit was going to be filed.
Briggs says the lawsuit is nothing more than a "blatant attempt to extort" Jesse, and they'll absolutely fight it.
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
Loretta Devine – Family Reunion (Netflix)
Regina Hall – Black Monday (Showtime)
Tracee Ellis Ross – `black-ish (ABC)
Yvonne Orji – Insecure (HBO)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Alfre Woodard – SEE (Apple TV+)
Bianca Lawson – Queen Sugar (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
Chandra Wilson – Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Mary J. Blige – Power Book II: Ghost (Starz)
Susan Kelechi Watson – This is Us (NBC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
ELLE FANNING / Catherine
THE GREAT
SANDRA OH / Ji-Yoon Kim
THE CHAIR
JEAN SMART / Deborah Vance
HACKS
JUNO TEMPLE / Keeley Jones
TED LASSO
HANNAH WADDINGHAM / Rebecca Welton
TED LASSO
In making the renewal announcement, ABC did not designate Season 19 as being a final one for the show or Pompeo, options that had been considered by the actress, Vernoff and Grey’s Anatomy creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes, according to sources. The trio will make the final decision when to end the hugely popular series, Craig Erwich, President, ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals, said at TCA on Tuesday.
“Grey’s Anatomy is still at the top of its game creatively, it’s our most watched drama, it’s one of the top shows on television,” he said. “I think the current season they are having is extraordinary, we are delving into stories and characters in as deeper way as we ever had. Ultimately, any decisions around that franchise are going to be made by the stewards of the franchise, Shonda and Krista and Ellen. We will have as much Grey’s as we can have, it’s one of the things we are most proud of at ABC.”
According to sources, a final decision whether Season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy would be last will be made later this year. It’s conceivable to think that ABC would be eyeing a big anniversary 20th season celebrating the seminal drama.
Eighteen seasons in, Grey’s Anatomy remains ABC’s No. 1 show in adults 18-49 and is tied as the No. 1 broadcast drama in the key demo this season. The series averages 12.8 million total viewers this season after 35 days of delayed viewing across platforms. Additionally, the series is a major profit generator for Disney and is lifting spinoff Station 19 through an integrated universe and frequent crossovers, helping it become ABC’s second highest-rated scripted series behind Grey’s.
Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy returns to ABC on February 24 in a crossover event with Station 19.
Just like it did at the time of the Season 18 renewal in May 2021, ABC is not designating Season 19 as a final one for the show or its star Pompeo — for now.
Deadline revealed last month that renewal talks between ABC and producing studio ABC Signature were underway for a potential 19th season of Grey’s Anatomy and that Pompeo also had been approached about staying on the show for another season. Negotiations progressed quickly, and it came down to closing a deal with Pompeo, which happened last week.
Pompeo, who in the past couple of years has been open about her desire to bring Grey’s Anatomy to an end and has been plotting her post-Grey’s career, last spring agreed to a one-year deal for Season 18. She was one of three remaining original cast members whose contracts were up at the end of Season 17; the other two, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., signed multi-year new pacts that include Season 19, I hear. The other key element for a renewal, showrunner Vernoff, is under a multi-year overall deal with ABC Signature which she also signed last year.
Eighteen seasons in, Grey’s Anatomy, created and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, remains ABC’s No. 1 show in adults 18-48 and is tied as the No. 1 broadcast drama in the key demo this season.
“Grey’s Anatomy is a true phenomenon, beloved by audiences around the world. Whether they catch it live on ABC, or stream it on Hulu or globally on Disney+ or Star+, it’s clear that fans can’t get enough of Shonda Rhimes’ brilliant creation,” said Dana Walden, chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television. “We have enormous faith in Shonda, Krista Vernoff, Ellen Pompeo and the entire creative team to unlock new, untold stories that will continue to focus on modern medicine, tackle the issues that shape the world around us, and resonate deeply with loyal fans for years to come.”
Per ABC, Grey’s Anatomy next season “will explore the ever-expanding world of modern medicine through the eyes of beloved returning and new characters.”
The “beloved returning” characters are led by Meredith Grey, Miranda Bailey and Richard Webbers, played by the three remaining Grey’s original cast members, Pompeo, Wilson and Pickens Jr., respectively.
“I couldn’t be more excited that we get to keep telling the stories of Meredith, Bailey, Richard and all of the other doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial for another season,” said Rhimes. “This is a true testament to Krista Vernoff, the cast, the crew and all the writers who keep the audience on the edge of their seat week after week. And it would not be possible without the generations of incredible fans who have supported Grey’s Anatomy for so many years.”
Vernoff, who also serves as executive producer and showrunner on spinoff Station 19, was head writer and executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy for the first seven seasons and returned as showrunner in Season 14. She is credited with revitalizing the venerable drama in the last couple of seasons. After a Covid-themed Season 17 that explored the toll the pandemic has taken on healthcare workers, Grey’s Anatomy has returned to its roots, focusing on medical cases and relationships in the current 18th season, which is set in a post-pandemic world.
“Grey’s Anatomy has a global impact that can’t be overstated. Grey’s touches, and sometimes changes, hearts and minds worldwide through the depth of connection people feel with these characters,” Vernoff said. “I’m excited to work with our extraordinary writers to dream up where we go from here, and I’m always grateful to our partners at Disney and ABC for letting us tell bold stories with real impact.”
Grey’s Anatomy averages 12.8 million total viewers this season after 35 days of delayed viewing across platforms. Additionally, the series is a major profit generator for Disney and is lifting spinoff Station 19 through an integrated universe and frequent crossovers, helping it become ABC’s second highest-rated scripted series behind Grey’s.
Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy returns to ABC on February 24 in a crossover event with Station 19.
Grey’s Anatomy also stars Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Chris Carmack as Atticus “Link” Lincoln, Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt, Richard Flood as Cormac Hayes, and Anthony Hill as Winston Ndugu.
Rhimes and Vernoff executive produce with Betsy Beers as well as Debbie Allen, Meg Marinis and Mark Gordon, along with Pompeo for Season 19. Zoanne Clack serves as medical advisor and executive producer. Grey’s Anatomy is produced by ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios.
At least three Los Angeles-based ABC dramas — including Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and The Rookie — have delayed the restart of production as a result of the resurgent pandemic. Grey’s and Station 19, which were set to resume production on Jan. 10, will instead resume shooting on Jan. 12.* The exact length of The Rookie‘s delay is unknown.
According to sources, ABC Signature — the studio behind Grey’s, Station and Rookie — took the step out of an abundance of caution, and not due to any show-specific COVID outbreaks. As of now, the temporary work stoppage is not expected to impact any of the show’s on-air schedules.
A rep for ABC Signature declined to comment for this story.
Additionally, ABC’s lone daytime soap, General Hospital, has also delayed its resumption of production until next week.
The U.S. on Tuesday tallied more than a half a million new COVID cases. The uptick is being driven largely by the highly transmittable (albeit less lethal) Omicron variant.
Meanwhile, execs at CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW are said to be approaching their shows on a case-by-case basis.
* An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Grey’s and Station 19 were scheduled to return to work this week.
Pompeo, who in the past couple of years has been open about her desire to bring Grey’s Anatomy to an end, last spring agreed to a one-year deal for Season 18. She was one of three remaining original cast members whose contracts were up at the end of Season 17; the other two, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., signed multi-year new pacts, I hear.
The renewal talks’ timing is not a surprise. This is typically when ABC starts conversations with ABC Signature and Shondaland, which produce the long-running series, about another season. It is also when ABC Signature usually begins discussions with Pompeo if her contract is coming up.
Because of Grey’s Anatomy‘s legacy, the series would receive a royal sendoff when the time comes to end it. When ABC renewed the medical drama for an eighteenth season in May, it was not designated as final. Should that become the case, a decision has to be made in the next month or so to give Grey’s Anatomy creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes and executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff time to craft a proper finale.
If instead renewal talks continue and Pompeo engages in negotiations on a new contract, it is a promising sign that another season is a realistic possibility. That was the case last season when negotiations went down to the wire but Grey’s Anatomy ultimately returned for a 19th season with Pompeo, Wilson and Pickens Jr. all on board.
ABC brass would be happy to keep Grey’s Anatomy on the air for years to come. Eighteen seasons in, the series, the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history, remains the network’s highest rated scripted series and one of the top scripted series on network television. Additionally, the series is a major profit generator for Disney and is lifting spinoff Station 19 through an integrated universe and frequent crossovers to become ABC’s second highest-rated scripted series behind Grey’s.
“We’re thrilled to have it on the lineup. It’s a gift,” Craig Erwich, President, ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals, told Deadline in September. “As long as all of the producers and Ellen [Pompeo] feel like there are meaningful stories to tell, we’re going to continue to do the show.”
As for Pompeo, she already has been plotting her post-Grey’s Anatomy career but she also has expressed appreciation for her longstanding relationship with Disney-ABC.
“I’ve been trying to focus on convincing everybody that it should end,” she said in a recent interview with Insider. “?I feel like I’m the super naive one who keeps saying, ‘But what’s the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?'” she continued. “And everyone’s like, ‘Who cares, Ellen? It makes a gazillion dollars.'”
After a Covid-themed Season 17 which explored the toll the pandemic has taken on healthcare workers, Grey’s Anatomy has returned to its roots, focusing on medical cases and relationships in the current eighteenth season which is set in a post-pandemic world.
Bookending the medical drama, Station 19 (4.5 mil/0.6) and Big Sky (2.5 mil/0.3) each added a few eyeballs while steady in the demo.
Over on Fox, Thursday Night Football (11.6 mil/2.7) was up sharply from last week’s early numbers.
Leading out of Dogs of the Year (630K/0.1), The CW’s Legacies (380K/0.1) was steady with its fall finale.
NBC’s Women of Worth special drew 1.2 mil and a 0.2.
‘WE ARE DOING OUR BEST IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY’ | As “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” began, while I finished sniffling over a particularly moving Station 19, our regulars decked the halls, and Link announced to Jo that he was immediately heading to Minnesota to tell Amelia that he loved her and wanted to be with her, no wedding necessary. Meanwhile, Amelia was welcoming David and Kai to Grey Sloan, where they’d be taking a big step forward in their super-secret attempt to cure Parkinson’s. Running into Cormac, Mer surmised that he was having a hard time, what with it being the holidays and him and his boys missing his late wife an extra lot. By and by, she told him about her COVID dream and how it had made her feel like Derek was still with her and maybe always had been. So perhaps Cormac’s wife was kinda-sorta still with him, too. With that, he gave her the look that had made us initially Mermac fans. Nearby, Bailey and Ben struggled to figure out when they could consult a lawyer about fighting for Pru — busy schedules and all. He also hoped they could do some celebrating as a family, what with Christmas having been Dean’s favorite holiday. When Ben met his wife’s superfan Jordan, he cracked that she still had it. And indeed, she did. Was there ever any doubt?
Checking on Megan, Cormac suggested that she take a walk… or a nap. “If he doesn’t make it, neither do I,” she said plainly. She wasn’t interested in surviving another chapter of earth-shattering pain. She apologized for saying that to Cormac but couldn’t have confided in Owen or Teddy. “I’m just not willing to survive this.” Seconds later, Winston reported that they’d found an organ donor for Farouk. Poor Megan was really on an emotional roller coaster. From there, Owen, Teddy and Cormac took off for Tacoma to retrieve the heart. En route, Hayes tried to reveal to Hunt and Altman that Megan was more than just worried and sad. “She is profoundly depressed,” he attempted to emphasize. After collecting the heart, Owen and Teddy wanted to celebrate while Cormac doubled down on trying to explain that Megan was in crisis. Just then, they were all thrown into crisis when their driver had a massive stroke, and the organ-mobile started doing vehicular tumblesets!
Post-accident, Owen, Teddy and Owen all seemed to be fine. But they were trapped in the car with the dead driver and desperate to get the heart to Grey Sloan and Farouk. Oh dear… the vehicle was on the edge of a cliff, being held in place (barely) by a tree. One false move, and it was curtains for all of them. As Farouk was wheeled into the O.R., Winston encouraged Megan to sit this one out; she’d stay behind with her mom. Back at the site of the accident, the doctors fought to find a way to get the heart to Farouk before it ceased to be viable. But when Cormac smashed a window and tried to get out… ack! The whole vehicle slid ever closer to the edge! “All we can do is try to stay alive” till help arrives, Owen said. No, insisted Teddy, they could also try to keep the heart viable. She should climb out, Owen said. No, she argued. Cormac’s kids had already lost their mother — he should go. Just then, they realized that the car was pulling the tree out of the ground.
‘I SWEAR PART OF BEING AN OB IS JUST TORTURING WOMEN’ | When Jo arrived at Grey Sloan, she was surprised to bump into Amelia. How is Link doing? his ex wanted to know. Er, fine, Jo said. Left alone, she choked down her burgeoning feelings for her BFF and called Link to tell him that Amelia wasn’t in Minnesota and he should turn around and return to Grey Sloan. When he arrived, he practiced what he was going to say to Amelia… on Jo. “I love you now, and I have always loved you,” he said, “so let’s be together right now.” Would that work? “It’s perfect,” sighed Jo, as smitten as crestfallen. Before he could say anything to Amelia, though, she shared a spectacular first kiss with Kai that… aww… Link witnessed.
‘I HOPE I DON’T DIE TODAY’ | Worried that anything could happen in the O.R., David told Mer that he’d left “just in case” notes for his loved ones. He also apologized to Mer for being such a jerk to her. He was, in fact, very grateful and hoped those notes reminded her that some people liked him, even if she wasn’t one of them. Before drilling into David’s head, Amelia found Mer looking uncharacteristically nervous outside and put the magnitude of what they were about to do in perspective. This helped — at least in that it made Grey puke. (Never fun, but you always feel better afterward.) Back inside, Kai reported that David was running a fever. Soon, Grey discovered that his abdomen was rock hard — that hadn’t been existential pain he’d been suffering from! “It could be psychosomatic!” David argued. They had to operate within the 72-hour window of opportunity the FDA has given them! Unfortunately, he was going to need an ex lap. “You’re a rule breaker, Grey, so break the rules!” David barked. But she wouldn’t lie to the FDA. In response, he accused her of not wanting to cure him or Parkinson’s but her mother and Alzheimer’s.
‘GREY SLOAN IS MY YANKEE STADIUM’ | In the classroom, Jordan stopped Richard from introducing him to do so himself with lots of sports references. “Gross,” cracked Zander (one of our favorite 2020 scene stealers). When Richard gave Jordan an assignment on which he was to use the Webber Method, the resident responded that he was there to learn from Bailey so he wanted to use, if anything, the Bailey Method. “Looks like I’m scrubbing in,” chuckled Miranda. When Maggie’s dad explained his method to Maggie, she was like, “No, no baby-doctor hands alone on my patients.” Meanwhile, Levi and Taryn were to apply the Webber Method on a podcaster named Deven. (Schmitt was a big fan.) As they started to scrub in, watching from the gallery, Maggie was taken aback. It seemed like only yesterday Schmitt had been dropping his glasses in an abdomen! In a nearby O.R., Jordan impressed Bailey more and more. He didn’t even need an attending, but he’d wanted Bailey in there, anyway. He knew how to perform the surgery but wanted to learn from her. At the point at which Levi was supposed to wait for Richard, he… uh, didn’t. Suddenly, blood was spurting out of Deven like he was in a horror movie!
As the episode neared the finish line, Teddy climbed out the car window. “Take the cooler,” Cormac said, “and save Farouk.” By the time Maggie arrived in Schmitt’s O.R., it looked as if the floor had been painted red. Deven was very dead. Like, extremely dead. “I need to know what happened,” said Bailey, “now.” Taryn reported that Levi had thought he could start the dissection without an attending. Clearly not. “You call [time of death], Schmitt,” Bailey ordered. “This is your patient. Call… it.” Red-eyed, he did just that. “This,” Miranda then told Richard, “is on you.” At the same time, David went under the knife, and poor Farouk lay on the operating table waiting for his new heart, chest wide open. At last, Teddy flagged down a ride. Back at the car, Owen told Cormac to just go. When the car tipped, Owen would have a few seconds; he might make it. If he didn’t, he wanted Hayes to give Noah’s fellow dying soldiers the same drugs he’d given Noah. “It’s the right thing to do,” Hunt said. With that, Cormac escaped from the car, and down the embankment it went!
“This is on you,” Bailey told shellshocked Webber, signaling the likely end of the teaching experiment.
In tonight’s main storyline, Megan would not leave the bedside of her son, Farouk, who had been put on ECMO. She is at the end of her rope, confiding in Hayes that she has no will to live if Farouk dies. “If he doesn’t make it, neither do I,” she said.
Shortly thereafter, a call comes about a boy in Tacoma who has been declared brain dead and is a match for Farouk. Teddy, Owen and Hayes hop in a medical SUV to pick up the donor heart.
On the way there, Hayes urges Owen and Teddy to help Maggie as she is severely depressed. On the way back, with Teddy keeping her hand on the cooler containing the “beautiful, healthy heart,” the driver suddenly passes out. Owen tries to grab the wheel but can’t take control of the car which crashes and rolls over, landing precariously in a ditch where there is no cell reception.
The trio attempts to get out as the car starts slipping down little by little, with Owen determining that the driver had suffered a massive stroke.
With no chance for help, the donor heart’s viability window closing and the car extremely unstable, Owen and Hayes convince Teddy to get out, deliver the heart and get help. Owen then does the same with Hayes, telling the widowed father that no child should lose both of their parents. As Hayes gets to solid ground, the car, with Owen in it, tumbles down the cliff.
In another major development, Meredith, Amelia, Kai and David Hamilton come to Grey Sloan Memorial for a secret experimental surgery on a “famous patient” who later turns out to be Hamilton. Shortly before the risky surgery, it is aborted after Hamilton develops low fever and abdominal pain.
Unwilling to go through the FDA approval process again and wait for another window, his pleads to Meredith to “break the rules” and proceed. They ultimately do, leading to another potentially life-and-death cliffhanger.
In the latest twist in the Link-Amelia drama, Link rehearses with Jo a speech he hopes would win Amelia back that is straight out of a romantic movie. Jo can barely hide the fact that she is developing feelings for her longtime friend as she still is recovering from Link’s bombshell admission in the previous episode that he had had major crush on her when they were young.
When Link finds Amelia, she is sharing a first kiss with her new crush, Kai, leaving him heartbroken and possibly running into Jo’s arms.
The news behind the project broke last year with Netflix landing the rights but sources say the streamer recently let project move back to the market with several suitors quickly making bids. 20th was aggressive early on and were able to land rights and are now prioritizing the project in development.
The story follows a brilliant but tightly wound, Jeopardy-obsessed young woman (Awkwafina) who must reunite with her estranged, train-wreck of a sister (Oh) when they’re forced to come up with the money to cover their mother’s gambling debts. The two embark on a wild, cross country trek in a desperate hope to win enough cash the only way they can think of—by turning our reluctant hero into a bona-fide JEOPARDY champion.
Sarah Shepard is overseeing for 20th Century Studios.
Oh is currently in production on the fourth season of the Emmy-winning series Killing Eve. She was also recently seen starring in the Netflix dramedy series The Chair and voiced a character in the hit Amazon series Invincible.
Awkwafina most recently was seen in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which made $431 million at the global box office. She next will be seen opposite Mahershala Ali in Apple’s Swan Song, as well as Renfield at Universal. Her Comedy Central series Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens premiered its second season over the summer.
Yu has cut her teeth in the TV world as a key director on Fosse/Verdon and The Morning Show. Besides Hocus Pocus 2, D’Angelo also recently sold the feature, Stranded Asset, to Universal that she is co-writing with Sam Richardson and Chris Pratt is producing.
Oh is repped by UTA, Principal Entertainment LA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman and Awkwafina is repped by UTA and Artists First. Yu is repped by Paradigm and Anonymous Content. D’Angelo is repped by UTA, Artists First and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.
Sheldon (with 6.8 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating), Ghosts (5.6 mil/0.5), B Positive (4.2 mil/0.4) and Bull (3.85 mil/0.3) were all steady in the demo, though Bull pretty much matched its all-time audience low. United States of Al (4.9 mil/0.4) was down a tenth.
Over on NBC, The Blacklist (2.8 mil/0.3) was steady and SVU (3.4 mil/0.5,) dipped to season lows, while OC (3.4 mil/0.6, read recap and post mortem) put up its best numbers since Sept. 30.
ABC’s Station 19 (3.9 mil/0.5) and Grey’s Anatomy (3.5 mil/0.5) both slipped to series lows, while Big Sky (2.4 mil/0.3) was flat.
The CW’s Walker (1 mil/0.2) ticked up, Legacies (350K/0.1) was steady.
Fox’s Thursday Night Football (9.6 mil/2.2) is down sharply from last week’s early numbers.
Outer Banks
9-1-1
Cobra Kai
Grey’s Anatomy — WINNER
Law & Order: SVU
The Equalizer
The Walking Dead
This Is Us
THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2021
Angela Bassett, 9-1-1
Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision
Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy — WINNER
Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision
Mandy Moore, This Is Us
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
Queen Latifah, The Equalizer
Yara Shahidi, grown-ish
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Elle Fanning – The Great (Hulu)
Renée Elise Goldsberry – Girls5eva (Peacock)
Selena Gomez – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Sandra Oh – The Chair (Netflix)
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)
This episode’s celebrity contestants include James Pickens Jr. (playing for Hands for Hope aka Hands4Hope), Brooke Burns (playing for Just Keep Livin Foundation) and Johnny Weir (playing for Special Olympics).
RECURRING CAST: Debbie Allen (Charice), Rochelle Aytes (Nichelle).
Continuing CBS’ night, United States of Al (4.6 mil/0.5) ticked up in the demo while Ghosts (5.2 mil/0.5) and B Positive (3.9 mil/0.4) were steady.
Fox’s Thursday Night Football coverage (8.1 mil/2.1) matched last week’s early numbers.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.6 mil/0.6) and Big Sky (2.8 mil/0.3) were steady, while Grey’s Anatomy (4.01 mil/0.6) dipped in the demo and slipped to what sure looks like an all-time audience low.
THE CW | Walker (850K/0.1) added a few eyeballs, while Legacies (390K/0.1, read recap) dropped some.
NBC | The Blacklist (2.9 mil/0.3) was steady.
‘I CUT ON THANKSGIVING, JUST NOT A TURKEY’ | As “Every Day Is a Holiday (With You)” began, Amelia was exchanging texts with Kai while prepping to perform a complicated procedure on a turkey at Mer’s, Nick was dropping Mer at the Minnesota airport and trying to convince her to spend Thanksgiving at his cabin instead of flying home to Seattle, and Levi was telling Nico that he was sure he was about to be chosen to be chief resident when… surprise! His mom arrived with Thanksgiving dinner for him to eat on breaks. (Do residents get breaks?) Elsewhere in Grey Sloan, Bailey explained to Richard that was she was working on Turkey Day since baby Pru had been taken by her grandfather. For his part, Webber was just looking forward to carving a patient instead of a ham. And it looked like he might get the surgery he was looking for, too, when a pregnant woman named Ashley pulled up to the ER entrance and puked at his feet. Finally, Owen volunteered to bring dinner to Farouk’s room to celebrate the holiday with him, Teddy, Cormac and Megan.
Before Owen could go home to turn on the oven, much less baste, he was waylaid by Noah’s arrival in the ER with a collapsed lung. Mind you, the patient’s main concern was that Hunt take his son somewhere to get his mind off the life-or-death drama playing out. Owen’s solution? Burgers in an empty room. And it worked — to a point. There was no consoling Noah’s wife, however. So Bailey took her aside and let her break down privately. Nearby, Megan, Teddy and Cormac played Monopoly with Farouk. Megan was particularly amused by the fact that Hayes called game night games night. (Just admit Megan and Nathan are over already.) Alone with Megan, Teddy admitted that she was avoiding her mother-in-law for fear of her reaction if Leo came out in another dress. Suddenly, Farouk’s monitor started bleeping furiously. They couldn’t get his heartbeat back. Their only option, Cormac argued, was to… well, honestly, I didn’t quite understand what they were doing medically. But it would keep the boy alive.
‘YOU’D HAVE TO TURN THE OVEN ON FOR IT TO BURN’ | After Mer’s flight was cancelled, she called Amelia to lament how much like her mother she was: She’d be spending Thanksgiving in a hotel room. When Link arrived with Scout, Amelia informed him that Mer was stuck out of town, as were Winston and Maggie. So she was in charge of dinner and the kids. Not anymore, said Link. He would pitch in with the cooking and hang since he didn’t have any other plans. They might as well figure out sooner than later how to be coparenting pals. And though dinner didn’t exactly come off — Amelia forgot to turn on the oven — their afternoon seemed like a success. Link cheerfully suggested that they treat the kids to a traditional supper of mac and cheese. Supper was going swell, too, when Bailey blurted out, “What’s sex?” Afterwards, Amelia was visibly charmed by the dance party that her ex had with the kids. (It would’ve been hard not to.)
At the same time, as Nick drove to his cabin, Mer kept him company on the phone. Somehow they managed to make even a conversation that included talk of a patient’s severed finger turning up in a gravy boat cute and flirtatious. When at last Nick said that he was nearing the cabin, there was a knock at Mer’s door. Guess who! He’d turned around and come back. As snow fell romantically outside the window, the two bonded further over “being in the moment.” Mer had gotten better at it since her COVID battle, she said. She was grateful that he was there. Oh, and for the wine. But that went without saying. Later, she noted that he’d said Charlotte and surgeries were his priorities. As in past tense. “Priorities can change,” he noted before kissing her in such a way that it was clear she had become one. With that, they made their way toward the bed, clothes were strewn about, and presumably, a very, very happy Thanksgiving was had by all.
‘NOTHING LIKE A THANKSGIVING KUGEL’ | At Grey Sloan, Ashley was checked out by Jo, Richard and Levi. She didn’t want to worry her husband by calling and interrupting dinner, though. Soon enough, he wound up in the hospital, anyway. Ashley had to undergo surgery and might need an emergency C-section. Before being wheeled into the ER, the mother of several asked Jo to tie her tubes while she was in there. Shortly, an emergency C-section was performed, and Ashley kept right on bleeding. An emergent hysterectomy was required, Jo explained to her husband, who was full of regret that Ashley hadn’t been able to tell him that she’d wanted to be done having kids. As the episode drew to a close, Levi’s mother shocked Nico with marriage talk. She was even starting to pick out baby names for Schmico. (Cue Nico’s panicked expression in 3, 2… )
Noah asked Owen how much longer he’d be putting his family through this. “It’ll be over soon,” Hunt promised. Off that somber exchange, he learned from Teddy that Farouk had had to be put on the heart transplant list. Finding Bailey crying, Richard got her to open up about her grief over Pru. “I just want to hold her and tell her everything’s gonna be all right” — which she might not even get to do again. Back at Mer’s, Amelia assured Link that he was nothing like his parents, and they fell into a steamy kiss… which she made clear hadn’t changed anything for her. Nonetheless, they appeared to be going to go at it. Mer and Nick were all but glowing after their nookie. And at the hospital, Richard celebrated the fact that he, Bailey, Levi, Nico and Jo were together. “I am thankful that this year we had more saves than losses,” Webber said, “and that we are still here.” Amen.
Fox’s Thursday Night Football coverage, with 8.1 million total viewers and a 2.1 demo rating, was up from last week’s fast nationals.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.8 mil/0.7), United States of Al (4.6 mil/0.4), Ghosts (5 mil/0.5), B Positive (3.8 mil/0.4) and Bull (4 mil/0.3) all were steady in the demo while down a few eyeballs.
ABC | Station 19 (4.4 mil/0.6) and Big Sky (2.7 mil/0.3) were steady, while Grey’s (4.6 mil/0.7) ticked up to its second best numbers of the season.
NBC | The Blacklist (2.9 mil/0.3) and Organized Crime (2.9 mil/0.5) were steady, while SVU (3.6 mil/0.6) hit and tied season lows.
THE CW | Walker (880K/0.1) dropped some eyeballs, while Legacies (434K/0.1) added some.
‘TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIM, OR I’LL COME BACK AND KILL YOU… BUT SERIOUSLY, I HAVE THE TRAINING’ | No sooner had Winston and Cormac wheeled Farouk in for his secret surgery in “Bottle Up and Explode” than the aforementioned blast rocked Grey Sloan, sending Megan rushing in to the ER to hold her unconscious son’s hand and hum the cartoon themes that had always soothed him. At the same time, Owen, who was already dealing with the fact that the vets he was trying to help blamed him for Col. Davis’ death, suffered a flareup of his PTSD. So while Cormac supported Megan through an anxiety-inducing delay in closing Farouk after his operation, Teddy was reaching out to her husband, who by the hardest reminded himself that he had been taught how to handle his PTSD. But the vets… “Nobody’s helping them with anything,” he said. “I need to help them.” Finally, Farouk was stitched up, at which point his mom allowed herself to break down. Concerned at the way that she had kept her brother in the dark, Cormac told Owen what had been going on. So at the end of the episode, he and Teddy were able to reinforce to Megan that “we are your family, you and Farouk, and you never have to do this alone. OK?” A-OK.
‘HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY SUPER SECRET PROJECT?’ | In Minnesota, Meredith and Amelia brought in to consult none other than Koracick. Which seemed like a good idea, no? He could be annoying, but he was also brilliant. So why was David so appalled by Tom’s arrival? “He was not part of our deal,” David complained to Mer. Yes, but why did he care? Turned out Tom — oh, Tom! — had slept with David’s daughter. Not that that was why he was holding a grudge, he insisted. “It’s not the sex,” he told Mer, “it’s the gloating!” Yeah, can totally see that happening with Koracick. When Mer reminded David that she had complete autonomy over her team, he backed down… at which point she cheered him right back up. “Maybe,” she chuckled, “Koracick will be a bust and you can fire him. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
And as our 60 minutes ticked down to seconds, Mer met Nick for dinner, and sparks flying that made the stars look pale by comparison, they kissed in giddily cinematic fashion. They weren’t the only ones performing successful chemistry tests, either. If it was any clearer than Amelia and Kai wanted each other, they’d have been passing each other notes in the lab that said as much. But their potential hookup looked like it might be cut off at the pass when Kai said that she was married. “To this lab,” he hastened to add. Ha.
‘HI, I ALMOST DIED’ | After Vic was brought in to Grey Sloan adorably high on morphine, Bailey’s heart dropped. A subsequent aid car didn’t have its sirens on, so she knew that it contained someone who had died. It was, of course, Dean, not Ben. (Read how it happened here.) But Miranda would soon be tempted to kill him herself when he revealed that he’d promised to take Pru in case anything ever happened to her dad. “I didn’t think he was ever going to die!” Ben insisted. Later, Bailey admitted that her reluctance to take in Pru stemmed from her desire to have a little girl. She knew she’d fall head over heels for the baby. What would she do if the tot’s grandparents then swooped in and took her away? No matter how badly Bailey’s heart would be broken, her decision was made when Andy arrived at the hospital with Pru. When the toddler hugged Bailey, it was all over. The Bailey/Warren family had a new member.
In other developments, Travis broke it to Vic that Dean had died, a crushing revelation that gave her the equivalent of a heart attack. Travis couldn’t fathom what his BFF was going through. She’d already lost her fiancé and now Dean? “I can’t imagine having to do it again,” the widower cried to Levi. Elsewhere in the episode, Richard and Winston bonded a bit while Maggie was out of town tending to her ailing adoptive father, and all that death made Jo worry about what would happen if she died. “I’ve got Luna,” Link assured her without even a moment’s hesitation. “I’ve got her.”
“Booking Grey’s out of the self tape was really, really nice,” they told Deadline. “You send so many of these auditions into the void…and I got the phone call the next day. It was just one of those things that worked out.”
The Shrill and Work in Progress actor made their Grey’s Anatomy debut as Dr. Kai Bartley in “Some Kind of Tomorrow.” A neuroscientist at the The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Fightmaster’s Dr. Bartley joins Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. Chemistry goes beyond the research as Amelia and Kai begin to learn more about each other, sparking potential for a romantic relationship.
While Kai Bartley is the latest queer doctor to join the world of Grey’s Anatomy, following the likes of Schmitt (Jake Borelli) and Calli Torres (Sara Ramirez), Fightmaster says it’s exciting that their identity isn’t the sole focus of their time on the series.
“It’s very exciting to get to be a full human on a show, to get to act and not worry about my gender. It just gives me so much more leeway to play, knowing that as a baseline I personally am being respected,” they said.
Musing about the respect of both the series’ writers and fanbase have for how they identify, Fightmaster also reflected on portraying nonbinary love interests for both Grey’s and Shrill. In the Aidy Bryant-led Hulu series, Fightmaster appeared as Em, the romantic partner to Lolly Adefope’s Fran.
When asked whether being cast as a love interest multiple times was an ego boost, Fightmaster quipped: “I would be lying if I said otherwise.”
They continued: “When I get hired as a love interest, I just think that this is another way that people get to see themselves. I think sometimes we spend so much time explaining our identity when you see trans or nonbinary characters on TV. It’s nice to just see them get to connect. It’s nice to see them just live out other parts of life that aren’t all explanatory or explanation-based. A lot of character writing for gay people is talking about trauma. It’s nice to, instead of playing trauma, get to play love.”
Playing love with Scorsone is “such an easy job,” Fightmaster added. They praised Scorsones’ dynamic personality and noted that the Grey’s vet “welcomed [them] so quickly and so warmly.” Between Kai and Link, it may seem like Amelia may have a thing for intelligent doctors with great hair, but ultimately “Amelia’s kink is connection,” regardless of how the person with whom she shares it identifies.
After joking about bringing their musical talents to Grey’s Anatomy (“I’m gonna bring my electric guitar to set and I’m just gonna improvise and if they don’t write it in, then I quit”), Fightmaster reflected on the significance of further pushing the boundaries of on-screen queer romance.
“If you look at the show like Grey’s, obviously the fanbase is interested in the medical aspects of it. But the thing that really keeps them yied is this constant search. for connection that all of their characters are trying to achieve,” they said. “Adding a non binary storyline to that, getting to see a non binary person get to be part of this extremely flirty world, this compassionate world is really fun for me. I just think about me as a queer kid to watch this on screen. I cannot imagine what it would have done to my brain and what it would have done for my heart.”
The series, which follows a class of FBI agents set in a near future where the U.S. criminal justice system has been transformed by artificial intelligence, comes from Tom Rob Smith, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson.
The eight-part series produced by FX Productions revolves around a group of FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009 and are reunited following the death of a mutual friend. Spanning three decades and told across three interweaving timelines, the series examines the nature of justice, humanity, and the choices we make that ultimately define our lives and our legacy.
Moafi plays Hour; Smith is Lennix; Briones portrays Gabriel; Smith is Drew; McDorman portrays Murphy; Eleazar is Vivienne; Castillo portrays Amos.
Class of ‘09 is from Executive Producer/Writer Tom Rob Smith and Executive Producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Gonera serves as Executive Producer on the first two episodes and Nellie Reed is a Producer. Class of ’09 will air exclusively on FX on Hulu.
Moafi can currently be seen starring as Gigi Ghorbani in Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q, and will be seen in the forthcoming Apple TV+ drama In With the Devil. She’s repped by A3 Artists Agency and Principal Entertainment LA.
Smith recently wrapped filming Warner Bros.’ Matrix 4. On the television side, he recently appeared in USA Network’s Treadstone and BBC’s World on Fire. Smith is repped by Innovative Artists and Principal Entertainment LA.
Briones was most recently seen in the Ryan Murphy Netflix series Ratched opposite Sarah Paulson, Sharon Stone, and Judy Davis. On the film side, he recently wrapped production on Amblin’s Last Voyage of the Demeter as Joseph. He’s repped by Piper Kaniecki Marks and A3 Artists Agency.
Smith is best known for her role as Catherine Martin, Buffalo Bill’s kidnap victim, in Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs and as Dr. Erica Hahn in Grey’s Anatomy. She’s repped by Stewart Talent Agency and Sue Leibman/Barking Dog Entertainment.
McDorman can currently be seen on Hulu’s anticipated Dopesick starring Michael Keaton and in the upcoming Paramount+ film Jerry and Marge Go Large. He’s repped by UTA and Mosaic.
Eleazar’s television credits include BBC’s Uncle Vanya, Netflix’s Master of None, Hulu’s Harlots and Howards End on BBC, among others. She made her feature film debut in The Personal History of David Copperfield, directed by Armando Iannucci. She most recently completed filming Slow Horses, See Saw Films’ adaptation for Apple TV. Eleazar is repped in London by Rebecca Blond Associates.
Castillo can be seen starring in Adam Randall’s vampire thriller Night Teeth for Netflix as well as Army of the Dead from writer/director Zack Snyder. He’ll next be seen in Mattson Tomlin’s upcoming directorial debut, Mother/Android, which will premiere on December 17 on Hulu and The Same Storm, directed and written by Peter Hedges. Castillo is repped by CAA, JWS Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
Gonera recently wrapped a block of Raised by Wolves for HBO Max and Scott Free. His episodic credits include Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, Starz’s The Rook, along with multiple episodes of Snowfall for FX, among others. Gonera is repped by Thruline, A3 Artists Agency and RLG LLP.
Davis will play Jordan Wright, a resident in Minnesota. He’s a charming, confident young doctor who is always ready for a challenge, which makes him Dr. Marsh’s (Scott Speedman) favorite resident. Jordan crosses paths with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) on a case she’s brought in on.
Davis’ character will be introduced in the December 9 episode. Meanwhile, Grey’s Anatomy is headed into another big crossover event with Station 19 this Thursday, which has been teasing a death within the ranks of the firefighter drama.
Davis was most recently seen alongside Harrison Ford and Dan Stevens in The Call of the Wild and will next be seen opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7. In TV, he recently recurred on Freeform’s Good Trouble and had a guest-starring role in All Rise. He’s repped by ICM Partners and DiSante Frank & Company.
Grey’s Anatomy, ABC’s longest-running and top-rated scripted series, was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Krista Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer. Betsy Beers and Mark Gordon are executive producers. Debbie Allen is the producing director and executive producer. Grey’s Anatomy is produced by ABC Signature, a division of Disney Television Studios.
Reindeer Games follows a fading Hollywood star who returns to his small tight knit hometown post breakup. He’s begrudgingly roped into the town’s holiday fundraising tradition, “The Reindeer Games,” but when he surprisingly falls for (and is competing against) a former classmate he ignored in high school who’s determined to beat him at all costs, he must win the game and win her heart as well.
Stolen Hearts tells the true-life story of Lizbeth Meredith (Drew), who finds herself fighting for her daughters after her ex kidnaps them and takes them to Greece.
Lizbeth says goodbye to her young daughters for a non-custodial visit with their father, her abusive ex-husband, only to discover days later that he has kidnapped the children and taken them to Greece. For the next 2 years, fueled by the memories of her own childhood kidnapping, Lizbeth travels to the White House and Greece, burning through every dime and favor to get her children back. One false move, and her ex-husband will vanish with her girls guaranteeing that Lizbeth will never see them again. Two false moves and he’ll make good on his promise to kill her. But a mother’s love knows no borders, and Lizbeth will risk everything to protect her daughters and bring them back home.
Stolen Hearts: The Lizbeth Meredith Story is produced by Cineflix Media with Jeff Vanderwal serving as Executive Producer. Simone Stock directs from a script by Barbara Kymlicka.
“We are thrilled to have Sarah back with Lifetime in this powerful role as Lizbeth,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP Scripted Content, Lifetime & LMN. “Sarah is such a versatile actress who is not only engaging and collaborative, but also a wonderful creative partner.”
Drew previously starred in Lifetime holiday movies Twinkle All the Way and Christmas Pen Pals.
“I’ve absolutely loved working with Lifetime over the past few years and couldn’t be more thrilled to continue my relationship with them as an actor and now as a writer and producer as well. I’m delighted to announce my screenwriting debut with Reindeer Games, a romantic comedy about love, loss, and the importance of true community. I’m looking forward to working with Lifetime to bring more stories like this to life”, Drew said.
Drew currently stars in the new Apple TV series Amber Brown, based on Paula Danziger’s bestselling book series, which is being helmed by Bonnie Hunt. She is probably best known for playing Dr. April Kepner for nine seasons on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, a role she reprised on the show last season. She recently has been recurring on Freeform’s Cruel Summer. Drew is repped by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment and Morris Yorn.
The snippets from the back-to-back episodes airing Thursday, Nov. 11 (starting at 8/7c), seem to want us to believe that the soon-to-be-deceased is one of three people: Ben, who has gone incommunicado on wife Bailey even as an explosion rocks Seattle, Sullivan, whose estranged missus Andy is ominously informed of a second blast by fellow firefighter Travis, or little Farouk, whose mom Megan is seen breaking down in tears. (And you’ll recall, he was already approaching a medical crisis.)
But we all know that Station 19/Grey’s promos love nothing more than to dish out red herrings. So our hunch is that the character we’ll soon be losing is none of those three. Since the logline for Station 19 says that the explosion “changes the lives of our firefighters forever” — whereas the logline for Grey’s says only that there’s an “incoming trauma hitting close to home” — it feels safe to assume that the casualty in the making will be a firefighter.
(Video) But Ben? No. C’mon, he’s Ben, the station’s de-facto dad. Sullivan? Forget it. He’s just about to start using his raised profile to climb back up the ladder to captain (and, we’d wager, get involved with the SFD’s PR person). Farouk? Nah. Grey’s is clearly positioning Cormac to save the boy and, in the process, bond with Megan.
So who, then? Our money’s on Jack. Though it would be super satisfying to see Gibson finally find real love and start a family, he is at extremely loose ends, what with his last romance having ended and no new one on the horizon. His demise would cut short his life, yes, but it wouldn’t interrupt some big storyline already in progress (or, as far as we can see, in the works).
They will recur as Dr. Kai Bartley. Fightmaster first made their Grey’s Anatomy debut as Dr. Bartely in the series’ most recent installment “Hotter Than Hell,” which welcomed Kate Walsh’s Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery back to the scene. They are part of the Parkinson’s research team in Minnesota.
“They are dedicated to their craft and extremely talented at what they do. Confident as hell and able to make even the most detailed and mundane science seem exciting and cool, Kai and Amelia bond over their shared love of medicine and the brain,” the official ABC description reads.
While Fightmaster will portray the series’ first nonbinary medical expert, they join a number of LGTBQ+ cast members including Jake Borelli, who portrays Dr. Levi Schmitt, and Sara Ramirez, who made their stamp on Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Callie Torres in earlier seasons.
Fightmaster appeared in season 2 and 3 of Hulu’s Shrill, opposite Aidy Bryant and Lolly Adefope. They previously appeared in Abby McEnany and Tim Mason’s Work In Progress on Showtime. Beyond acting, the writer and musician comprises one half of the L.A.-based music duo Twin. Fightmaster is repped by UTA and Range Media Partners.
Grey’s Anatomy, ABC’s longest-running and top-rated scripted series, was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Krista Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer. Betsy Beers and Mark Gordon are executive producers. Debbie Allen is the producing director and executive producer. Grey’s Anatomy is produced by ABC Signature, a division of Disney Television Studios.
THE DRAMA TV STAR OF 2021
1 Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead
2 Angela Bassett, 9-1-1
3 Chase Stokes, Outer Banks
4 Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy 4
5 Mandy Moore, This Is Us
6 Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
7 Queen Latifah, The Equalizer
8 Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us 4
Voting for the 40 categories runs today through Wednesday, November 17 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Fans can vote online or on Twitter.
THE SHOW OF 2021
1 Cobra Kai
2 Grey’s Anatomy
3 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
4 Loki
5 Saturday Night Live
6 The Bachelor
7 This Is Us
8 WandaVision
THE DRAMA SHOW OF 2021
1 Outer Banks
2 9-1-1
3 Cobra Kai
4 Grey’s Anatomy
5 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
6 The Equalizer
7 The Walking Dead
8 This Is Us
THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2021
1 Angela Bassett, 9-1-1
2 Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision
3 Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy
4 Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision
5 Mandy Moore, This Is Us
6 Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
7 Queen Latifah, The Equalizer
8 Yara Shahidi, Grown-ish
Fox’s Thursday Night Football (8.2 mil/2.1) of course led the night in both measures, steady with last week’s fast nationals.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.5 mil/0.6), Grey’s Anatomy (3.8 mil/0.6) and Big Sky (2.8 mil/0.3) were all steady.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.1 mil/0.6) and Bull (3.7 mil/0.3) were steady, while United States of Al (4.3 mil/0.4), Ghosts (5.1 mil/0.5) and B Positive (3.7 mil/0.4) all dipped.
THE CW | Coroner (510K/0.0) dipped, while Legacies (340K/0.1) was steady.
‘I’M SO TIRED, I COULD DROP DEAD’ | As “With a Little Help From My Friends” began, Richard and Catherine, and Levi and Nico, canoodled after a night of passion — separately, it bears mentioning — as word spread that Webber was once again in charge of the residency program. Though Addison was set to go West once again, she couldn’t leave yet; she needed Amelia’s help to save Tovah. Noah showed up with Owen at a support group… where the organizer Roy began coughing up blood before anyone could give the testimonials that he’d take to Washington to lobby for changes to the VA. And as Jo arrived for work, she and Cormac encountered a woman who was going into labor. As for Meredith, when she showed up at Grey Sloan, she and Bailey learned from Richard that he intended to let the residents fly solo on lap-choles that day. See? Miranda told Grey. “You can’t go to Minnesota. The man’s lost his damn mind.”
Alone with Mer and Bailey, Richard defended his decision to let his pupils operate alone; the attendings’ presence would only be needed for about 10 critical minutes of each procedure. Reluctantly, Bailey agreed to his daring plan. “God help us, fine,” she said. She was beyond uneasy, though, putting patients’ lives in the hands of “children with scalpels.” Hilariously, Mabel struck Amelia’s superhero pose before making her first cut. From there, Bailey, Mer and Richard ran from OR to OR. When Levi finished his lap chole in record time, Richard offered him and Reza a double feature. In another OR, Taryn and James ran into trouble and called for an attending.
‘ASK SMARTER QUESTIONS ABOUT MY PATIENT’ | As testy as Addison seemed — really, she was just desperate to save Tovah and not tank her study — Amelia dove in to lend a hand. Later, Addison questioned why Amelia had dumped Link. After drowning in children and domesticity for months, she’d been tempted over and over again to do drugs. Link, on the other hand, was falling ever more in love with their mom-and-pop operation. “It felt like I couldn’t breathe. I judged myself for that,” she added, “like it looks like you’re judging me now.” Addison wasn’t judging her, though. During the pandemic, she’d drunk so much wine that she resembled a tick. And she had such dark thoughts, she kept them to herself. She’d even liked the idea of not waking up ever again — that dark. After running tests on Tovah, Amelia offered Team Grey Sloan to help monitor the patient — provided they received credit when Montgomery published. In response, Addison confessed that she needed to prioritize Tovah over her selfish need to go home. Helping her had given Addison the will to get up in the morning. It was OK, Amelia assured her. She was doing everything that she could for Tovah.
After Owen and Noah rushed Roy to the hospital, Hunt and Winston discovered that the patient had lung cancer on top of pulmonary fibrosis. “So what are we talking?” Roy asked. “What can we do to get me to Congress next month?” A risky procedure that might be him a couple of months, Winston said. Do it, Roy instructed him. “I spent my entire life fighting, I’m not going to stop now.” Before he went under the knife, he confessed to Owen that he’d authorized the burn pits that had so adversely impacted him and his own troops. After the surgery, Owen reiterated to Noah that he was in this battle “with all of you guys.” Well, maybe not Roy — he was crashing, and it didn’t look good. Shortly, Owen and Winston broke it to Noah that Roy had passed away. Grieving, he told Hunt that he’d let him in, and the doc had made everything so much worse. He didn’t want any more of Owen’s help.
‘NO DAD, JUST A HOOKUP’ | The pregnant woman — Nikki was her name — told her boyfriend of a month that she’d thought he’d known that she was pregnant. “Look at me,” she said. But despite her baby bump, he hadn’t. Soon, he revealed to Jo that he was bailing. Afterwards, she floated to Nikki the idea that she was just experiencing anxiety, not labor pains. But of course she was anxious — she was having a random guy’s baby, and her new boyfriend had run out on her. She was also in labor, and as the episode neared its conclusion, she gave birth in such a way that Jo had to perform a complicated maneuver to get the boy out. In other developments, after Megan approached Cormac for a pediatric consult, she was forced to reveal that the patient in question was her son, Farouk. He had a concerning murmur, Hayes soon reported. And yes, he’d keep the sitch on the DL for Mom, lest Owen freak out. Later, Cormac reported that Farouk would need surgery to treat endocarditis. “He has to be OK,” Megan cried. Needless to say, Cormac was going to do everything that he could to ensure that he was.
As the hour neared its conclusion, Addison and Amelia assured Tovah that she hadn’t rejected the uterus. “Give her a minute to cry,” Addison told Amelia. Later, Addison questioned whether Amelia would regret a decision that she made during a crisis. “I hated the life that he loved,” Amelia said. “So I think the sanest and kindest thing I can do is let him go.” Addison was impressed. “Look at you,” she said. “Amelia Shepherd, all grown up.” Elsewhere, Richard, Catherine and Meredith congratulated themselves on a successful day even as Bailey focused on the trouble Helm had run into. But Mer saw Taryn’s hiccup as proof that the system had worked — she’d asked for help, and the patient was fine. Off his terrible day, Owen asked Cormac if he wanted to grab a drink before he went home to Teddy. High off his surgical twofer, Levi hurled himself at Nico with the confidence of a “rock-star boyfriend.” And happening upon Taryn beating herself after her surgical mistake, Bailey told her that she should feel awful. “It’s that awfulness… it sticks with us so we don’t ever make that same mistake again,” Miranda said. “It’s how we become great.” And who was the first person that Mer ran into in Minnesota? Why, Nick, naturally.
Kicking off Season 8 of The CW’s The Flash on Nov. 16 at 8/7c, the team-up event — airing across five consecutive Tuesdays — finds Grant Gustin’s Barry recruiting a cavalcade of superfriends, including Brandon Routh’s The Atom, Cress Williams’ Black Lightning, Katherine McNamara’s Mia Smoak (from Arrow), Javicia Leslie’s Batwoman, Chyler Leigh’s Sentinel (from Supergirl) and Osric Chau’s Ryan Choi (from the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event).
Said assembly of heroes will face an extraterrestrial threat led by Defiance alum Tony Curran’s Despero, while Arrowverse vets Tom Cavanagh and Neal McDonough will reprise their respective villainous roles of Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash and Damien Darhk.
“It was very emotional. It was like going back to your hometown and your family and your first best job ever all at once,” she said. “It was a lot, it was great.”
During a press conference on Monday, Walsh opened up about returning to the long-running ABC medical drama. In “Hotter Than Hell,” Walsh’s Addison returned to Grey Sloan Memorial to shepherd the new generation of residents and perform a hysterectomy on her patient Tova. When the lack of A/C at the hospital puts the surgery in jeopardy, Addison calls on Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) to complete the procedure. This leads to a rare but touching moment between the two women.
The intimate post-surgery moment between Meredith and Addison, where they finally grieve Derek Shepherd’s (Patrick Dempsey) death together, showcased the “genius” of the show’s writers, Walsh said.
“The genius of Grey’s is the container of space, the container of the hospital, the container of the elevator, the container of the O.R. All that pressure releases in the elevator and comes out in this odd, strange moment which I think is so Addison and very apropos for these people who are just such ballers and the best of the best.”
During the press conference Walsh also teased this week’s upcoming episode, “With a Little Help From My Friends.” The actress said that viewers and fans can expect a little more airtime between Addison and former sister-in-law Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) and can look forward to seeing their “sisterly relationship.”
“You really see Addison’s and Amelia’s dynamic play out and they’re reconnecting and that was a total delight for me,” she teased. “It was a completely different kind of episode from the first one but intensely intimate and satisfying.”
Viewers wondering about what the Covid-19 pandemic looked like for Addison and her family, fret not as the upcoming installment will also touch on that as well, Walsh added.
While fans rejoiced in Addison’s return, Walsh did not reveal too many details about how long she’ll be part of the series, noting that “right now, we’re just doing a few episodes.”
“For now, that’s what we’ve got planned just to have Addison pop in and we’ll see what happens, what transpires,” she said. Walsh joins a number of original and early Grey’s Anatomy cast members who have returned to the series for appearances. In the previous season, Dempsey returned to Meredith’s dream beach. Among those revisiting Grey’s have been T.R. Knight, Chyler Leigh and Sarah Drew.
Opening CBS’ night, Young Sheldon (6.3 mil/0.6, read recap) dipped yet still led Thursday’s non-NFL fare in total audience. United States of Al (4.5 mil/0.5) and Bull (3.7 mil/0.3) were steady, while B Positive‘s sophomore opener (3.8 mil/0.4) matched the sitcom’s Season 1 lows.
Elsewhere:
NBC | Law & Order: SVU (3.8 mil/0.7) TikTok’ed up to lead Thursday’s non-NFL fare in the demo. Organized Crime (3.2 mil/0.5, read recap) was steady.
ABC | Station 19 (4.2 mil/0.5) dipped, while Grey’s Anatomy (3.9 mil/0.6) and Big Sky (2.8 mil/0.3) were steady.
THE CW | Coroner (640K/0.1) added viewers, while Legacies (350K/0.1) opened Season 4 with its smallest audience to date.
FOX | Thursday Night Football (9.4 mil/2.3) is up from last week’s preliminary numbers.
‘YOU MUST BE THE GROUP THAT’S BEEN SCREWING UP THE PROGRAM’ | As the episode began, Amelia revealed to Mer that curing Parkinson’s was one of Link’s lifelong dreams. If only she wasn’t sworn to secrecy about Minnesota. At Grey Sloan, Owen struggled with the idea of giving up on Noah from last week (even though that was what the patient wanted). And the residents all but exploded in excitement upon learning that Addison would be arriving that day. When Cormac welcomed Mer back to Seattle, he did so… with hot coffee during a heatwave? Lucky he’s cute. After Bailey hurried past, Mer admitted to Hayes that she’d yet to tell Miranda or Richard that he’d have to take over the residency program again. Which he was already kinda doing as he sent the youngsters off on grand rounds with Addison. (Ah, and how good was it to have her back in those halls!)
Though Addison was all business, the residents gossiped like crazy about her past with Mer and the husband they’d had in common. But they were soon distracted by their case of the day. Courtesy of Addison, it was a groundbreaker: a uterine transplant for a woman named Tovah who wanted to get pregnant with her late husband’s preserved sperm specimen. Jo tried to kiss up to get in on the case, but Addison just sent her for coffee. Later, Richard was all excited about updating the residency program with Mer… who couldn’t quite bring herself to tell him that he’d be doing so without her. Not yet, anyway.
‘WELL… CRAP’ | Before Tovah was wheeled into surgery, Addison sweetly reassured her patient. Levi, having already impressed Montgomery, was allowed to scrub in, while his peers fielded rapid-fire questions from the gallery. By and by, a strange rumbling was heard throughout the hospital: The AC had died. Richard soon reported to Addison that without AC, the air-filtration system in the hospital was also down. She had to call off the surgery or double her speed. In response, Addison told him to get her someone with hands as skilled as her own. In fact, she said, get her Meredith.
While Mer and Addison worked on Tovah, they playfully teased one another about which of them would win that year’s Catherine Fox Award. (Addison was sure she had it in the bag, what with her uterine transplant and all; but Mer could still take second place.) Once they were done, Mer and Addison shared a laugh at the residents’ fascination with their “tension.” But then Addison broke down in the elevator. She thought coming back to Seattle, she’d be able to feel like Derek was still there… and she didn’t. “Addison, he is here,” Mer assured her, in particular in his children, to whom she’d love to introduce Montgomery. In turn, Addison encouraged Mer to fight for her next big thing. “Richard will understand.” (Awesome scene.) When the residents spotted them getting off the elevator, Helm hilariously remarked, “Grey made her cry… and I’m here for it.”
‘THIS IS NOT A WINDOW UNIT’ | When Winston reported to Reshida that a donor kidney had been found for her, she was beside herself. He was still anxious, though, knowing that this was her last chance. From there, an MIA Maggie’s husband approached Owen to perform the transplant. Sure, Hunt said. When Winston learned that the AC being out meant that Reshida’s surgery couldn’t be performed, Owen leapt into action to save the kidney. His idea? He was going to perform the transplant in Station 19’s aid car. Meanwhile, Link and Teddy took action to try to get the HVAC going. She’d installed a window unit that day and was sure she could handle it. She couldn’t. When Link couldn’t get the AC going, either, he erupted, upset that he loved Amelia and didn’t feel like she even thought about him. (Which she kinda didn’t; she was busy throwing sparks on a call with doc Kai in Minnesota.)
In other developments, a young woman involved in a jet-ski accident (that sent water blasting into her privates) beseeched Bailey and Cormac not to call her parents; they didn’t know that she’d been meeting her Internet boyfriend IRL. When Cormac grumbled to Bailey that teenagers seemed to be losing their minds, she cracked that they didn’t have minds to lose. Despite the surgical shutdown, Bailey still went ahead and operated on the girl’s perforated bowel. Finally, Cormac got the girl’s Web beau to hand over her phone so he could contact her folks. As the hour drew to a close, Addison stood up to Richard on behalf of the overworked residents. But OK, they were also sometimes a little whiny, she admitted. Afterwards, Mer broke it to Richard that she wasn’t moving to Minnesota and would stay on as chief of general surgery… but the residents were all his once again. After telling Reshida that yup, she had a new kidney, Winston led Sara to the coolest place in the whole hospital. No, not that kinda cool: the morgue, where a whole party was going on, courtesy of Bailey’s ambassador of fun, Teddy.
Then, at last, Addison was reunited with her L.A. “sister,” Amelia, who was surprised to learn that they were having dinner at… Mer’s. In his anxiousness to help Noah, Owen went so far as to show up at the guy’s door. “The military doesn’t want to take responsibility” for soldiers like you, said Hunt. But he’d fight for Noah every step of the way. “What do you need from me?” Noah asked. He was in. At Mer’s, Addison almost choked when she saw Bailey. Was she Daddy’s friend? Yes, she said. But he called me Addy. Aww.
“Probably not movies, I don’t have a movie career,” Pompeo said during Audacy’s Check In.
In a chat with Audacy’s Dax Holt, Pompeo said that the days of pigeon-holing of TV actors to solely television projects are over thanks to the ubiquity of streaming. However, even the shifts of the entertainment landscape won’t necessarily push the actress to the big screen.
“Before, being on a network for so long, you’d literally be doomed. That definitely is not the case anymore so I probably wouldn’t do movies per se, but I probably will do some streaming television,” Pompeo continued.
Though the actress didn’t delve too deep into the types of streaming projects she’d take on, she shared that she’s currently “developing something right now,” adding that “we’ll see if it’s that’s meant to see the light of day.” Pompeo has already taken the plunge into development with her production company Calamity Jane. In April, Deadline learned exclusively that the black comedy Deeds starring Sex and the City‘s Kristin Davis is in the works at HBO Max from Pompeo’s company.
Beyond development and potentially streaming television gigs, Pompeo has already started branching out into different fields, including audio series with her Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast debuting last month.
“I’m just trying to play in some different areas and do a few new things but I’m sure I’ll act again,” she said.
Grey’s Anatomy returned for its 18th season earlier this month, however there is still speculation about whether the current chapter will be its last. Pompeo’s current contract is up at the end of the season.
This NFL season’s TNF debut on Fox averaged 8.2 million total viewers and a 2.1 demo rating, easily besting all comers in both measures.
Over on ABC, Station 19 (4.1 mil/0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (3.9 mil/0.6, read recap and preview Addison’s return) and Big Sky (2.7 mil/0.3, read recap) slipped anywhere from 13 to 19 percent in viewers, while also dropping in the demo.
NBC’s Law & Order: SVU (3.7 mil/0.6) was down 21 percent and a tenth, while Organized Crime (3.1 mil/0.5) fell 24 percent and two tenths.
CBS’ Young Sheldon returned to 6.7 mil (the night’s largest non-NFL crowd) and a 0.7 rating (with a TVLine reader grade of “B+”), followed by United States of Al‘s 4.7 mil/0.5 (reader grade “A”). Ghost‘s premiere episode (5.4 mil/0.5) ranked and tied for fourth among this fall’s 10 series launches thus far, and No. 1 among comedies (meaning… it outdrew The Wonder Years); a second episode did 5.2 mil/0.5. TVLine readers gave the single-cam comedy an average grade of “B+,” with 91 percent planing to keep watching.
Closing out CBS’ night, Bull drew 4.1 mil/0.3 (while sending Benny to… Italy).
Lastly, The CW’s Coroner (590K/0.1) and the series finale of The Outpost (330K/0.0) each added a handful of eyeballs while flat in the demo.
‘THAT’S A VERY OLD-FASHIONED WAY TO ASK A GIRL FOR A DATE’ | As “Some Kind of Tomorrow” began, Nick stuck a note under Mer’s hotel-room door… and was caught. Not that it mattered; she still happily agreed to have dinner with him that evening at 7. In Seattle, Link and Jo kinda coparented, while Maggie missed Winston, who was working so much that he slept at work. Nearby, Sara reported to her fellow residents that mom Alma had transferred to work more closely with Team Jackson. And Richard had big plans for the lot of them. From there, we cut back to Minnesota, where Amelia had arrived to behold the lab that was being offered to Mer. “Oh, you are definitely not coming back to Seattle,” Amelia laughed. But the millions weren’t just being offered to Mer now, they were also being offered to Amelia, because her sister-in-law was inviting her to be a part of it all. Yikes. greys-anatomy-recap-season-18-episode-2-some-kind-of-tomorrow
At Grey Sloan, Teddy protectively hovered over Leo, who’d decided to dress as Elsa from Frozen for the day. Sara teamed up with Winston to treat Reshida, who had diabetes and kidney failure. She’d be starting dialysis, her attending reported. When she reported that she wasn’t even able to get on a transplant list, Winston wanted to jump into action. But Reshida was sure that she wasn’t long for this world. With his pupils, Richard announced that they would be going through a rigorous series of surgical simulations and evaluations. “The resident with the highest score,” he added, “flies solo in the ER” that day with an operations on par with their skills. Well, OK, then — game on! Round 1 went to Levi. The next round that we saw went to Mabel. And just like that, Richard announced that Levi had won the competition. He’d get to scrub in on Jo’s ex lap on a foreign body extraction (on a woman who already had a strawberry removed from her, ahem, you know). While that was going on, Dr. Wong reported to Bailey that he was retiring whether she liked it or not to write mystery novels.
‘ANYBODY WHO NEEDS LIFE-SAVING CARE SHOULD GET IT’ | Bumping into a nephrologist who served as a wall between Reshida and qualification for inclusion on the transplant list — because she adhered to incorrect clinical assumptions that ignored the differences between Black people and white people — Winston appealed to Bailey, then took action himself. He re-approached the nephrologist, who stood by the EGFR but said she’d look into his assertions. Of course, there wasn’t time for that. It was suddenly do-or-die time for Reshida, and Winston wasn’t about to let her die. So he broke protocol, crossing his fingers that he could get a transplant for her before it was later than too late.
Treating an injured boy, Megan charmed Cormac. In the next examining room, the boy’s dad was doing exceptionally poorly; he’d passed out at the wheel and was having trouble breathing. Before you knew it, he was coughing up blood, and Owen was calling his bride for a consult. While she pondered whether they should stop letting Leo dress up, she and Owen discovered that the patient’s lungs looked like a war zone. He had pulmonary fibrosis, he reported. And he didn’t want treatment, he just wanted to spend whatever time he had left with his son. “Look at you breaking rules and saving lives,” Megan quipped to the newlyweds. “Aren’t you glad I got you to tie the knot?” Despite Owen’s determination to save the terminal patient, Cormac let him go home.
In Minnesota, Amelia checked out David, who wasn’t interested in a Band-Aid for his Parkinson’s, only something that would make him whole again. Soon, if I wasn’t mistaken, sparks flew between Amelia and David’s brilliant colleague, Dr. Bartley; for Amelia, there was no decision to be made — Mer had to say yes and cure Parkinson’s. Though Mer balked at Amelia’s enthusiasm, Scout’s mom stood her ground. “You’re being ridiculous because you haven’t accepted the offer yet,” Amelia said. Hell, this was Mer’s chance to get back into neuro. Why would she walk away from this? Amelia asked… as Nick stood by looking adorable. Back in Seattle, Levi successfully performed his extraction in front of a gallery full of his peers… then hit a snag, requiring his colleagues to talk him through the end of the operation over the intercom.
‘YOU’RE NOT JUST SAVING MY LIFE, YOU’RE CHANGING IT’ | Finally, as the hour drew to a close, Meredith showed up for her date with Nick, who admitted that she might want to change into something less fancy. Why was that? He was taking her on a picnic in the woods. “This is why I pulled back on my hours,” he explained. He was missing everything — including staring up at the stars. She didn’t do that much, she admitted. “We’re gonna have so much fun,” he replied. By and by, she shared that she was scared to say yes to David and to then fail. “I have a very comfortable situation in Seattle,” by contrast. “You’re not a safety person,” Nick suggested. “You’re gonna risk it all and win or lose, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.” Back at Grey Sloan, Winston reported to Reshida that she was on the transplant list. “I honestly never thought I’d see this day,” she said. “I can go back to who I was.”
Alone with Richard, Bailey fretted that every day she was losing doctors. They needed for everyone to feel once again like they were all in it together. “You want people to remember the why,” he said. Luckily, he had some ideas — big ones. Finally, Link sang Scout the saddest-ever lullaby about his failed proposal. “You’re gonna be OK,” Jo assured him. Back at Grey Sloan, Teddy worried some more over Leo and people being cruel to him. They will be, Owen admitted, but they themselves wouldn’t be. “So let’s just let him be happy.” And in the last seconds of the episode, Mer made a few demands of David, including that they move the whole project to Grey Sloan. When that notion was shot down, she offered an alternative: “I could set up a satellite lab in Seattle” and come back and forth once a week. “Done,” he replied. “Does this mean you’re in?” Indeed, it did.
SVU opened NBC’s night with 4.7 million total viewers and a 0.8 demo rating (dropping a few eyeballs from last week’s two-hour premiere). Organized Crime‘s double pump then did 4.3 mil/0.7 and 4.1 mil/0.7, both up a tick from its sophomore premiere.
Over on ABC, meanwhile, Station 19 returned to 4.8 mil and a 0.7, down from its previous averages and flirting with its series lows (4.5 mil/0.7). Grey’s Anatomy (4.6 mil/0.7) also was down from its previous averages and flirted with its own series lows (4.3 mil/0.7). Bringing down ABC’s average for the night, Big Sky christened its new time slot with 3.1 mil and a 0.4, down a tick from its freshman averages and right on par with what one-and-done Rebel was doing in the time slot.
NBC’s average for the night: 4.4 mil/0.7. ABC’s: 4.2 mil/0.6. (Note: For the next two weeks, NBC will open Thursday with SVU reruns, until The Blacklist shows up on Oct. 22.)
Elsewhere, CBS’ The Price Is Right anniversary special did 3.8 mil/0.5… and pending adjustment due to what I assume are sports preemptions, The CW’s Coroner (750K/0.1) and The Outpost (570K/0.1) are both currently up.
COMING NEXT THURSDAY: Young Sheldon, a very special United States of Al, the new comedy Ghosts and Bull on CBS, and Thursday Night Football kicks off its latest Fox run.
‘SECURITY! THIS WOMAN CLAIMS TO BE ELLIS GREY’S DAUGHTER, BUT SHE’S SHARING CREDIT!’ | As we began “Here Comes the Sun” — set, like Season 5 of Station 19, in a post-COVID world — Meredith was challenged by her mother in a dream to do more than run-of-the-mill surgeries after surviving the coronavirus. Stuck in Phoenix Festival traffic, Maggie and Winston joked about how she hurt her wrist on their honeymoon. (He, too, had come home with a sex injury.) At couples therapy Scout’s one-year checkup, Link and Amelia bickered over his proposal. And at Grey Sloan, Bailey was up to her neck in interviews for replacements for Jackson, Koracick and Jo when Cormac invited her and her family over for dinner because his son Austin badly needed a friend. Nearby, Richard panicked over Mer’s meeting with Minnesota’s “top tumor guy” David Hamilton (Peter Gallagher), who immediately noted her resemblance to her mother. And in the park, Owen’s mom mildly freaked that Leo was wearing a tutu. Megan reported that Nathan was sorry to miss Owen and Teddy’s wedding, but he’d had an overseas trip planned for months. And quietly, simply, the couple at last… oh, damn. The minister was just about to pronounce them husband and wife when a tandem bike crashed into him!
At Jo’s, Levi was bemused by the disaster that Wilson had made of her hair while trying to lighten it. But her struggle with being a working mom was no laughing matter. She wasn’t sure how she was going to pull it off. Back at Grey Sloan, Teddy and Owen brought in their priest in an ambulance, while Link and Winston treated Nadia, whose wife Emma had accidentally steered into the preacher. Awkwardly, Link then consulted on Emma’s case with Amelia. In Minnesota, Mer was stunned when David unveiled the Grey Center for Medical Research. It was hers if she wanted it. Come again? She was intrigued by his Parkinson’s research but couldn’t figure out why he needed another doctor to convince the FDA to approve it. “Because I’m the patient,” he revealed. Despite the tempting offer Mer had received, Cormac encouraged her over the phone not to move to Minnesota. Clearly, they had gotten even chummier since last we spent time with them. But OMG! OMG! Over dinner with David, Mer spotted across the restaurant Nick (Scott Speedman), the doctor we’ve all been hoping would return since his one memorable episode!
‘WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF SURGEONS LIKE SOCKS’ | As Teddy and Owen’s priest lost his pulse, the docs began cutting into him right there and then. (First slice of the season!) Sadly, he didn’t pull through. “A priest died on our table on our wedding day,” Owen sighed. Elsewhere, Nadia suddenly discovered that she couldn’t move her legs and was rushed into the OR by Link and Amelia. When they later reported to Emma that the priest had died, she broke down. Nadia was going to hate her. During Bailey, Maggie and Cormac’s interviews with potential new hires, they eliminated one terrible contender (a reality-show contestant) after another (a doctor who refused to do pro bono work). Finally, Richard granted a wannabe Plastics Posse chief privileges to help fix the face of the guy who blasted off his cheek on Station 19. Afterwards, Bailey & Co. were impressed enough to offer Dr. Lin the job, but she’d been so unimpressed by Levi in the OR that she was going to have to think about it. As the episode neared its conclusion, Owen led Teddy to the Emerald City Bar, where they were greeted by friends and at last married by a newly ordained Megan.
At Grey Sloan, Link admitted to Amelia that sure, marriage could be faulty. But he wanted to get it right, for himself and Scout. “I can’t,” Amelia said sadly. Rather, “I can, but I don’t want to. And you used to not want to with me.” She loved him, loved the way he was with Scout. “Then marry me, Amelia,” he said. “No,” she replied. (Sigh.) At the bar, Cormac confided in Bailey that Austin had been having panic attacks since he found out that his dad was dating. Cormac had stopped, but the panic attacks hadn’t. In Grey Sloan’s parking lot, Jo shared with Link that she hadn’t been able to drop Luna at daycare. “I never want to leave her side, ever,” she said, for fear that the baby would feel like she had when her mother abandoned her. In turn, he revealed that he thought it was really over with Amelia. Back in Minnesota, Mer was ushered to the hotel bar, where she found Nick waiting for her. Holy crap, the chemistry was not only still there, it was through the freaking roof! Yet she told him that she was seeing someone. “No, I’m not seeing someone,” she then admitted. “I was, but his son had a hard time with it,” so she wasn’t seeing him anymore. Aw, poor Cormac. But lucky Nick! The two insisted that they weren’t going to sleep with each other, and he revealed that he’d gotten his niece into college. After she disclosed that she’d beaten COVID, he suggested that it was tough being a miracle, wondering what you were going to do with that fact — exactly the thing her mother had asked in her dream. Though she let him walk her to her hotel room door, she refused to let him in. “Keep walking,” she said. “Bossy,” he replied. Sparks!
Since Grey’s Anatomy alumna Kate Walsh will be reprising her role as Addison in multiple episodes this coming season (as Deadline revealed earlier this month), many fans assumed that the tease was a reference to her return to the show. But in fact, this “someone from Meredith’s past” was Speedman’s Nick Marsh. For the story behind the high-profile cast addition, read Deadline’s exclusive interview with Speedman and Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff, which will be posted after the East Coast airing of the premiere.
Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) ran into Marsh during a trip to Minnesota, invited by neurosurgeon David Hamilton (played by new recurring guest star Peter Gallagher) to attend the dedication of a research library to her mother.
The location was a clue because Speedman’s Nick Marsh was a transplant surgeon at the Mayo Clinic when he was introduced in the “One Day Like This” Season 14 episode of Grey’s. Inspired in his career by his mother, who died when he was 15 of heart failure while waiting for a heart transplant, Nick also cared for his teenage niece at the time.
A liver transplant recipient himself, Nick was treated at Grey Sloan when he collapsed while visiting the hospital to retrieve a liver for a patient of his. It was Meredith’s quick thinking that led to the discovery of a life-threatening clot which she surgically removed, saving Nick’s kidney — and likely his life.
Speedman’s instant chemistry with Pompeo had Grey’s fans swooning as sparks flew between Nick and Meredith and she admitted that he made her feel things she hadn’t felt since Derek (Patrick Dempsey) died.
The impact of Speedman’s March 2018 guest spot was so big, fans were convinced he would be joining the show full time in Season 15. Speculation further intensified when it was confirmed shortly after Speedman’s Grey’s appearance that he had left the TNT drama series Animal Kingdom, where he was the male lead. But at the Felicity 20-year reunion panel in July 2018, Speedman dashed fans’ hopes by revealing that he was not returning to the ABC series.
That changed this past summer. In the interview with Deadline, Speedman and Vernoff reveal how he was brought back as the only new series regular for the upcoming Season 18, how long he might be sticking around for, the great lengths to which the show went in order to keep his arrival secret, whose idea Meredith and Nick’s reunion scene was based on, what is in store for the new couple, and whether a potential love triangle with Cormac Hayes is looming. Vernoff also touches on a couple of other major developments in the Season 18 opener.
Adding a big name like Speedman as a new series regular and new love interest for Pompeo’s Meredith, in addition to the return of Walsh, could reinvigorate Grey’s Anatomy following the exits of series regulars Jesse Williams, Greg Germann and Giacomo Gianniotti last season as the series’ producers ABC and Pompeo will soon face the annual decision whether to extend or end the hugely successful series.
The Grey’s Anatomy stint was Speedman first and only one-off guest-starring appearance since the very start of his acting career. Focused primarily on features, he has had three major series runs so far on Felicity, Last Resort, Animal Kingdom and a recurring arc on the upcoming third season of You. He is currently seen in the movie Best Sellers, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. His upcoming features include Sharp Stick and Crimes of the Future.
Speedman is repped by CAA.
In an exclusive interview with Deadline, which you can read below, Speedman and Vernoff reveal how he was brought back as a series regular for the upcoming Season 18, which could be the mega hit series’ last. (No decision has been made whether Grey’s would end this season, but ABC hopes to keep it going.) The duo, who share a Felicity connection, also address the length of Speedman’s tenure, how they managed to keep his arrival secret, who was behind the idea for Meredith and Nick’s “meet cute,” what is next for the new couple, and could they get into a love triangle with Cormac Hayes. Vernoff also touches on a couple of other major developments in the Season 18 opener, including Link and Amelia’s future, and the decision to set the new season in a post-pandemic world.
Before we get into that, here is a brief recap of the premiere.
Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) bumped into Nick during a trip to Minnesota, invited by neurosurgeon David Hamilton (played by new recurring guest star Peter Gallagher) to attend the dedication of a research library to her mother. During a dinner with Hamilton as part of his charm offensive trying to recruit Meredith to run a lab for experimental Parkinson’s surgery, Meredith locked eyes with Nick as he was leaving the restaurant with a date. She later found him waiting for her at her hotel and the two had a chat at the bar. (You can watch a video of their second encounter below the Q&A.)
After initially saying that she has a boyfriend, Meredith corrected herself, saying, “No I’m not seeing someone” hours after a sweet video phone call with Cormac Hayes. She also shared her near-death experience with Covid, prompting Nick, a liver transplant recipient whose life Meredith saved three years ago, to say, “It’s a lot of pressure, isn’t it, being a miracle. It’s what are you going to do with it,” to which Meredith responded, “That very question haunts my dreams.” (She was quite literal here, as the episode opened with Meredith’s mother Ellis appearing to her in a dream, badgering her on that very subject, “You survived the unthinkable, and what do you have to show for it?”)
Kate Burton as Meredith’s dead mother Ellis was one of three Grey’s Anatomy alums whose return this season already had been announced, along with Abigail Spencer as Owen’s sister Megan and Kate Walsh as Addison. Two of them, Burton and Spencer, made appearances in the season premiere, which kicked off with a title card announcing that, after Grey’s Anatomy tackled the pandemic head-on the entire last season, the show’s Season 18 will be set in a fictional post-pandemic world.
Megan attended Owen and Teddy’s park wedding, which was interrupted when tandem cyclists ran over the priest officiating the ceremony just before he was to pronounce them husband and wife. Taken to Grey Sloan, the priest ultimately died of his injuries but, in part honoring him since weddings were his favorite thing, Teddy and Owen finished the ceremony at a club later that evening with their co-workers present and Megan officiating.
Things continued to be rocky for Link and Amelia as he proposed to her again and was rejected, again. Meanwhile, Bailey and Richard conducted interviews with candidates for the multiple open surgeon positions. None of the applicants impressed them until a plucky Dr. Lin made her case to replace Avery as Head of Plastics and was summoned to help with a patient, a test she aced before rejecting the hospital’s offer over the level of preparedness of its residents.
DEADLINE: Scott, your 2018 guest appearance on Grey’s Anatomy felt like the beginning of a great love story for Meredith, which fans immediately sparked to, but it didn’t move forward at the time. What was the original plan? Was it supposed to take three years before you came back?
SPEEDMAN: No, I just had gotten off of a show (Animal Kingdom). I knew Ellen personally, and she contacted me and sent me the script. I was sitting around and read the script. It was a one-off episode, the dialogue was great, and I thought it’d be really fun to go do with her. That’s basically how it came about, and everybody was like, oh, no, this is just a one-off, it’s just a guest star, it’s just this. So, I thought it’d be fun just to sneak on and do an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, this great show that’s been on for so long. I guess maybe I was slightly naïve about people’s reaction to it or what they thought it might be, but I thought that was kind of fun, too, just to play with an audience that way. That’s how it was told to me, and now, here we are.
DEADLINE: How many times were you asked by fans when are you coming back to Grey’s over the last three years?
SPEEDMAN: A few times. What you don’t know, so inside the business down here in Los Angeles, is how beloved the show is, the fervor from the fans of this show and how deeply they care about these characters and how deeply they care about that character, specifically, and what they want for Meredith — they want something great for her. You realize very quickly that you’ve stepped into something that is important. So, yeah, they asked me a little bit, but I very politely say, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.
DEADLINE: Krista, what was your initial reaction when you saw Scott and Ellen’s onscreen chemistry in the Season 14 episode and when did you start trying to make Scott’s stay longer than one episode?
VERNOFF: I will say that it was planned as one episode, and that’s how we got Scott to come do it. That season, if you’ll recall, Season 14, Ellen had come off a string of romances, and when I came in to run the show, she asked for a break from romance, and I thought that was a well-earned break. But I wanted to hint at the possibilities of her heart reopening in the future, and so we conceived of this one-off episode and this character who would make her feel, I think she says in the end of that episode, I felt the way I felt with Derek, I felt things I haven’t felt in a really long time. It was really designed for that purpose, to say she’s capable of feeling, and then I started to see the dailies, and I think I started calling Scott’s team, going, ‘But what if he came back, when might he come back?’ I called several times, but he was making movies and doing things.
DEADLINE: When did things start to move in that direction? Did you plan the season with Nick in it or was the character inserted once Scott got on board over the summer?
VERNOFF: We reached out to Scott as I was envisioning the show. Actually toward the end of last season, I started saying to Ellen, I’m having this thought, and she was like, ‘Again?’, because I had made that phone call a few times. But this time, we got lucky, he said yes, and we planned the season accordingly.
DEADLINE: Is Scott here to stay more than one season, if Grey’s goes on, or is it one season at a time?
VERNOFF: He’s here for this season, and that’s what we know right now and what we’re saying.
SPEEDMAN: That’s all I know.
DEADLINE: Scott, what convinced you to do another show as a series regular and join Grey’s now?
SPEEDMAN: Well, it’s twofold, really. It is timing. To be totally honest, the last time wasn’t the right time. I haven’t done a show since the last show I did. I think a lot of people love that schedule, and I really do, too, but I was wanting to do other things. But you always know, you put something in the back of your mind when you do have chemistry with somebody, and you do enjoy the work experience, because that’s rare, actually. So, when this opportunity came around, I was trying to think of why not to do it, and I couldn’t come up with any reasons. It was a great show, really fun people, and it just felt the right timing for me. I wanted to jump in, and then, when I heard what the storyline could be, that was exciting to me.
DEADLINE: With that segue, what can you tease about the storyline that was excited to you?
SPEEDMAN: I don’t know what I can say and what I can’t about where they…
VERNOFF:.. Not much. He can’t say much…
SPEEDMAN: I’ll just say that I think the romantic comedy aspect of things was interesting to me. I knew Ellen could handle that, and I knew I could do that, and that was fun for me. I used to do a show, way back. It kind of reminded me of that, a little bit, and that’s a really nice suit to put back on, in a way, you know? So, I was excited about that.
DEADLINE: You are talking about Felicity, right?
SPEEDMAN: Yeah. That’s what I mean, not just the chemistry. I’ve been on shows that I’ve enjoyed and shows that I don’t, and it’s a rare thing to have something like this, and it just feels good being here more than anything.
VERNOFF: I said to Scott, I was a huge Felicity fan, and the very first hour of TV I ever wrote was a spec of Felicity. I wrote it for free. It was one of my writing samples that made my career happen. I was a huge fan, and I’ve been a fan of Scott’s, and in recent years, he’s been doing a lot of very heavy, very serious stuff, and I was like, here’s an opportunity to lighten up, all that charm and all that humor that we haven’t seen. He’s been doing action movies and dark things, and this was an opportunity to come play, I thought.
SPEEDMAN: Totally. Totally.
DEADLINE: So you wrote for Scott’s character on Felicity in that first script, Krista, right?
VERNOFF: It was season 1 of Felicity. Yeah.
SPEEDMAN: Oh, really? Wow.
DEADLINE: Meredith and Nick’s “meet cute” chance encounter in the restaurant and follow-up sit-down hint at their potential of becoming the next beloved Grey’s couple. How did you decide on how the two characters will reconnect?
VERNOFF: The first encounter was actually pitched to me by Ellen. I said, he said yes, and we’re trying to figure it out, and she just had this very specific imagining that was perfect.
SPEEDMAN: Yeah. It felt really good. In terms of the “meet cute” stuff, actually I learned that phrase after the first episode I did, I’d never heard that before until that episode, but yeah, I thought this was a really cool way to do it that felt grounded and adult and fun, too. I’d been pitched what it was going to be, but when I read the scenes, I got really excited.
VERNOFF: It feels like an old-school romantic comedy, and that’s what Ellen said. She said I just want something that feels different and adult, and I loved it, I thought it was very elegant. He’s on a date with another woman. He cannot approach her in that restaurant, and yet he finds another way to make his approach. I loved it.
DEADLINE: Meredith and Nick meet in Minnesota, and she is being wooed to run a lab there. So, will the two of them remain in Minnesota or will they move their romance to Seattle?
VERNOFF: You have to tune in to see. I think it’s not without its obstacles. He works full-time in Minnesota, but we’ve established he’s a traveling surgeon, as well. He’s a traveling transplant surgeon. He goes to pick up organs, and things, and he’s got his whole life, and she’s got her whole life, and we’ll see what happens.
SPEEDMAN: We’ll see what happens. I don’t know.
DEADLINE: During their chat at the bar, Meredith tells Nick originally that she is in a relationship before correcting herself and saying that she is not seeing anyone. Does that mean that this will grow into a full-blown romance or do we have the makings of a classic Grey’s triangle with Hayes?
VERNOFF: I think there is complexity. I think that she and Hayes had begun to connect, clearly, toward the end of last season. He’s a father first, and he’s a widow, he’s a far more recent widow, and I think there is beautiful complexity to be had in Meredith, once again, having two men for whom she has feelings. I think that it’s all in the timing, and more will be revealed.
SPEEDMAN: Wait, who’s Hayes? I don’t know. I don’t know him. Who’s this guy?
DEADLINE: Scott, you have a rival. I’m sorry that you didn’t know, you’ll have to fight for Meredith.
SPEEDMAN: I didn’t know. All right. That’s good.
DEADLINE: We went through this with Patrick Dempsey, but can you describe the extent to which you went to keep Scott’s joining the show a secret.
VERNOFF: I went to the same extent that I went to keep Patrick’s return a secret, which is torture for everybody, fake character names, fake scenes at table reads, dailies not released, cuts with omitted scenes. We wanted to give fans the thrill of surprise one more time. I knew that I would have to let them advertise Kate Walsh. When the studio network are paying a lot of money for people to come and do big appearances, they want to advertise it, and I always want surprises. I’m like a child. So, this one, it felt important to let the fans gasp at their television one more time.
DEADLINE: Scott, was it hard to keep the secret? What did you tell your friends, your parents about what you were doing?
SPEEDMAN: Oh, my friends have no idea. At home, my girlfriend knows, obviously. I wouldn’t be able to get away with that. But no, my friends have no clue. You know, this is pretty on par with my behavior. They’ll see it tomorrow night and say, yeah, that makes sense, he totally lied to us, but yeah. No, I’m excited for them to be thrown off and excited, too.
DEADLINE: We will be seeing a lot of Scott throughout the season, right? Is he in every episode pretty much, Krista?
VERNOFF: Pretty much. You’ll see a lot of him.
DEADLINE: That makes keeping Scott’s arrival a secret an ever bigger feat. Hiding Patrick is one thing because he had a couple of lines on a beach in a handful of episodes, but how do you do it with someone who is a series regular?
VERNOFF: I will say, too, that I really, really wanted to make this work with Scott. He was shooting a movie. So, in one way, that actually benefitted us because we had to save his scenes for multiple episodes and shoot them in the last week, basically, and plug them in. We’re shooting some scenes today [Wednesday] that are in the episode that airs next week. So, we made this work, but it actually really helped protect the surprise.
SPEEDMAN: Oh, no, poor editors.
VERNOFF: Yeah. The poor editors. I’m going to send some flowers.
DEADLINE: Three series regulars left Grey’s last season. Are you going to be bringing other new series regulars this season besides Scott?
VERNOFF: No. Just Scott. You know, Nellie, I don’t always plan things very far in advance, so that might change next week, but right now, it’s just Scott.
DEADLINE: Scott, how much do you know about Grey’s? Clearly you don’t know who Hayes is…
SPEEDMAN: I don’t know a ton, and that’s kind of fun for me. I don’t watch a lot of television, but I obviously know the broad strokes. My girlfriend is obsessed with the show, so I’ve been watching over her shoulder, a little bit, of the first seasons, and it really is a great show. So, I don’t know a ton, and that’s kind of a nice place to be, especially being a bit of an outsider and coming in, it’s kind of nice, both character-wise and just coming into the show. It kind of works for me.
DEADLINE: Can you tell us a little bit more about your character Nick?
SPEEDMAN: Well, I think when you’re coming onto a show, especially one that’s been around for this long, we’re all feeling it out, that character develops and kind of shifts and moves, too, so you have to be sort of malleable that way. But, as Krista was saying, he’s very charming, and light, and fun, and nice, but he’s an adult, which is really nice, too, and I think that matches really well with Ellen, and I think he’s a good match in that way, kind of does something to her that’s interesting.
VERNOFF: Elisabeth Finch wrote the 14-17, which is the episode that Scott was in, in Season 14, and she’s such a powerful writer, and there were so many layers of character development in those scenes. We learned so much about him and his life that I think it gave Scott a real foundation.
SPEEDMAN: Yes. It did, and that’s rare, I think. We were doing a 5-, 6-page scene, which was really fun. I mean she’s from theater, obviously.
VERNOFF: Yes, she’s a playwright, originally.
SPEEDMAN: I went back and read those scenes a couple of times in prep, and yes, there’s a lot in there, there’s a lot to learn from.
VERNOFF: She talks about his hobbies. She talks about his family. She talks about his mom, his health. So, it was well-developed work to begin with.
DEADLINE: Scott, what was the experience of stepping onto that set and doing the first two scenes with Ellen?
SPEEDMAN: It was easy, and I mean that in the best way. Again, it’s not always easy, and again, when you go back to the Season 14 thing that I did, you mark that, oh, that works on all levels. So, you step onto a set, especially a beloved set like this, and you just have to get out of your head and just jump in. [EP] Debbie [Allen] was there, and everybody was there, and Ellen, we just went for it, and it felt great. So, it was a really fun first day, and it just felt very nice to be here. I’m genuinely happy to be on set and to be working with these great people.
VERNOFF: It’s really great that Ellen and Scott are friends in real life, it makes it easy. It’s fun.
DEADLINE: A couple of quick questions about other developments in the premiere. Krista, as a new couple emerges with Meredith and Nick, another one, Link and Amelia, is teetering on the brink as she rejected yet another proposal. What is next for them?
VERNOFF: That is a messy, painful, beautiful, grounded story about two adults who love each other a lot and want different things, and the question is can they find a middle ground that will work for both of them. Chris Carmack and Caterina Scorsone are so strong and so strong together, and, as a fan, I’m rooting for them to make it. As a human, I’ve rooted for a lot of people to make it who didn’t. So, we’ll see because these stories tell themselves, and the truth is that we don’t know where that one lands, this season. They evolve.
DEADLINE: Link moved in with Jo in Avery’s apartment at the end of the Season 17 finale. Will they remain roommates , and Is there a romance in the cards for them?
VERNOFF: Well, Jo is his friend and has been his friend for a really long time. So, he went to his friend’s house and said, can I crash after Amelia rejected his proposal. But if that’s a romance, it wasn’t my intention to hint at it last season. Who knows where things might go? I don’t know. They are sharing what used to be Jackson Avery’s apartment, this season, yes.
DEADLINE: Dr. Lin, a candidate for Avery’s post as Head of Plastic Surgery, made an impression in the premiere. Is this a character that we’ll see more of?
VERNOFF: She is a character you’ll see more of, yes. I’m glad she made an impression. She is part of what is a major story for this season and a major reality in the world, which is, post-Covid, there’s a physician shortage, and she was created partly to articulate what everyone is up against, right now.
DEADLINE: Krista, let’s talk about the creative decision to set the new season in a post-Covid world. You address it in the card that opens the premiere.
VERNOFF: Last season we went full bore into the pandemic. Some shows did one or two episodes, and we did the season, and it felt powerful, and it felt important. It felt authentic, and it felt reverent of what was going on with the medical community and real life. We wanted to tell these stories and also be reflecting reality in a way that might be of service in terms of witnessing the medical community and supporting them. This season, it felt important to not be in the pandemic, and I think what we ran into is when we started talking about the season, we were all in this vaccine frenzy of, it’s over, it’s over, it’s over, and then it wasn’t over. Delta came in, and it was like, okay, this might be like a new normal, but we wanted to get back to something more classic, and so, we put the card on the top of the show to say, we are existing in a fictional post-pandemic world. In real life, the pandemic is still ravaging healthcare workers, here’s a link to click on for vaccine information. And then we went into a fictional world.
So, there were a lot of conversations of, but wait, in real hospitals, for example, everybody’s still in masks. Well, we wanted to see their faces again. I think it’s actually a little bit jarring because of how deep we went and how fictional it is now, and yet, after a moment, it’s like, oh, okay, give me my popcorn, I’m watching this other thing now. It represents our hopes for the future. I hope we get there. I hope for all of us. I hope for my daughter.
SPEEDMAN: But I guess you guys are held to a higher standard, because you’re a medical show, right? Is that what you mean?
VERNOFF: We’re held to a different standard because we’re a medical show. And because we spent a whole season deep in PPE and pandemic. But we ended last season on the high of everybody getting vaccines. So, everybody, get your vaccine so we can get to that post-pandemic world!
SPEEDMAN: Get them!
DEADLINE: Speaking of ramping up the light, hopeful storytelling, Grey’s had two weddings in the last two episodes, and a now rom-com storyline with Meredith and Nick. Will that continue throughout the season?
VERNOFF: One of the things I had spoken with the studio and the network about at the end of last season was coming back strong with joy, that people want hope and joy and relief that the world feels frightening, right now, and they want their joy and romance back.
SPEEDMAN: You can see it, out there, in what people are watching. Even from the Ted Lassos, people are really, really, really needing that.
VERNOFF: Yeah, and the character of Nick Marsh and the actor Scott Speedman are going a long way to bring that this season.
SPEEDMAN: I hope so.
DEADLINE: Krista, anything else you can tease about the season and any other relationships that we should keep an eye on?
VERNOFF: I would keep an eye on everyone, Nellie. Grey’s Anatomy, we’re back.
Actor Isaiah Washington nearly played the part of Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on ABC’s hit medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” — except actress Ellen Pompeo didn’t want him as her love interest.
“There’s a rumor out there or something that Ellen didn’t want me to be her love interest because she had a black boyfriend,” Washington said of Pompeo’s alleged objection to him getting the role that ultimately went to Patrick Dempsey, according to an excerpt from the new book “How To Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy” by Entertainment Weekly Editor-at-Large Lynette Rice.
“The context is that she’s not into white men. I guess she implied that her boyfriend may have had a problem with her doing love scenes with me, so she felt uncomfortable. I supported her with that,” explained Washington, 58, who said he actually auditioned for neurosurgeon McDreamy — not Dr. Preston Burke, the role he wound up with.
“I had a beard and Afro and was going for a Ben Carson character at the time,” said Washington, referencing the now-retired neurosurgeon and politician. “[Show creator] Shonda [Rhimes] and I thought it was a great idea to represent a brain surgeon who looked like Dr. Ben Carson. That didn’t go that way.”
Pompeo — married to Chris Ivery, a 54-year-old African-American music producer, since 2007 — has previously given statements that align with Washington’s account.
“You know they wanted Isaiah Washington to be my boyfriend,” she told The Post in 2013, six years after Washington was fired ahead of the long-running series’ fourth season for using a derogatory slur against gays both on set and at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards. “Shonda really wanted to put a black man in the mix. I didn’t think they were really going to put an interracial couple on the show and I didn’t want him. It was too close to home.”
Pompeo, 51, made clear her preference was for white actor and race-car driver Dempsey, now 55.
“I wanted that Dempsey kid,” she said, adding, “I think that once Isaiah did not get the role, it backfired.”
Amber Brown is described as an unfiltered look at a girl finding her own voice through art and music in the wake of her parents’ divorce. Rose plays Amber Brown, an everykid who is going through what many children experience, and making sense of her new family dynamic through her sketches and video diary. Drew plays Amber’s mother Sarah Brown, a good, caring mom with strict rules. Brooks plays Sarah’s boyfriend, Max; Inouye plays Amber’s friend Brandi Colwin.
Bob Higgins (Dino Ranch) and Jon Rutherford (A Tale Dark and Grimm) are executive producing for Boat Rocker.
Danziger’s award-winning Amber Brown middle-grade book series has been published in 53 countries with more than 10 million copies in print.
Drew is best known for playing Dr. April Kepner for nine seasons on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, a role she reprised on the show last season. She most recently has been recurring on Freeform’s Cruel Summer. Drew is repped by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment and Morris Yorn.
Rose, who recurred on ABC’s The Rookie, is repped by Osbrink Talent Agency and Morris Yorn.
“I think [Meredith, played by Ellen Pompeo] went through the wringer last season,” executive producer Meg Marinis tells TVLine. “Even though she was in a bed [for much of Season 17 as she battled COVID], she did just lose DeLuca.”
In other words, pretty much the last thing on Grey’s mind as we return to Grey Sloan is a romance to rival what she had with late husband Derek. Yeah, “I don’t think she’s actively looking for it,” Marinis says. “Now, does that mean it won’t possibly find her?”
No. Heck, no. It just means that it will have to catch her — if not the audience — by surprise. “I wouldn’t say she’s actively looking for it,” Marinis reaffirms, “because she just got out of the COVID crisis, and her career and her family have always come first.”
But availing oneself to a possibility is a very different thing from seeking out an opportunity. “Correct,” says Marinis. “I think Meredith is open but definitely not looking.”
And when it comes to Cormac, Marinis noted in our Inside Line column, “we saw Hayes being more drawn to [Meredith] even as she was in a hospital bed all season.” And even though, in Season 17’s finale, they swigged from a half-empty bottle of whiskey in the doctors lounge, they need to have “an official drink, if you will,” the EP affirmed.
Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres on ABC on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 9/8c.
ERWICH: We have no decisions yet on The Goldbergs. I’m very excited and think this show really dealt with the passing of George Segal — he gets a tribute in the season opener that I think it is going to really resonant with the fans. They really honored him and the characters in a Goldbergs-esque way. It’s a proud moment for the show and us and it’s a great episode.
In terms of Grey’s Anatomy, we’re thrilled to have it on the lineup. It’s a gift. As long as all of the producers and Ellen [Pompeo] feel like there are meaningful stories to tell, we’re going to continue to do the show.
The letter, which mentioned the United Nations General Assembly Session specifically, was posted on the website of CARE, an organization dedicated to ending poverty worldwide. It was signed by a raft of boldfaced names including Eva Longoria, Debra Messing, Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Malin Akerman, Debbie Allen, Jordana Brewster, Connie Britton, Ciara, Peter Dinklage, Richard Gere, Dolores Huerta, Joel McHale, Iman, Edward James Olmos, Laura Linney, Julianna Margulies, Joel McHale, Idina Menzel, Ana Ortiz, Adam Shankman, Michael Sheen, Adam Shulman and Sarah Silverman. For a full list of signatories, see below.
Specifically, the letter calls Covid “a manmade pandemic of apathy.” It states that “Only 2% of people in low-income countries have received a single dose.” The signatories call on “global leaders to make 7 billion vaccine doses available before the end of 2021, and an additional 7 billion doses by mid-2022 to fully vaccinate 70% of the world by next summer.”
Those are audacious goals given the world’s most highly vaccinated countries, like the U.S., remain well under 70%.
It also asks leaders to “invest in last-mile delivery systems, public education, and frontline healthcare workers to get vaccines from tarmacs into arms.”
Here is the full letter:
An open letter to world leaders on ending the COVID-19 pandemic now.
None of us are safe until all of us are safe.
We call on leaders gathering at the United Nations General Assembly Session to boldly act together to end COVID-19 everywhere.
COVID-19 is now a manmade pandemic of apathy. Only 2% of people in low-income countries have received a single dose, leaving the world’s most vulnerable to face COVID with no protection. This situation also lets new variants, like Delta, emerge and ravage the lives of millions.
We are joining with CARE to call on global leaders to make 7 billion vaccine doses available before the end of 2021, and an additional 7 billion doses by mid-2022 to fully vaccinate 70% of the world by next summer.
To get this done the world community must also invest in last-mile delivery systems, public education, and frontline healthcare workers to get vaccines from tarmacs into arms. Millions of doses could go to waste because low-income countries don’t have the support they need to get vaccines to vulnerable people.
We can save millions of lives — and trillions in further economic damage — by meeting this moment with the resources and political will needed to end COVID-19 for everyone, everywhere. Because none of us are safe until all of us are safe.
Malin Akerman
Debbie Allen
Dorothy Amuah
Morena Baccarin
Adriana Barraza
Troian Bellisario
Bobby Berk
Jordana Brewster
Connie Britton
Karamo Brown
Gloria Calderón Kellett
Ciara
Tena Clark
Kim Coates
Madison Cowan
Alexandra Daddario
Peter Dinklage
Melinda Doolittle
Tan France
Richard Gere
Duff Goldman
Tony Goldwyn
Fiona Gubelmann
Anne Hathaway
Ingrid Hoffmann
Anders Holm
Dolores Huerta
Osas Ighodaro
Joel McHale
Iman
Edward James Olmos
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja
Ellie Krieger
Iskra Lawrence
Annie Lennox
Lola Lennox
Esther Lewis
Laura Linney
Kimberly Locke
Eva Longoria
Anja Manuel
Julianna Margulies
Catherine McCord
Joel McHale
Spike Mendelsohn
Idina Menzel
Debra Messing
Alyssa Milano
Sepideh Moafi
Tamera Mowry-Housley
Yvette Nicole Brown
Christina Ochoa
Ana Ortiz
Helen Pankhurst
Jessica Pimentel
Julie Plec
Adina Porter
Zac Posen
Leven Rambin
April Reign
Holland Roden
Sheila Shah
Adam Shankman
Omar Sharif Jr.
Michael Sheen
Adam Shulman
Sarah Silverman
Hannah Skvarla
Todd Snyder
Kimberly Steward
Curtis Stone
Christy Turlington Burns
Laura Vandervoort
Gabby Williams
Michelle Williams
Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Russell Wilson
Scott Wolf
Kelley Wolf
Bellamy Young
Rachel Zoe.
In Season 2, Heigl and Chalke reprise their roles as lifelong best friends Tully and Kate, facing the ultimate test of their friendship and the path to sustain the other relationships in their lives.
Argentinian-born Serricchio plays Danny Diaz. Danny is a cocky sportscaster turned reporter who has crackling chemistry with Tully (Heigl). He’s brash, ambitious, and sexy. Danny and Tully continually trade barbs, but beneath his smug façade lies real vulnerability and passion.
De Beaufort plays Charlotte. As we meet Charlotte in 1985 Seattle, she’s a quiet and reserved aspiring journalist with a hopeless crush on Johnny Ryan (Ben Lawson). But over the years she grows into a world-renowned, confident and sophisticated reporter- a woman who knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid to go after it.
Germann plays Benedict Binswanger. The scion of an influential logging family, Benedict parlays his success in business into a run for Governor of Washington state in the 1980s. His outward confidence belies a deep concern for both his own and his family’s reputations—and he is determined to preserve the Binswanger legacy by making sure a long-held secret stays buried.
Purdy plays Justine Jordan, a sunny, upbeat talent agent with a knack for keeping a positive demeanor even when delivering devastating news. She’s always got a plan, and is ready to execute it. An up and coming power player in the world of entertainment. Justine Jordan is no nonsense but always charming, the kind of person everyone wants in their corner — including Tully Hart (Heigl).
Maggie Friedman serves as showrunner of Firefly Lane, based on the novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah, and executive produces along with Heigl, Shawn Williamson and Michael Spiller. Hannah serves as co-executive producer. The series is currently in production in Vancouver, Canada.
Ally McBeal alum Germann Germann joined ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy as a recurring in Season 14 and was promoted to a series regular at the start of Season 16. He is repped by A3 Artists Agency and manager Matt Goldman.
Serricchio, whose series credits also include Good Girls and El Recluso, is repped by MPG Management.
Purdy played Lani in the opening episode of HBO’s The White Lotus and also recurred on Disney+’s WandaVision. She is repped by A3 Artists Agency and BMK-ENT.
Actress-singer de Beaufort recently shot the Steven Soderbergh/Zoe Kravitz New Line feature Kimi along with the Francis Lawrence/Jason Momoa Netflix feature Slumberland. She is repped by Gersh and Think Tank Management.
On Monday, ABC dropped the first look at the dramatic crossover episodes that will ring in new seasons of Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy, which respectively return for their fifth and and 18th seasons.
Set to air Thursday, September 30, the crossover episodes begin with “Phoenix from the Flame,’ which sees the aftermath of Maya and Carina’s wedding and romance between old flames, along with some medical emergencies. The season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy, titled “Here Comes the Sun” continues the previous storyline with new chapters for everyone at Grey Sloan in a post-Covid world. However, the latest arc comes with a blast from the past for Meredith as she meets a dynamic doctor with a connection to her mother.
Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy previously collided earlier this year for another crossover event that bid farewell to fan favorite Dr. Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Giannotti).
The Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy crossover premiere event begins at 8 p.m. on ABC. Watch the trailer above.
Heigl was an original cast member and became the first series star to win an Emmy in 2007, but when she revealed she would not be entering the following year’s Emmys race, she was deemed “ungrateful” – and quit the show soon after.
She told reporters at the time she did not feel she was given the material “to warrant an Emmy nomination” and withdrew her name from contention.
Because Katherine had started focusing on her film career following the success of comedy Knocked Up, her remarks were seen as a slight to the show that helped make her a star.
In the new book, How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy, Heigl revisits her Emmy snub and her controversial exit from the drama.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” she is quoted in the book. “And I wanted to be clear that I wasn’t snubbing the Emmys. The night I won was the highlight of my career. I just was afraid that if I said, ‘No comment,’ it was going to come off like I couldn’t be bothered (to enter the race).”
With the benefit of hindsight, she now says, “I could have more gracefully said that without going into a private work matter. It was between me and the writers. I ambushed them, and it wasn’t very nice or fair.”
But she didn’t expect to labelled “difficult,” as rumours spread she had simply refused to show up for work.
Heigl has emphatically denied those stories, explaining she and her husband, singer-songwriter Josh Kelley, had just adopted their first child and she had already alerted the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, that she wanted to leave and was just waiting at home “until I was given the formal OK that I was off the show.”
Her career never fully recovered from the perception she was difficult to work with.
“The ‘ungrateful’ thing bothers me the most,” she told book author Lynette Rice, “and that is my fault. I allowed myself to be perceived that way. So much about living life, to me, is about humility and gratitude. And I’ve tried very hard to have those qualities and be that person, and I’m just so disappointed in myself that I allowed it to slip. Of course I’m grateful. How can I not be?”
However, she added, “In this town, women who don’t just snap and say, ‘OK, yes sir, yes, ma’am’ start to get a reputation for being difficult. I’ve decided it’s not worth it to me to be pushed around so much.”
“Let this moment resonate with women across the world and across this country, from Texas to Afghanistan,” said Allen during her acceptance speech. “For young people, who have no vote, who can’t even get a vaccine—they’re inheriting the world that we live in and where we lead them. It’s time for you to claim your power. Play your voice, sing your song, tell your stories. It will make us a better place. Your turn.”
The multihyphenate has a total of 20 Emmy nominations under her belt including 5 wins and tonight’s special Governor’s Award. She most recently took home two Creative Arts Emmys for her contributions to Netflix’s Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square: one individual for Outstanding Choreography For a Scripted Program, and one shared as an executive producer when the special won Outstanding Television Movie.
Allen, who is also a two-time Tony Award winner, began her career as a Broadway performer in the early ’70s with roles in Purlie, Raisin, and West Side Story.
Hollywood came calling in 1976 with a role in Good Times; her own NBC variety show, 3 Girls 3; and a role in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generation from Alex Haley.
Her career was on the verge of exploding after she was cast as Lydia Grant in the film Fame. Though the role was small on the big screen, it was expanded in a TV adaptation of the same name that ran from 1982 to 1987.
Allen blossomed behind the scenes after Fame, which began as producer and director of A Different World. The series, a spin-off of The Cosby Show starring her sister Phylicia Rashad, followed the lives of students at a historically Black college. Allen herself is a graduate of Howard University, the HBC where she earned a B.A. in classical Greek literature, speech, and theater.
Allen, an artist in residence at the Kennedy Center for over 15 years and who founded the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, has choreographed for the likes of Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Gwen Verdon, Carmen de Lavallade, Diane Carroll, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr., Dolly Parton and Savion Glover, as well as 10 times for the Academy Awards ceremony.
Her directing, producing, and acting credits also include the likes of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, Jane the Virgin, Empire, Insecure, Everybody Hates Chris, Stompin’ at the Savoy, Polly, That’s So Raven, Cool Women, Quantum Leap, and The Fantasia Barrino Story, Grace and Frankie, and The Ms. Pat Show.
In 2020, Allen was a recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.
“There were HR issues” with Dempsey, Parriott continues. “It wasn’t sexual in any way. He sort of was terrorizing the set. Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him. He had this hold on the set where he knew he could stop production and scare people. The network and studio came down, and we had sessions with them.”
What was the leading man’s beef, exactly? “I think he was just done with the show,” Parriott says. “He didn’t like the inconvenience of coming in every day and working. He and Shonda were at each other’s throats.”
Things weren’t always hunky-dory between Dempsey and on-screen wife Ellen Pompeo, either. “There were times where Ellen was frustrated with Patrick, and she would get angry that he wasn’t working as much,” ex-EP Jeannine Renshaw. “She was very big on having things be fair. She just didn’t like that Patrick would complain that ‘I’m here too late’ or ‘I’ve been here too long’ when she had twice as many scenes in the episode as he did.
“When I brought it up to Patrick, I would say, ‘Look around you. These people have been here since 6:30 am.’ He would go, ‘Oh, yeah.’ He would get it,” she adds. “It’s just that actors tend to see things from their own perspective… He’s so high energy and would go, ‘What’s happening next?’ He literally goes out of his skin, sitting and waiting. He wants to be out driving his race car or doing something fun. He’s the kid in class who wants to go to recess.”
How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy hits bookstores and online retailers on Sept. 21.
“So we’re not skipping any sort of conversation about how he feels about that” as Season 18 begins (on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 9/8c). “They’re going to have to figure it out,” she adds, “because they still very much have love for each other. But he’s also very, very hurt.”
On the plus side, Link will have to distract him BFF Jo’s new life, both as a mom and an OB/GYN resident. “She’s in mayhem! She’s like any new working mom — she’s trying to figure it out,” Marinis previews. “She doesn’t want to step back from her career, but she loves this baby, and I don’t think she’s ever experienced love quite like what she feels toward Luna. So she’s going to have to figure out a way to make it all work. “We’re definitely going to explore kind of the madness of what it looks like to be a single, working mom,” she continues. “There will be comedy and heartache in this situation.”
Every step of the way, Link will be there for Jo. “Definitely,” Marinis says. “Because he is also a parent of a small child, and I don’t think he ever struggles in his ability to take care of his son and be a father. So it’s sort of the perfect time for him to be around and help Jo, because that is a place where he’s not at loose ends.
“In his relationship [with Amelia], yes, but he is still able to be there 100 percent for Scout, and we’ve also shown him able to be there 100 percent for Jo,” she goes on. “And we’re also going to see her be that person for him a little bit, be his best friend and help him through this situation” with his babymama.
In doing so, could Jo possibly, you know, cross the line with Link that separates friends and lovers? “They’re both so focused on their children, and he is still coming out of this thing with Amelia — they haven’t really even ended it,” Marinis notes. “It was just that she said no to his proposal. So I think that story is not over yet.
“What’s been so nice about that friendship [between Link and Jo] is we’ve never really shown the danger of there being any pressure of being more than just friends,” she hastens to add. “Chris Carmack and Camilla Luddington have a really great comedic sense to them. Also, we’re hopefully going to learn more about their friendship from the past. But as we start the season, you’ll see them being there for each other on both sides.”
The guest-starring voice cast for the series set to launch on Disney+ in 2022 will feature A-listers from the worlds of music, film, TV and sports including Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Chance the Rapper, Normani, Leslie Odom Jr., Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe, Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, Debbie Allen, James Pickens Jr., Courtney B. Vance, Jane Lynch, Marsai Martin, Jaden Smith, Glynn Turman, Lamorne Morris, Brenda Song, Tina Knowles, Eva Longoria, Holly Robinson Peete, Al Roker, Bretman Rock, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez and Dominique Dawes, among others.
New recurring stars announced today include Asante Blackk (This Is Us) as Penny’s boyfriend, Kareem; rapper Artist “A Boogie” Dubose as Maya’s gamer brother, Francis “KG” Leibowitz-Jenkins; Raquel Lee Bolleau (Real Husbands of Hollywood), who will reprise her role as Nubia Gross; and Marcus T. Paulk (Red Tails), who reprises his role as Penny’s classmate, Myron.
Airing on Disney Channel between 2001 and 2005, The Proud Family followed the misadventures of teenager Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt) and her numerous eccentric family members. Louder and Prouder is currently in production at Disney Television Animation and will of course pick up the story of its central character, as it catches up with her parents Oscar (Tommy Davidson) and Trudy (Paula Jai Parker), her twin siblings BeBe and CeCe, her grandmother Suga Mama (JoMarie Payton) and dog Puff, and members of her loyal crew including Dijonay Jones (Karen Malina White), LaCienega Boulevardez (Alisa Reyes) and Zoey Howzer (Soleil Moon Frye), among others.
Other original cast members reprising their roles, as previously announced, are Cedric the Entertainer, Carlos Mencia, Maria Canals-Barrera and Alvaro Gutierrez. Additional recurring cast members new to the world of The Proud Family include Keke Palmer, Billy Porter, Zachary Quinto, and EJ Johnson.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is executive produced by Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, who served in the same capacity on the original series. Jan Hirota is producing, with Calvin Brown, Jr. serving as co-executive producer and story editor, and Eastwood Wong as art director.
All seasons of The Proud Family are currently available for streaming on Disney+. For a look at a 20th anniversary featurette unveiled by the streamer today, in which Louder and Prouder stars reflect on their draw to the original series, click above.
Megan Hunt is the younger sister of Dr. Owen Hunt. Megan Hunt served in the U.S. Army as a trauma surgeon with her brother Owen, Teddy Altman and Nathan Riggs. She lives in Los Angeles with her son Farouk, a Syrian refugee she first began caring for while she was overseas.
Spencer first will be seen in the Season 18 premiere.
Spencer joined Grey’s in the first episode of Season 14 and last appeared in the 20th episode in Season 15 for a total of six episodes overall.
The news of Spencer’s return follows that of Kate Walsh, who also is coming back as a recurring in Season 18 to reprise her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery. Kim Raver previously returned as a recurring after being away for several seasons and is now a series regular. And last season saw the surprise comebacks of former Grey’s stars Patrick Dempsey, T.R Knight, Chyler Leigh and Eric Dane.
Spencer, whose breakout role came as Don Draper’s love interest in AMC’s Mad Men, most recently was seen on ABC’s drama series, Rebel, inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich. She also recently starred in Hulu’s Reprisal and Season 2 of NBC’s Timeless. Spencer earned a Critics Choice Award nomination for best supporting actress for Sundance TV’s Rectify. Spencer is repped by Untitled Entertainment and United Talent.
Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 18 premiere is set for 9 p.m. Thursday, September 30, on ABC.
When the long-running ABC drama returns on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 9/8c, Maggie and Winston will be “coming back from their honeymoon very much in love and happy to be together and working together,” executive producer Meg Marinis tells TVLine. “We’re definitely celebrating the couple.”
As well as getting to know them as they get to know each other in new ways. Keep in mind, a good deal of their courtship was conducted long-distance due to the pandemic. But “even if you’re a newlywed and you had been living together [for a long time],” Marinis suggests, “you still discover little things, living habits, all the fun stuff.”
If any duo is going to be sunnier than Maggie and Winston, it’s likely to be Teddy and Owen. “They’re starting the season stronger than ever,” Marinis says. “They’ve both grown a lot from her breakthrough about her past last season and from Owen seeing that they’ve both struggled with PTSD — in different ways, but they’ve both struggled.
“They’ll still face challenges as a couple,” she goes on, “but we took them a long way last season, so we’re happy where they are.”
“Time’s Up is ready for new leadership, and we want to move forcefully toward its new iteration,” said exiting board members Shonda Rhimes, Eva Longoria, Jurnee Smollett, Christy Haubegger, Hilary Rosen, Michelle Kydd, Katie McGrath and interim board chair and super lawyer Nina Shaw in a statement posted online today.
“We have strong faith in the talent and dedication of our interim CEO Monifa Bandele as a leader,” they added. See full statement from exiting Time’s Up board members below. The exiting board members are all resigning their positions by their own choice, we hear. However, it can’t go without notice that this latest move comes as Time’s Up is trying to regain traction amidst a series of scandals and missteps
Board members Ashley Judd, Gabrielle Sulzberger, Colleen DeCourcy, and Raffi Freedman-Gurspan are going to remain on the board for the foreseeable future to “help insure a smooth transition.”
The full statement:
TIME’S UP was created to support the goal of safe, fair, dignified work for all women.
“It is crucial to us as a board that the organization remain in service to this seismic, global work to demand equity and disrupt systems that foster discrimination, harassment and abuse. We see the current crisis within TIME’S UP as an important opportunity for growth and change.
TIME’S UP is ready for new leadership, and we want to move forcefully toward its new iteration. We have strong faith in the talent and dedication of our interim CEO Monifa Bandele as a leader. As has been announced, Monifa will be overseeing a comprehensive assessment of the organization, in collaboration with an outside consultant, and the input of our stakeholders: survivors and those who work for survivor justice and gender equity in the workplace and beyond.
To mark the establishment of a new TIME’S UP, the organization will have a new and reconstituted board. To that end, the members of the existing board will be stepping aside over the next 30 days, giving our CEO the ability to refocus the organization’s leadership to suit its mission and needs. As we do so, we commit to making sure TIME’S UP has sufficient financial resources to do its important work. And we have asked four existing board members— Colleen DeCourcy, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, Ashley Judd and Gabrielle Sulzberger—to remain during this period to help ensure a smooth transition.
“TIME’S UP belongs to all women. Its mission must continue – until we live in a world in which no woman ever needs to say #timesup again.
Tchen quit last month as the president and CEO of Time’s Up.
“Now is the time for Time’s Up to evolve and move forward as there is so much more work to do for women,” said Tchen, a former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, in a statement on social media. “It is clear that I am not the leader who can accomplish that in this moment.”
Her resignation came after nearly two years overseeing the Hollywood-heavy organization.
Her leave can be traced to her involvement with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who stepped down in the aftermath of a sexual harassment scandal that former Time’s Up board chair Roberta Kaplan and Tchen had become embroiled in. Kaplan left Time’s Up on August 9, and Cuomo announced August 10 he would resign.
Deadline reported that a number of members of Time’s Up’s leadership believed Tchen needed to exit or at least step back during an independent probe after the gender equity group was hit by a series of systemic scandals. Still, the next day, following those virtual meetings with Time’s Up global leadership and founding signatories, Tchen insisted to Deadline “it’s not my intention to resign as President and CEO of Time’s Up.”
“Christmas came early this year,” the EP declared on Twitter late Thursday in the wake of news that the actress will be reprising her role as Addison for a multi-episode Season 18 arc.
Walsh made her memorable Grey’s debut in the Season 1 finale as Derek’s surprise wife (at least it was a surprise to Meredith). Addison would continue to be a major player at the hospital for two more seasons, leaving in 2007 to front the Grey’s spinoff Private Practice, which ran until 2013.
“It’s really happening,” Walsh confirmed on Instagram Thursday, eliciting the following comment from her onetime onscreen rival, Grey’s leading lady Ellen Pompeo: “Let’s give them what they want… quality TV drama.”
It was a little over a year ago that Walsh and Pompeo “reunited” on social media to mark the then-15th anniversary of their characters’ legendary first run-in.
“Unreal that today marks 15 years to the day since this little lady walked on to your screen and checked ya for screwing her husband,” Walsh cracked on Twitter in May 2020. Shortly thereafter, Pompeo enthusiastically responded, “Thank God I messed with your hubby!!” She then added, “It worked out for us both… that scene when your character showed up was such a defining moment for [Grey’s]. From that point on we had them hooked!!!”
It remains unclear if Addison and Meredith will butt heads anew when the former checks back in later this fall.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 premieres Thursday, Sept. 30 on ABC.
Walsh’s Addison is a world-class gynecological and neonatal surgeon. She was once married to Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and has a loaded history with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). A specific storyline for her arc in Season 18 was not revealed.
Walsh first appeared on Grey’s in the Season 1 finale as Derek Shepherd’s estranged wife. Initially set as a recurring, Walsh’s role was expanded to a series regular, with her final appearance at the conclusion of the third season in May 2007. Series creator Shonda Rhimes created a spin-off based on the character, Private Practice, which saw Addison move to Los Angeles to start a new chapter. The spinoff lasted for six seasons. Walsh returned to Grey’s for several guest-starring roles, last appearing in Season 8. She has appeared in a total of 59 episodes on Grey’s. Walsh other television credits include the role of The Handler in the first two seasons of Netflix’s praised The Umbrella Academy, based on the comic book series of the same name. She most recently recurred on Netflix’s Emily in Paris. Her film credits include Honest Thief, opposite Liam Neeson, a starring role in indie drama, Sometime Other Than Now and she can also be seen in the sci-fi flick, 3022, streaming on Amazon.
Grey’s Anatomy‘s season 18 premiere is set for Thursday, September 30 at 9/8c on ABC.
A group of prominent actors, musicians and other artists and companies swiftly responded to the news on social media. Reese Witherspoon, Alyssa Milano, Dua Lipa, Kerry Washington, St. Vincent, Eva Longoria Baston, Bad Robot and P!nk were among them. Many shared an image with the text, “I stand in solidarity with Texans & people everywhere seeking reproductive freedom.” The full list of the celebrities who support that sentiment is below; the vast majority of the signatories are women.
Washington also shared a link to a Planned Parenthood petition which, among other things, maintains that “health care — including safe, legal abortion — is a human right.” The petition also warns that “the Supreme Court is months away from hearing a case that challenges the protections of Roe v. Wade.
Aasif Mandvi
Aisha Tyler
Alan Cumming
Alexandra Shipp
Allison Janney
Alysia Reiner
Alyssa Milano
Amanda de Cadenet
Amber Tamblyn
America Ferrera
Amy Allen
Amy Brenneman
Amy Schumer
Ani DiFranco
Annika Noelle
Bad Robot
Beanie Feldstein
Bella Hadid
Ben Gleib
Ben Schnetzer
Betty Buckley
Betty Who
Bevy Smith
Blair Imani
Bradley Bredeweg
Brenda Song
Calire Coffee
Camryn Manheim
Chelsea Handler
Chloe Gosselin
Chloe Lilac
Chrissie Fit
Christine Lahti
Cody Linley
Connie Britton
Crystal Moselle
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Nixon
Dana Williams
Dawn Porter
Desi Lydic
Donna Murphy
Drew Droege
Dua Lipa
Elizabeth Banks
Emme
Emmy Rossum
Eva Longoria
Fletcher
Frances Fisher
Getting Curious With JVN
Gina Gershon
Gracie Abrahms
Hayley Law
Ilana Glazer
Isabella Gomez
Iliza Shlesinger
Jaime King
Jaimie Alexander
Jameela Jamil
Jen Pastiloff
Jennie Urman
Jess Jacobs
Jess Salgueiro
Jodie Sweetin
John Renaud
Jordan Weiss
Judy Blume
Julianne Nicholson
KaDee Strickland
Karla Welch
Kat Dennings
Kate Walsh
Kathryn Prescott
Kathy Najimy
Katie Stevens
Kerry Washington
KJ Steinberg
Kristen Schaal
Kuhoo Verma
Laura Gomez
Liza Koshy
Maggie Rogers
Mandy Moore
Margaret Cho
Marilyn Minter
Martha Plimpton
Martie Maguire
Matt McGorry
Mei Kwok
Mia Moretti
Michelle Monaghan
Mindy Kaling
Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Rothwell
P!NK
Padma Lakshmi
Paulina Rubio
Peaches
Rachel Goldenberg
Ramona Young
Reese Witherspoon
Retta
Righteous Babe Records
Rita Moreno
Rose Byrne
sammy rosenman
Sandra Bernhard
Selenis Leyva
St. Vincent
Stephanie March
Tegan and Sara
Tiffany Boone
Tiffany Red
Tony Goldwyn
Tracee Ellis Ross
V Ensler
VÉRITÉ
Yvette Nicole Brown.
The pilot for Olga Dies Dreaming, written by Gonzalez and to be directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, tells the story of a Nuyorican brother (Rodríguez) and sister (Plaza) from a gentrifying Sunset Park in Brooklyn who are reckoning with their absent, politically radical mother and their glittering careers among New York City’s elite in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
Williams will play Matteo who is a collector: of music, of objects, of trivia, and mainly, of opinions. A passionate Brooklynite, he won’t just tell you where to find the best slice, he’ll drive you there to get it. He’d come across as a know it all if, in fact, he wasn’t so genuinely curious about everything. He’s a person keenly aware of people’s inclination to put everyone and everything into neat little boxes and he firmly refuses to conform.
Gomez-Rejon, who partnered with Gonzalez after reading her novel in manuscript form, executive produce the pilot; Plaza and Rodríguez are producing. 20th Television is the studio.
Williams, who recently wrapped a 12-season run as Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy, stars in the Tony Award-winning play Take Me Out and is also attached to lead a TV adaptation in the works at Anonymous Content. Additionally, he is set to star in upcoming film Marked Man and is currently filming Paramount’s Secret Headquarters. Williams is repped by Priya Satiani at Management 360, CAA, and Andre Des Rochers and Anita Surendran at Granderson Des Rochers.
The actress played Cristina Yang in the TV series from 2005 to 2014 but admits the show had repercussions for her life as it took her to a new level of fame.
In a sneak peek from Sandra’s interview on Sunday Today with Willie Geist, she said: “To be perfectly honest, it was traumatic. It was traumatic.
“And the reason why I’m saying that is the circumstances you need to do your work is with a lot of privacy. So when one loses one’s anonymity, you have to build skills to still try and be real.
“I went from not being able to go out, like, hiding in restaurants, to then being able to manage attention, manage expectation, while not losing the sense of self.”
Sandra believes her focus on mental health and visits to a therapist helped her cope with the pressures of stardom.
The Killing Eve actress said: “Well, I have a good therapist. I’m not joking. It’s very, very important.”
The star also explained how she learned to set boundaries in her career.
She shared: “You just have to work at finding your way to stay grounded. And a lot of times that’s by saying no.”
Notable TV vets on the roster include Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander, black-ish‘s Anthony Anderson, Orange Is the New Black‘s Laverne Cox, Grey’s Anatomy‘s James Pickens Jr., Beverly Hills, 90210‘s Tori Spelling, Desperate Housewives‘ Marcia Cross, Glee‘s Amber Riley and Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Michelle Trachtenberg.
Hosted once again by Wheel icons Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune returns Sunday, Sept. 26 at 8 pm.
Scroll down to check out the complete Season 2 lineup…
Jason Alexander
Tatyana Ali
Anthony Anderson
Tituss Burgess
Cheryl Burke
Brooke Burns
Mario Cantone
Lacey Chabert
Laverne Cox
Marcia Cross
Joey Fatone
Vivica A. Fox
Jeff Garlin
Anthony Michael Hall
Melissa Joan Hart
John Michael Higgins
Vanilla Ice
Tara Lipinski
Loni Love
Von Miller
Michael Mizanin
Wanya Morris
Jason Mraz
Haley Joel Osment
Donny Osmond
James Pickens Jr.
Caroline Rhea
Andy Richter
Amber Riley
Tori Spelling
Shawn Stockman
Curtis Stone
Jodie Sweetin
Raven-Symoné
Karl-Anthony Towns
Michelle Trachtenberg
Nia Vardalos
Johnny Weir
Ali Wentworth.
Set to begin November 16 at 8 p.m. ET, “Armageddon” will feature numerous guest appearances from some of the CW’s most notable heroes and villains. Set to join The Flash team are Javicia Leslie as Batwoman, Brandon Routh as The Atom, Cress Williams as Black Lightning, Chyler Leigh as Sentinel, Kat McNamara as Mia Queen and Osric Chau as Ryan Choi. Tom Cavanagh and Neal McDonough will return as enemies Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash and Damien Darhk, respectively.
In “Armageddon,” a powerful alien threat arrives on Earth under mysterious circumstances and Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton) and the rest of Team Flash are pushed to their limits in a desperate battle to save the world. But with time running out, and the fate of humanity at stake, Flash and his companions will also need to enlist the help of some old friends if the forces of good are to prevail.
All the information about “Armageddon” checks out with what CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz previously teased about the series’ kick off. During a press call about the fall 2021 schedule, Pedowitz noted that the first five episodes of The Flash Season 8 “will feature different heroes from the CW-verse.”
“The idea for The Flash is, [showrunner] Eric Wallace and [executive producer] Greg [Berlanti] have come together and are talking about other superheroes from the CW-verse who will come together in each individual episode,” he said. “It will not be quite be a crossover but will have a crossover-type feel and the introduction of all these characters.”
On Wednesday, The Flash executive producer Eric Wallace added the following:
“Simply put, these are going to be some of the most emotional Flash episodes ever. Plus, there are some truly epic moments and huge surprises that await our fans. And we’re doing them on a scale that’s bigger and bolder than our traditional Flash episodes. So yes, “Armageddon” is a lot more than just another graphic novel storyline. It’s going to be a true event for Flash and Arrowverse fans, old and new. Honestly, I can’t wait for audiences to see what we’ve got planned.”
Gallagher will play Dr. Alan Hamilton who knew Ellis Grey (Burton) back in the day and meets Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) in the season premiere, slated for Sept. 30.
Given that Burton is also set to reprise her role as Meredith’s late mother Ellis Grey in the Season 18 premiere, it is conceivable that the show could flash back to Ellis and Alan’s story. (Burton is set for multiple episodes next season.)
Gallagher has been recurring on Netflix’s Grace and Frankie and recently starred on the first season of NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. He also had a recurring role on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU. In features, Gallagher recently appeared in the hit comedy Palm Springs, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. He is repped by Gersh and manager John Carrabino.
Grey’s Anatomy, ABC’s longest-running and top-rated scripted series, was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Krista Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer. Betsy Beers and Mark Gordon are executive producers. Debbie Allen is the producing director and executive producer. Grey’s Anatomy is produced by ABC Signature, a division of Disney Television Studios.
Kelly McCreary, who plays Dr. Maggie Pierce on “Grey’s Anatomy,” is pregnant with her first child with her husband, director Pete Chatmon.
“I actually screamed in shock when I saw pregnant,” she told People Monday while sharing a photo of herself holding a positive pregnancy test. “I mean, I just wasn’t expecting it.
“I had really been mentally and emotionally preparing myself for the possibility that it might take us some time to conceive,” the 39-year-old actress explained. “So, I was genuinely shocked.”
McCreary also shared the image on her Instagram page, where she told her followers that she and Chatmon, 44, were “thrilled to be growing our family, and to share the news with all of you!”
The parents-to-be met on the set of the ABC hit, and they tied the knot in May 2019.
McCreary told People that Chatmon was eager to start a family and is “just rah, rah, eager for this child to come into our life and find out all of the ways that being parents will disrupt and challenge everything that we have planned.”
While she awaits the arrival of her little one, McCreary is learning all that she can about motherhood.
“It’s such a mystifying process,” she said. “I think I’ve ordered maybe, like, 15 to 20 books already. And I’m learning so much about just such a broad scope of things. I’ve just been diving in. I’m really eager to learn.”
While she doesn’t know if her pregnancy will be written into Season 18 of “Grey’s Anatomy,” McCreary gushed that that her co-stars Caterina Scorsone, Chandra Wilson and Ellen Pompeo have been “tremendously helpful, supportive resources” for her.
McCreary joined the show as Meredith Grey (Pompeo)’s half-sister at the end of the show’s 10th season (2014) and was promoted to a series regular for the 11th season (2015).
She is in good company, as another one of her co-stars, Camilla Luddington, gave birth to a son in August 2020.
“I really couldn’t be in a better workplace environment to have this experience,” McCreary said. “It’s such a parent-friendly and pregnant person-friendly environment.”
Allen will be recognized during the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast September 19 on CBS and Paramount+.
The award honors an individual or organization whose achievement is so exceptional and universal in nature that it goes beyond the scope of annual Emmy Awards recognition, the academy said.
“Debbie Allen has been a creative voice for a generation of performers and storytellers and has left an indelible mark on the television industry,” Governors Award selection committee co-chair Eva Basler said. Added co-chair Debra Curtis: “Debbie’s commitment to mentoring underserved communities has been nothing short of extraordinary. She has shared her gift and love of dance and choreography with countless aspiring performers across the globe.”
Allen, an artist in residence at the Kennedy Center for over 15 years and who founded the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, has choreographed for the likes of Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Gwen Verdon, Carmen de Lavallade, Diane Carroll, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr., Dolly Parton and Savion Glover, as well as 10 times for the Academy Awards ceremony.
Her directing, producing and acting credits include the likes of Fame, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, Jane the Virgin, Empire, Insecure, A Different World, Everybody Hates Chris, Stompin’ at the Savoy, Polly, That’s So Raven, Cool Women, Quantum Leap, The Fantasia Barrino Story and Christmas on the Square.
Allen earlier this year was a recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor and has three Emmys already for her choreography, including this year for the Netflix holiday movie Christmas on the Square starring Dolly Parton.
“This has been an amazing year for me,” said Allen. “To be celebrated by the Television Academy is an overwhelming honor that humbles me and says to my community of dancing gypsies, actors, writers and musicians that if you stay passionate about your craft and do the work, you can go far.”
Previous Governors Awards nominees include Tyler Perry last year. Before that the honor went to Star Trek, ITVS, American Idol and A+E Networks.
Kate Burton is set to reprise her role as Dr. Ellis Grey in multiple episodes, starting with the Season 18 premiere airing on Sept. 30. Since the beach sequence concluded when Meredith woke up toward the end of last season, it is unclear how Ellis Grey will be reintroduced on the show. Ellis was last seen in the 2019 Season 15 episode “Blood and Water,” appearing to Meredith in a dream.
Ellis, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, died in Season 3.
Burton has done a total of 23 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy to date as a guest star/recurring, earning two Emmy nominations for her role. Her third Emmy nomination so far came for another Shondaland ABC drama, Scandal.
Burton will be seen in the upcoming Hulu limited series The Dropout. Her recent TV credits also include recurring roles on the CW’s Charmed and Supergirl and CBS All Access’ Strange Angel.
On stage, multi-Tony-nominated Burton most recently appeared in The Tempest at the Old Globe in San Diego and with Kevin Kline on Broadway in Present Laughter. Her feature credits include 2019’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette.
Grey’s Anatomy, ABC’s longest-running and top-rated scripted series, was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Krista Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer. Betsy Beers and Mark Gordon are executive producers. Debbie Allen is the producing director and executive producer. Grey’s Anatomy is produced by ABC Signature, a division of Disney Television Studios.
Leading lady Ellen Pompeo took to Instagram Wednesday morning to share a video of her back in the Grey’s makeup chair (scroll down to view a screen shot). “Guess what time it is?” she captioned the Instastory, before adding, “#GreysSeason18.”
ABC is not commenting on whether Season 18 will be Grey’s Anatomy‘s last, but sources tell TVLine that the network is hopeful to eke out at least one more season beyond the upcoming one. Grey’s continues to reign as ABC’s highest rated and most watched scripted series, averaging a 1.1 demo rating and 5.3 million weekly viewers (in Live+Same Day numbers).
Meanwhile, the new deals recently secured by OG cast members Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. expire this spring at the conclusion of Season 18.
Last March, Pomepo admitted to CBS Sunday Morning that there is pressure to stick the landing, creatively speaking. “To end a show this iconic… how do we do it?” the actress mused. “I just wanna make sure we do this character and this show and the fans… I wanna make sure we do it right.”
Grey’s Anatomy‘s 18th season kicks off Thursday, Sept. 30 at 9/8c.
Grey’s Anatomy and Little Fires Everywhere star Jesse Williams will lead the adaptation, which comes from Anonymous Content.
Greenberg will adapt his play for the small screen with Broadway director Scott Ellis, who has directed episodes of shows including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Modern Family, will direct the pilot.
Set in the early 2000s, Take Me Out follows Darren Lemming, a mixed-race star center fielder for the fictional Empires. Darren’s decision to come out of the closet sparks controversy and soul searching for American’s favorite pastime, revealing long-held, unspoken prejudices both on and off the field. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to confront the reality of being a gay person of color within the framework of a classic American institution. As the Empires rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties and the price of victory.
Williams will play Lemming in the series as well as the Broadway revival, directed by Ellis and produced by Second Stage Theater. In the play revival, which was which was delayed due to COVID-19 theater closures, Williams stars alongside Patrick J. Adams and Jesse Tyler Ferguson with performances now set to begin at Second Stage’s Helen Hayes Theater in Spring 2022.
The play, which premiered at The Public Theater in 2002 before making its way to Broadway, was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize and won the Tony Award for Best Play.
AC Studios, which has produced series including Apple’s Dickinson and Hulu’s Catch 22, will serve as the studio on the project. Williams, Greenberg, and Ellis will executive produce the series with David Levine and Whitney Dibo overseeing on behalf of AC Studios.
Williams is set to star in upcoming film Marked Man and is currently filming Paramount’s Secret Headquarters. Best known for his role as Dr. Jackson Avery on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, he has also appeared in The Cabin in the Woods, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Band Aid, and Selah and the Spades. He also produced the 2021 Oscar-winning short film Two Distant Strangers.
“I’m incredibly honored by the opportunity to expand on such a profound narrative,” said Williams. “The questions and challenges presented by Richard’s material are critical and seemingly boundless; cutting to the core of ‘masculinity marketing.’ What are we really, if our peace is so easily threatened by the peace of others?”
“We are thrilled to bring this powerful story from stage to screen, as it delves headfirst into issues that are still so salient, and given it’s set in the world of major league baseball, it’s a great study in sport and character,” added Anonymous Content Chief Creative Officer, David Levine. “There was never a question that Richard should be the one to adapt his play for television. With his script and such an incredible team in place, many of whom are also bringing this show back to the stage, we know the series will resonate with a diverse cross-section of fans.”
“Richard’s Tony award winning play is as relevant today as it was 20 years ago. I have the honor of directing the revival next Spring on Broadway,” said Ellis. “To also have the opportunity to adapt Take Me Out to a limited television series, only means reaching a broader audience, and it just underscores the immense respect our whole team has for the material.”
Williams is represented by CAA, Management 360, André Des Rochers of Granderson Des Rochers and Stephen Barnes of Morris, Yorn, Barnes, Levine, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner & Gellman. Greenberg is represented by CAA. Ellis is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
The trio had been set to star in the Second Stage Theater production with a pre-pandemic opening of April 2020. The cast has been expected to return for the postponed 2022 opening, but confirmation came just today. Both Adams and Williams will be making their Broadway debuts.
Take Me Out begins previews at the Hayes Theater on March 9, 2022, and will officially open on April 4.
Also returning are previously announced cast members Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks. The role of Davey Battle, which was to have been played in the 2020 production by Brandon Dirden, remains to be cast.
The casting announcement was made today by Second Stage Theater. Scott Ellis will direct.
Greenberg’s play, which first appeared on Broadway in 2003, chronicles the personal and professional intricacies of a professional baseball team. Williams will play Darren Lemming, a star center fielder for the New York Empires who comes out of the closet, facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships. As the Empires struggle to rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties, and the price of victory.
Adams is best known for his seven seasons as Mike Ross in USA Network’s hit drama Suits and, more recently, a recurring role on Amazon’s Sneaky Pete. Ferguson, who appeared in the Second Stage Theater productions of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Little Fish, starred as Mitchell Pritchett on the long-running ABC comedy Modern Family, and Williams played Dr. Jackson Avery on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and appeared in the film Lee Daniels’ The Butler, among other roles.
The full breakdown of the 2021 BET+ holiday films is below.
A Christmas Wish
Roz McKenzie, a single mother, is calling upon a miracle so she and her daughter can survive Christmas.
Starring: Noree Victoria, Nadia Simms, Blue Kimble, Javon Johnson
Written and Directed by: Christopher Nolen
A Rich Christmas
A spoiled and ungrateful socialite learns a valuable lesson one Christmas after her mega-rich father forces her to work at the first property he ever owned – a family homeless center.
Starring: Bill Bellamy, Vanessa A Williams, Tyler Abron, Brandee Evans, Denise Boutte
Directed by: Victoria Rowell
Written by: Shateka “SJ” Johnson
The Business of Christmas 2
For the Franklin family, Christmas will never be the same without their father, Oscar. As their mother hesitates to let love in again, the children struggle to see beyond their own career and relationship problems. They must get outside of themselves and forgive each other for the mistakes of the past in order to remember that there is no Christmas without family.
Starring: Daphne Maxwell Reid, Jennifer Freeman
Directed by: Tim Reid
Written by: Camara Davis
Christmas Déjà Vu
A woman with a downtrodden life who hates Christmas longs for the life she could have had as a singer. She meets an angel who grants her wish.
Starring: Amber Riley, Loretta Devine, Blue Kimble
Written and Directed by: Christel Gibson
Christmas for Sale
A young real estate agent pretends to be a billionaire’s yoga instructor on a holiday ski trip to gain a lucrative real estate listing, but she ends up falling in love with the eccentric and charming gentlemen.
Starring: Nadine Ellis, Aaron Spears, Shanti Lowry
Written by: Camara Davis
Directed by: Michael Mayhall
The Jenkins Family Christmas
After burying their father earlier in the year, Baneatta and Beverly attempt to carry on his Christmas traditions without strangling each other – but when an unknown half-sister arrives at the family festivities, more than just Christmas presents are opened.
Starring: Regina Taylor, Kim Coles, Tammy Townsend, Robert Gossett, Ashley Love Mills, Anthony Chatmon II, Derek Chadwick, Bailey Bass, Thomas Miles (“Nephew Tommy”), Monti Washington
Directed by: Robin Givens
Written by: Christopher Oscar Pena and Joy Kecken
Merry Switchmas
The holidays take a wrong turn when identical twin sisters agree to switch places for one night only at their parents’ Christmas party. With their boyfriends, a feisty great-aunt, and others tangled in their charade, the sisters end up finding out more about their family and themselves before the night ends. But the real question is whether the sisters can eventually make things right with their family and boyfriends when the truth comes out.
Starring: Valarie Pettiford, Thea Camara, Peter Parros, Rachel Aladdin, Rebekah Aladdin, Joseph Harold, Joel Harold
Directed by: Chris Nolen
Written by: Gabrielle Collins
Soul Santa
When an unlucky businessman gambles away the mob’s money, he is forced to go on the run and hide out as a shopping mall Santa Claus.
Starring: David Mann, Tamela Mann, Brooke Monroe Conaway, Christopher Gurr, Ross Fleming
Directed by: Terri Vaughn
Written by: Greg Anderson
BET+ will announce the full schedule at a later date.
The anticipated series follows Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim (two-time Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh) as she navigates her new role as the Chair of the English department at prestigious Pembroke University. There, she’s faced with a unique set of challenges, as the first woman to chair the department, and as one of the few staff members of color at the university.
In the trailer, Kim tells her colleagues that the department is “in dire crisis.”
“I feel like someone handed me a ticking time bomb,” she adds, “because they wanted to make sure a woman was holding it when it explodes.”
Fear not, though, for Oh’s character, who later declares her intent to “shake this place up.”
Actress Amanda Peet serves as The Chair‘s writer, showrunner and EP. She exec produces the series alongside Oh, Game of Thrones‘ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Bernie Caulfield and Daniel Gray Longino. The show’s writers are Pete, Wyman, Richard E. Robbins, Jennifer Kim and Andrea Troyer. Longino directs all six episodes.
Jay Duplass (Search Party, Transparent), Holland Taylor (Bill & Ted Face the Music, Hollywood) , Bob Balaban (Wes Anderson’s upcoming The French Dispatch), Nana Mensah (Bonding), David Morse (Blindspot) and Everly Carganilla (Yes Day) also star.
The trailer for the Netflix series—featuring new track “Oh!” by Los Angeles-based, all-female punk band The Linda Lindas—can be found above.
“I actually was very well protected back then,” George tells me via Zoom, speaking from a park in Paris, with one of her sons in her lap. “My agent at the time said, ‘You’re not going to that meeting alone.’ And [Weinstein] realized that I came with bodyguards and back-up.”
With her team lurking, he made no inappropriate moves, beyond his choice of attire. But then, a week before shooting on Derailed began, the lead role earmarked for George was mysteriously demoted to a supporting one. She believes this is absolutely because of that tightly-controlled Peninsula hotel meeting.
But she prevailed, later booking Turistas, the lead in Music Within, and a big role in 30 Days of Night. She also booked meaty TV parts on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and In Treatment, for which she was Golden Globe nominated. Triangle and A Lonely Place to Die followed, and a lead in the critically-acclaimed series The Slap. By 2016, she was apparently living the fairytale: settled in Paris with her partner and two young sons. She’d dodged Weinstein. Her career was thriving. What could go wrong?
Things could go very wrong indeed. According to a statement George made to police, during a disagreement with her partner in their home, he struck her repeatedly. An Uber took her to the police station. When she began vomiting, she was escorted by a detective to the hospital at 3am. That Uber driver would later testify to her distraught state, and that she appeared to be in physical pain, while George has photographic evidence of bruising and swelling to her face. However, the French court found both she and her former partner guilty of assault, and George was legally banned from taking her children out of the country without her ex’s written permission— a disaster for a woman who knew no one in France other than her ex, who relied on being able to travel for work, and whose family and friends were all distantly overseas.
Of the court battle, George says now, “You have more bullets, you have more ammunition in your pocket if you have the money, and women aren’t very well-received here [in France]. We are known as the ones to carry the child. But once it’s born, it’s a gift to [the father]… You’re a carrier. You’re third in the order of the ‘code civil’… It says man, child, woman. You are not regarded at all, and you add on to that an actress, and you add on to that a woman, and not French.”
Effectively marooned in her adopted country, George wandered Paris in a daze, feeling her experience had been “a witch hunt” and that she was “made to feel stupid daily”.
While her work is well-known in the U.S., the U.K. and her native Australia, in France she says she was initially seen as an outsider. “You are a successful actress in your own country, but you are forced now to give it all up. And so, every day I just walked around [feeling] stupid.”
Then, one day, George—who had left her native Australia at 21 to make it as an actress in the U.S.—experienced something of an epiphany. “I looked at the beauty of Paris. It was about five o’clock in the morning. I was just pretty much on the street. I thought, OK, you’re built for this, you are the only one that can make this happen. You need to perfect your French, starting now. You need to call your family and ask for help, starting now, because I had never done that in my whole life. I called my brother, called my mom, called my dad.” From that day on, George threw herself hard into creating a home and learning the language fluently.
By 2018, she had managed a stint as Sean Penn’s wife in Hulu series The First, shooting in one-week increments, but mostly she was stymied. Her confidence eroded, terrified of leaving the children, when the script for Apple TV+ series The Mosquito Coast came her way, she sat on it for months, eyeing the role of Margot– wife of the lead Allie Fox character, who would be played by Justin Theroux, her co-star from Mulholland Drive some 20 years earlier. But still, she did nothing. Then she got a new agent, who immediately told her, “You have 30 minutes to put yourself on tape or else we are done.”
“I sat on the floor and just burst into tears,” George says. “I put up my camera and I did three scenes. One take each. I didn’t sleep that night. And 24 hours later, Rupert Wyatt, the director, called my agent said, ‘She’s our Margot.’”
George went to her sons, who were, by now, five and seven. I said, “Mummy has to be a big girl now and go back to work.” The boys understood. And the show’s producers allowed her to work two weeks on, two weeks off, so she could see the kids in Paris. “I was professionally and personally successful for the very first time in my life,” she says. “I made both of them happen.”
Then, at last, the doors of French cinema cracked open. She got the chance to meet with Emmanuelle Bercot, who was putting together her film Peaceful (De son vivant). “I was a big fan of her as an actress, just from Mon Roi and all those films,” George says. Catherine Deneuve was also already cast.
“I went in for an hour-and-a-half meeting in French. [Bercot] stood up at the end and just hugged me. She said, ‘Will you do my movie?’ I knew it was with my idol Catherine Deneuve. I mean from Belle de Jour, to everything she’s ever done… style-wise, acting-wise, she’s just historic. She epitomizes everything that I ever wanted to be.”
George’s role was small, but it felt vital. “I knew I had one scene with her, not a lot, but the way I see it, it’s a step into the cinema in France,” she says. “Even though it’s been such a bad time for me here, it was a way to show that I’m at the right place at the right time, getting the right role at the right time. It’s a beginning.”
At a recent private screening in Paris, everyone was in tears, she says. “It’s really, really touching, really sad. So beautifully directed.”
The film tells the story of Benjamin (Benoi^t Magimel), son of Crystal (Denueve). “He’s dying in hospital and I’m his ex-wife,” George says. “And when he found out that I was pregnant, he abandoned us and never met his child ever. So, he’s lived this life of a lie and it’s about me letting go of my son to go and say goodbye to his father.”
During her most desperate times these past years, George made a list of her dreams to keep her going. Deneuve was on that list, as was Sean Penn, as was working on a series like The Mosquito Coast. “That’s our version of praying, isn’t it? Manifesting?” she says.
And just recently, George played her first fully-French role, in the Abel Danan-directed short Canines, starring Pauline Chalamet, which has just been green-lit as a feature.
Being broken down and having to rebuild made her appreciate both herself and France, she says now. “I am more interesting, I am more calm, I’m more universal, I’m more cultured. I’m nicer, I don’t know. I just feel like when you get everything beaten out of you, you choose to put in the right ingredients and make yourself a better person. And it’s because of Paris.”
Being invited into French cinema will absolutely be the cherry on top of this renaissance. “Australian cinema is easy, right? Because I was born there and raised there. American cinema is easy because I was there 20 years, but French cinema, all of a sudden, after a traumatic experience, it’s now my home. So, to do French cinema… That’s success to me, because it’s the place that made me fall in love with myself, that made me understand who I am.”
This will not be George’s first time at Cannes. “I’ve only been invited before because there was a spare ticket of blah, blah, blah,” she says. “And of course, when I got on the red carpet, everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, what’s she doing here?’”
But this year, she will be there on her own merit, representing a film she describes thus: “It’s about the truth and speaking the truth, and mending bad things in your life and coming full circle.”
Chambers will portray Marlon Brando in Paramount+’s limited series The Offer, based on producer Al Ruddy’s experience of making Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic The Godfather. The movie, starring Brando as mob boss Vito Corleone, was nominated for 11 Oscars and won three — including Brando for Best Actor. (He refused the award.)
Miles Teller plays Ruddy, Dan Fogler plays Coppola. The 10-episode event series is written and executive produced by Nikki Toscano, who also showruns, and creator Michael Tolkin. Teller and Ruddy also serve as executive producers, along with Leslie Grief. Dexter Fletcher will direct the first and last block. The Offer is produced by Paramount Television Studios.
Chambers, an original Grey’s Anatomy cast member and a fan favorite, left the hit medical drama in late 2019 after 15 years on the show and 350 episodes playing Dr. Alex Karev.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers told Deadline at the time. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
Chambers is repped by Gersh, Anonymous Content and attorney Darren Trattner.
The Bridgerton executive producer has extended her partnership with the streamer.
The deal, which extends the multi-million dollar deal she signed in 2017, covers Rhimes, her production company Shondaland and her producing partner Betsy Beers.
In addition to television, it will cover feature films as well as potential gaming and VR content. The deal also includes a branding and merchandise deal for Shondaland, which will add live events and experiences.
Rhimes move into feature films isn’t a huge surprise; she started her career as a screenwriter, penning Crossroads and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and she has also talked up her interest in directing features.
The move into gaming is more surprising, but Shondaland has been expanding into new areas, particularly its move into audio and podcasting and Netflix execs have recently been teasing more moves into the gaming space.
In terms of live events, the two companies have already started this with a Bridgerton experiential event in the UK being set up in partnership with Secret Cinema in November.
The streamer is also investing in and providing the financial and technical infrastructure to bolster diversity programs to increase industry workplace representation for underrepresented groups both domestically and in the UK.
It comes as Bridgerton’s second season is currently in production and the regency drama has already been renewed for seasons three and four. Deadline recently revealed that a limited series based on the origins of Queen Charlotte had also been ordered.
Shondaland’s slate also includes Inventing Anna, which will star Julia Garner, Anna Chlumsky, Katie Lowes, Laverne Cox and Alexis Floyd and will be released in 2022.
The company’s documentary Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker chronicling choreographer and director Debbie Allen launched on the service in November 2020.
Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal creator Rhimes left her longtime home of ABC Studios in 2017 and there was much talk in recent months as to whether the writer and producer would stay at the streamer after her initial four year deal or whether others could tempt her elsewhere.
“When Ted and I decided to break the traditional network TV business model to move Shondaland to Netflix, we were both taking a leap into the unknown. Today, Shondaland at Netflix is creatively thriving, profitable as an asset and engaging audiences around the world with stories that fearlessly challenge viewers and keep them highly entertained all at once. Ted, Bela and the entire team at Netflix have been tremendous partners during every step of the process, supporting my creative vision and showing a continued dedication to the innovation that has made Netflix such a powerhouse. The Shondaland team and I are thrilled and excited to be expanding our relationship with our content partners at Netflix,” she said.
Heigl, joined by Animal Wellness Action, the Center for a Humane Economy, the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, Wild Horse Photo Safaris, the Red Birds Trust, and the Cloud Foundation, rallied to raise public awareness of the plight of the horses, who face a mass helicopter roundup beginning July 12.
The roundup. the groups claim, will send 80 percent of the herd to BLM corrals, in the process injuring or even killing some of the frightened animals. While the horses will be put up for adoption, the groups claim some will allegedly wind up in foreign slaughter houses.
The federal Bureau of Land Management, which will handle the roundup, claims an overpopulation of horses in the Great Basin has left inadequate forage.
Heigl, a Utah resident best known for her work on the TV series Grey’s Anatomy and now starring in Netflix’s Firefly Lane, and leaders of the groups involved, spoke to rally attendees before traveling directly to the rangeland where the Onaqui wild horses live wild and free.
On July 1, President Joe Biden’s Bureau of Land Management, doubled-down in a press release announcing they will proceed with the roundups.
“We’re pulling out all the stops in pressing President Joe Biden to stop the roundup and eradication of the iconic Onaqui wild horses in Utah and call on the president to implement a course correction before it’s too late,” said a statement from Heigl, herself a horse owner.
Erika Brunson, philanthropist, and member of the Global Council for Animals, also called for a halt to the planned roundups.
“With over 52,000 wild horses and burros currently in government facilities, it’s time to stop round ups and focus on a robust humane fertility control program utilizing PZP,” said Brunson. “Currently, only 1% of the population is addressed which is ludicrous.”
Descended from horses used by pioneers and native tribes in the late 1800’s, the Onaqui horses are known for their robust beauty and their ability to thrive in the harsh environment of the Great Basin Desert of western Utah. They are a favorite among wild horse photographers and enthusiasts and are believed to be the most popular and photographed wild herd in the country.
Visit the campaign website at www.SaveTheOnaqui.org for more details.
The pic, scheduled to hit theaters on Aug. 12, 2022, is described as Home Alone set in the Batcave.
Williams joins a cast that includes Owen Wilson, Michael Peña, Walker Scobell, Momona Tamada, Keith L. Williams, Abby James Witherspoon and Kezii Curtis. Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman are producing.
Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman will direct and wrote the current draft along with Josh Koenigsberg. The story is an original idea from Christopher Yost.
Williams has played Dr. Jackson Avery on 272 episodes of ABC/Shondaland’s Grey’s Anatomy and also played the character in the spinoff Station 19. He starred on the Hulu minseries Little Fires Everywhere, and he’s heading back to Broadway to star in Richard Greenberg’s play Take Me Out. The play follows Darren Lemming, star center fielder for the Empires, who reveals he is gay and faces a barrage of long-held unspoken prejudices and is forced to contend with the challenges of being a gay person of color within the confines of a classic American institution.
Williams is also starring in the movie Marked Man opposite Dewanda Wise and Winston Duke from Mark Gordon Pictures.
The actor is repped by CAA, Management 360 and Granderson Des Rochers.
On Wednesday the streamer unveiled the premeiere date and a brief teaser for its upcoming half-hour dramedy series. Set to premiere August 20, The Chair follows Ji-Yoon (Oh), the Chair of the English department at a small university. The series comes from hails from writer, executive producer and showrunner Amanda Peet and Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
The series also features Jay Duplass, Holland Taylor, Nana Mensah, Bob Balaban, David Morse and Everly Carganilla. Ji Yong Lee, Mallor Low, Marcia Debonis, Ron Crawford, Ella Rubin and Bob Stephenson round out the cast.
Peet and Oh executive produce with Peet’s husband, Benioff, Weiss and Bernie Caulfield.
Watch the teaser above.
Sporting bleach blonde hair, Chambers — playfully taking on the role of waiter — can be seen interrupting Pompeo’s seemingly intimate dinner with fellow former co-star Eric Dane. “What would you like for dinner?” Chambers asks the pair, prompting Pompeo to break character. In a subsequent video (also posted to Pompeo’s Instagram stories — watch here before it disappears!), Pompeo captures Chambers and Dane sitting silently alongside each other.
Chambers has maintained a fairly low profile since departing Grey’s Anatomy amid controversy a year and a half ago. (The actor’s last episode aired in November 2019, but viewers were not aware it was his swan song until his exit was announced publicly two months later. Chambers later returned, but only in a voiceover capacity, for his send-off installment in March 2020, which revealed that Alex had left his wife Jo and reunited with ex Izzie, who had his children.)
“For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning…. was the best possible storyline,” Pompeo wrote on social media at the time. “It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible cast… that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing. So let’s not be sad. As our fearless leader [episode director Debbie Allen] always says let’s PULL UP and celebrate the actors, the writers and the fantastic crew who make this show come to life every week.”
Prior to that, Pompeo characterized Chambers’ exit as one of Grey’s Anatomy‘s “biggest losses yet.”
To this day, neither Chambers nor anyone connected with Grey’s Anatomy has revealed the reason behind the actor’s abrupt departure — although Chambers has hinted that a desire to pursue other projects played a role.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers said in a statement at the time. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time. As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”
“I could not be prouder to join the Board of The Actors Fund,” said Berlanti, the writer, director and producer behind The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, You and numerous others. “The last year has been hugely difficult for our industry. The services provided by The Fund are critical to the wellbeing of so many, providing direct financial relief and also support and counseling at such a critical time.”
Grey’s Anatomy star and Scandal director Wilson said, “Our industry is a hard one in the best of times. Now more than ever, we know that a home is a precious right that must be protected and affordable, that mental health care is crucial, and that as a community we must look out for and take care of one another. I’m honored to join the Board and build on the incredible legacy The Fund has created for all of us.”
Over the last year, The Actors Fund has distributed more than $21.6 million in direct financial assistance to more than 16,300 entertainment arts professionals, an amount equivalent to what the Fund typically grants in a 10-year span, said Joseph Benincasa, President and CEO of The Actors Fund.
“Life has always been precarious for arts and entertainment workers,” said Mitchell. “But the last year has exposed that we need to do even more to ensure that people in our industry have access to financial and health services, that we take care of one another, and that we advocate for public programs that support entertainment professionals across the country.”
Created and executive produced by Meriwether, who also serves as showrunner, The Dropout is based on the ABC News/ABC Radio podcast. Holmes (Seyfried), the enigmatic Stanford dropout who founded medical testing start-up Theranos, was lauded as a Steve Jobs for the next tech generation. Once worth billions of dollars, the myth crumbled when it was revealed that none of the tech actually worked, putting thousands of people’s health in grave danger. Money. Romance. Tragedy. Deception. The story of Holmes and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye?
Macy will play Richard Fuisz, an ex-CIA agent and an inventor of biomedical devices. A friend of the Holmes family, he is initially upset when he learns that Elizabeth has started a medical tech startup without consulting him, and his resentment and obsession will have serious ramifications for Elizabeth and Theranos.
Metcalf is Phyllis Gardner, a scientist, doctor and successful entrepreneur. As a woman in a predominately male world, she has been through the ringer and has had to confront sexism her whole career. She will ultimately be among those responsible for bringing the truth about Elizabeth and Theranos to light.
Marvel plays Noel Holmes, Elizabeth Holmes’ mother.
Irwin is Channing Robertson, head of Chemical Engineering/professor at Stanford and an early cheerleader of Elizabeth Holmes.
Ambudkar portrays Rakesh Madhava, one of the first employees at Theranos.
Fry is Ian Gibbons, the brilliant head of chemistry at Theranos.
Gill plays Chris Holmes, Elizabeth Holmes’ father and hero.
Pais portrays Wade Maquelon, the CFO of Walgreens. Skeptical about Theranos, he thinks start-ups are risky, but he doesn’t want to be left in the dust if Elizabeth goes to a competitor.
Ironside plays Don Lucas, one of the first venture capitalists to invest in Theranos.
Burton is Rochelle Gibbons.
Meriwether serves as showrunner and executive producer. Additional executive producers include Liz Heldens, Liz Hannah, Katherine Pope, Rebecca Jarvis, Victoria Thompson and Taylor Dunn. Michael Showalter is set to direct multiple episodes and will also serve as an executive producer along with his Semi-Formal Productions producing partner Jordana Mollick.
Macy most recently starred in Showtime’s Shameless, for which he was nominated twice for a Best Actor Emmy Award and won twice for the SAG Award. His film credits include Seabiscuit, The Cooler, Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Jurassic Park III and Fargo among others. He’s repped by ICM Partners.
Metcalf was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Greta Gerwig’s film Lady Bird. She has won three Emmy Awards for her work on ABC’s Roseanne, and was nominated for her starring role in HBO’s Getting On. Metcalf can currently be seen in Roseanne spinoff, The Conners. She’s repped by WME.
Marvel starred as the first female President on Showtime’s Homeland. She most recently wrapped Marvel’s Helstrom for Hulu in the series regular role of Valerie Simms. She previously was seen in the Netflix limited series Unbelievable. Marvel is repped by Innovative Artists and Viking Entertainment.
Ambudkar co-stars in the upcoming 20th Century feature, Free Guy opposite Ryan Reynolds, Taika Waititi, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, and Lil Rel Howery. Later this year, he’ll be seen in Netflix series Never Have I Ever and Special. Next year, he’ll be seen in Universal’s romantic comedy Marry Me, starring Jennifer Lopez. He’s repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, The Gersh Agency, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
Fry’s television credits include HBO’s Veep, Fox’s 24, CBS’ The Great Outdoors, among others. He was most recently seen in Russel T. Davies’s It’s A Sin, and will next appear in Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. He’s repped by ICM Partners and Hamilton Hodell.
Gill is known for his roles on House of Cards, Mr. Robot and Ray Donovan. He’ll next be seen in the upcoming HBO Max series The Gilded Age. He’s reppd by A3 Artists Agency and Industry Entertainment.
Pais was last seen in Showtime’s Ray Donovan and features Joker and Motherless Brooklyn. He also starred in HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher, The Plot Against America, as well as Netflix’s Tale of the City, Maniac, High Maintenance and Younger, among others. He’s repped by Innovative Artists.
Ironside has starred in more than 150 feature films, including David Cronenberg’s sci-fi hit Scannersas well as lead roles in Top Gun and Total Recall. He most recently recurred in a four-episode arc on TNT’s The Alienist, as well as Ransom for CBC, and guested in Season 3 of the hit NBC series This is Us. He’s repped by TalentWorks and The Artist Representation Company.
Burton was nominated for Emmy for her role as Vice President Sally Langston in Shonda Rhimes’ ABC series Scandal. Recent film roles include Where’d You Go Bernadette directed by Richard Linklater, indie feature At First Light and Diane Bell’s Bleeding Heart with Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet, among others. Burton is repped by Gersh and Principal Entertainment.
Earlier in CBS’ night, United States of Al (3.7 mil/0.4) was steady.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.7 mil/0.6, TVLine reader grade “B+”; read recap) dipped in the demo with its season finale yet delivered Thursday’s biggest audience. Grey’s Anatomy (4.6 mil/0.8) ticked up with its season finale, and led the night in the demo. Rebel (2.8 mil/0.4) was flat.
NBC | On-the-bubble Manifest (2.7 mil/0.4) dipped to a new audience low while steady in the demo. Law & Order: SVU (4.1 mil/0.7) and Organized Crime (3.9 mil/0.6) were steady in the demo with their season finales.
FOX | After a 22-month hiatus, Beat Shazam returned to 1.7 mil and a 0.4.
Instead, Meredith received an applause at the end of the Season 17 finale when she and Teddy completed a successful double lung transplant surgery in Meredith’s triumphant return to the OR — and the top of her game. Meg Marinis, who co-wrote the season finale with Andy Reaser, explained the decision to have the clap-out in the finale, and not in Season 15 as they had originally planned.
“We initially wrote Meredith’s clap-out to be when she was discharged from the hospital, in Episode 1715,” she said. “But we quickly realized that moment seemed like the end of the season, so we came up with the brilliant idea of Meredith escaping her own clap-out, which felt very Meredith Grey to us. So many people had struggled with Covid, and she didn’t want to feel any different than anyone else. So we decided to clap Meredith out of the OR instead, which felt like the ultimate victory to her journey this season. That shot of Meredith, in the OR Corridor, surrounded by her people, laughing and smiling in her scrub cap… It gives me all the feels. It gives me hope after such a hard year.”
Like many episodes this Covid-themed season, the finale started at the beach, with Meredith, in April 2021, throwing rose petals on the sand and reminiscing about all the times people have asked her what she had learned from surviving Covid. “It taught me that I’m still alive,” Meredith says. And with that, we go back to…
August 2020
The highlights of that month include Jo vowing to move out, annoyed over Schmitt and their new roommate Helm’s constant banter on mundane subjects, like fruit, and Meredith returning to the hospital as the new head of the residency program.
Maggie and Winston exchange vows and are about to be pronounced husband and wife at a small backyard ceremony when his mother and her father object, urging them to wait and do a proper wedding “in a church, or at least with more than 10 people.” All agree, and the nuptials are halted (though the champagne and cake don’t go to waste).
Gerlie Bernardo (guest actress Aina Dumlao), a nurse at an assisted living facility, is admitted with Covid symptoms.
September 2020
Amelia’s depression, which became evident when Link suggested they try for a second child in the last episode, gets deeper. “So much fear,” she tells a Zoom support group, which includes Richard, noting that “my child’s father is not one of us” as she does not share his bright outlook on life, marriage and more kids. “I feel lonely; I wish he got it.”
Jo’s recent sudden closeness with Link took another major step when she asks him to apply to foster Luna after she was rejected over a failed background check and a family had offered to take the baby in. He agrees, and the decision adds to Amelia’s mounting anxiety when he tells her about it.
Meredith is outside when Gerlie is discharged and wheeled out. The two chat about survivors guilt “that doesn’t go away” when Gerlie suddenly collapses.
October 2020
Gerlie develops complications, and Meredith gets dizzy when she scrubs in to perform a simple procedure on her in her return to the OR.
Link’s foster application is approved, and the house inspection by a social worker is another trigger for Amelia when he tells her that, while the fostering of Luna would be temporary, “we will need (baby-proofing) one day when we have a second child.”
“I don’t want what he wants,” Jo tells her support group, now meeting in person outdoors. “I don’t know if that’s the disease thinking or just me, but marriage and more kids, I don’t want it, and I can’t tell him, and I’m mad, I’m mad at me.”
Teddy has a bout of Covid but has mild symptoms and doesn’t infect anyone, but it gets her even closer with Owen.
December 2020
Grey’s Anatomy does its Christmas episode this season, condensed into five minutes.
Gerlie is rendered not eligible for a lung transplant.
Link again confides to his new best friend Jo, showing her several engagement rings he had bought for Amelia and asking for advice which one to propose with.
At a Christmas party at their house, Link is seconds away from proposing in front of everybody when it starts snowing in the backyard. It is part of an elaborate proposal Owen had planned for Teddy.
“We have hurt each other but we have forgiven each other,” he says as fake snow is falling. “We don’t make sense to the rest of the world but we make sense to us.” She says yes.
January 2021
All doctors get their first Covid shot.
Richard tells Amelia that her romantic relationship with Link “doesn’t have to work” and they can just co-parent together.
“You are allowed to want what you want, even if it’s not what he wants,” he says. While Richard notes that he is not telling her to leave Link, he essentially does.
Gerlie gets on a double lung transplant list. “We need to stop thinking of Covid in terms of who survives and who does not,” Meredith says. “There will be millions of people who will be suffering from the after effects of Covid, and we need to advocate for them as hard as we advocate for everybody else.” This is a possible hint at a topic Grey’s may cover next season.
A “shark” lawyer wins Jo custody of Luna. But children are expensive, and to have the means to care for her, Jo has sold her shares in the hospital, which she initially offered to Link. The buyer is non other than Koracick (Greg Germann), who, in a video call, tells an exasperated Bailey that “I want to have a skin in the game” and that he would now be on board meetings and will need to review expense and progress reports. The move explains showrunner Krista Vernoff’s plan to have Germann — who exited as a series regular two episodes ago, when Koracick followed Jackson (Jesse Williams) to work for his foundation in Boston — back as a guest star next season. Williams and German were two of three series regulars to exit the show this season, along with Giacomo Gianniotti.
April 2021
We are back at the beach with Meredith sprinkling petals, soon joined by one of her daughters. Turns out she is setting the stage for Maggie and Winston’s wedding redo.
The ceremony in front of their families and colleagues goes without a hitch this time but, before the reception, Meredith gets a call that they have donor lungs for Gerlie, and she and Teddy rush to the hospital. The transplant is successful, the wedding reception is joyous, with the two mixed up in an emotional montage.
Link pulls Amelia from the party for a romantic proposal on the beach, with Meredith’s children holding the rings. “I know the last year has been intense, but I do know that, no matter what happens, I want to go through it with you,” he says. “You challenge me, you thrill me, you impress the hell out of me, and there is definitely no one on earth like you so please would you do me the honor of marrying me?” Amelia looks horrified and does not utter a word.
Jo moves into Jackson’s old apartment with Luna and has a brief, sweet video chat with Jackson who wishes her “welcome home.” Before she could send change-of-address notification to her friends, there is a ring on the door and a heartbroken Link walks in, asking her whether he could crash at her place.
In the final montage, the wedding party — in formal attire — all go to the hospital to give Meredith (and Teddy) a clap-out following the transplant surgery. Meredith has not looked this happy in a long time. “I’m still alive,” she says in the voice-over.
Meg Marinis, who co-wrote the season finale with Andy Reaser, spoke about the idea behind the standing-O.
“We initially wrote Meredith’s clap-out to be when she was discharged from the hospital, in Episode 1715,” she said. “But we quickly realized that moment seemed like the end of the season, so we came up with the brilliant idea of Meredith escaping her own clap-out, which felt very Meredith Grey to us. So many people had struggled with Covid, and she didn’t want to feel any different than anyone else. So we decided to clap Meredith out of the OR instead, which felt like the ultimate victory to her journey this season. That shot of Meredith, in the OR corridor, surrounded by her people, laughing and smiling in her scrub cap… It gives me all the feels. It gives me hope after such a hard year.”
As the country is slowly emerging from the pandemic, this was a fitting uplifting ending to a season, which tackled the pandemic head-on, depicting its devastating impact on victims’ families and healthcare workers.
The season, which also featured the tragic death of DeLuca (Gianniotti), struck an emotional balance, bringing joy to fans with the surprise returns of Derek (Patrick Dempsey), George (T.R. Knight) as well as Mark and Lexie (Eric Dane, Chyler Leigh) during the dream beach motif while Meredith was a coma, battling Covid.
“There’s lightness and beauty inside the darkness,” Vernoff told Deadline in March.
Season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy was dedicated to the healthcare workers who put their lives on the line to save others during the pandemic. At the end of the finale, the show also acknowledged the show’s Health and Safety Team.
So why’s Brooke submitting herself, paying the fees herself, reaching all the p.r. outreach herself? “Because the network won’t include me in their official For Your Consideration campaign.”
Nobody understands why. Who knows. Oddly, centuries ago when Biden’s mother was teaching him that you cannot tell a lie, Brooke’s mom Lois Smith was one of the sharpest p.r. ladies in the business. Daughter Brooke therefore knows what Mama would do — and she’s doing it.
The who’s who of Emmy deciders pick their faves this month.
Bookending SVU, a Red Nose Day edition of The Wall (2.8 mil/0.4) matched Manifest‘s latest tallies, and Law & Order: Organized Crime (3.9 mil/0.6) joined SVU in that demo tie.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.4 mil/0.6) and Grey’s (4.1 mil/0.6) both slipped to what I must assume are series lows yet are a part of that four-way demo tie, while Rebel (2.8 mil/0.4) was steady-ish. Station 19 drew Thursday’s largest audience.
CBS | United States of Al (3.9 mil/0.4) dipped.
FOX | iHeartRadio Music Awards coverage averaged 1.7 mil and a 0.4.
‘GUESTS DON’T BRING OTHER GUESTS — I GREW UP IN A CAR, AND I KNOW THAT’ | As “I’m Still Standing” began — Week 1 — Amelia tended to Meredith, serving her a sandwich with “the weirdest meat-to-cheese ratio I’ve ever known,” then headed to Grey Sloan, where she’d taken over Koracick’s service. While Jo adjusted to having Taryn as a spare roommate, Levi learned that he’d been accepted into a COVID vaccine trial. At the hospital, Winston and Maggie planned their wedding, and Teddy informed Owen that Tom had left Seattle with Jackson to save the world. Shortly, Jo and Cormac met officious social worker Carmen, who’d been assigned legal guardianship of Luna. Nearby, Richard, Maggie and Helm tended to a patient named Gwen who was in need of a heart donor and had basically given up on life, having lost her husband and dog. At the same time, Amelia and Owen prepared to perform surgery on a young woman named Skyler whose father was especially tense. And handsome Dr. Mason Post administered the vaccine to a nervous Levi. (Nico who?) Afterwards, Levi summed up his task thusly: “Now all I have to do is not die.” greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-16-jo-adopts-baby-luna
A commercial break later, we were in Week 2, at which point Bailey paid a visit to Meredith, who was stunned to learn about Ben’s recent, wholly successful surgery. Gwen, meanwhile, had Winston paged because she wanted to meet the man that Maggie was marrying. And Levi seemed to be warming, awkwardly, to the idea of flirting with Mason. (Whether Mason was flirting remained… unclear.) During a moment with Nico, Levi was tasked with clarifying their relationship. Nico didn’t want to see other people, he insisted. “I want you and only you.” Oh, since when, Nico? In peds, a distracted Carmen thanked Jo and Cormac for making it so easy not to think at all about Luna. “You could think about her a little,” huffed Jo. Outside the hospital, Amelia was forced to report to Skyler’s dad that she still hadn’t regained consciousness and might need another procedure. The absentee parent had seen COVID as a second chance to get to know his daughter. So, sadly, he OK’d the additional procedure, so long as Skyler wasn’t in any pain.
‘PRETTY CRAZY TO THINK WE’RE ALL WALKING AROUND ON A PAIR OF MATCH STICKS’ | On Week 3, Link ran into Jo, who was perturbed by Carmen’s disinterest in Luna. He cracked that duh, of course Jo was going to adopt the baby. “I completely freaking love her,” she admitted. You can stop asking yourself if you can raise a kid alone, Link told his pal. You already are. At the same time, Winston suggested that he and Maggie turn their wedding into a puzzle that they could solve together. She dragged her feet, though. She didn’t want the ceremony to feel like a compromise. Wait, what? Saved by the text, Maggie learned that they had a donor for Gwen. Nearby, Amelia doubled down on her efforts to save Skyler. “I’m a mom now, I can’t give up,” she told Owen. At last, Levi and Mason confirmed that they were flirting. (Now can we say, “Bye, Nico?”) That night, Link admitted to Amelia that he wanted more kids. “I love being a dad,” he exclaimed. “I think I want more.” Cue Amelia’s panicked expression in 3, 2…
In Week 4, Bailey paid another visit to Mer, at which point Grey shared “some of the many gifts” she might have received compliments of COVID. She might not even be able to stand long enough to perform surgery again, Mer warned. “What I want is my life back.” And she wasn’t sure, or even hopeful, that she was going to get it. While Amelia worked on Skyler, Link phoned in playing his guitar for Scout — which miraculously stimulated brain activity in the patient (or so I gleaned). From there, Amelia formulated a method of asking Skyler questions that she could answer in. Her. Brain. Whoa. Elsewhere, Maggie reported that Gwen showed no signs of organ rejection. Unfortunately, she had awakened with a headache; had she had a stroke? In peds, Jo was horrified to discover that Luna had stopped breathing after eating. Whew. Cormac was able to get the baby’s heart beating again. Afterwards, Jo couldn’t deny it a second longer. “I want to be her mom,” she tearfully admitted.
‘I JUST DON’T THINK I CAN MAKE OUT WITH MYSELF’ | In Week 5, Amelia reported that she couldn’t figure out why Gwen was having headaches. Suddenly, it dawned on Maggie and Richard — that she just didn’t want to leave the hospital. Once busted, Gwen confessed that she just wanted to stay. “I have friends here — the nurses and doctors,” she said. “I’m not very good at people. My husband was, not me.” But at Grey Sloan, she was accepted. Liked, even. In peds, Jo admitted to Cormac that yep, she’d been there all night. If she’d gone into cardiac arrest and had a tube shoved down her throat, she wouldn’t have wanted to be alone. During a private moment with Winston, Maggie insisted that she hadn’t been saying that she didn’t want to get married, she’d just wanted it to feel right. They could talk about it later, he said. Clearly, it could wait. In other developments, Amelia was able to let Skyler’s dad talk to her using her innovative yes/no brain-scan method. (Though I shuddered to think what her copay was going to be… !)
At the start of Week 6, Mason came right out and asked Levi out. Or, rather, in. “I’ll text you my address and see how the rest of your day goes,” said the new doc. “I hope you’re at the end of it.” In peds, Carmen rejected Cormac’s idea to perform surgery on Luna. She also expressed her sympathy for Jo, whose application to adopt the baby had been denied; she’d failed the background check. At Grey’s, Bailey pitched the idea that Mer take over the residency program. Richard had too many jobs as it was, and one day, he’d want to step back. “I need somebody who thinks like me,” said Miranda. “I need you to put together a team that reflects our world” and make that world better. As the episode drew to a close, Taryn reunited Gwen with her dog, Jupiter (and told the patient to call anytime). Instead of show up at Mason’s door, Levi went to Nico’s. All together now: Ugh. “I panicked because I love you,” Schmitt said. He just wasn’t used to his awful boyfriend feeling it back. But at least it did seem that Nico was sincere in his change of heart. OK, maybe I could get behind this. (You?)
At the hospital with Owen, Amelia blurted out that she didn’t want any more kids. “I always thought I wanted four or five… ” But nope. Not now. Hell, she was losing herself so badly that she hadn’t even been to a meeting in weeks. In response, Owen advised his ex to just be honest with Link. (Instead, Amelia hid out from her babydaddy at Mer’s.) At Jo’s, Taryn asked if her landlady was OK. She was not. So “you can live here or you can talk, but you can’t do both,” Wilson said as she crawled into bed and began to sob. And Maggie said that her and Winston’s wedding would never be perfect because her mom wasn’t going to be there. It had had nothing to do with him. So she suggested that they turn the engagement ring that Diane had given her into a wedding band and tie the knot asap with just close family. Fine by him — which was a good thing, too, as she just happened to have waiting in the parking lot… his grandma and her adoptive dad!
Firefly Lane, which debuted on February 3, shot up to No. 1 in Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings at launch.
In the series based on the novel by Kristin Hannah, when unlikely duo Tully (Heigl) and Kate (Chalke) meet at age 14, they couldn’t be more different. Tully is the brash and bold girl you can’t ignore, while Kate is the mousy shy girl you never notice. But when a tragedy brings them together, they are bonded for life — forever inseparable best friends. Together they experience 30 years of ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, heartbreak and joy and a love triangle that strains their friendship. One goes on to fabulous wealth and fame, the other chooses marriage and motherhood, but through the decades, their bond remains — until it faces the ultimate test.
The series was created by Maggie Friedman, who serves as executive producer and showrunner. Heigl and Shawn Williamson also executive produce, and Hannah co-executive produces. (Video)
Last week, Craig Erwich, President, ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals, told Deadline that the network would be interested in another Grey’s Anatomy offsoot. “We are always open to any iteration that will serve the show and the fans,” he said.
Created by Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy has spawned two successful spinoff series to date, Private Practice and Station 19. While the focus right now is on the upcoming record-breaking Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy, a potential new spinoff has been discussed on and off for the past year.
“Krista and the team are really digging deep and finding out what that looks like. They are noodling ideas, and I can’t wait to, when we land on what that is to introduce the next phase of Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC Signature President Jonnie Davis told Deadline as part of interviews with the heads of major studios about the major takeaways from the 2021 upfronts. “We will find the next version that will take it to the next 18 years. We’re working on for right now, and there’s no better brains to figure it out than Krista and Shonda.”
Davis cautioned that everyone is very careful about expanding the storied franchise for the right reasons. “it’s important that not just for commerce, it has to be the right idea that meets the moment,” he said.
He marveled over Grey’s longevity.
“You know what’s crazy, my 16-year-old is now devouring Grey’s Anatomy, just found it, she’s starting Season One. The show has just had so much appeal and people who love it already, people who are just finding it,” he said, adding, “Look, we want that show to go on for another 18 years.”
As Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 scored renewals for next season by ABC, newcomer Rebel, the first series created by Grey’s and Station 19 showrunner Krista Vernoff, was canceled by the network after five airings.
Davis called the decision “a big gut punch”. “We love Krista Vernoff, we made this incredible deal with her,” he said of Vernoff who recently signed a new overall deal with ABC Signature.
“There’s no better showrunner in town — and a creator by the way — and we were gut-punched about Rebel,” Davis said. “We hoped that was going to get more time to fully find the audience, and if you’re reading the blogs right now, people love that show. We’re still licking our wounds on that one.”
In Williams’ final episode, last night’s “Tradition,” Jackson broke the news to his colleagues and got to do scenes with all fellow longtime Grey’s actors, including original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. In an emotional heart-to-heart between Pompeo’s Meredith and Williams’ Jackson, she recalled how they were the last two of the original residents left (while flashback footage from early seasons played), and now that he is leaving, she was the last one standing.
In an interview with Deadline, Williams spoke about filming that scene, discussed how the idea of Jackson’s move to Boston came about and what input he had on Jackson’s exit arc. He also shared his vision for how Jackson would fare as head of the foundation, whether Japril may be back on, and whether Jackson could occasionally be dropping by Grey Sloan Memorial now that, as Wilson’s Bailey put it, “he is our boss.”
A lifelong activist who also has tackled social issues like racial justice in some of his work, Williams, who produced this year’s live-action short film Oscar winner Two Distant Strangers, spoke about what is next for him as an actor, director and producer as well as off-screen. (You can watch Grey’s Farewell to Jackson video, featuring some of his most memorable moments, under the Q&A).
DEADLINE: Let’s talk about the genesis of your exit from the show. What kind of conversations did you have with showrunner Krista Vernoff and when did you know that this was going to be your last season on Grey’s?
JESSE WILLIAMS: It kind of happened organically this year, as we started to unpack where Jackson was in terms of his self-discovery. We look back at the last two years of him pretty consistently not finding success in relationships, having trust issues with relationships, bailing and going off into the woods by himself in a self-discovery thing, and a fair amount of safe distance, not manifesting any real platonic relationships with other folks in the hospital. He was a little lost ever since his divorce and some of the traumatic things that have happened, and meeting his father, it was really unfinished. You have a character that is in transition and trying to find himself and running into a lot of obstacles, and something has to change or else you’re just going to go numb and dissolve.
And then you have what’s happening outside in the real world, in terms of socially and politically, he starts feeling left out of there, too. He doesn’t have a real grip on his personal life or his romantic life, or his social life, and then his work life has been blanking in terms of his administrative. He’s an Avery so he’s got a lot of power and influence, but he runs from it, so he’s having identity issues, and then you see politically he doesn’t feel involved in this outside world. Why am I not involved? I’ve got to do something. We felt like this person had to change his environment, and it really would be really nice to show an adult man dig into how to repair himself. Essentially therapy. How to go confront his demons, figure out what it is that he understands about love and loss, and himself, and go back and confront his father and admit that this has really had a deleterious impact on my ability to have a relationship. You abandoned me. What the f*ck?
I have to confront that yeah, I’m not whole. I don’t have it together. I don’t know how to stay anywhere because I’ve got this huge thing hanging over my head, and I think it’s important to have examples of people, particularly men, and men of color, be vulnerable and say you know what, I don’t have it all together. I don’t care that I’m rich and girls like him, or whatever. So what? He doesn’t know himself and it’s important to paint examples of that and for him to go try to do something about that. I think that we agree, Krista and I, that this character can’t stay here. He needs to change his environment. We’ve already seen him on his own, but he needs to do something more meaningful that gives him purpose, and he needs to be around somebody that understands and knows him, that it’s not paternal instinct and patting him on head as an elder, like his mom or Richard.
So, it kind of just happened naturally through really honoring what’s the truth of the character, not what I want or what the show wants, or what the fans want. What is true for the character? Where would he find himself?
DEADLINE: Knowing your off-screen activism and some of your producing work, especially on the documentary side, it really blends with what Jackson wants to accomplish next. Did you have an input in his exit storyline?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I definitely had a say in the process, the journey that he’s on as well as the words that he says. It’s interesting because there are similarities in the sport but not in the position played on the team, right, because I myself, Jesse Williams, have been politically aware since I was 5 years old and always involved in political work, whereas Jackson is literally the opposite, has never been involved in any way, shape or form. So, while I, Jesse, have a familiarity with the language and experience he has none whatsoever, but I can relate to the myriad of people that I come across that are trying to find their way in, and what’s happening nowadays is people who’ve never had to experience this social justice stuff and been able to avoid it their whole life and just kind of be politically agnostic realizing that their silence is consent and want be involved.
How can I be involved without judgment and feeling shame that I wasn’t involved before? I might draw more attention to myself by trying to be involved now. It’s a very polarizing time in our history, so let’s embrace that and let a character explore that and be vulnerable and honest, and like hey, I don’t know anything about this. I haven’t been involved. I’ve just watched it and that was it. My mom convinced me not to be involved and how can I put my toe in, how can I be helpful. He messed up. He tried to throw money at a problem, and it made it worse, and those are all mistakes that I think audience members can relate to, and yeah. I was definitely involved in trying to create that content.
DEADLINE: In your mind, how does the next chapter for Jackson in Boston running the foundation pan out? Will he deliver on his intentions? Will he reconnect with April, will they and their daughter become a family again?
WILLIAMS: In my mind he will have many stumbles on his road to success in the administrative that he’s taken on running a foundation. I think this is something he will not, cannot give up on. He’s finally found a place for his whole self that is not just his profession. He loved his job as a surgeon. He was damn good at it but it’s only using one half of himself, and he needs to find something that feeds his soul. He’s always felt like he was not part of the community of his choosing. He’s not amongst the people, he’s not regular. He’s got this legacy and all of this money, and all of this privilege and people like the way he looks, which has nothing to do with him, but he gets credit for it. It’s all of these things that bubble around him.
He’s always had this bubble wrap around him that has protected him, and being able to do this work, I think, he’s going to be thrilled and feeling like blood is coursing through his veins in a whole new way now. He’s going to feel alive in a way that he hasn’t before, which is very exciting. I’m happy for him, and I can relate to moments in my life. I try to surround myself and do work that is not just for a check but work that I really care about and that I can watch positively impact people, so that’s what I envision for him professionally.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty possible that he rekindles a romantic connection to his ex-wife, they’re damn good together, but most importantly what he needs from that is friendship and kindness, and patience, and understanding, and I think that he will get that with her and be able to share and give and reciprocate it as well.
DEADLINE: And since, as Bailey said, Jackson is now his former colleagues’ boss, is there a possibility for him to drop in on them in the future? Would you return to Grey’s for an occasional guest appearance?
WILLIAMS: You know, I can’t be sure, but I think it’s possible. Yeah, I think it’s totally possible. I think it’s totally possible. You never know how things will shake out. There’s a lot of other factors at play, including schedules and stuff, but I love the idea of keeping that option open.
DEADLINE: In your final episode, you had a scene with Ellen and the other cast members you’d been with on the show for a long time, and there were flashbacks. How was it doing those scenes and reminiscing about the early days and how far all of you have come since then?
WILLIAMS: Well, it’s interesting because the reminiscing part wasn’t really part of the script, honestly. I guess fans don’t really know that, but I was surprised to see that as well. I think the showrunner and director decided in edit to cut away into all of these flashbacks, original scenes, but I didn’t know that was going to be part of it.
We were just playing the scenes, and especially the scene with Ellen. The scene with Meredith and Jackson, that was really emotional and that really had parallels to real life. Ellen Pompeo is a good friend of mine, and I’m leaving, my proximity to her is changing. I’m not going to see her at work anymore, we’re leaving each other in that way, and that was emotional and directly tied to the characters.
And keep in mind all of these scenes that you see, there [are] 30 crewmembers standing right next to you, over you, and these are all people that I really care about and came to know, especially as a director. I’ve been directing every year with them. I spend time with them differently, learn more about them and their families, learn more about their craft and respect them all the more because I understand the incredible work that they don’t, so it’s palpable.
The whole room is fueled with, This is the end of an era. This is the end of a connection with somebody. We spend more time, more hours in the day, with these people than with your family by and large, so it was all very loaded, to say the least. And it’s a weird thing because there’s some sadness in there but there’s excitement. I’m excited about what’s to come next, and everybody’s excited for me, but it’s also sad, so you have this intermix of grief and pride, among other feelings, all at once, so that’s an interesting place to be, and then having a camera in you face to record something for the rest of human history, so it’s a lot.
DEADLINE: What is next for you as an actor and producer? You also have been directing on Grey’s. Would you be back on the show behind the camera?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I’m definitely going to be directing more and more in my life and I am totally open to coming back and directing Grey’s. I just directed Krista’s other show, Rebel, with Katey Sagal and Andy Garcia, and recently directed other projects outside of that family so I’m wide open to that. I’ve already signed on to a couple movies as an actor and a producer. And I’m launching an education platform called Assemble, which is an education platform aggregating all of the best and brightest people of color around the country to teach classes and share their skills and experiences, and their journeys online and on a mobile app that include incredible coursework for folks and try to close the education gap in our country, in terms of institutional education being a huge barrier to entry for women and people of color. We’re going to bring them directly to readers to be able to build skills and be able to learn how to turn their passions into professions and personal development, that’s something I’m putting a lot of energy into right now.
So, I’m always balancing some entrepreneurial work with the creative. I’m doing some writing right now, to write and direct something of my own, and I actually might be writing a book as well, so I’m never not busy that’s for sure.
DEADLINE: Any final thoughts as you are closing the Grey’s chapter of your career?
WILLIAMS: Besides my immense gratitude to the fans, I would like to just say that the role of the fans has never been more clear to me. They are not this auxiliary additive bonus item at the end of the process. They’re directly involved in the entire journey, and I have an immense appreciation and respect for them. So it’s a big thank you to the fans and also, it’s always good to know that we onboard new generations of fans all the time. There are plenty of 12- and 14- and 18-year-olds that are just now discovering Season 1 and watching it with their members of their family that are in their 60s and 70s. We’re getting new fans all the time, and it’s really exciting to see this show has so many lives, and it’s really cool to know that it doesn’t just end and never really branch out. It’s reborn every day, so I’m still on the journey. This leg of it is over, so just immense gratitude. Gratitude and excitement.
Continuing NBC’s night, Law & Order: SVU (4.1 mil/0.7) dipped in the demo, while Organized Crime (4.1 mil/0.7) was steady.
ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (4.4 mil/0.8) dipped in the demo but still led Thursday in the measure. Station 19 (4.7 mil/0.7) also was down but delivered the night’s biggest audience. Newly cancelled Rebel (2.9 mil/0.4) added a few eyeballs while steady in the demo.
Fox’s Last Man Standing (2.5 mil/0.4) was flat with its hour-long series finale. Read post mortems 1 and 2. Over on The CW, Walker (1 mil/0.2) ticked up while Legacies (540K/0.1) was steady…. CBS’ United States of Al (3.9 mil/0.4) slipped to series lows amid a sea of reruns.
‘TO CLARIFY WHAT JUST HAPPENED, JACKSON AVERY IS NOW… OUR BOSS’ | As the episode began, so did the Jackson flashbacks. (Was he — were we — ever really that young?) As Bailey reactions go, she took the news that he was moving to Boston fairly well. How could she not, when he pointed out that she and Richard had shown him the kind of person, the kind of fighter, that he wanted to become. Elsewhere in the hospital, Teddy, Owen and Maggie reported to Mer that she was being kicked out of Grey Sloan. The one downside? DeLuca wouldn’t be there to see it happen, especially after he’d taken such great care of her. At least Teddy was flying high. “I actually feel hope!” she exclaimed before falling into an ill-advised kiss (for starters) with her ex-fiancé. (Koracick who?) Jo told Carina that she wanted to learn as much as she could from her before she left for Italy. Ah, but Carina would be back, she said; she was marrying Maya and becoming an American citizen. Finally, at Mer’s, Amelia panicked at the thought of her sister-in-law returning home to find the disaster area that it had become. “She is gonna report us for child abuse!” Amelia fretted.
Shortly, Mer beseeched her pals to talk about something, anything but her condition, so they all had a good chuckle over Maggie’s engagement and wedding plans. They also revealed that Jackson was leaving to run the Catherine Fox Foundation. Yikes. “Any other tragedies I should know about?” asked Mer. Err… um… Next topic, please. Of course, Bailey couldn’t put off telling Grey about DeLuca forever, Richard advised when he and Miranda were alone. In other developments, as Koracick and James were treating a tribal elder named William, they wound up getting a second patient when his granddaughter Marianne appeared to go into labor. Of note: Taryn was so distracted that Tom replaced her with Levi. WTH was up with Helmouth? At the nurses’ station, Link said that he and Amelia would be leaving Mer’s as soon as Grey got home. “Ya think so?” replied the telling sound effect that Owen made. When Jackson broke it to sex buddy Jo that he was outta there, “Wow” was her reaction. Sweetly, he thanked her for being a good friend — oh, and for all the sex. When he visited Mer, she declared herself the last man standing — the last member of their residency class to still be there. “I don’t want this to be our big goodbye,” she said, adding, “You go give ’em hell, Avery.” In response, he thanked her for teaching him how to do exactly that. (And oh, the flashbacks… too many feels!)
‘YOU’RE MAKING IT SOUND LIKE A COVEN’ | Halfway through the episode, Marianne gave birth to a healthy baby as James employed tribal methods in his treatment of her grandfather. Inspired by William’s retelling of the baby’s birth, as well as Jo’s career change, Koracick appeared on the verge of making a change himself. Before Carina took off for Italy, Jo made sure to tell her how glad she was to have known her brother. At last, Bailey and Richard broke it to Mer that Andrew was dead. “He’s OK,” she said. “He’s not,” Miranda replied. “He is with his mother,” said Grey with the certainty of someone who’d seen their reunion on limbo beach. At Mer’s clap-out shortly thereafter, the patient was a no-show; instead of let her buddies “surprise” her, she had Jackson sneak her out of the hospital and drive her home. Speaking of which, Owen and Winston warned Link that leaving the sister house might not be as easy as he expects. “Meredith’s house just has this power, this pull,” Hunt said. For one thing, it always smells like waffles.
As the episode drew to a close, Richard made clear that when he’d asked Maggie if they’d picked a date for the wedding, he hadn’t meant to invite himself or imply that he should walk his daughter down the aisle. She and Winston then revealed that her adoptive dad had had an idea since he was going to escort Maggie to the altar — they should have Richard officiate the ceremony. When Levi caught up with Taryn, she revealed that she didn’t know what had happened to her. All she’d ever wanted was to be a doctor, and now all she wanted to do was run away from there. The pandemic wasn’t just affecting patients, Schmitt reassured her. It was affecting them, too. And since he wasn’t sure about moving in with Nico, he invited her to move in with him… wait, at Jo’s? She’s an OB resident, Levi pointed out. She’d be home less than they would. As soon as Mer walked through her front door, it was group-hug time with the kids. In the parking lot of Grey Sloan, Koracick recounted to Jackson how many roommates of color he’d lost while being treated for COVID. “The world is only that way because people who look like me made it that way,” he said. So would Jackson please “let me be worthy of being spared” by helping change the world? “You don’t even have to stop hating me… Just let me help.” (How, how, how is the show letting Greg Germann leave?!?)
Jesse Williams made his final appearance in the long-running ABC medical drama in Tradition, an episode filled with emotional goodbye’s and prospects of a brighter, more purposeful future. Following the latest installment that featured Sarah Drew’s return as April Kepner, “Tradition” started with Jackson entering the hospital one last time, with his resignation letter in hand.
First on Jackson’s laundry list of goodbyes are Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and step-father Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) While news of Jackson’s movie isn’t a surprise for the latter, Bailey is taken by surprise. While turning in his official resignation letter, complete with a list of recommended replacements, Jackson reflects on his trip to see his father.
“I went to see my dad who has shown me my entire life the kind of man I never want to be, checked out,” he said. “You showed me the opposite.”
As his mentors, Jackson said the Grey Sloan duo taught him out to be resilient, courageous and passionate, adding that they each were an example for the father and surgeon he wanted to become.
“We’re proud of you Avery,” Bailey said.
“I’m proud of you, son,” Webber added.
Though the news will take some digesting, Bailey and Webber were quick to notice what else Jackson’s pivot means.
“To clarify, what has just happened, Jackson Avery is now –” Bailey starts.
“Our boss,” Webber interrupts.
He next informs friend with benefit Jo (Camilla Luddington) who’s undergoing her transition to OB duties. They meet in an observation deck where they bond over the fact they’re both going through major shifts.
“Turns out you can change careers in the middle of the pandemic,” he quips. “Thanks for being a good friend especially when I needed one…also the sex is worth a ‘thank you.'”
She reciprocates the gratitude, but also expresses thanks for telling her in-person, unlike ex Alex Karev who left a letter. After Jo leaves to address a page, Jackson takes one last bird’s eye look onto the bustling hospital floor, where he first walked the halls as an intern.
Interlaced with present-day events is footage from Williams’ early days on the ABC series, spanning his appearance with the main cast to moments from the recent season.
He finally meets with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), whose consistently strong post-Covid stats are enough to send her home, to clear out her room. He tells her about his plans to bring April and Harriet, helping them settle in and “change the world” after that. While they chat on the hospital bed, Mer realizes she won the bet among the original members of the residency class.
“I’m the last man standing,” she said.
She then walks them back to their first day together, telling him about her first impressions.
“I though that’s a big name to live up to,” she said. “But you’re making it your own, you’re reinventing it. I’m impressed.” Meredith tells Jackson to give hell to the foundation and the folks in Boston.
“Thanks for showing me how,” he says.
They extend their bittersweet farewell by opting out of Meredit’s grand clap-out, where many staff members and friends are patiently waiting. Jackson wheels her to the parking lot and drives her home to her kids and Amelia (Caterina Scorsone).
Just before Jackson jets out from Seattle to Boston, he meets with Koracick (Greg Germann), who found inspiration in Jo’s career shift. He tells his fellow co-worker about all the patients he’s lost during the pandemic, adding that he owes it to the victims, especially minority groups, to enact change.
“The world is only the way because we let it be, or because people who look like me let it be,” he tells Jackson. “Let me become worthy of being spared. I want to be an ally. I want to spend whatever time I got left making this lousy, stinking place better.”
Jackson decided to take Koracick under his wing, telling him to meet in Boston.
Williams’ exit episode closes out with one final sequence of Jackson’s most memorable scenes , from preparing for his wedding, meeting April Kepner to notable moments at the hospital. He takes one last look at the Grey Sloan Memorial, before he drives teary-eyed back home.
Jackson’s move to the Avery Foundation in Boston comes as he has grown more and more frustrated by the inequities in the healthcare system amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color and marginalized Americans. Dr. Avery, who has even used his own funds to provide Covid-19 patients with hotel rooms to quarantine, seeks to inspire change at an institutional level as the head of the prestigious Avery Foundation.
While “Tradition” centered largely on William’s exit, Deadline revealed exclusively that Greg Germann’s Dr. Thomas Koracick will also depart from Grey Sloan, marking the third cast member departure this season. In March, Grey’s Anatomy also lost Giacomo Gianniotti’s Andrew DeLecua.
Williams has tried his hand at a number of skills beyond acting beyond the years. He has directed episodes for ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Rebel and has garnered producing credits for titles including Random Acts of Violence, With Drawn Arms and the Oscar-winning live-action short film, Two Distant Strangers.
He joined the Grey’s Anatomy cast as recurring in Season 6 and was promoted to a series regular the following season. The role has won Williams an NAACP Image Award.
Greg Germann is joining Grey’s veteran Jesse Williams in departing the medical drama as a series regular. However, this is not the last we have seen of Tom Koracick, as Germann is expected to reprise his role as a guest star in the future.
After Jackson’s bombshell’s announcement in Grey’s Anatomy‘s most recent original that he would be leaving Seattle to take over the family foundation to help create racial equity in medicine, signaling Williams’ exit from the show, the promo for tonight’s episode, Williams’ last, prepared viewers for an hourlong farewell to his beloved character. The surprise part is that the double-exit episode, “Tradition,” also marks the last episode as a series regular for Germann. And to tie things up nicely, Jackson and Koracick rode off into the sunset — or, in this case, flew off to Boston — together.
“Greg Germann is a comic genius and we are so lucky that he brought his talents to our show these last few years,” Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff told Deadline. “We will miss Greg terribly in the day to day – but we plan to see Tom Koracick again!”
Germann has played Dr. Tom Koracick, a brilliant neurosurgeon who is unapologetic in his arrogance — and in his romantic pursuits — since 2017. He joined the series as a recurring in Season 14 and was promoted to a series regular at the start of Season 16.
“To have worked with all the incredibly talented people involved with Grey’s over the past few years has been such a privilege,” Germann told Deadline. “A big thank you to the fans as it has truly been a shared experience!”
The Ally McBeal alum helped bring some levity to this season, filled with a lot of grief and heartache as it tackled the pandemic; Koracick’s witty banter with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) while she was briefly out of her Covid-induced coma was certainly a highlight.
Koracick had an intense season arc as he, like Meredith, battled Covid. That storyline had a happy ending, and his love triangle plot also was resolved, with Teddy letting him go and he and Owen (almost) reconciling in a touching moment, giving the character’s journey on the show closure.
In tonight’s episode, Koracick got to treat a Native American elder with symptoms of a stroke from a tribal community that had been hard hit by the pandemic.
While Koracick was performing an emergency surgery on the man to remove a clot, he paused with a look on his face like he had just had a premonition when Levi told him that Jo had switched specialties to obstetrics because “she was sick of general.”
Koracick later appeared moved by the speech the old man, recovering from his surgery, gave to his granddaughter via a video link to another room in the hospital where she had just given birth to his great-granddaughter.
“I don’t think I know anything anymore,” Koracick told a confused Levi moments later.
Later that evening, Koracick met Jackson and offered to join him at the foundation in Boston.
“I lost six roommates while I was treated for Covid; I was the only white guy,” Koracick said.
“I want to be an ally, I want to spend whatever time I’ve got left making this lousy, stinking place better,” he pleaded with Jackson. “I’ll operate, I’ll administrate, I’ll do anything. I don’t want money, I don’t want a title, just let me help.”
Jackson hired him on the spot but asked him not to join him on his jet for the flight to Boston so “I am not tempted to fire you before we land.”
The exits of Germann and Williams follow the departure of another series regular, Giacomo Gianniotti, who left the series earlier this season.
Germann can currently be seen in Herding Cats by Lucinda Coxon, marking the first production post-pandemic to fuse in-person and livestream theater. Germann performs live from a soundstage in Los Angeles, and is transmitted via video-link into the Soho Theatre where Jassa Ahluwalia and Sophie Melville perform in front of an in-person audience. Simultaneously, audiences across the globe can access the production as a live-streamed theatrical experience that combines performances of both the American and British actors in real time.
Among those participating in the meeting were this year’s honorees including Debbie Allen, Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, Midori and Dick Van Dyke. Also present were their guests including Allen’s husband Norm Nixon; Baez’s granddaughter Jasmine Jankelow-Harris; Brooks’ wife Trisha Yearwood; Midori’s business partner Charles Danziger; and Van Dyke’s wife Arlene Silver. First Lady Jill Biden and the president’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, also attended. The Kennedy Center Honors will air on June 6 on CBS. The event, which typically takes place on the first weekend of December, was postponed because of Covid-19 safety concerns. Producers are still staging an in person event, but before a socially distanced audience on Thursday evening and on Saturday, with other segments taped throughout the week. Also attending were Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein and its president, Deborah Rutter.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, canceled the traditional White House visits among Kennedy Center honorees after a number of the recipients of the 2017 awards, including Norman Lear, said that they would not attend such a ceremony out of protest. Trump also declined to attend the ceremony itself, as has been a tradition.
And Just Like That… follows Carrie (Parker), Miranda (Nixon) and Charlotte (Davis) navigating the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s. The 10-episode, half-hour series is scheduled to begin production this summer in New York.
Ramírez will play new character Che Diaz (they/them), a non-binary, queer stand-up comedian who hosts a podcast on which Carrie Bradshaw is regularly featured. Che is a big presence with a big heart whose outrageous sense of humor and progressive, human overview of gender roles has made them and their podcast very popular.
“Everyone at And Just Like That … is beyond thrilled that a dynamically talented actor such as Sara Ramírez has joined the Sex and the City family,” said King. “Sara is a one-of-a-kind talent, equally at home with comedy and drama – and we feel excited and inspired to create this new character for the show.”
The HBO series Sex and the City was created by Darren Star based on Candace Bushnell’s book. Parker, Davis and Nixon executive produce with Julie Rottenberg, Elisa Zuritsky, John Melfi and King. Writers include King, Samantha Irby, Rachna Fruchbom, Keli Goff, Rottenberg and Zuritsky.
Tony winner and Emmy nominee Ramírez made history playing the longest-running LGBTQ+ character on TV, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Callie Torres, for over a decade on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Ramírez also played the series regular role of Kat Sandoval on CBS’ Madam Secretary. Ramírez was the voice of Queen Miranda on Disney’s animated series Sofia the First and Mamá Calaca in Vampirina. They also have executive produced three films, Loserville, Out of Exile: Daniel’s Story and Netflix’s The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.
Ramírez was awarded the Ally For Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in 2015, and the Trailblazers Award by the New York LGBT Center in 2017. They have also been acknowledged by the City of Los Angeles as a queer bisexual Mexican-American activist and artist working across intersections to advance liberation. In June of 2019, Ramírez performed “Over the Rainbow” at the NYC opening Ceremony of World Pride. Ramírez is repped by Untitled Entertainment, Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham LLP.
Asked at Disney’s pre-upfront press briefing whether Season 18 may be Grey’s last, Craig Erwich, President, ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals, indicated that the network is hoping for more.
“Grey’s Anatomy continues to be a ratings juggernaut,” he said. “The fans loved this season. I thought Grey’s Anatomy did a really incredible job this year telling the stories of all the frontline heroes who are fighting the good fight (ageist) Covid. We will take Grey’s Anatomy for as long as we can.”
Erwich also addressed the notion that there may be some “Covid fatigue” among viewers who may not want to watch more of the pandemic reflected on screen after living through it for more than a year. ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, spinoff Station 19 and The Good Doctor all incorporated Covid in their current seasons.
“I think Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and The Good Doctor were all incredibly strong this year,” he said. “I think these shows deserve a tremendous amount of credit. Not only did they return to production very quickly and really responsibly but broadcast television and ABC led the way telling the stories that are reflecting what was going on in the world.”
Similarly, on The Goldbergs, “we have not made any of these decisions,” Erwich told Deadline. “We are just excited that the show is coming back. It’s been such a prominent part of our Wednesday lineup. It’s a huge priority for us and a huge point of pride for us.”
Leading to Grey’s renewal and in light of the big success of the Grey’s Anatomy/spinoff Station 19 combo, with the integrated universe reinvigorating both shows, there was talk earlier this season that another spinoff from the venerable medical drama may be in the offing.
“The show is historic in its impact and its popularity. It’s been seminal — and not just for ABC — for the last 17 years, and it has a fertile landscape of characters and stories, so we are always open to any iteration that will serve the show and the fans,” Erwich said.
Before Station 19, Grey’s Anatomy spawned another long-running spinoff, Private Practice.
As for when decisions need to be made if the upcoming installments of Grey’s Anatomy and The Goldbergs would be last, “each show has its own production calendar year and timeline for decision-making,” Erwich said. “We just picked up these series so our focus right now is on making them the most incredible seasons that we can and launching them in the fall.”
The network also passed on political drama Ways & Means, starring Patrick Dempsey, the untitled Sarah Cooper/Cindy Chupack single-camera comedy, as well as comedy pilot Welcome To Georgia, starring Hannah Simone and Elizabeth Hurley. Both Ways & Means and Welcome To Georgia were from the previous pilot season.
Dempsey plays a powerful congressional leader in Ways & Means, which was ordered to pilot in the early stages of the 2020 primaries when politics was very much on everybody’s mind. Fifteen months later, after a grueling Presidential campaign and two impeachment trials amid a pandemic, there appears to be some political fatigue, which likely impacted the project’s prospects, along with its ability to sell internationally. That is crucial for owned series — which both Good Sam, a medical drama that travels well, and Ways & Means are — in the current broadcast business environment. Still, few can dispute the major appeal of bringing Dempsey back to the small screen, especially post his Grey’s return. I hear there was talk about possibly picking up the show for midseason but ultimately, the network opted not to.
The untitled Sarah Cooper/Cindy Chupack single-camera comedy, which has three female leads and tackles gender politics, was a departure for CBS but was well received, with some suggesting that it could potentially move to Paramount+ if there is no shelf space at CBS. I hear that is not happening.
Leading out of that, Law & Order: SVU (4.3 mil/0.7) was also down, while Organized Crime (4.3 mil/0.7) ticked up in the demo for the first time since its debut.
Elsewhere:
CBS | The Young Sheldon finale (6.8 mil/0.7), United States of Al (5.1 mil/0.6) and Mom‘s series finale (6.1 mil/0.7) all rose in the demo, with Mom posting its highest rating since March 4. The B Positive finale (4.3 mil/0.5) and Clarice (2.3 mil/0.3) were steady.
THE CW | Walker (904K/0.1) dipped to a new audience low, while Legacies (523K/0.1) added a few eyeballs.
FOX | Last Man Standing (2.2 mil/0.3) and Let’s Be Real (850K/0.2) were steady in the demo.
ABC | Leading out of Grey’s Anatomy oldies-but-goodies (which averaged 2.85 mil and a 0.4), Rebel (2.5 mil/0.3) understandably fell to series lows.
Titled The Chair, the six-episode satire — created and co-written by Benioff’s real-life wife, actress Amanda Peet — finds the Killing Eve star playing the first female and woman of color to head up the English Department at the (fictional) Pembroke University. It’s set to premiere on Aug. 27.
Check out the cheeky news clipping (here) announcing the appointment of Oh’s character, Professor Ji-Yoon Kim.
While the series will be Peet’s first as a writer and showrunner, she has two plays under her writer’s belt — The Commons of Pensacola, produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2013, and Our Very Own Carlin McCullough, produced at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse in 2018. Jay Duplass (Transparent) co-stars in the half-hour series. Peet and Duplass previously worked together on HBO’s Togetherness, which ran for two seasons from 2015 to 2016. The cast also includes Holland Taylor, Bob Balaban, Nana Mensah, David Morse and Everly Carganilla.
The event will be broadcast on CBS Sunday, June 6, 8 p.m. ET/PT, and available to stream live and on demand on the CBS app and Paramount+. Estefan received a Kennedy Center Honors in 2017. This year’s previously announced recipients are Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Allen, Joan Baez, Garth Brooks and violinist Midori.
CBS has broadcast the Honors every year since the event’s debut 43 years ago. Traditionally held in early December, last year’s Kennedy Center Honors special was postponed until May 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Though Cristina has checked in from abroad on the condition of her ailing “person,” Meredith — and last season sent her McWidow as a care package — Dr. Yang will not appear again on the long-running ABC drama, her portrayer tells the Los Angeles Times’ Asian Enough podcast. “I love it, though, and this is also why I really appreciate the show — that I still get asked” about coming back.
Nonetheless, the Killing Eve star, who played Cristina for the first 10 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, has no interest in scrubbing in, even for a cameo. “I left that show, my God, seven years ago almost. So in my mind, it’s gone. “But for a lot of people, it’s still very much alive,” she adds. “And while I understand and love it, I have moved on.”
Despite that, Oh has no trouble imagining what Cristina would be up to today. During the COVID crisis, the award-winning surgeon would be “wickedly at the front line trying to solve the big problems,” she suggests. “This pandemic [has made] the wealth gaps… even more obvious and problematic, so probably [she’d be] attacking the systemic problems, not just the day in and day out.”
Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy, television’s longest-running medical drama, has not been designated as final, with the drama’s future beyond that TBD. Krista Vernoff, the architect of the integrated Grey’s Anatomy-Station 19 universe and the mastermind behind Grey’s beloved characters return storyline this season that took pop culture by storm, will continue as executive producer and showrunner on both series, produced by ABC Signature.
The Disney TV Studios label closing a big new overall deal with Vernoff in March put in place the first crucial piece of the complex effort to bring Grey’s Anatomy back for Season 18. Other elements included securing new pacts with original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., whose current contracts are up at the end of this season. (Another longtime Grey’s Anatomy cast member whose contract is up this season, Jesse Williams, opted to depart the series after 12 seasons.)
Series lead Pompeo, who also is a producer on the show, closed a new one-year deal first after lengthy negotiations. Wilson and Pickens went down to the wire but also eventually signed new contracts.
“Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy have done an incredible job of honoring real-life heroes by giving audiences an unflinching look at one of the biggest medical stories of our time,” said Craig Erwich, president, Hulu Originals & ABC Entertainment. “Krista and her team of writers have continued to deliver the compelling and compassionate storytelling that is a hallmark of these shows, and created some of the year’s most-talked-about moments in television. We’re so grateful to our talented casts and crews for their extraordinary work that connects with viewers everywhere, and we look forward to sharing even more defining moments with our fans next season.”
In the current season, Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 have not shied away from current events and have tackled the coronavirus pandemic as well as racial inequity and police brutality. Providing light on Grey’s was a recurring beach theme featuring a return of several hugely popular former stars whose characters had died including Patrick Dempsey, T.R. Knight, Eric Dane and Chyler Leigh.
“The writers, directors, casts and crews of Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 worked so hard to bring these shows to life this past season,” said Vernoff. “Keeping each other safe on set while paying tribute to the front-line heroes and first responders has been a challenge and a privilege. I’ve been truly blown away — particularly by our tireless crews — as they reinvented the TV-making wheel. Thank you to ABC and ABC Signature for the support and extraordinary partnership through this unprecedented season. We are so grateful for the opportunity to tell more stories.”
In the 2020-2021 season, Grey’s Anatomy ranks as the No. 1 entertainment series among adults 18-49 and as ABC’s No. 1 show this season in both total viewers (8.3 million) and adults 18-49 (2.0/12). With 35 days of delayed viewing across linear and digital platforms, Grey’s Anatomy averages over 15 million total viewers (15.7 million) this season and delivers a 6.18 rating among adults 18-49, marking an increase of 4% over its prior season.
Grey’s Anatomy, ABC’s longest-running scripted series, was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer of the series. Betsy Beers and Mark Gordon are executive producers. Debbie Allen serves as the producing director and executive producer. Grey’s Anatomy is produced by ABC Signature, one of the Disney Television Studios.
Station 19 ranks as the No. 1 program in the Thursday 8 p.m. hour this 2020-2021 season among total viewers (7.2 million) and as the highest-rated entertainment series in the hour among adults 18-49 (1.3/8). After 35 days of viewing on linear and digital platforms, ABC’s Station 19 is averaging over 10 million total viewers (10.2 million) this season and delivers a 2.58 rating with adults 18-49.
Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer of Station 19. The series was created by Stacy McKee. Rhimes and Beers serve as executive producers. Station 19 is produced by ABC Signature.
The star was asked to reshoot a bomb explosion scene for season two after her stunt expert hit her head so hard, she needed emergency medical treatment, and even though Ellen didn’t feel comfortable doing so, she agreed.
The actress, who plays lead character Dr. Meredith Grey on the hit drama, revealed the behind-the-scenes secrets on Twitter after a fan shared a clip from the 2006 episode As We Know It, which is set to be rebroadcast in the U.S. next week.
The instalment featured a man who walked into the hospital with a bomb inside of him, with Grey forced to hold onto the patient to prevent the weapon from exploding. However, the subsequent detonation killed a bomb squad member, played by Kyle Chandler, and caused Grey to be thrown backwards and onto the ground at great force.
The fan captioned the short video: “All i’m going to be able to think about is how hard @EllenPompeo hit her head on that floor (sic).”
Ellen spotted the tweet and spilled all in response: “That was actually a stunt double that got a concussion and had to go (to) the ER (emergency room).
“Well of course the director insisted I do it after the professional got hurt of course they would ask me to do it and of course being the people pleaser I was … I said yes knowing they would use the take where she hit her head anyway because that looks so dramatic (sic).”
Ellen admitted she felt “uncomfortable” shooting the stunt but didn’t think she was in a position to say no.
She continued: “The lesson here ladies is this… don’t do things that make you uncomfortable because you’re afraid people will see you as difficult. Trust me they are going to see you as difficult no matter what you do!
“I’ll also add ..it was about 230am and we’d been shooting easily 15 hours at that point I was physically and mentally exhausted from shooting the other parts of that scene and knew it was dangerous and I still did it anyway..not to be a hero… to not be a ‘problem’ (sic).”
However, she also insisted the experience was a great learning curve in pushing herself to make the show as good as possible.
Ellen concluded: “But also in an effort to do whatever was necessary to make the show great… all worthwhile lessons. There is a lot of value both in working hard and making mistakes (sic).”
“What’s beautiful about it is that her best friend, her person, has discovered that real, true calling that he is now embarking on, becoming and living into. I think whether they wind up romantically attached in the future, just the reality of these two humans who care so much about each other living in true purpose and true calling – I think that’s happiness,” Drew, who plays Dr. April Kepner, told Deadline. During a press conferences on Friday, Drew reflected on her return to the long-running ABC medical drama and spoke about what Thursday’s episode meant for her character, “Japril” and the series as a whole.
In the latest episode, titled “Look Up Child,” William’s Dr. Jackson Avery decided he wants to helm the Avery Foundation in Boston to promote more racial, social and economic equity in healthcare, amid the Black Lives Matter movement and the Covid-19 pandemic. Helping him come to his decision, was Drew’s April who agreed move to move her life, and daughter Harriet’s, to the East Coast. Drew said that while Jackson’s final arc leaves the door open for “Japril” to potentially reunite as a couple, it leaves room for a different kind of happiness and fulfillment.
“Happiness isn’t tied to a romantic relationship, right? What you experience in that episode while they’re both talking about the things they’re passionate about is that she has found her true calling and she’s living her true calling,” Drew told Deadline of April’s working to serve homeless people. “She’s happy and she’s excited to make these changes for people who really need it, for people she can really help. in a lot of ways she’s extremely fulfilled and living into her calling.”‘
With April setting her eyes on a new life in Boston, Drew shared that she will not appear in the upcoming Grey’s episode, titled “Tradition,” which will see Jackson officially turn in his papers at Grey Sloan Memorial.
Take Me Out, the all-star Covid-delayed revival directed by Scott Ellis and starring Patrick J. Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jesse Williams, will begin performances in Spring 2022, a year later than initially planned. Casting was not confirmed, but Second Stage’s website still lists the cast as originally announced.
Between Riverside and Crazy, directed by Austin Pendleton, is planned for Fall 2022. All Broadway productions of the nonprofit Second Stage will take place at the company’s Helen Hayes Theater.
Second Stage also confirmed two upcoming productions at its Off Broadway Kiser Theater, including the previously announced Letters of Suresh by Rajiv Joseph, directed by May Adrales (Fall 2021) as well as JC Lee’s To My Girls, directed by Stephen Brackett (Spring 2022). Both productions are world premieres.
Specific dates and cast information will be announced later.
Today’s announcement from Second Stage follows this week’s news from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that Broadway could reopen on Sept. 14 to 100% capacity houses, likely on the condition that venues require proof of Covid vaccination or negative test results. Exact protocols, which could include mask-wearing, will be firmed up closer to reopening.
“When I thought about what our reopening should look like, I realized I wanted and needed our audiences to feel joy and hope walking into our theaters once again,” said Second Stage President & Artistic Director Carole Rothman in a statement. “Healing, second chances, mindfulness, community and connection are all at the backbone of the stories we want to share. Richard Greenberg , Stephen Adly Guirgis, Rajiv Joseph, JC Lee, Lynn Nottage, living American playwrights, those are the voices that will help us restart and navigate these conversations. These writers have created funny and engaging pieces so perfectly poised for this moment. It will be an emotional and long-awaited homecoming for us all – audiences, artists and staff.”
Executive Director Khady Kamara said Second Stage has “revised and improved safety precautions” for all of its facilities during the shutdown. “We are closely following guidelines established by the CDC and New York State to ensure that the experience in the theaters, on stage and backstage meets those standards,” Kamara said.
The Second Stage reopening is the fourth such announcement this week –The Phantom of the Opera, Six and Chicago also have set return plans.
Also today, Second Stage announced the addition of a new $140 subscription plan available to ticket buyers age 30 and under.
Details about each production, provided by Second Stage, are as follows:
Clyde’s
New York Premiere at Broadway’s Hayes Theater
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
Fall 2021
In Clyde’s, a stirring new play from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and her frequent collaborator, director Kate Whoriskey (Ruined, Sweat), a truck stop sandwich shop offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at redemption. Even as the shop’s callous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staff members are given purpose and permission to dream by their shared quest to create the perfect sandwich. The full creative team includes scenic design by Takeshi Kata, costume design by Jennifer Moeller, lighting design by Christopher Akerlind, sound design by Justin Ellington, original compositions by Justin Hicks.
Take Me Out
At Broadway’s Hayes Theater
By Richard Greenberg
Directed by Scott Ellis
Spring 2022
In the Tony Award-winning Take Me Out, playwright Richard Greenberg celebrates the personal and professional intricacies of America’s favorite pastime. When Darren Lemming, the star center fielder for the Empires, comes out of the closet, the reception off the field reveals a barrage of long-held unspoken prejudices. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to contend with the challenges of being a gay person of color within the confines of a classic American institution. As the Empires struggle to rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties, and the price of victory. The full creative team includes scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Mikaal Suiliman.
Between Riverside and Crazy
Broadway Premiere at Hayes Theater
By Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Austin Pendleton
Fall 2022
City Hall is demanding more than his signature, the landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed – and the Church won’t leave him alone. For ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington and his recently paroled son Junior, the struggle to hold on to one of the last great rent stabilized apartments on Riverside Drive collides with old wounds, sketchy new houseguests and a final ultimatum in this Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy from Stephen Adly Guirgis. For Pops and Junior, it seems the Old Days are dead and gone – after a lifetime living Between Riverside and Crazy.
Letters of Suresh
World Premiere at Off-Broadway’s Kiser Theater
By Rajiv Joseph
Directed by May Adrales
Fall 2021
In Letters of Suresh, playwright Rajiv Joseph reveals intimate mysteries through a series of letters between strangers, friends, daughters, and lovers — many with little in common but a hunger for human connection. ?Sending their hopes and dreams across oceans and years, they seek peace in one another while dreaming of a city once consumed by the scourge of war. ?A companion piece to Joseph’s play Animals Out of Paper, Letters of Suresh includes scenic design by Mikiko Suzuki; costume design by Amy Clark; lighting design by Jiyoun Chang; sound design by Charles Coes & Nathan Roberts; projection design by Shawn Duan.
To My Girls
World Premiere at Off-Broadway’s Kiser Theater
By JC Lee
Directed by Stephen Brackett
Spring 2022
Is there anything more fabulous than Palm Springs after the end of the world? For one tight group of gay men, a post-pandemic getaway is the perfect chance to reunite, reclaim their time and replace the gloom with some gossip. But as soon as the drinks start pouring, truths start spilling and this chosen family quickly realizes the world has changed. So, here’s to navigating evolving friendships and getting things straight…kind of.
Opening the Eye’s night, Young Sheldon (6.4 mil/0.5) slipped to series lows yet still delivered Thursday’s biggest audience. United States of Al (4.6 mil/0.4) dipped, B Positive (4 mil/0.5) ticked up and Clarice (2.5 mil/0.3) returned steady after a four-week break.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.3 mil/0.7) and Grey’s Anatomy (4.8 mil/0.9) were steady, with the latter leading Thursday in the demo. Rebel (3.2 mil/0.5) rose.
THE CW | Walker (980K/0.1) slipped to season lows, while Legacies (510K/0.1) was steady.
NBC | Manifest‘s latest double pump delivered its sixth and seventh straight 0.5 ratings, yet m-Ark-ed successive audience lows (2.9 mil, 2.7 mil).
‘I KNOW THIS SEEMS IMPULSIVE AND OUT OF NOWHERE, BUT… ‘ | As the episode began, Japril flashbacks played — including one in which Jackson wistfully watched as April married Matthew — while Avery drove through the rainy night. Earlier in the day (maybe the day before?), he had shown up at father Robert’s diner, where they stared each other down for a moment. “Hey, Dad,” said Jackson. From there, we cut to him arriving on April’s doorstep in the rain and a whole lot more flashbacks. Was he suddenly, impulsively regretting their divorce? Back at Robert’s, Pops said that he’d wanted to call during the pandemic but figured that Jackson hadn’t really wanted to hear from him. Whatever, grumbled Jackson. He was there for answers, which Robert said that he’d be happy to provide so long as he helped pack lunches. As they did so, Jackson related that Catherine had recently said he sounded like Robert when he’d remarked that he didn’t see change coming from within the foundation because of the bureaucracy. “That does sound a little like me,” admitted Robert. As he set Jackson to work slicing turkey, he explained that with all that Avery money, everyone expected him to fix everything. “I was never gonna be the son my father wanted, because I didn’t want to be the man the role required,” Robert said. Then it hit him: That was why Jackson was there — he was thinking of leaving it all behind.
‘I HAVE A WEIRD BANK VOICE NOW?’ | At April’s, Harriet’s mom fretted to her ex because the little girl was running a fever. “COVID just makes everything feel so big!” she told Jackson. Harriet had been sick for a couple of days. Also, “she needs a bath — she smells like feet,” said April. “That’s you,” Jackson said as he put on some music that didn’t sound in a million years like anything that his former wife would listen to. After the power went out during the rainstorm, Jackson reassured April that they didn’t need to take Harriet to Grey Sloan to see doctors, they were doctors. Soon, April noticed how cagey he was being, prompting him to confess that he had gone to visit his dad to see if he was right about what he wanted. “He couldn’t step up or into his own,” Jackson said, “but I can. I want to take over the foundation.”
Cutting back to the diner, Jackson marveled at the bubble that Robert had created for himself. Jackson felt stuck, wanting the foundation to do better but wondering if it was already too late. “Maybe you could let go of the idea that it’s your job to save the world,” said Robert. True, Jackson said, while dismissing Robert as a white guy with money who was always going to be OK. Why had Robert left him and Catherine, Jackson wanted to know. It had really messed him up, set him up to run when things got rough. He always had to fight the Robert in himself. Of course, as Jackson became more and more upset, he wound up cutting his hand in the turkey slicer. Post-commercial, Jackson informed April that he wasn’t thinking of running the foundation, he was doing it. But to do so, he had to move to Boston — and he wanted April and Matthew to move, too. Jackson didn’t want to go without Harriet, no way, no how. He’d set the couple up with jobs, they could do and build whatever they wanted.
‘YOU DON’T JUST UP AND MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON A WHIM’ | Reeling from Jackson’s ask, April reminded him that he’d been running from his name as long as she’d known him. In response, he accused her of not wanting to inconvenience her perfect little life. “You have never wanted any of this, and I’m just supposed to roll with this?” she asked. “What happens if it doesn’t work?” Jackson didn’t question it when Matthew had proposed to April in front of him and married her that same day. “I had your back. I’m just asking you to do the same for me.” She wanted him to be happy, but running the foundation? “You’re not that guy,” she said. “I don’t think you ever will be.” Jackson assured April that she could still do good work in Boston — even better work. And Matthew would follow her. That was why he liked the guy — ha.
Jackson finally challenged April: Wouldn’t she do anything she could if she saw a chance to be who she was really meant to be? That, she would. After Harriet’s fever broke, Jackson pleaded with April to let him create real racial equity at the foundation, make real change and be the father that his own never was. “And all I need to do is turn my life upside-down,” she said. Which was about the size of it. Back in the diner timeline, Robert admitted to Jackson that he’d left because that was simply what he did, and he’d convinced himself that his son would be better off without him. “My entire life, how could you think that didn’t matter?” Jackson spat. Well, Robert had screwed up. And he knew it now. He regretted running. Guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, said Jackson. But he was nothing like his dad, Robert argued, “because you have it in your soul to do the right thing. If you don’t want to stay, don’t. But don’t blame it on me, because on your worst day, you are 10 times the man I am.”
‘I’VE GOTTA SHOW HARRIET THAT WE CAN PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTHS ARE’ | As the hour drew to a close, Jackson showed up at Catherine and Richard’s, where he told his mother that he felt a deep-seated calling to take over the foundation and work toward true equity. “If that means dismantling the whole medical system,” he said, “that’s what I want to do.” From there, he left to talk to April… so yeah, this episode was all over the place timeline-wise. The morning after Japril’s long conversation, she decided that Jackson was, in fact, the guy to change the world. “Why is our timing so terrible?” April wondered. That was kind of their thing, he cracked. At last, he took off the pressure to move to Boston, only for her to say that he deserved this. Jackson would be glad to talk to Matthew for or with her, but… uh, there was no need. “We split up,” she admitted. Matthew had denied for so long that he didn’t hate April for everything that had gone down between them, but… “God’s plan isn’t so easy to understand.” Ultimately, Matthew had stayed in Philadelphia with daughter Ruby after his sister had gotten sick.
Was April OK? “It’s hard to say,” she said. But hey, she was moving to Boston. “So fingers crossed for new horizons.”
Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams is departing the hit ABC medical drama after 12 seasons. His character Jackson Avery’s pending exit from the series is revealed in tonight’s episode, “Look Up Child.” Williams’ last episode, titled “Tradition,” will air May 20.
“Jesse Williams is an extraordinary artist and activist. Watching his evolution these past 11 years both on screen and off has been a true gift,” Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff said in a statement to Deadline. “Jesse brings so much heart, such depth of care, and so much intelligence to his work. We will miss Jesse terribly and we will miss Jackson Avery — played to perfection for so many years.”
Over the last few years, Williams has branched out beyond acting. He has directed episodes of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Rebel and has built a formidable résumé as a producer. He most recently produced Two Distant Strangers, which won the Oscar for live-action short film last month.
Vernoff and the Grey’s writers had long conversations about how to end Jackson’s story to make sure it was satisfying for fans. In the end, the idea everyone got behind is to bring back Sarah Drew as April Kepner for a proper sendoff, giving one of the show’s most popular couples, “Japril,” closure.
Williams’ farewell kicks off with the Jackson-centered “Look Up Child,” in which he pays a visit to his father Robert (Eric Roberts) “that helps set him on the right path,” per the episode’s synopsis, and has a heart-to-heart with his ex — and the love of his life — April (Drew), the mother of his daughter Harriet who has been living in Seattle with her husband Matthew (Justin Bruening).
Grey’s alumna Drew’s highly anticipated return is reminiscent of George Clooney’s surprise appearance in Julianna Margulies’ final episode on another classic medical drama series, ER.
Williams’ current two-year contract is coming up at the end of the current 17th season. Grey’s Anatomy has not been renewed for an 18th season but is expected to, contingent on closing deals with all three remaining cast members: Ellen Pompeo, who is also a producer, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. Williams has been the fifth longest-tenured Grey’s Anatomy cast member behind Pompeo, Wilson, Pickens Jr. and Kevin McKidd, who joined in Season 5.
Williams joined Grey’s Anatomy as recurring in Season 6 and was promoted to a series regular the following season. He quickly emerged as a breakout star, with his Dr. Jackson Avery among Grey’s most popular characters. The role has won Williams an NAACP Image Award. You can view a gallery of Williams as Jackson throughout his 11-season tenure on the show below.
“I will forever be grateful for the boundless opportunities provided me by Shonda, the network, studio, fellow castmates, our incredible crew, Krista, Ellen and Debbie,” Williams said in a statement to Deadline. “As an actor, director and person, I have been obscenely lucky to learn so much from so many and I thank our beautiful fans, who breathe so much energy and appreciation into our shared worlds. The experience and endurance born of creating nearly 300 hours of leading global television is a gift I’ll carry always. I am immensely proud of our work, our impact and to be moving forward with so many tools, opportunities, allies and dear friends.”
Leading up to Williams’ exit, Jackson has been meeting the most important people in his life; he recently had an emotional scene with his mom, Dr. Catherine Fox (series EP Debbie Allen).
And, possibly hinting at the character’s pending departure, Jackson this season has grown increasingly frustrated by the inequalities in the health care system as well as the pandemic’s disproportionally large impact on communities of color. Working on the front lines with incoming Covid patients, he at one point used his credit card to book hotel rooms for low-income Covid-positive patients who needed to quarantine.
“I don’t want to play a role in a system that’s just broken,” he told his mother in Episode 12. Williams also has been without a steady romantic interest this season, though he and Jo become friends with benefits after a failed sexual encounter.
Williams is the second Grey’s Anatomy series regular cast member to depart this season, joining Giacomo Gianniotti whose character Andrew DeLuca died in the March 11 episode.
The most recent two-year deal Williams signed for Grey’s Anatomy in 2019 involved scaled back duties for him as he was preparing to make his Broadway debut in the revival of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, which was originally slated to begin performances April 2, 2020. Delayed by the pandemic, it will now likely open in early 2022.
On the feature side, Williams recently signed on to co-star in the Amazon movie Marked Man.
The actor and activist, who served as a senior producer and correspondent on America Divided, also executive produced features Random Acts of Violence and The Burial of Kojo and documentaries Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement, With Drawn Arms and Survivors Guide to Prison.
The crew of actors, who will recur in the project form Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar banners, join previously announced cast members Saldana, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, Kellita Smith, Judith Scott, Lucia Sardo, Paride Benassai and Roberta Rigano.
Giacomo Gianniotti (Grey’s Anatomy), Elizabeth Anweis (Batwoman), Kassandra Clementi (Breach) and Rodney Gardiner (David Makes Man) will guest star throughout the limited series based on Tembi Locke’s 2019 bestselling memoir.
Adapted by Locke’s sister Attica Locke, who serves as showrunner, From Scratch is the story of an African American woman who falls in love with a Sicilian chef while studying abroad in Florence and goes on to build a life with him in Los Angeles, merging two seemingly opposite cultures. When they are faced with his unexpected cancer diagnosis, Amy becomes her husband’s caregiver and the person who brings their two very different families together, creating a new, blended family for her and her daughter after he dies.
The series is executive produced by Attica Locke, Tembi Locke, Reese Witherspoon, and Lauren Neustadter for Hello Sunshine, Zoe Saldana for Cinestar, Richard Abate, Jermaine Johnson, and Will Rowbotham for 3 Arts Entertainment. Producers are Nzingha Stewart, Guy Louthan, Emily Ferenbach for Hello Sunshine, Cisely Saldana and Mariel Saldana for Cinestar.
Here are more details about the cast and their characters:
Terrell Carter plays Ken, Zora’s (Deadwyler) boyfriend and former NFL player who runs the athletics department at the private school where Zora teaches. Although he’s “apolitical” (blasphemy in the politically active Wheeler family), Ken more than makes up for it with his big heart. The actor is represented by Silver Lining Entertainment and Talent Works.
Medalion Rahimi plays Laila, a talented artist who meets Amy (Saldana) via the art community.
Jonathan Del Arco plays David, a warm and friendly art professor, who is also Amy and Lino’s (Mastrandrea) landlord. His reps are SDB Partners, Kyle Fritz Management and Form. B Entertainment.
Peter Mendoza plays Andreas, Lino’s co-worker, who looks after newcomer, and is happy to welcome him to the neighborhood sports bar where their fellow immigrants hang out. The actor is repped by Buchwald and Seven Summits.
Lorenzo Pozzan plays Filippo, one of Lino’s coworkers at Vigna Vecchia in Florence, and one of the regulars at the No Entry Nightclub. He is repped by Malissa Young Management
Jonathan D. King plays Silvio, hailing from the same part of Italy as Lino, the two form an instant bond, chatting enthusiastically in their native Italian.
Rodney Gardiner plays Preston, a buttoned-up banker, who, along with his partner, David, owns the bungalow that Amy and Lino rent behind in Hollywood.
Giacomo Gianniotti plays Giancarlo, a sophisticated Italian man who catches Amy’s eye with ease, Giancarlo sets out to seduce her, using Florence as his unwitting accomplice. His reps are The Characters Talent Agency, Thruline Entertainment and Viewpoint.
Elizabeth Anweis plays Chloe Lim, the accomplished owner of a Los Angeles art gallery who becomes Amy’s manager. Buchwald, Authentic and Morris Yorn are her reps.
Kassandra Clementi plays Caroline, a sweet Southern belle, and one of Amy’s new roommates in Florence. She is repped by Buchwald and Mosaic.
As the town rumor mill goes into overdrive about her daughter Jeanette’s possible involvement in the disappearance of schoolmate Kate Wallis, Cindy’s perfect life begins to crack, her portrayer Sarah Drew previews in the following Q&A. And much like viewers, Cindy “doesn’t know what to believe” when it comes to Jeanette’s word vs. Kate’s, the Grey’s Anatomy vet says.
TVLINE | In this week’s episode, we learn more about who Cindy is not only in the present, but also who she was in the past as a teenager. What can you preview?
We get a little more insight into the relationship between Jeanette and her mom, and really the thing that Cindy built her identity on. You start to understand that for Cindy, for her identity to be OK and on a strong footing, her family [and] her children need to be in a place of success. That translates directly to her sense of identity. In 1994, before everything falls apart, Jeanette is really living her best life, at least from Cindy’s perspective. I think from Jeanette’s perspective, too, but certainly from Cindy’s perspective, it’s just the best. She is the most popular, she’s got the best friends, she’s got the cutest boyfriend. The success of her daughter means Cindy’s OK. When things start to crack in the rumor mill, and then even further, walking into the potential of, “Could this actually be true?” things really start to fall apart for Cindy Turner.
TVLINE | That insight that you get about what Cindy was like, and the relationship between her and Kate’s mom in high school: How does that inform what’s going on in the present?
This show is so much about the power of perception. When I think about the scene between Joy and Kate in Episode 2, and then the scene between Jeanette and Cindy in Episode 3, it’s like the same conversation, except they’ve had completely opposite experiences. [Laughs] So from Joy’s perspective, she was the queen bee, and Cindy was desperate to be her, and all the boys wanted Joy. And from Cindy’s perspective, Cindy was the queen bee, Joy was desperate to be her, and all the boys wanted Cindy. It makes you, as a viewer, go, “OK, so is one of them lying? Or is one of them in denial? What actually happened? Who actually was the queen bee?” Or the other option is that they both had very different experiences of the same set of events that informed their memory and their perception of what their life was and is.
All of this stuff that’s happening [with Kate and Jeanette], so much of it is about perception, like, “Who is telling the truth? Maybe they’re both telling the truth? Maybe their experience is so different in their bodies… but they’re 100 percent sure that they’re right about it?” And the way that these two women play these scenes, and the way that it’s written, you, as an audience member, are very much like, “I don’t know who to believe, because I trust both of you.”
TVLINE | Is there a little bit of Cindy wanting to relive her youth through Jeanette?
Oh yes! She wants her daughter to be happy, but for Cindy, happiness equals being popular, beautiful and successful. For Jeanette, in ’93, she couldn’t care less about that stuff. It didn’t matter to her, but it mattered to her mom. So you begin to wonder like, how much influence did Cindy have on Jeanette and kind of moving her into the ’94 version of who Jeanette became? She’s literally living on top of the world because her daughter has now become the beauty queen that Cindy was, and I think Cindy maybe would have liked to have a bit more money to be able to go to the salon and just have whatever the hairstylist whips up instead of having to buy it out from the drugstore and apply it to her own head, like she reveals in Episode 2. [Laughs] There is an element of, “Well, my daughter’s doing OK. Well, if my daughter’s doing OK, then I can feel better about my life,” and I think that is a thing that moms struggle with in their relationships with their daughters, for sure, and always have.
TVLINE | As the allegations and the rumors start to ramp up, how does Cindy feel about Jeanette? Does she believe in her innocence?
She doesn’t know what to believe. Cindy is taking her own journey, much like the viewers are, as she is gaining pieces of information. At first, she thinks, “Oh, it’s just a rumor. It’s going to go away. It doesn’t have any staying power. It obviously isn’t true. So it’s just going to go away.” But then when her husband starts losing some work from it, and we get disinvited to parties, and things start to really begin to crack in our standing as a family in the community, it really forces Cindy to reckon with, “Has everything I’ve been living [been] a lie? If these rumors are true, then that would mean that I raised someone who could do something that horrible.” She can’t live with having been someone that has created a monster. There’s the betrayal of the relationship, but then there are the repercussions of that betrayal and how that affects their whole family and their whole standing. So things really, really start to fall apart for Cindy.
Continuing Fox’s night, Last Man Standing (2.5 mil/0.5) and The Moodys (1.3 mil/0.3) were both up.
Elsewhere:
ABC | Station 19 (4.3 milk/0.7), Grey’s (4.6 mil/0.8) and Rebel (3.1 mil/0.4) all dipped in the demo.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.6 mil/0.6) dipped but still easily commanded Thursday’s biggest audience. United States of Al (5.1 mil/0.5) was also down, while Mom (4.9 mil/0.6) and B Positive (4.9 mil/0.6) were steady in the demo.
NBC | Manifest (3.1 mil/0.5) was steady, while SVU (4.3 mil/0.7) and Organized Crime (4.2 mil/0.6) were both down.
THE CW | That 2040 special (300K/0.1) did, like, half of what Walker/Legacies most recently averaged.
‘I HATE ER DAYS; EVERYTHING’S SO URGENT’ | As the episode began, Team Grey Sloan gathered to cheer on Nurse Jenna Lynn, who after six weeks was being discharged fully recovered from her bout with COVID. Levi told Jo that he was bailing on their movie night to hook up with Nico — this, despite the fact that she had to talk to Bailey that day about switching specialties. While Link consulted with patient Felix virtually, Amelia, sensing a possible underlying neurological issue, butted in. And Richard and Teddy fretted over why Mer wasn’t waking up and staying awake for more than two minutes at a time. Webber feared that, like other recent patients, she had rebounded only to crash later. “We can’t let that happen to Meredith,” he said. Meanwhile, on the beach, she and Derek recalled his passing. Dying is exhausting, he remarked. “There comes a point when the desire to rest is greater than the desire to live.” She’d given him permission to let go, he continued. For that matter, she’d given him everything that he needed until his dying breath. When Mer suggested that the kids would be fine if she didn’t pull through, Derek agreed that sure, sometimes a loss like that made kids stronger. But sometimes a loss like that made them… Amelia. Had Derek seen the last couple of years? Had it been hard to watch? It had been harder, he told Mer, to see her lonely.
Back in reality, Winston encouraged his future sister-in-law to wake up so they could meet. “I heard you were tough,” he joked, “but I didn’t think you were cold.” Shortly, Richard, Teddy and Winston discovered what the problem was — a clot; surgery could rectify it, but Winston didn’t want to perform it himself since the patient is Maggie’s sister and also, because Teddy was available. Was she up to the task, though? Richard wondered. She’d have to be, Altman said, because Meredith didn’t have time to waste. Later, Owen related to Teddy that he’d told Richard if something went wrong with Mer, he wasn’t sure if his ex-fiancée would recover. With that, she had Hunt page Winston. Mer was all of their family — he was going watch her, she was going to watch him, and by God, they were going to remove that clot! On the beach, Mer and Derek found themselves in wedding garb. What did he want her to vow? To torture herself less, he said. With that, she admitted that she didn’t want to leave the kids. He didn’t want her to, either. Back at Mer’s place, Maggie discovered that Zola had seen the news about George Floyd and wanted to go to a protest but not without her mother. Sweetly, the girl’s aunt encouraged her to engage in Catherine therapy. In other words, scream.
‘LOOKS LIKE SHE’LL LIVE TO SKATE ANOTHER DAY’ | In Bailey’s office, Jo was chagrined to hear that her boss wouldn’t OK her change of specialties. “I need surgeons, Wilson,” the chief barked. “I can’t afford to lose you right now,” especially with Meredith… well, you know. Later, they could revisit the topic, but for right now, Bailey said definitively, it’s a no. Elsewhere, treating Erica, who was bleeding beneath her abdominal muscle, Levi was inspired — she’d quit a lucrative career to do what she really wanted, which was make peanut brittle. Bailey was significantly less impressed. When Erica had to be rushed back into surgery, Miranda suggested that maybe the pandemic gave people a chance to transform. You mean like Jo? Levi asked. Why would he say that when she’d just gotten to her happy place?!? After Erica got out of surgery, she decided that she had to be realistic and go back to the job she detested. Bailey told her that that feeling that she had to keep going was something that they were taught as Black women. “Rest is not a dirty word,” she said. “Rest is love… Rest is a beautiful model for your children.” She’d been forgetting that till she met Erica. Afterwards, Bailey paged Jo and said that if she had to hire a new general surgeon, she would. All she wanted from Jo was for her to love being an OB/GYN.
‘I JUST REALLY MISS CUTTING’ | As soon as Maggie got home to take over with the kids, Link and Amelia ran off to meet aspiring baseball player Felix at Grey Sloan. There, Amelia was elated to see that the patient had a tumor — she’d get to perform surgery! Dangerous surgery but surgery nonetheless. Before she dove in, Link gave her a pep talk. “You are Amelia Shepard, you’ve got this,” he assured her. And as she went into superhero pose, it was hard to imagine that she didn’t. After surgery, Felix was excited to see that he still had the use of his arms. Amelia had nailed it yet again. In an unrelated matter, Levi asking for a drawer at Nico’s prompted the world’s worst boyfriend to ask him to move in with him. He loved Levi, he said. Ack, no, Levi! Run!
‘IT’S TOO MUCH TO PUT ON A CHILD’ | After operating on Mer — successfully — Teddy freaked over the fact that the patient wasn’t waking up. Owen tried to soothe her through a panic attack during which she kissed him. Uh-uh, nope, he said. He was there for her — but not like that. Meanwhile, Winston championed the idea of bringing Zola to the hospital to see her mom. Maggie worried that that was too much pressure to put on the kid, but Richard was all for it, too; there was, after all, a psychological component to recovery. As for Zola, “I want to see Mommy!” she declared. As the hour neared its conclusion, Zola arrived at Grey Sloan and slipped into her protective gear. Then, at last, Maggie, Winston and Richard brought her to see Mer. “It’s OK if you’re scared,” Maggie told Zola. But she ran right to her mom and hugged her unconscious body. Sadly, this resulted in no change in Mer’s condition. Winston was crestfallen. “She’s not just Maggie’s sister, she’s Dr. Meredith Grey.” When Bailey happened by the room, Maggie said Zola had been Winston and Richard’s idea. But it was a good one, Miranda said. When Amelia arrived, she was panicked — she hadn’t known why Maggie had taken Zola to the hospital. Mer had to live, they all agreed. Thankfully, on the beach, Derek was telling Mer that it wasn’t her time yet. “There’s no pain here,” she said. He actually missed the pain, he admitted. Anyway, their kids needed her. “You have to go.” Finally, finally, in the middle of Zola telling her mom a story, Mer woke up. Happy tears all around!
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the "Killing Eve" star called the LAPD Wednesday night to report her valuable bling was gone after she'd been away from her L.A.-area house for a few months.
We're told police responded and did some investigating. They didn't find any signs of forced entry, but did learn people had been let in and out of Sandra's pad while she was away.
Our sources say a grand theft report was taken with the estimated value of the loss being more than $150,000.
However, the very next day ... we're told Sandra called the cops back and told them her missing jewelry had shown up in the house. It's unclear if it was somehow returned, or if it never left the house, and was simply found.
Either way, it's great news for Sandra ... and the cops. The case is now closed.
Drew broke the news on her social media accounts today. She had previously sent out a behind-the-scenes look with ex-husband Jesse Williams. “Nbd. Not excited at all,” Drew cheekily captioned her Instagram photo.
Her return is just the latest cameo from former cast members. Patrick Dempsey shocked fans when he returned to Grey’s Anatomy as Derek Shepherd during the Season 17 premiere. Not too long after, T.R. Knight reprised his role as George O’Malley.
Opening ABC’s night, Station 19 (4.9 mil/0.7) and Grey’s Anatomy (4.9 mil/0.9) were both steady, with the latter claiming the Thursday demo win.
Elsewhere:
NBC | Manifest (3.2 mil.0.5) stabilized, wile SVU (4.5 mil/0.8) dipped. Organized Crime (4.3 mil/0.6) slipped for a second straight week, and is now down 46 and 62 percent from its boffo launch.
CBS | Young Sheldon (7.1 mil/0.7), Mom (5.3 mil/0.6) and B Positive (4 mil/0.5) all added eyeballs while steady in the demo. United States of Al (5.3 mil/0.5) dipped.
THE CW | Walker (1.15 mil.0.2) and Legacies (540K/0.1) were steady.
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (2.7 mil/0.7), Last Man Standing (2.4 mil/0.4) and The Moodys (1.2 mil/0.3) all added a few eyeballs while steady in the demo.
‘REVOLUTIONS DON’T SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS’ | As “Sign o’ the Times” began, Jackson was out for a jog when he came across protesters in the streets. At Cormac’s, his kids were painting, “I can’t breathe” signs. Maggie was in bed fretting about whether fiancé Winston was going to make it back from his cross-country drive in one piece; he was more interested in worrying about the apartment that he had an eye on for them. And at Grey Sloan, Bailey was preparing as best she could for what might come. Richard promised her that he’d be back, but he had to go protest himself. “You go give ’em hell!” she called after him. When Jackson arrived at the hospital with mom Catherine, he asked about his and Alma’s proposal to offer testing to low-income people. “Just let me get through this week,” she beseeched him. Just then, Cormac showed up with his kids — and a bloody head. Counter-protesters had been going to attack his son, had he not intervened. At that very moment, Richard showed up with a woman named Nell (Phylicia Rashad, Cosby Show icon and sister of Catherine’s portrayer, Debbie Allen); she’d been shot with a tear-gas canister at the protest. (When I say shot, I mean the thing was still sticking out of her shoulder.)
‘IT LOOKS LIKE YOU LOST A BAR FIGHT’ | Treating Nell, Richard and Jackson explained that they wanted to make sure that it hadn’t hit any major arteries before they removed it. “Can you imagine firing poison gas at this woman?” Webber asked his stepson. At first, the protest had been “beautiful,” he added. “Good trouble lights you up.” Then, of course, it had all gone horribly wrong. In surgery with Richard, Jackson complained that Mom wasn’t interested in his ideas, only her own. Richard assured him that Catherine might be more receptive next week. How was he so optimistic? Nell hadn’t been fazed by what had happened, Webber pointed out. She’d been energized. Naturally, Jackson, never having protested, didn’t understand; he’d always had to work or study, so instead, he’d written a check. “You think that’s a copout?” he asked Richard, who replied that he tried not to judge. Post-op, Nell snarked that her situation could’ve been much better — Richard could’ve been the one who’d gotten hit. She wasn’t worried about another scar, she told Webber, Jackson and Cormac. She was covered in ’em. She’d been to protests since she was 11. She’d even been at MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech and vividly recalled the feeling of possibility with which it had left her. That feeling, she added, was worth a few scars.
‘IT HAS GLASS BRICKS AND ONLY TWO WINDOWS… AND GLASS BRICKS’ | Paged by Owen, Maggie found it difficult to concentrate on her work with Winston texting her about their soon-to-be living arrangements. But she pulled it together when a fellow named Guy was brought in after being hit with a bullet covered in rubber. Winston was breaking it to his fiancée that he had taken the apartment that she didn’t want when — yikes — he was pulled over by the cops. “Music off, hat off, hands on the wheel,” Winston told himself before the cop approached. But when the officer insisted that Winston turn off the phone, disconnecting Maggie, both he and Pierce understandably freaked. (If that didn’t put you in the moment, dunno what would.) As Guy went into defib (over and over), Maggie gave her phone to Baby Ortiz to keep calling Winston; she wanted the cops to know that someone was checking on him — constantly. Before taking Guy into surgery, Maggie begged Richard to go find Winston — and he would, if he didn’t hear from her honey soon. Thankfully, as soon as Pierce was done in the O.R., Richard had Winston on the phone. But he was anything but OK. The cops had made him get out of the car, take off his mask… they searched everything, unpacked his belongings… “I’m not OK,” he admitted. “I just gotta breathe a little bit, ya know?”
‘IS SHE MEAN?’ | Checking on Meredith with Teddy, Bailey told Altman that she wanted Levi to give her her hyperbaric-chamber treatment. And he certainly tried to rise to the occasion, telling Mer to picture herself on a cloud… but not like the kind in heaven. Soon, they were joined in the chamber by intern James and his patient. Mer’s “the most influential teacher I ever had,” Schmitt said, “even when she’s asleep.” James hoped he’d get to operate with her one day. “Me, too,” sighed Levi. Later, James’ patient went into distress and… WTH? Did his intestines burst out? Thankfully, Levi heard Mer in his head, and he not only managed to keep his cool, he channeled his inner Grey, testiness and all.
‘COVID TOE? THAT’S THE BEST YA GOT?’ | Meanwhile, Bailey and Mabel treated a Mr. Anderson who couldn’t be bothered with a COVID test because “I know it’s a scam.” (Perfect part for Coby Ryan McLaughlin, who was so scuzzy as Shiloh on General Hospital.) Though he tested positive, and was throwing blood clots, he wasn’t remotely interested in participating in the “scam.” “What?!? What?!?” Bailey said upon excusing herself. Shortly, she calmed herself, returned to the d-bag’s room and warned him that his condition could kill him. “This won’t magically go away,” she emphasized. He had zero f–ks to give. Later, Bailey explained to Teddy Mr. Anderson’s theory that they were getting rich off COVID. And here all they had to show for it was a dead mother and a nervous breakdown! Mid-laugh, Miranda was paged to the parking lot — Anderson had taken off and promptly collapsed.
‘HOW CAN I TREAT SOMEONE WHO IS OFFERED HELP AND CHOOSES TO WALK AWAY’ | As the episode drew to a close, Bailey found herself beyond frustrated that Mr. Anderson had died rather than accept treatment. Maggie, after reporting to Owen that Winston was back on the road, took a call from Guy’s mother to reassure her that he was OK. Jackson challenged his mother: Why hadn’t they ever protested? Why didn’t he have scars? “If our foundation is so good at fighting the good fight,” he asked, “why isn’t anything getting better?” He might not have scars, she shot back, but she had decades of them, thank you very much. He had no idea how many wars she’d fought. Eventually, she decided that he sounded like his father. Would that be the worst thing? he wondered. End. Of. Argument. When Cormac got home, he apologized to his boys, not for trying to protect them but for making them stay home. He should’ve let them protest — this was their country — so long as it was during the day and with him along. As Jackson left the hospital, Richard offered him a ride — curfew and all. But Jackson turned him down; he was going to march home on foot. Once there, he took off for a destination 11 hours away. To see his father perhaps? Finally, Winston pulled in to the drive at Mer’s and held onto Maggie for dear life.
Johanna Byer of WPP and Pride will serve as executive producers on Like It’s the Last.
This marks the second collaboration between Packer, Lopez, and Pride as the trio has previously teamed on Deeper, an erotic romance film, which is set up at Universal.
Pride most recently co-wrote the MACRO drama, Really Love, which premiered at last year’s SXSW festival. She is repped by Industry Entertainment, UTA, and Ritholz Levy Sanders Chidekel & Fields.
WPP’s upcoming slate includes a biopic of Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl, as well as Oracle, psychological horror starring Ryan Destiny and Heather Graham, and Hot Mess, a comedy feature starring British comedian and actress London Hughes.
The honor goes to individuals who demonstrate unwavering support of costume design and creative partnerships with costume designers.
“From the record-breaking series Grey’s Anatomy to the latest binge-worthy series Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers have been longtime partners of the Costume Designers Guild,” said Salvador Perez, President of IATSE Local 892. “Throughout the years, the two have created cultural-defining TV moments with support from fellow collaborators and costume designers. We can think of no other duo more deserving of this award.”
The duo also has collaborated on Shondaland series including Station 19, How to Get Away with Murder, For the People, The Catch and Private Practice.
Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlin will present the award to Rhimes and Beers during the virtual 23rd annual CDGAs, which start at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The awards celebrates excellence in film, television and shortform costume design. Presenters at the show will include Rose Byrne, Andra Day, O-T Fagbenle, Emerald Fennell, Ilana Glazer, Regina King, Carey Mulligan, Leslie Odom Jr. and Amanda Seyfried.
Check out the CDGA nominees here.
Here are some more quotes about the award for Rhimes and Beers:
“Shonda and Betsy are visionaries of our time. They are originals; fierce, brilliant women who create rich worlds, characters and stories that enhance our lives. It’s truly been a gift collaborating with them. Whether I was setting the tone for the stylish and contemporary world of How to Get Away with Murder, or painting a vibrant and lush picture for Bridgerton, Shonda and Betsy’s vision was always present. They set the bar high at every turn. They spark the imagination and allow the creative process to thrive. Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers are an exceptional gift to our community and our culture.” – Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick
“Shonda and Betsy are such innovative collaborators. Every new world that they present is a lush landscape in which I have room to create beautiful pictures, a world where the clothes can help to tell a small part of the story. I love that those landscapes include diversity, challenge norms, and allow for strong female leads. Scandal and the upcoming Inventing Anna were gifts. Shonda and Betsy are a gift to Costume Design and are truly deserving of this recognition.” – Costume designer Lyn Paolo
“Shonda and Betsy’s partnership spans decades; their collaboration as two powerhouse women in Hollywood is as inspirational as the collaborative relationship they build with each of their costume designers. Together, they build worlds where every race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality is celebrated as beautiful and represented in every form. We felt this year was especially meaningful to showcase their aspirational worlds on-screen and off, in their dedication to the art of storytelling.” – CDGA Executive Producer JL Pomeroy
According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the "Grey's Anatomy" star and his ex-wife, Aryn Drake-Lee, have been ordered to participate in an online program for "high conflict parents."
The order came down after Jessie tried and failed to modify previous court orders regarding custody and visitation of their 2 young children, Maceo and Sadie. They've been sharing joint legal and physical custody ... but it's been rocky.
The parenting course is a 6-session online program, providing strategies for reducing conflicts in co-parenting relationships.
TMZ broke the story ... Jesse and Aryn finalized their bitter divorce back in October, at least on paper.
As we've told you, Jesse's 3-year divorce saga has been extremely contentious ... he beefed with Aryn over child custody, lashed out over stories about him dating Minka Kelly and waged legal war over child support money.
Maybe the parenting courses will help smooth things over. Stay tuned.
Organized Crime (4.7 mil/0.8, read recap) was also down markedly, while NBC leadoff Manifest (3.1 mil/0.5) dipped to hit and match series lows.
Elsewhere….
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.6 mil/0.7), United States of Al (5.2 mil/0.6) and B Positive (3.7 mil/0.4) were steady, while Mom (4.7 mil/0.6) and Clarice (2.6 mil/0.3) ticked up. Sheldon drew Thursday’s largest audience. ABC | Station 19 (4.7 mil/0.7) dipped, Grey’s (4.7 mil/0.9) was steady, and Rebel (3.6 mil/0.5) was on par with A Million Little Things‘ Thursday averages (3.3 mil/0.5).
THE CW | Walker (1.07 mil/0.2) hit an audience low and dipped in the demo; Legacies (521K/0.1) dropped a few eyeballs but was steady in the demo.
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (2.5 mil/0.7) and Last Man Standing (2.2 mil/0.4) were steady, The Moodys (1.13 mil/0.3 ticked up.
‘HELL OF A HONEYMOON’ | As we began the hour, in part a continuation of action that kicked off on Station 19, Owen hollered at Jackson for pulling his residents from the ER to help with COVID testing, Teddy backseat-drove Mer’s treatment via Zoom on one of her last days off, Jo continued to bond with Luna, and Amelia marveled at the kids’ ability to create more laundry than existed… just as Link’s parents showed up in the driveway in their RV. They had a bright idea, too: taking the youngsters on a COVID-safe road trip, thereby giving Link and Amelia a break. At Grey Sloan’s testing site, Jackson shared with Levi that he’d sat through endless Catherine Fox Foundation meetings to get the hospital extra tests. In peds, Cormac and Reza treated a baby named Arthur who was waiting with anxious dad Chris for a heart transplant. Finally, Station 19 newlyweds Shane and Carissa were brought to the ambulance bay by our firefighters. He was still pissed that she’d begged the first responders to save her first, and to hell with the guy she’d married only earlier that day.
‘DON’T TELL HER HOW I AM, SHE DOESN’T GET TO KNOW ANYTHING’ | While treating Carissa, the bride beseeched Jo to put her in the same room as Shane. When she admitted to Tom what she’d said to Shane in a moment of panic, Koracick cracked that maybe she could blame it on brain bleed. When Jo filled in Shane on Carissa’s condition, he instructed her not to tell his wife that he was being wheeled into surgery — or anything. Natch, Carissa realized at once that Shane was still mad. “I was wrong that no one would miss him,” she cried. “It’s only been a few hours, and I already miss him so much, I could burst.” Shortly, Jo filled in a still-unconscious Mer as a way of backing into admitting that she wanted to change specialties. “Since Alex left, my house hasn’t been my happiest place,” Jo said, “so I want work to be.” Oh, and she’d repeat it all when Grey woke up. “I can’t take any more worst days here.” Following Shane’s surgery, he seemed ready to stick a fork in his brand-new marriage — until Bailey gave him what-for. At last, he asked to see his bride, at least via tablet. Only when they were face to face, he told Carissa that he wanted an annulment. She’d been selfish when he met her and was selfish now, he just no longer found it charming.
‘LET’S HAVE SEX IN THE KITCHEN!’ | Left alone at home without the kids, Link and Amelia started down the path to sexytime when she broke down crying. In response, off a remark from his mom about Amelia being his wife, Link got down on bended knee. But that wasn’t what she wanted at all, she just needed a good cry. “It just hit me,” she later said, “that it’s been months since I was able to feel whatever I want without worrying that I’m going to scar a child.” But, um, did she want to marry him? Did he want to marry her? He’d sworn he’d never put a kid through what he went through with his folks’ divorce. And she feared that she was wired for self-destruction; lately, she’d gone to sleep dreaming of getting high. She even thought about it when she was feeding Scout. Later, she shared that she couldn’t so much as smoke weed because if she did, she might forget that she couldn’t do heroin. So “for the record, I would marry you in a hot minute,” Link said. She was stronger than most addicts. With that, he got down on one knee again, and she hollered, “No!” again. Later still, Amelia admitted that she loved Link so much, it was all she could do not to have a panic attack. In exchange for her not getting high, he promised to no longer propose to her in a remotely compulsory manner. With that, they took advantage of the empty house and the roaring fire… just as his parents returned with the kids.
‘YOU WANT TO CUT OUT A PART OF HIS HEART?!?’ | When Cormac found Chris in a state, the doc invited him to go outside or to the chapel… “So I can pray for someone else’s kid to die?” Chris asked. He then admitted that Arthur’s mom Holly had been struggling desperately since the pandemic hit. Maybe it was postpartum or the state of the world… but it was bad. “We can’t lose” the baby, Chris sobbed to Hayes. Hoping to save the tot, Cormac attempted to recruit Maggie. “Aren’t you supposed to be a genius or something?” he asked when she suggested throwing in the towel. “It’s not giving up,” she replied, “it’s letting [the parents] go on.” Luckily, a conversation with Jo about forgiving her mother gave Cormac an idea about how to treat Arthur. Chris was skeptical: cut out a part of Arthur’s heart to put in a pump? He had to call Holly. Before the procedure, the new dad tearfully told his baby that he’d already given his parents a lifetime of joy. Miraculously, Maggie and Cormac pulled it off! “He’s OK,” Chris told Holly. “And bionic!”
'HOTELS ARE KICKING PEOPLE OUT TO MAKE ROOM FOR YOUR NEW ARRIVALS’ | Trying to do some good, Jackson began letting Levi book hotel rooms for patients who tested positive for COVID and had nowhere to safely quarantine. But his good deed backfired, it seemed. A community-outreach program was being stymied by his efforts — their homeless beneficiaries were being thrown out to make room for Richie Rich’s. Ah, he hadn’t realized that that would happen, he told Mama Ortiz when she called him out. Great, she fired back. “We’ll just tell everyone it wasn’t on purpose. That should keep ’em real warm tonight.” Though he remedied the situation, Alma would cut him no slack. Temporary fixes weren’t real fixes. What’s more, “all of this is too much,” she cried. Later, Jackson paged Alma, who quickly apologized for speaking up for underserved communities. But he felt the same way — and wanted to hear her ideas, based on her past stint as a social worker. She had good ideas, he had deep pockets — they could make a hell of a team.
‘HELLO, SLEEPYHEAD’ | As the episode neared its conclusion, Mer woke up and immediately apologized to Richard for having had to put her on a vent. However, “I’m glad I chose you,” she added. Oh, and “we need to talk about Wilson.” Guess Mer heard what Jo’d said earlier about changing specialties! As Jo was leaving the hospital at the end of the day, Richard approached her offering his support. But he had to know what was going on. Back at Mer’s, Link suggested that he and Amelia check in every few weeks to make sure that they were comfortable with their decision not to tie the knot. “Are we super broken or super evolved?” she asked. Definitely the latter, he said. At Owen’s, he apologized to Teddy for his reaction to her confession about Allison. He also admitted that he should’ve known she was going through something to do what she had to him with Tom. He wasn’t sure if he could be more to her now than a friend, but at very least, he wanted to be that. Credit where it’s due: That’s progress, Owen. In our last shot, Bailey, Richard and Maggie marveled at how amazing Mer was. Even when she was sleeping, she was apparently listening.
Law & Order: Organized Crime itself then debuted to 7.56 mil and a 1.5.
Opening NBC’s night, Manifest kicked off Season 3 with 3.8 mil and a 0.6 down a tick from its sophomore averages (3.9 mil/0.7).
Elsewhere….
ABC | Station 19 (4.5 mil/0.7), Grey’s Anatomy (4.1 mil/0.8) and A Million Little Things (2.6 mil/0.4) all dipped.
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (2.5 mil/0.7) dipped. The Moodys opened Season 2 with 1.1 mil/0.3 and then 950K/0.2, down sharply from what Call Me Kat and Last Man Standing had been doing.
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.4 mil/0.6) dipped, United States of Al (5.1 mil/0.5) fell shy of what B Positive was doing in the time slot, Mom (4.8 mil/0.5) was steady, and B Positive (3.7 mil/0.4) hit lows in its new time slot. Clarice (2.4 mil/0.3) also slipped to season lows.
While Meredith kept saying how much she loves it on the beach, Lexie and Mark talked about what they miss about being alive and urged her to choose life. “Don’t waste one single minute,” Mark said in their final conversation before Meredith was taken out of the coma, possibly ending the season-long beach motif, conceived by showrunner Krista Vernoff, which also featured visits from Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd and T.R. Knight’s George O’Malley.
Elsewhere in the episode, there were positive developments all-around. The two main medical cases had happy endings, including one where the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial faced a Sophie’s Choice situation with one ventilator left and a mother and her daughter both in desperate need to be intubated. Teddy was on the mend, Owen and Koracick almost reconciled. And, along with Meredith’s successful reentry after she was taken off the machine, Winston proposed to Maggie at the end of the episode, and she said yes.
In an interview with Deadline, Dane spoke about how his Grey’s return came about. He took us behind the scenes of filming the beach scenes with Pompeo (in person) and Leigh (via green screen from Vancouver where she films Supergirl), sharing his take on Mark and Lexie’s relationship status and the duo’s pivotal role in giving Meredith strength to cling onto life when she is taken off the ventilator. He also discussed the remarkable longevity of Grey’s Anatomy and his return to production on his current series, HBO’s Euphoria.
DEADLINE: When and how did you get approached about returning to Grey’s Anatomy?
ERIC DANE: I was in Shanghai, filming a movie, a Chinese production for that market, a historical piece, and Krista reached out to me and said, “Hey, I’d like to talk to you about something, let me know when you have some time.” I said, “Well, I’m in Shanghai, China right now, let’s talk right when I get back.” I don’t remember the timeline; I know I was in Shanghai in August. She explained to me what was happening in the story, and she said, “We want to put Mark Sloan on the beach with Lexie Grey.”
DEADLINE: What was your reaction? Did you like the idea?
DANE: Yeah, I thought it was a great idea. I thought it made sense, considering the circumstances.
DEADLINE: What do you mean?
DANE: I mean, if you’re ever going to bring Mark Sloan back, I guess with Meredith in a coma, it’s a good way for her to see him. So, it wasn’t a tough sell, and it made sense.
DEADLINE: Tell me about the filming of your scenes. You got to spend time with Ellen, the crew. How was it going back into character, revisiting your past and reuniting with old friends?
DANE: It was like I’d never left. It was a great day at the beach. It was great to see some of the familiar faces and same crew members, and we didn’t skip a beat. I love those people. I spent a significant portion of my life with those people, I’d do just about anything for them.
DEADLINE: What did you and Ellen chat about in-between takes?
DANE: Masks, Covid. I haven’t seen Chyler in a while, but Ellen I stay in contact with, and just, how are the kids? Kids are good. Small talk. There wasn’t a lot of time in-between takes because of the protocols and how we had to set it up. So, once we got going, it was almost like a runaway train.
DEADLINE: And it was easy to go back into character?
DANE: Yeah. I mean, look, I created Mark Sloan. It was not that difficult for me to get back into character.
DEADLINE: What did you think about Mark and Lexie playing such an important role in giving Meredith a will to live and a reason to fight as she soon thereafter started to breathe on her own?
DANE: Well, Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey are embedded in the DNA of that show, and also literally, Lexie and Meredith share the same DNA. So, I think there’s a connectivity there and reminding her that, gone but not forgotten, we’re always around if you need us, and it’s too early for you to stay on the beach.
DEADLINE: And there was something comforting, I’m sure, in you reassuring fans that Mark is OK…
DANE: Sure. Absolutely. You see that everybody’s okay and happy; it allows you to want to come back for something.
DEADLINE: … And that Mark also is watching over his daughter.
DANE: Yeah. Whether she’s listening to me or not, you always have somebody looking over you. I lost my father at a very early age, and I feel like he’s watching over me in some capacity.
DEADLINE: When Meredith asked whether Mark and Lexie were together, you said “On your beach, we are”. What do you make of that? Does it mean that they’re happily together in our imagination?
DANE: I didn’t dig too deep into that. I sort of took it as like, not in your imagination but the way you’re seeing it in your subconsciousness, wherever you are right now, whatever state of being you’re existing in, in this coma, fever dream, whatever it is, I guess that’s [Meredith’s] projection of perfection. Mark and Lexie are together forever, and I’m sure Mark and Lexie aren’t too bummed about it either.
DEADLINE: What is your vision of Mark and Lexie, how you think that their story continues in the afterlife?
DANE: Mark would’ve found Lexie. He would’ve found her eventually.
DEADLINE: Since you left Grey’s Anatomy, you did one successful series, The Last Ship, which ran for five seasons, and now you are on a second successful series, Euphoria. Meanwhile, Grey’s Anatomy is still going. How do explain the longevity of that show which continues to be going strong 17 seasons in?
DANE: Well, I think there’s a lot of factors but at its core it’s just a great show. People connect with the characters on that show. It seemed to have found a whole new generation of viewership. Shows typically will grow up with a generation, an audience, and eventually that audience will either outgrow that show or move onto something else. But with Grey’s, there’s always been an alchemy in that cast, a dynamic, a chemistry which keeps people showing up. The writing’s good. Krista, Shonda [Rhimes], Betsy [Beers] and now Debbie Allen’s exec producing the show. They’re so good at understanding the tone of that show and finding characters that people will invest in, and what that translates to is Season 17.
DEADLINE: Is there anything you miss about Grey’s?
DANE: Well, I’ve maintained contact with a lot of the cast members. An answer somebody would give you, had they not, would’ve been I missed the people, but I’m still friends with all of them. So, there wasn’t really anything to miss.
DEADLINE: Are you going back into production on Euphoria soon?
DANE: In mid-April. We’re actually started now on Season 2. I think I don’t start shooting for a couple weeks, but we are. I’m sure we’re going to get this out as soon as we can. We’ve set a pretty high bar. I’m very proud of that show, everybody involved is very proud of that show.
With Dane and Leigh tonight, Grey’s Anatomy completed a return of the four longtime doctors on the show who had tragically died, including Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd, who has been recurring in the dream sequences, and T.R. Knight’s George O’Malley, who was featured in a December episode. Dempsey and Dane were also the top heartthrobs on the long-running drama with their monikers McDreamy and McSteamy, respectively. Separately, another Grey’s alum, Sarah Drew, whose character April Kepner is very much alive, also is coming back for a guest appearance this season.
As Meredith, still in a coma on ventilator in real life, sat on the beach with Lexie, the younger sibling said, “It’s so beautiful, I love it here.”
Said Meredith, “Me too.” Asked whether she would stay on the beach, aka in the land between life and death, Meredith was noncommittal, saying that she didn’t know the rules.
“I don’t think there are rules,” said Lexie, reminiscing how she loved rules when she was alive.
Enter Mark Sloan. “You totally did,” he interjected.
Mentioning his daughter Sofia, Mark told Meredith that she was “early” to join the dead.
“I don’t know how to get back,” Meredith remarked. “I keep seeing Derek, and he won’t help me get back or come close enough to touch.”
Said Mark, “It’s not up to him, it’s up to you.”
With that, the conversation shifted to Mark and Lexie’s relationship status.
“So you two are together?” asked Meredith.
“On your beach it looks like we are,” Mark responded before he and Lexie went frolicking by the waves while Meredith watched them with a smile. “I love it here,” she said to herself.
In the next beach conversation, Mark and Lexie talked about what they miss about being alive and Mark shared that he watches over his daughter Sofia, as well as her moms, Callie and Arizona.
“So much grief, so much loss, so much pain,” Meredith said, referring to the the harsh realities of the pandemic and the personal tragedies she has faced that make her hesitant to go back.
She should be disheartened, Lexie contended. “The depth of grief that you felt for the losses is because of the depth of love,” she said. “As long you are alive, you get to feel it and you get to do something about it.”
In the end, both Lexie and Mark urged her to fight, assuring her that they will be “next to you, yelling in your ear” as she goes through life. “Don’t waste one single minute,” Mark said.
Moments later, Meredith was taken off the ventilator and began breathing on her own.
Dane joined Grey’s Anatomy as a recurring guest star in Season 2 and was promoted to series regular in Season 3.
“Chyler was in Vancouver. So we had to work some magic,” former Grey’s cast member Eric Dane, who returned as the late Mark Sloan in the same episode, confirmed for THR.com. “There was some green screen.”
Dane, however, did actually film with Grey’s lead Ellen Pompeo in Malibu, California, as Mark regaled Mer with tales from the great beyond. “There was a lot of me and Ellen,” he told THR. Mark and Lexie’s arrival on “Limbo Beach” continued a nostalgia-filled theme for Grey’s Season 17, which has been in motion ever since Meredith contracted COVID and was put on a ventilator. During this time, the show’s title character has been visited by the likes of late husband Derek (played by original cast member Patrick Dempsey), late BFF George (original cast member T.R. Knight), and an ill-fated DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) — and now the late Lexie and Mark, as well.
‘WE ARE DOWN TO OUR LAST FOUR VENTILATORS’ | As “Breathe” began, Mer was joined on the beach by Lexie. Meanwhile, in reality, Maggie, Mama Ortiz and Levi treated Marcella, whose daughter Veronica was also at Grey Sloan suffering from the effects of COVID. Nearby, Jo continued to bond with Luna and tended to Irene, Cormac’s sister-in-law, who was both at high risk for coronavirus owing to her MS and, as an added bonus, had a kidney stone. Maggie was feeling some pre-separation anxiety over the fact that Winston was due back in Boston. And finally, Richard reported to Team Grey Sloan that they only had four ventilators left, so they were all going to have to think creatively. Did they ever not?
Back on the beach, Lexie asked Mer if she was going to remain on the beach. “It takes some getting used to,” Lexie admitted. Aw, and just as she copped to having loved rules, Mark showed up to affirm that oh yeah, she had. There was some more talk about the sand not having been real. Then Mer confirmed that on her beach, the star-crossed lovers got to be together in the end. “I like it here,” Grey said. We could see why. Mark told Mer that he often yelled as best he could at his loved ones to wake up, not waste a moment. Then he gave them credit for coming up with the idea. Later, Lexie challenged Mer to find things, even in a pandemic, to enjoy. And what did she savor? Stuff like little Bailey face-planting in his birthday cake (and Zola laughing so hard at it that she peed her pants).
‘THAT IS IMPOLITE ADULT CONVERSATION’ | Back up and at ’em, Tom crossed paths with Owen. At the same time, Teddy brought Leo and Allison to Mer’s, where Amelia suggested that they could have tea and not be covered in puke for an afternoon. Watching the kids, Amelia added that Teddy’s grief over DeLuca might ease if she shared it. In turn, Teddy asked if there was a recovery program for people who aren’t addicts who still blew up their lives. At the hospital, Owen texted with Cristina, who insisted on receiving a photo of Mer’s monitors. And, after Link scrubbed in with Richard, Webber pitched a fit because they were now down to their last damn ventilator — they’d have to shut down the trauma unit. (Yep, it was a zippy episode!)
‘THIS IS NOT A CATASTROPHE, IT’S A COMPLICATION’ | After ascertaining Irene’s condition, Cormac floated the idea of having Catherine scrub in. His kids had already lost their mother, he didn’t want them losing their aunt, too. “He pulled the biggest” strings, Catherine said after showing up. Irene was worried that her treatment would go the way of her late sister’s. But Catherine assured her that she wasn’t just in good hands, she was in the best ones — hers. As Irene was wheeled into surgery, she teased Cormac about Mer… until she found out that Grey was in dire straits. Operating on Irene, Catherine encouraged Jo to consider urology. Just as they were finishing up, they discovered that Irene was far worse off than they thought — her ureter came out with the kidney stone!
‘SAVE MY BABY GIRL!’ | As Marcella’s condition deteriorated, Veronica was consulted about next steps. However, she was hardly in any condition to advise on them. “Save my baby girl!” Marcella pleaded. “Save my mom!” Veronica pretty much said when it was her turn. She then went on to blame herself for showing up and hugging her mother on her birthday. “And it might’ve killed her,” she added. Sweetly, Alma assured Veronica that her mom would never regret that embrace. Before we knew it, Veronica was found near collapsing on her way to the elevator, and Maggie and Jackson were trying to keep her alive. At the same time, her mom began crashing after Levi rapped for her. “No, no,” Sara pointed out, “that is not rap.”
‘CHILD, WHO THROWS AWAY A KIDNEY?’ | Alas, Schmitt and Sara had no sooner intubated Marcella than they learned that there was no ventilator for her. Cornered, the doctors decided to give Veronica the ventilator, respecting Marcella’s wishes. Outside the hospital, Maggie told Winston that if she’d known she’d have to choose between giving a mother and a daughter a ventilator, she’d have quit med school. Just then, it occurred to her that the same way she and her beau shared ear buds, maybe Marcella and Veronica could share a ventilator. “I just have to dance,” Richard exclaimed, because he could reopen trauma and give his daughter a raise. Of course, the whole situation weighed heavily on Alma and Sara. As Jo hollered at Catherine about leaving Irene with only one kidney, Jackson’s mom shut her right up. “I’m putting it back, Wilson!” Duh! Afterward, Cormac thanked Jo for… well, just thank you. “She single?” asked Irene, who was keen on Alex’s ex. It didn’t get much more intimate, after all, than having your kidney in somebody’s hand!
‘IT’S A YES!’ | As the hour drew to a close, Mer was extubated. But, were Lexie and Mark able to send her home? At that very moment, she was going on about all her loss and pain. What caused the pain? Mark asked. Grey hated him knowing things that she didn’t. She just didn’t want to say it. Lexie didn’t mind, though — the depth of pain was equivalent to the depth of love. Mer couldn’t resist change. Nor could she really miss them. They were right there with her, often yelling in her ear. Don’t waste your life, they urged her. And as everyone at Grey Sloan began to boogie, it became clear that Mer was breathing on her own. Maggie even liked her job again! She’d been inspired by Winston — and them. She was saying that she didn’t want him to go back to Boston when he opened up his earbuds container to reveal an engagement ring. “I can’t imagine life without you anymore,” he said, “and I don’t want to try. Margaret Pierce, will you marry me?” In response, she said an ecstatic yes. That night, Owen was able to tell Zola that her mom was off the ventilator. He even gave Teddy the credit.
Shortly after Lexie (played by former cast member Chyler Leigh) greeted big sis Mer, who has been dilly-dallying in the idyllic mindscape whilst battling a case of COVID-19 back at Grey+Sloan, the two were joined by dearly departed Mark Sloan.
It was suggested that Lexie and Mark were “back together” in the afterlife. Or something. Mark also shared how, from the great beyond, he has tried his darndest to give counsel to Callie and Arizona, and their daughter Sofia.
Dane first joined Grey’s midway through Season 2, as a blast from Derek and Addison’s past (given that he was with whom the latter had had an affair). Years later, Mark was in the same small-plane crash that killed Lexie, though he would not succumb to his injuries until two episodes later (as part of the Season 9 premiere).
Dane went on to front the TNT action-drama The Last Ship for five seasons, as Captain Tom Chandler, and co-star on HBO’s Euphoria.
Lexie and Mark’s arrival on “Limbo Beach” continues a nostalgia-filled theme for Season 17, ever since Meredith contracted COVID and was put on a ventilator; during this time, the show’s title character has been visited by the likes of late husband Derek (played by original cast member Patrick Dempsey), late BFF George (original cast member T.R. Knight), and an ill-fated DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti).
The May 8 reading, to raise funds for ONE Archives Foundation and Invisible Histories Project, will include a special introduction by Martin Sheen.
Rounding out the cast are Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend): Guillermo Díaz (Scandal); Jake Borelli (Grey’s Anatomy); Ryan O’Connell (Will & Grace); Daniel Newman (Walking Dead); Jay Hayden (Station 19); and Danielle Savre (Station 19). The reading, according to producers, will mark the first performance of Kramer’s Tony-winning play to be performed by a predominately BIPOC and LGBTQ cast.
“When I was approached by ONE Archives Foundation to direct a virtual reading of The Normal Heart, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said Barclay (Station 19, Scandal). “I lived in New York through the 1980s, saw the original production with Brad Davis, and have never forgotten the experience. And through today’s lens, the story of a marginalized people pushed to activism by the onslaught of an epidemic clearly was worth telling again.”
Funds raised from this event will support ONE Archives Foundation’s LGBTQ education initiatives, including K-12 lesson plans on HIV/AIDS, teacher trainings, youth engagement, and ONE Archives Foundation’s exhibitions. The benefit also supports Invisible Histories Project’s efforts to preserve the legacy of HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ activists through archiving, inclusion training, exhibitions, and programs about Southern LGBTQ history.
The Normal Heart chronicles the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City, based on Kramer’s cofounding the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1982. The play premiered Off Broadway at New York’s Public Theater in 1985, and was staged on Broadway by director Joel Grey and starring Joe Mantello in 2011, winning a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Ryan Murphy directed a 2014 film adaptation for HBO.
Tickets go on sale April 8 here.
The reading is scheduled for Saturday, May 8 at 5 pm ET.
Bookending the freshman sitcom, Hell’s Kitchen (2.7 mil/0.8) was steady, while Last Man Standing (2.3 mil/0.4) was down.
Elsewhere:
NBC | Superstore‘s double-episode series finale averaged a hair over 2.5 million viewers (its second-largest audience of the season) while matching last week’s 0.5 demo rating. TVLine readers gave the series ender a rare average grade of “A+”; read our many post mortems.
ABC | Station 19 (5 mil/0.7) and Grey’s Anatomy (4.9 mil/0.9) both dipped, though they respectively led Thursday in viewers and in the demo. A Million Little Things (3.1 mil/0.5) was steady.
THE CW | Leding out of that Harry & Meghan special, Legacies dipped to its second-smallest audience (502K) while steady in the demo (with a 0.1.).
The Season 17 beach theme is the brainchild of executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff, introduced to bring joy amid the grim realities of the pandemic as reflected on Grey’s. Leigh’s Lexie follows Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd, who has been recurring in the dream sequences, and T.R. Knight’s George O’Malley, who was featured in a December episode. Separately, another Grey’s alum, Sarah Drew, whose character April Kepner is very much alive, also is coming back for a guest appearance this season.
Leigh’s Lexie Grey is Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) younger paternal half-sister. Her character was introduced at the end of Season 3 when Lexie transferred to Seattle Grace Hospital as a new surgical intern after her mother’s sudden death and was named a surgical resident in Season 5. Lexie’s main storyline involved her on-again, off-again relationship with plastics attending Mark Sloan, played by Eric Dane. Both died in a plane crash in the Season 8 finale. Seattle Grace Mercy West was subsequently renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in their memory.
Nothing has been confirmed but, the way things have been going, Dane’s Mark Sloan may also drop by to complete the lineup of Grey’s longtime fan favorite doctor characters whose lives had been cut short by tragedy that are now reuniting with Meredith on the beach as she fights Covid-19.
“I would say, chances are good you’ll see other people on the beach,” Vernoff told Deadline earlier this month.
Leigh was on Grey’s Anatomy for six seasons, five of them as a series regular.
‘YOU SAID YOU COULD SAVE HER’ | As “In My Life” began, Teddy remained borderline catatonic at her and Owen’s place even as he chattered away in hopes of getting a — any — response. When Amelia dropped by with fluids for Teddy, she insisted on trying to reach her ex’s ex-fiancée. But at that very moment, Teddy was in her head, walking through a dreamscape version of Grey Sloan until she happened upon Meredith, sitting up right as rain in her bed. Just then, DeLuca wheeled in a patient, at which point Mer went back on the ventilator. And DeLuca’s patient? It was Teddy herself, in a body bag. Suddenly, she and Andrew were in the O.R., and she was supposed to operate on Mer… and we flashed back to 9/11… and then ill-fated old flame Allison was running around Grey Sloan. Whoa. It was a lot. Needless to say, Amelia had no luck reaching Teddy. “She hasn’t spoken, she hasn’t eaten,” Owen told Amelia. “If something doesn’t change soon, I’m gonna have to have her admitted.” Back in Teddy’s head, Mer happened upon Altman about to meet Tom in Lot B and run out on Owen. Her problems, Grey suggested, began much further back than Owen. Man, this was a jump-around episode. In the car with Koracick, Teddy discovered DeLuca in the backseat — and a hand grenade in her purse. “This should be fun,” cracked Andrew. The following (?) morning, Tom served Teddy pancakes and champagne in bed — just as Leo manifested in her arms. “Owen’s gone,” Koracick suddenly reported. He took the kids and ran. “You ruined my life… I ruined my life,” she cried. “I don’t want this life.” Good Lord, this whole episode was like interpretive dance. She put the grenade in Tom’s hand, and kaboom.
‘TALKING DOESN’T HELP’ | After a commercial break, a blown-up Tom was replaced by DeLuca, throwing to flashbacks of Teddy’s whole tumultuous history with Owen. “We need to go back further,” per Mer, Teddy noted. Plus, if she never met DeLuca, she couldn’t hurt him, much less kill him. So we rewound (?) to a scene in which Owen proposed to Teddy in bed. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us,” she said. With that, she revealed that Allison hadn’t just been her friend, she’d been the love of her life. “I’m so sorry you lost her,” he said, sounding entirely un-Owen like. Next thing we knew, DeLuca was marrying Teddy and Owen as he got texts from Amelia and his ex-fiancée Beth and even Cristina. From there, we cut to Teddy returning home to find Owen planning the holidays with Amelia. Did she come first? “No, Cristina comes first.” It wasn’t Teddy’s fault that she didn’t know how to love. In short, he kept looking past her as if she wasn’t there. “I love Teddy,” Owen said, “but she’s no you, Amelia.” While all that was going on, Owen was telling Amelia he was done with Teddy. She didn’t get to own the loss of DeLuca exclusively. Owen wanted her to be well, but… all he really saw was red. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Shortly, a grody fantasy surgery was interrupted by DeLuca asking Teddy if she’d loved Allison at first sight. And she pretty much had. They’d met the year both of Teddy’s parents had died, and Allison had gotten her through it. In a flashback, Teddy expressed to Allison that even when she knew her dad’s time was short, she couldn’t believe that he would leave her and her mom. He hadn’t let his daughter get so much as a gerbil because a pet meant heartache; they’d inevitably leave her. Understanding, Allison promised to go get the Scrabble board on which Teddy had played with her dad in his last days. Moved, Teddy went to kiss Allison, for the first time, it seemed. “I’m sorry,” said Teddy, “but I’m not sorry.” In her vision of DeLuca, Teddy said that she had killed Allison — by turning down her offer of pancakes on the fateful morning that she died. “If I had just said yes, she’d still be here.” Hey, maybe Teddy could still save DeLuca. “What if it’s not too late?” From there, we cut to Teddy agreeing to have those pancakes of Allison’s.
‘YOU NEED TO FORGIVE TEDDY’ | While Teddy was lost in her head, Amelia insisted to Owen that he needed to forgive his former fiancée. No way, he said. Her constant lying was despicable. He was just mad that she had her own Cristina, Amelia argued. (Oh, nailed it!) He couldn’t hold it against Teddy that she never told him about Allison; she had PTSD, for crying out loud — same as he had when he’d choked Cristina. He didn’t go around telling everybody about that, did he? (Amelia was on fire this episode.) In another flashback, Allison told Teddy that she wanted to come clean with Claire. But Teddy didn’t want any pain to interfere with their day. “Your dad should’ve let you have the gerbil,” Allison suggested. Suddenly, there were screams, people pointing… The 9/11 attacks had begun. And even though Allison wasn’t at the Twin Towers, she began smelling smoke, choking… Despite being with Teddy, Allison still died. (Not sure during a pandemic was really when we all wanted an episode that took us back to 9/11, but here we were.)
As the hour neared its conclusion, Teddy and Mer wandered the body-strewn halls of Grey Sloan as 9/11 ash fell all around them. At Owen’s, he admitted to Amelia that maybe it would’ve been easier if Teddy had just left with Tom. “It’s like there’s a wet, heavy blanket of fatigue over me,” Owen said. That, she replied, was his defense against Amelia suggesting he stop hating Amelia. So what did they do? Pray, as in AA, for those that they resented. “You’ve done it before,” she reminded him. “Ya did it with me.” Finally, with Mer, Teddy at least mentioned Henry. “You run from pain,” Grey deduced. Over and over. “We run from joy, too, but they’re a package deal.” With that, Teddy beseeched Grey not to die. “I’ll do my best,” Mer said. And just like that — oh dear — Teddy appeared to get over it. She sat up in bed, and after Owen showed Amelia out, he found the patient tending to baby Allison.
The other is closing new pacts with original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr.. Negotiations with the trio continue, and there have been promising signs. Securing the actors would seal a renewal, which is coming down the wire, with Vernoff planning for a season and series finale as production on Season 17 is winding down.
Vernoff, who has led Grey’s Anatomy‘s resurgence over the last several seasons, is executive producer and showrunner on three ABC series, Grey’s Anatomy and spinoff Station 19, both from ABC Signature, and freshman Rebel, which ABC Signature co-produces with Sony Pictures TV.
“Krista Vernoff is a superstar who makes the almost impossible task of running three shows seem like a reasonable amount of work. I am honestly in awe of her,” said Dana Walden, Walt Disney Television Chairman of Entertainment. “Everyone at the studio and network is grateful for the tremendous job she’s done on the amazing Shondaland shows, and we are proud to be launching Krista’s first creation, Rebel, on ABC in two weeks. The optimism, intellectual curiosity and quest for social justice embodied in its title character are traits that could easily apply to Krista herself, and those are just a few of the qualities that make us feel lucky to work with her every day.”
When Rebel premieres April 8, Vernoff will join the elite ranks of showrunners who oversee an entire night of television with ABC’s Thursday lineup, consisting of Shondaland’s Station 19 at 8 PM and Grey’s Anatomy at 9 PM, followed by Rebel at 10 PM.
Vernoff, who will continue to serve as president of Trip the Light Prods., executive produces Rebel with her producing partner — and husband — Alexandre Schmitt who serves as president of production and development for Trip the Light. The company has brought in Kasha Foster as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In the new position, she will work closely with writers, talent, and producers, providing guidance throughout the storytelling process from script to screen.
“We’re so grateful for the enthusiastic support and creative freedom afforded us by Dana, Jonnie (Davis), and all our wonderful partners at ABC Signature,” Vernoss said. “We’re thrilled to continue and deepen our relationship with the studio – we couldn’t think of a better place to call home.”
Vernoff, whose series credits also include Shameless and Private Practice, is repped by UTA and Jeanne Newman at Hansen Jacobson.
Oh appeared at a rally in Pittsburgh on Saturday, speaking to a crowd of masked people and saying she’s “proud to be Asian.” The Killing Eve actress declared her support for Asian Americans during a time when violence against the community has been rising.
“Pittsburgh, I am so happy and proud to be here with you, and thank you to all the organizers for organizing this just to give us an opportunity to be together and to stand together and to feel each other,” said Oh, according to CBS Pittsburgh. “For many of us in our community, this is the first time we are even able to voice our fear and our anger, and I really am so grateful to everyone willing to listen.”
She added, “I know many of us in our community are very scared, and I understand that. And one way to get through our fear is to reach out to our communities. I will challenge everyone here, if you see something will you help me?”
Oh then led a group chant of “I am proud to be Asian.”
Before the rally, Oh posted on Instagram regarding the shooting deaths of eight people in Atlanta, and pointed toward organizations that will help the Asian community.
“I send loving kindness and support to the families of the eight souls murdered in Georgia on March 16,” she wrote. “And to all the victims of racist violence. I am devastated and profoundly angry. I know many of you are scared but let us not be afraid.”
“Remember #itsanhonorjusttobeasian,” Oh added.
Along with Oh, many Asian American stars have spoken out against the rise of violence in the aftermath of the Atlanta shooting, including Olivia Munn, Daniel Dae Kim and Jamie Chung.
Call Me Kat (2.2 mil/0.6) meanwhile surged to an eight-week high in the demo.
Over on ABC, Station 19 (4.9 mil/0.7) slipped to new series lows, Grey’s Anatomy (4.9 mil/0.9) dipped to a new audience low while holding onto last week’s Biden-impacted demo low, but A Million Little Things (3 mil/0.5) ticked up!
Elsewhere:
NBC | Superstore (2.3 mil/0.4) ticked up with America Ferrera’s early return.
CBS | The Unicorn‘s final two Season 2 episodes did 3.3 mil/0.4 and 3.1 mil/0.4, both down from March 4 but not quite marking demo lows.
THE CW | Walker (1.42 mil/0.3) and Legacies (600K/0.1) both added viewers, with the former also rising in the demo.
‘SHUT THE DOOR ON YOUR WAY OUT’ | As “It’s All Too Much” began, our protagonists reeled from their loss, with Owen packing up DeLuca’s locker, Catherine comforting Richard, and Teddy coming face to face with the deceased? No, it was actually Cormac. “We really need some good news,” she told an unconscious Meredith. Speaking of whom, at limbo beach, she ran into Derek, who was busy fishing. Because, ya know, why not? At Jo’s, she admitted to Jackson that she needed joy in her life. “So I am switching specialties to OB.” Did she really think that her booty call would judge her? Considering his habit of going on walkabout, he wasn’t about to. At Mer’s, Maggie fretted over the kids’ reaction to DeLuca’s death. Rather than force her to dance with the youngsters, Winston jumped in, allowing his significant other to cry it out. Back at Grey Sloan, Helm hesitated to record her video tribute to DeLuca. Had they been that close?
In Bailey’s office, Owen, Teddy and Richard met with the chief, who despite DeLuca’s obvious cause of death, demanded the results of his autopsy. Nearby, Winston, having been granted privileges (beyond the obvious ones) by Maggie, teamed up with his boo on the case of a fellow named Byron, who feared that being treated would give him COVID. Outside, as Levi explained to Nico that his go-to under duress was guilt, especially where DeLuca was concerned, his hookup shared that his was numb. Back at Mer’s, Amelia freaked when she discovered that Link was hiding alcohol around the house. He was stressed all the time, he responded, and dammit, he could drink if he wanted to. He wasn’t an alcoholic. “Sometimes Amelia, you drive me insane,” he railed — and he took the bottle of whiskey with him as he left. But “I’m coming back,” he added, “’cause I’m not a bad guy.”
‘DID ANYONE LOSE A NAKED MAN?’ | In Mer’s room, Teddy and Cormac lowered her settings in hopes of getting Grey off the vent. “You can do this,” Hayes assured her. Meanwhile, on the beach, Derek told his true love how much she resembled her mother. “You never got to meet Ellis,” the younger one, that is, she said. But apparently, he’d been watching. He knew all about their daughter. While Byron got an MRI, Winston deduced that the patient had a dental infection. “I thought of it,” Maggie insisted. “You just said it first.” Alas, Byron soon flipped out and went on a tear through the hospital. In a conference room, Richard shared with Catherine that he’d surrendered his sobriety to a higher power. “My faith is rooted in the trust that there is a meaning and a wisdom that I just can’t understand… Today I’m struggling to trust anything, and I just cannot see any wisdom in this.” In response, she reminded him that she lived with stage 4 cancer, and her latest scans were fine. No, none of it made any sense. “You can look for the pain, or you can look for the beauty.”
At Jo’s, she asked Jackson WTH the stock market was, anyway — which made him joke that it was a good thing she already knew how to live out of her car. Just then, Link showed up saying he was Jackson there for a quick bang. “Happy All Our Friends Are Dying Day,” he said as they poured whiskey. “Oh, we’re day-drinking,” cracked Jo. And indeed, they were. In no time, a pity party was well underway. Back at Grey Sloan, when Winston and Maggie found Byron, he was upset that he wasn’t wearing his mask. “Honey, you’re not wearing anything,” Pierce noted. If he needed to leave, she wouldn’t stop him. But she would follow him, because his heart could only take so much more. “I think we owe it to those we lost,” she said, “to live the lives that they can’t.” Finally, he put his gloved hand in hers. At the same time, Richard yelled at Bailey for wanting to grill their team over DeLuca’s death. “You’re causing me harm,” Webber stated simply. And she’d only cause more by suggesting that they hadn’t all done everything they could to save DeLuca.
‘I’M SUPPOSED TO WRITE A WHOLE PAGE ON LIVING FOREVER’ | On limbo beach, Derek reminded Mer of her experience teaching Zola to ride a bike by way of explaining that if she wanted to be closer to him, it was up to her. The more she relaxed, the closer he got. Back in real life, Teddy turned Mer’s settings back up, telling Cormac that she was staying on the vent. At the same time, Zola pondered aloud about whether if there were a medicine that could make you live forever, Amelia would take it. Nah, said her aunt. Impermanence was what made every life special. Back at Jo’s, she established the rules of her, Jackson and Link’s drinking game: Whoever’s story was saddest got the last swig. First, Link told his grim tale. Then Jo admitted that she’d even bought “outfits” to go on dates just before the end of the world. She almost won, too, but as Link pointed out, she had a loft all to herself. Thankfully, since Jackson was on call, he was still sober enough at the end of the round to drive them to DeLuca’s memorial. Speaking of the deceased, Teddy mistook Owen for him. While Meredith was almost face to face with Derek, he encouraged her to listen to Cormac back in reality as he told her about her kids calling every day. Suddenly, Cormac was on the beach. “They need you, Grey,” he said. “We all need you to fight.” She wasn’t sure that she could. She felt so relaxed there. Uh-uh, he insisted. She didn’t want her kids to go through what his had when they had lost their mom. “It’s OK,” Derek told her. “I’ll be right here.” And with that, Mer seemed to stir in her hospital bed — to the point that even Cormac noticed. greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-8-its-all-too-much
As the hour drew to a close, Bailey bristled when Levi told her that Richard had set up a memorial for Andrew. But he softened her up when he confessed to being a bad Jew. What was probably important was the traditions. “It doesn’t bring the person back,” he acknowledged, “but it does start the healing.” That being the case, couldn’t she let those who cared about her grieve with her? They needed that, and she did, too. Finding Taryn outside the hospital, wigging over DeLuca and the pandemic, Maggie soothed her by standing back to back with her — an insanely sweet gesture. As the memorial was about to begin, Bailey told Richard that she needed some time off. “However long you need,” he said. Among the crowd were Carina, Maya, Tom and the day-drinking club. Painfully, the tribute to DeLuca ended with his Grey Sloan application video. “I will give you the very best of me,” he promised. And that he had. Finally, Link returned home, at which point Amelia said that what she needed from him was no more secrets. “Deal,” he said, and though he reeked of whiskey, they embraced. At the hospital, Owen found Teddy perched on the sidelines where she’d been since the memorial. “I’m gonna take you home,” he said — and then he carried her, yes carried her, away.
“Nbd. Not excited at all,” Drew cheekily captioned her Instagram photo, which sees the two Grey’s actors donning masks in a van on the way to set.
Drew teased her guest appearance slot just days after Deadline learned exclusively that the actress would return as the fan favorite. Kepner’s return to Grey Sloan Memorial adds to the number of surprise appearances from former cast members. Patrick Dempsey shocked fans when he returned to Grey’s Anatomy as Derek Shepherd during the Season 17 premiere. Not too long after, T.R. Knight reprised his role as George O’Malley.
The actress returns to the ABC hit medical drama after her departure at the end of Season 14 in 2018 after nine seasons. Drew’s April Kepner first joined the Grey Sloan crew as an attending trauma surgeon. The character shares a daughter with ex Dr. Jackson, portrayed by Williams, who also teased Drew’s Grey’s Anatomy return.
In his own Instagram post, Williams shared a video of him entering a van to head to work. As soon as he takes his seat, Drew pops up behind him, smiling over his shoulder.
“What?” a shocked Williams says.
See Drew’s and Williams’ Instagram posts here: (Photo, Video.
The cabler says it is working with Killing Eve producer Sid Gentle Films Ltd. to “develop a number of potential spinoff ideas to extend the show’s iconic universe.”
Production on Killing Eve‘s eight-episode farewell season is set to begin in early summer. Continuing the series’ tradition of bringing in a new lead writer every season, Laura Neal (Sex Education, Secret Diary of a Call Girl) will oversee Season 4, following in the footsteps of creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Season 1), Emerald Fennell (Season 2) and Suzanne Heathcote (Season 3).
“Killing Eve has been one of my greatest experiences and I look forward to diving back into Eve’s remarkable mind soon,” star Sandra Oh said in a statement. “I’m so grateful for all cast and crew who have brought our story to life and to the fans who have joined us and will be back for our exciting and unpredictable fourth and final season.”
Jodie Comer, whose role as Oh’s onscreen foil earned her an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama series in 2019, added, “Killing Eve has been the most extraordinary journey and one that I will be forever grateful for. Thank you to all the fans who’ve supported us throughout and come along for the ride. Although all good things come to an end, it’s not over yet. We aim to make this one to remember!”
“I’m waiting for the news to come down,” she added. In the meantime, “it’s my job to plan for both contingencies.”
No mean feat, that. “It’s really hard, and it’s frustrating,” Vernoff said, “and I hope to know soon.”
Should this turn out to be the last season of Grey’s Anatomy, surely it could go on in another form, right? A spinoff set at a rebuilt Pac-North, perhaps? “Honestly, I’m just trying to get through this season,” Vernoff said. “It’s been exceedingly difficult. Like, I don’t even have words that could be hyperbolic about how difficult making this show amidst an actual pandemic has been. “So,” she concluded, “I’ll just say we are all doing our very best, and we all hope that there will be more Grey’s Anatomy, and we hope to know soon.”
Following Patrick Dempsey, who has been recurring this season, and T.R. Knight, who appeared in an episode last fall, Sarah Drew also will check back into Grey Sloan this season, Deadline can reveal.
She will reprise her fan-favorite character of Dr. April Kepner in an upcoming episode.
And more Grey’s alums might be on their way back, appearing in the dream beach sequences. As Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff teased this week, “chances are good you’ll see other people on the beach.” Drew left Grey’s at the end of Season 14 in 2018 after nine seasons, eight of them as a series regular. She started as a recurring in Season 6 before getting promoted to a regular the following season.
Drew’s Dr. April Kepner was an attending trauma surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital who joined from Mercy West Medical Center after the merger. She shares a daughter with her ex, Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams). We last saw her getting hitched to Matthew (Justin Bruening) and quitting her job, though many Grey’s fans — and Drew herself — were hoping for her to end up with Jackson. April’s return could help give the former couple’s story closure.
Most recently, Drew has been recurring on Freeform’s Cruel Summer. On the feature side, Drew recently starred in Sony’s Mom’s Night Out. She is repped by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment and Morris Yorn.
Biden’s address amassed north of 18 million viewers across its primetime coverage on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
Now, pending adjustment due to different scheduling in different time zones….
The return of ABC’s Station 19 led Thursday’s regular programming in the demo with a 0.9 rating, while drawing 5.2 million viewers. Continuing the crossover event, Grey’s Anatomy did 4.6 mil and a 0.8, while A Million Little things closed out ABC’s night with 2.7 mil/0.4.
CBS’ Young Sheldon (5.8 mil/0.7) drew the largest audience of regularly scheduled fare. Leading out of that, B Positive did 4.8 mil/0.6, Mom did 4.2 mil/0.5 and Clarice did 2.9 mil/0.3. (The Unicorn returns March 18 with a double-header.)
Over on The CW, Walker (1.37 mil/0.3) ticked up in the demo while slipping to its smallest audience yet. Legacies (503K/0.1) dipped in viewers while steady in the demo.
Elsewhere, Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen (2.3 mil/0.6) and Call Me Kat (1.8 mil/0.4) were down, while Last Man Standing (2.5 mil/0.5) was steady…. NBC’s Superstore slipped to 1.8 mil/0.3.
If there was one thing harder than watching Grey’s Anatomy kill off DeLuca, according to showrunner Krista Vernoff, it was deciding to kill him off in the first place. Here, she walks TVLine down the bumpy road that led to Giacomo Gianniotti‘s heartbreaking exit in Thursday’s episode.
TVLINE | Gotta start with the obvious: What was the thought process that went into killing DeLuca?
Well, it was less a thought process than it was an inspiration. I start each season by myself, taking walks in nature, asking the stories to reveal themselves to me. These stories tell themselves, and it’s a writer’s job to just write them down as fast as you can. This one was the first and most powerful one that came to my mind sort of wholly realized. I knew what this story was, what we were doing and why we had to do it. TVLINE | Did you want to, though?
It was really hard. I tried to chicken out several times through the season. The writers kept me honest on this one, because sometimes a story tells itself to you, and you’re like, “Wait, what? We’re killing DeLuca? He has to die? Why? I don’t wanna tell that story!” Several times, even after we were deep into the shooting of these episodes, I would go into the writers room and say, “I think we have to save him.” And there was an uprising of like, “No!” because this story told itself, and it felt important and powerful. As a human being, you’re like, “I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to lose Giacomo. I don’t want to lose DeLuca.” But as a storyteller, you have to honor the story. I don’t know… it’s sort of a magical process.
TVLINE | How would you describe the effect that Andrew’s death has on those he leaves behind?
It’s really impactful. Without giving too much away, there is one character who is broken by it. It’s one loss too many.
TVLINE | Before Season 16 had to be cut short, there had been a good deal of talk that someone was going to die in that finale. Was that supposed to be DeLuca?
No. It was never going to be… We had put him through this mental-health crisis, and it felt very important to us that he survive and show that people can come out the other side and become a very productive member of the team again. And he was back, he was really functioning, he was helping run the COVID ward, and then life came in.
TVLINE | It is amazing to think how many crappy things are still happening, even during a pandemic.
Honestly, I think one of the reasons this story came to me this way is that every time we would read or hear about some tragedy in the news while we were all navigating this pandemic, it felt very shocking, painful… like, how do all the other tragedies not stop? We’re all hunkered down. We’re all quarantined. We’re all dealing with the fear of COVID, and I got an E-mail from the Alexandria House, which is a charity that supports women and children who are dealing with homelessness because of domestic violence. There had been a fire, and everyone was displaced from the house. And I was like, “Are you kidding? How does it not stop? It’s all too much!” And I feel like that’s what DeLuca feels like. He didn’t die from COVID, he died completely unrelated to it. There are still people in the world kidnapping and selling children for sex and money, and this man went out to try and do something about it. He wasn’t going to let this woman get away with this again, and someone stabbed him. And that’s where the story was born. Even though we’re now getting all this other pain and trauma, other s—t keeps happening.
Watching Thursday’s Grey’s Anatomy (recapped here), we didn’t blame Owen and Teddy one bit for not wanting to call time of death on DeLuca. We didn’t want them to, either. Nonetheless, the ABC drama’s midseason premiere marked the end of the line for Giacomo Gianniotti and the character he’d played since Season 11… or did it? Here, the actor not only reveals the reason DeLuca’s romance with Meredith stalled, he cops to misleading viewers and hints that we may not have seen the last of Andrew.
TVLINE | Let’s start at the beginning of the end. How did you find out DeLuca was being killed off?
I was called into our executive producer Debbie Allen’s office, and she and our showrunner Krista Vernoff said, “We want to talk to you, Giacomo.”
TVLINE | Uh-oh.
So I sat down, and they very quickly explained to me that the writers had been going back and forth and kept landing on the same point, which they all believed was a really, really beautiful storyline that ended, unfortunately with DeLuca’s demise.
TVLINE | What did you say?
I said, “Can you tell me more?” and Krista started talking about how much people had connected to the human trafficking story from last season and that everybody was begging for it to be wrapped up. So they said, “We all thought it was very clear that we need that storyline to come back, and it would be great if we could catch that human trafficker and show that people like that can be stood up to.” In that was an opportunity for DeLuca to be brave and die as a hero. So even though it’s a tragic loss, he’s stopping this trafficking.
TVLINE | It’s ironic that in this time of COVID, DeLuca dies of something… totally unrelated.
We talked about the fact that a lot of people have lost loved ones this year, due to COVID and a lot of other things, and this was an opportunity to allow people to mourn their loss through the loss of a fictional character. There could be a lot of catharsis through that. So we all talked about it, and I felt very strongly about the storyline and said, “OK, let’s do this.”
TVLINE | So after you got over the shock of being told you were being written off, you were excited.
Exactly. I mean, at the end of the day, I’m a storyteller. Whether you’re an actor or a director — now I’m starting to direct, I just wrapped on Grey’s Anatomy — the story has to win.
TVLINE | Speaking of your directorial debut, were you told you’d be getting to helm an episode at the same time you were told you were being let go — like, “But here’s a lovely consolation prize”?
No, that had already been predetermined the previous year. Usually, we book our directors a year in advance, so I was already slated for that.
TVLINE | After you wrapped on the episode you directed, you Instagrammed, “Now back to being DeLuca.” Were you deliberately trying to mislead fans?
I was just trying to throw people a little off the scent a bit. It’s not a lie, though, in that we might see DeLuca in the future. There are other opportunities for him [to appear] for the rest of the season. And lots of characters that have been lost over the years have come back, whether in flashbacks or playing little home videos on our phones, ghosts, sometimes dreams. There’s all kinds of ways.
TVLINE | Do you feel any disappointment that DeLuca didn’t turn out to be endgame for Meredith?
I think it was a very valuable relationship for both parties. But you know, I’ve had people in my life who have lost their partners [as Meredith did Derek] and had to move on. They’ve met other people and fallen in love, but there’s always that little hole in their heart that can’t quite be filled. There’s nothing that can replace that person they lost. So I think it was a beautiful thing to have Meredith see Derek again in her dreams.
TVLINE | Do you have any sense of why the show pivoted away from MerLuca?
Well, the big reason is because Meredith got COVID. If that hadn’t happened, she and DeLuca would have been able to sort of pick up where they left off. In the beginning of the season, there was the possibility for them to see if there was a road back to where they were in their romance. But she gets COVID, so of course, all of that is pushed aside. The main focus is to just save her life.
TVLINE | Is there anything that you didn’t get to do as DeLuca, or would have liked to have done more of, that you didn’t?
It would have been cool to see what he could have accomplished as an attending, when he was really in charge and not having to sort of defer to a superior. I also would have liked to have kept telling the story of someone who is bipolar in a very, very commanding position and show that those things are possible for people. That was the proudest moment for me as an actor, to get to play someone who is suffering in that way, having such a high-level position.
TVLINE | Any message for the viewers who are going to be gutted by DeLuca’s death?
I just want to thank them, for loving this show so much and connecting with my character. They are an amazing, amazing group of people who just love the show so fiercely, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it all these years.
So much for Grey’s Anatomy’s Giacomo Gianniotti going “back to being DeLuca.” Thursday’s midseason premiere, which continued the story that was begun on Station 19 (recapped here), not only stuck a scalpel in Andrew, it stuck a fork in him. Read on, and we’ll go over the harrowing developments that made him a permanent resident of Meredith’s limbo beach.
‘THIS WAS A PEP-TALK PAGE’ | As “Helplessly Hoping” began, while DeLuca was wheeled into Grey Sloan and immediately into surgery, Levi got a glimpse of Opal on Ben’s cell and realized that maybe he could have done something to have prevented this situation. D’oh! If Schmitt really wanted to help his colleague, Nico advised, he wouldn’t scrub in, he’d get a surgeon for DeLuca who wasn’t a wreck. Harsh-ish, yes, but also true. After Helm got an eyeful of a worse-for-wear Andrew, the shaken resident reported the news to Richard, whose offer to scrub in was rejected by Owen; what he was about to do was akin to what he and Teddy had done on the regular in Iraq — he needed her. In the O.R., Owen and Teddy worked well together to save DeLuca with the help of Reza Khan, a newish intern with experience in vascular surgery in Pakistan. All the while, Richard watched over the proceedings. “Please,” he whispered, “don’t take this boy.” In the hospital chapel, Carina told Maya that before her and Andrea’s mother had died, she’d called them two halves of one whole. And they were, so much so that when Mama could only afford one pair of roller skates for Christmas (after Papa blew all their dough on nonsense), the siblings each wore one skate and rolled around like flamingoes attached at the hip. Post-surgery, Teddy thanked Owen for calling her in. But they weren’t actually getting along as well as she thought. “Don’t read into it,” he huffed (and understandably). Visiting Tom, aka the one person who could stand her anymore, Teddy refused to give him the only thing he wanted: the sound of her voice saying that she hadn’t loved him. And she hadn’t, he noted. If she had, now that Owen wanted nothing to do with her, they’d be together. So please, could she just say it, because, as Korackick put it, if he survived COVID, “I wanna get up off the ground where ya dropped me.” Finally, she did utter the words that he needed to hear.
‘YOUR SISTER LEFT STRICT INSTRUCTIONS: NO CAR CHASES’ | At limbo beach with Meredith, DeLuca told Grey that he didn’t regret going after Opal. So often, people just looked the other way. But the same as she had when she’d risked her license to save a little girl, he’d had to chase the sex trafficker, consequences be damned. “It’s the only thing that made sense.” Back in real life, all of Andrew’s monitors seemed to go off at once. Bring me a staple remover, yelled Owen. And wire cutters! And horrifically, DeLuca was torn back open and taken to surgery. On the beach, Andrew found that he couldn’t build his sand castle fast enough to beat the tide. “I don’t know what happens from here,” he told Meredith, “but no matter what happens, I want you to know I’ve never felt seen like you saw me.” Suddenly, a voice called out — his mother! Mer would miss him if he stayed and she went back, she said. Nonetheless, “I have to go,” he replied. With that, he ran to his Mama and was finally pronounced dead back at Grey Sloan… by Khan, since neither Owen nor Teddy could bring themselves to do it. Deep sigh.
In other developments, Jo had finally convinced Cormac to allow Val a visit with newborn Luna when… aw, crap. Val died. And was it just me, or from the way Jo was holding that baby’s hand (or vice versa) in her last scene, wasn’t an adoption in the offing? (For that matter, is anyone else feeling a Cormac/Jo/Jackson triangle?) Later, when Levi told Nico that Val had died and wondered if he’d “wasted all the time I was supposed to be happy” being closeted, instead of calling him a Debbie Downer as you’d expect he would, the ortho hunk actually comforted his booty call. Speaking of which, Winston and Maggie spent the first chunk of the episode canoodling in a hotel room and making inadvertent plans for their longterm future. Back at Casa Grey, Amelia was spiraling… aloud… in such a way that Zola came to fear her mom was going to die. Desperate to bring Maggie home, Link sent, of all people, Jackson to retrieve her. Once back with her “sister,” Maggie reminded Amelia that Mer had told the kids about Derek. So “we can do this for her.” Finally, Amelia and Maggie let Zola know that they really didn’t know if her mom was going to get taken off a ventilator. They didn’t know if she was going to be OK. And a true Grey to the core, Zola woman’d up, saying, “We shouldn’t tell Bailey and Ellis, not unless we need to.”
Just like they did in the fall finale, Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 returned from hiatus with another powerful and deeply emotional crossover. Tonight’s episodes dealt with the aftermath of the dramatic rescue by the off-duty Station 19 team of two Black teenage girls who had been kidnapped and Robert and Dean’s arrest by an overzealous white cop. It also bid farewell to one of Grey’s Anatomy‘s doctors, Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), just like the ominous ABC promo hinted. While Station 19 firefighters all were trying to process the events of the day before, discussing issues of racism in policing, the series brought to successful conclusion the multi-season kidnapping storyline. When we last saw DeLuca in the fall finale cliffhanger, he had just spotted Opal — the suspected child-trafficking kingpin who had triggered his manic episode last season — in the parking lot of Grey Sloan and, joined by his sister Carina, drove off, following Opal’s car. The DeLucas got Carina’s girlfriend, Station 19 Captain Maya Bishop, and her team to help with the operation. Eventually, Opal was arrested but not before her accomplice stabbed DeLuca.
With his sister by his side, DeLuca was rushed to Grey Sloan where he underwent successful emergency surgery, led by Owen and Teddy, but he later developed DIC and, despite Owen and Teddy’s best efforts, died in the operating room.
As he was teetering on the brink of death, DeLuca got to spend time on the beach in a dream sequence with Meredith who remained unresponsive in the episode, hooked to a ventilator.
“I don’t know what happens from here Meredith, but no matter what happens, I want you to know that I never felt seen the way you saw me, I never felt inspired the way you inspired me, you made me want to be not just my best self but better,” he said. The duo, whose budding romance was interrupted by the pandemic, had a touching final conversation before DeLuca told her, “You’ll be OK, Meredith,” and ran to his late mother who waved at him. Just as his body was flatlining in the OR, he reunited with his mom on the beach in a sweet embrace.
In an interview with Deadline, Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 showrunner Krista Vernoff discusses the decision to kill off DeLuca this season, the significance of the way he died and the impact his sudden passing will have on his sister, Meredith and the other doctors at Grey Sloan. She also teases a big Teddy-Owen arc following their newly found bond fighting for DeLuca’s life and a George Floyd/BLM storyline on Station 19. She also explains whether we will see DeLuca again and addresses Meredith’s status — as well as the status of the series, which has not been renewed for Season 18. (You can read more about that here.)
DEADLINE: When did you decide that the DeLuca character will die? Was his mental health crisis last season a point where you had considered writing him off?
KRISTA VERNOFF: No. It was one of the first creative imaginings that I had as I imagined what this season would be. It’s like I’ve said before. Like, the stories tell themselves. I just try to write them down as fast as I can, and this story told itself to me as I was walking on the beach imagining the season, and I was like, oh, no, really?! But it felt powerful and important, and I don’t always know why, but that was the story that came.
DEADLINE: Was it important to you that DeLuca completely redeemed himself before he died? He helped the kidnapped girl and Bailey earlier this season, and did one, final brave deed getting Opal arrested.
VERNOFF: Yes. It was extremely important to me that it be clear that he was through his mental health crisis, and that the following through on the sex trafficking story was rooted in his bravery and goodness as a human, and that I think we did well. I didn’t want to risk sending the message that he died because of his mental illness. He died having come through his mental health crisis, bravely and powerfully, and he died a hero. He saved, probably, a lot of lives in the future.
DEADLINE: What was your conversation with Giacomo about his character being written off?
VERNOFF: This story was the most vivid story I had coming into the season. I knew what we were doing exactly, and exactly how we were doing it, and so, once we had a shape, and we knew when in the season it was going to happen, Giacomo came in to meet, and we pitched it to him. He was so lovely and so relieved that it wasn’t a mental-health crisis story, that it was all the things that I’ve already said. He was just relieved that we were being honest to this character. That he was going out courageously, that he wasn’t killing himself. That he wasn’t hurting someone. That he was clear in terms of his mental health, and going out in this really noble, brave way. He was brave.
DEADLINE: What will be the impact of DeLuca’s death on his sister, Meredith and the other doctors at the hospital?
VERNOFF: There’s a profound impact. He had become beloved, and all those doctors had come together in the intervention and really come to care about him. So, there’s a real impact on his sister and on everyone who loved him. The big sort of question mark is Meredith. You know, Meredith is not awake and, while she was with DeLuca on that beach, there’s a question mark as to how it will impact her.
DEADLINE: In DeLuca’s conversation with Meredith on the beach, he sounded prophetic when he told her, ‘Meredith, you’ll be okay.’ Should we read much into it — is he right?
VERNOFF: Yeah. Should you read into it? I don’t know. More will be revealed.
DEADLINE: Can you tell us when we will know Meredith’s fate?
VERNOFF: Don’t you want to watch the show, and see how it unfolds?
DEADLINE: Yes, but there is also a lot of anxiety involved.
VERNOFF: I know it’s painful, and it’s frightening. Just like Covid.
DEADLINE: How was it working with Giacomo and the rest of the cast on his final episode?
VERNOFF: I feel like everyone brought their A-game in terms of performance on all the story lines, and I’m really grateful to Giacomo. What I said to him at the table read when we read this episode is, thank you for playing this character so powerfully and so beautifully that you’re giving the world an opportunity to feel our collective grief in your death.
DEADLINE: After DeLuca’s death, will we see him on the beach? This has turned into a great venue for you to bring back any character you want.
VERNOFF: There was some discussion of bringing him back to the beach, but we all felt like his exit with his mom was so profound and so powerful. I cried harder watching that than I’ve cried watching anything on our show in years, and so, we didn’t want to see him come back to the beach. You will see him again. He does appear in more episodes this season, but I don’t want to spoil what those are.
DEADLINE: Anyone new coming to the beach this season?
VERNOFF: I would say, chances are good you’ll see other people on the beach.
DEADLINE: In his final hours, DeLuca seemed to have brought Owen and Teddy together in their grief when they couldn’t save him. And Teddy had just let Koracick go when that happened. Are Owen and Teddy finely coming closer to reconciling?
VERNOFF: Owen and Teddy have a big story arc over the next couple of episodes.
DEADLINE: On Station 19, watching the characters processing the events of the fall finale, it almost felt like listening to the series’ writers in the writers room, processing themselves the events of last summer. How was it writing those conversations between the different firefighters?
VERNOFF: Well, we have a very diverse cast and a very inclusive cast and writers’ room, and we honor and include many voices and many perspectives as we talk about these profound subjects. So, the process is a really inclusive one.
DEADLINE: What is next for that group? Dean filing a lawsuit is a new element that could provide a glimpse into the justice system. Is it something that will be a major plot line going forward?
VERNOFF: Yes. This is a major plot line going forward through our whole season. Our season is still living in May and June of 2020, and so, if you recall, in April, May, June of 2020, we were processing as a nation the death of George Floyd, and the uprising in the wake of that, and so, we are bravely confronting a lot of these issues moving forward on the show.
DEADLINE: Will George Floyd’s death be incorporated in the show?
VERNOFF: Yes.
DEADLINE: Mostly on Station 19 or across both shows?
VERNOFF: Across both shows to some degree, but it’s very central on Station 19.
DEADLINE: You finished the fall run with two really heavy episodes back-to-back that included the passing of Bailey’s mom, and now DeLuca died in the first episode back. Is there some light and breezy Grey’s coming up?
VERNOFF: Is there light and breezy Grey’s coming up? Maybe later in the season. We’ve got some pretty intense stuff coming, and it is just the nature of the year we’re living in. It’s just a reflection of the year we’ve just walked through, and I would argue that there are beautiful moments of light. Not breezy, but when DeLuca’s mom shows up on that beach. I mean, what’s more beautiful than that? Yes, it’s profound, and yes, you feel your feelings, but I would argue that these episodes are not just dark. There’s lightness and beauty inside the darkness.
DEADLINE: What can you tell us about that “pretty intense stuff coming”?
VERNOFF: The impact of the death of DeLuca hits everyone differently, but it hits one of our characters who has reached their saturation level and their breaking point.
DEADLINE: Do you know yet if this would be the final season of Grey’s?
VERNOFF: I don’t know yet.
The dramatic crossover midseason premiere of Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy culminated with the death of a beloved doctor, Andrew DeLuca, played by Giacomo Gianniotti for the past six years. He joined other Grey Sloan doctors who died heroes while saving strangers’ lives, including Derek Shepherd and George O’Malley.
Along by his sister Carina, played by Grey’s alumna Stefania Spampinato, who is now a series regular on Station 19. DeLuca rushed to follow suspected kidnapping kingpin Opal. He was able to track her long enough for police to arrest her but he was stabbed in the process, and while Owen and Teddy were able to initially stabilize him, DeLuca eventually died of his wounds. (You can read Deadline’s recap and an interview with Grey’s and Station 19 showrunner Krista Vernoff here.)
DeLuca was first introduced at the end of Season 11 as a medical intern. He didn’t always see eye to eye with all of his colleagues but gradually won them over. He also went through a string of romantic relationships at Grey Sloan, most recently with Meredith Grey.
In an interview with Deadline, Gianniotti reflects on his six-year Grey’s Anatomy journey and DeLuca’s death. He addresses how he felt about the manner in which DeLuca died, shares the emotions of filming his last scenes and then returning as a director on the show, and reveals what he will miss the most about his character and Grey’s Anatomy and whether he would be back.
DEADLINE: How and when did you find out that DeLuca would die this season?
GIACOMO GIANNIOTTI: It was about after the first couple of episodes. I was approached by our executive producers, showrunner Krista Vernoff and director Debbie Allen. They said, hey, we’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it, and we feel there’s an opportunity to tell a really, really beautiful story that is going to help a lot of people. The story is that this human trafficking storyline that we had last season was so well viewed, and everyone really connected with that storyline because human trafficking is just such a huge problem globally, but also in the United States, and I think California is number one, where I live right now. It’s a very big issue, so I’m not surprised that the episode that centered on it was very important and received as it was by the fans.
Because we had to shut down due to Covid, we didn’t get to finish telling that storyline. So, when we came back on June 17, they thought it would be great to bring back that storyline and close it out. What if we could catch that woman that trafficked that young girl, and what if DeLuca was to save the day but to lose his life in the process, to die a hero saving all these people and all these children who potentially could’ve been trafficked, but now will not be because the traffickers were stopped? And I just thought it was a beautiful storyline, I thought it was a beautiful way for the character to exit as a hero.
We got together quickly, working on exactly what it would look like and what episode, when it would be, but I said absolutely. I’ve been on the show for six years, seven seasons. It’s definitely been a long time, and I’m a young guy. So, I think this was a good time to depart, and I’m happy that Krista and Debbie and all the writers did such a great job with telling the story. I think it’s going to do justice to a lot of people and help a lot of people.
DEADLINE: How was it filming this season leading to tonight’s crossover? Was it getting more emotional with every episode?
GIANNIOTTI: Definitely. Yeah. In the beginning, it was strange. I felt like I had this dirty little secret, because none of my cast members — or really anyone on set — knew about this. It was very, very internal between Krista and Debbie Allen and I and some of the key producers and writers, but as we got closer to the date, then the rest of the cast was informed, and yeah, then it was emotional, because then I felt that the secret was out.
Everybody knew, and everybody was, of course, very sad. I’ve been working with all of these people for seven seasons now, sometimes we joke about how we spend more time with each other than we do our families. Before Covid, we used to do 12 hours a day before 10. We spent a lot of time with each other, and so, although it’s a beautiful experience and I’m happy to be leaving in this way, and the story we get to tell is so beautiful, and I think it’s going to help a lot of people, I’m obviously sad to leave all my great, dear friends.
DEADLINE: What were your favorite — and most challenging — moment in the crossover episodes? You got to do several scenes with Ellen Pompeo on the beach.
GIANNIOTTI: Between the Station 19 episode and the Grey’s Anatomy episode, it was a crossover we told. That was another thing that Krista said, we’d like to have it be a crossover. Then instead of only having, 45 minutes to tell the story, you double that. We can tell a way longer story and not have to rush it.
So, we can tell the whole story of how DeLuca is in hot pursuit with Carina, his sister, all the way to the moment of being stabbed and trying to get this woman and get her arrested. We can tell all that story with all the time that it takes to tell that and keep people on the edge of their seat. It kind of feels like an action movie, and it’s something that I never really got to play on Grey’s Anatomy. So, it kind of felt like we were shooting a little action film, Allison Liddi-Brown directed that episode on Station 19, she did a fantastic job, and I’m really excited for people to see that.
And then on Grey’s Anatomy, for the second hour, we get to see the whole medical side of it and how our doctors treat him and the stress, the pressure that they’re under. They do it every day but when you have one of your own on the table, it’s a whole different experience, and it’s a whole different pressure for our doctors.
The sort of action movie part of it in the Station 19 episode was really cool to shoot, and I love, love, love, love the time we spent with Spampinato, who plays my sister on the show. We got to spend a lot of time together working together, which we don’t usually get, especially since she’s left to Station 19. So, that was a real treat. Since this season started, Ellen Pompeo’s character Meredith Grey has been battling Covid, she’s been largely unconscious, and so, I haven’t really got to work and spend a lot of time with her, and our romance on the show has been put on pause due to a lot of stuff that happened last season and now with her being sick.
So, we got to spend a couple days out on the beach together, just me and her, and it was so beautiful, just as friends and as actors, to share in those moments together. It felt like it was a full-circle experience to have started as an intern on the show and largely far away from Meredith Grey, and then getting to where I end on the show, and I’m about as close as I could ever be to her, both as an actor and as a character.
It was just so nice because, when the cameras are rolling, we’re obviously doing the scene, but in between takes, Ellen and I were just there for hours talking about arcs, being though the emotion over the years, and how much fun times we’ve had working together, the friendship that we built over time and how she’s been such an incredible mentor and friend to me over the years. So it was sad to end that day, because I knew that that was the last time that we were going to work together, it was bittersweet, for sure.
DEADLINE: After you filmed DeLuca’s big finale, you came back and you directed an episode, correct?
GIANNIOTTI: Correct. Yeah.
DEADLINE: How was interacting with your cast members in that capacity and being back on the set, but as a director?
GIANNIOTTI: It was great. I’ve been working towards a career in directing for a very long time, and I approached Debbie Allen, our executive producer, about four years ago, telling her that I wanted to direct and I wanted to carve out a path for that in my career. She gave me a whole laundry list of tasks I was to complete, a lot of shadowing and mentorships that I completed over the years.
And then this year happened to be the year where, there was an opening, and luckily, Debbie Allen has been such a great friend and mentor and trusted me with an episode. So, even though my work as an actor finished, I was still able to stick around and direct an episode, and it was an amazingly positive experience for me and to communicate with my crew on a different level and the actors, as well, meeting them on a very different plane, having to direct them and hear their insights. I have a great relationship with all the actors on the show, and so, when I came to direct, all the actors were such a joy to work with because they were all so generous. They all knew that it was my first time directing, and they just went above and beyond to make the experience so easy for me. So, I’m really excited for my episode, 17/11 this season, and for everybody to see it.
DEADLINE: In an IG post about wrapping the episode as a director, you wrote ‘Now back to being DeLuca’. Was this just so that you don’t ruin the surprise for fans? When I asked Krista, she said that DeLuca will come back in some shape or form later in the season. What can you tell us about that?
GIANNIOTTI: Without telling too much, over the course of these 17 seasons, we’ve had a lot of characters leave, whether their character exited for some reason or whether they died on the show, and we continue to see those people. We’ve continued to see those people in flashbacks, in dreams, in all kinds of different scenarios, and so, just because DeLuca has died, it doesn’t mean that there’s not other ways for us to see clips and other manifestations of DeLuca in the future. So, yeah, I definitely think there’s a possibility to see DeLuca in the rest of the season, but I don’t know exactly how and can’t comment on how.
DEADLINE: Looking back at your six years on the show, what would you miss the most about Grey’s?
GIANNIOTTI: It’s really the people, and that goes for the cast, the writers, the producers, all of the crew, the cameramen, the grips, the electrics, everybody, all the heads of all the departments behind the scenes.
Over these seven seasons, I’ve worked with these people for so long and spent so much time with them, I know their partners’ names, their dogs’ names, their kids’ names, they know mine. We are all incredibly close, and before Covid, I would spend time outside of set with a lot of my fellow crew and cast members and people from the show. It really is a family. I know a lot of people say that, and it sounds cheesy, but when you spend that much time with people, it really does become that, and I’m really going to miss the people. I’m also going to miss the stories.
Grey’s Anatomy is such an incredible show, and I talk a lot about the fact that I wasn’t necessarily an avid watcher,I didn’t tune into the show before I joined it. Since I joined, I became hooked. I did a deep dive and watched the show and realized how incredible it was. It’s so multifaceted, but the thing that is at the core of Grey’s Anatomy is it’s shedding light on important issues.
And that’s why the show can go on for as long as it wants to, because there’s no shortage of issues that need to be talked about. There’s no shortage of medical conditions that people need to be educated on. There’s no shortage of political issues that we need to be educated on. So, there’s such a great way that Grey’s Anatomy does that, and I’ve received a lot of messages and DMs over the years about, this episode saved my life, this episode saved my baby’s life, we found out about a surgery that could be done, and now my baby’s alive and well through Grey’s Anatomy. We’ve done episodes about domestic violence with a hotline posted in the episode that a lot of women had called into seeking help, that saved lives and got them out of bad situations that they were in and gave them the courage to do that.
Grey’s Anatomy is so much more than a television show, it has a really big global impact. So, that’s what I’m also going to be missing, being a part of that, being a small part of how many people’s lives are changed because of the show. The other part is that so many people, especially now because the show has been on for 17 seasons, the amount of people that have told me that they started in the medical profession because of Grey’s Anatomy is tremendous.
DEADLINE: What are you going to miss about DeLuca and how did you feel about portraying his struggles with mental illness?
GIANNIOTTI: Ever since last season, towards the end when DeLuca had his big meltdown, which ended in an intervention from his friends and fellow coworkers where he finally admitted to seeking treatment and getting help, I think that was a big episode for mental health and a big PSA for mental health. It was an honor to be a part of telling a story where I got to interpret a character who was struggling with those battles. So many people wrote me that they were touched by that that they are bipolar, either 1 or 2, and/or they have a family member that is bipolar or had someone in my life who was struggling from a different kind of mental illness.
It made them feel seen, and that meant the world to me, that something that we did made people feel seen. Maybe helped start a conversation between them and a mental health professional. So, it was an enormous sense of responsibility I felt like I had with that character, and I’m sad I won’t be able to continue that storyline, but I know Grey’s Anatomy will do a fantastic job continuing that mental health story in some way, keeping DeLuca’s story alive and other people talking about it on the show.
DEADLINE: Is there anything else you’ll miss about playing DeLuca?
GIANNIOTTI: Anything else I’ll miss about DeLuca? It was just a great time. He was so focused and career driven but was so troubled at the same time due to his mental health issues that he was dealing with. So, he was just so brave to me, I always thought he was so brave. Everything that he took on, despite what he was battling inside, just made him such a brave soul, and I’ll never forget him. I love the guy. I’m sad to not play him anymore.
“I don’t know yet,” Grey’s executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff told Deadline in an interview this week tied to Grey’s Anatomy and spinoff Station 19‘s return from hiatus tomorrow, March 11. Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo was equally noncommittal recently, saying in an interview t, “We honestly have not decided. We’re really trying to figure it out right now.”
While Vernoff is planning for a Season 17 season and series finale, sources are optimistic that deals would be reached to extend television’s longest-running medical drama. Talks have been ongoing, with ABC considering both a one-season and two-season renewals for Grey’s Anatomy, I hear. A one-season pickup is considered more likely.
Pompeo previously closed a big two-year deal for Seasons 16 and 17, which is coming to an end. She has been negotiating a new extension, and talks have looked promising lately. Separately, Vernoff has been negotiating a new deal with Grey’s producer ABC Signature, which has been going well.
With so many moving pieces, the future of Grey’s Anatomy is coming down to the wire. Given the series’ legacy and importance to ABC where it remains the No.1 scripted series, the network and its sister studio are going to great lengths to ensure a proper ending for Grey’s and a final chapter.
Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy are returning with a powerful crossover event tomorrow, March 11, which is being delayed on the East Coast by President Joe Biden’s televised address.
“My sister Phylicia Rashad will appear in [Episode 12] and bring true power, fun and grace in a role that touches a chord about the voice of the people,” Allen tells TVLine exclusively. “Our cast and crew gave her a standing ovation in honor of her presence. I gave her a slice of cornbread.”
Although Allen’s Catherine will turn up in Rashad’s episode, we’re told the siblings will not share any scenes together.
In addition to playing The Cosby Show‘s Clair Huxtable for 8 seasons — a role that earned her multiple Emmy nominations — Rashad’s TV work includes Psych, Empire and Do No Harm. She more recently appeared on This Is Us as the mother of Susan Kelechi Watson’s Beth, and as a pastor in the final season of 13 Reasons Why.
Incidentally, this is not Rashad’s first brush with the Grey‘s-verse; last season her voice was featured in an episode of sister series Station 19.
News of Rashad’s casting comes one the eve of Grey’s Anatomy‘s slightly-delayed-by-President-Biden midseason premiere (Thursday, 9:20-ish ET, ABC).
The President will mark the one-year anniversary of the shutdowns linked to the Covid pandemic in the U.S., which has led to the death of over 525,000 Americans.
ABC, NBC and Fox have confirmed to Deadline that they are airing the address, which is set to start at 8pm ET, and is expected to last around between 15-30 minutes. CBS has yet to confirm but is likely to.
As a result, the networks are on the whole pushing back their originals to accommodate Biden’s first primetime address since his inauguration.
ABC, which had Station 19 at 8pm followed by Grey’s Anatomy and A Million Little Things, will start their Thursday night drama block as soon as the President is done. It may start programming at the regular time and resume afterwards, depending on whether Biden is on time but fans will get to see all three shows in their entirety on the night.
The programming interruption will not impact Mountain and Pacific Time Zones.
Over on NBC, the network is pushing a new episode of Superstore back from 8pm to 8:30pm.
NBC News will be airing the address via a special report anchored by Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie. After Superstore and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU, the network will be airing a Dateline special – Covid One Year Later at 10pm. A repeat of Young Rock has made way for the address.
Fox will be airing the address and will slide its originals with Hell’s Kitchen likely starting at 8:15pm followed by new episodes of Call Me Kat at 9:15pm and Last Man Standing at 9:45pm.
CBS currently has Young Sheldon on its schedule at 8pm, kicking off its Thursday comedy block featuring B Positive, Mom and The Unicorn with drama Clarice set at 10pm. It’s likely that it will also slide these shows until after Biden’s speech.
It comes as the late-night hosts are also set to mark the anniversary with Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert both marking the event with specials Coronavirus-related shows. The ABC show will air the special on Thursday, while the CBS show will air on Friday with Dr. Fauci as guest.
“Well, that’s a wrap!” wrote the actor, who’s played Dr. Andrew DeLuca since Season 11. “Ten days of beautiful, fast-paced, red-eyed glory. Wouldn’t change it for the world.”
As Gianniotti and Team Grey’s completed taping on “Sorry Doesn’t Always Make It Right,” Season 17’s 11th episode, he gave one shout-out after another to his colleagues: “My brother in arms and DP Steve Fracol. My writer Julie Wong for such a great script. And really, most of all… our incredible crew of hardworking men and women who every day, from sun-up to sundown, busted their ass to make this beautiful art. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he continued. “Grateful is a massive understatement.”
In closing, Gianniotti encouraged fans not to miss the crossover. And “now,” he said, “back to being DeLuca” — a statement that bodes well for his character, considering that in the midseason premiere, he and sister Carina are in hot pursuit of a dangerous sex trafficker.
“I can’t say” one way or the other, she insisted. “We honestly have not decided. We’re really trying to figure it out right now.”
The question isn’t whether the audience remains interested — Grey’s is ABC’s top-rated drama — it’s a question of what twists of plot would viewers be served. “It’s, ‘What story do we tell?'” Pompeo said. And if there isn’t a story to tell, the dilemma becomes how to close the doors on Grey Sloan in a satisfying way.
“To end a show this iconic… how do we do it?” the actress mused. “I just wanna make sure we do this character and this show and the fans… I wanna make sure we do it right.”
Shared to her Instagram post, Pompeo’s letter calls out the HFPA for its lack of diverse members, a criticism that has echoed throughout Hollywood since an Los Angeles Times exposé revealed that the industry body has no Black journalists among its 87 members. While the HFPA responded to the backlash noting that they will “immediately work to implement a plan” to up the diversity in its party, the Grey’s Anatomy star proposed her own solution and called on “white Hollywood” to help.
“I would kindly ask, all my white colleagues in this industry, an industry that we love and has granted us enormous privilege…. to pull up, show up and get this issue resolved,” she wrote in the letter. “Let’s show our black colleagues that we care and are willing to do the work to right the wrongs we have created. Now is not a time to be silent. We have a real action item here let’s get it done.”
Pompeo is among the numerous Hollywood names questioning the HFPA’s lack of Black members. Sterling K. Brown, Kerry Washington, Jurnee Smollett, Amy Schumer and Dakota Johnson all shared a Time’s Up post calling out the HFPA.
The film is partly inspired by the Colin Grant biography, Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey. Script is by acclaimed playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah, which Esther Douglas developed with the support of the BFI Film Fund.
Mark Gordon (Ray Donovan) of Mark Gordon Pictures is producing with Jackson Pictures’ Matt Jackson (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Glendon Palmer and Douglas. Robert Teitel, Kwei-Armah and Jackson Pictures’ Joanne Lee will be executive producers, along with Kwei-Armah.
Set in the 1920s, Marked Man follows a young black man who joins J. Edgar Hoover’s Bureau of Investigation, and then infiltrates Marcus Garvey’s UNIA organization, testing his loyalty to both race and country as he grows weary of both men’s actions.
After directing videos for the likes of Isaac Hayes, Common, Tracy Chapman and Wyclef Jean, Dosunmu made his feature directing debut with Restless City, and most recently helmed the Michelle Pfeiffer-Kiefer Sutherland-starrer Where Is Kyra? He next directs for Netflix and producer Lena Waithe Original Film Beauty.
Among Kwei-Armah’s works as a playwright are Elmina’s Kitchen and Let There Be Love, A Bitter Herb, Statement of Regret, Marley and Seize the Day. He most recently wrote the script for Spike Lee’s upcoming musical film on the breakthrough of Pfizer’s little blue pill, Viagra.
All of the talent and filmakers are repped by CAA. Dosunmu is also repped by Andre Des Rochers; Williams by Management 360, and Des Rochers; Wise by ColorCreative and attorney Nina Shaw; Kwei-Amah by Redfine Entertainment, United Agents, and attorney Linda Lichter; and Jackson Pictures by attorney Neil Sacker.
Ensemble in a Comedy Series
DEAD TO ME
CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Jen Harding
LINDA CARDELLINI / Judy Hale
MAX JENKINS / Christopher Doyle
JAMES MARSDEN / Steve Wood/Ben Wood
SAM McCARTHY / Charlie Harding
NATALIE MORALES / Michelle Gutierrez
DIANA MARIA RIVA / Det. Ana Perez
LUKE ROESSLER / Henry Harding
THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT
KALEY CUOCO / Cassie Bowden
MERLE DANDRIDGE / Kim Hammond
NOLAN GERARD FUNK / Van White
MICHELLE GOMEZ / Miranda Croft
MICHIEL HUISMAN / Alex Sokolov
YASHA JACKSON / Jada Harris
JASON JONES / Hank Bowden
T.R. KNIGHT / Davey Bowden
ZOSIA MAMET / Annie Mouradian
AUDREY GRACE MARSHALL / Young Cassie
GRIFFIN MATTHEWS / Shane Evans
ROSIE PEREZ / Megan Briscoe
TERRY SERPICO / Bill Briscoe
COLIN WOODELL / Buckley Ware
THE GREAT
BELINDA BROMILOW / Aunt Elizabeth
SEBASTIAN DE SOUZA / Leo
SACHA DHAWAN / Orlo
ELLE FANNING / Catherine
PHOEBE FOX / Marial
BAYO GBADAMOSI / Arkady
ADAM GODLEY / Archbishop
DOUGLAS HODGE / Velementov
NICHOLAS HOULT / Peter
LOUIS HYNES / Vlad
FLORENCE KEITH-ROACH / Tatyana
GWILYM LEE / Grigor
DANUSIA SAMAL / Lady Antonia Svenskia
CHARITY WAKEFIELD / Georgina
SCHITT’S CREEK
CHRIS ELLIOTT / Roland Schitt
EMILY HAMPSHIRE / Stevie Budd
DANIEL LEVY / David Rose
EUGENE LEVY / Johnny Rose
SARAH LEVY / Twyla Sands
ANNIE MURPHY / Alexis Rose
CATHERINE O’HARA / Moira Rose
NOAH REID / Patrick Brewer
JENNIFER ROBERTSON / Jocelyn Schitt
KAREN ROBINSON / Ronnie Lee
TED LASSO
ANNETTE BADLAND / Mae
PHIL DUNSTER / Jamie
BRETT GOLDSTEIN / Roy
BRENDAN HUNT / Coach Beard
TOHEEB JIMOH / Sam Obisanya
JAMES LANCE / Trent Crimm
NICK MOHAMMED / Nathan Shelley
JASON SUDEIKIS / Ted Lasso
JEREMY SWIFT / Higgins
JUNO TEMPLE / Keeley
HANNAH WADDINGHAM / Rebecca
Set to simulcast across all ViacomCBS Networks including BET, CBS and MTV on Saturday, March 27th at 8 p.m. ET, the 52nd NAACP Image Awards honors the accomplishments of BIPOC artists across TV, music, film and literature.
SPECIAL AWARDS
Social Justice Impact
April Ryan
Debbie Allen
Lebron James
Stacey Abrams
Tamika Mallory
Outstanding Guest Performance – Comedy or Drama Series
Chris Rock – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Courtney B. Vance – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Dave Chappelle – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Issa Rae – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Loretta Devine – P-Valley (Starz)
The former Grey’s Anatomy actress is weighing in for the first time on the ABC drama’s decision last year to reunite Alex and Izzie as a means to explain the abrupt departure of Justin Chambers.
Asked about the twist by Entertainment Tonight, Heigl mused, “Wasn’t [Alex] with someone?” — referring to his then-bride, Jo. Heigl, who maintained that she did not see the episode in question, then added, “Listen, isn’t that an a**hole move?”
Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff previously acknowledged that she was backed into something of a corner when it came to writing out Alex, since Chambers was unavailable to shoot a proper exit for his character.
“At the end of the day, there were three choices,” the EP explained to TVLine. “Kill Alex off camera; have Alex be alive and in Seattle — and still married to Jo — and we just never see him; or [reunite him] with Izzie.”
As we learned in the March 5 episode, Vernoff went with Option 3, which she saw as the only viable one. Killing Alex would’ve been “cruel to everyone — particularly Meredith and Jo,” she says of the character’s BFF and wife, respectively. “There was no way to not put those characters through gut-wrenching, ongoing grief if we had killed Alex off camera.”
Heigl — who will next be seen in Netflix’s 10-episode drama Firefly Lane — told ET there was little chance she would ever return to Grey’s. “I would never say never,” she hedged, before adding, “but it’s not likely.”
Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and A Million Little Things, which originally were scheduled to come back from winter hiatus on March 4, will now be back March 11. The additional week is being provided as extra cushion amid unpredictable production interruptions and delays during the pandemic.
New drama Rebel, starring Katey Sagal and created by Krista Vernoff inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich today, will join ABC’s Thursday lineup starting April 8. It will replace 10 PM anchor A Million Little Things, which will return to its former Wednesday 10 PM time slot, succeeding For Life after its 10-episode Season 2 concludes.
With Shondaland’s Station 19 at 8 PM and Grey’s Anatomy at 9 PM as well as Rebel at 10 PM, ABC will have an entire night from the same executive producer/showrunner, Vernoff, who runs all three series.
Starring Topher Grace, new comedy series Home Economics will join ABC’s Wednesday night comedy block, premiering April 7. It will succeed veteran American Housewife, which has a 12-episode Season 5 season order.
On the unscripted side, new eight-episode dog grooming competition Pooch Perfect, hosted by Rebel Wilson, will take over the Tuesday 8 PM hour, currently home of To Tell the Truth, on March 30.
ABC Is coming off a strong fall when it ranked as the most watched entertainment network for the first time In 20 years.
Here are the newly announced ABC midseason premiere dates followed by descriptions of the network’s new shows:
THURSDAY, MARCH 11
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Station 19” (new return date)
9:00-10:01 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy” (new return date)
10:01-11:00 p.m. “A Million Little Things” (new return date)
TUESDAY, MARCH 30
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Pooch Perfect” (series premiere)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7
8:30-9:00 p.m. “Home Economics” (series premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. “A Million Little Things” (new day)
THURSDAY, APRIL 8
10:01-11:00 p.m. “Rebel” (series premiere)
POOCH PERFECT
Hosted by award-winning actress Rebel Wilson, “Pooch Perfect” is a dog grooming competition series. The eight-episode series will showcase 10 of the best dog groomers in the country, along with their assistants, competing in a series of paw-some themed challenges. Each week on “Pooch Perfect,” teams will compete in the Immunity Puppertunity challenge, where one team will earn immunity from elimination. Then, in the Ultimutt Challenge showdown, the remaining teams will face off in an epic grooming transformation, which they will show off on the illustrious dogwalk. The trio of all-star celebrity judges – Lisa Vanderpump, Jorge Bendersky and Dr. Callie Harris – will be tasked with voting on the incredible creations and ultimately force one team back to the doghouse every week. It all leads up to the season finale where the top three teams compete for a giant cash prize and the coveted “Pooch Perfect” first place trophy.
“Pooch Perfect” is produced by Beyond Media Rights Limited. Elan Gale, Sonya Wilkes and Rebel Wilson serve as executive producers. Nicole Anthony, Mike Rosen, Carley Simpson and Matthew Silverberg serve as co-executive producers. ABC’s “Pooch Perfect” is based off of the Australian format.
HOME ECONOMICS
Starring and executive produced by Topher Grace, “Home Economics” takes a look at the heartwarming yet super uncomfortable and sometimes frustrating relationship between three adult siblings: one in the 1%, one middle-class and one barely holding on. The comedy is inspired by the life of writer and executive producer Michael Colton.
The series stars Topher Grace as Tom, Caitlin McGee as Sarah, Jimmy Tatro as Connor, Karla Souza as Marina, and Sasheer Zamata as Denise. Also starring is Shiloh Bearman as Gretchen, Jordyn Curet as Shamiah, Chloe Jo Rountree as Camila and JeCobi Swain as Kelvin.
“Home Economics” was created by writers Michael Colton & John Aboud. They serve as executive producers alongside Topher Grace and Eric and Kim Tannenbaum of The Tannenbaum Company, whose Jason Wang will co-executive produce. The series is produced by Lionsgate and ABC Signature. ABC Signature, alongside 20th Television, is a part of Disney Television Studios.
REBEL
Inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich today, Annie “Rebel” Bello is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She’s a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost.
The series stars Katey Sagal as Annie “Rebel” Bello, John Corbett as Grady Bello, James Lesure as Benji, Lex Scott Davis as Cassidy, Tamala Jones as Lana, Ariela Barer as Ziggie, Kevin Zegers as Nate, Sam Palladio as Luke and Andy Garcia as Cruz.
“Rebel” is executive produced by Krista Vernoff and Alexandre Schmitt of Trip the Light, Erin Brockovich, John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment, Andrew Stearn, Marc Webb and Adam Arkin. The series is produced by ABC Signature in association with Sony Pictures Television. ABC Signature, alongside 20th Television, is a part of Disney Television Studios.
Written by the Jacquemettons, based on Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise trilogy, the series tells the story of a husband’s secret life and a wife’s new beginning. Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to an extreme. But when her husband dies in a perplexing manner, Irene soon learns that her husband has been living a secret life with an entirely separate family on the distant Caribbean island of St. John. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family and their future.
André and Maria Jacquemetton executive produce with Pompeo and Laura Holstein for Calamity Jane, Andrew Stearn for Andrew Stearn Productions and Hilderbrand.
Hilderbrand’s Paradise trilogy is comprised of the novels Winter In Paradise, released in 2018, followed by What Happens In Paradise and Troubles in Paradise in 2020, published by Little, Brown and Company. Another book by Hilderbrand, 28 Summers, is being adapted by MRC Film.
André and Maria Jacquemetton served as key writers-producers on all six seasons of Matt Weiner’s Mad Men, rising to executive producers for the final two seasons and sharing in the show’s three Drama Series Emmy Awards. They also served as consulting producers on Weiner’s The Romanoffs.
Pompeo stars in and produces ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, which is currently in its 17th season. She also serves as co-executive producer on Grey’s spinoff Station 19.
Through his overall deal at ABC Signature, Stearn also is shepherding an All My Children primetime sequel, Pine Valley, which is in the works at ABC.
Hilderbrand is repped by UTA, Michael Carlisle & David Forrer at Inkwell Management, and attorney Christine Cuddy at Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo. Pompeo is repped by CAA, John Carrabino Management, and Hansen Jacobson Teller. Maria and André Jacquemetton are repped by Dan Halsted at Manage-ment and attorney Wayne Alexander. Stearn is repped by attorney Abel Lezcano at Del Shaw Moonves.
GLAAD’s annual report on LGBTQ inclusion (detailed here) pointed out that “out power players” Greg Berlanti, Lena Waithe and Ryan Murphy, along with Rhimes, this year accounted for 17 percent of all LGBTQ representation, with 62 of TV’s 360 queer characters (across broadcast, cable and streaming) appearing on their 16 collective series.
By TVLine’s math, that means that about 5 percent of all scripted shows account for 17 percent of the LGBTQ characters.
Rhimes, meanwhile, zeroed in on the fact that of that core four who are doing best by the underrepresented community, she is the only one who is not LGBTQ.
“You know what bugs me? I’m the only straight person on this list. That is not okay,” the prolific producer, who is now immersed in a deal at Netflix, opined on Twitter after the report’s release.
“It’s like the same problem with ANY kind of diversity,” she observed. “White people don’t do their job when it comes to representing people of color. Straight people don’t do their job when it comes to representing queer people. WHY?”
(Rhimes closed out her response with a P.S., saying, “I’m not suggesting I’m special — most of this work was done by [Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 showrunner] @KristaVernoff!)
All told, GLAAD’s latest “Where We Are on TV” report noted a slight decline in LGBTQ reprsentation on TV, due in part to how the COVID-19 pandemic derailed production long enough for many inclusive shows to either miss the eligibility period (as happened with Killing Eve, Gentleman Jack and The L Word: Generation Q) or, worse, be cancelled/”un-renewed” during the unplanned hiatus (which is a fate that befell GLOW and Stumptown).
Written and directed by Bythewood, who also serves as showrunner, Swagger is inspired by Durant’s youth basketball experiences. It explores the world of youth basketball, and the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, and opportunism and corruption. Off the court, the show reveals what it’s like to grow up in America.
Hill will play Jace, a basketball phenomenon who is one of the top ranked youth basketball players in the country. Azoroh is Jenna, Jace’s mother who is determined to chart NBA success for her son. Wilds will portray Alonzo Powers, the grassroots division leader at a major shoe company. Harris will play Musa, the team’s glue and point guard. Ferrer will portray Meg Bailey, a former basketball player and coach for the rival team. Rivera will play Nick, a player from Puerto Rico with the drive to become the best player in the country. Irama is Phil Marksby, the enforcer for a rival team. Nzeribe will play Royale, a sub-par player with a wealthy dad. Bingham will portray Drew Murphy, a player from a much more affluent part of town.
Bythewood executive produces with Durant and Grazer for Imagine TV, Rich Kleiman for Thirty Five Ventures and Samantha Corbin Miller.
James Seidman will serve as the Imagine executive on Swagger; Sarah Flynn will serve as executive for Thirty Five Ventures. The drama is co-produced by Imagine TV Studios and CBS TV Studios.
Wilds is repped by UTA, MKSD Talent, Andale Edwards for Silent Management & Justin Adams for Moments UNLTD. Harris is repped by Industry Entertainment’s Dan Spilo, Coast to Coast Talent Group and Rick Genow. Azoroh is repped by Darlene Kaplan Entertainment and TalentWorks. Ferrer is represented by Lasher Group, CAA and Surpin, Mayersohn & Coghill. Irama is repped by Lissa Lloyd of Lloyd Talent. Nzeribe is Williams Management Entertainment Studio and Spectrum LA Talent. Bingham is repped by Actors Management International, Breakthrough Management and Production and Buchwald.
Grey’s stars Chandra Wilson, James Pickens, Kelly McCreary, Jake Borelli and more will reunite on the YouTube series hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley on Thursday night. The cast will come together to raise money for The Actors Fund and answer any burning fan questions about the hit ABC series.
Also set to appear are Kim Raver, Camilla Luddington, Chris Carmack, Greg Germann, Richard Flood and Anthony Hill.
The Grey’s Anatomy cast members are the latest to appear on the YouTube series that raises money for coronavirus relief efforts and the Actors Fund. The Waltons actors Richard Thomas, Michael Learned and more were the latest television starts to stop by Stars In The House.
Previous installments of the YouTube series featured Knots Landing, Melrose Place, Frasier, Glee, SCTV and the Broadway casts of Spring Awakening, Rent, A Chorus Line and The Full Monty, among others.
The Stars in the House Grey’s Anatomy reunion is set for 8 p.m. ET Thursday on the Stars in the House YouTube channel and at starsinthehouse.com.
These artists will receive tributes during THE 43rd ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, to be broadcast Sunday, June 6 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. CBS has broadcast the special each year since its debut 43 years ago. The 2020 Kennedy Center Honors, which is traditionally held in early December each year, was postponed until May 2021 due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Kennedy Center Honors serves as a moment to celebrate the remarkable artists who have spent their lives elevating the cultural history of our nation and world,” said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. “Debbie Allen moves seamlessly between artistic disciplines and is a cultural ambassador for all while having a monumental impact on dancers of color everywhere; folk icon Joan Baez breathed new life into the genre and powered rock music’s turn toward social and political consciousness; as one of the world’s best-selling music artists, Garth Brooks heightened country music’s profile like no other singer before him; with an international presence for over 35 years, violinist Midori combines graceful precision and expression for performances building connections between art and the human experience; with a charm that has made him one of the most cherished performers in show business history, Dick Van Dyke has brought us beloved film, stage and TV characters adored by generations of fans for more than seven decades.”
Reflective of this unique time in history, the Center’s entire campus will come alive with small, in-person events and re-envisioned virtual tributes, including featuring the Front Plaza of the building, the Grand Foyer in front of the John F. Kennedy bust and the iconic Opera House stage. Programs for each event will encompass both performances and speaking tributes for the Honorees. Virtual events will also be held throughout the week beginning May 17, and the viability of additional in-person events will be considered as COVID-19 safety protocols evolve over the upcoming months. Please note all is subject to change.
An Honoree medallion ceremony for the Honorees and a limited audience will be hosted by the Kennedy Center during the week of May 17-22.
“This past year has taught us many things, including the need to be flexible and adaptable,” stated Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. “They say necessity is the mother of all invention. The unusual circumstances inspired and opened up new ways for us to present a deeper experience, and hopefully understanding, of the art and lifetime work of our Honorees. 2020 has also shined a bright light on the impact of how art and culture speak to our collective human experience. It can meet us at any moment and sustain us during the most challenging days. Each of the 43rd Kennedy Center Honorees and their work continues to speak to American culture and our national fortitude. We are thrilled to be able to fete these cultural icons in a time where the world and the nation needs the arts more than ever.”
Sixteen scripted series produced by Disney TV Studios’ ABC Signature and 20th Television divisions will remain on holiday hiatus until Jan. 18, when production will resume. The shows had previously been slated to return to production on Jan. 11 or a few days earlier.
The 16 series are: ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, American Housewife, Black-ish, Mixed-ish and Rebel, NBC’s This Is Us, Fox’s 911, 911: Lone Star and Last Man Standing, FX’s American Crime Story: Impeachment, American Horror Story and Mayans; Disney+’s Big Shot, Hulu’s The Orville and Love, Victor.
This is the latest date production on current series has been postponed to so far. The other studios that have extended the holiday hiatuses for LA-based shows, CBS Studios, Warner Bros. TV and Universal TV have largely added a week, pushing start of production from Jan. 4 to Jan. 11, with Uni TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine delayed until Jan. 18.
The TV studios are responding to an appeal by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health which urged the film and TV industry to consider pausing production for a few weeks during the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases throughout the county. Studios and streamers had been reviewing the logistics involved, including talent availability and whether cast and crew would be paid for the additional idle days.
Keeping the shows on hiatus while testing resumes puts the productions in compliance with the new Los Angeles County Department of Public Health guideline for those arriving to self-quarantine for at least 10 days after non-essential travel.
On New Year’s Eve, Los Angeles County reported a third consecutive day of record coronavirus-related deaths. On Wednesday, the region recorded its 10,000th death related to the virus. The county’s ICU capacity is at 0%. Earlier this week, the regional stay-at-home order for Southern California was extended to Jan. 16.
This episode’s celebrity contestants include Leslie Jones (playing for Feeding America), Chandra Wilson (playing for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank) and Tony Hawk (playing for Feeding San Diego).
One of them, the winter finale of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, slipped two tenths in the demo to match its series low of 1.0, and yet led non-sports fare in that measure, while delivering 5.6 million total viewers. Bookending the medical drama, Station 19 (5.4 mil/0.9) ticked up from last week’s low, while Million Little Things (3.3 mil/0.5) held onto last week’s low.
Elsewhere:
CBS | Young Sheldon (6.7 mil/0.7), freshman B Positive (4.6 mil/0.5) and sophomore The Unicorn (3.3 mil/0.4) all tied series lows in the demo, while Mom (4.5 mil/0.5) slipped two tenths to mark a new demo low. Star Trek: Disco (1.7 mil/0.2) was steady. FOX | Thursday Night Football (8.6 mil/2.2) was down just a tick from last week’s fast nationals.
NBC | An encore of Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors drew 3.1 mil and a 0.4.
THE CW | Dogs of the Year fetched 817K and a 0.1, leading into World’s Funniest Animals‘ 595K/0.1.
As the firefighters are about to enter the house using a non-existent gas leak as a pretext, fire breaks out. It was started by the girls, Denise and Jada, out of desperation. They are saved and, along with the alleged kidnapper, who was also injured in the fire, they are taken to Grey Sloan. Outside the house, one of the two cops provokes an altercation, leading to Dean, Robert and the mother being arrested. The mother is later released and reunites with her daughter in the hospital on Grey’s but Robert and Dean’s fate remains unknown.
On Grey’s Anatomy, Bailey is still reeling from her mother’s death the last episode, with her husband breaking the news to her son on Station 19. Patients continue to die at an alarming rate, and the hospital is at surge capacity, with the cafeteria turned into a makeshift Covid wing. Human trafficker Opal slips into Grey Sloan, trying unsuccessfully to get to the kidnapper who is being treated. Meredith wakes up, she is feeling great and has a great, witty chat with Koracick in her room as the two commiserate over their illness. He tells her that she gives him hope that the terrible disease can be beat. But later that episode, Meredith gets up to help a coding patient as noone is around and collapses right after. With her vitals plummeting, she is put on a ventilator.
In other developments, Jo still plans to switch specialties to obstetrics. DeLuca, who helped Bailey process her grief over her mother’s death, sees Opal in the hospital parking lot and, joined by his sister, follows her. Opal’s previous trip to Grey Sloan sent DeLuca into a mental meltdown when noone believed his human trafficking claims, so this development raises a red flag.
In an interview with Deadline, Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 showrunner Krista Vernoff and the writer of the Grey’s fall finale, Felicia Pride, discuss the kidnapping storyline and the importance of shining a light on the issue of “invisible” Black girls and women. They address the fate of Grey’s Meredith and Station 19‘s Robert and Dean, would Opal’s return jeopardize DeLuca’s mental health recovery, is Jo switching careers and will there be more light on the medical drama next year. Vernoff also makes an emotional speech about what she is hopeful for.
DEADLINE: You opted to follow the pandemic from the start, so Grey’s Anatomy currently chronicles the first wave of infections in the spring about 7 months ago. In tonight’s episode, Grey Sloan Memorial reached surge capacity as the country is grappling with a massive new wave and ICUs across the U.S. reach capacity. How does it feel to be so timely?
VERNOFF: I can only speak for myself and say that it feels profoundly disturbing. We are telling stories about hospitals being at surge capacity because the stories are set in, at this point, May of this year. So, the fact that the stories that we set in May of this year are now incredibly timely with the current surge is just heartbreaking to me. Felicia?
PRIDE: I would agree. And I just remember, Krista, you really encouraged us in the writers room to continue to show the strain and the pressure that hospitals were under, so that’s why we were thinking about that as the storyline to continue to show that.
DEADLINE: At that time, late May and June, the pandemic overlapped with the the Black Matters protests following the death of George Floyd. Tonight’s crossover storyline touches on racial equality and policing. How did that storyline come about, and was there any personal experience reflected in the emotional monologues delivered by Dean and the girl’s mother on Station 19 and Maggie on Grey’s Anatomy?
PRIDE: One of the things that we really wanted to show, in addition to how horrifying sex trafficking continues to be, was the fact that Black girls can be more vulnerable to sex trafficking, and what are the forces and reasons behind that. So, with that lovely monologue that Maggie has, we were really just trying to connect the dots about the many reasons that Black girls can be more vulnerable to sex trafficking, from being hypersexualized in the media to physical abuse to all of these things. We were really just trying to show both the horrific issue of sex trafficking, but also what got us there and what is the practice that led to that. It was also really wanting to shine a light on just the invisibility sometimes of Black girls and wanting Black girls and Black women to be seen.
VERNOFF: I’ll add that a great many of our conversations when we were first gathered in the writer’s room were influenced by the climate in the country at that moment, and you’re seeing that depicted here. It felt very, very, very important to all of us to tell these stories this season and to be authentic to the lived experience of the writers in the room and also the actors in the cast. It felt like it was time to talk about these things in a more direct way than we had historically on the show.
DEADLINE: The police storyline, will that continue beyond the cliffhanger on Station 19 after Robert and Dean get arrested? What happens to them? Will we see them interact with law enforcement, go through the justice system?
VERNOFF: We are definitely following through on that story very powerfully on Station 19. But I don’t want to tell you how we’re doing it.
DEADLINE: Going back to Grey’s, is there any light in the tunnel? We are coming off two back-to-back very heavy episodes. Are things going to get a little bit more hopeful soon?
VERNOFF: These were very heavy episodes and we have some pretty intense episodes coming up at the beginning of the year as well. We started our season in April of 2020, and we’re being as honest and as authentic and as deep and as true with that as we can. And what that means is we have to find our hope and our joy and our silver linings and our humor and our sexy and our romantic inside the parameters that 2020 offered us. So, that’s my answer, Nellie. I’m hopeful every day. When you say are there more hopeful episodes coming up, I just want to say, every day of 2020 I’m hopeful.
I’m hopeful for a vaccine. I’m hopeful that people will start to take the pandemic seriously. I’m hopeful that they’ll start to wear masks. I’m hopeful that we can depoliticize this thing and all just take care of ourselves and each other and our healthcare workers. I’m really hopeful for all of that. And one of the ways that Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 are helping with that is by living inside of the pandemic rather than jumping to an idealized post-pandemic world. So, I have a different twist on hope this year.
DEADLINE: Speaking of hopefulness, what about Jo and her trying to find joy for herself by switching careers. Is this for real? Will she be delivering babies anytime soon?
PRIDE: Jo’s storyline in this episode reflects, I think, a lot of us finding basis and reasons and things that will bring us joy in these moments. And to your point and what Krista’s talking about, about finding joy, I think that’s what a lot of our characters are trying to do. One of my favorite scenes is actually Winston coming to visit Maggie. And that sort of joy, it’s emotional, but it’s just joyful. So, I think that’s what we’re trying to do is find those moments of joy with our characters.
DEADLINE: Let’s talk about DeLuca and the Grey’s cliffhanger. Minutes after Bailey praised him for taking such good care of his mental health, we see him chasing after Opal whom he suspects of human trafficking. Is that a jolt that will send him down-spiraling again?
VERNOFF: I think that his mental health is strongly enhanced. I think that he is carefully taking his medications and I think that what he was saying to his sister is true, when he was saying, I’m right. Because of his mental health and his mental state, people didn’t believe him the last time he recognized Opal. And now he needed his sister to believe him and she did. And so, they’re following her not from a place of mania, but from a place of bravery and truth.
DEADLINE: Are Andrew and Carina in any danger?
VERNOFF: I don’t know. You’ll have to tune in next year.
DEADLINE: What about Meredith? Early in the pandemic, more than 80% of COVID patients put on a ventilator died, so that does not bode well for her. What can you tell us about what is next for Meredith, besides that we’ll probably see more dream sequences on the beach while she is intubated?
VERNOFF: I will say that historically Meredith has defied statistics like that. She has top of the line medical care and an entire team of people dedicated to doing every single thing they can to save her and she has a rough road ahead.
DEADLINE: Are there any new Grey’s alums that you have recruited for the dream sequences?
VERNOFF: The honest answer to that at this point is no, Nellie. I hope I have a different answer to that at some point soon.
DEADLINE: Will we see more of Denise and Jada, the girls that were saved?
VERNOFF: I think we may eventually see more of them. But I don’t think we see them in the next episode, right?
PRIDE: Right.
VERNOFF: We don’t see them immediately again, but there’s a possibly of seeing them again down the line. They were wonderful.
DEADLINE: Felicia, you mentioned the Winston and Maggie reunions. What other scenes would you like to highlight?
PRIDE: Some of my favorite scenes, which were at the suggestion of Krista, are between Meredith and Koracick. To see these two, sort of, OG doctors who are both suffering from this horrible, horrible illness still be able to find moments of humanity for each other. And I love the Bailey-DeLuca scenes, which you mentioned, DeLuca kind of helping Bailey who just lost her mother by talking about his own mom and talking about that pain and how he got through it. And also paying homage to the many Covid patients that come through ICU that he’s seen and how we’re just trying to make the best of this situation by honoring our loved ones.
VERNOFF: With both Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, I just thought these were really powerful, beautifully written, beautifully directed episodes. And I’m so personally moved by the impact that Grey’s is having by the work that the writers and the directors and editors and our crew is bringing under extremely difficult circumstances. It’s a scary, hard time to be working and everyone is showing up and taking care of themselves and each other with masks and face shields and social distancing and hand washing and we’re making this show, which feels important right now. And I just really want to shout out to the crew.
DEADLINE: When are you wrapping production? This week?
VERNOFF: We’re going to wrap production on Friday and we get a couple of weeks off for a Christmas break. The show isn’t back until, I think, March. But that’s because we just have a reduced number of episodes this year because of how late we came back to production.
‘WHO SLAPPED YOU WITH A HAPPY STICK?’ | As “No Time for Despair” began, Maggie was taken aback when Winston joked that he just wasn’t cut out for a long-distance relationship and abruptly ended their call. (Are hangups becoming his thing?) Still, nothing could dampen her spirits now that Mer had awakened. That news even cheered up Tom, who was basing his chances of recovery on Grey’s. If she was gonna make it, he cracked, “maybe I won’t die alone and forgotten.” Nearby, Jo attempted to broach the subject of her career change with Richard, but he had much bigger fish to fry: Owing to the pandemic, Seattle Pres had reached capacity, meaning that Grey Sloan was about to get twice the expected number of incoming patients. Despite that, he encouraged Bailey to go home and grieve for her mother. But just as he hadn’t been able to leave the hospital when it needed him, neither could Miranda abandon ship. Really, Teddy was the doctor who seemed most in need of a breather. After she barked at Webber that “taking a break won’t save anyone, and I don’t have anywhere to go, anyway,” he called her on her [bleep]. Her situation with Owen, he said, “that’s on you, and you know it’s on you.” Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she needed to take stock to ensure that she’d repeated the destructive pattern that had blown up her life for the last time.
‘THE COAST IS CLEAR DOWN HERE FOR SATAN’S ARRIVAL’ | Meanwhile, the hospital braced for the arrival of Bob, the subhuman who’d kidnapped two girls in Thursday’s Station 19 (read the full recap here). First, the teens were moved to another floor, then Jackson excused himself; he didn’t want to be anywhere near the pig. When Bob arrived, he was as vile as advertised, insisting that the girls had broken into his home and set it on fire. Pull the other one, a–wipe. In the ER, Bob quickly ascertained that Owen believed the girls, not his patient. Nonetheless, he’d keep Bob alive if only to spend the rest of his life behind bars. “You’re the devil’s barbecue,” said Hunt, “so get used to the smell of burning flesh.” After Bob passed out, apparently having had a stroke, he was spotted by — dun dun DUNNN! — Opal, the sex trafficker from whom Cindy Erin had finally escaped. (Hey, I didn’t say the familiar face that returned was one that we’d be glad to see.) Opal had conned her way into the hospital by claiming to be the victim of a mugging and now was… well, doing what villains generally do: lurking. At the same time, Jackson assured young Jada that he was going to get her mom out of police custody (where she’d landed after an altercation at Bob’s), and Maggie empathized with Shanice’s mom, who marveled that after all this, she’d still have to get up in the morning and go to work as if nothing had happened, because hey, she still needed to pay the rent… after her child was abducted… during a pandemic.
‘GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PLAGUE!’ | After the patient who’d been sharing his room died, a shaken Koracick snuck in Mer’s room for a visit. “I just wanted to see for myself that it’s possible to beat this thing,” he told her before admitting, “I really just wanted to be in a room where nobody’s dying… ’cause everyone’s dying.” As the impossibly sweet scene continued, they held hands. “I won’t tell if you don’t,” said Mer, the familiar twinkle back in her eye. Later, the two even laughed as he proclaimed that neurosurgeons were the best lovers of all surgeons. “OK, it’s been very nice having you stop by,” she joked. Outside the hospital, Amelia admitted to Maggie that while operating on Bob with Owen, she easily could have killed him, but she hadn’t because she’d taken an oath. Still, what he’d done was an outrage. In response, Maggie said that the real outrage was “the monsters that got us here… the many reasons that Black girls are more vulnerable in the first place and rarely seen as victims.” Hell, Maggie continued, “Now there’s a plague that is killing Black people at a rate that should make everyone outraged. If COVID were killing white people at the rate that it is killing Black people, you better believe that everyone would be wearing masks because it would be the damn law.” Way to bring the thunder, Maggie!
‘YOU’RE SUPERHUMAN… YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT?’ | When Bailey admitted that she couldn’t quite bring herself to settle a patient into the room in which her mother had died, DeLuca encouraged her to take a break. “Even superhumans need more than a minute to grieve the loss of the person who made them who they are,” he pointed out. A while later, after Grey Sloan had managed to transfer 27 patients in under five hours, she told DeLuca that she’d taken his advice and screamed into a pillow. Now she just needed to figure out what to do about a memorial service. She was crazy proud of DeLuca, though, when he said that he needed to leave to take his meds and get some rest. And who should he spot upon exiting? Opal. Carina just happened to be right there, too, so she volunteered to drive when he insisted on pursuing the sex trafficker himself. I have a bad feeling about the way this is going to end for Andrew. At Mer’s place, Maggie awakened to a whole mess of missed calls from Winston and… oh! Him at her door with a bouquet of flowers. “I told you the long-distance thing wasn’t working for me,” he said. (Romantic as the moment was, was immediately embracing a good idea? Erm… )
‘WE NAMED OUR DAUGHTER AFTER A LIE’ | Back at Grey Sloan, Owen softened toward Teddy, leading her to confess that her old friend Allison hadn’t just been an old friend. “It is the only secret that I kept from you before Tom,” said Altman, “and I know that it’s connected.” She was going to try to figure it and herself out, and… Uh-oh. Owen was laughing hysterically. He had been wondering when she’d changed into someone who could cheat on him on their wedding day. “It turns out you didn’t change,” he said. “I just never really knew you.” Inside the hospital, Mer heard a code blue in the room across the hall from hers, so she climbed out of bed and began performing CPR on the patient. Then, just as Grey got the patient stabilized, the doctor collapsed in Taryn’s arms. (Not the way Helm had ever imagined it, that’s for sure.) Shortly, Richard consulted with Teddy and Amelia. Despite Mer’s rally, her “lungs are at a breaking point,” said Altman. So Webber made the call to put her on a vent — a procedure so nightmarish to observe, it should convince even the biggest skeptic out there to wear their damn mask already.
ABC on Monday unveiled the contestant list for the starry Wheel offshoot — which premieres Thursday, Jan. 7 at 8/7c — and in addition to Grey’s Anatomy‘s Chandra Wilson, This Is Us‘ Chrissy Metz, Community alums Joel McHale and Yvette Nicole Brown, and actor-entertainer Paul Reubens, the lineup includes Saturday Night Live vets Kevin Nealon, Leslie Jones and Rob Riggle, Desperate Housewives‘ Teri Hatcher, Beverly Hills, 90210‘s Jennie Garth and Bachelor host Chris Harrison.
The roster of celebs also includes Karamo Brown (Queer Eye), Nicole Byer (Nailed It!), Drew Carey (The Price is Right), Rachael Leigh Cook (Perception), professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, Robert Herjavec (Shark Tank), Jeannie Mai (The Real), E! News vet Maria Menounos, Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio), Alfonso Ribeiro (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, America’s Funniest Home Videos), Sherri Shepherd (Trial & Error), ESPN’s Joe Tessitore and Constance Zimmer (Unreal).
Iconic Wheel of Fortune duo Pat Sajak and Vanna White are on board to headline the spinoff, which will find the above celebs competing for the chance to win $1 million for the charity of their choice.
Station 19 (5.4 mil/0.8) and Grey’s Anatomy (5.5 mil/1.1) also ticked down, with the former tying its series low and the latter hitting a season low. Next week, winter finales!
Elsewhere:
CBS | Leading out of a slew of sitcom reruns, Star Trek: Discovery (1..6 mil/0.2) drew its second-smallest broadcast audience yet while steady in the demo.
FOX | The Pats/Rams game averaged 9.1 mil and a 2.3 in fast nationals. NBC | Leading out of the Best of Broadway special (3.6 mil/0.5), TIME‘s Person of the Year reveal did 2.2 mil and a 0.3. (Shoulda been The Essential Worker, don’t @ me!)
THE CW | That Silent Night special drew 640K and a 0.1.
‘ARE YOU GOING TO WORK… AT THE REGULAR TIME… ?’ | As “Fight the Power” began, Teddy and DeLuca celebrated the fact that Meredith’s condition was improving, Levi discovered how hard hit by the pandemic Jo was (to the point that she was “paralyzed by excitement” in bed — ha), Bailey connected with Ben and her father over FaceTime, and Jackson asked for Richard’s help getting Catherine to properly wear her mask. (Proximity to one’s face doesn’t count as actually wearing it on one’s face, damn it!) Shortly, we learned that Luna’s mom Val required continued care, and — insert chest pains here — Tom was brought in, as advertised, in dire straits. He was so bad off, in fact, that he didn’t recognize Teddy or Owen, and seemed to think that his son was still alive. Soon, Bailey’s mood took a sharp downturn when she learned that Silver Villas assisted-living home — where her parents were, hello! — was suffering from a COVID surge. She beseeched Ben to get her folks outta there asap, but it was already too late. By the time she got her husband’s voicemail messages, he’d arrived back at Grey Sloan with her symptomatic mother. While Maggie pondered what meds they could prescribe Bailey’s mom to calm her, Bailey herself soothed her by singing “My Girl.” Yikes, this episode was gonna be a heartbreaker, ya could just tell. In no time, Bailey was forced to call her father to inform him that the love of his life wouldn’t make it through the night. Again, yikes. Chest pains. All of it.
‘TREE-HITTING IS FROWNED UPON’ | Looking for a way to deal with her feelings, Bailey confided in an unconscious Meredith that her mom had once advised her to deal with her emotions by hitting a tree — her own tree. “My mother has Alzheimer’s,” Miranda went on. “I never told you” or Richard, because she hadn’t wanted to upset them. But unless you’ve been through it, “no one understands that you are watching your own mother die… twice.” Later, Bailey rang her father on Zoom so that he could see his wife. “She drifts in and out, Dad,” Bailey had to tell him. He wanted desperately to be there, but of course, that wasn’t safe. Through it all, Miranda tried to maintain a stiff upper lip. “Mom, if you’re ready to go, it’s OK,” she said. “We love you, but we don’t want you to suffer.” In response, her mom said, “Not ready… I wanna go home.”
Later, Bailey told Maggie that her mom had informed her that she wasn’t ready to go. Yet she also feared that her mom hadn’t really known what she was saying. And she was furious. She didn’t want her mother to be a statistic. “All of this is confusing… and awful,” Maggie offered. Bailey didn’t know what to think in the end. She’d been sure that Mom wouldn’t want to live with Alzheimer’s, but now… gah! She couldn’t be positive. Maggie’s opinion? Let her go. Maggie might have kept fighting to keep her own mom alive, had Diane not given her such clarity in the end. Sadly, Bailey felt that she had to beat herself up for bringing her parents to Seattle. Her mother “was exposed at the place I set up for them!” Maggie tried to insist that Bailey couldn’t feel guilty about it, but… easier said than done. “She just needs me to be a good daughter,” cried Miranda, “and I don’t know if I know how to do that.”
‘CAN YOU HOLD THE PHONE CLOSE ENOUGH TO SMELL HER HEAD?’ | When Jo reported to Val that she had a pseudo-aneurysm, the patient didn’t take it well. “I’ve known my baby’s name” for eight years, she said. “And now that I finally have the chance [to be a mom]… I don’t know if it will ever be real,” or if she’d only be able to see her child over FaceTime. Post-op, as Jo pondered the possibility of Val needing a liver transplant, new resident (or is he an intern?) Kahn, an MVP in his home country, marveled at the former Mrs. Karev’s excellence. Later, Jo was somehow recruited to deliver a baby. (And you thought your day was something!) That evening, Jo shared her experience with Levi. “It was the happiest thing I had ever seen,” she said, adding that hmm, Carina seemed to always be in a good mood. What if Jo changed careers? What if she gave up surgery and became an OB? “Eat and then sleep before you… ,” said Levi. “Oh my God, I sound like my mother.” Regardless, since tomorrow isn’t promised, Jo wanted to choose the joyful option.
BACK FROM THE BRINK | Consulting with Teddy on Tom’s case via Zoom, Amelia decided that she had to go in to Grey Sloan; he was having neurological complications — he needed her. “We’ll be fine here,” Link said. “Go, save your friend.” Unnecessarily, Amelia mentioned that not only had Koracick saved her brain, he had been her first sex after Owen. Wait, what? Link said. TMI, Amelia. TMI. At Grey Sloan, Amelia suggested that Tom’s delirium was a side effect of COVID, not especially neuro. “I hate everything,” Jackson said when he was filled in on Koracick’s condition. In a moment alone with Teddy, Amelia admitted that she’d heard what had gone down with Tom and Owen, and though she had feelings about it, hey, she’d heard — and arguably done — worse. Later, Amelia told Teddy that Koracick’s numbers were holding. Though he was unconscious, Altman expressed to him her wish to save their friendship. “If you want to have nothing to do with me, you’re going to have to get all better and tell me yourself.” At that, he awakened. It appeared that he was gonna be fine — he was even in the mood for a sponge bath. After all those yikes-es, whew!
As the hour drew to a close, Jackson marveled to Richard that half of their COVID patients were Black or brown. “Systemic racism is the preexisting condition — existing while Black,” said Avery. He didn’t have to worry about Catherine, at least; Richard had taken care of that, Webber said — in some kind of sexual way. Shortly, he encouraged Bailey to go into her mother’s room and be there for her. “I’m scared,” she admitted. “We’ll do it together,” he replied. So in they went, so that Miranda could stroke her mom’s hair with a gloved hand and sing her one last song as she slipped away.
The series will be based on multiple biographies chronicling the life of Woodhull, which Oakhurst, founded by former Brillstein Entertainment manager Jai Khanna and producer Marina Grasic, acquired earlier this year.
In 1872, Woodhull became the first woman to run for president from the Equal Rights Party, supporting women’s suffrage and equal rights; her running mate was abolitionist leader Frederick Douglas. She was the first woman to address the U.S. Congress and, with her sister Tennessee, the two became the first women to operate a brokerage firm on Wall Street. The sisters used the money they had made from their brokerage to found a newspaper. Woodhull was accused of blackmail and prostitution and, along with her sister, was arrested and charged on the eve of the presidential election for printing obscenities after their paper published an exposé of a renowned preacher, revealing that he had committed adultery. It was this arrest and Woodhull’s acquittal that propelled Congress to pass the 1873 Comstock Laws.
Woodhull butted heads with such pillars of society as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Susan B. Anthony. Early on, she had worked as a traveling clairvoyant in medicine shows. She preached – and practiced – the concept of free love, once living with her husband, her ex-husband and her lover at the same time in the same New York apartment. Woodhull was arguably the boldest voice for women’s rights in the 19th century, and she was taken seriously by her contemporaries and by the media in spite of her unconventional lifestyle. This isn’t just the story of one woman, it’s also the story of the time in which she lived and the many famous – and infamous – figures whose lives she touched.
“The moment I discovered the almost too big to be true story of Victoria I have been enthralled and deeply invested in bringing her life story to the screen,” Heigl said. “Victoria’s outrageous courage, determination, intelligence and hutzpah would be remarkable in our modern times but was downright revolutionary in hers. Her name and her story has not been celebrated nearly enough for the trails she blazed and the paths she forged for all the women who came after her. I cannot wait to tell the story of this woman who would not be stopped in a time that forbade her to even start.”
Heigl, an Emmy winner for ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, next stars in the Netflix series Firefly Lane. She recently co-starred on the final two seasons of USA’s Suits and also headlined CBS’ Doubt and NBC’s State of Affairs. Her feature credits include Knocked Up and The Ugly Truth.
“We are extraordinarily excited to have Katherine Heigl on board – we have always been a big fan of her work and was delighted to discover she was an avid Woodhull fan herself,” Khanna said.
Oakhurst also is behind the Michael Cera comedy Sacramento. The company recently closed a distribution deal for the Glenn Close-Mila Kunis starrer Four Good Days, and is a producer on the Aubrey Plaza starrer Black Bear, which released this past weekend on Amazon.
Bookeding the ABC medical drama, Station 19 (5.4 mil/0.8) slipped two tenths and Million Little Things (3.8 mil/0.6) dipped one tenth, with both matching series lows in the demo.
Elsewhere….
CBS | Young Sheldon (7.3 mil/0.8), B Positive (5.2 mil/0.6), Mom (5.2 mil/0.6), The Unicorn (3.6 mil/0.5) and Star Trek Disco (1/.9 mil/0.2) all were rock steady, with Sheldon delivering Thursday’s largest audience.
NBC | Leading out of The Voice‘s holiday special (5.3 mil/0.7), SVU (4.04 mil/0.6, see who’s coming back!) ticked up — and matched its largest audience in 20-plus months.
THE CW | A Jingle Ball “best of” special did 526K/0.1, followed by Funniest Animals‘ 615K/0.1.
FOX | Major League Soccer coverage averaged 872K and a 0.2.
OK, Grey’s Anatomy promos, you definitely got our attention by teasing that, as Meredith lingered in limbo in Thursday’s episode, “another person from her past” would return. Would it be Lexie? George? The MerDer baby that Grey miscarried in Season 6? No comeback could possibly top Derek’s for sheer shock value. But did the ABC drama manage to come close-ish? If you don’t already know, read on and find out.
‘MORNING, MEREDITH’ | As “You’ll Never Walk Alone” began, the pandemic continued to tear through Grey Sloan. During a debriefing, Richard assured his colleagues that Mer was in good hands with Teddy and DeLuca. Owen warned that the hospital should prepare for more coronavirus cases. And Koracick, Zooming in, insisted that his test had been a false positive. In the doctors’ lounge, Jackson invited Jo over in case she didn’t feel like being alone. OK, because he didn’t feel like being alone. “I have fancy beer and a negative COVID test,” he noted. So why didn’t they do a friendship reboot? Deal, she said. A Dr. Quo of the Catherine Fox Foundation was running a trial with room for two more patients, we learned, and Teddy and DeLuca were eager to sign up Mer. Richard, however, would only agree to think about it. When Nico approached a patient who visibly freaked at the prospect of being treated by an Asian doctor, he took it in stride. Soon, he was assigned to treat Dave, who was back at Grey Sloan after previously being treated by Owen. And while all of this was going on, Mer, at least in her mind, was on her magic beach. “Excuse me,” she called out. Aww… to George!!! They got T.R. Knight. Even if you didn’t wanna cry at that point, admit it: You know you did.
When Taryn showed up at Koracick’s to perform his new COVID test, he wouldn’t allow her in. He didn’t let residents in his house or up his nose. “Are you plotting something evil?” she asked upon seeing a complicated screen in his house. On the contrary, he replied. He was trying to stop a pandemic. During a call with Winston, Maggie was encouraged to seize joy wherever she could find it. “I don’t mean to tell you how to be,” he hastened to add. But she hadn’t taken his advice the wrong way. And she was looking forward to their virtual dinner that night with his auntie. While treating Dave, new resident Mabel Tseng diagnosed him and got an invitation into the O.R. by Owen. While Jackson and Jo tried to assure themselves that Mer was gonna be OK, George was complimenting Grey on her kids. He hadn’t met them, but “I check in sometimes.” When she pondered why he’d gotten older in her head, he ventured that it was perhaps more peaceful for her to imagine him that way. Did she get to choose if she went back? He hadn’t gotten to, he said. It’s different for everyone. At the same time, Richard was telling Bailey that he’d tried to wake Mer to ask if she wanted to enroll in the trial. But if he’d really tried, he hadn’t done so very hard.greys anatomy recap season 17 episode 4 tr knight george
‘YOU WERE ALL CRACKING UP AT MY FUNERAL’ | During Maggie and Winston’s dinner with his auntie, his father called in, much to his surprise. It was awkward with a capital A. “Let’s try to be civil,” said Dad. But that wasn’t going to be easy, considering that he’d apparently gambled away any money that the family had had. Soon, Winston had abruptly hung up, leaving his girlfriend on the line with his aunt and father. The morning after Jackson and Jo’s friendship reboot, she decided to rip off the Band-Aid and lunged in for a kiss. This hookup was apparently going to go way better than the last attempt. Back on the beach, Mer suggested to George that her kids would go on if she died, just like she had after he died, after Derek died. George’s mom hadn’t done that, though, after his passing. She was still around, she just wasn’t the same. Sometimes he tried to shake the sadness out of her. “Like you haunt her?” Mer asked. Not exactly. At Grey Sloan, DeLuca argued passionately to get Grey into that trial. The choice, he told Richard, is between doing nothing and doing something. “Do something!” Live up to the responsibilities that she gave him.
After treating Dave, Tseng suggested to Nico that Owen hadn’t tested for right-side diverticulitis because… as Kim put it, Hunt was a racist. Or that was what he was going to hear her accusing him of, anyway. Instead of letting her address the issue with Owen, Nico wound up doing so himself. Back at Jackson’s, Avery and Jo made excuses for why they could keep having sex without becoming a “thing.” Basically, if they didn’t stop getting it on, it only counted as one incident. When Taryn made it back to the hospital after gaining new — bleak! — insight into Koracick’s state of mind, she reported to Teddy that he was in a dark place and could probably use a friend. Oh, Hellmouth, any friend but Altman! Later, Jo tore into Levi for hooking up with Nico. “It’s wartime,” he declared. Desperate times, desperate measures. Speaking of desperate, Amelia lit into Link for trying to remain optimistic and warned that he wouldn’t like the consequences if she kept stuffing down her feelings. In response, he sat near her and explained that he was making space for her to have her feelings — rage, fear, all of them.
‘DO YOU STILL DANCE IT OUT?’ | At the beach, Meredith admitted to George that she didn’t dance so much anymore, not now that Cristina was gone. Suddenly, Grey heard Richard’s voice and saw him beside her. He didn’t know what to do for her, he admitted. In her hospital bed, Meredith began to shake, almost as if she was having a nightmare. When Richard left the room, he’d made a decision: “Get her in” the trial, he told DeLuca. As the episode neared its conclusion, Levi wanted to invite Nico over but noted that they hadn’t been great to each other, so maybe that was a bad idea. There was a pandemic going on, Nico replied. “A lot has changed.” Ugh. But not enough to justify a Schmico reunion. “No,” I cried as they took off to get busy at Jo’s empty place. Speaking of Jo, Jackson pressed “pause” on anything that was going on or might go on with them. Which was fine with her. “What I need is friendship and sex,” she said. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, least of all with someone like Mr. Can’t Be Alone. These two are actually pretty hilarious, no? “You thought I wanted to date you?” she asked, incredulous. Off Nico’s strong words, Owen admitted to Bailey that with Dave, he’d defaulted to the diagnosis that he would’ve given a white patient. He just wanted to treat everybody equally. Ah, said Bailey, who was worried about her parents, whom she’d just put in assisted living. But “equal doesn’t work for everybody.” If a protocol isn’t working, he had to change it.
After giving Amelia room to spiral, Link just wanted to play his guitar. But she wanted to talk. So he did, recalling his decision to focus on the positive while at cancer camp as a kid. And it worked for him. “If you need a partner in misery, I’m not your guy,” he said. On their evening Zoom call, Winston apologized for leaving Maggie with his father and aunt, and opened up, at least a little, about his dad’s temper. But what he really wanted to do was watch Coming to America with her. Though Teddy knew that she was the last person Tom wanted to see, she still showed up on his doorstep with soup. He didn’t answer, perhaps because that was the sane thing to do, perhaps because he was shivering on the floor on the other side of the door, perhaps a little bit of both. Back at the beach, Mer noted that George had gone all in for everybody, even that fateful woman at the bus stop. He’d changed Mer’s life. Which hopefully would go on. At Grey Sloan, Bailey told Richard that she thought he was making the right decision putting Grey in the trial. He’d never thought before about how helpless the loved ones of COVID patients must feel. Now, it seemed, he’d never forget. In our last scene, both Bailey and Richard were on the beach with Mer and George. Find you people, voiceover’d Grey, because when you’re at your lowest, they’re the ones who’ll get you through.
Grey’s vet T.R. Knight — an Emmy nominee during his original run — commented on his encore, saying, “George O’Malley will always claim my heart. Thank you to Ellen [Pompeo], Chandra [Wilson], Jim [Pickens], Krista [Vernoff] and all the familiar faces for once again sharing your beautiful light.”
Once again this season, Grey’s Anatomy mixed tragedy and joy in tonight’s episode as the staff at Grey Sloan Memorial continues to grapple with the grim reality of the coronavirus pandemic in its early days. It is killing way too many patients and is now threatening to take away one of their own, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). Yet, through her illness, Meredith’s Covid dreams have provided light as, walking on a beach, she gets to meet some of her favorite people.
The beach motif kicked off in the season premiere with the jaw-dropping return of Grey’s original male lead Patrick Dempsey as Meredith’s late husband Derek Shepherd, who has appeared in her dreams ever since. Tonight, someone else was waiting for herby the ocean. Leaning onto the railing of a lifeguard tower was George O’Malley (T.R. Knight).
With Meredith’s condition taking a turn for the worse in her Covid battle, she spent most of her time in the episode sleeping, which led to multiple dream strolls and conversations with George, in which they discussed his death and funeral. “I was devastated when you died,” Meredith said.
George spoke of what he misses about being alive and Meredith told him how much he meant to her.
“You changed my life George,” she said.
Meanwhile at the hospital, Tom Koracick (Greg Germann) self-isolated at home after testing positive for Covid-19. By the end of the episode, he was showing symptoms and looking very sick. Richard (James Pickens Jr.) was struggling to make a decision whether to enroll Meredith in a clinical trial for an experimental Covid drug. With some help from Bailey (Chandra Wilson), he eventually got Meredith into the trial. As Richard and Bailey were looking over Meredith in the hospital room, they were transported to the beach where they sat with Meredith and George in a reunion of four original Grey’s cast members. Outside of work, Jo and Jackson entered “friends with benefits” territory.
In an interview with Deadline, Knight and series executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff talk about George’s return, that final scene, Meredith’s Covid prognosis, Tom’s fate and more.
DEADLINE: Let’s start with the final scene of T.R. joined by the three remaining Grey’s original cast members on the beach. Was that a coincidence or a nod to fans, a throwback to the show’s early years?
VERNOFF: Well, it certainly wasn’t just a coincidence. It was a beautiful pitch from Meg Marinis and Andy Reaser, who are my number two’s at Grey’s Anatomy. I had written the George-on-the-beach scene. Some of the writers this season didn’t even know who the special guest stars were, so I wrote all the beach scenes, and when Meg and Andy read them they came to me, and it was Meg who said, there is an opportunity here because Bailey and Richard are talking over Meredith’s bed, to have them appear on the beach, and to have this, what I think is, an instantly iconic moment of the four of them together again, and I was like, yes, please. That’s why you hire smart people. It’s so good.
DEADLINE: T.R., did it feel iconic for you, that scene?
KNIGHT: Even though we filmed this in the middle of October, I’m still trying to put into words how profound the experience was for me, so just hearing that made my eyes leak saltwater a little bit. When Krista first gave me the pages, Bailey was not in it yet, I think Richard was. And then I got the second round. It’s just hard for me to put into words, still, how meaningful it was.
VERNOFF: I choked up saying that, too, T.R. It is emotional for me, too.
KNIGHT: It was incredible, it was just an overwhelming feeling of love in that moment. We were apart from everybody quite a bit because that was a drone shot, and so it was just the four of us, and the sun was setting, and this big fly buzzing around our heads, and it filled me with just a lot of joy.
VERNOFF: I want to say this to you, Nellie. The amazing thing about the writers not knowing was the evolution, the unfolding. Julie Wong, who wrote this tremendously powerful hour of TV that you watched, learned after writing her first or second writer’s draft, I can’t remember. I actually think it’s not just that she learned, it’s that I decided that she was getting George, that the George scenes were happening in that episode. So we had to clear out some space, and I said to her, I want to do one more. We have time on the day. I want everything I can with T.R., I want one more scene. Julie has been a fan of the show, and it was like the crazy all caps OH MY GOD. I GET GEORGE? And then she went, and she re-watched the first five seasons, because she felt the pressure to write one more George scene, and she wrote that exquisite scene at the end where Meredith says, ‘You changed my life, George’. That scene that just makes you weep was Julie, and I think it was the biggest moment.
When people are fans and then they get to work on the show and it all comes together in this kind of magic, where you get to write for George O’Malley in Season 17, it was pretty amazing.
DEADLINE: T.R., when you were sitting together, the four of you, what did you four talk about between takes?
KNIGHT: I already was too emotional before about it, so I’ll tell something funny about it because there was the drone and so much noise on the ocean, and you hear a faint bullhorn giving direction but you can’t really hear it because there’s the waves, and so at one point, I thought I heard, ‘OK look at Chandra’, who’s sitting next to me, and so I look at her. She’s looking out at the water, and all of a sudden, she slowly looks over at me. She doesn’t move her mouth, and her eyes are just saying, should you be looking at me? why are you looking at me? That made me burst out laughing because that’s what I thought I heard, and who knows if that was true.
VERNOFF: We were directing from a microphone, Nellie. We were like 100 yards away with an ocean, and the tide coming in, and the sun setting. I mean, that shot is at magic hour, which means you’ve got like three minutes, and we’re going [makes muffled sound as if talking into a microphone].
KNIGHT: It sounds like that a little bit. I hope I didn’t ruin a moment. They’re all looking, why the heck is he looking at Chandra?
VERNOFF: No, we were, in fact, telling you to look at Chandra. The first version that we shot, they were all just staring out at the ocean, and it was so perfect. It felt too perfect. It didn’t feel like, hey, old friends, and so we were yelling with the microphone, like do something else. T.R., look at Chandra, and it just came to life in the way that you did that.
KNIGHT: Oh, good. Oh, good.
DEADLINE: George is the second beloved Grey’s character after Derek to be brought back in the beach motif. How did T.R.’s return come about?
VERNOFF: Well, George was my first idea. When this imagining came to me I was walking on the beach, as I’ve told you Nellie. I had found a way where there was no one there and I felt like I could take my mask off and just walk with my feet in the water, and the imagining came to me of Meredith walking with her feet in the water with George. That was the first image that came to me, and the joy that filled me up when it came, I believe, is translated on screen and I believe we have given many millions of fans that moment of pure joy. Right now in our lives, in this pandemic pure joy is rare, and so I’m so grateful to T.R. for coming and playing, and offering that to everyone, because I think it’s meaningful.
When I called Ellen and said, I have this idea to have you having these dreams on the beach, and I want to get someone amazing, like T.R,. Ellen was like, yes, get T.R., and also Patrick. That was the evolution of that. Ellen and T.R. are close, and George and T.R. were both always favorites of mine, and so he was my first idea of, as a fan, who do I want to see again? I wanted to see George, so that’s where it started. And then which episode he went, I don’t know how to explain the evolution of scripts under me, but sometimes you get eleventh-hour evolution. I wrote the scenes, and didn’t know where they were going to go. We hadn’t shot them yet, I think, and then decided.
DEADLINE: T.R., who called you and what was your first reaction?
KNIGHT: Ellen hinted at it first, but then Krista called, and we talked for an hour. Probably her ears were bleeding a little bit afterward, hopefully not too bad, but it was incredible. What was interesting is Krista, I hope you don’t mind me sharing this. Krista said at one point during our long conversation she thought that this might, if this might offer closure, and I was like oh, I think that’s already happened. What was interesting is something my husband, who is much smarter than me, and okay, granted that’s a low bar. We were talking about that idea of closure and he was saying that sometimes closure’s shutting a door, and sometimes it’s like revisiting a familiar room, and finding what brought you joy, and it just hit me.
And going to the set that day, because we shot on the beach and it was an early call, so I’m driving in the dark because you want to be early. You don’t want to go back and be late. Driving up that windy road in the dark and people are just starting to arrive, and to see Laura Petticord, she’s our second assistant director. She handles the base camp and corrals all of us, and does that momentous job, and she is someone who’s been with the show, I think, from the very beginning, or at least from that first season. She is kind of like kindness in human form, so seeing her, and then all of a sudden seeing Shawn Hanley, who is now the first assistant director, and then Norman Leavitt, who came back out of semiretirement to try to make this (points to his face) look like something not hideous. It was just wave upon wave of happiness, of joy, of Krista. She was there the entire day. Linda Klein, she was there all day.
VERNOFF: She’s a medical producer and there was no medicine [in the beach scenes].
KNIGHT: And then to have Ellen, and Chandra, and Jim, of course, and all the other familiar faces that were there, too, because there were quite a bit of crew that were there still. To have all of that, it was just unlike any other experience I’ve ever had in my entire life, in my 47 years.
DEADLINE: There were some emotions involved in your departure from the show. Did the decade-plus away from Grey’s give you some perspective? Did you miss the show?
KNIGHT: I mean the people, yeah; it’s the people and it’s George. Acting, I feel, is interpretive, you take what’s given to you. It was hard for my brain to try to figure out who George would be now, or what he would be, and then to get Krista’s pages, even the first round. I only got two, but I mean it was just…oh yeah. I don’t know how to describe it other than it’s like, yeah, there he is. It’s that luck of having excellent writers give you so much. It’s kind of like, this is a bad metaphor, if acting is climbing a mountain and then when you have excellent writing that supports you, it’s like a gondola that lifts you all the way up. It drops you off not at the top, because you’ve still got to do a lot of work yourself, but close to the top and it makes the climb so much easier, and I’ll stop that terrible metaphor right now.
What I loved about what Krista did with George was, because Meredith is having this vision, for lack of a better word, of who George would be. George is a very complicated person and that’s what made him such an amazing pleasure to play, but Meredith is seeing the best of George: she’s seeing his humor, his kindness, his generosity, and in this brief moment that you get to see him it’s such a great way to remember him.
We all know George also had his faults. He stumbled a lot. Literally and metaphorically, he was a little passive-aggressive, had some anger, held a grudge a little too long, but that’s what made him such a brilliant character to play, so to be able to get back into that world was… Like I said, there’s a better word than profound, and I’ll get there someday.
DEADLINE: So, there was no hesitation? Krista, did you have to convince him, and T.R. did you say ‘yes’ right away?
VERNOFF: The phone call felt like just reconnecting with an old friend. I don’t even remember the answer to that question. It all felt like an organic easy joyful thing. I don’t know how easy it was for you.
KNIGHT: It was. It was. Very much so. And it’s just that trust, not knowing, not reading anything beforehand, just jumping and saying yes. It just felt good, I guess. It’s a gut feeling, and then also to act with Ellen. I knew that part of it, that it was mostly Ellen and me, it’s one of those things you wish it always happened but then it wouldn’t be special when it did, to act with someone who you just know that it’s like, okay, what are you going to give me there. Okay, now I’m going to try to match that, and then it’s this game. It’s this roller coaster that you’re on together. To be able to experience that again with Ellen, and to know that every take is going to be different, there’s going to be a sense of play, a sense of challenge. It’s the best kind of acting if that makes sense.
DEADLINE: Did you go through the same elaborate security procedures to keep T.R.’s return a secret as you did with Patrick’s, or did he attend the virtual table read this time?
VERNOFF: No. George was called Thatcher in the script that we read at the table. It was all the same. Nobody saw any dailies. I think there are members of the cast who still don’t know this is happening. I actually think, sincerely, most of the cast doesn’t know this is happening. We’ve been really, really, Ellen and I, joyfully Scorpio secretive.
KNIGHT: And only my husband knows. Only Patrick knows. I’m going to have a lot of angry friends, but that’s…they’ll understand.
VERNOFF: Yeah, my kids don’t know.
KNIGHT: Your kids don’t know? Oh my God.
VERNOFF: You can’t tell the teenagers. Actually, they would get mad. They’re pretty good at keeping secrets, but yeah. I really want to say this, Nellie, because I just want to, about T.R. as an artist. You hear his artistry in his every answer, and the joy for me, in watching him at work and at play again, was amazing. Even watching it on the day and then watching the cuts, as I worked with the editors, it’s… Like the thing that I noticed this last time that I watched it is that he’s talking about dancing and the joys of life, and his feet are dancing; he’s sitting on the beach but there’s this restlessness. There’s just always a next level, with T.R., of work and thought, and there’s so much joy and artistry that goes in. He never phones anything in. He never did, and that was really profound. I don’t think there’s a better word.
DEADLINE: How did the joke about George’s changed appearance come about?
KNIGHT: That’s all Krista.
VERNOFF: It was in the script. And what’s funny is I wrote it assuming that T.R. actually would look older, and as you can see, he doesn’t.
KNIGHT: Oh, that’s baloney. That’s baloney. I have mirrors I know.
VERNOFF: I would argue that one of the reasons that that felt like a line of improv is how much joy came out of Ellen in working with T.R. again. It feels so alive, and yeah. The artistry they brought in each other, it was magic.
DEADLINE: Because of Meredith’s physical state, she spent a lot more time on the beach in this episode and had several meaningful conversations with George about life, death and both got to say to the other what they couldn’t because of George’s sudden death. Was this a final, proper goodbye for the character or could he be back for more? It did put a nice bow on his story.
VERNOFF: I’ll say this. I thought this was a beautiful bow, and never say never. I mean, who knows. Now there’s magic possible. Who knows.
DEADLINE: T.R., are you open to revisiting the character again, or was this it for you, the ending you were hoping for?
KNIGHT: It was the ending I never expected and couldn’t possibly have expected, in so many ways. It’s such an awkward position to be put in to be asked that, to be honest, with all due respect, so I will just say in Krista’s hands I feel safe, I feel energized. It’s like when you mentioned about that line that seemed like improv. I’m not going to take credit for that. I give credit to Ellen and I give credit to Krista because to write something that can seem like improv, that’s in the writing, too. And that is just a joy to get to interpret.
DEADLINE: Krista, can you say who is coming to the beach next?
VERNOFF: Well. Nellie, now you’ve seen that sometimes when people sit in Meredith’s room and talk, they appear to her on the beach, so the beach throughout the season exists not just with very special guest stars.
DEADLINE: With Meredith in a trial, is she is turning the corner on Covid?
VERNOFF: What’s going to happen? What’s going to happen? I don’t know. You have to tune in.
DEADLINE: Patrick Dempsey mentioned in an interview that he would be appearing throughout the season. Will Derek and Meredith they get closer like Meredith and George and have a longer conversation? Fans would love that.
VERNOFF: Yes, eventually. Eventually, they’ll get to have deeper, richer conversations as Meredith and George did. We worked with Patrick for two days. We had two days to capture four episodes, and so that’s why you’re not getting the full meal in one episode, that you got with T.R. where we had a whole day to do his scenes in one episode, and that is just about production realities and how many days we’re budgeted to be out on that beach, and now that the days are shorter, going to the beach, we get five hours of daylight. There are so many moving parts. You want more, tune in. It’s like you had a little taste before dinner and come back for dessert.
KNIGHT: I think that makes George the soup.
VERNOFF: I had thought I would save George until later in the season, but once I was…
KNIGHT: Oh, I love the soup course.
VERNOFF: Once I was on the phone with T.R. and the scenes were written, it was like, we need George now.
DEADLINE: One question about a plot in the episode. Is Tom in danger? He didn’t look good in the final scene at home.
VERNOFF: He did not look good in that final scene. Tom has Covid and he’s symptomatic now, and Covid is a dangerous disease, and I hope he’s okay.
DEADLINE: What about the behind-the-scenes aspect of the show. How is it filming during this extraordinary surge of infections in L.A.?
VERNOFF: Our protocols are so strict and strident, and we…because of how well budgeted the entertainment industry is we are arguably…it’s been said to me by an epidemiologist the safest place to be is on a set in Los Angeles right now. We’re testing multiple times a week, and we’re maintaining distance, and we’re wearing masks, and we’re wearing visors, and I think that the surge in the L.A. is making everyone personally even…be even more careful. We shut down for longer after Thanksgiving. We tested more times. We’re taking it very seriously, so where I think it gets harder is when you…if you want to go out on location, so that’s not so much a thing on…it’s not really a problem on Grey’s because we don’t do a lot of days out.
Most of our sets are interior, or on our lot, and we control…there’s not…like Station 19 is a little harder, because we’ve got more extras and crowds to control, but Grey’s is…
The promo for tonight’s fourth episode of this season’s ABC hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy teased that “another person returns from Meredith’s past.”
As Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) continues to battle Covid-19, her dreams have been taking her to a beach where the love of her life, Derek (Patrick Dempsey), is waiting for her. Tonight, someone else Meredith was fond of who tragically died came back to see her. Leaning onto the railing of a lifeguard tower at the beach was George O’Malley (T.R. Knight).
Both were surprised but happy to see each other.
Knight’s appearance is part of a beach motif throughout the pandemic-themed Season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy designed to bring joy to fans.
It kicked off in the season premiere with the jaw-dropping return of Grey’s original male lead Dempsey.
Asked after the opener what other beloved characters from Grey’s past may come back, series’ executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff said: “You have to tune in and see who comes to the beach. It’ll be a joyful discovery.”
Both Dempsey and Knight were original Grey’s Anatomy cast members alongside Pompeo whose characters were fan favorites. Knight left in Season 5; Dempsey departed in Season 11.
Dempsey’s McDreamy died after being hit by a semi truck when he pulled over to help a family involved in a car accident. In a similarly selfless act, Knight’s O’Malley jumped in front of a bus to rescue a woman he didn’t know. At the time of his exit, Knight said he felt his character “had expired” after getting less screen time.
Based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Kristin Hannah (who serves as co-executive producer on the 10-episode series), Firefly Lane — which will premiere Feb. 3 — proposes that “the greatest love story of all can be between friends.”
“When unlikely duo Tully (played by former Grey’s Anatomy doc Heigl) and Kate (onetime Scrubs doc Chalke) meet at age 14, they couldn’t be more different,” reads the synopsis. “Tully is the brash and bold girl you can’t ignore, while Kate is the mousy shy girl you never notice. But when a tragedy brings them together, they are bonded for life — forever inseparable best friends. Together they experience 30 years of ups and downs — triumphs and disappointments, heartbreak and joy, and a love triangle that strains their friendship. One goes on to fabulous wealth and fame, the other chooses marriage and motherhood — but through the decades, their bond remains — until it faces the ultimate test.”
As you can see in the above teaser, Ali Skovbye (When Calls the Heart) and Roan Curtis (The Magicians) will portray the young versions of Tully and Kate, while Heigl and Chalke will embody the characters in the latter decades (with a little help from the hair department).
The cast also includes Ben Lawson (Designated Survivor), Yael Yurman (The Man in the High Castle) and Beau Garrett (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce).
Maggie Friedman (Witches of East End, Eastwick) serves as showrunner and will executive-produce along with Heigl, Peter O’Fallon, Shawn Williamson and Lee Rose.
Although an ABC insider maintains that the fluid nature of the coronavirus pandemic makes it impossible to establish a firm episode count on Grey’s (or any currently-in-production scripted series, for that matter), TVLine has learned that the top-rated medical drama is eyeing a 16-episode run for its current 17th season. Again, that number could rise (or fall) due to the ever-changing COVID crisis.
However, the tentative 16-episode target would appear to be in sync with ABC’s recently announced midseason scheduling game plan, which has Grey’s returning from its winter break on March 4 after airing just six episodes during its fall run (which wraps on Dec. 17).
“Last week, we felt Meredith Grey’s pain as a doctor treating an early surge of COVID patients,” the EP noted to The Hollywood Reporter. “This week, we begin to experience what it is for her to be a COVID patient herself.”
Sadly, it is an experience that too many of Grey’s real-life counterparts have already had. In fact, “over 1,700 healthcare workers in the US have died of COVID to date,” Vernoff points out. “Many thousands more have been infected.
“Healthcare workers are on the frontlines of this crisis,” she adds, “living through a war for which they were not trained.”
Given the choice, she couldn’t turn away — or allow the ABC drama to do so. “We saw an opportunity to dramatize and illuminate their plight through the incredibly well-loved and well-known character of Meredith Grey,” she explains. “Doctors and nurses are fighting for us and falling for us.
“The least we can do is wear a mask, socially distance and stay home whenever possible,” she continues. “Meredith has a real fight ahead of her. And… she has that beach. Darkness and light.”
Already, the shore that Grey visits when dreaming has reunited her with late husband Derek (Patrick Dempsey in the surprise appearance of the millennium). And when the show returns on Thursday, Dec. 3 (9/8c), “another person from her past” will roll in with the tide. “It’s a powerful season,” says Vernoff. “Stay tuned.”
The stat is not surprising as both episodes featured unexpected — and iconic for the show — moments which fans who missed the live airing flocked to watch and those who saw the moments the night of their premiere watched to relive them.
With the big viewership boost, the Grey’s Anatomy premiere logged 9.1 million viewers in L+3 to pull ahead of last fall’s opener by +1%. In adults 18-39, Grey’s added +0.9 rating point to rise to a 2.3 in Live+3 and tie its highest-rated telecast since May 2, 2019, the conclusion of the first ever Station 19-Grey’s Anatomy crossover.
The Grey’s Anatomy premiere was the highest rated scripted telecast last week among adults 18-49 (L+3), edging NBC’s This Is Us. Season to date, it is tied in the category with the NBC family drama.
Nearly 1.4 million viewers witnessed the Winchester Bros.’ swan song on Thursday, which represented Supernatural‘s largest audience since April 2019. It also marked The CW’s biggest total-viewer tally in the Thursday-at-9 pm time slot since an Arrow episode in Jan. 2018.
In other non-NFL fare, Grey’s Anatomy led Thursday in the demo (with a 1.2 rating), while Young Sheldon delivered the night’s largest audience (7.1 million viewers).
A Million Little Things (4 mil/0.7) returned steady, matching its Season 2 averages.
‘MEREDITH BREAKS PROTOCOL FOR EVERY PATIENT, WE CAN’T BREAK IT FOR HER?’ | As “My Happy Ending” began, freshly installed chief of chiefs Richard broadcast news to the staff that additional COVID-19 protocols were now in place. He also announced a new influx of interns. Nearby, Meredith complained about being kept in the hospital following her incident. “I have connections,” she reminded Teddy. “I own the place.” After Maggie lost her seventh patient in a week, Cormac expressed his empathy; he didn’t want her to say hello to Mer for him, though. “I wouldn’t want her to think she was special.” (Ha.) Just as Grey’s peers were about to relent, knowing she’d just discharge herself, they discovered her on her hospital-room floor. In her dream, as foretold by last week’s episode, she saw McDreamy, and for at least a moment, life was a beach.
After what seemed like 20 minutes of commercials — seriously, wow — Mer regained consciousness. “I can hear you,” she reassured Maggie, “and you’re loud.” Despite Grey’s protestations, she was headed to radiology for tests. There, DeLuca became so wound up, ya had to worry that he was headed for another manic episode. While Jo reported to a very surprised patient that she was expecting, Link, Taryn and Jackson tended to a sex therapist who’d injured his hand. At the same time, Koracick informed the interns that they’d just won the lottery — per Richard, he was now in charge of them. Told that among them were a mother and daughter with the same surname, Ortiz, he cracked, “Two interns with the same name won’t fly. Who’s changing theirs?” Primo Tom.
‘I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT PANTS ARE’ | Concerned about Teddy’s state of mind, especially now that she was treating Mer for COVID, Maggie sought her assurance that she could handle what appeared to be coming: Patients in Grey’s condition could worsen in a heartbeat and be lost, and Pierce couldn’t be her doctor, she had to be her sister. Teddy was up to the task, she insisted. Nonetheless, Maggie also wanted DeLuca on the case; he’d seen more COVID cases than anyone, in the estimation of his ex. Looking at Mer’s healthcare directive, Maggie wondered if um, maybe she wanted to change that? After a Zoom call with Amelia and the kids, Grey must have drifted off, because we went back to the beach. “Derek,” she called out. “Why can’t I get anywhere?” She was worried about the kids, he told her, adding that the sand wasn’t real. “I miss you,” she told him. “I know,” he replied. How a dream version of McDreamy didn’t answer, “I miss you, too,” I’ll never understand.
When Bailey visited, Mer cracked, “If you think I look bad, you should see my lungs.” Miranda beseeched her friend to reconsider leaving her power of attorney with Alex, what with him being halfway across the country and all. But neither Amelia nor Maggie could do what might need to be done, Mer argued. And at least Alex could pull the plug if it needed pulling. When Cormac called from outside her hospital room, he encouraged her to choose someone who’d choose her over and over again to be her POA. (Was he volunteering?) She then shared her fear of falling asleep — what if she didn’t wake back up? — prompting him to assure her, “This virus has nothing on you.”
‘MY ROCK BOTTOM IS THE FATHER OF MY BABY’ | As the episode progressed, Jo’s patient revealed that she and her husband had tried to get pregnant for ages, then she’d lost her job and had a one-night stand with a dork. Only she wasn’t actually expecting at all, she was full of tumors, it turned out during an examination by Carina. Then it turned out that the poor woman was pregnant after all, the fetus was just attached to her liver. Jeez, this plot was dizzymaking! “Do you want this baby?” asked Jo. The woman did. So they were going to have to deliver little Luna that day in order to ensure a safe arrival in the world. Miraculously, both mother and daughter pulled through.
While operating on the sex therapist with Jackson and Taryn, Link volunteered to stick around as long as necessary. “I fear the night at Meredith’s house like a medieval villager,” he admitted. After surgery, Jackson, Link and Taryn all wanted to know the sex therapist’s secret. “I ask my patients what they want,” he explained. Off that revelation, Link alleviated Amelia’s anxiety at home by doing exactly that and, as a result, treating her to some socially-distant nookie that was just what the doctor ordered. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)
‘SHE DESERVED NOT TO BE A STATISTIC’ | The older of the mother/daughter interns — nicknamed Mama Ortiz — stood up to Koracick in a way that made me think he might have found a new love interest. Or at least sparring partner. But Tom wasn’t feeling his new position at all and told Richard that he couldn’t do what Webber did. These kids didn’t need Koracick, they needed Richard. As the episode drew to a close, Teddy asked if she could have a cup of coffee with Tom. No, he said. Hell no. She’d broken him, and he needed to get over her. (Seriously, Teddy?!?) Just then, in came Owen to tell Tom that he’d tested positive for COVID. Oh, and Teddy, maybe you should put your mask back on. In a supply closet, Maggie broke down on a call with Winston. And in the hour’s final moments, Meredith gave Richard her POA. Afterward, Bailey told him, “They’re ready for you” — and he met with the interns. “We’ll be OK,” he promised them. “We’ll get through this together.”
But… would Mer? As she moved toward Derek on the beach, she urged him to walk toward her, too. But it wouldn’t help, he said, because the sand wasn’t real. Very Twin Peaks. As she ran toward him, she face-planted in the sand, which he’d sworn wasn’t real. So she hated him, she insisted. She loved him, he knew. And “I’ll be right here when you’re ready.”
Derek, who died tragically five and a half years go, came back in a beach dream Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) slipped into after collapsing in the parking lot of Grey Sloan Memorial.
Speaking with Deadline about the premiere last week, Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff would not say whether Meredith was OK, and if the collapse was a result of her just being overworked or was it something serious, like COVID, since she has been working almost exclusively with COVID patients.
The promo for this week’s episode features Meredith in a hospital bed being tended to by colleagues in full PPE as she is struggling to breathe.
In answering DeGeneres’ question about how his secret cameo came about, Dempsey confirmed Meredith’s COVID diagnosis.
He spoke about how he and Pompeo got together in July and brainstormed what they could do to make people wear masks, musing about “how great it would be for the fans to see everyone reunited in this sort of bizarre way” when Pompeo suggested that he returned to the show.
“And to the credit of the writers, Krista came up with this great idea where I will come and visit her in her COVID dream,” Dempsey said.
He also provided more information about how long his character will stick around, and it is great news for Meredith-Derek fans. In last week’s interview with Deadline, Dempsey said that he enjoyed the reunion in the premiere and was game for more episodes, while Vernoff said about Dempsey’s presence on the show this season, “it’s more than the one scene you saw” in the premiere. Derek’s presence will be fairly extensive, Dempsey revealed on Ellen.
Asked by DeGeneres how many more episodes he will be in this season, Dempsey said, “I’m not sure how many. I know I’m throughout this season, he comes back to visit.”
And that is OK by Dempsey who likes playing a vision that brings Meredith joy and peace.
“There are so many souls that we have lost right now so the idea of having angels around us is very comforting, at least to me,” he said.
TV Guide spoke with Kevin McKidd, who directed this Thursday's episode, about what to expect from this shocking reunion and what it was like to get to film Derek and Meredith back together again.
"it is a great episode. Meg Marinis wrote it, and I love working on Meg's scripts. She's such a great writer," McKidd said. "It's a great follow-up to where we left off in the season premiere. It's just a really cool payoff to where we left that brilliant premiere episode, directed by Debbie [Allen]."
Grey's showrunner Krista Vernoff has promised that Derek will appear three times in the early part of the season, and while McKidd couldn't confirm exactly when those times will be, he did say that the couple will definitely be interacting more going forward.
"The scenes [between Meredith and Derek] are really fun. It feels very nostalgic, shooting them. It feels like yesterday. It feels like a familiar, very familiar thing, and it was beautiful to be there and shoot those scenes on the beach," he said. "That great chemistry between Meredith and Derek is, as you can see, very much alive."
"COVID has made everybody really zoom out on their lives and really take a look at where they are, and what's important," McKidd continued. "And I think that tone is what the Meredith and Derek scenes are about — that kind of reassessment and a letting go, and a closure, you know, and a celebration all at the same time."
While the beach dream with Derek may be an escape, especially for longtime Grey's fans, it will not be as relaxing for everyone in the hospital, where Meredith is fighting for her life.
"It really affects everybody emotionally," McKidd said of Meredith's condition. "She's the backbone, and the foundation, the emotional center and the spiritual center of the hospital. So, when that goes away, it's very disconcerting for people. Everybody's energy is about getting her well again. But it's exciting too, in the sense that we get to tell different stories, and we get to feel that jeopardy."
"COVID doesn't have favorites," said McKidd. "We all love Meredith Grey, and the fans love Meredith Grey. COVID doesn't have that same sensibility. It's gonna take anyone down that's affected by it. I can't really say much more than that, but it's definitely going to be a shocking and very exciting, scary ride."
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.
THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2020: Ellen Pompeo
“I put the name ‘Ellis Grey’ in the script that we read at the table,” showrunner Krista Vernoff revealed to Deadline, referring to Meredith’s mother, played by former cast member Kate Burton. “And I had [Ellen Pompeo] say ‘Mom’ at the table. So we got there on the day and no one had been told what was happening… I was like a crazy person with this secret. And Ellen and I were texting at all hours of the night, like, ‘Who knows?'”
Meredith was found collapsed on the hospital parking lot, amid the stress and grueling hours of the pandemic. As colleagues rushed to her side, we saw Meredith, clad in white, on the gauzy beach she was at in the cold open. And then a second figure appeared down shore — that of her beloved, deceased McDreamy (watch the moment above).
“I have to say that it was an epic feat, the keeping of this secret,” Vernoff acknowledged. “I didn’t send cuts to the studio and network that included that last scene. I didn’t have writers’ assistants in the writers’ room for the last couple of months. There were writers who didn’t know we were doing this on that staff. Most of the actors didn’t know we were doing this. The crew didn’t know we were doing this when they showed up on the day.”
Dempsey’s comeback, meanwhile, will extend into next week’s episode, with Vernoff confirming, “It’s more than the one scene you saw.”
Like the original series, created by Albert S. Ruddy & Leslie Greif, the reboot, in which Walker is getting a female partner, will explore morality, family and rediscovering our lost common ground. It centers on Cordell Walker (Padalecki), a widower and father of two with his own moral code who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home.
Landi will play Bret, Liam’s (Allen) fiancé. Bret is genuinely in love with Liam – but he thinks Manhattan is the place to be, and that he and Liam should lead a swellegant life where the only horses are in Central Park.
The series is written and executive produced by Anna Fricke, and executive produced by Dan Lin and Lindsay Liberatore and Padalecki. CBS Television Studios produces in association with Rideback.
Landi portrays Dr. Nico Kim on Grey’s Anatomy and next can be seen in a role on NBC’s Connecting, opposite Preacher Lawson and Otmara Marrero. Landi is repped by Buchwald and Asian Cinema Entertainment.
The two-hour Season 17 premiere of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy ended with a jaw-dropping moment five and a half years in the making. The series’ original male lead Patrick Dempsey made a return, with his character, Derek Shepherd, appearing in a beach dream sequence after Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith collapsed in the Grey Sloan parking lot. The reunion of Grey’s Anatomy’s all-time favorite couple was a joyous culmination of the premiere, which tackled the grim realities of the coronavirus pandemic. Following the end of the episode on the East Coast, Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff, Dempsey and Pompeo took to Instagram to address the big twist.
Read their posts below and check out Deadline’s exclusive Q&A with the trio, in which they share the back story of the big return and address burning questions from the premiere.
“The most important task we had this season was to honor the reality of this global pandemic and the impact it’s having —particularly on healthcare workers. Along with that we had to come up with creative ways to allow our show to still be fun and romantic and provide some escapism. Enter Patrick Dempsey. The beach motif – which will continue beyond the premiere – provided a way for us to live outside the pandemic even for a little while here and there. And Derek’s return provided pure joy for us, for Meredith, and for the fans. Season 17 has been a Herculean effort by our cast, our crew, our writers, and our partners at Disney and ABC – and we are proud of it. But our effort is nothing compared to the work of our Frontline healthcare workers to whom this season is dedicated. We hope our show inspires you to wear your masks to protect them and each other. As Derek Shepherd would say, ‘It’s a beautiful day to save lives.'”
Something weird happened at the end of the episode
“It was so fun,” she said of bringing Dempsey’s McDreamy back to the show. “Because we know that people are gonna freak out, and we all know 2020 has been a really long, ugly road. And we were so happy just to be able to film these scenes and know how much joy it was gonna bring people. We definitely had a ball.”
Dempsey left the show in 2015 after his iconic character was killed in a car crash.
Kimmel joked that the show had “dabbled with ‘Lost’ territory” with the surprise, to which Pompeo responded, “Seventeen seasons. We’ve dabbled in everything there is to dabble.”
“Not since McSteamy fractured his penis have seen anything this shocking on the show.
Opening ABC’s night, Station 19 (6.3 mil/1.1) similarly matched its previous average (6.5 mil.1.1).
Elsewhere….
NBC | Superstore (2.3 mil/0.5) was steady. Leading out of a Superstore rerun, Law & Order: SVU returned to 2.9 mil and a 0.6– hitting and tying series lows. The Paley/Law & Order special retained 1.9 mil/0.3.
CBS | Young Sheldon (7.1 mil/0.8) ticked up and delivered the night’s largest audience, while B Positive (4.7 mil/0.5) dipped and Mom (5.1 mil/0.6) was steady. The Unicorn (4 mil/0.4) returned to series lows, away from its cushy post-sheldon perch. Star Trek Disco did 1.9 mil/0.3.
THE CW | Supernatural’s penultimate episode (1.01 mil/0.3) and The Outpost (436K/0.1) were steady.
FOX | Thursday Night Football (8 mil/2.1) was down 7 and 12 percent from last week’s fast nationals.
ABC’s promo for the Season 17 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy teased a “shocking, jaw-dropping ending.” That was an understatement.
In one of the series’ biggest twists ever, a beloved character, Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd, whose tragic death in an April 2015 episode left fans heartbroken, came back. Appropriately, the late McDreamy appeared in a dream sequence, joining Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey on a beach seconds after Meredith collapsed in the parking lot of Grey Sloan Memorial.
The sweet Meredith-Derek reunion was the joyous coda to an emotional two-hour season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy’s 17th season, dedicated to frontline healthcare workers, which marked the conclusion of a Station 19 crossover. It was marked by tragedy, as Meredith struggled to cope with the mounting COVID deaths at the hospital; anger, as medical personnel were left to fight the disease without enough PPE; hope, as the teenage girl whom DeLuca had unsuccessfully tried to save from human trafficking was reunited with her family; heartbreak, as Owen refused to reconcile with Teddy despite her pleas for forgiveness; and happiness, as Link and Derek’s sister Amelia took their newborn baby boy home. In fact, just minutes after Link announced their son’s name, Scout Derek Shepherd Lincoln, Derek made his appearance. While not necessarily designed as a clue, “it all came together quite beautifully,” Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff and star Pompeo said.
In an exclusive interview with Deadline, which had known about the big twist, Dempsey, Vernoff and Pompeo reveal how the idea for McDreamy’s return came about, how long he will stick around, how the scene was filmed, and the great lengths to which the show went in order to keep the cameo a secret so fans can fully enjoy it.
Vernoff and Pompeo also address Meredith’s fate following her medical emergency and in the context of Pompeo’s contract coming up at the end of the season, how the real-life coronavirus pandemic changed Grey’s Anatomy on and off the screen, whether will there be COVID casualties among the staff of Grey Sloan, are there plans for a time jump, and is there hope for Teddy and Owen.
Dempsey, who has a cancer foundation, had his own questions for Vernoff and Pompeo about whether advancements in COVID treatments and the issue of wearing masks are reflected on the show.
DEADLINE: Before we talk about Patrick’s return, let’s address the incident that brought on the cameo, Meredith’s collapse, because we usually associate those kind of visions with somebody on the brink of death. Is Meredith OK? Is this just her being overworked, or is it COVID or something else very serious?
VERNOFF: Well, you have to tune in next week. We started the episode with Meredith dreaming of a beach, and at the end of the episode, she’s dreaming of the beach where Derek happens to be, and that’s what we know so far.
DEADLINE: How did the idea to bring Patrick back come about?
VERNOFF: From a writer’s perspective, it happened because it was my job to find a way — once we determined that we were doing the pandemic — to also bring joy, and escape, and fan candy, and all the things that at Grey’s Anatomy we give people. We give them romance, and we give them humor, and we give them joy, and a lot of that is lacking for the medical community in this pandemic. And so, I was walking on the beach one day, and I was like, what if there’s a Meredith dream motif?
There have been studies about how intense our dream life has been. In the pandemic, people are having really intense dreams because of the lockdown. We’re not getting enough stimulation, and so, it’s happening in our dreams. So, it started as that. It started as, how do we give people some escape. I had this imagining of a beach motif throughout the season, and I called Ellen, and I said, what if we bring back, I don’t know, some dead character that you could dream of on the beach, that would be so fun for the fans.
And she said, let’s get Patrick. Even in my most excitable dream life, that thought hadn’t occurred to me as an option, and there it was.
DEADLINE: Ellen, what made you think of Patrick?
POMPEO: Patrick and I both have homes in Malibu, and we went for a hike one day. I had known that Krista wanted to do a beach thing, and I was at the beach. Patrick and I weren’t hiking on the beach, but we were hiking in Malibu, which, you can see the beach.
And the idea just struck me so I just said to him, would you ever consider coming and being a part of the storytelling this season? I know that Patrick has his foundation in Maine where he helps cancer patients and cancer survivors, and that’s a huge effort of his, and I know that it’s important to him, also, to give people hope, and give people joy, and we wanted to bring something to this moment.
There’s just so much darkness, and we knew that coming together would be a little ray of light. And so, I think we had the same idea, at the core, to want to help people and bring a smile to people’s faces. So, he loved the idea, and we were just so excited, and we had a ball filming it.
DEADLINE: Patrick, were you surprised when Ellen asked? What made you say yes?
DEMPSEY: I had a lot of calls from a lot of local government officials in Maine saying, we really need to get the message out there, to get people to socially distance, to wear a mask. I came across a photo that I was going to post that had Ellen and I, and I think that produced a call where I reached out to Ellen, and this was right around, the conversation was starting for Season 17. And Ellen’s like, let’s get together, I want to go over a couple things, I want to catch up.
We hadn’t spoken or been together for a while. It was a great opportunity to catch up and say, OK, what can we do for all the frontline responders? I’ve been tracking what Grey’s had been doing with giving masks, and making sure that people had the right equipment, and it came from that place — OK, what can we do to make people feel better, to give some comfort in this time of uncertainty, and that’s how it began. And it was really a wonderful experience to go back, to work with [director/EP] Debbie [Allen].
I think the whole atmosphere has changed, certainly working at the beach, and seeing everybody again was really a very healing process, and really rewarding, and a lot of fun. And hopefully, that feeling translates, and the fans enjoy it. I know that they’ve been wanting us to get back together, and I think this will satisfy a lot of people, and surprise a lot of people, hopefully.
DEADLINE: Was it easy to go back into character?
DEMPSEY: It was really enjoyable. It was really exciting, and fun, and it was great to see everybody. Kevin [McKidd, who directs Episode 3] was there as well, so there was a lot of familiar faces, a lot of new faces. The dynamic behind the camera had changed. There’s much more diversity within the crew. There was a nice balance, too, of equality that I was seeing. So, culturally, there was a lot of things that were different, that I thought were very positive and very inspiring, actually.
DEADLINE: Ellen, Patrick, did you filmed the beach scene together?
POMPEO: Yes.
DEADLINE: How was it looking at each other, on set, in character, after so many years?
DEMPSEY: Well, I have less eyesight than I used to, so (laughter). It was great. It was really fun, very special. it felt really comfortable, incredibly safe. The whole process, I have to say, from getting tested before even showing up to the set, the whole process in which we shot, I felt safe the whole time. You felt the crew was protected. We had the outdoor space, and it was easy.
POMPEO: It felt great. Patrick and I have this chemistry, where I think, even from when we first met, for some reason it just felt like we’ve known each other for a hundred years, and it’s just the same feeling. It’s like riding a bike, we just have a chemistry and a dynamic that’s always served us well, and I think we have a genuine affection for each other.
And it was very healing to come back, and know that we’re doing something good, putting out a positive story, a healing story, going to make people smile, and I think, for me, I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be able to be at this place in the show where we can do this. We constantly get to rewrite, I don’t want to say the ending, but we get to keep the rewrites going, which, I guess, you writers love, right?
They love to start over, to scrap it and rewrite it, and make it better, and that’s what’s fun about this process this far along, is getting the opportunity to work with Patrick again, and just coming up with ideas, how do we keep surprising the fans, and how do we keep the quality of the show up, is what makes it continue to be fun.
DEADLINE: How long is Patrick going to stick around for?
VERNOFF: It’s more than the one scene you saw, Nellie, and it was just joyful. I really want to echo that. Patrick and Ellen and I were all there at the beginning of this; I wasn’t there for the pilot, but I was there for the first seven seasons, and that was 17 years ago. That was, like, a lifetime ago; my kids weren’t alive. It was so wild to walk out on that beach, and just be together again as these different people that we are now. But I can’t overstate how joyful and healing an experience this was.
DEMPSEY: Yeah, for me as well. It was really special. It’s really hard to believe, 17 years, that’s remarkable. I mean, a lot of us didn’t have children at that point, right? So, our kids have grown up, they’re now in school. It’s crazy how much time has passed, but it really was so comforting, and lovely, and inspiring to go back, and to work together, to see everybody. It really was so open, too, that was the thing, really, people were very, I think, vulnerable in a positive way, where we were all grateful to be there and to be together.
DEADLINE: And you are game to do more episodes?
DEMPSEY: Yeah, it was fun, because I really love the message of what the dynamic is in this story. With everything that we’re dealing with right now, and certainly we have been distracted with the election, but we’re going to get back into the reality of COVID and being in a pandemic, and all the lives that have been lost. Where are these souls going? And I think that’s what attracted me to this storyline, I think it can be really helpful and healing to so many people.
POMPEO: I also think that, in a strange way, the behind the scenes of the show is certainly paralleling what we need, with the stories that we put out. What do we love about the show? We love that the show brings people together. We love that the show hopefully opens people’s minds, it opens people’s hearts, and I think that, in the running of the show and the making of the show, if we follow those same principles, if we follow the principles of love first, of acceptance, of open mind, open heart, forgiveness, all of it is, that’s the message of Grey’s.
And for us to be able to mirror that behind the scenes, and truly walk our walk and talk our talk with each other, those who created the show, I think, is a really amazing full-circle sort of story for a TV show that’s gone on this long.
DEADLINE: How hard was it to keep Patrick’s return a secret?
VERNOFF: I have to say that it was an epic feat, the keeping of this secret. I didn’t send cuts to the studio and network that included that last scene. I didn’t have writers’ assistants in the writers’ room for the last couple of months. There were writers who didn’t know we were doing this on that staff. Most of the actors didn’t know we were doing this. The crew didn’t know we were doing this when they showed up on the day.
I put the name “Ellis Grey” in the script that we read at the table, and I had Meredith say “Mom” at the table, so we got there on the day, and no one had been told what was happening. So, also watching the crew react, and [producer] Linda Klein, who’s been there from the beginning, we got Norman back, who was our amazing hair guy from the beginning [Norman T. Leavitt was makeup department head on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy for the first 14 seasons]. I was like a crazy person with this secret. And Ellen and I were texting at all hours of the night, like, who knows, I think this person.
POMPEO: Absolutely.
DEADLINE: Will we see Ellis on the show this season?
VERNOFF: I don’t know. I don’t know. You have to tune in and see who comes to the beach. It’ll be a joyful discovery.
DEADLINE: Ellen, your character is dealing with a lot of tragic COVID deaths in the premiere. For you and Krista, will we see some tragedy within the ranks of the Grey Sloan staff too? A lot of medical professionals have lost their lives to COVID in real life.
POMPEO: I think we have a responsibility to really show what these healthcare workers have been going through. It’s so easy for a big part of the population to just be irritated with wearing a mask, and they’re sort of disconnected from what real doctors and nurses and anyone who works in a hospital are actually dealing with.
I don’t want to speak for Krista, but I think for me, certainly, I saw this as an opportunity to tell the story of how hard this is for our healthcare workers; it’s devastating for them. I think Krista will tell you that they’ve sat down with so many doctors and nurses, and they hear the stories, and they’re writing right from these stories that they’re hearing. And this has been devastating, and changed the medical community forever.
So we have to show, that’s our responsibility, to show what a struggle this is for healthcare workers, and continues to be as we see [COVID] numbers spiking again. We have to try to spread some empathy, and show people that this is very real, and it’s really hard, and the next time you want to complain about wearing a mask, think about what these people have to do. They have to wear a mask, they have to wear full PPE, full cappers. They literally have to do 50 things just to be able to perform their job.
DEADLINE: Krista?
VERNOFF: I have to say that I feel like Ellen did an extraordinary job in that premiere, paying respect to healthcare workers with her performance. The thing that she did is exactly what I’ve been talking about so much, which is that these doctors and nurses who come to the writers’ room every year. They are joyful and excited, and they’re always there to tell us these exciting stories. And this year, it felt like, it was the first time they were talking to anybody.
It was the first break they were taking. It was the first time anyone was asking them what they were living through, and to a person, it felt like they were on the verge of breaking. They were different people, and I felt like Ellen so beautifully embodied it throughout this episode, the change, what this pandemic is doing to people who were trained to help and heal, but not trained to walk through war, and not trained to lose dozens of patients, sometimes in a day.
It’s breaking them, and I feel like we’re already showing the strain and the impact, and yes, there will be more of that, and somehow, we’re also bringing joy. We’ve been carefully threading this needle, of paying honor and homage, and telling the truth of this story, while finding ways to also bring joy to the audience, and I’m really excited about Season 17.
DEADLINE: You’re not going to hint whether anyone on the show is in jeopardy, are you?
VERNOFF: Well, for sure, Nellie, for sure people are in jeopardy. Meredith collapses at the end of the premiere. People are in jeopardy, and multiple people are in jeopardy throughout the season, in myriad ways, because that’s the moment we’re living through.
DEADLINE: Ellen, should we read more into Meredith’s collapse in light of you figuring out your future on the show? You have said that you’re not sure what you’re going to do beyond this season.
POMPEO: You can’t read into anything. Really, that’s dangerous territory. I think that, collectively, we, or creatively, it’s the same this year as it always is. Is there a reason to continue? What stories do we have to tell? What characters do we have to bring back that gives us story to tell? I said in another interview last week, we’re always in this incredibly sweet spot with this show, for whatever reason.
We always have incredible circumstances that allow us to continue creatively, whether it’s ideas, or circumstances that happen. Our goal is just to make good TV. I think we’re all aware of the icon status of the show, we’re so aware of that, and I think that that’s why Patrick was so humble and so grateful to be able to come back, because we are very grateful that we have this huge platform. And I don’t think any of us take the platform that we have lightly.
And so, at this point, I think, we don’t know what we’re going to do. We know that we’re grateful, and we know that we want to show our gratitude, and grateful to each other making the show, that we’re able to keep continuing to grow, and to tell stories that we think are important, and getting this moment. Listen, who gets career runs like this? Patrick Dempsey’s been working since he’s … I know he’s been working off-camera even earlier, but I mean, when was your first role, Patrick, when you were 16 or 17?
DEMPSEY: Sixteen, 17, so 30 years.
POMPEO: Who gets a run like that? So, I just think that we’re incredibly grateful to be able to still be here, and be telling these stories that we feel are important, and we’ll see. Creatively, this is our heavy-lifting, to keep raising the bar for ourselves, but we’ve got something great, which is we’ve got gratitude, and we’re all smart, creative people. So, if there’s a way to figure it out, we certainly will.
DEMPSEY: The range of emotions, where you’re getting a chance to cry, but you’re also getting a chance to laugh, I think that’s a huge success in the storytelling. The whole ride has been remarkable on so many levels, being a part of this show for so many years, and it’s profoundly changed my life in so many ways. I’m very grateful for that, and hopefully to use that platform in a positive way, where you’re doing something good. And I’m grateful to be a part of this show at this particular moment in time.
DEADLINE: The premiere is set in April 2020. Krista, will the show fast forward to now?
VERNOFF: We’re not fast forwarding. We’re playing it through. So, by the time it’s airing, most of what we’re doing is almost a year ago, in the timeline. And there’s more joy.
DEMPSEY: Do you get into how the disease is treated over time as well? Do you get into how the science — and I think this is an important thing for us to remember and to really believe in the science, in the breakthroughs that they’re making on a daily basis. How do you track that, and has that been part of your conversation?
VERNOFF: It is. It’s a constant part of the conversation, and we have three doctors on staff now who come into the writers’ room most of the time, and we have a lot of conversations of even the evolution, what you see in terms of the protective gear that they’re wearing in the premiere versus the evolution of the protective gear, when are they treating with ventilators and when are they not. There were drug studies and drug trials, and we’re doing our best to be honest about that progress, and also the evolution in the hospitals.
Grey Sloan in the premiere has a special COVID ward, and these intake tents, and then, throughout the course of the season, other spaces evolve to hold COVID patients, and we’re hearing news about other hospitals. Washington was hit really hard early on. So, we’re trying to play through all of that.
DEMPSEY: Sorry, follow-up question, if I may. Do you get into the politics of the mask, and how that affects in a negative or a positive way? Do you go down that road at all?
VERNOFF: We try to stay away from overt politics, and the politicizing of the mask is a real thing that happened. So, we’re not talking about politicians. We just don’t do that at Grey’s Anatomy, partly because we want the show to be for everybody, and we don’t want it to become so polarizing, where it feels like we’re preaching from some particular pulpit. We’re just sticking with the science, and the reaction of doctors to the idea that people are not understanding and/or not believing that masks are imperative to protect other people and themselves.
So, we’re playing it through character, is the answer, like what an outrage it is for these doctors, who spend their lives and their all-day, every-day, trying to save people, to see human beings out there choosing not to protect their fellow human beings, because they’re not believing in science, and they’re not believing scientists.
DEADLINE: How is filming going? Grey’s was one of the first shows to shut down production early in the pandemic to protect the cast and crew. How is it now, with the new COVID wave? I write stories about shutdowns virtually every day.
VERNOFF: I mean, knocking wood, so far.
POMPEO: Good so far, yeah. We’re good. Of course, anything can happen at any moment, but I think that collectively, everybody’s really careful. And again, we’re trying to be mindful of one another, and we’re trying to be mindful of how we live our lives when we’re not at work, because that’s the smart thing to do, and we have to come to work and keep everybody safe. Nobody wants to get shut down.
VERNOFF: We’re really careful in our creating of the show, also, to help the actors feel safe. We shut down before other shows, we also came back to production before a lot of other shows, thanks to truly the leadership of Debbie Allen. There was some leadership from me, but for sure, it was guided by Debbie Allen going, if we don’t come back, we’re never going to come back, come on, Krista, we’re coming back. Set a date, set a date, set a date, where’s the scripts? Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.
She kept saying, if you put a date on the calendar, we’re going to work toward it, and we’re going to figure out how to do it safely, and we really did figure out how to do it safely. We were lucky that we’re set in a hospital, so that our actors, when they’re working together tightly, can be in masks. But it was also my job, and the job of the writers, to come up with plans and motifs that allowed the audience to see the actors’ faces, and the actors to feel safe in that.
So, you didn’t just see a beach motif, which is a continuing motif through the season, and it was designed, that particular motif, so that Ellen could come to work without a mask and feel safe, because she’s outside; the epidemiologists have been clear about how much safer outside is. But you also saw, for the first time in 17 seasons, Meredith’s house back yard. We built a backyard set on the exterior of the lot, outside the writers’ bungalow, so that those actors could give us some no-mask time, and feel safe in the beginning.
And more and more, we’re understanding how to keep everyone safe indoors, so we’re getting a little bit more without masks indoors, but at the beginning, we had to really be creative, in terms of how are we doing this, how are we keeping ourselves safe, how are we helping them feel safe, and how are we giving the fans a show that’s joyful in addition to true.
DEADLINE: And one final question: is there any hope for Teddy and Owen?
VERNOFF: Teddy is doing good. They’ve got a long haul, Nellie. If there’s hope for them, it’s in the ethers, but you know, I didn’t have a lot of hope that Patrick Dempsey was going to be back on Grey’s Anatomy last year, and look where we are. So…
‘THAT’S THE FOURTH PATIENT I’VE LOST TODAY, AND THEY’RE ALL DYING ALONE… WELCOME BACK, RICHARD!’ | As “All Tomorrow’s Parties” began, it was April 2020 — in other words, mid-pandemic. To Bailey’s surprise, Richard, now happily cobalt-free, reported back to work. He especially wanted to say hello to DeLuca. (In a flashback, we learned that he had struggled mightily after Richard’s surgery — and Carina blamed Meredith for having pushed him.) Webber also wanted to know whether it was true that a whole OR had heard Teddy having sex with Koracick in a voicemail. Nearby, Jackson accidentally overheard Winston tell Maggie that he loved her at the end of a FaceTime call. WTH was that? said her expression. Later, Winston would explain it away in a manner that didn’t freak her out but did kinda make her heart flutter. Oh, and as for Jackson, in a flashback, we saw that Vic had misunderstood a text from her hot doctor lover and showed up at his place with nothing on under her puffy coat… only to be greeted by Harriet in his arms. “I’m not a stepmom,” the incident made her realize. Mm-hmm, except maybe one day to Pru.
When Tom ran into Richard, he explained in his inimitable style that he was carrying around a golf club to keep anyone from getting within six feet. He’d soon snap and use his nine iron on boxes of what were supposed to be PPEs but were actually only booties. Treating Kaden, the burn victim from Station 19’s Season 4 premiere (recapped here), Jackson had a capital-M moment upon seeing Jo. Apparently, they had hooked up!!! (OK, that qualified for at least one OMG!) Alone with her shortly thereafter, she suggested that “people do stupid things.” Had the hookup been a letdown? In a subsequent flashback, Jo asked Jackson for a “sexual favor” — a bridge over the river of the husband who left her. A one-night bridge to not being a sad sack. And he was “a human male that I kinda trust,” she added, the flatterer. When she showed up for their rendezvous, she hadn’t even bothered to wear pants. He, meanwhile, had set up his place for a date. A bad, bad date. “No girl wants to take her clothes off after eating cheese and cured meat,” she laughed. And certainly not to Kenny G music. Still they kissed. “I really want to have sex with you,” she said. But she kept crying. Hilarious.
‘WHAT SEEMS LIKE A WEAKNESS IS ACTUALLY A STRENGTH… IF YOU GET HELP’ | In another. pre-COVID flashback, we saw that, since DeLuca was resting in an on-call room — Mer hadn’t wanted to leave him home alone in his state — Bailey was able to inform him that Cindy was there asking for him. He had been right, Miranda told him; the girl had been being trafficked. When she’d continued getting sicker, Opal had said that she was useless and dumped her. At that point, she’d made her way back to Grey Sloan. While being treated by DeLuca, she confessed that her real name was Erin. She’d been abducted at 14 after falling for a “photographer’s” scam. Later, Bailey, Mer, Carina and Richard united to stage a kind of intervention for Andrew. “I would give up every life I ever saved to not feel like this,” he cried. He’d even give up having known Mer. He’d only had one goal in life: to not be like his father, and he’d failed. “All we’re asking you to do,” Grey told him, “is fight as hard for yourself as you do for everyone else.”
Back in the “present,” as we neared the end of the first episode, Mer, strong as she is, lost it after yet another patient neared death. No sooner had she trashed a supply closet than who should walk in but DeLuca. “Hey,” he said. She was in no mood for “Hey,” though. She was pissed that he’d turned off his cell phone and panicked her. “I’m glad you’re OK,” she said angrily. In one last Cindy flashback — sorry, Erin — she was reunited with her sister, who assured her, “It’s not your fault.” In the “present,” Richard broke the rules to allow Kaden’s mother to see him. “If Bailey asks, I’ll tell her I didn’t get to that part of the manual,” he told Jackson. Oh, that’d go well! When he tried to do exactly that, she started to fuss, but he diverted her by revealing that he’d found a way to sanitize PPEs without deteriorating the masks. She only got on him so much, she said, because she cared. She didn’t want him to put himself at risk. In response, he explained that every one of his relationships had failed. He couldn’t walk away from the one that he has with the hospital, too. Finally, Jo apologized to Jackson for the way she’d behaved toward him. “I’m pretty sure I snotted in your mouth,” she recalled. He wasn’t upset, though; they were friends, they were fine. Bumping into Nico, Levi said that he hoped his ex was doing fine, because he himself wasn’t. He’d just lost his 100th patient. Nico was about as caring and responsive as ever. Ugh.
‘HOW IS NEXT WEEK ALREADY OVER?’ | In “The Center Won’t Hold,” the second of our two episodes, Richard and Catherine crossed paths for apparently the first time since his surgery. When she snarked that he’d better be careful post-hip surgery, he wouldn’t want to get hurt again. “The only pain I’m feeling right now,” he shot back, “is square in my ass.” At Mer’s, Amelia was stunned to learn that she’d misplaced a week and missed Link’s birthday. In a flashback, the new parents struggled to name their son. Scout was out, per Amelia. Tony was out, per Link. Maybe they could name him after something they dreamed of? “Snake in a vest” didn’t have a great ring, though, Link noted. In the “present,” Amelia tried to make it up to Link for missing his birthday by occupying the kids with a movie and modeling her birthday suit. Upstairs, the couple partook in a brilliantly naughty, socially-distanced love scene.
In the “present,” Owen asked Teddy to talk after work. It seemed they hadn’t really since… since presumably their wedding was postponed. In a flashback, he told Teddy that he should’ve left his mom a voicemail (ha) to let her know they weren’t tying the knot that day. But no, he didn’t wanna cancel. Did she? Oh, Owen. What are you up to? Back in the now, he told his would-be wife that if he died, she’d get Alison, of course. But maybe if she couldn’t handle Leo, too, Amelia and Link could take him. “I’m not OK with you dying,” she said. And that wasn’t what they were supposed to be talking about, anyway — clearly. Before the conversation went any further, she was paged, leaving Owen alone and forlorn. “Let’s talk later then,” he said. When “later” arrived, Teddy challenged Owen to tell her what was wrong. In response, he beseeched her to come clean with him. He loved her. She was his best friend. So spit it out. “No,” she insisted. “There’s nothing.” So he played her the telltale voicemail message that he’d heard on what was supposed to have been their wedding day. “So much for love,” he said. “So much for friendship. So much for trust. So much for us.”
‘SO THAT’S YOUR REPORT? THAT THE WORLD IS ON FIRE?’ | In a powwow with Maggie, Catherine balked at Pierce’s requests. Loudly. But really, they were both just furious that they were faced with a problem that they couldn’t solve. “I hate that everyone is dying!” Catherine yelled. Eventually, they wore themselves out and Catherine admitted that she hated that Richard hadn’t come back to her. In a flashback, Jackson found his stepfather watching his medical-conference “speech” online. But he couldn’t blame all of his mistakes on cobalt. He’d advised Maggie to operate on her cousin. He’d spent time with Gemma. “I have no one to blame but myself,” said Richard. Later, Jackson acknowledged that his mother could be impossible. But “when she loves, it’s hard.” So Richard needed to choke down his ego and forgive Catherine already. Take her call and hear her out — for Jackson if not himself. In the “present,” Maggie challenged Catherine to woman up and keep fighting for Richard. As the episode drew to a close, Catherine told Tom that she was accepting a resignation that he hadn’t offered as chief of chiefs but would keep him on as neuro chief. She then offered Richard the COC position — and an apology for everything she’d done that had hurt him. Aw, those crazy kids were back together again.
Meredith was downright gleeful when she was called in by Cormac to help him save a kid named Frankie’s kidney. (He fell on a spike on Station 19, you may recall.) The teen’s pal Kaden, meanwhile, turned out to have been burned so badly that even his insides were fried. After Cormac told Frankie’s dad that he’d pulled through surgery, Maggie and DeLuca broke it to Kaden’s father that he… had not. Suddenly, both dads had to feel pretty stupid about the fight they’d had that had injured Bailey’s leg. Reeling from the heartache, Teddy wound up clashing with Jo, who was eager to judge her. “You had a beautiful life,” said Jo, “and you blew it up with a butt-dial.” When Teddy welcomed Jo to judge her as harshly as she wanted — it still wouldn’t be as harshly as she was judging herself — the former Mrs. Karev asked if she’d told Owen that. She’d tried. Well, concluded Jo, “try harder.” Mer got a text from Cormac inviting her for a drink in his office just as it appeared that she and DeLuca had gone back to being just friends. Nico locked Levi in a storage closet to offer him some “stress relief.” Oh, Schmitt, you deserve better!
In the final moments of the episode, Maggie got home to find a tent in the backyard — a gift from Winston so she could get her sleep and see her family whenever she wanted. “I know you don’t like camping,” he joked. But she loved it — and him. Link told Amelia that he’d loved his birthday. “I got sex and a donut” — gluten-free but still. Oh, and it sounded like they’d decided to name the baby Scout after all. Teddy approached Owen to apologize and profess her love. What had he done to make her hate him so much as to cheat on him? he wanted to know. She hadn’t even said that she wouldn’t run away with Tom, she just said that she was marrying Owen, as if it was some fate that she’d accepted. He couldn’t forgive her. When Cormac left Grey Sloan for the evening, he found Meredith collapsed in the parking lot. At the same time, apparently hovering between life and death on a beach in her mind, Meredith was reunited with Derek. The Derek. For real.
Marsh will play Val Ashton. She’s intelligent, has a fun-loving sense of humor and works in publishing but is extremely lonely.
Created and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, ABC Studios-produced Grey’s Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman and Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca.
Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, showrunner Krista Vernoff, Debbie Allen, Zoanne Clack, Fred Einesman, Andy Reaser and Meg Marinis are executive producers.
Marsh’s recent credits include guest/recurring roles on Charmed, Will & Grace, American Housewife and The Following, as well as the Courtney Cox-directed feature Just Before I Go. Marsh is repped by Kerner Management Associates and Pakula King and Associates.
Season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres at 9 PM Thursday, November 12, on ABC.
Cruel Summer takes place over three summers — 1993-95 — in a small Texas town when a beautiful popular teen, Kate (Olivia Holt), is abducted and, seemingly unrelated, a girl, Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia), goes from being a sweet, awkward outlier to the most popular girl in town and, by ’95, the most despised person in America. Each episode is told from the POV of one of the two main girls, which will have the viewers’ loyalties constantly shifting as more information is revealed.
Drew will play Cindy Turner, mother to Jeanette. Although once the most popular girl in town, Cindy struggles to hold her family together while being in the crosshairs of town gossip.
Royal executive produces the series with Iron Ocean Productions’ Biel and Michelle Purple.
Drew is best known for her nine-season run as Dr. April Kepner on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. She is repped by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment and Morris Yorn.
The film centers on a lonely recluse whose life is upended when her train wreck of a sister vows to mend their relationship by helping her fulfill her lifelong dream: to be a contestant on her favorite game show.
Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell are producing the pic for Gloria Sanchez along with Itay Reiss and Maggie Haskins from Artists First, as well as D’Angelo, Awkwafina, and Oh.
Oh is currently starring in the British spy thriller series Killing Eve and is also remembered for her longtime turn as Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, two performances that have resulted in Golden Globe awards. Her upcoming slate includes the supernatural horror film Umma and Over the Moon, the latter an animated musical retelling of the classic Chinese myth.
Awkwafina is also coming off a Golden Globe-winning performance in The Farewell as well as a successful first season of her Comedy Central series Awkwafina is Nora From Queens. She will next be seen in Breaking News in Yuba County, Disney/Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and will voice the role of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid live-action remake.
Oh is repped by UTA, Principal Entertainment LA, and Hansen, Jacobson. Awkwafina is repped by UTA, Artists First and attorney Isaac Dunham. D’Angelo is repped by Artists First, UTA and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.
“We don’t know when the show is really ending yet. But the truth is, this year could be it,” Pompeo shared as part of our sister site Variety’s in-depth retrospective on the medical drama (which returns Thursday, Nov. 12 with a two-hour premiere).
“I mean, this is the last year of my contract right now,” said Pompeo, who in May 2019 extended through Season 17 a headline-making pact that reportedly pays her north of $550,000 per episode. “I don’t know that this is the last year? But it could very well could be.”
But as noted above, Pompeo full well knew the noise these new quotes would make. “There’s your sound bite!” she told Variety. “There’s your clickbait! ABC’s on the phone!”
On a more serious note… Pompeo said that in mulling her future and thus Grey’s Anatomy‘s own, “I don’t take the decision lightly,” given that the series employs a lot of people and offers a large forum to address issues. “I’m very grateful for it.”
“I’m just weighing out creatively what can we do,” she said, going into a season that will acknowledge the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on front line workers such as Meredith, Bailey et al. “I’m really, really, really excited about this season. It’s probably going to be one of our best seasons ever. And I know that sounds nuts to say, but it’s really true.”
“Today we’re celebrating gender equality giants, at a time when there’s a lot at stake for girls and women,” said Kilby. “We’re honored to stand with them in building a brighter, more equal movement by relentlessly showing that girls are and have always been leading us toward a better future.”
The awards will honor Rhimes for her work as a storyteller that explores the most relevant topics of our time, reflecting the world as we know it onscreen with dynamic characters; Burke who founded #metoo, a movement that kicked off a worldwide wave of women taking a stand against violence and discrimination; and lifelong civil rights advocate Huerta who models how standing for a cause can change the world. The honorees will participate in conversations with Girl Up’s own girl changemakers Ina Bhoopalam, Alliyah Logan, and Rym Badran as they share their work for gender equality.
The one-on-one conversations will highlight advocates, allies, and activists shaking up accepted norms and changing the trajectory of global gender equality over the course of their lifetime.
Honorees of last year’s #GirlHero Awards in Los Angeles were Cara Delevingne, Jameela Jamil and Kate Hudson. Stephanie McMahon, Pamella Roland, LaVerne Council, Amanda Fata, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Michelle King, Alexandra Trustman, Shaun Robinson, Tracy Shaffer and Chantelle Siegel will serve as this year’s co-chairs of the event.
The TV maven, who made more than $2 billion for the network with shows including “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” revealed that a squabble over a ticket to Disneyland led to her exit from ABC.
Rhimes, 50, explained the battles over budgets and content with the network — which is owned by Disney — were endless.
“I felt like I was dying,” Rhimes told The Hollywood Reporter. “Like I’d been pushing the same ball up the same hill in the exact same way for a really long time.”
However, the straw that finally broke the camel’s back came down to something as mundane as an all-inclusive pass to Disneyland.
Included in her ABC contract was a non-transferrable pass to the theme park and — because she was single — she negotiated a second pass for her daughters’ nanny.
One day, though, she needed an extra pass so that her sister could take Rhimes’ teenage daughter, Emerson, while the nanny chaperoned her younger daughters, Harper and Beckett.
Rhimes said she was “told more than once” that they “never do this.”
The producing powerhouse even called a high-ranking exec at the company to sort out the mess.
The exec reportedly replied, “Don’t you have enough?”
It was then that Rhimes, who was already in talks with Netflix about a possible deal, called her lawyer and told him, “Figure out a way to get [me] over to Netflix, or [I’ll] find new representatives.”
According to USA Today, a one-day Park Hopper ticket to Disneyland in 2019 cost $199. It’s unclear if her all-inclusive pass included any other perks.
In 2017, Netflix announced it had signed a first-of-its-kind, nine-figure creative deal with Rhimes.
ABC did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
McCreary will lead Wednesday Morning, a one-off audio drama from her husband, Insecure and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia director Pete Chatmon and Candice Sanchez McFarlane.
It also stars Colman Domingo (Fear The Walking Dead), Spencer Garrett (The Frontrunner), Blake DeLong (When They See Us), Joy Nash (Twin Peaks), Louis Ozawa (Hunters), Elena Campbell-Martinez (Vida), Remy Ortiz (Instant Family) and Monnie Aleahmad (Bosch).
McCreary plays Jeannine Hamilton on the morning after Election Day where she discovers that if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. After losing a local upstate election, Jeannine pays a surprise visit to her father, Wesley’s, palatial estate. She unexpectedly finds herself at a celebratory brunch surrounded by his duplicitous comrades as they engage in a dangerous game of political horsetrading, leaving Jeannine to make a life or death decision before dessert can be served.
The show, which airs on October 21, is unusual in that it is a one-off podcast event, rather than a multi-part series, a sign of the growing podcast business.
It is produced by McCreary’s Lighten Up Productions and Chatmon’s TheDirector with Chatmon, Sanchez McFarlane, Tristan Nash and Christina Dehaven-Call producing. It features music from ELEW and sound design by Matt Polis.
McCreary said, “This podcast event is for anyone passionate about getting folks to the polls to cast votes that will bring us closer to realizing the promise of this country for all of its citizens. Wednesday Morning deploys the power of storytelling to transform cynicism and apathy toward civic engagement into a true sense of personal and community empowerment. We hope that Wednesday Morning will bring its audience catharsis and enjoyment and be a unique tool in your get out the vote kit as we enter this final stretch of election season.”
Chatmon said, “I was prepping a season finale back in March when production was halted on my wife’s show. By the end of the evening, we were shut down, and by the next day, the entire industry had followed suit. The events surrounding our nation’s response and the heightened politics around how we got here prompted Candice and I to create a project that spoke truth to power and provided some positivity in trying times. We also hoped to inspire engagement with all voters for the upcoming Presidential election.” Sanchez McFarlane added, “Creating Wednesday Morning in podcast format allowed us to make bold creative choices in a challenging production climate. We were incredibly fortunate to have a cast whose talents elevated this audio experience in ways that amplify the heart of this project.”
Based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Kristin Hannah (who serves as co-executive producer on the 10-episode series), Firefly Lane proposes that “the greatest love story of all can be between friends.”
“When unlikely duo Tully (played by former Grey’s Anatomy doc Heigl) and Kate (onetime Scrubs doc Chalke) meet at age 14, they couldn’t be more different,” reads the synopsis. “Tully is the brash and bold girl you can’t ignore, while Kate is the mousy shy girl you never notice. But when a tragedy brings them together, they are bonded for life — forever inseparable best friends. Together they experience 30 years of ups and downs — triumphs and disappointments, heartbreak and joy, and a love triangle that strains their friendship. One goes on to fabulous wealth and fame, the other chooses marriage and motherhood — but through the decades, their bond remains — until it faces the ultimate test.”. The cast also includes Ali Skovbye (When Calls the Heart) and Roan Curtis (The Magicians) as young versions of Tully and Kate (seen in the first photo below), plus Ben Lawson (you may say Doubt, but I’ll go with Designated Survivor), Yael Yurman (The Man in the High Castle) and Beau Garrett (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce).
Maggie Friedman (Witches of East End, Eastwick) serves as showrunner and will executive-produce along with Heigl, Peter O’Fallon, Shawn Williamson and Lee Rose.
The judge just signed off to finalize the "Grey's Anatomy" star's divorce settlement with Aryn Drake-Lee -- and it means they're both officially single as of August 7, 2020.
According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... they will share joint legal and physical custody of their 2 young children -- son Maceo and daughter Sadie. However, they have to meet and confer with each other about posting images of the kids on social media.
As for major financial business ... Aryn gets to keep the former family house in L.A., along with places in Brooklyn and Oakland. She's also keeping a leased 2017 Audi Q7 SUV and 2018 Q5 SUV, while Jesse gets to keep his leased 2018 Porsche Cayenne SUV. They really dig SUVs.
The good news for Jesse -- he's also keeping the $936,810 he made in profits from "Grey's Anatomy" since their 2017 separation.
Other accounts and royalties accumulated during their marriage will be split up, and of course ... Jesse's still on the hook for child support. According to the docs, he owes $50,629 per month for the 2 kids up until October 2019, and then $40k per month after that.
He also has to fork over 2 more spousal support payments of $50,695 for August 2019 and September 2019 to Aryn ... but then no more.
According to the docs ... Jesse and Aryn actually reached the settlement in Sept. 2019, but now it's officially a done deal with the judge's signoff.
TMZ broke the story ... Jesse filed to end his 5-year marriage to Aryn in 2017. They'd actually been together for 13 years.
When Jesse filed, it initially seemed like the proceedings would be amicable. Remember, they were even committed to co-parenting despite the divorce. But, it didn't take long for things to take a nasty turn when they beefed over child custody.
It was around that time that Jesse also responded to stories about dating Minka Kelly on Jay-Z's "Footnotes from 4:44" video release.
Then there were all the financial battles -- after he was ordered to fork over $100k per month in support payments for Aryn and the kids. She wanted more child support money and Jesse wasn't buying it.
So, pretty contentious, to say the least. But, at least it's all over now.
“We all have heroes — people we aspire to be,” we hear in the 30-second video. “The ones who fight, who help us to survive when it matters. The ones who always show up.”
Heading into the 17th season of Grey’s and fourth for Station 19 — which premiere Thursday, November 12 — their showrunner/executive producer Krista Vernoff said: “This season, our work is dedicated to the healthcare workers who put their lives on the line every day to try to save ours. Wear a mask, save someone else’s life.”
Smith is set to play Merrilee Legarski and will act opposite John Carroll Lynch’s Rick as his wife and mother of their two children. Joseph will play former military soldier Jospeh Dewell and father of detective Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury). Marsh is Justin Hoyt and child actor Jacob-Cross is Kai Dewell, Cassie’s son.
Smith most recently appeared in Jay Roach’s Bombshell and guest starred on Netflix’s Unbelievable. Smith, whose TV credits also include Bates Motel, Ray Donovan, Supergirl and Weeds, is set to appear in Little Marvin and Lena Waithe’s Amazon anthology series Them: Covenant.
Joseph, an Emmy-nominated In Living Color writer, joins the cast after having served as the on-set acting coach for Chris Rock on Fargo season four. The actor’s additional acting credits include A Million Little Things, Ghostwriter, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Dream on.
Marsh comes to the Big Sky with acting credits from titles including You Me Her, Batwoman and Nancy Drew. Young actor Jacob-Cross has been recurring on TNT’s Snowpiercer. is set to appear in The Christmas Aunt and A Christmas Miracle for Lifetime and Hallmark, respectively.
The new ABC series, which also stars Katheryn Winnick, Kylie Bunbury and Ryan Phillippe, sees private detectives Cassie Dewell and Cody Hoyt team with ex-cop Jenny Hoyt to search for two sisters mysteriously kidnapped by a truck driver in Montana. Upon learning that the kidnapping isn’t an isolated incident, the law officials must race against the clock to prevent any more abductions.
Based on the book series by C.J. Box, Big Sky is executive produced by David E. Kelley, Ross Fineman, Matthew Gross, Paul McGuigan, C.J. Box and Gwyneth Horder-Payton, and is produced by 20th Century Fox Television in association with A+E Studios.
Big Sky will premiere on ABC on Nov. 17.
Iris K. Shim, wrote the screenplay and will make her feature film directing debut. Fivel Stewart, Dermot Mulroney, Odeya Rush, MeeWha Alana Lee and Tom Yi also have joined the cast.
Umma, which is the Korean word for “mother,” follows Amanda (Oh) and her daughter living a quiet life on an American farm, but when the remains of her estranged mother arrive from Korea, Amanda becomes haunted by the fear of turning into her own mother.
The pic is the first project produced by Sam Raimi and Zainab Azizi of Raimi Productions through their development deal with Starlight Media. Starlight CEO Peter Luo is serving as executive producer and Starlight Media is co-financing the film with Stage 6 Films.
Matt Black is executive producing alongside Catchlight Studios’ Jeanette Volturno and Marcei Brown. André Øvredal is also serving as executive producer. Eric Charles and Elizabeth Grave are overseeing for Stage 6 Films.
Oh stars in BBC America’s critically acclaimed smash Killing Eve, for which she won a historic Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and three Emmy nominations for Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Oh won Golden Globe and SAG award for her role as Dr. Cristina Yang on the long-running ABC series Grey’s Anatomy, and she received five Emmy noms.
Shim’s first film, The House of Suh, premiered at the Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and went on to win awards at the Hamptons Film Festival, San Diego Asian American Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, as well as a CINE Master Series Award. Raimi Productions most recently produced Crawl, the action-packed creature feature that garnered strong reviews and $92M of worldwide box office.
CAA Media Finance, Eric Harbert (Raskin Gorham Anderson Law) negotiated the deal with Sony on behalf of Raimi Productions and Noel C. Lohr (LHR Law Inc.) negotiated on behalf of Starlight Media.
Starlight Media has been involved in a wide range of critically and commercially successful films including Marshall, Crazy Rich Asians and Midway.
Oh is repped by UTA, Principal LA Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson Teller. Stewart is repped by Sovereign Agent Theatrical and TSC Entertainment. Mulroney is repped by Paradigm and Luber Roklin Entertainment. Rush is repped by CAA and MGMT. Lee is repped by About Artists Agency. Shim is repped by WME, Circle of Confusion and Gregg Gellman and Cary Dobkin. Raimi is repped by CAA.
Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Dolly Parton and Christine Baranski are among the stars set to deck the halls at Netflix this holiday season.
The streamer has unveiled its “Here for the Holidays” lineup, and it includes more than 30 Christmas movies, TV shows and specials set to premiere between late October and mid-December. First up: the Emma Roberts rom-com Holidate (dropping Wednesday, Oct. 28). The film’s ensemble also includes Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy), Manish Dayal (The Resident), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), Frances Fisher (Watchmen) and Kristin Chenoweth (American Gods).
Come November, you’ll find Operation Christmas Drop (led by Vampire Diaries vet Kat Graham) and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (starring Oscar winner Forest Whitaker), as well as sequels to The Christmas Chronicles (featuring the aforementioned Russell and Hawn) and The Princess Switch (starring Vanessa Hudgens, again in a dual role).
On the scripted series front, you have the new rom-com Dash & Lily (starring Euphoria‘s Austin Abrams), plus fresh episodes of The Great British Baking Show and Sugar Rush. Viewers will also get a chance to bid a proper adieu to cancelled family sitcoms Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love and The Big Show Show, both of which will conclude with Christmas-themed specials.
HOLIDATE (MOVIE)
THE CAST: Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Andrew Bachelor, Jessica Capshaw, Manish Dayal, Alex Moffat, Jake Manley, Cynthy Wu, Frances Fisher and Kristin Chenoweth
THE PREMISE: Sloane (Roberts) and Jackson (Bracey) hate the holidays. They constantly find themselves single, sitting at the kids table, or stuck with awkward dates. But when these two strangers meet one particularly bad Christmas, they make a pact to be each other’s “holidate” for every festive occasion throughout the next year. With a mutual disdain for the holidays, and assuring themselves that they have no romantic interest in the other, they make the perfect team. However, as a year of absurd celebrations come to an end, Sloane and Jackson find that sharing everything they hate may just prove to be something they unexpectedly love.
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 28
OPERATION CHRISTMAS DROP (MOVIE)
THE CAST: Kat Graham, Alexander Ludwig and Virginia Madsen
THE PREMISE: Chasing a promotion, congressional aide Erica Miller forgoes family Christmas to travel across the Pacific at her boss’s behest. Upon landing at a beachside Air Force base, she clashes with her guide, Captain Andrew Jantz, who knows her assignment is finding reasons to defund the facility. The pilot’s pet project — Operation: Christmas Drop, a genuine, decades-old tradition where gifts and supplies are parachuted to residents of remote neighboring islands — has lawmakers wondering if his unit has too much spare energy. Despite their initial opposing goals, Erica softens once she experiences the customs and communal spirit of Andrew’s adopted home.
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Nov. 5
DASH & LILY
THE CAST: Austin Abrams, Midori Frances, Dante Brown, Troy Iwata, Keana Marie, James Saito, Jodi Long, Glenn McCuen, Michael Park, Gideon Emery, Jennifer Ikeda and Diego Guevara
THE PREMISE: A whirlwind Holiday romance builds as cynical Dash and optimistic Lily trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations all across New York City, finding they have more in common with each other than they would have expected. The series is based on the young adult book series Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares from New York Times bestselling authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.
PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 10
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY (MOVIE)
THE CAST: Forest Whitaker, Madalen Mills, Keegan-Michael Key, Sharon Rose, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Ricky Martin, Kieron Dyer, Justin Cornwell, Lisa Davina Phillip and Hugh Bonneville
THE PREMISE: A musical adventure and a visual spectacle for the ages, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is a wholly fresh and spirited family holiday event. Set in the gloriously vibrant town of Cobbleton, the film follows legendary toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Whitaker) whose fanciful inventions burst with whimsy and wonder. But when his trusted apprentice (Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key) steals his most prized creation, it’s up to his equally bright and inventive granddaughter (Mills) — and a long-forgotten invention — to heal old wounds and reawaken the magic within. From the imagination of writer-director David E. Talbert and featuring original songs by John Legend, Philip Lawrence, Davy Nathan, and “This Day” performed by Usher and Kiana Ledé, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey reminds us of the strength of family and the power of possibility.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 13
HOLIDAY HOME MAKEOVER WITH MR. CHRISTMAS
THE CAST: Benjamin Bradley
THE PREMISE: Benjamin Bradley, best known as Mr. Christmas, is a veteran in the interior design industry with a healthy obsession with the holiday season. For Mr. Christmas, the holidays are all about celebrating love, life, family and friends through meaningful traditions. In the new Netflix series Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas, Bradley takes you behind the scenes as he puts his design expertise and vast Christmas collection to good use. Equipped with lights, garlands, and enough tinsel to blanket the North Pole, he and his team of elves work around the clock to bring holiday cheer to families and communities deserving of a home makeover for the most joyous time of year. Mr. Christmas invites viewers along for the ride to kick off the holiday season and get inspired to take their own home decorating and traditions to the next level.
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 18
THE PRINCESS SWITCH: SWITCHED AGAIN (MOVIE)
THE CAST: Vanessa Hudgens, Sam Palladio, Nick Sagar
THE PREMISE: When Duchess Margaret unexpectedly inherits the throne to Montenaro and hits a rough patch with boyfriend Kevin, it’s up to her double Princess Stacy of Belgravia to get these star-crossed lovers back together… but the course of true love is complicated by the appearance of a handsome royal who’s intent on stealing Margaret’s heart. Throw in the unexpected arrival of Margaret’s outrageous party girl cousin Fiona, a third look-alike who has ambitions of her own, and you have the recipe for Christmas triple trouble!
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Nov. 19
DOLLY PARTON'S CHRISTMAS ON THE SQUARE (MOVIE)
THE CAST: Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Jenifer Lewis, Treat Williams, Jeanine Mason, Josh Segarra and Mary Lane Haskell
THE PREMISE: A rich and nasty woman, Regina Fuller, returns to her small hometown after her father’s death to evict everyone and sell the land to a mall developer – right before Christmas. However, after listening to stories of the local townsfolk, reconnecting with an old love, and accepting the guidance of an actual angel, Regina starts to have a change of heart. This is the story about family, love and how a small town’s Christmas spirit can warm the coldest of hearts. Featuring 14 original songs with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 22
THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES: PART TWO (MOVIE)
THE CAST: Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Jahzir Bruno, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Julian Dennison, Tyrese Gibson with Judah Lewis and Darby Camp
THE PREMISE: It’s been two years since siblings Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Lewis) saved Christmas, and a lot has changed. Kate, now a cynical teenager, is reluctantly spending Christmas in Cancun with her mom’s new boyfriend and his son Jack (Bruno). Unwilling to accept this new version of her family, Kate decides to run away. But when a mysterious, magical troublemaker named Belsnickel threatens to destroy the North Pole and end Christmas for good, Kate and Jack are unexpectedly pulled into a new adventure with Santa Claus (Russell).
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 25
DANCE DREAMS: HOT CHOCOLATE NUTCRACKER (DOCUMENTARY)
THE PREMISE: From Shondaland, Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker spotlights the career of award-winning entertainer Debbie Allen and follows her group of young dancers as they prepare for Allen’s annual “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” production.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 27
SUGAR RUSH CHRISTMAS SEASON 2
THE PREMISE: This competition series challenges bakers to create holiday treats that look festive and taste amazing — all against a ticking clock.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 27
THE CAST: Leandro Hassum, Elisa Pinheiro, Ariane Botelho, Miguel Rômulo, Louise Cardoso, Danielle Winits
THE PREMISE: After taking a very nasty fall on Christmas Eve, grinchy Jorge blacks out and wakes up one year later, with no memory of the year that has passed. He soon realizes that he’s doomed to keep waking up on Christmas Eve after Christmas Eve, having to deal with the aftermath of what his other self has done the other 364 days of the year.
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Dec. 3
GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW: HOLIDAYS SEASON 3
the great british baking show holidays season 3
THE PREMISE: ‘Tis the season for eight returning bakers to vie for the holiday crown as they race to make wondrous winter treats.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Dec. 4
Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love and The Big Show Show
ALIEN XMAS
When a race of kleptomaniac aliens attempts to steal Earth’s gravity in order to more easily take everything on the planet, only the gift-giving spirit of Christmas and a small alien named X can save the world.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 20
DRAGONS: RESCUE RIDERS – HUTTSGALOR HOLIDAY
Huttsgalor’s favorite winter festival is finally here! But will some ice-breathing dragons put a frost on everyone’s fun.
PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 24
A GO! GO! CORY CARSON CHRISTMAS
When a snow plow, who has an uncanny resemblance to Santa, crashes in the Carson’s yard, Cory must remind him who he is in order to save Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 27
WONDEROOS: HOLIDAY HOLIDAY!
It’s winter in the big city and everyone is excited to celebrate the holidays! When Poppy decides to throw a holiday party for Sully, the Wonderoos learn that there are lots of different holidays and ways to celebrate!
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 29
ANGELA’S CHRISTMAS WISH
Angela’s Christmas Wish is a heart-warming tale of a determined little girl who sets out to reunite her family in time for Christmas. Based on characters from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt, it is a tender and funny story about the importance of family and togetherness.
PREMIERE DATE: TUESDAY, DEC. 1
CHICO BON BON AND THE VERY BERRY HOLIDAY
When Barry the Berry Bear doesn’t show up to deliver the traditional Blunderberry Cakes on Blunderberry Day Eve, the Fix-It Force kicks it into high gear to save the town’s most magical holiday!
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Dec. 3
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS MEGA BLISSMAS
George and Harold love Christmas, but they feel like it could use some upgrades. So they make a comic about a new version of the holiday: BLISSMAS. Instead of red bows, laser shows! Instead of ugly sweaters, cool capes! Instead of decorating trees, creating tree-bots! The boys take Melvin’s time toad back to convince Santa to incorporate some of their ideas to his new holiday. But they come back to the present to find that their plan didn’t work quite how they’d hoped. George and Harold realize they need to help Santa remember the true meaning of Christmas before it’s gone forever!
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Dec. 4
MIGHTY EXPRESS: A MIGHTY CHRISTMAS
Mandy Mail must deliver a load of late Christmas letters to the North Pole, then all the trains join in to help Santa deliver the presents during a big storm.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 5
SUPER MONSTERS: SANTA’S SUPER MONSTER HELPERS
When GrrBus takes Sami, Zane, Olive and Rocky on a field trip to the North Pole, they accidentally cause a catastrophe at Santa’s workshop – and it’s up to the eight older Super Monsters to come to the rescue and save Christmas!
PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Dec. 8
ASHLEY GARCIA: GENIUS IN LOVE – CHRISTMAS (SERIES FINALE)
A holly, jolly gathering takes a strange turn when Ashley bumps her head and gets a glimpse of her near-distant future with Tío, Tad, Stick and Brooke.
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Dec. 9
THE BIG SHOW SHOW: CHRISTMAS (SERIES FINALE)
When Big Show gets injured Cassy has to fill his big shoes in the hopes of winning the neighborhood Christmas competition. Meanwhile JJ, Mandy and Lola are sent on a scavenger hunt for presents only to discover spending time together might be the best gift of all.
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Dec. 9
A TRASH TRUCK CHRISTMAS
When Hank finds out that Trash Truck doesn’t know what Christmas is, he sets out to show him and their friends what the magical holiday is all about. And luckily for Santa, the friends are up to speed just in time to help save Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Dec. 11
THE SHOW OF 2020
1. Grey’s Anatomy
2. Never Have I Ever
3. Outer Banks
4. The Bachelor
5. The Masked Singer
6. The Last Dance
7. This Is Us
8. Tiger King
THE DRAMA SHOW OF 2020
1. Grey’s Anatomy
2. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
3. Outer Banks
4. Ozark
5. Power
6. Riverdale
7. The Walking Dead
8. This Is Us
THE MALE TV STAR OF 2020
1. Chase Stokes – Outer Banks
2. Cole Sprouse – Riverdale
3. Dan Levy – Schitt’s Creek
4. Jason Bateman – Ozark
5. Jesse Williams – Grey’s Anatomy
6. Norman Reedus – The Walking Dead
7. Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us
8. Steve Carell – Space Force
THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2020
1. Christina Applegate – Dead To Me
2. Danai Gurira – The Walking Dead
3. Ellen Pompeo – Grey’s Anatomy
4. Lili Reinhart – Riverdale
5. Mandy Moore – This Is Us
6. Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
7. Sandra Oh – Killing Eve
8. Sofia Vergara – Modern Family
THE DRAMA TV STAR OF 2020
1. Cole Sprouse – Riverdale
2. Chase Stokes – Outer Banks
3. Danai Gurira – The Walking Dead
4. Ellen Pompeo – Grey’s Anatomy
5. Mandy Moore – This Is Us
6. Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
7. Sandra Oh – Killing Eve
8. Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on The Square, directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen, follows a rich woman named Regina (Baranski) who seeks to sell her father’s land to a mall developer. However after an encounter with a guardian angel (Parton), Regina undergoes a Grinch-like change of heart and rekindles connections with the locals of her hometown.
The Netflix special is also set to feature 14 original songs by Dolly Parton.
Rounding out the Dolly Parton’s Christmas on The Square cast are Josh Segarra, Mary Lane Haskell, Matthew Johnson and Selah Kimbro Jones.
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square is produced by Magnolia Hill Productions and Sandollar Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television for Netflix. Executive Producers include Sam Haskell, writer Maria Schlatter, Debbie Allen, and Dolly Parton.
Written by Robert Johnson, the story follows Bass Reeves (Washington), a former slave who became one of the first black Deputy United States Marshals in the American West. Reeves tracks an outlaw gang of killers to the oil-rich Texas town of Corsicana.
Filming is currently underway. Washington, Johnson, Ryan DeLaney, and Amber McNutt are producing, with McNutt also serving as executive producer.
Washington, repped by Crystal Ship Artist Talent and Anderson & Smith PC, currently stars in CW’s The 100 as well as the new hit series P-Valley on Starz.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas — and, at least for one night, Hanukkah — at Hallmark Channel.
The basic cable network has unveiled its slate of 40 (!) original holiday movies airing in 2020, including The Christmas House, starring Mean Girls‘ Jonathan Bennett as one-half of a gay couple looking to adopt their first child. The lineup also includes Love, Lights, Hanukkah!, a Hanukkah-themed flick featuring Star Trek: Discovery‘s Mia Kirshner and Boy Meets World‘s Ben Savage.
The three dozen-plus films feature a plethora of network vets, including Candace Cameron Bure (in her ninth Hallmark Christmas movie), Danica McKellar (in her sixth Hallmark movie overall), Catherine Bell, Alison Sweeney and Tamera Mowry-Housley, as well as Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete — both of whom appear in two original movies this year.
New to the Hallmark family in 2020 are Aaron Tveit (Grease Live), Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl), Marisol Nichols (Riverdale), Mallory Jansen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Rochelle Aytes (S.W.A.T.), among others.
“Our holiday table is bigger and more welcoming than ever,” Hallmark Channel’s EVP of programming Michelle Vicary said in a statement. “This year’s movies reflect our most diverse representation of talent, narratives, and families, including The Christmas House, featuring a storyline about a gay couple looking to adopt their first child, and starring Jonathan Bennett in an ensemble cast. Our movies are rooted in warmth and positivity, meaningful connections, family gatherings, and seasonal traditions — a winning formula we hope will bring our millions of viewers much-needed levity and holiday cheer at the end of a tough year.”
Added Crown Media President and CEO Wonya Lucas, “For more than a decade, Hallmark holiday movies have represented the gold standard that many aspire to replicate. What we bring to the table and what truly sets us apart is an immersive holiday experience that has become a pop culture phenomenon for millions of fans… We have created a destination that evokes the spirit and feeling of the season in a way that is uniquely Hallmark.”
Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” slate begins rolling out on Friday, Oct. 23. Scroll down for a complete list of this year’s holiday movies, then hit the comments and tell us which of the following flicks pique your interest.
JINGLE BELL BRIDECAST: Julie Gonzalo (Supergirl) and Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Star Trek: Discovery)
PREMISE: Wedding planner Jessica Perez (Gonzalo) travels to a remote town in Alaska to find a rare flower for a celebrity client and is charmed by the small town during Christmas, as well as the handsome local (Rowe Jr.) helping her.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
CHRISTMAS TREE LANE
CAST: Alicia Witt (Our Christmas Love Song), Andrew Walker (Christmas on My Mind), Drake Hogestyn (Days of Our Lives) and Briana Price (13 Reasons Why)
PREMISE: Music store owner Meg (Witt) spearheads the community effort to save the Christmas Tree Lane shopping district from demolition. As she finds herself falling for Nate (Walker), a recent acquaintance, she’s thrown when she learns his surprising tie to the developer.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
CHATEAU CHRISTMAS
CAST: Merritt Patterson (Picture a Perfect Christmas) and Luke Macfarlane (Just Add Romance)
PREMISE: Margot (Patterson), a world-renowned pianist, returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and is reunited with an ex (Macfarlane) who helps her rediscover her passion for music.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Oct. 25 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
DELIVER BY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Alvina August (Nancy Drew) and Eion Bailey (Switched for Christmas)
PREMISE: Bakery owner Molly (August) meets Josh (Bailey), a widower who recently moved to town with his young son, but she is also charmed by a mysterious client whom she’s never met in person and she doesn’t realize that they’re the same man.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Oct. 25 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
CHRISTMAS WITH THE DARLINGS
CAST: Katrina Law (Arrow) and Carlo Marks (Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday)
PREMISE: Just before the holidays Jessica Lew (Law) is ending her tenure as the assistant to her wealthy boss to use her recently earned law degree within his company, but offers to help his charming, younger brother (Marks) as he looks after his orphaned nieces and nephew over Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 31 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
CRANBERRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Nikki DeLoach (Two Turtle Doves) and Benjamin Ayres (A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas)
PREMISE: A separated couple (DeLoach and Ayres) feign marital bliss on national television to help their town’s Christmas festival – and their business. But what will the future hold for them when rekindled love is complicated by new opportunities?
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 31 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
ONE ROYAL HOLIDAY
CAST: Laura Osnes (In the Key of Love), Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables), Krystal Joy Brown (Sydney to the Max), Victoria Clark (Homeland) and Tom McGowan (Everybody Loves Raymond)
PREMISE: When Anna (Osnes) offers a stranded mother (Clark) and son (Tveit) shelter in a blizzard, she learns that they are the Royal Family of Galwick. Anna shows the Prince how they do Christmas in her hometown, encouraging him to open his heart and be true to himself.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 1 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
HOLLY & IVY
CAST: Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), Jeremey Jordan (Supergirl) and Marisol Nichols (Riverdale)
PREMISE: When Melody’s (Parrish) neighbor, Nina (Nichols), learns that her illness has returned, Melody promises to keep Nina’s kids, Holly & Ivy, together. To adopt the children, she must renovate her new fixer-upper, which she does with the help of contractor, Adam (Jordan).
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 1 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
NEVER KISS A MAN IN A CHRISTMAS SWEATER
CAST: Ashley Williams (How I Met Your Mother) and Niall Matter (Christmas at Dollywood)
PREMISE: Single mom Maggie (Williams) is facing Christmas alone until Lucas (Matter) crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected houseguest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 7 (Hallmark, 8/7c
THE CHRISTMAS RING
CAST: Nazneen Contractor (Ransom) and David Alpay (The Mistletoe Inn)
PREMISE: A reporter (Contractor) searches for the love story behind an antique engagement ring. With the help of the ring’s owner’s grandson (Alpay), they learn the legacy his grandparent’s left behind.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 7 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
ON THE 12TH DATE OF CHRISTMAS
CAST: Mallory Jansen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Tyler Hynes (The Mistletoe Secret)
PREMISE: Two seemingly incompatible game designers team up to create a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for the “12 Days of Christmas.”
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 8 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
THE CHRISTMAS BOW
CAST: Lucia Micarelli (Treme) and Michael Rady (You’re Bacon Me Crazy)
PREMISE: When an accident puts her music dreams on hold, a gifted violinist (Micarelli) reconnects with an old family friend (Rady), who helps her heal and find love during the holidays.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 8 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA
CAST: Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) and Brennan Elliott (Crossword Mysteries)
PREMISE: Jess (Drew), a concert violinist whose heart just isn’t in it anymore, goes to Vienna for a performance. While there, she finds the inspiration she has been missing, and a new love.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
MEET ME AT CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Catherine Bell (Good Witch) and Mark Deklin (Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy)
PREMISE: When Joan’s (Bell) son’s wedding planner unexpectedly quits, she must coordinate his Christmas Eve wedding with the help of Beau (Deklin), the bride’s uncle. As they work alongside each other they discover their fates and pasts are intertwined.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8)
A TIMELESS CHRISTMAS
CAST: Ryan Paevey (Christmas at the Plaza) and Erin Cahill (Love, Fall & Order)
PREMISE: Charles Whitley (Paevey) travels from 1903 to 2020 where he meets Megan Turner (Cahill), a tour guide at his historic mansion, and experiences a 21st Century Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 15 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
THE CHRISTMAS DOCTOR
CAST: Holly Robinson Peete (A Family Christmas Gift) and Adrian Holmes (V-Wars)
PREMISE: A week before Christmas, Dr. Alicia Wright (Peete) is offered an assignment away from home. A mysterious man (Holmes) from her past journeys to find her before Christmas and brings with him a revelation that could change Alicia’s life forever.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 15 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
A NASHVILLE CHRISTMAS CAROL
CAST: Jessy Schram (Country at Heart), Wes Brown (Christmas at Graceland), Wynonna Judd (The Judds), Sara Evans (Nashville), RaeLynn (The Voice), Kix Brooks (Home by Spring), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Darrow Mysteries)
PREMISE: Vivienne Wake (Schram), a workaholic television producer in charge of a country music Christmas special showcasing newcomer Alexis (Raelynn), never lets personal feelings get in the way of business. On the verge of accepting a job in LA, and with the return of Gavin Chase (Brown), her childhood sweetheart and manager to the special’s headliner, Belinda (Evans), she receives a visit from the ghost of her recently deceased mentor, Marilyn (Judd). Her mentor warns her current path leads to a dark future and has recruited both the Spirit of Christmas Past (Brooks) and the Spirit of Christmas Present (Williams-Paisley) to help her get back on track. The Spirits’ time-jumping adventures force Vivienne to take hold of her life.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 21 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
A LITTLE CHRISTMAS CHARM (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Ashley Greene (Twilight) and Brendan Penny (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Holly (Greene), a jewelry designer finds a lost charm bracelet and teams up with investigative reporter Greg (Penny) in hopes of finding the owner and returning it by Christmas Eve.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 21 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE
CAST: Robert Buckley (One Tree Hill), Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls), Ana Ayora (In the Dark), Treat Williams (Chesapeake Shores), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue) and Brad Harder (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries)
PREMISE: Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons – TV star, Mike Mitchell (Buckley) and Brandon Mitchell (Bennett) – home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house, will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 22 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
THE ANGEL TREE
CAST: Jill Wagner (Teen Wolf) and Lucas Bryant (Country at Heart)
PREMISE: A writer (Wagner) seeks the identity of the person who helps grant wishes that are placed upon the angel tree, and in the process, reconnects with her childhood friend (Bryant).
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 22 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
ADDITIONAL MOVIE TBA
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: TBD
PREMIERE DATE: Monday, Nov. 23 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
A CHRISTMAS TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN
CAST: Rochelle Aytes (Mistresses) and Mark Taylor (Memories of Christmas)
PREMISE: Erin (Aytes) is planning the town’s Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin (Taylor) in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.
PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 24 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
A BRIGHT AND MERRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Alison Sweeney (Days of Our Lives) and Marc Blucas (The Fix)
PREMISE: Two competing TV hosts (Sweeney and Blucas) are sent to a festive small town over Christmas. While pretending to get along for the sake of appearances, they discover that there’s more to each other than they thought.
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
FIVE STAR CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) and Victor Webster (MatchMaker Mysteries)
PREMISE: After moving back to her hometown, Lisa (Lenz) plots with her siblings and grandparents to help her father’s new bed and breakfast get a five-star review from an incognito travel critic (Webster), but ends up falling for him, not knowing he is the real critic.
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Nov. 26 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
CHRISTMAS BY STARLIGHT
CAST: Kimberley Sustad (Travelers) and Paul Campbell (Battlestar Galactica)
PREMISE: Annie (Sustad), a lawyer, must help her loved ones this holiday season. Her family’s restaurant, The Starlight Café, is slated for demolition. The heir to the development firm responsible, William (Campbell), makes her an unlikely proposition: he’ll spare the café if Annie spends the week “appearing” as the legal counsel his father is demanding he hire in the wake of some costly mistakes.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 27 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
Lacey Chabert
CHRISTMAS WALTZ
CAST: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls), Will Kemp (Royal Matchmaker) and JT Church (Dancing With the Stars: Juniors)
PREMISE: After Avery’s (Chabert) storybook Christmas wedding is canceled unexpectedly, dance instructor Roman (Kemp) helps her rebuild her dreams.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 28 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
USS CHRISTMAS
CAST: Jen Lilley (Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday), Trevor Donovan (Nostalgic Christmas) and Barbara Niven (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Maddie (Lilley), a reporter for a Norfolk newspaper, embarks on a Tiger Cruise during Christmastime where she meets a handsome naval officer (Donovan) and stumbles upon a mystery in the ship’s archive room.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 28 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
IF I ONLY HAD CHRISTMAS
CAST: Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House) and Warren Christie (The Color of Rain)
PREMISE: At Christmas, a cheerful publicist (Bure) teams up with a cynical business owner (Christie) and his team to help a charity in need.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 29 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
CHRISTMAS IN EVERGREEN: BELLS ARE RINGING
CAST: Holly Robinson Peete (A Family Christmas Gift), Colin Lawrence (Riverdale), Rukiya Bernard (One Winter Weekend), Antonio Cayonne (Fashionably Yours) and Barbara Niven (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: As Michelle’s (Peete) wedding approaches, Hannah (Bernard) steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot (Cayonne).
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 5 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
TIME FOR US TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
CAST: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) and Stephen Huszar (A Homecoming for the Holidays)
PREMISE: Five guests are mysteriously invited to an inn to celebrate Christmas. With the help of the owner Ben (Huszar), Sarah (Chabert) discovers that an event from the past may connect them and change their lives forever; from executive producer Blake Shelton.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 5 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
CHRISTMAS SHE WROTE
CAST: Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) and Dylan Neal (Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day)
PREMISE: When Kayleigh (McKellar), a romance writer, has her column cancelled right before Christmas, she heads home to reconnect with her family. Kayleigh gets an unexpected visit from the man (Neal) who cancelled her column who fights not only to bring her back to the publisher but also for her heart.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 6 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
A GODWINK CHRISTMAS: FIRST LOVES, SECOND CHANCES
CAST: Brooke D’Orsay (Royal Pains) and Sam Page (The Bold Type)
PREMISE: After 15 years, Pat (Page) moves home from Hawaii with his two sons and through a series of coincidences, or Godwinks, ends up stuck in traffic next to his high school sweetheart, Margie (D’Orsay), at Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 6 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
CROSS COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) and Greyston Holt (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Former classmates Lina (Cook) and Max (Holt) are traveling home for the holidays, until a storm hits and they have to work together to make it home in time, no matter the mode of transportation.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 12 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
A GLENBROOKE CHRISTMAS
CAST: Autumn Reeser (The O.C.) and Antonio Cupo (Hats Off to Christmas!)
PREMISE: As Christmas nears, heiress Jessica Morgan (Reeser) seizes what seems like her last chance to experience a relaxed Christmas and heads off to the small town of Glenbrooke, where she meets a handsome fireman (Cupo).
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 12 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
CHRISTMAS COMES TWICE
CAST: Tamera Mowry-Housley (Sister, Sister) and Michael Xavier (Paris, Wine and Romance)
PREMISE: Emily (Mowry-Housley) is a top newscaster who has achieved her career dreams but still has regrets about the guy (Xavier) who got away five years earlier. When the Christmas carnival comes to town, a ride around the carousel takes her magically back in time to the carnival five years before…giving her a second chance at love before she must return to Christmas present.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 13 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Taylor Cole (Matching Hearts) and Steve Lund (The Art of Us)
PREMISE: When a mysterious key and a holiday riddle arrive on their doorsteps, Kate (Cole) and Kevin (Lund) embark on a Christmas romance adventure they’ll never forget.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 13 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
CHRISTMAS CAROUSEL
CAST: Rachel Boston (Check Inn to Christmas) and Neal Bledsoe (Shameless)
PREMISE: When Lila (Boston) is hired by the Royal Family of Marcadia to repair a carousel, she must work with the Prince (Bledsoe) to complete it by Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 19 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
SWEPT UP BY CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: An antique seller and a cleaner clash over how to downsize a magnificent estate right before Christmas. As the two uncover the house’s treasures, they find a way to reconnect the reclusive owner with his own Christmases past.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 19 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
LOVE, LIGHTS, HANUKKAH!
CAST: Mia Kirshner (Star Trek: Discovery), Ben Savage (Boy Meets World) and Marilu Henner (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries)
PREMISE: As Christina (Kirshner) prepares her restaurant for its busiest time of year, she gets back a DNA test revealing that she’s Jewish. The discovery leads her to a new family and an unlikely romance over eight nights.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 20 (Hallmark, 8/7c)
PROJECT CHRISTMAS WISH
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: For years Lucy has played Santa to her small town’s community by making their holiday wishes come true. But when Lucy grants a little girl’s wish for a Christmas like she used to have with her Mom, she unexpectedly finds her own wishes coming true in life and love.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 20 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)
When we last left off with both crews, Andy (Ortiz) had just found out on Station 19 that her mom hadn't actually died when she was a little girl, but had instead left her and her father. Meanwhile on Grey's, Meredith had managed to save Richard (James Pickens Jr.) thanks to a miraculous last-minute diagnosis from DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), but it spurred him to admit something was wrong. That's not to mention all the Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) drama... We have a lot to figure out when these shows return. Luckily, it's only a few weeks away!
The Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy crossover event begins Thursday, Nov. 12 at 8/7c.
“Our fall schedule is now complete with a dynamic lineup of new and returning drama series,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “From fan-favorite shows like ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘The Good Doctor’ to David E. Kelley’s thrilling new drama ‘Big Sky,’ our strength is in our storytelling, and we could not be more energized to bring these compelling series to our viewers.”
ABC delivered the Top 2 scripted programs on Thursday in Adults 18-49 last season with dramas “Grey’s Anatomy” and “A Million Little Things” (tie) and the No. 1 scripted broadcast program on Sunday with the drama “The Rookie.” In addition, “The Good Doctor” stood as the No. 1 show in Monday’s 10 p.m. hour last season with Total Viewers. ABC ended the 2019-2020 season as the No. 1 entertainment network (tie) among Adults 18-49 and ranks as the summer’s No. 1 network (tie) for the second consecutive year.
ABC’s scripted series premiere dates are as follows (all times listed are Eastern/Pacific). New shows are in bold.
Note: “The Rookie” will be premiering later in the season.
MONDAY, NOV. 2
10:00-11:00 p.m. “The Good Doctor”
THURSDAY, NOV. 12
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Station 19”
9:00-11:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy” (two-hour season premiere)
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
10:01-11:00 p.m. “Big Sky” (series premiere)
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18
10:00-11:00 p.m. “For Life”
THURSDAY, NOV. 19
10:01-11:00 p.m. “A Million Little Things”
THE GOOD DOCTOR (SEASON 4) – MONDAY, NOV. 2 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, continues to use his extraordinary medical gifts at St. Bonaventure Hospital’s surgical unit. As his friendships deepen, Shaun continues to tackle the world of dating and romantic relationships and works harder than he ever has before, navigating his environment to prove to his colleagues that his talents as a surgeon will save lives. The series stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne, Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews, Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park and Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo. David Shore is the executive producer and showrunner. Daniel Dae Kim, Erin Gunn, David Kim and Sebastian Lee are also executive producers. The series is from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Signature. ABC Signature is a part of Disney Television Studios, alongside 20th Television and Touchstone Television.
STATION 19 (SEASON 4) – THURSDAY, NOV. 12 (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Having delivered its most-watched season ever, “Station 19” follows a group of heroic Seattle firefighters as they put their lives and hearts on the line. From the executive producers of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” the series takes us inside the tough, tight-knit and sometimes heartbreaking world of the city’s bravest first responders. “Station 19” stars Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andy Herrera, Jason George as Ben Warren, Boris Kodjoe as Robert Sullivan, Grey Damon as Jack Gibson, Barrett Doss as Victoria Hughes, Jay Hayden as Travis Montgomery, Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller, Danielle Savre as Maya Bishop and Stefania Spampinato as Carina DeLuca. Krista Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer. The series was created by Stacy McKee. Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers serve as executive producers. Paris Barclay serves as the producing director and executive producer of the series. The series is produced by ABC Signature, which is a part of Disney Television Studios, alongside 20th Television and Touchstone Television.
GREY’S ANATOMY (SEASON 17) – THURSDAY, NOV. 12 (*two-hour season premiere 9:00-11:00 p.m.)
“Grey’s Anatomy” has solidified its place in television history as the longest-running primetime medical drama ever. The highly beloved series is a cultural touchstone that continues to push boundaries with timely subject matter and characters that break the mold. “Grey’s Anatomy” follows Meredith Grey and the team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, who are faced with life-or-death decisions on a daily basis. They seek comfort from one another, and at times, more than just friendship. Together they discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. “Grey’s Anatomy” stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca, Greg Germann as Tom Koracick, Chris Carmack as Atticus “Link” Lincoln, Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt, Richard Flood as Cormac Hayes and Anthony Hill as Winston Ndugu. “Grey’s Anatomy” was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Krista Vernoff serves as showrunner and executive producer. Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Debbie Allen, Zoanne Clack, Andy Reaser and Meg Marinis are executive producers. The series is produced by ABC Signature, which is a part of Disney Television Studios, alongside 20th Television and Touchstone Television.
BIG SKY (SERIES PREMIERE) – TUESDAY, NOV. 17 (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
From visionary storyteller David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies”) comes “Big Sky,” a thriller created by Kelley, who will write multiple episodes and serve as showrunner in its premiere season. Private detectives Cassie Dewell and Cody Hoyt join forces with his estranged wife and ex-cop, Jenny Hoyt, to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken. “Big Sky” stars Katheryn Winnick as Jenny Hoyt, Kylie Bunbury as Cassie Dewell, Brian Geraghty as Ronald Pergman, Dedee Pfeiffer as Denise Brisbane, Natalie Alyn Lind as Danielle Sullivan, Jade Pettyjohn as Grace Sullivan, Jesse James Keitel as Jerrie Kennedy, Valerie Mahaffey as Helen Pergman with John Carroll Lynch as Rick Legarski and Ryan Phillippe as Cody Hoyt. Based on the series of books by C.J. Box, “Big Sky” is executive produced by David E. Kelley, Ross Fineman, Matthew Gross, Paul McGuigan, C.J. Box and Gwyneth Horder-Payton, and is produced by 20th Television. 20th Television is a part of Disney Television Studios, alongside ABC Signature and Touchstone Television.
FOR LIFE (SEASON 2) – WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Aaron Wallace’s fight continues in season two of “For Life,” as the wrongfully convicted prisoner-turned-litigator and social crusader embarks on a more personal journey. Aaron is motivated by the hope of being reunited with his family and reclaiming a life of freedom to take up the mantle against systemic injustice from outside the prison walls. With continued help from the people who supported him—his family, a wily one-time public defender, Henry Roswell, and his former prison warden, Safiya Masry—Aaron continues his battle against the very political machine that once put him away, undeservedly. Inspired by the life of Isaac Wright Jr., “For Life” continues to shine an unrelenting light upon the institutional wrongs of our penal and legal systems. “For Life” stars Nicholas Pinnock as Aaron Wallace, Indira Varma as Safiya Masry, Joy Bryant as Marie Wallace, Dorian Missick as Jamal Bishop, Tyla Harris as Jasmine Wallace and Timothy Busfield as Henry Roswell. Hank Steinberg is the creator and executive producer; Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson via G-Unit Film & Television, Doug Robinson and Alison Greenspan of Doug Robinson Productions, Isaac Wright Jr. and Russell Fine are executive producers. “For Life” is a co-production of Sony Pictures Television Inc. and ABC Signature. ABC Signature is a part of Disney Television Studios, alongside 20th Television and Touchstone Television.
A MILLION LITTLE THINGS (SEASON 3) – THURSDAY, NOV. 19 (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Friendship isn’t a big thing. It’s a million little things. Our gang ended last season with many challenges in front of them. In season three, we’ll see our group of friends once again lean on each other in ways that are both moving and aspirational—something we could all use right now. And just when the friends seem to find their new normal, their lives are upended when, like ours, COVID-19 rocks their world. We’ll see how the topics our show depicts—depression, breast cancer, chemical dependency, domestic violence, friendship, family and love—are heightened by the challenges our world is facing right now. We’ll rediscover what our gang has always known in their hearts: With the love and support of your friends, you can get through anything. “A Million Little Things” stars David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Saville, James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez, Stephanie Szostak as Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon as Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene as Sophie Dixon and Chance Hurstfield as Danny Dixon. DJ Nash is the creator and executive producer; Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor and David Marshall Grant are executive producers; Nina Lopez-Corrado, Terrence Coli, and Geoffrey Nauffts serve as co-executive producer on the series, from ABC Signature/Kapital Entertainment. ABC Signature is a part of Disney Television Studios, alongside 20th Television and Touchstone Television.
“In even the best of times, a television writer’s primary job is to know how to pivot,” showrunner Krista Vernoff tells TVLine. “We are not working to protect stories we had [planned] for the end of Season 16. That said, you will get to see some of the immediate moments from where we left off.”
Deciding to incorporate those scenes was a no-brainer for Vernoff, who’s also in charge of Grey’s spinoff Station 19. “There was great material that we had already shot but did not get a chance to air,” she says, so “we found a way to build it into our premiere.”
Beyond that, the executive producer previews that Grey Sloan’s doctors will be on the frontlines of the same crisis we’re all facing. In Season 17, “we are navigating Covid,” she says, “and that is a whole new world for our hospital and for all of our characters.”
At least a few things won’t change between Season 16 and 17 — and potentially for years after. As TVLine reported in late July, Kevin McKidd (Owen), Kim Raver (Teddy) and Camilla Luddington (Jo) have all signed new three-year contracts. In addition, Richard Flood (Cormac) and Anthony Hill (Winston) have been bumped up to series-regular status.
Like with everything else, all start dates are tentative as the pandemic situation remains fluid. At some point in July, I had heard Aug. 24 mentioned as a potential date for Grey’s Anatomy to resume production. All early tentative restart dates for U.S. TV shows were pushed back amid the spike in COVID-19 cases over the summer.
Grey’s Anatomy, which is heading into its 17th season, was one of the first series to shut down production in March amid a fast growing coronavirus outbreak. The drama had just wrapped Season 21 of its 25-episode 16th season when filming was suspended.
“This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of the whole cast and crew and the safety of our loved ones outside of work,” executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff and fellow executive producers Debbie Allen and James Williams wrote in a note to cast and crew back then, announcing the shutdown. “Please take care of yourselves and each other.”
Like its fellow medical dramas, Grey’s Anatomy is expected to incorporate the ongoing pandemic in its storylines for the upcoming season.
The dating format will launch on Tuesday October 13 at 8pm. This comes amidst behind-the scenes drama on the season, which is understood to feature more than one Bachelorette.
Clare Crawley is thought to have left the show, which filmed in a quarantine bubble, after finding love and is reported to have been replaced by Tayshia Adams.
Elsewhere, The network’s slate of classic game shows including Celebrity Family Feud, Press Your Luck and Match Game will be taking over Thursday nights between 8pm and 11pm from Thursday September 24.
This confirms that its Thursday night dramas Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and A Million Little Things will air a little later in the fall. Deadline understands that ABC expects its scripted shows, many of which have not yet gone back into production, to premiere in October and November.
The reboot of Supermarket Sweep, featuring Leslie Jones, will launch at 8pm on Sunday October 18 in between America’s Funniest Home Videos and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?. Card Sharks will replace The Rookie in the Sunday night 10pm slot until the police drama is back up and running.
Shark Tank returns on Friday October 16 at 8pm, while as previously announced Dancing With The Stars, with new host and exec producer Tyra Banks, launched at 8pm on Monday September 14.
The unscripted schedule highlights the fact that non-scripted shows have been much quicker to return to production following the COVID-19 shutdown.
“We’re fortunate to have such a strong unscripted slate to launch our first wave of programming this fall,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “Presenting the new Supermarket Sweep with Leslie Jones alongside fresh, original episodes of returning shows that viewers have come to know and love is invigorating. And with our scripted series ramping up production, we look forward to announcing more premiere dates very soon.”
“After what felt like a year long third trimester… it finally happened!!” Luddington, 36, wrote on Instagram along with a photo of herself with her newborn in the hospital bed.
She added, “Matt and I are SOOO happy to announce the birth of our sweet baby BOY Lucas, otherwise known as my little lion ?? (shoutout to Leo’s!).”
Luddington and the 41-year-old “13 Reasons Why” actor already share 3-year-old daughter Hayden.
Luddington opened up about choosing their baby’s name, saying that it was an easy decision.
“[Lucas] was the only boys’ name my husband and I ever really liked,” she recently told People, adding that the moniker “topped our boys’ name list back when I was pregnant with Hayden.”
She also said that she wasn’t expecting to have a boy.
“This time, we were also convinced I was having a girl again because my morning sickness was so bad, so we were already thinking of new girls’ names,” she said in the interview. “When we found out we were having a boy, we knew instantly he would be Lucas! His middle name is my husband’s [first name], Matthew.”
She first announced she would be having another baby in March.
Luddington and Alan got married in August 2019 after getting engaged the previous year. They welcomed Hayden in April 2017.
Speaking to Dax Shepard in the latest episode of his Armchair Expert podcast, the Grey’s Anatomy star — who is entering her 17th season playing Meredith Grey — laments that watching herself age “from 33 to 50 on screen [is] not so fun,” adding, “You really see [the difference] because I’m in the same clothes [playing] the same character. So the way I see myself aging — it’s a motherf–ker.”
As a result, Pompeo says she has added incentive to walk away from ABC’s top-rated drama before she and the series overstay their welcome.
“I do not want to be the grapes dying on the vine,” she confesses to Shepard. “Certainly, to dip out sooner rather than later at this point… [and] leave while the show is still on top is definitely a goal. I’m not trying to stay on the show forever. No way. If I get too aggravated and am no longer grateful there, I should not be there.”
Although ABC has not renewed Grey’s past its upcoming 17th season (which is when Pompeo’s current deal is set to expire), the network is already laying the groundwork for Season 18 and beyond. As reported last month, three of Pompeo’s co-stars — Kevin McKidd, Camilla Luddington and Kim Raver — have inked new contracts that would keep them on the show through a potential Season 19.
For her part, ABC president Karey Burke has previously stated that Grey’s will remain on the air “as long as Ellen is interested in playing Meredith.”
Previously, Entertainment Weekly reported that Grey's executive producer Krista Vernoff had said the COVID storylines wouldn't be all bleak, with the show likely revealing the "joy and fun to be had in [medical professionals] who are quarantining away from the hospital"; now, a new report is saying that the COVID stories we'll see will jump ahead further than where we left doctors of Grey Sloan last season.
Speaking to ET Online, Giacomo Gianniotti revealed that Grey's will kick off Season 17 "a month and a half" into the pandemic.
"It's going to take place a little beyond where we left off in the last season. We might have some flashbacks. We might have some things where we're referencing last season, just to have context leading up. But we are going to have a little leap when we start this season in terms of time," he explained.
Gianniotti also said that while he hasn't received any scripts, and production — previously intended to start in August but now hoping to resume in September — is still up in the air, he thinks his character Andrew DeLuca will do well with this new challenge.
"I think he thrives in chaos and he certainly proved that in past seasons that when there's a lot going on, he steps up," he explained. "This is going to be an obviously stressful situation, but I think an exciting one where he can really shine and then thrive."
Grey's Anatomy Seasons 1-16 are available on Netflix.
“If I started the show when I was younger, [like] 25, I probably would have dipped out when I was 31, 32, when my six-year contract was up,” the now 50-year-old actress shares in the latest episode of Jemele Hill’s Unbothered podcast. “I knew coming up on 40, it’s like, I don’t want to be out there chasing [film roles]… begging. I’d rather just see this as the blessing that it is.”
Elaborating on her decision to prioritize commerce over art, Pompeo said, “A healthy home life was more important than career. I didn’t grow up with a particularly happy childhood… I [now] have this great husband and these three beautiful children, so to have a happy home life was really something I needed to complete, to close the hole in my heart. And so I made a decision to make money, and not chase creative acting roles.”
Although ABC has not renewed Grey’s past its upcoming 17th season (which is when Pompeo’s current deal is set to expire), the network is already laying the groundwork for Season 18 and beyond. As reported last week, three of Pompeo’s co-stars — Kevin McKidd, Camilla Luddington and Kim Raver — have inked new contracts that would keep them on the show through a potential Season 19.
For her part, ABC president Karey Burke has previously stated that Grey’s will live on for “as long as Ellen is interested in playing Meredith Grey.”
Grey’s Anatomy is in the middle of a two-year pickup which also includes a two-year deal for star Ellen Pompeo, expiring at the end of Season 17. The new contracts for McKidd, Raver and Luddington, which I hear come with significant salary bumps, would carry them past next May should Grey’s be renewed for an 18th season.
ABC brass certainly hope that would be the case.
“We are in conversations now with the producers” about the upcoming 17th season and beyond, ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke told Deadline last month. “I’m hopeful that Grey’s Anatomy stays a part of our schedule. They certainly know that we’d like it to be part of our schedule for as long as they are interested in making more episodes.”
Burke shared similar sentiment in January. “Grey’s Anatomy will live as long as Ellen is interested in playing Meredith Grey,” she said back then.
Raver was originally a series regular in Seasons 6-8. She returned to the show for a guest arc in Season 14, reprising her role as Dr. Teddy Altman, the former head of cardiothoracic surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. She became a series regular again at the start of Season 15.
Luddington joined Grey’s as a recurring in Season 9 and was upped to a regular the following season. She plays Jo Karev (formerly Brooke Stadler and Jo Wilson), an attending general surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital who was married to Alex Karev until he left her for his ex-wife, Izzie, last season.
McKidd joined Grey’s Anatomy in Season 5, playing Army veteran Owen Hunt, the head of trauma and former chief of surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
In addition to the returning cast led by Pompeo, Raver, Luddington and McKidd will be joined next season by Richard Flood and Anthony Hill, who were just promoted to new series regulars on the hugely popular series.
Grey’s Anatomy, which moved to 9 PM on Thursday this past season, is the longest-running medical drama on television and remains ABC’s flagship series. It is now part of a formidable 8-10 PM block with spinoff Station 19, overseen by executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff. Raver and McKidd already have appeared on Station 19; I hear the trio’s new contracts include provisions about a continuing presence on the spinoff as the two series become more closely integrated.
Like many other broadcast series, Grey’s Anatomy‘s most recent 16th season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. It was one of the first series to shut down production in the face of the health crisis.
Raver is repped Gersh, Atlas Artists and Sutton, Barth & Vennari. Luddington is repped by UTA, Main Title Entertainment and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. McKidd is repped by WME and Independent Talent Group.
As a guest on THR’s TV’s Top 5 podcast this week, Vernoff was asked if COVID-19 would in some way be a “Big Bad” for the doctors to deal with, or but a new part of their lives that lives alongside the usual drama. “It sort of sits somewhere in the middle,” she previewed, “depending on the episode.”
As a factor in Season 17 storytelling, Vernoff said, “There’s joy and fun to be had in people who are quarantining away from the hospital,” especially for the docs who, to protect loved ones, crash elsewhere between shifts. As we have seen in real life, “Many of [these doctors] aren’t going home to their families; they’re getting Airbnbs and living together,” Vernoff noted.
“There’s a lot of story to tell that is sort of COVID-related but not about death and despair,” she added.
Vernoff also pointed out there are storytelling possibilities when it comes to the cancellation or postponement of elective surgeries, both in how that can result in surgical nurses being furloughed due to lack of work, or in Dr. Grey & Co. not getting to do what they do best. “Our show is a surgical show,” the EP reminded, “and there are a lot of surgeries that are simply not happening.”
What’s more, there are medical stories to be found in the fact that “death has increased in this country particularly because people were in the early months [of an illness] and are still afraid to go to the doctor, afraid to go to the hospital,” said Vernoff.
In fact, when the Grey’s boss reached out to the medical community at the start of the pandemic to see if there was a helpful message she could tweet out, the suggestions were a la “Come to the doctor at the first sign of stroke” or “at the first sign of heart attack,” she shared. “Because people weren’t going. And they were dying.”
An ABC rep confirms to TVLine that Richard Flood — who joined the Grey’s cast last fall as Dr. Cormac Hayes, a potential love interest for Ellen Pompeo’s titular MD — has been promoted to a series regular. When Season 16 (abruptly) ended, Meredith was grappling with how best to help troubled ex-boyfriend Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) while at the same time contemplating overtures made by Flood’s “McWidow.” (Showrunner Krista Vernoff recently confessed to TVLine that even she is torn about which guy Mer should ultimately gravitate toward; might Flood’s promotion offer a clue?)
Additionally, Anthony Hill — who guest-starred last season as Dr. Winston Ndugu, an old colleague of Maggie’s (Kelly McCreary) — has been upped to a series regular. You’ll recall that when Maggie and Winston reconnected at a medical conference, sparks flew.
Rounding out the Grey’s newsapalooza, cast member Stefania Spampinato is officially making the jump to sister show Station 19, where she will be a series regular in Season 4. The actress’ full-time relocation hardly comes as a surprise, seeing as her character, Dr. Carina DeLuca, made nearly a dozen appearances on the firefighter-themed spinoff last season after striking up a romantic relationship with Maya Bishop (played by Station 19 regular Danielle Savre). Spampinato joined Grey’s in Season 14 as Andrew’s sister.
“I am so excited to add Anthony, Stefania and Richard to the Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy families,” said Vernoff, who oversees both shows, in a statement. “They are huge talents who made a big impact with our fans, with our casts and with our writers, who are eager to write more for them.”
Grey’s Anatomy saw its 16th season cut short by four episodes due to COVID-19. As we reported back in April, sources say that one of the scrapped hours was to feature the death of a major character. It remains unclear whether the rumored departure will now be folded into Season 17 or delayed indefinitely.
Another unknown: when Grey’s will return to the studio to begin production. In a recent interview, Vernoff did not float even a tentative date for getting back to work, although she did confirm that when shooting does resume, the pandemic will “for sure” be incorporated into the action.
“There’s no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes,” the EP maintained. “I feel like our show has an opportunity and a responsibility to tell some of those stories. Our conversations have been constantly about how we keep alive humor and romance while we tell these really painful stories.”
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria.
Deadline can reveal that Sid Gentle Films was originally aiming to get cameras rolling on the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning drama in August, as it has with the past three series. But the company has now abandoned the plans and is yet to set a restart date for later this year.
The main reason for the delay is because Killing Eve is a jigsaw of European location shoots, many of which have been rendered difficult at this time due to the pandemic. Producers are being tight-lipped about where Season 4 will take Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), but past locations include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bucharest and Tuscany.
There have also been some industry rumors that Oh has been reluctant to fly into Europe to begin shooting, but this was downplayed by a source close to the show. One prominent British drama producer acknowledged, however, that getting Hollywood talent on a plane is not going to be straightforward for anyone right now.
The Killing Eve production delay will almost certainly push back its premiere date in 2021. The show works on a fairly fast turnaround basis, shooting in late summer and through the autumn, before premiering in early April on BBC America.
A spokesman for the show said: “Killing Eve shoots across multiple European locations. Due to the uncertainty of the world as a result of Covid-19, no shooting schedules for Killing Eve season four have been locked in at this point and there are various scenarios in play.”
Killing Eve has been in the headlines in recent weeks. Writer Kayleigh Llewellyn tweeted a picture of the show’s all-white writers’ room, prompting a social media pile-on over the show’s lack of diversity. Oh herself has also talked about her experiences of working in the UK. “Sometimes it would be me and 75 white people and I have not come from that,” she said. “The development of people behind the camera is very slow in the UK.”
Vernoff appears in a new Emmys panel called "Quaranstreaming: Comfort TV That Keeps Us Going," which premieres in full on YouTube and Emmys.com on Tuesday night at 8/7c. As first reported by Entertainment Weekly, Vernoff confirmed on the panel that the show plans to incorporate COVID-19 into the storyline of its next season.
"We're going to address this pandemic for sure," Vernoff explained. "There's no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes."
Vernoff also revealed that after hearing from real-life doctors about the ongoing coronavirus crisis, she began to see similarities between what they are grappling with in the real world and what the character of Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), a trauma surgeon and war veteran, has been trained for on the show.
"Every year, we have doctors come and tell us their stories, and usually they're telling their funniest or craziest stories. This year, it has felt more like therapy," Vernoff said. She noted that the doctors talk about the pandemic "as war — a war that they were not trained for. And that's been one of our big conversations about Owen, is that he's actually trained for this in a way that most of the other doctors aren't." Vernoff added that she feels Grey's Anatomy has "an opportunity and a responsibility to tell some of those stories."
A premiere date for Grey's Anatomy Season 17 has not yet been set. Grey's Anatomy Seasons 1-16 are currently available to stream on Netflix.
Crown Media also announced the first 18 of 40 Christmas movies planned for the company’s two flagship networks, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. In the works are projects with the likes of current network regulars Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley on a two-part movie about real sisters, with each of them playing the lead in one of the films. The company is also developing projects with Holly Robinson Peete and Tamera Mowry-Housley.
Both Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” and HM&M’s “Miracles of Christmas” movie blocks will kick off October 23, Crown Media said, the former with 23 new original films and the latter with 17 originals.
The announcements come as Hallmark Channel in April renewed its original series When Calls The Heart for an eighth season, after finishing its seventh season (its first without Lori Loughlin.)
The Emmy-nominated Home & Family will return hosts Debbie Matenopoulos and Cameron Mathison to the show, which features celebrity interviews and tips on cooking, DIY, gardening, wellness and more.
Good Witch stars Catherine Bell, who has portrayed the lead character Cassie Nightingale for the past 13 years. Family drama Chesapeake Shores is based on Sherryl Woods’ bestselling novels and stars Jesse Metcalfe, Meghan Ory, Treat Williams and Diane Ladd.
Hallmark Channel also said it is bringing back its pet-centric specials American Humane Hero Dog Awards (on October 19) along with Kitten Bowl VIII and American Rescue Dog Show set for February 2021.
Here are the 18 holiday movies announced today:
Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas:
• “A Royal Holiday”, starring Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit and Krystal Joy Brown
• “Jingle Bell Bride”, starring Julie Gonzalo and Ronnie Rowe
• “A Christmas Tree Grows in Brooklyn”, starring Rochelle Aytes and Mark Taylor
• “If I Only Had Christmas”, starring Candace Cameron Bure
• “Deliver by Christmas”, starring Alvina August and Eion Bailey
• “On the 12th Date of Christmas”, starring Mallory Jansen and Tyler Hynes
• “Christmas Waltz”, starring Lacey Chabert
• “Christmas in Vienna”, starring Sarah Drew and Brennan Elliott
• “Christmas in Evergreen 4”, starring Rukiya Bernard and Holly Robinson Peete
• “Chateau Christmas”, starring Merritt Patterson and Luke Macfarlane
• “Cross Country Christmas”, starring Rachael Leigh Cook
• “Christmas Carnival”, starring Tamera Mowry-Housley
• “When Calls the Heart Christmas 2020”, starring Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner, Kavan Smith, Chris McNally, Kevin McGarry, Paul Greene, Andrea Brooks and Martin Cummins
HM&M’s Miracles of Christmas
• “Christmas Tree Lane” starring Alicia Witt and Andrew Walker
• “Holly & Ivy” starring Janel Parrish, Jeremy Jordan, and Marisol Nichols
• “The Christmas Bow” starring Lucia Micarelli and Michael Rady
• “Cranberry Christmas” starring Nikki DeLoach and Benjamin Ayres
• “Christmas Doctor” starring Holly Robinson Peete.
The Second Stage Theater staging of the Richard Greenberg play is the latest production targeting a Spring opening after being interrupted or postponed this year due to Broadway’s COVID-19 shutdown. Take Me Out is directed by Scott Ellis.
In addition to Adams, Ferguson and Williams, Take Me Out, at the Second Stage’s Hayes Theater, will feature Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Brandon J. Dirden, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks. The production had been scheduled to begin previews on April 2, 2020 and officially open on April 23, 2020.
Also aiming for Spring 2021 openings are the Tony Kushner-Jeanine Tesori musical Caroline, or Change, The Music Man, Flying Over Sunset, American Buffalo, Plaza Suite and The Minutes. Birthday Candles, with Debra Messing, will open in Fall 2021. The Scott Rudin-produced Our Town, starring Dustin Hoffman, will open sometime in 2021.
The Broadway League recently announced that theaters are officially closed at least until January 2021.
Take Me Out, first staged on Broadway in 2003, follows a New York baseball team called the Empires. When Darren Lemming (Jesse Williams), the star center fielder, comes out as gay, the reception off the field reveals a barrage of long-held unspoken prejudices. As Second Stage describes it, “Darren is forced to contend with the challenges of being a gay person of color within the confines of a classic American institution. As the Empires struggle to rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties, and the price of victory.”
The full creative team for Take Me Out includes scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and sound design by Fitz Patton.
"I remember exactly where I was when I read that damn pilot," Oh tells Kerry Washington, who went on to play Olivia Pope. "I was on Grey’s [Anatomy]. We were on stage five. Someone snuck it to me, I don’t know who it was, but I got my hands on that pilot and I read it and I was just like, 'How could I play Olivia Pope?'"
Oh wanted to play the anti-hero fixer so badly that she asked Shonda Rhimes if she could take on the role. Rhimes, the creator of both Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, rejected Oh's request in favor of having her continue her Grey's role of Cristina Yang.
"I remember going to Shonda, and it’s like, 'How could I do this? What is this script? Could I do this too?'" Oh recalls. "She goes, 'No, you’ve got to play Cristina Yang!'"
"It’s so wonderful and rare when you get in your hands something that you know is electric, that you can feel," she continues, adding that she's "so glad" Washington ended up booking the project.
As for Washington's experience on Scandal, she admits, "I don’t feel like there’s anything that I haven’t been asked to make real."
"It’s just a gymnasium of character, where you’re just required to, week after week, be in these heightened experiences of the most important moments of a person’s life, so that requires a level of athleticism almost," Washington explains. "I felt like I, too, was very protective of Olivia Pope -- and devoted. Maybe that’s the right word: I was so devoted to her."
Though Oh didn't end up landing the role of Olivia Pope, she's thankful for her time starring on Grey's Anatomy.
"What I was able to get from Grey’s is to have the responsibility and the relationship with the writer to be able to direct where she’s going," Oh says. "If something kind of came up which was like, 'That is completely wrong,' I would go toe-to-toe with Shonda and a lot of the writers, which has been challenging."
"But I think ultimately, for the entire product and our relationship, if you’re fighting for the show, if you’re fighting for your character, people can tell that," she adds.
Directed by former Disney animator Glen Keane, the pic is slated to debut in the fall. It follows a determined, bright young girl with a passion for science who builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. There she ends up on an unexpected quest, and discovers a whimsical land of fantastical creatures. Check out the blast-off above. Newcomer Ang voices lead character Fei Fei; Hamilton ?star Soo voices the moon goddess Chang’e?; Jeong is Gobi, a Lunarian who becomes an unexpected companion to Fei Fei on her adventure; Chiu voices Chin,? Fei Fei’s rambunctious, high-energy brother-to-be; John Cho and Miles voice Fei Fei’s parents; Oh is Mrs Zhong,? Fei Fei’s future stepmother; Glenn takes on Auntie Mei and Margaret Cho is Auntie Ling.
John Kahrs co-directs while Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield and Helen Park are writing the songs with a score from Oscar winner Steven Price. Producers are Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou. Audrey Wells (The Hate U Give) wrote the screenplay.
Keane, who spent 38 years at Disney, is best known for his work on classic Disney title characters from films like The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Aladdin, Beauty And The Beast and Tarzan. In 2012, he left Disney to launch Glen Keane Productions and in 2018 won an Oscar for Best Animated Short with Dear Basketball which he animated and directed in collaboration with Kobe Bryant and John Williams.
The hugely popular medical drama is heading into a record-breaking 17th season, the second of a two-year pickup. For a legacy show that has been as important to a network as Grey’s Anatomy has been to ABC, a decision on a final season is usually done well in advance so the creative team has the time to craft a satisfying last chapter and fans have the opportunity to celebrate the series throughout its final run.
“We are in conversations now with the producers” about the upcoming 17th season and beyond, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke told Deadline in conjunction with the reveal of the network’s 2020-21 schedule, noting that the show starring Ellen Pompeo “had just gone back into the writers room” to start work on next season.
“I can’t comment any further,” Burke said, adding, “I’m hopeful that Grey’s Anatomy stays a part of our schedule. They certainly know that we’d like it to be part of our schedule for as long as they are interested in making more episodes.”
Burke shared similar hope in January that the drama would not end with Season 17. “Grey’s Anatomy will live as long as Ellen is interested in playing Meredith Grey,” she said back then.
ABC brass have not gotten an indication from the Grey’s Anatomy producing team yet what direction they may be leaning toward. Burke indicated that, because of the pandemic, any decisions, including the one on Grey’s Anatomy future, may be delayed.
“It’s an unusual year. No conversations are happening in any traditional way,” she said. “Everyone is being very thoughtful to hold off on predictions and try to have as thoughtful and informed a conversation around a show’s ability to keep going or not based on such a fluid production environment.”
Grey’s Anatomy, which moved to 9 PM on Thursday this past season, is the longest running medical drama on television and remains ABC’s flagship series. It is now part of a formidable 8-10 PM block with spinoff Station 19, overseen by executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff.
Like many other broadcast series, Grey’s Anatomy‘s most recent 16th season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. It was one of the first series to shut down production in the face of the health crisis.
MONDAY
8 PM — Dancing with the Stars
10 PM — The Good Doctor
TUESDAY
8 PM — The Bachelorette
10 PM — BIG SKY
WEDNESDAY
8 PM — The Goldbergs
8:30 PM — American Housewife
9 PM — The Conners
9:30 PM — CALL YOUR MOTHER
10 PM — Stumptown
THURSDAY
8 PM — Station 19
9 PM — Grey’s Anatomy
10 PM — A Million Little Things
FRIDAY
8 PM — Shark Tank
9 PM — 20/20 (Two Hours)
SATURDAY
8 PM — Saturday Night Football
SUNDAY
7 PM — America’s Funniest Home Videos
8 PM — SUPERMARKET SWEEP
9 PM — Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
10 PM — The Rookie
An open letter addressed to “White American Theater” was published on Monday demanding change. The letter was filled with ugly truths that those who have worked in the theater industry have experienced for decades. Among the 300 BIPOCs who signed the letter were Lin-Manuel Miranda, Viola Davis, Sandra Oh, Uzo Aduba, Sterling K. Brown, Cynthia Erivo, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Danai Gurira, Andre Holland, Conrad Ricamora, Tanya Saracho, Anika Noni Rose, Jessica Hagedorn, Leslie Odom Jr., Katori Hall and more.
The letter calls bluntly calls out the industry: “We see you. We have always seen you. We have watched you pretend not to see us.”
“We have watched you exploit us, shame us, diminish us, and exclude us. We see you. We have always seen you. And now you will see us.”
It continues to drag theater’s history of tokenism, white privilege, patriarchy, blatant racism, bias and hypocrisy: “We have watched you amplify our voices when we are heralded by the press, but refuse to defend our aesthetic when we are not, allowing our livelihoods to be destroyed by a monolithic and racist culture.”
“Join us in demanding change for BIPOC theater artists at http://weseeyouWAT.com. #WeSeeYou #TomorrowTherellBeMoreOfUs,” Miranda tweeted, sharing the letter and a petition with everyone.
The open letter comes as the protests following the killing of George Floyd and other Black lives continue around the globe. It also comes when there seems to be a reckoning in all industries when it comes to racial inequality. More recently, Griffin Matthews shared their racist experiences with the theater industry while many organizations have been called out as hypocrites as they support the protests but have a history of discrimination.
The network has landed the international drama series Devils, starring Grey’s Anatomy vet Patrick Dempsey and Italian actor Alessandro Borghi, for Fall 2020. The series will air Wednesdays at 8 pm, leading into the investigative drama Coroner.
The Tuesday-at-8 pm slot was originally set to be occupied by Two Sentence Horror Stories and Dead Pixels. The former will now air back-to-back episodes Sundays from 8-9 pm (replacing Masters of Illusion, which moves to Fridays), while the latter is being eyed for a Summer 2020 bow. Reruns of Penn & Teller: Fool Us, meanwhile, will no longer air on Fridays.
As previously reported, the majority of The CW’s returning series are being delayed until early 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Back to Devils, the series centers on “the charismatic yet ruthless Head of Trading at NYL, one of the world’s most important investment banks (played by Borghi), and his mentor, (Dempsey). After Dominic appoints another colleague over Massimo following a bitter promotion battle, Massimo finds himself named prime suspect in a murder investigation. Fighting to clear his name, Massimo becomes involved in an intercontinental financial war and is forced to choose between supporting Dominic or going up against him.”
“I can’t sleep,” the actress, 41, wrote on Sunday alongside several photos of Adalaide and her other two children.
“And when I do, I wake with a single thought in my head. How will I tell Adalaide? How will I explain the unexplainable? How can I protect her? How can I break a piece of her beautiful divine spirit to do so? I can’t sleep. I lay in my bed in the dark and weep for every mother of a beautiful divine black child who has to extinguish a piece of their beloved baby’s spirit to try to keep them alive in a country that has too many sleeping soundly.”
Heigl continued: “Now I weep. Because what should have changed by now, by then, forever ago still is. Hopelessness is seeping in. Fear that there is nothing I can do, like a slow moving poison, is spreading through me. Then I look at my daughters. My sister. My nephews and niece. George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. The hundreds, thousands millions more we haven’t even heard about. I look and the fear turns to something else. The sorrow warms and then bursts into flames of rage.”
The nation has erupted in protests following Floyd’s death at the hands of Minnesota police on May 25.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” star and her husband, country singerJosh Kelley adopted daughter Naleigh from South Korea at 9 months old in 2009 and Adelaide at birth in 2012. Four years later Heigl gave birth to their son, Joshua.
The April 9 season finale surged by +9.2 million Total Viewers and by +318% with Adults 18-49 from Live+Same Day to Multiplatform+35 Day. Notching a 5.98 rating among Adults 18-49, Grey’s Anatomy more than quadrupled its initial rating after 35 days of multiplatform viewing (+318%), according to data provided by Nielsen.
In its 16th season, Grey’s Anatomy is ABC’s No. 1 program this season in Total Viewers (15.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.92 rating) with 35 days of delayed viewing across all platforms.
Grey’s Anatomy‘s 16th season was cut short by production halts due to the coronavirus pandemic. The last produced episode, #1621, titled “Put on a Happy Face,” served as the Season 16 finale on April 9. The episode was written by Mark Driscoll and Tameson Duffy and directed by Deborah Pratt.
Grey’s Anatomy, the longest-running medical drama on television, has been renewed for Season 17. It has not been decided yet whether the four unproduced episodes from Season 16 will be tacked onto the show’s order for next season or if they will open Season 17 next fall.
Walsh got the Twitter party started by noting that May 22 marks the 15th anniversary of Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 1 finale and also her introduction as Addison. In the episode’s closing moments, Addison reveals to a gobsmacked Meredith that her new boyfriend Derek is actually married — to her (watch video below).
“Unreal that today marks 15 years to the day since this little lady walked on to your screen and checked ya for screwing her husband,” Walsh cracked on Twitter.
Shortly thereafter, Pompeo — who was tagged in Walsh’s tweet — enthusiastically responded, “Thank God I messed with your hubby!!” She then added, “It worked out for us both… that scene when your character showed up was such a defining moment for [Grey’s]. From that point on we had them hooked!!!”
@katewalsh thank god I messed with your hubby!! it worked out well for us both!!! Love you so much and THAT scene …when your character showed up …was such a defining moment for this show. From that point on we had them hooked!!! https://t.co/CPsTTctHxW — Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) May 22, 2020
Walsh, of course, exited Grey’s at the end of Season 3 to headline the Addison-centric spinoff Private Practice. The offshoot ran for six seasons, concluding in Jan. 2013.
“There were four episodes of Grey’s that we could not shoot,” reminds Krista Vernoff, the showrunner for both ABC dramas. “So we’re gonna have to play those stories through on Grey’s in the fall. Some scenes, I had to go in and edit or change when I couldn’t air the [missing] Grey’s episodes.
“But what I liked about that [Maya/Carina/Teddy] scene, and the reason I allowed Teddy to remain a part of it,” she continues, “was that I felt like you couldn’t tell whether she had been forgiven or not. You could tell that she cared deeply about the subject, but you didn’t know what had happened in her own life since Episode 21 of Grey’s” — aka the one in which Owen heard the X-rated voicemail from his would-be wife’s goodbye tryst with Tom.
The Gracies recognize exemplary programming created by, for and about women in radio, television, and interactive media. Honorees are selected in national, local and student markets, including both commercial and non-commercial outlets.
A complete list be seen below.
TV NATIONAL HONOREES
60 Minutes: The Chibok Girls (60 Minutes)
CBS News
News Magazine
Abby McEnany (Work in Progress)
SHOWTIME
Actress in a Breakthrough Role
Alex Duda (The Kelly Clarkson Show)
NBCUniversal
Showrunner – Talk Show
Am I Next? Trans and Targeted
ABC NEWS Nightline
Hard News Feature
Angela Kang (The Walking Dead)
AMC
Showrunner- Scripted
Better Things
FX Networks
Comedy
BookTube
YouTube Originals
Non-Fiction Entertainment
Caroline Waterlow (Qualified)
ESPN Films
Producer- Documentary /Unscripted / Non-Fiction
Catherine Reitman (Workin’ Moms)
Wolf + Rabbit Entertainment (CBC/Netflix)
Actress in a Leading Role – Comedy or Musical
Catherine Reitman (Workin’ Moms)
Wolf + Rabbit Entertainment (CBC/Netflix)
Director – Comedy
Clarissa Ward (CNN International)
CNN International
Reporter/Correspondent
Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead)
AMC
Actress in a Leading Role – Drama
Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve)
BBC AMERICA
Actress in a Supporting Role – Drama
Francesca Gregorini (Killing Eve)
BBC AMERICA
Director – Scripted
Gender Discrimination in the FBI
NBC News Investigative Unit
Interview Feature
Grey’s Anatomy
ABC Studios
Drama- Grand Award
Izzie Pick Ibarra (THE MASKED SINGER)
FOX Broadcasting Company
Showrunner – Unscripted
Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon)
FX Networks
Actress in a Leading Role – Made for TV Movie or Limited Series
Mission Unstoppable
Produced by Litton Entertainment
Family Series
MSNBC 2019 Democratic Debate (Atlanta)
MSNBC
Special or Variety – Breakthrough
Naomi Watts (The Loudest Voice)
SHOWTIME
Actress in a Supporting Role – Made for TV Movie or Limited Series
“Caterina and Rob have separated,” Scorsone’s rep confirmed to Page Six on Friday. “They remain friends and are committed to co-parenting their children in a spirit of love.”
Scorsone, who plays Amelia Shepherd on the long-running medical drama, and Giles wed in 2009. Formerly a musician who played with The Police’s Andy Summers, Giles pivoted to film and television writing. According to IMDb, he’s written two episodes of the “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off series, “Station 19.”
The couple share three daughters: Eliza, 7, Paloma “Pippa” Michaela, 3, and Arwen Lucinda, born in December 2019.
Scorsone, 38, has been open about her struggles in dealing with Pippa’s Down syndrome diagnosis, telling the “Motherly” podcast in 2019 that it sent her into a “tailspin” at first.
DeLuca's mental health was questioned throughout the latter half of Season 16 of Grey's Anatomy, especially when he became more manic about diagnosing his patients. Meredith and his sister Carina (Stefania Spampinato) became increasingly concerned that DeLuca was exhibiting early signs of Bipolar disorder, the same illness his and Carina's father suffers with. DeLuca fought their diagnosis, claiming they just wouldn't believe him when he was right, and to be fair all of his judgements did end up being correct.
The last episode of Grey's Anatomy was the first time we saw DeLuca acknowledge for himself that something wasn't quite right, but that episode wasn't intended to be the season finale. Grey's had to end their season early due to a production shut down caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season still had three more episodes to go, which undoubtedly would have given more answers about exactly what was going on with DeLuca.
Fans were expecting to have to wait until at least the fall and Season 17 of Grey's to get answers, but an update came from Carina, who is dating Maya (Danielle Savre) on Station 19. The two characters were discussing their relationships with their fathers when Carina explained that her father was diagnosed with Bipolar 1, and that her baby brother had recently learned he had the same condition.
That diagnosis wasn't officially stated on Grey's, but before the production shut down, the shows were running concurrently and crossing over every week. Station 19 was able to finish filming Season 3 before the pandemic hit, but if Grey's had been able to continue, it would have episodes that complimented what was happening on Station 19. In other words, we would have seen DeLuca officially get diagnosed on Grey's before Carina mentioned it to Maya on Station 19.
It remains to be seen how Grey's will tackle DeLuca and his mental state when the show eventually returns, as the premature ending has messed up the concurrent timelines of the two series. However, since Station 19 is a canon spin-off, and shares a showrunner with Grey's in Krista Vernoff, we can take Carina's word for it that DeLuca has gotten an official diagnosis, and hopefully the help he needs to manage it. We want him back on his feet not only for his own sake, but to be there for his sister because the rest of her conversation with Maya about dads was a real disaster. That drama will continue in next week's finale.
Station 19 will finish its Season 3 next Thursday at 9/8c on ABC.
Ahead of the ABC medical drama’s likely delayed 17th season, Vernoff tells TVLine that when it comes to Meredith’s latest romantic predicament — does Ellen Pompeo‘s MD get back with sorta ex-love DeLuca or pursue a relationship with new doc on the block Cormac ‘McWidow’ Hayes — the EP has backed herself into the best kind of corner.
“I’m at the point with that story where I don’t know who I am rooting for,” Vernoff confesses to TVLine. “I don’t know if I think that DeLuca is rising to a level of dark and twisty and life experience that makes him somehow a [suitably] mature partner for Meredith. Or if all that Hayes has been through in his life already makes him her equal. I am delighted to have such a conundrum."
Vernoff credits DeLuca and Hayes’ respective portrayers, Giacomo Gianniotti and Richard Flood, for bringing so much complexity to the love triangle. “I thought that both Giacomo and Richard rose so beautifully to the occasion of the storytelling,” she enthuses. “You write a script and you think it’s one thing and then you see it shot and put it together and it becomes something entirely different… I honestly don’t know how it will end.”
Grey’s Anatomy’s 16th season came to a premature conclusion earlier this month as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As we previously reported, the original finale was slated to revolve around a cataclysmic event that would have likely claimed the life of a major character. Grey’s fans may be able to glean clues about the ill-fated finale in this season’s final episodes of sister series Station 19.
“Ironically, when fans watch Episode 15 and 16 of Station 19, they will probably have a feeling of some of what we had planned for [the original Grey’s finale],” Vernoff previously told TVLine.
Pompeo, 50, has been accused by many of victim blaming in the controversial clip cut from an hour-long Oxford Union Q&A. The television star was quick to assure fans the snippet is being taken out of context and that the featured panel discussion took place before the flood of accusations against the former film exec came to light.
“Hey girls sorry if video clips are upsetting!!,” Pompeo tweeted Thursday afternoon. “It’s out of context & it’s too serious a subject to talk about on a platform like this…people who have been abused or assaulted should seek guidance from a therapist… this is not a healthy place for topics this serious.”
She continued, “For those who feel offended or are taking this personally this panel was 2 + years ago and it was way before the whole stories of the women came out I Certainly didn’t know he was a rapist at that point … that took shit to a whole different level.”
During the July 2018 discussion in question, the actress addressed women who may have found themselves in compromising positions with Weinstein, saying, “I think we bear some responsibility, not all, but it takes two to tango for sure.
“That’s not to blame the victim, that’s just to say — I did go into a room with Harvey Weinstein, I sat at a table with him, I had a probably two and a half hours with him. He never said anything inappropriate to me, he never made any sort of physical advance to me.”
In 2017 — prompted by the #MeToo movement — exposés by The New York Times and The New Yorker accused Weinstein of preying on Hollywood stars for over 30 years.
In a one-minute clip that was cut from an hour-long Oxford Union Q&A, the “Grey’s Anatomy” star said, “I think we bear some responsibility, not all, but it takes two to tango for sure.”
She continued, “That’s not to blame the victim, that’s just to say — I did go into a room with Harvey Weinstein, I sat at a table with him, I had a probably two and a half hours with him. He never said anything inappropriate to me, he never made any sort of physical advance to me.”
Pompeo, 50, explained that she had been sent for a midday meeting with the disgraced producer by an agent.
“I wouldn’t have gone into that room at night. But he did nothing inappropriate toward me. Now had he, I would have picked up that glass and smashed him across the side of the face with it.
“So I mean, it’s all what we’re willing to tolerate in our self-esteem, and what are we going to put up with, and what are we going to compromise to be liked, to be loved, to be accepted? How bad do we want to be in show business?”
The original question from the interviewer, which was not included in the clip going around online, was that amid women speaking out during the #MeToo movement, “What do you think needs to happen for this to be a permanent watermark that actually changes the way things are run in Hollywood, certainly internal dynamics forever?”
Pompeo begins her answer by stating that people need to know that kind of behavior will not be tolerated.
“I’m not going to make excuses for those pigs in Hollywood who do disgusting things to women,” she said. “However, I do think it’s generations of men, these men clearly were brought up by older men and they clearly watched other men … These men have learned this behavior and I think women also have to be responsible for the signals we put out, for the messages we put out, and the way we present ourselves.”
Pompeo went on to say that women flirt, and know they are flirting to get what they want, using an example of batting her eyelashes at 5 years old for more candy from a shop owner.
“I think we’re aware of our power, especially women, we’re aware of our power of seduction very early on and we use it and it comes in good (sic) handy, right? … But there has to be a balance in there,” she said before launching into her comments about Weinstein.
Twitter users were outraged by the clip on Thursday.
“What the f..k is wrong with ellen pompeo. This is absolutely disgusting,” one user wrote, with another adding, “I truly do wonder what’s going on inside of ellen pompeo’s brain. Who told her saying s..t like this was okay.”
However, some claimed the clip needed more information. “So you brought a clip where we dont get to hear the question she was answering and we dont get the exact context she meant,” someone pointed out.
Pompeo has played Dr. Meredith Grey on the long-running ABC drama since its inception in 2005. When her contract was renewed in 2018, she became the highest paid actress in a television drama series.
In the wake of the pair’s controversial comments regarding how and when to ease social restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Pompeo — without mentioning them by name — seemingly fired back at the talk show hosts (and actual doctors), noting that “the old white guy TV docs who say stupid selfish s–t should yes… walk that s–t right back.
“Staying home is for very good reasons… one of them is to stop the spread to nurses doctors and anyone who works in a hospital housekeeping… security… maintenance… to keep their risk of contracting lower and the hospitals can only handle so much intake,” Pompeo tweeted Saturday.
She added: “You took an oath so so many years ago to do no harm… making careless statements in this environment when so many healthcare workers are suffering physically and emotionally… is defying that oath.”
Dr. Phil has come under fire for likening deaths from COVID-19 to that of car accidents or smoking. Dr. Oz, meanwhile, made the highly controversial suggestion that if schools were to open in the near term it “may only cost us 2 to 3 percent in terms of total mortality.” He has since backpedaled on his original comments.
Read Pompeo’s tweets below.
Staying home is for very good reasons…one of them is to stop the spread to nurses doctors and anyone who works in a hospital housekeeping …security .. maintenance…. …to keep their risk of contracting lower and The hospitals can only handle so much intake. — Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) April 18, 2020
Also the old white guy tv docs who say stupid selfish shit should yes …walk that shit riht back .to your lazy boys and sit your stupid asses down in your living rooms on your golf courses where you live..tired out of touch old fools don’t get me started today — Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) April 18, 2020
Also to those out of touch tv docs which I’m sure they would call me lol…you took an oath so so many years ago to do no harm… making careless statements in this environment when so many healthcare workers are suffering physically and emotionally….is defying that oath — Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) April 18, 2020
And I love friendly reminders so here’s one…so many healthcare professionals already before a pandemic… experience sexism racism pay inequities and discrimination in however many forms that comes which are many…they still do their jobs with pride and selflessness.. — Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) April 18, 2020
Produced by Italy’s Lux Vide in association with Orange Studio for Sky Italia, Devils premiered at Mipcom last year and stars Dempsey as the charismatic American CEO of an international investment bank.
The 10-part series has been picked up in territories including Russia (AMedia TV); Latin America and the Caribbean (Universal TV); Africa (Showmax); India (Eros); Denmark and Sweden (C More); the Netherlands (RTL); and Southeast Asia (Blue Ant Entertainment).
Devils will also air across Sky’s European footprint in Italy (where it premieres tonight), the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. NBCUniversal Global Distribution is currently in talks with U.S. buyers, and Devils‘ producers are confident that it will find a home in America.
Nicola Maccanico, Sky Italia’s executive vice president of programming, said the global coronavirus pandemic had given Devils extra resonance. He said: “What we did not expect, and we are not happy about this, is how contemporary the series is considering the crisis that we are in today. The connection between the economy, finance, political institutions and all the different cultures is something we are living today. This is becoming a global economic crisis.”
“When you put together this kind of project, you are not fully covered [financially] and you have to trust yourself to make something with quality for it to sell internationally,” added Lux Vide CEO Luca Bernabei. “It’s a conspiracy thriller that will hold the attention of a wide audience, but at the same time allow them to get inside the complex world of finance in an engaging way.” He said that work is already underway on a second season.
Based on a book by Italian trader Guido Maria Brera, Devils features Grey’s Anatomy star Dempsey as bank CEO Dominic Morgan, who welcomes Massimo Ruggero, played by Suburra’s Alessandro Borghi, a ruthless head of trading to the world of finance. Ruggero ends up involved in an intercontinental financial war rocking Europe, and he has to choose whether to ally himself with his mentor or fight him.
The series stars John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy and Jayden Rey as Mary Conner.
Guest starring is Katey Sagal as Louise, Jay R. Ferguson as Ben, James Pickens Jr. as Chuck, Stephen Monroe Taylor as Dwight, Noel Fisher as Ed Jr., Carmina Garay as Harper and Jack Guzman as Officer Rodriguez.
The teleplay for “CPAPs, Hickeys and Biscuits” was written by Kimberly Altamirano and directed by Lynda Tarryk.
“I didn’t want to put anyone through it,” Vernoff tells TVLine. “[Camilla] had so beautifully gone through many months of very dark storytelling, and I didn’t want any of us to watch Jo go into a hole again.”
Jo’s remarkable resilience in the wake of learning — via a Dear John letter, no less — that hubby Alex had abruptly dumped her to be with ex-wife Izzie and their young twins “also felt honest,” Vernoff maintains, “because I’ve had the experience in my life where the pain of not knowing is so much worse than a very painful truth. Jo had so many episodes of not knowing [where Alex was] that even though the [eventual] answer was horridly painful, there was really honest relief [in just knowing what was up]. Getting an answer finally allowed her to strangely feel better than she had when she was just in the dark.
“Jo had imagined every possible worst-case scenario,” the EP continues. “And even though one of them came true, just having the information allowed her to move on. It felt like she had done a lot of grieving for the relationship in the weeks prior to receiving that letter.”
Sources confirm to TVLine that the ABC drama’s original Season 16 finale — one of four episodes scrapped as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — was to feature a cataclysmic event that would have likely claimed the life of a major character. One insider says the event in question was going to be an explosion, something Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff would neither confirm or deny in a recent interview with TVLine.
It remains unclear which cast member was headed for Grey Sloan’s legendary revolving door. Another unknown is whether the rumored departure will now be folded into Season 17 or delayed indefinitely.
As we previously reported, Grey’s fans may be able to glean clues about the ill-fated finale in this season’s final episodes of sister series Station 19. (It would stand to reason that an explosion would reverberate on Station 19, given its firefighter premise.)
“Ironically, when fans watch Episode 15 and 16 of Station 19, they will probably have a feeling of some of what we had planned for [the original Grey’s finale],” Vernoff previously told TVLine.
Production on Grey’s Anatomy’s 16th season was shut down before the show was able to complete production on the final four episodes. Luckily, Episode 21 — which ended up serving as a makeshift finale — functioned well as a season-ender. “From the minute we read the script for 21,” Vernoff noted, “it — coincidentally — felt like a season finale.”
With Grey’s off the air until (at least) fall, Station 19 this week shifts back to its old 9 pm timeslot with the first of its final four Season 3 episodes.
“That [triangle] was very prevalent in the back half of this season, and certainly prevalent in what was going to be the next four scripts,” showrunner Krista Vernoff says of the ill-fated, un-produced final string of Season 16 episodes, which were scrapped due to the COVID-19 crisis. “I feel a little badly for [Teddy’s portrayer] Kim Raver that we had to end the story where we did, because I feel like she is going to absorb a lot of fan hate all summer.”
Such a potentially harsh reception would be partly attributed to the fact that, as Vernoff muses, infidelity stories on TV seldom focus on the female point of view. “I think it’s really, really rare that women get to cheat and still be redeemable human beings — we do not see that depicted often on television,” she maintains. “But Teddy is such a rich, long-standing character that it’s hard to just totally hate her.”
Vernoff admits that she doesn’t know which man Teddy will ultimately choose. “All three of them feel like whole, rich and conflicted human beings,” she shares. “My empathy and sympathy changes from week to week and scene to scene. I think it’s a really beautiful story, and I don’t know where it ends.”
In fact, the coronavirus shutdown may lead Vernoff to reevaluate her original plans for the love-struck trio. Reveals the EP: “I have a feeling that taking three or four months off between [the new ‘finale’] and the [Season 17 premiere] will probably lead us to change some of what we had planned.”
As showrunner Krista Vernoff reveals to TVLine, Elizabeth Finch’s original and “beautifully written” script for the pivotal Season 16 episode that served as Justin Chambers’ swan song referenced Alex and Izzie’s twins Eli and Alexis, but viewers were not supposed to actually meet the children. Grey’s co-star and EP Debbie Allen, who directed the March 5 hour, “fought really hard to cast and shoot the kids,” says Vernoff. “None of that was in the original script. And that was my favorite material in the episode — the visuals of those two kids.” Vernoff adds that “Leave a Light On” was a “labor of love” for the entire cast and crew, particularly longtime editor Vanessa Delgado, who was tasked with “putting together 16 seasons worth of clips” for the flashback-heavy episode, which gave closure to not only Alex’s storyline but Izzie’s as well.
“The Izzie story and those eggs was just hanging out there” since Katherine Heigl’s abrupt 2010 exit, Vernoff notes. “I thought it was amazing that we could finally let people know that Izzie was alive and well and raising [Alex’s] kids.”
Leading out of that, Grey’s Anatomy‘s ersatz season finale (7.3 mil/1.4) hit a one-year high in audience while steady/leading the night in the demo. How to Get Away With Murder (3 mil/0.6, read recap) was steady.
Elsewhere….
FOX | Last Man Standing (4.1 mil/0.6) dipped in the demo.
CBS | Adrift among Young Sheldon and Mom reruns, Man With a Plan (6 mil/0.8) dipped 14 and 11 percent while Broke (5.2 mil/0.7) dropped 27 and 22 percent. Tommy (5.3 mil/0.6) was steady. NBC | Leading out of a Superstore rerun, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2.1 mil/0.6) ticked up a tenth, Will & Grace (2.7 mil/0.6) dipped with its I Love Lucy homage, and Indebted (1.4 mil/0.3) was flat.
TVLINE | As this story has unfolded, have you been aware that viewers have been upset and worried about Richard?
[Laughs] That’s an understatement. I think after last week’s episode, I got more texts than I have in the entire 16 seasons I’ve been doing the show. It looked like my phone was blowing up, just with friends saying, “Oh my God, what’s going on?” But I was very appreciative.
TVLINE | Was there any point when you were worried — like, “Wait, are they killing me off?”
[Laughs] You know, there are no guarantees in this business. But early on, when [showrunner] Krista [Vernoff] pitched this story, one of the first things she said was, “Don’t worry — you’re gonna pull through. We just want to let you know what this is gonna look like.” So I could exhale a little bit.
TVLINE | Let’s talk about the end of the finale. I love Richard with Catherine, so I was bummed that the first thing he did when he got out of surgery was push her away.
Yeah, it seemed like the wounds had started to heal, but they’re both such strong-willed people and so passionate in what they think — obviously, that translates to their love for one another. But he really felt betrayed by her. First she fires him, then she turns around and buys this hospital that he was turning around with Karev. Now she’s regretting her actions, but he’s wondering, “Is it just because I’m sick?” So I don’t think he’s giving her a pass. He’s still pretty pissed. It’s gonna take a minute to get over all that.
TVLINE | Could you see Richard, in his anger, turning to Gemma?
Ah, that was such a great arc. Jasmine [Guy] is a dear, dear friend of mine. I must have known her for close to 40 years, I would imagine. But if Richard is nothing else, I think he is a man of integrity. He’s had his moments — he has strayed, back in the Ellis days. But I think with Catherine, it’s different. He really does love her. Gemma made him feel like he was still desirable, but I don’t think he wanted to act on that. So I don’t think that’ll manifest into anything else.
TVLINE | Since Richard’s hip re-replacement cured him of his hand tremors, do you see surgery as a part of his future again?
I wouldn’t be surprised if he went back to it. He’s a man who likes control, and when you don’t have it, that’s a scary place to be. Now that the shakes are gone, he’s reenergized. So he could go back to surgery. But I think his real forte is teaching. That’s where his experience has helped to shape the interns and attendings on the show, and I’d like to see them explore what that looks like now.
TVLINE | Did you have any idea what the original finale was going to entail?
I really didn’t. But with this extended period of time we now have — this hiatus, for lack of a better term — I’m sure the writers are going to hunker down and come up with some very interesting stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything they have in mind when we go forward. They have a lot of options to play with!
“At the end of the day, there were three choices,” the EP explains to TVLine. “Kill Alex off camera; have Alex be alive and in Seattle — and still married to Jo — and we just never see him; or [reunite him] with Izzie.”
As we learned in the March 5 episode, Vernoff went with Option 3, which she saw as the only viable one. Killing Alex would’ve been “cruel to everyone — particularly Meredith and Jo,” she says of the character’s BFF and wife, respectively. “There was no way to not put those characters through gut-wrenching, ongoing grief if we had killed Alex off camera.”
An Alex death also would have been unfair to Grey’s diehards, Vernoff says. “Some fans were upset, particularly the Jolex shippers, that [Alex left Jo to be with Izzie] — and I understand why. But I would fight real hard anyone who tried to tell me that fans would not have been equally or more upset if I had killed Alex Karev off camera.”
And Option 2 — having Alex remain in Seattle and married to Jo — would have done a disservice to Chambers’ TV wife, Camilla Luddington. “It wasn’t fair to her to keep her married to a character who was off screen,” Vernoff says. “It would absolutely eliminate [the chance for her to play] so many colors that she is so good at playing.”
As a result, “this wasn’t even a debate in the writers room,” stresses Vernoff, adding that giving Alex a happy ending with Izzie “was so clearly the right course.”
‘IT’S A CAREER-DEFINING MOMENT’ | As “Put On a Happy Face” began, Meredith, DeLuca and their peers were working round-the-clock to diagnose Richard. Well, some of them were, anyway. Koracick, Amelia and Maggie were so convinced that he had Alzheimer’s that Catherine was going to take the patient home. Luckily, before she could, they discovered that he’d lost feeling in his feet. And his hands. WTF? Turned out, he had severe acute onset motor and sensory nerve degeneration, which Mer was quick to point out was inconsistent with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. She was right all along! Next, it was DeLuca’s turn to shine. No sooner had Richard been wheeled into the O.R. for a biopsy than Andrew raced in, knocked all of Bailey’s sterile equipment off their trays and announced that Webber had had a hip replacement. If that new hip was made of cobalt, it could be deteriorating and, thus, causing all of his symptoms. And it was — DeLuca was right!
Elsewhere, Tom was taken aback to learn that Owen and Teddy were getting hitched that very night. In Koracick’s estimation, she was racing down the aisle with her babydaddy in hopes of convincing herself that she could live without her actual Mr. Right. “I’ve seen a few shotgun weddings,” he cracked, “but usually, it’s not the bride holding the gun.” Later, he paged Teddy to his office and implored her not to throw her life away. That night, he’d wait for her in his car in Lot B to take her anywhere she wanted to go. Between kisses, she admitted, “I love you, too,” and as the lovers got busy on the couch, the bride-to-be dropped her cell phone in such a way that it apparently dialed Owen’s number. So when he later had Levi play the message aloud while they were in surgery, all that was missing was a bow-chicka-bow-bow soundtrack. “Teddy’s idea of a wedding gift,” he said, trying to make light of the message before anyone heard who was making his fiancée moan.
‘YOU STOLE THE FATHER OF MY BABY WHILE I’M IN ACTIVE LABOR!’ | Meanwhile, Jackson, Jo and Cormac prepared to perform surgery on a teenager named Daya to implant in her face some of her leg muscles so that she could for the first time do what the title of the episode says. Since the girl was eager for her widowed dad to swipe right and get back out there already, talk in the O.R. turned to dating. What was Jackson’s dating-app pic? Jo asked. “A shirtless selfie of you on your yacht or your jet?” Ha. When Cormac admitted that he didn’t have a profile pic, or even a profile, Jo remarked that of course, he didn’t — he had his own personal matchmaker. What did that mean? he wanted to know. More and more, he got the impression that people were discussing his personal life in ways that he wasn’t privy to. At Grey Sloan? Ya think? The surgery was a success, BTW. And Dad never swiped right, we learned, because he was already dating his daughter’s algebra teacher.
In other developments, Amelia’s busy day of surgeries was cut short when her water broke. She and Link were good to go, though, their usual adorable selves. Just one teensy problem: Bailey needed Link to remove Richard’s poisonous hip, stat. He could go, Amelia said — but Bailey had to stay and hold her hand. As the mom-to-be marveled that anyone would ever go through labor pains, she realized… oh, she was making Bailey sit through a birth after she just lost her daughter. It was OK, Bailey assured her. She wasn’t going anywhere; that was against the rules of Pregnancy Club. (Aww.) While they and Carina welcomed the newborn, Link removed tons of sludge from Richard’s hip. “If this is happening to other people,” he told DeLuca, “it’s gonna be a game-changer.” It already was for Richard — the surgery was a success.
‘HE’S BEAUTIFUL’ | As the hour and the season came to an end, Link was introduced to his son. “He’s so small,” he marveled. “Don’t say that to the person who just pushed him out,” Amelia replied. Those two are gonna be a fun mom-and-pop operation! Once he was out of surgery, Owen listened to Teddy’s accidental message in full and heard her insisting that she wasn’t going to run away with Tom. “This was goodbye,” she told him. Which was hardly consolation to Hunt, who phoned his mom to say he’d been called in to last-minute surgery and have all the wedding guests sent home. Unaware that she’d been busted, Teddy was shocked. Back at Grey Sloan, when Richard awakened, he knew his name, where he was… “If this is a quiz, you might want to ask some tougher questions,” he told Jackson and Maggie. He appeared to be right as rain.
That is, he was right as rain until Catherine entered. Sure, she’d had a change of heart during his medical crisis, but that had in no way diminished his anger toward her. He still wanted nothing to do with his Cleopatra. As Mer left the hospital, Cormac asked her for a drink, but she was too exhausted. “Will you ask me another time?” You bet he would. She then found DeLuca sorta sitting on the floor freaked out and unsure of what was wrong. So she sweetly helped him up and out. If he needed an advocate — and clearly, he did — he couldn’t have asked for a better one.
As Vernoff tells TVLine, hints about the ill-fated Grey’s finale will be embedded in this season’s final two episodes of companion series Station 19, set to air in early May. Unlike Grey’s, which shut down production with four episodes left to shoot, Station 19 was able to complete its current season before the coronavirus pandemic brought scripted television to a standstill.
“Ironically, when fans watch Episode 15 and 16 of Station 19, they will probably have a feeling of some of what we had planned for [the original Grey’s finale],” says Vernoff, who runs both shows. In an effort to minimize the spoilage, and also protect those Grey’s storylines that will be folded into Season 17, Vernoff adds that she edited a little bit of the Grey’s content out of Station 19.
“This is the strangest thing any of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes,” she says of the COVID-19 crisis. “And, creatively, it is presenting unique challenges, for sure.”
Luckily, the cliffhanger-rich Episode 21 — aka the makeshift finale that aired Thursday night (read recap) and the last installment that the show was able to shoot before the work stoppage — functioned well as a season-ender. “From the minute we read the script for 21,” Vernoff notes, “it — coincidentally — felt like a season finale.”
“The closest… I’ve ever come to being a doctor is putting on a costume,” the actress formerly known as Thirteen notes at the start of the epic mashup, before adding tongue-in-cheek, “And while it is close, it is not quite the same. I just want to say thank you to all the real healthcare heroes out there.”
Among the TV vets featured in the video are Wilde’s former House co-stars Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison, Kal Pen and Peter Jacobson. Wilde also recruited cast members from ER (Julianna Margulies and Maura Tierney), Scrubs (Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison) and Grey’s Anatomy (alums Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh and Kate Walsh). Nurse Jackie‘s Edie Falco, The Good Doctor‘s Freddie Highmore and Doogie Howser himself, Neil Patrick Harris, also make cameos.
Young Sheldon delivered 10 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating, up 12 and 18 percent to hit season highs in both measures. Man With a Plan opened Season 4 with 7.1 million viewers and a 0.9 rating, on par with its previous average (5.3 mil/0.9) while besting anything The Unicorn did in the time slot.
Mom (7.6 mil/1.0) then rose 19 and 25 percent to season highs. Broke debuted to 7.1 million viewers and a 0.9 rating crushing Carol’s Second Act‘s best numbers in the time slot. Closing the Eye’s night, Tommy (5.5 mil/0.6) ticked up 15 and 20 percent to mark its own season highs.
Elsewhere….
ABC | Station 19 (7.3 mil/1.1) ticked up to its second largest audience of the season while steady in the demo. Grey’s Anatomy (7.1 mil/1.4) hit a season high in audience while ticking up to its second best rating of the season. And How to Get Away With Murder (3 mil/0.6) returned up from its fall average, hitting and tying final-season highs.
FOX | Last Man Standing (4.1 mil/0.7) dipped.
NBC | Superstore (3.3 mil/0.7), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2.2 mil/0.5), Indebted (1.4 mil/0.3) and SVU (3.5 mil/0.6) all ticked down.
‘LET’S ROUND UP THE TROOPS’ | As the hour began, Bailey assembled a war room of Grey Sloan’s best and brightest to try to diagnose Richard. “Prepare yourselves,” warned Maggie. “He’s not himself.” And he became progressively less like himself, or at least less like the Webber of 2020. He still believed that Catherine had been with him in L.A. and that he and his Cleopatra had reunited. He even thought that his speech had been a hit, not inspiration for mean-spirited Internet memes. When Bailey later caught DeLuca visiting Richard, she kicked out the suspended resident — but, um, did want to see the list of symptoms for which Dr. Riley had suggested he keep an eye. For her part, Catherine was unimpressed by the progress that her estranged husband’s proteges had made. “You look like a bunch of feckless interns,” she hissed. “You need to work harder.”
Afterwards, during a moment alone with Jackson, Catherine turned up the volume on her attack. “You’re letting him down,” she told her son. “Do you know that?” But, of course, really she was just deflecting, because she felt so guilty about the fact that she’d let her pride stand in the way of their reconciliation. If she’d been around, she would’ve noticed Richard slipping away. Speaking of which, he literally did that from his hospital room and wound up in the O.R. about to take a scalpel to his own belly. Though Meredith was able to talk him down, the poor guy still had lower to sink. “Ellis,” he told her, “something’s wrong with me.” Told ya it was a brutal episode! When it ended, Richard thought that he was at Seattle Grace and worried that Adele would be pissed if he was late again for dinner. When a desperate Meredith subsequently found DeLuca in the medical library, rather than send him home for the rest that everyone kept telling him he needed, she enlisted his help on Richard’s case.
‘I HOPE YOU AND STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER’ | Elsewhere in the hospital, Koracick’s remarried ex, Dana, showed up with her new son, Guthrie — who not only looked but sounded like poor, ill-fated David. The boy had a brain tumor that had spread to his spine, and his mom wanted Tom to remove it. Sensing just how utterly this surprise visit, not to mention Guthrie’s resemblance to David, had rocked Tom’s world, Teddy paged Amelia. Understanding completely, she was happy to scrub in… but began having contractions during surgery! Get Tom now, Amelia yelled at Taryn. Even though he couldn’t be near Guthrie without feeling like he was drowning, Tom attempted to perform the operation… then, when the kid began crashing, froze.
Watching from the gallery, Teddy leapt into action, speaking to Tom over the intercom and miraculously bringing his focus back to the task at hand. After he stabilized Guthrie and sent him down the road to recovery, Koracick thanked the woman he loved, who in turn apologized for having caused him pain; he’d had more than enough for one lifetime. “You’ve taken away more than you’ve caused,” he reassured her. Off that tender moment, Teddy ran into Owen, who pulled her into a supply closet for a quickie. “Let’s screw the plan,” she told her fiancé. “I wanna get married to you as soon as possible. Let’s do it this weekend.” And, considering that they kept right on tearing off one another’s clothes, I think it’s safe to assume they were in agreement about fast-tracking the nuptials.
‘THESE DOCTORS BROKE MY WIFE’ | On the lighter side, after Owen and Link treated a woman with a broken foot, she woke up singing every word she said. “So she’s just like this now?” asked her husband as if wondering whether he’d kept the receipt and could maybe exchange her. But he changed his tune after a moment in which it appeared that he might lose her. After that, he was even willing to sing with her. In other developments, Levi quickly went from being so braggy about his new housing situation that Taryn snarked, “You’re crashing with an attending, we get it!” to being ready to move out because Jo snapped at him in the pit. She didn’t want him to do that, though; she simply wasn’t going to change the way she worked just because they were roomies. Finally, when Link joined Amelia, her contractions growing ever stronger, they shared a cute moment of panic over the fact that once the baby came out, it would never again be as safe as it was right that second. And the second after… and the one after that. Because it turned out that Amelia was in false labor. It was a… case of Braxton Hicks contractions. “Suddenly,” Amelia deadpanned, “they hurt less.” Amelia and Link FTW, always.
“I also really want to make sure we take care of our first-responders and medical teams,” she continues. “So I was very happy that [series creator] Shonda [Rhimes] sort of handed over all of our masks and hospital gowns — everything we had. I was in New York doing Third Watch on 9/11, and [the producers] did the same thing, donating lights and anything else that they could use at Ground Zero. In these moments, I really believe that the good comes out” in people.
For her part, Raver has been checking on her neighbors, in particular the older ones, reaching out to friends and family, and posting quarantine pastimes on Instagram. “We have to take care of one another, and we’re finding ways to do it properly, to flatten the curve,” she says, adding that she likes to imagine that Grey’s is helping, too, just by being on (at least for a couple more weeks). “It has such a huge family [of fans]. I hope it gives that feeling of not being so alone during this really hard time.”
“We are disappointed that we don’t get to complete our storytelling this season. The good news? 1621 plays like a satisfying finale!” she tweeted. “It’s not where we planned to end, but it’s beautiful & the questions that linger we will answer next year. #GreysAnatomy #StayHome” She also reminded viewers that Grey’s will resume its storytelling in Season 17.
Season 16 will now conclude Thursday, April 9 (at 9/8c on ABC), while its remaining episodes have been scrapped. The move came as a result of the network’s decision to not resume production, which shut down earlier this month in response to the coronavirus crisis. This change brings the episode count from its original 25 down to 21.
The series’ two remaining episodes will be April 2’s “Sing It Again,” in which Owen and Link treat an older woman who wakes up from surgery and can’t stop singing, and April 9’s “Put on a Happy Face,” which will now serve as the season ender. According to ABC’s official logline: “Link tries to convince Amelia to take it easy during the final stage of her pregnancy; Hayes asks Meredith a surprising question; Owen makes a shocking discovery.”
The major scheduling change comes as a result of ABC deciding not to resume production on Season 16, which shut down earlier this month in response to the coronavirus crisis. Twenty-one of 25 episodes were completed when production was halted; the status of the remaining four Season 16 episodes is TBD. (Click here for a complete list of other early finales.)
Neither Station 19 nor How to Get Away With Murder (which resumes its farewell season on April 2 and finales on May 14) are affected by the Grey’s programming changes.
That means Grey’s only has two new episodes left to air this season: April 2’s “Sing It Again,” in which Owen and Link treat an older woman who wakes up from surgery and can’t stop singing, and April 9’s “Put on a Happy Face,” which will now serve as the season ender.
Here’s what fans can expect from the new finale, according to ABC’s official synopsis: “Link tries to convince Amelia to take it easy during the final stage of her pregnancy; Hayes asks Meredith a surprising question; Owen makes a shocking discovery.”
“Out of an abundance of caution, production is postponed on Grey’s Anatomy effective immediately,” showrunner/EP Krista Vernoff, director/EP Debbie Allen and line producer James Williams said in a letter to the ABC drama’s cast and crew on March 12. “We are going home now for at least two weeks and waiting to see how the coronavirus situation evolves. This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of the whole cast and crew and the safety of our loved ones outside of work, and it was made in accordance with Mayor Garcetti’s suggestion that we not gather in groups of more than 50.
“Stay safe, stay healthy, stay hydrated, stay home as much as possible, and wash your hands frequently,” the trio added. “Please take care of yourselves and each other. As updates come in, we will keep you informed. Thank you for all that you do!”
1 Isaiah Washington
Isaiah Washington was the first original cast member to leave the show. In 2007, Washington’s character, Preston Burke, was written off the series — following the Season 3 finale — after the actor reportedly used a homophobic slur in reference to co-star T.R. Knight during an on-set argument with Patrick Dempsey. Although Washington issued an apology at the time, he went on to deny it ever happened during a pressroom interview at the Golden Globes that year. Plot-wise, his exit came after his character leaves fiancée Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) at the altar.
“I’m saddened by the outcome,” Washington told Entertainment Weekly later that year.
Washington, 56, then appeared on one more episode in 2014, which ironically was centered around Oh’s exit from the series.
After “Grey’s,” Washington went on to star in the CW series “The 100,” and while he’s still making movies, he most recently made headlines in 2019 when he revealed he was “walking away” from the Democratic party and was supporting Donald Trump.
2 T.R. Knight
T.R. Knight, 46, left the show in 2009 under mysterious circumstances after playing George O’Malley for five seasons. According to Entertainment Weekly, Knight realized his character was getting very little screen time, saying there was a “breakdown of communication” between him and series creator Shonda Rhimes.
“My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George],” he told the mag. “And with respect, I’m going to leave it at that.”
George was killed off the show after he uncharacteristically decides to join the Army. When a disfigured John Doe comes into the hospital, Meredith realizes it’s George, but it’s ultimately too late and he dies.
Knight went on to do various guest-starring roles on shows like “The Good Wife” and “11.22.63.” If there was any bad blood with Rhimes, it didn’t stop her from casting him in her short-lived series “The Catch” in 2016. Knight is currently filming a TV series called “The Flight Attendant” with Kaley Cuoco.
3 Katherine Heigl
Perhaps the most dramatic “Grey’s Anatomy” exit occurred when Katherine Heigl left the show. Even though we said goodbye to Izzie Stevens in 2010, the drama with Heigl, 41, began in 2008 when she controversially told the Los Angeles Times (via The New York Times) that she’d withdrawn her name from the Emmy contenders list.
“I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination,” she said. “In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.”
There had already been rumors at the time that she’d been trying to get out of her contract, but she would continue playing the part until 2010, when she confirmed she was “done.”
Two years later, Shonda Rhimes finally commented on Heigl’s interview about the Emmys, saying, “On some level, it stung and on some level I was not surprised.” Then in 2014, while discussing her hit show “Scandal,” Rhimes doubled down on her comments. “There are no Heigls in this situation,” she told The Hollywood Reporter, adding of her “no a–hole” policy, “I don’t put up with bulls–t or nasty people. I don’t have time for it.”
Heigl, who says she immediately apologized to Rhimes for her comments, told Howard Stern in 2016 that the fallout led her to seek therapy. “I was not handling it well. I was feeling completely like the biggest piece of s–t on the bottom of your shoe. I was really struggling with it and how to not take it all personally and not to feel that there’s something really deeply wrong with me,” she said.
Heigl starred in some films, and she is still acting pretty consistently. Most recently, she appeared on the final season of “Suits” after Meghan Markle left the show and is starring alongside Sarah Chalke in Netflix’s adaption of Kristin Hannah’s novel “Firefly Lane,” which is set to come out sometime this year.
4 Kate Walsh
Technically, Kate Walsh was not one of the original “Grey’s Anatomy” cast members, but Addison Montgomery was too iconic of a character not to include in this roundup. Plus, with all the drama of the previous listed cast members, it’s nice to include a happy ending.
Walsh left Seattle Grace Hospital at the end of Season 3 for her own Shonda Rhimes-produced spin-off show, “Private Practice.” The show ran six seasons, from 2007-2013, and centered on Walsh’s character after leaving Seattle for sunny Los Angeles.
In June 2013, Walsh announced she would be departing the series and a few months after that, ABC announced the show would be ending.
Walsh, 52, went on to be on various shows including “13 Reasons Why” and “The Umbrella Academy.”
5 Eric Dane
Like Kate Walsh, Eric Dane is not one of the original cast members, but it’s hard to do a roundup without including one of the show’s most prominent characters, even if he didn’t come in until the end of Season 2.
McSteamy, aka Mark Sloan, met his demise after a plane crash at the end of Season 8. He made his final appearance in the very beginning of Season 9.
“After much consideration and conversations, he and I have decided that this is the right time for his storyline to end,” Rhimes told TVLine at the time. “I wish him the best and I look forward to watching him as he continues to steam up the big and small screen.”
He has said that he left the show to take a job on TNT’s “The Last Ship,” which he called an opportunity he couldn’t pass up at the time.
These days, you can watch Dane, 47, in a very different role on HBO’s “Euphoria.”
6 Sandra Oh
No one needs to Google Sandra Oh to find out what she’s doing these days. Oh’s exit from the series in 2013 was devastating for longtime fans. “Creatively, I really feel like I gave it my all, and I feel ready to let her go,” she told The Hollywood Reporter of saying goodbye to Cristina Yang. Cristina exited the show by taking a coveted position at a medical research facility in Zurich.
Oh, 48, went on to take home the Golden Globe in 2019 for playing Eve Polastri on the hit BBC series “Killing Eve,” but there’s a chance “Grey’s” fans will get one last moment with her “Grey’s” character.
“I told [Shonda Rhimes], ‘If you guys want to finish it out however you want to finish it out, I’d be more than happy to come back. And if it doesn’t fit in that way, I totally understand. I just want you to know that I’m available,’” she said. “Who knows! I might be doing something fabulous and it might not work out but I did say, ‘Yes, of course I would.’”
7 Patrick Dempsey
If you’re sensing a trend here … There appeared to be some tension behind the scenes with McDreamy’s exit from the show, too.
Before he left the series, Patrick Dempsey commented that he was ready to depart the show after his contract was up in 2015.
“Acting (in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’) has been a blessing for me and has allowed me to do all this,” he said in an interview during a charity event in 2014. “But it’s transitional for me right now. I’m looking forward to the next thing, creatively.”
Soon after that, sources told Page Six that Shonda Rhimes had enough of Dempsey’s “diva” behavior, and “suspended him” from the show. “The word on set is that he isn’t coming back full time,” the source added.
Soon after, Derek Shepherd was killed in a car crash.
Following his exit, Dempsey, 54, went on to star in “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” a miniseries called “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair” and has a show this year called “Devils.”
8 Sara Ramirez
Another important character who was there early on, but not quite there from the beginning, was Dr. Callie Torres. In 2016, after 10 years on the show, Sara Ramirez announced she was saying goodbye.
“I’m deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Grey’s Anatomy and ABC, but for now I’m taking some welcome time off,” she said in a statement on social media.
Insiders told Variety at the time “leaving the show was truly Ramirez’s decision and that there was no bad blood behind the scenes.”
After leaving the series, the 44-year-old joined the cast of “Madam Secretary,” which aired its series finale in December 2019.
9 Justin Chambers
Fans were not pleased with the most recent “Grey’s Anatomy” exit. In a bizarre ending to his long storyline, Alex Karev skips town without saying goodbye to anyone — including his wife, Jo — to move to a farm in Kansas where (surprise!) Izzie had Alex’s children without telling him. So in four separate letters, he says his goodbyes, proving that he may in fact be “evil spawn” after all.
“THE DISRESPECT FOR ALEX KAREV, SHONDA WTF ARE YOU DOING #GreysAnatomy,” one fan tweeted. Another commented, “Are you really saying Justin Chambers is completely fine with his character being butchered like this after years of doing this show? I AM MAD as hell at what they did to alex karev #GreysAnatomy.”
The backlash was so strong, Ellen Pompeo took to Instagram to comment on his exit, “For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning…. was the best possible storyline. It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible cast …that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing.”
It was announced in January that Chambers, 49, was leaving the show after 15 years. Page Six exclusively revealed at the time that Chambers, who said he left to “diversify my acting roles and career choices,” was working on his mental health at Privé-Swiss, a luxury rehab center in Connecticut.
And despite fans begging Shonda Rhimes not to kill him off, following the episode, many wrote that they wished he’d died versus the ending they gave him.
In an exclusive video, Chambers said he was “very excited” for the next chapter of his life and said he hopes to get into producing documentaries in the future.
“‘Grey’s’ has been very supportive of me and I’m very grateful and it’s been a great ride,” he said.
10 Chandra Wilson
Chandra Wilson may not have been one of the original interns on “Grey’s Anatomy,” but Miranda Bailey has been on the series since the very beginning. With the nickname “The Nazi,” Wilson’s character was the no-nonsense resident who told Meredith and Co. what to do.
The 50-year-old appears to be in for the long-haul, although in 2018, fans were worried her exit was close when Bailey suffered a heart attack.
“Let’s say Bailey has been stressed,” she told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “Is Bailey leaving? I think this is the right thing to say: Bailey’s been stressed and needs to take care of herself.”
11 James Pickens Jr.
Another Seattle Grace mainstay is James Pickens Jr., who still plays Richard Webber on the ABC series. For a long period of time, he was the chief of surgery at the hospital. Although it appears Pickens is also here to stay, fans have also worried that his departure is coming.
In a recent episode, it was revealed that Webber’s hand has an uncontrollable shake, and he’s not sure the cause behind it. In the episode, he gives his stethoscope to someone, saying, “I don’t need it anymore, but I really hope you do.”
“Webber’s shaking hand. PROTECT WEBBER AT ALL COSTS. #GreysAnatomy,” a fan posted on Twitter.
There have been no reports that Pickens will leave the series.
12 Ellen Pompeo
And finally, nobody turned a profit from “Grey’s Anatomy” quite like Ellen Pompeo, who in 2019, landed on the Forbes top 10 highest-paid actresses list with $22 million. But it wasn’t without a fight. In 2018, when she signed a new deal with the network, she said, “For me, Patrick [Dempsey] leaving the show [in 2015] was a defining moment, deal-wise. They could always use him as leverage against me — ‘We don’t need you; we have Patrick’ — which they did for years. I don’t know if they also did that to him, because he and I never discussed our deals. There were many times where I reached out about joining together to negotiate, but he was never interested in that.”
Pompeo, 50, has never shied away from the drama that followed the show. In a 2019 Variety interview, she revealed, “The first 10 years we had serious culture issues, very bad behavior, really toxic work environment.”
She added that she made it her mission to fix the behind-the-scenes mess so she could be “happy and proud” of her experience.
By May 2019, it was announced the show — and Pompeo’s contract — had been extended through 2021.
AMC Networks Entertainment Group will now launch the Phoebe Waller-Bridge-created drama on Sunday April 12 as opposed to its previous premiere of April 26. The eight-part series will be simulcast on BBC America and AMC.
“We know how adored this series is and we know how keen people are for great content right now,” said Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios. “This season of Killing Eve digs deep psychologically, and with actors like Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer and Fiona Shaw the results are nothing short of astonishing. We literally couldn’t wait for fans to see it.”
It is the latest scheduling move for the AMC Networks Entertainment Group, which postponed the launch of its zombie spinoff series The Walking Dead: Beyond World to the end of the year as a result of the Coronavirus. AMC was one of a number of linear networks facing an ad-hit in Q2.
The third season of Killing Eve, which has already been renewed for a fourth season, continues the story of two women with brutal pasts, addicted to each other but now trying desperately to live their lives without their drug of choice. For Villanelle (Comer), the assassin without a job, Eve (Oh) is dead. For Eve, the ex-MI6 operative hiding in plain sight, Villanelle will never find her. All seems fine until a shocking and personal death sets them on a collision course yet again. The journey back to each other will cost both of them friends, family, and allegiances…and perhaps a share of their souls. Fiona Shaw and Kim Bodnia also star.
Season 3 cast also includes Harriet Walter (Succession), Danny Sapani (Harlots), Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones), Camille Cottin (Call My Agent), Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9), Raj Bajaj (A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding), Turlough Convery (Ready Player One), Pedja Bjelac (Harry Potter) and Evgenia Dodina (One Week and a Day).
Killing Eve is produced by Sid Gentle Films Ltd. for BBC America and is distributed by Endeavor Content.
British writer Suzanne Heathcote (Fear the Walking Dead) serves as lead writer and executive producer for season three, continuing the tradition of passing the baton to a new female writing voice. Executive producers are Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Gina Mingacci, Damon Thomas, Jeff Melvoin, Suzanne Heathcote and Sandra Oh. Nigel Watson also serves as producer on the series.
Opening ABC’s night, Station 19 (7.3 mil/1.2) and Grey’s Anatomy (6.5 mil/1.3) both dipped in the demo from last week’s season highs.
Elsewhere….
FOX | Last Man Standing (4.5 mil/0.8) ticked down, while Outmatched (2.6 mil/0.6) and Deputy (3.9 mil/0.6) were steady with their freshman finales.
THE CW | Katy Keene (549K/0.1) and the Legacies “spring finale” (626K/0.2) were steady in the demo.
NBC | Superstore (3.64 mil/0.9) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2.3 mil/0.7) were steady in the demo, with the former hitting a season high in audience. A pair of Indebteds did 1.6 mil/0.4 and then 1.5 mil/0.3, with the latter tying a series low. SVU returned from a month-long break to 3.8 mil (its largest audience since its fall finale) and a 0.8, matching its best rating since the season opener.
TVLINE | When did you first hear that Teddy had been involved in a lesbian love triangle while she was living in New York?
[Showrunner] Krista Vernoff gives us opportunities to pitch storylines at the beginning and end of each season, so I said, “It would be great if we knew what was making Teddy tick… and we’ve heard so much about Allison… ” Then Krista came up with this. I never expected it! And it’s a surprise, but then you’re saying, “Oooh! Now it all makes so much sense!” It’s such a beautiful piece [of the puzzle that explains] Teddy’s behavior in the present. She’s really struggling, you know?
TVLINE | Oh, I do. So when Teddy goes back to Seattle after getting closure with Allison’s other girlfriend in L.A., does she have greater clarity about her situation with Owen and Tom?
Well, to realize that Allison had really loved both her and Claire was a huge aha moment for Teddy, but it doesn’t solve [her current predicament] right away. She’s still in it when she goes home. It’s amazing to watch her — and frustrating. You want to throw something at your TV. [Laughs]
TVLINE | And I have.
But it’s not like she has this aha moment, and everything resolves itself. It’s more like she has that moment… but what is she going to do with it? It’s like a grenade that she’s holding. She’s like, ‘Oh my God, it might explode! What do I do?” But it definitely has its effects going forward. There’s some crazy stuff that comes up in the subsequent episodes.
TVLINE | What should viewers glean from Teddy’s romance with Allison? Is she bisexual? Was Allison just that magical?
I’m not sure yet. For now, [the takeaway is] that love is love for Teddy. Her love for Allison was so great that it led her there. I don’t know if it defines her. Claire, played so beautifully by Rya Kihlstedt, also gave her such an incredible gift of forgiveness [in the current story]. She really puts the pieces together so beautifully for Teddy to then understand her present situation. I think the way we approach love is very much informed by our past in a way, and now that Teddy has a new understanding that you can love two people, what is she going to do with that?
‘COME HERE AND KISS ME, CLEOPATRA’ | As the episode began, an excited but exhausted Richard arrived at the hotel and heard from Maggie (probably more for our benefit than his) how sorry Meredith was that she couldn’t be there for his speech; her babysitter had gotten sick (isn’t that what residents are for?). Next to arrive was Cormac, who immediately flashed back to a previous entrance, upon which he’d first seen his beautiful wife. (Of note: Cormac bald > Cormac with hair.) After Richard retired to his room to work on his speech, Catherine shocked him — and, frankly, us — by showing up on his doorstep. “I’m here to stop the foolishness,” she said before launching into an apology. For his part, he offered that there was nothing between him and Gemma, though, uh, she had kissed him. “We can fix this,” Catherine said. And it looked like she was right. They even, as Jackson had predicted, laughed about her buying Pac-North, a terrible investment, she noted. The board thought her doing so was a sign of early dementia! Once they agreed that they’d had the most expensive fight since Antony and Cleopatra, they reunited horizontally.
‘FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT I CAN REMEMBER, NO ONE IN A 50-MILE RADIUS DEPENDS ON MY BREASTS FOR SURVIVAL’ | At heart-valve happy hour with Teddy, Maggie imagined that the conference was like summer camp… or the Olympic village. You mean professional by day, crazy hookups by night? Teddy asked. Innocent Maggie didn’t realize that was what the Olympic village was like. But she warmed to the concept when she glimpsed one of her former residents from Tufts, a total smokeshow named Winston. Three times he’d attended that conference, and he’d never seen her there. “What are you, stalking me?” she joked. “Not stalking,” he replied, “seeking.” Turned out, he’d had a crush on her since his first day at Tufts, but she’d been his chief, so he couldn’t ask her out. (Ha — as if that would stop anyone at Grey Sloan!) Then she’d moved to Seattle right before he became an attending, so he never got a chance to ask her out. Now, obviously, he wasn’t going to let it pass him by. Next thing we knew, they were making love in his hotel room. (Jackson who?) Afterwards, they did a quick getting-to-know-you round, bonded over losing their moms, and admitted that they’d never fallen so hard for anyone in one night.
‘DON’T BE STRONG, BE A MESS’ | Over drinks with Teddy, Cormac shared that he hated conferences and had only come because Bailey had asked him to represent peds. Didn’t seem like a good idea for the new guy to say no. While his companion talked to a sales rep, he drifted off, reminiscing about his first interactions with his then-future wife Abigail, a starving mixed-media artist making a quick $500 at a past conference by giving out pens… that she didn’t realize were from a company that made erectile-dysfunction medication. Charmed, he took all of her pens off her hands. From there, we fast-forwarded to Abigail getting a hysterectomy at 33. When she worried about bleeding out and dying, he reassured that, if she did, he and the boys would move on. “Don’t get me wrong,” he added, “it’ll be a tough coupla days.” From there, we flashed-forward a few more years and found Mrs. Hayes dying of cancer and giving Cormac instructions on how to handle it with their sons. “Let them know it’s OK to fall apart,” she told him as he did just that. As she went on with her dire to-do list, she made a point of saying that he could and should fall in love again. He didn’t want to — which, she noted, was exactly why he needed to hear her say it. Back in the present, Cormac railed against the sales rep, whose “magic” device had made him a widower. “You’re lucky,” Hayes concluded, “I haven’t put that pen through your throat.”
‘THE LAST THING I EXPECTED WAS FOR THE TWO OF YOU TO GET TOGETHER’ | Left alone at the bar, Teddy ran into Claire, a doctor she’d worked with in New York who had left after 9/11 claimed the life of her significant other, the woman after whom Allison is named. (Hey, that’s Sherri Saum!) After a brief catch-up, we flashed back to the three of them cohabiting in New York. When Claire was called away to the hospital, we discovered that Allison was also involved with Teddy. In the present, Claire was surprised to learn that Teddy had named her daughter after… “My best friend,” Teddy said. But it was OK, Claire insisted. Twenty years later, Teddy could admit that she’d had a love affair with Allison. In the past, Teddy and Allison, as you’d hope, felt guilty about sneaking around and lying to Claire. “I love her,” Allison said. “But I love you more.” A lot more, it seemed. “It tore me up,” Teddy told Claire in the present. Uh-huh, but not enough to stop. In fact, as the Twin Towers fell around Allison, she’d tried to call Teddy, not Claire. Phone records… that was how she had found out. Ow to the nth. (For more on this twist, click here to read Kim Raver’s take on the revelation.)
‘IS IT GONNA BE WEIRD IF I MEET THIS MAN ON WHAT AMOUNTS TO OUR FIRST DATE?’ | As the hour rounded the corner and headed toward the finish line, a random remark from Catherine prompted Richard to have an idea for a medical breakthrough, Maggie marveled that she didn’t know it was possible to like someone so much when she knew so little about him, and Teddy approached Claire to apologize. Teddy hadn’t really believed that it was possible for Allison, or anyone, to love two people at the same time. “But now” — thanks to Tom and Owen — “I do.” Lucky for Teddy, Claire could never stay mad at anybody for loving Allison. She was, after all, Sherri Saum Allison. Just before Richard’s presentation began, Winston asked Maggie to move back to Boston. Or he’d move to Seattle, either way. When she said that she needed time to make a decision — also spreadsheets — he understood. “Get a focus group together,” he joked. “I just don’t think I’m gonna feel any differently about this in a few hours or a few months. But you do you.”
When at last Richard went on, he announced that, with Catherine’s help, he’d figured out how to cure cancer. Come again? Oh no. Something was very wrong with Richard. Projected on screen wasn’t medical data but what looked like a child’s doodles, a smiley face, even. “Dear Lord, he’s drunk,” Catherine whispered to Jackson, watching in Seattle. (Wait, Seattle?!?) Oh, man. This was hard to watch. When eventually Maggie intervened, he didn’t even know who she was. And, thanks to cutaways, we learned that he’d imagined his whole reunion with Catherine. (Damn it.) Maggie feared that Richard was having a stroke, but as the episode concluded, neither she nor we were sure what was wrong with her father.
The series stars John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy and Jayden Rey as Mary Conner.
Guest starring is Katey Sagal as Louise, Estelle Parsons as Beverly Harris, James Pickens Jr. as Chuck, Stephen Monroe Taylor as Dwight, Steve Agee as Tony and Paul Hipp as Zach.
“The Icewoman Cometh” was written by Amy Fox and directed by Don Scardino.
ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and The Good Doctor are among the shows donating masks, gowns and gloves to those medical workers and hospitals in need.
“At Station 19, we were lucky enough to have about 300 of the coveted N95 masks which we donated to our local fire station. They were tremendously grateful. At Grey’s Anatomy, we have a back-stock of gowns and gloves which we are donating as well,” Krista Vernoff, executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 told Good Morning America in a statement. “We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home.”
The Good Doctor, which films in Vancouver, British Columbia, is working with its local provincial government to determine which medical supplies are needed that the show is able to provide.
As previously reported, Fox medical drama The Resident donated personal protective equipment to Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital in the city where the series is filmed.
The lack of adequate medical supplies has become a crisis unto itself during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite efforts to increase coronavirus testing capacity in the U.S., some tests have not been to be conducted because of needed supplies, such as swabs and protective gear, for medical workers performing the tests.
Leading out of that, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2.5 mil/0.7) ticked up to its second largest audience of the season and matched this season’s demo high; Will & Grace (2.8 mil/0.7) rose to season highs (including its best rating since April 4); and Indebted (1.9 mil/0.5) ticked up to a demo high.
Elsewhere….
ABC | Station 19 (7.5 mil/1.3) rose 14 and 18 percent to season highs; Grey’s Anatomy (7.1 mil/1.5) was up 13 and 25 percent, hitting and matching season highs; and A Million Little Things (4.2 mil/0.7) ticked up 10 and 16 percent.
THE CW | Katy Keene (515K/0.1) and Legacies (642K/0.2) were flat in the demo, though the latter rose 23 percent in audience.
FOX | Last Man Standing (4.7 mil/0.8) surged 27 and 33 percent, Outmatched (2.6 mil/0.6) was up 30 and 20 percent (hitting its best rating in six episodes), and Deputy (4 mil/0.6) copped its second largest audience thus far while up a tenth in the demo.
‘SHE’S SUCH A LEGEND’ | As “Give a Little Bit” began, Mer phoned Jo, awakening her at 5 a.m. Grey had 25 patients lined up and only four surgeons on tap — dammit, she needed Karev. Fine, Jo grumbled. But “it’s not Karev anymore.” At a more reasonable hour, Richard and Maggie bumped into each other at the hospital and shared that they’d both heard from lawyers. Maggie’s uncle had settled his lawsuit, as Webber had predicted he would. And Catherine had filed separation papers. (In a totally Catherine move, she was “letting” Richard keep his house.) When Amelia arrived, she excitedly announced to Owen, Teddy and Jo that Link was her babydaddy. But Jo already knew from Link, and Owen and Teddy were super awkward about the whole thing. Relegated to the clinic, DeLuca treated a teenager named Cindy who’d come in with her Aunt Opal. Given Cindy’s reluctance to speak, Andrew asked a nurse to page Bailey: Cindy fit the profile for human trafficking! Or… was this just a case of DeLuca’s mania making his imagination overactive? It seemed — or was meant to seem — like the latter.
When Bailey checked out the girl, she drew a different conclusion than DeLuca had and, fearing he was on the verge of an episode, ordered him to go home and rest, then report to her office in the a.m. Instead, speaking as quickly as an auctioneer, he told Cindy and Opal that Grey was going to perform the teen’s surgery for free. Yeah, that was gonna go well. Mer and her team — Owen, Cormac, Jo, Hannah and Helm — were already up to their surgical masks in patients! What’s more, pro-bono day was quickly becoming disorganized, a situation made worse when DeLuca had Helm move around operations and operating rooms. “Tell DeLuca to stay off my schedule,” Mer instructed Taryn, “and my floor!” Eventually, though Cindy privately told DeLuca that she just wanted to go home, he spirited her away from her aunt to pre-op. Oh, DeLuca! In the pit, Koracick, sensing just how cranky and restless the patients were getting, told Mer to fix it, and he’d pay the overtime. As a matter of fact, Griffin had given the hospital a big enough donation to hold pro-bono day a couple of times a year. In about half a second, Mer deduced why the inventor had been so wildly generous. “Wow,” she told Tom, “I didn’t know you were that dirty.” (Right, ‘cause only Mer can break the rules for a good cause!)
‘DO YOU HATE THE NEEDY?’ | Elsewhere in the pit, Teddy treated Kyle, Station 19’s troubled vet, who was handcuffed to his bed and accompanied by a police escort. “If you work with me, I promise you I’ll help you,” she told him. After Kyle went kinda dead-eyed, Altman paged Tom… but got Amelia. “Do people really prefer him,” she asked, “because that concerns me on multiple levels.” Shortly, the arrival of Kyle’s girlfriend Ashley — his emergency contact — lit his short fuse, which in a way gave his doctors a better idea of what they were dealing with. In a heartbreaking subsequent scene, he explained that he had been pushing Ashley away because he tended to blow up that way daily; she didn’t deserve that. “Neither do you,” replied Amelia. When not treating Kyle, she learned that the Mariners had been courting Link to take back his old job at twice the pay, but since he was going to be a father and didn’t want to be away that much, he was turning them down. What’s more, Link had recommended Nico for the position, which he described to a concerned Levi as “a job I take unless I’m an idiot.” This only served to prove Helm’s point to Schmitt: that his boyfriend didn’t think of him, much less treat him, as an equal. But we’ll get back to Schmico in a bit. While awaiting Kyle’s MRI results, Teddy informed Tom that Amelia’s baby was Link’s. Aand… with that hanging in the air, she fled to look at Kyle’s scans. Oh, Teddy! (There was a lot of “Oh, [insert name here]!” this week.)
When suddenly a Code Violet was called, meaning someone was getting violent with hospital staff, the doctors all rushed to a waiting area, where they discovered that the cause for alarm was… an out-of-control DeLuca, who had a crying Cindy in the corner. He barked at security to arrest Opal and begged everyone to follow protocol. They knew what to do when someone was in danger, so come on, join hands (those were the days!) and form a human circle around her. Instead, everyone formed a circle around DeLuca. In disbelief, he wept that they had to save Cindy. (Giacomo Gianniotti was fantastically raw in this scene, wasn’t he?) Finally, Bailey got DeLuca to come down off the chair he’d leapt onto and leave with security. But after his subsequent powwow with the chief, he stormed past Meredith, announcing that he’d quit. When Grey tried to stop him, he grumbled, “I’m not your business anymore. I don’t work for you, and I don’t love you.” Harsh, dude. In response, she said, “But I love you. You went to jail for me.” He’d saved her, now she wanted to return the favor. So she beseeched him to accept Bailey’s suspension rather than walk. He agreed — on one condition: Mer had to convince Bailey to call the national trafficking hotline to investigate Cindy.
‘I THINK I JUST DUMPED MYSELF’ | In surgery with Link, Levi found out that he’d turned down the Mariners so that he wouldn’t be away so much from Amelia and their baby. In other words, “you sacrificed the job for the person you love.” This being, like, a novel idea to Schmitt — that people consider their partners and their feelings now and then — he tried to discuss it with Nico, who was as interested in the idea of compromise as he was in developing love handles. “I’m tired of telling you I want more,” Levi said. Whelp, “I hope you’ll find someone who’ll give that to you,” replied Nico. Stick a scalpel in them, they’re done. Meanwhile, Amelia approached Mer about operating on Kyle during pro-bono day rather than let him be put off again by the VA. When other patients overheard that someone might be cutting in line, they were ready to mutiny. So Mer announced, “You’re all going to get your surgeries.” Thanks to a wealthy benefactor, pro-bono day was being extended… and there would now be one every month… which was more than I think Tom bargained for and did more for Grey’s legendary status than his pariah status. But at least Kyle was going to get his surgery and once again become the guy Ashley described, the one who used to dance to “Brown-Eyed Girl” in the aisles at the grocery.
As the hour drew to a close, the angry way that Opal led Cindy out of the hospital suggested that holy s—! DeLuca wasn’t just manic, he was right. Opal was a sex trafficker! (The trafficking hotline even asked Bailey — too late — not to scare the suspect away.) After Jackson’s long day of having his extra ticket to a big basketball game turned down by everyone from Owen to Tom — ha! Kidding. He couldn’t bring himself to ask Tom. But upon learning from Maggie that Richard had stepped down from surgery, he did ask his depressed soon-to-be-ex-stepfather and got not just a yes but a hell to the yes. Off his earlier non-conversation with Teddy, Tom told her that, having been cheated on himself, he never slept with married women, one of which she would soon be. Translation: “I love you, and I want to make this easy for you. Go home, plan your wedding, I’ll be just fine.” When Owen later found Teddy crying outside, she shared that “I… had a really rough patient” today. (Oh, Teddy!)
‘WE CAN BE SUPER SAD TOGETHER’ | In bed with Link, Amelia suggested that if the Mariners was his dream job, maybe he shouldn’t sacrifice it. They should always fight for their dreams. Um, it’s 81 away games per season, he explained. “OK,” she replied, “but the next dream.” At Joe’s, Jo invited a newly-homeless Levi to move in with her. “Jo,” he responded hilariously, “that time in my mom’s basement was a one-time thing. I’m a gay man.” Duh — that was why he was getting the invite. That, and she didn’t want to have to give up her home just because Alex was no longer in it; she wanted to change it instead. And in the last seconds of “Give a Little Bit,” we saw DeLuca racing along an empty highway on his motorcycle at a speed matched only by the rapidity of his speech during a manic episode. This did not seem to bode well for him.
Elsewhere….
ABC | Station 19 (6.6 mil/1.0) and Million Little Things (3.9 mil/0.6) were steady, while Grey’s Anatomy (6.3 mil/1.2, read recap and get shutdown news) dipped a tenth from Alex’s sendoff.
FOX | Last Man Standing (3.6 mil/0.6) and Outmatched (2.1 mil/0.5) were steady, while Deputy (3.5 mil/0.6) ticked up.
THE CW | Katy Keene (601K/0.1) added a few eyeballs while steady in the demo. Legacies returned from a four-week break to its smallest audience yet (511K) while steady in the demo (with a 0.2).
NBC | Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2.3 mil/0.6, read recap) and Will & Grace (2.3 mil/0.5) were steady, while Indebted (1.5 mil/0.4) ticked up from last week’s lows.
“Out of an abundance of caution, production is postponed on Grey’s Anatomy effective immediately,” showrunner/EP Krista Vernoff, director/EP Debbie Allen and line producer James Williams said in a letter to the ABC drama’s cast and crew on Thursday. “We are going home now for at least two weeks and waiting to see how the coronavirus situation evolves. This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of the whole cast and crew and the safety of our loved ones outside of work, and it was made in accordance with Mayor Garcetti’s suggestion that we not gather in groups of more than 50.
“Stay safe, stay healthy, stay hydrated, stay home as much as possible, and wash your hands frequently,” the trio added. “Please take care of yourselves and each other. As updates come in, we will keep you informed. Thank you for all that you do!”
The shutdown occurred following production of Episode 21, four shy of Season 16’s 25-episode order.
Other shows halting work on their current seasons due to the coronavirus outbreak are the The CW’s Riverdale, Netflix’s Russian Doll, Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and NBC’s America’s Got Talent.
‘GET A DORM, FACE-EATERS’ | As “Life on Mars?” began, Link and Jo groused at the sight of a couple in love (and making out) at the train station. At Grey Sloan, Amelia learned from Mer that Alex was gone and gone for good. But Grey didn’t really want to talk about it. Nearby, Owen and Teddy discussed wedding plans, the bride-to-be a little less enthusiastically than her groom. Cut to: the elevator doors opening, revealing, of course, Koracick, the ex that she so recently kissed in a panic. Oh s—, she’d gone so far as to sleep with Tom. His pillow still smelled like her hair, he told her. Still, it meant nothing, she insisted. She’d just freaked at the prospect of Amelia having Owen’s baby. Off their exchange, Teddy blurted out to Maggie that she had sex with her ex. Of all the people not to tell a secret to, Teddy! At the coffee cart, Vic apologized to Jackson for moving into his place without asking. She was also quick to say that she’d found a new place — she was moving in with new dad Dean. “That is certainly news,” said Jackson, clearly having noticed the hugeness of Dean’s biceps. Back inside, Richard balked at the arrival of his office furniture from Pac-North; he hadn’t ordered it and didn’t want it. In the pit, Mer and Levi treated a diabetic named Noelle, who’d fallen off a ladder while painting a house. Fumes, she guessed.
Shortly, Koracick took a meeting with wealthy inventor Griffin Ford (Jonathan Cake), who was responsible for the rocket that exploded last week on Station 19. He feared that he had a brain tumor, cancer, something, that had caused him to miscalculate so disastrously. In the ambulance bay, Link and Jo were surprised that in rolled a fella named Brad, who’d jumped onto the train tracks. He hadn’t jumped, said his girlfriend, he’d fallen when they were saying goodbye. Holy crap, exclaimed Jo (well, maybe not “Holy crap,” but close) — the two of them were the face-eaters that she and Link had grumbled over. In trauma, Amelia joined Link, Jo and Blake in trying to save Brad’s limbs. Amelia made a point of shutting the blinds so that Brad’s girlfriend didn’t see the grisly procedure. Thankfully, the fact that he had fallen on his guitar had probably saved his life, the docs told Brad’s girlfriend after he was out of the woods. Mainly, Link and Jo were stunned that the couple hadn’t heard the train coming. “Not even the ding-ding of the door?”
‘IF ANY BILLIONAIRES TRY AND GET IN YOUR WAY, PUSH THEM ASIDE’ | As Noelle fretted about basically her declining Yelp rating, Mer and Levi realized that the patient wasn’t taking her insulin on the regular. With her parents now in assisted-living, Noelle had been forced to ration her medication to make ends meet. When Grey was paged by Koracick, she was understandably ticked to discover that Griffin had been given an entire floor of Grey Sloan — actual patients needed to be there, she argued, not an indulgent Richie Rich. While she examined him, he complimented her on her infamous “list” article, and she challenged him on the results of him asking Catherine for a favor. As soon as possible, Grey pawned him off on Jackson. “Your mom, your mess,” she said. Mer was just about to send Noelle to surgery when the patient started crashing. So she was still headed to the ER, just faster now, and more urgently.
Later, Vic was surprised to find that Jackson was upset that she’d moved in with Dean. WTH was she supposed to do — Jackson was ticked when she moved in with him, ticked when she moved out, and he was jealous over someone who’d only hit on Maggie once upon a time because he hadn’t known she had a boyfriend. Vic had friends — big whoop. She wasn’t putting up with Jackson’s bullcrap. Back on Griffin’s floor, the one-percenter wouldn’t accept a diagnosis of “Nothing’s wrong with you.” If nothing was wrong with him, he might go to prison for crashing that rocket. However, if Koracick could find something wrong with him, something to, say, get him off the hook, the doc could (hint, hint) do wonders (hint, hint) with the zillionaire’s fortune. Though Mer was in an understandably foul mood after Noelle needlessly passed away, Koracick asked Grey what she’d do if she had Griffin’s kind of money. (Coming next week: pro-bono day!) He also wanted to know how she decided when to break the rules. She listened to her gut, she said, and hoped what she did “improves this mess of a world just a little bit.”
‘AMELIA’S BABY MIGHT BE YOURS’ | Spotting Teddy hurrying away from him, Owen confronted her in the stairway, and she informed him that he might be Amelia’s babydaddy. If he is, “what does that mean for us?” she asked. When he hesitated to answer for even a nanosecond, she took it… let’s say poorly. “Wow,” she huffed before storming away. When Teddy dissed Amelia to Maggie, Maggie reminded her of how long she’d waited to tell Owen she was pregnant. Do not mess with Pierce’s sisters! After learning that Brad’s girlfriend wasn’t as devoted to him as originally thought, Link agreed with Jo that “all love sucks eventually.” It doesn’t, though, she argued. Because of how well Alex loved her, she felt worthy of love. “That is mine to keep.” Furthermore, she suggested — strongly — that Link not blow it with Amelia. She’d given him a choice… a choice that Jo hadn’t had with Alex.
‘TELLING ME YOU’RE DOING YOUR JOB ISN’T PART OF DOING YOUR JOB’ | In Bailey-mandated counseling, DeLuca… well, he mainly complained to his therapist. He resented being made to get a shrink’s OK to operate again, and he wasn’t having manic incidents, he insisted. What people perceived as mania was just passion for the job. That said, he had had a couple of stressful weeks. But that was it. Off Richard’s earlier upset, Bailey had his office set up the way it used to be. Of course he hadn’t wanted that Pac-North furniture. “You’re just like her,” meaning Catherine, yelled Richard. Bailey offered to put his office back the way that it had been, but he didn’t want that. He’d tear it apart himself — and he began doing exactly that. Later, Bailey was surprised to learn that Webber had handed off his entire service to DeLuca for the day. Later still, Richard apologized to Bailey, and he announced that he’d decided to step away from surgery indefinitely. He wanted to focus on his path pen and other innovations. If she really wanted to help him, she could support him in his next adventure, he said. “I want to look ahead.” She argued that Grey Sloan needed him. “And that’s how I want to step away, at the top of my game,” he replied.
‘I DON’T KNOW IF I KNOW HOW TO DO THIS WITHOUT HIM… OR IF I WANT TO’ | As the episode drew to a close, Koracick told Griffin that he had a minor aneurysm, one that might resolve on its own or might need surgery. “When will we know?” Griffin asked. “When we see the size of the check,” Tom replied. Meeting Vic after work, Jackson explained that he wasn’t a teenager and couldn’t just do things on a whim at this stage of his life. He wanted to be friends for a while, get to know each oth— “Bye, Jackson,” she said. (And she may well be my favorite character in the Grey’s-verse these days. Hughes for the win!) Alone with Bailey, Mer lamented that on a sucky day like this had been, Alex would’ve been the one to make her laugh. Bailey, in turn, shared that Richard was stepping away from surgery. In Koracick’s office, Teddy attempted to offer him a better apology than she’d initially given. But he didn’t want to hear what a great guy he was. And as if to prove that he wasn’t a great guy, he kissed her. Passionately. At Joe’s, DeLuca crudely hit on Jo. She responded by throwing a drink in his face and telling him, “Get help before it’s too late.” At Owen and Teddy’s, Hunt assured his fiancée that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Ha — if he only knew. “If you need to tell me anything, my answer is ‘I love you, and we’ll figure it out.’ That’s my answer always.” Finally, Link brought his guitar to Mer’s and stood outside in the rain until Amelia noticed and opened the door. “I wanted to write you a song,” he told her. He hadn’t, but at least what he had to say was music to her ears. “I don’t want to live without you,” he admitted. “You make me wanna write love songs in the rain. I don’t give a crap whose baby it is. I fell in love with you, Amelia, and I fell in love with this baby.” So he wanted to be with them no matter what? “I do,” he said. “I really needed to hear that,” she replied. Because she’d gotten the test results, and the baby is his! Hurrah!
Anthony Hill (Watchmen) will play Winston, a past resident at Tufts who Maggie used to work with, and Sherri Saum (Locke & Key) will play an old friend of Teddy’s. No details are being revealed. Maggie and Teddy run into their old pals at the LA Surgical Innovation Conference they are attending. The characters will be introduced in the “Love of My Life” episode on March 26.
Grey’s Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Raver as Teddy Altman, Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca, Greg Germann as Tom Koracick, Chris Carmack as Atticus “Link” Lincoln and Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt.
Grey’s Anatomy was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Debbie Allen, Zoanne Clack, Fred Einesman, Andy Reaser and Meg Marinis are executive producers. The series is produced by ABC Studios. ABC Studios is a part of Disney Television Studios, a collection of studios comprised of 20th Century Fox Television, ABC Studios and Fox 21 Television Studios.
Hill recently played a pivotal guest role on HBO’s Watchmen. He also recently guest starred on the first season of the Shondaland drama For tyhe People on ABC. He is repped by Metropolitan Talent Agency and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.
Saum’s recent credits include Locke and Key, Limetown and The Fosters. She’s repped by A3 Artists Agency and manager Warren Binder.
Stemming from original cast member Justin Chambers’ abrupt parting of ways with Grey’s, the March 5 episode revealed — via a series of handwritten letters from the MIA doc that characters read to themselves on-screen — that he had reconnected with former love Izzie and was now living with her in Kansas, along with their 5-year-old twins, Eli and Alexis.
Alex wrote to his wife Jo that “it felt like no time had passed” when he reconnected with Izzie after years of silence. And if it had just been a case of him missing his first wife, that’d be one thing. But she’d had his kids, via the eggs Alex had fertilized back when Izzie was fighting cancer. “I need to give these kids the family you and I never had,” he told Jo. “When I told you I loved you, I meant it, but Izzie has our kids.” Ergo, the enclosed, signed divorce papers. #Ouch #StillTooSoon As entertaining as it might be to speculate that Grey’s will write in Luddington’s second pregnancy (after shooting around her first one, during Season 13), and thus give birth to a bouncing bundle of dramatic irony, the fact is that the show has kept hidden the actress’ pregnancy for months already, Luddington revealed. So it would appear that ship has sailed…?
Luddington and her husband Matt have a daughter, Hayden, who turns 3 in April.
“The Grey’s community is definitely a family and supportive of one another,” the actor tells People.com. “There was an emotional fallout amongst cast and crew when we found out.”
Echoing the sentiment of Grey’s leading lady Ellen Pompeo, Carmack says he was a fan of this week’s polarizing, flashback-heavy Alex tribute episode, which revealed that Chambers’ MIA doc had secretly reunited with first love Izzie. “It was really kind of beautiful to look back on Alex Karev and his 16 years of life on the show,” he raves.
“Watching him and Meredith and their first go around, and him and Izzie. How incredible to see a flashback of 16 years ago that was actually shot as part of the television show. It was very tangible and emotional.”
Looking ahead, Carmack predicts that Alex’s now-ex wife Jo will bounce back from the ordeal, eventually. “Jo is a tough character,” he maintains. “She has come so far and has grown so much. She’s a survivor she can stand on her own. I think she’s going to rise from the smoke of all this… She’s a strong cookie. She has a lot to give to the world and the medical community and to the patients at Grey Sloan.”
In an Instagram post on Friday — accompanied by a video of scenes that Alex and Meredith shared throughout the years — the ABC drama’s leading lady praised the exit storyline that was crafted for Justin Chambers’ character in the March 5 episode.
Through a series of lengthy letters to Meredith, Jo and Bailey (recited via voiceover by Chambers, who did not actually appear in the episode), Alex revealed that he had reconnected with former love Izzie and was now living with her on a farm in Kansas, along with their twins, Eli and Alexis.
“For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning…. was the best possible storyline. It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible cast …that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing,” Pompeo wrote. “So let’s not be sad. As our fearless leader [episode director Debbie Allen] always says let’s PULL UP and celebrate the actors, the writers and the fantastic crew who make this show come to life every week.”
In a poll published after Alex’s farewell episode, 50 percent of TVLine readers said they hated the character’s departure, while only 23 percent loved it and 26 percent fell somewhere in the middle. (As for us? We found Alex’s exit pretty satisfying.)
Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff also released a statement following Thursday’s episode, admitting that “it is nearly impossible to say goodbye to Alex Karev… We have loved writing Alex. And we have loved watching Justin Chambers’ nuanced portrayal of him.”
Bookending the reveal of Dr. Alex Karev’s fate (which 51 percent of TVLine readers no less than “hated”), Station 19 (6.1 mil/1.0) ticked down, while A Million Little Things (3.7 mil/0.6) was steady.
Elsewhere…..
THE CW | Katy Keene (515K/0.1) added a few eyeballs while grasping onto that precious 0.1 rating.
FOX | Last Man Standing (3.5 mil/0.6) and Deputy (3.3 mil/0.5) each dipped in the demo, while Outmatched (2.1 mil/0.5) was steady.
CBS | Young Sheldon (8.5 mil/0.9) dipped a tenth in the demo to mark a series low; everything else was steady. (Sorry, I have a phoner to get to.)
NBC | Leading out of a Superstore rerun, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1.9 mil/0.6) and Will & Grace (2.1 mil/0.5) each ticked up, while Indebted (1.4 mil/0.3) hit and tied its lowest numbers thus far.
From the start, the deck was stacked against Thursday’s pivotal episode of Grey’s Anatomy. How, we wondered, could the show possibly craft a satisfying send-off for original cast member Justin Chambers’ Alex Karev when it didn’t have the actor on board to play it? Could it even be done without scenes in which we saw the beloved doctor say goodbye to his bride, Jo, and his person, Meredith? Well, now we have our answer — voiceovers. Voiceovers galore, as a matter of fact. But before you grade Alex’s flashback-filled sendoff in the poll below, let’s review the twists and turns — and the show’s version of our Best of Karev countdown — of “Leave a Light On.”
‘SHE HAD OUR KIDS’ | As the hour began, we flashed all the way back to Season 1 of Grey’s — and that was just the first of a zillion OMG TBT moments in the episode. In the present, Richard tossed a letter from Alex into the trash at an AA meeting. Link delivered a bundle of mail to Jo — including a missive from her missing husband. Miranda received a letter, and so did Mer — from “Evil Spawn.” In voiceover, we heard from Karev that he wouldn’t be returning and was, in fact, already gone. “This is not the way I wanted to do this,” he wrote to his person. “But you know me — any chance to take the easy way out.” He couldn’t come back to Seattle, he continued, because if he did, Grey would yell at him and screw his head back on straight. And “the one perfect thing isn’t [there] — not anymore.” His departure wasn’t about work or Mer or Jo… He was with Izzie now! What?!? (His wife might argue that that had something to do with her.)
Alex went on to say that he couldn’t come home because it wasn’t home anymore. He’d reached out to Izzie when he’d been gathering letters to help Mer keep her medical license. Really, though, he’d been looking for an excuse to contact his old flame “to see where she landed.” (Cue the Alex/Izzie flashbacks.) When she had picked up the phone, he’d heard kids in the background — his kids, she eventually admitted. Eli and Alexis. “I should’ve told Jo or told you,” he said. But instead, he’d gone to Kansas and met the 5-year-olds, who’d loved him at once and asked if they could call him Dad. “Now I live on a freaking farm in Nowhere, Kansas.” Izzie was doing great, he reported, and he couldn’t even be mad that she’d had their children without telling him. He loved them and loved being able to let them wake up with two parents when he’d so rarely awakened to one. “You always said Cristina was your person, then I was your person,” he told Mer. “But you’ve never needed anyone but you.” She was welcome to drag him back to Seattle; however, he’d prefer that she just visit and let the moppets call her Auntie Mer. Until then, “try not to hate me too much.”
‘I LOVE YOU, JO’ | As Jo read her letter, Alex admitted in voiceover that she deserved more than words on paper. “This cowardice, this letter… it’s officially the worst thing I’ve ever done.” After insisting that he loved Jo, he acknowledged that it probably wasn’t fair for him to say that since he also loved Izzie. And when he’d reconnected with her, “it felt like no time had passed.” And he could’ve turned away from that, if it had just been a case of him missing her. She’d had his kids. “I need to give these kids the family you and I never had,” he told Jo. (Cut to a shot of the kids climbing into bed with a Chambers body double.) “When I told you I loved you, I meant it, but Izzie has our kids.” And given the chance to be their father, he had to take it. “I wish getting everything I ever wanted didn’t have to hurt you in the process. Maybe ‘I love you’ is the wrong thing to say” — maybe “thank you” was right, Alex suggested. Anyway, he had already seen a lawyer and had left Jo the whole kit and caboodle, including his shares of Grey Sloan. “You deserve everything good in this life, Jo. I hope you find so much better than me. I’m sorry. I don’t know how to end this. I don’t want to,” he concluded. “Goodbye.”
‘I’M JUST WRITING TO SAY GOODBYE… AND THANKS’ | In his letter to Bailey, Alex acknowledged that they hadn’t liked one another very much in the beginning. He thought she’d decided he was garbage, like all his other teachers before her. But unlike them, she’d let him grow up. So “it would’ve been pretty great if I’d just stayed there and repaid you for everything,” he said. They both knew, though, that that wasn’t possible. “It took me a long time to say it, but I’m a good peds surgeon. You kicked my ass and asked more of me than anyone” — and hired people you did the same (hi, Arizona!). He’d even become the person Bailey trusted to run the hospital. Now he had a chance to be chief at Shawnee Hospital. He knew that the fact that he now had two kids with Izzie was probably making Bailey’s head explode, and since they wanted pizza sushi, which isn’t a thing, he was going to cut his letter short, saying merely goodbye and thank you… and “I love you, Dr. Bailey.”
‘SEE ONE, DO ONE, TEACH ONE’ | At his AA meeting, Richard began by discussing his love of being a doctor — and his love of his students. That day, he went on, he’d received a letter from a former one, and not the one he would’ve put money on to succeed. Instead of continue to work with the best of the best, this student — Alex — had chosen to give it all up for the woman he says he loves and their children. Richard wanted to yell at him — he’d been where Alex was, in love with two people at the same time. “But I missed my own chance to watch my own child grow into an adult… so I guess I just wanted to say goodbye.” Instead, Richard was left with a note and an apology. “I’ve seen people leave… I’ve done the leaving… Lately, it seems like all the people I love disappear, and I can’t find a way to make it stop” — any more than he could make his hand stop shaking. (Argh. How many times is this episode gonna make me cry? It’s freaking hard to recap misty-eyed!)
‘I AM DOWN… FOR ALL OF IT’ | As the episode neared its conclusion, we flashed back to a scene in which Jo encouraged Alex to check on Izzie if he was curious about how she was doing. Instead of do so, he told Jo what he imagined Jo’s wonderful life was like. “When I picture her, she’s always smiling,” he said. “She’s as happy as I am with you.” From there, we flashed even further back to revisit Alex and Izzie’s romance in such a way that the show made a pretty compelling case for them being together. From there, we cut back to Bailey and Ben’s house in the present. She reported to her husband that Alex had left his wife, job, everything, and was raising a family with Izzie. What does this have to do with Joey? Ben asked. Alex survived his awful upbringing by luck, by chance, Bailey replied. “Joey’s future shouldn’t be a matter of chance.” OK, Ben said. He’d wanted to talk about taking in the boy, but his answer was nonetheless OK. Joey should have a family. “But that family should learn to talk together first.” With that, Bailey apologized. “Congratulations, Miranda,” smiled Ben. “It’s a boy.” At Grey Sloan, Jo told Link he could quit hovering. He wasn’t hovering, he was just deciding whether to take her day-drinking. Before he could, she got a page to go to work. “You’re my hero,” he said. “Mine, too,” she replied. At Mer’s, Zola told her mom that she was supposed to show Alex her science project when she was done. So could they? Erm… no, Grey began to explain.
“It is nearly impossible to say goodbye to Alex Karev,” Vernoff acknowledges. “That is as true for me and for all of the writers at Grey’s Anatomy as it is for the fans. We have loved writing Alex. And we have loved watching Justin Chambers’ nuanced portrayal of him.
“For 16 seasons, 16 years, we have grown up alongside Alex Karev,” she continues. “We have been frustrated by his limitations and we have been inspired by his growth and we have come to love him deeply and to think of him as one of our very best friends. We will miss him terribly. And we will always be grateful for his impact, on our show, on our hearts, on our fans, on the world.”
Vernoff’s only previous comments regarding Chambers’ abrupt departure came late last month when she intimated to Variety that finding a way to organically write Alex out has been a bit of challenge. “It was a very careful threading of a needle, where we are giving a little bit of information and pain to Jo,” she said, adding, “We’re, episode by episode, illuminating the story of where Alex is. And it takes us quite a few more episodes to get there and to give the audience clarity.”
As viewers learned in Thursday’s episode, Alex left town to reunite with ex-wife Izzie — and settle down with their two children (who he only recently learned existed).
In confirming his Grey’s exit in early January, Chambers said that he was looking to to “diversify” his “acting roles and career choices,” adding, “As I turn 50 — and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children — now is that time.”
Finally, Grey’s Anatomy’s much-missed Alex Karev is no longer just “in Iowa with his mother” or “going through something.” Thursday’s episode revealed that the doctor left town — and current wife Jo — to reunite with ex-wife Izzie (!!!). As Alex explained in a series of very lengthy letters to Meredith, Jo and Bailey (recited via voiceover by Justin Chambers, who did not actually appear in the episode), the doc recently reconnected with Izzie and learned that she, after leaving Seattle a decade ago, secretly gave birth to their twins, Eli and Alexis. And she’s been living with them on a farm in Kansas. And after Mer’s trial last fall, Alex visited Izzie and met his children for the first time — and opted to stay put.
Chambers made his final appearance on the long-running ABC drama in Nov. 14’s “My Shot,” in which Alex testified before the medical board on behalf of his person, Meredith. Nearly two months later, the actor announced his departure, issuing a statement that read, in part, “There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years. For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
In the immediate aftermath of “My Shot” — the installment that preceded the midseason finale — Karev was said to be out of town, caring for his ailing mom. But soon, viewers learned that he had told bride Jo that he was “going through something” and ceased to return her calls. Even Mer had difficulty getting him to text her back. Now, for better or worse, we know his ultimate fate — and are left to wonder how those that he left behind will respond.
Elsewhere on Thursday….
ABC | Station 19 (6.6 mil/1.0), Grey’s Anatomy (6 mil/1.1) and A Million Little Things (3.7 mil/0.6) were all steady, with S19 delivering Thursday’s largest audience and Grey’s eking out the nightly demo win.
THE CW | Katy Keene‘s audience dipped for a third straight week (to 488,000), as the freshman drama clutched firmly onto its 0.1 demo rating.
FOX | Last Man Standing (4.1 mil/0.7) and Outmatched (2.5 mil/0.5) were steady, while Deputy (3.6 mil/0.6) ticked up.
NBC | Superstore (2.6 mil/0.6) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1.8 mil/0.5, read recap) dipped, while Will & Grace (2.1 mil/0.4) and Indebted (1.5 mil/0.4) were steady. SVU (3.3 mil/0.6) celebrated its three-season (!) renewal by matching its series low in the demo (last hit on Feb. 6).
Titled “Leave a Light On,” the Elisabeth R. Finch-penned and Debbie Allen-directed installment promises to bring closure to the long-running character’s storyline following last fall’s abrupt departure of original cast member Justin Chambers. It remains unclear how exactly Grey’s will tie up the loose end that is Alex, especially considering Chambers was not actually involved in the production of the episode in question; the actor’s final episode aired back in November. But based on the above teaser, not to mention the cryptic hint dropped by Alex’s wife Jo in this week’s episode, it’s safe to say his ending will be as sad as it is expository.
“He left me,” Jo tearfully deduced in the final moments of Thursday’s ep. “I think he woke up one day and felt the need to escape his life and me."
In confirming his Grey’s exit last month, Chambers said that he was looking to to “diversify” his “acting roles and career choices,” adding, “As I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
Showrunner Krista Vernoff, meanwhile, described the challenge of figuring out how and when to explain Alex’s abrupt vanishing act as “a very careful threading of a needle, where we are giving a little bit of information and pain to [wife] Jo,” adding, “We’re, episode by episode, illuminating the story of where Alex is. And it takes us quite a few more episodes to get there and to give the audience clarity.”
‘WE USUALLY LET THE PARENTS DO THE SCREAMING ON THIS FLOOR’ | As “Snowblind” began, the storm that raged through Station 19 was still going strong. Levi was running around Grey Sloan looking for a patient of Jo’s named Ms. Anderson (that he’d misplaced!), Jackson was flummoxed by his first tiff with Vic during a phone call, and Meredith texted Alex that she knew he wasn’t really in Iowa. So where was he? In Peds, no sooner had Cormac told his 6-year-old patient’s parents that hurrah, Seattle Pres had a new liver for the youngster than he discovered that he couldn’t get said liver because most of the roads in Seattle were closed. Immediately, DeLuca volunteered to retrieve the organ — on foot. Though Meredith fretted aloud that it was eight degrees outside with a wind chill of minus 15, he assured her that he was used to cold temps — he’d been a cross-country skier. When she further suggested that maybe he wasn’t thinking straight, he pointed out that Cormac had just been yelling on the phone in Peds. Was Hayes sounding like the elder DeLuca now, too?
While Cormac and Meredith operated on the little girl, whose condition was looking, ahem, liver-die, Grey filled him in on the circumstances surrounding her firing and found him to be supportive. They also discussed Cristina and Alex (his MIA co-chief) a little bit, and mid-surgery, learned that DeLuca had made it to Seattle Pres and had just left for Grey Sloan with the McGuffin. Time passing, Mer and Cormac talked about losing their spouses; after he was widowed, he’d run to Switzerland; she’d run to San Francisco. Holy crap, just then, DeLuca came in from the cold with the liver — the idiot hadn’t worn gloves for his one-man performance of The Iceman Cometh! And from the looks of his digits, he could lose some fingers — not a great thing for a surgeon! Though Andrew insisted that it was no big deal, Jackson warned that if he didn’t follow his orders starting right then, he could lose one or both of his hands.
‘SHOULD I HAVE HIS JOB, LOSING PEOPLE?’ | Entering the doctors’ lounge, Teddy and Maggie tried to keep quiet for the sake of Link, who after awakening on the couch reported that Amelia wasn’t coming to work, much less returning his calls or texts. (Basically, a remix of DeLuca after he’d been dumped by Sam.) Quickly, Maggie shushed Link, lest he let on that Teddy’s fiancé might be Amelia’s babydaddy. So of course, at that very moment in came Tom, who unwittingly said just enough about Amelia’s leave to make Teddy suspicious. Later, Teddy and Maggie teamed up with Owen to treat a pregnant woman whose wife had accidentally hit her with her car. Meanwhile, Bailey’s interest in Joey high as ever, she was upset to learn that Link had discharged the young man and further upset to learn that he’d turned down a chance to speak to a social worker about his options. He was 18, he pointed out. Therefore, he didn’t have to.
Rather than let Joey take a job at the local burger joint, Bailey insisted that he come with her — they’d find him something at Grey Sloan. During her version of a job fair, Joey observed the trauma that went down as Owen made the decision to perform a C-section in hopes of saving the mom-to-be and her baby. She was also going to need heart surgery! (Sheesh!) Miraculously, mother and child both pulled through. Witnessing this, Joey was deeply impressed. Post-op, Teddy admitted to Tom that she was worried that Owen was Amelia’s babydaddy. Sweetly, Koracick reassured the woman that he loves that Hunt loved her and only her; she didn’t have to worry about Amelia. He went on to admit that he knew people disliked him, and he secretly hated it. She didn’t — “I like you… a lot,” she said. (Oh, you could just feel his heart breaking all over again. Or maybe that was just mine.)
‘LET’S SHOW YOUR CLASSMATES WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF’ | In the residents’ lab, Richard finally found a doctor-in-training in whom he could take an interest: Tess Desmond, who hated the way her peers treated their jobs as if they were slumming, working retail. She even impressed him with her compassionate treatment of a patient who was worried about her pets — to the point that he passed over a miffed Helm to let her perform a lap choly. Tess was just about to make an incision when Levi spotted her and raced in — oy, she wasn’t a resident at all, she was his missing patient, Ms. Anderson. Afterwards, Jo and Richard reassured Tess that her kind of cancer was very treatable. But this was her fourth type of cancer — people were losing interest, she said. Everyone’s lives went on, but hers came to a crawl. So the wannabe doctor had seized the chance to live her dream during the storm. Later, Richard encouraged Tess not to give up. If she could survive four cancers, she could definitely finish med school. He also admitted that he was having trouble with his hands — it could mean the end of his medical career. He seemed to think that it did, that was for sure. He gave Tess his stethoscope and said, “I don’t need it anymore.”
‘THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN’ | In other developments, things remained tense between Levi and Nico — at least on Levi’s side. Nico, on the other hand, was eager to put behind them the fact that he wasn’t out to his parents. As the hour neared its conclusion, Jackson told DeLuca that the next 12 hours were critical; they’d decide whether he lost a hand, digits… or nothing. Despite the dire situation caused by his stupidity, madness or a combination of both, he hollered at Carina and Meredith when they expressed concern about his mental state. He didn’t suggest that Grey had Alzheimer’s every time she forgot something, he pointed out. Bailey finally asked Joey to live with her family while he finished high school. She had an extra room, extra food, extra love and “a husband who will understand… eventually.” Happily, the teen agreed. After overhearing the new mom’s wife say that she’d seen the baby and “she is so you,” Teddy asked Maggie, “Am I crazy? Am I seeing stuff that isn’t there” in this Amelia situation? “You aren’t crazy,” Maggie replied. (Seriously, has she ever been able to keep a secret?!?)
Jackson and Maggie kissed and made up after their spat, but Levi and Nico’s relationship remained… challenged. Levi didn’t feel like their romance was real, given the way his boyfriend kept trying to shut him up with sex. In response, Nico said that he was sick of Levi trying to change him. If he wasn’t enough as is, then… OK, OK, Schmitt said. You’re enough. Then, wait… whaaat? Teddy showed up at Tom’s and freaking kissed him. Oh, Teddy, not cool! Not. Cool. When Ben got home, he was surprised to find Joey playing video games with Tuck. And Jo opened her door expecting to see Alex. It was just Link, though, bringing donuts and despair. Alex “left me,” Jo exclaimed. “I think he woke up one day and felt the need to escape his life and me… I called his mom. He wasn’t there. He’d never been there. He left me… and I can’t… breathe.” Damn, it’s been a rough season for Jo. Leaving Grey Sloan for the day, Cormac asked Mer what DeLuca is to her. “He’s one of my firsts,” she admitted — the first person she’d said “I love you” to after Derek. “I’ve been lonely,” Hayes confessed. He’d never met someone like her, who’d also been widowed so young. It helped. Oh, and BTW, Yang “talked about having a twisted sister,” he added. “I’m guessing that’s you.” Mermac, it is!
Amanda Peet (Togetherness) co-created the series and will write, executive-produce and serve as showrunner. Game of Thrones creators David Benioff (Peet’s husband) and D.B. Weiss, Thrones veteran Bernie Caulfield, and Oh will also have EP titles.
The pilot was co-written by Peet and Annie Julia Wyman. While the series will be Peet’s first as a writer and showrunner, she has two plays under her writer’s belt — The Commons of Pensacola, produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2013, and Our Very Own Carlin McCullough, produced at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse in 2018.
Jay Duplass (Transparent) will also star in the half-hour series. Peet and Duplass previously worked together on HBO’s Togetherness, which ran for two seasons from 2015 to 2016.
Oh remains attached to BBC America/AMC’s Killing Eve, which was renewed for a fourth season ahead of its April 26 Season 3 premiere. Peet can be seen next in front of the camera in Season 2 of USA Network’s Dirty John. She’s also set to begin filming HBO’s The Gilded Age.
Over on ABC, Station 19 (6.3 mil/1.0) and Grey’s Anatomy (6 mil/1.1) each rose, with the latter rebounding from a series low, while Million Little Things (3.7 mil/0.6) was flat.
Elsewhere….
THE CW | Katy Keene (538K/0.1) added a literal handful of eyeballs while clutching onto that 0.1; get Legacies scoop.
CBS | Young Sheldon (9 mil/1.0), Carol’s Second Act (4.7 mil/0.6) and Tommy (4.7 mil/0.4) were all steady, while The Unicorn (6 mil/0.7) and Mom (6.3 mil/0.7) both dipped in the demo.
NBC | Superstore (2.7 mil/0.7), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1.9 mil/0.6) and Indebted (1.6 mil/0.4) all ticked up, while Will & Grace (2 mil/0.4) and SVU (3.4 mil/0.7) were steady.
‘I THOUGHT THE NATURE WOULD BE COMFORTING’ | As “A Diagnosis” began, unhappy campers Rachel and her poor, noseless husband Scott were wheeled into Grey Sloan as Maya arrived with his schnoz and caught Carina’s eye (which resulted in their flirtation at the end of S19). As news of the grizzly case spread throughout the hospital, Jo wondered aloud to Link if she and Alex were dealing with a surprise bear situation of their own. (Way to make it about you, Jo!) She also managed to make Link wonder whether Amelia’s brain tumor was back. Nearby, Scott learned that his nose had been — wait, whaaaat? — implanted in his arm to keep blood flowing through it till Jackson could reattach it in its, er, usual place. As if that wasn’t insane enough, a couple of rooms away, Rachel was being reunited with her… worried lover Brian?!? (Yeah, Grey’s had the crazy turned up to 11 Thursday!) Turned out, she had intended to tell Scott she was in love with Brian on their camping trip. But then her husband had gone and jumped in front of a bear for her.
Off this revelation, Jo endeavored to help keep Scott in the dark. Neither he nor Rachel needed any more stress at the moment — arguably especially him, since he was about to get his nose replaced on his face. While Jo operated on Rachel with Owen, she asked what he would do if Amelia’s baby turned out to be his. She wasn’t telling tales, mind you, she was just rolling through worst-case scenarios when it came to Alex. Had he reconnected with an old girlfriend? she feared. (Izzie, is that you?) While Rachel recovered, Brian defended himself to Jo. He wasn’t a terrible person, just a person who was terribly in love. So he no longer judged “homewreckers.” At the same time, Scott was taking a major turn for the worse.
At the same time, Riley asked if Andrew if he was still dating his boss. That he was made sense to Riley; it explained the care that Grey had shown for him. Next thing we knew, Bailey was informing DeLuca that Mer was taking over his case, telling him that he should be grateful and ordering him to go home and get some rest. Needless to say, it did not go well. What’s more, Riley was leaving — she wasn’t going to stick around and consult with Grey on what had been her own case. Thankfully, just in time, Riley and DeLuca got some test results that gave them [insert episode title here] for Suzanne: Her white cells were eating her other blood cells! But they’d have to act fast to save her before her organs shut down.
‘YOU GREW UP IN A WOLF PACK’ | Hiding out at home for the day, Amelia received a text from Link asking if she was OK and tea and sympathy from Maggie, who needed reminding that when she had been low, her sorta sis had given her the space that she wanted. But Maggie had grown up an only child; Amelia, as part of a wolf pack. And a wolf only isolates, Pierce knew, when it was curling up to die. So she was taking the day off to spend it with Amelia. In time, the mom-to-be confided in Maggie that her baby might be Owen’s, and she was terrified, because she and Link weren’t just good, they were almost “painfully good.” Now, he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be with Amelia if the baby wasn’t his (which in turn made her wonder if she really wanted to be with him). “Biology doesn’t matter,” Amelia argued. “Love matters.” After all, she loved Maggie like a sister despite the fact that they didn’t share DNA. Maggie suggested that maybe Link’s fear had more to do with worries about something reigniting between Amelia and Owen than it did a lack of love for Amelia. Sweetly, Maggie also reassured Amelia that, no matter what, she wouldn’t be alone.
‘YOU ARE EVERYTHING THAT I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED’ | As the hour drew to a close, Jo reported to Rachel that Scott had died. In response, she recoiled from Brian and tearfully asked him to leave. Immediately, Jo placed a weepy call to Alex, leaving a message in which she pleaded with him to tell her what was going on, because “I’d jump in front of a bear for you.” Cormac brought Joey’s siblings to see him, thanks to Bailey, and they had an awfully sweet reunion. A frenzied DeLuca injected Suzanne with steroids without so much as a discussion with Grey. When Mer hit the roof, Riley came to Andrew’s defense. A commercial break later, Suzanne was doing a million times better. She was going to be fine, Mer reported. DeLuca was so pissed, though, he wouldn’t even go in to let Suzanne and her sister thank him. Mer had taken over the case, he argued, so she might as well take the credit. As she challenged him on his behavior, he went completely off the rails. “I don’t need this, and I don’t need you,” he said. “We’re done.” (Coincidence that he did so in front of Cormac?)
Levi told Nico that he really, really wanted to meet his family. “They’re critical,” said Nico — of him. So much so that he had never told them that he was gay. Naturally, Levi was shocked. Nico had called him a “baby gay,” yet he wasn’t even out to his parents?!? Aaand Link went to Mer’s and learned that Amelia wasn’t going to pick up the paternity-test results — ever. She wanted to raise her baby with someone who loved it — and her — no matter what. In other words, her sisters. “Go home, Link,” Amelia told him. “It’s over.” Just then, Jackson came knocking to apologize for leaving Maggie alone in the woods last season. “Plus, you were right,” he added. “There were bears.” Finally, Mer texted Alex, asking where he was, because she needed him. We saw the bubbles indicating that he was responding, but alas, no reply came.
Addressing for the first time the sudden departure of original cast member Justin Chambers, the EP confesses to our sister site Variety that figuring out how and when to explain Alex’s vanishing act “was a very careful threading of a needle, where we are giving a little bit of information and pain to Jo,” adding, “We’re, episode by episode, illuminating the story of where Alex is. And it takes us quite a few more episodes to get there and to give the audience clarity.”
Vernoff is, of course, somewhat limited in her ability to craft a truly satisfying ending for Alex, given the abruptness of Chambers’ exit; his final Grey’s episode aired back in November, and there are no plans for him to return to finish out his character’s storyline. Last week’s episode offered the first clues about Alex’s fate when Jo disclosed to Amelia that her other half — who left town to care for his ailing mother — suddenly, inexplicably stopped returning her calls. “Jo went through so much pain and so much grief just last season that I wanted to be careful,” Vernoff says. “And so it’s a bit of a mystery [what’s going on with Alex], so that we don’t watch Jo in the same place that we watched her last season. We did it as carefully as we could. But it takes a while to get there.”
In confirming his Grey’s exit last month, Chambers said that he was looking to “to diversify my acting roles and career choices,” adding, “As I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
Elsewhere on Thursday….
THE CW | Katy Keene (557K/0.1) ticked down in Week 2, while Legacies (6223K/0.2) held steady.
FOX | Last Man Standing (3.7 mil/0.6) dipped to revival lows, Outmatched (2.2 mil/0.5) posted its lowest numbers thus far, and Deputy (3.4 mil/0.5) was down a tenth.
CBS | Young Sheldon (8.8 mil/1.0) and Week 2 of Tommy (4.4 mil/0.4) were steady, while The Unicorn (6 mil/0.8), Mom (6.3 mil/0.8) and Carol’s Second Act (4.9 mil/0.6) all ticked up. NBC | Newly renewed Superstore (2.3 mil/0.6) and Will & Grace (2 mil/0.4) each drew their smallest audiences ever while matching all-time demo lows. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1.8 mil/0.5) and Indebted (1.5 mil/0.3) each dipped in the demo, while SVU (3.3 mil/0.7) ticked up.
New cast additions for the upcoming season include Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones’ Yara Greyjoy), Pedja Bjelac (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Camille Cottin (Call My Agent), Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9), Raj Bajaj (A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding), Turlough Convery (Ready Player One) and Evgenia Dodina (One Week and a Day).
Last month, the series was renewed for Season 4, well ahead of the show’s springtime return. Following in the footsteps of Season 1’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Season 2’s Emerald Fennell and the upcoming season’s Suzanne Heathcote, Killing Eve will continue its tradition of naming a new female lead writer for Season 4.
Thursday’s Grey’s Anatomy not only promised to reveal whether Link or Owen was the father of Amelia’s baby (but didn’t!), it reunited MerLuca in a big way and dropped our first clues about how Justin Chambers’ exit as Alex was finally going to be explained. Read on, and we’ll go over all the deets of the Jesse Williams-directed episode.
‘LINK LOVES YOU — STOP AVOIDING HIM’ | As “Save the Last Dance for Me” began, Meredith and DeLuca woke up in bed together to find a text that said that Suzanne had had chest pains overnight. He quickly revealed that he’d used his girlfriend’s name to entice a diagnostics whiz from UCSF — Dr. Lauren Riley (Supernatural’s Shoshannah Stern) — to consult on the puzzling case. At Pac-North, Richard broke it to Owen that their hospital had been purchased by… well, his wife. “Now we have to report to Grey Sloan and interview for our jobs,” he added — with Koracick. Just then, Maggie arrived for her first day at Pac-North, blissfully unaware of what had transpired. At Grey Sloan, Nico gently informed Levi that they weren’t at the cohabiting step of their relationship, so his boyfriend needed to find his own place, stat. When Amelia bumped into Jo, Dr. Karev lectured Link’s lover about having kept him in the dark. He might look like a Ken doll, but he had feelings, dammit. In no time, Amelia deduced that Jo was going through something every bit as much as Link was. “Alex hasn’t been returning my calls,” Jo admitted. He’d only told her that he’s been going through something and needed time — which she suspected was revenge for when she’d needed time. (But that doesn’t really sound very Alex-y at all, does it?)
When Dr. Riley arrived, she informed Suzanne that she was going to run a bazillion tests — some of them for a second time. And she wasn’t nearly as keen on working with DeLuca as she was with getting to Mer already. Upon learning that Suzanne wasn’t really Grey’s patient, she’d only consulted, Dr. Riley was ready to bolt. “But you’re too good to just walk away,” DeLuca suggested. And, much to Lauren’s chagrin, he was right. Before the patient underwent a procedure with Maggie, she marveled at how much her daughter — who’d accidentally been outed by her aunt — must need her super cool mom right about then. All the more reason that she had to get better! Once Suzanne had come out from under anesthesia, Dr. Riley proposed that they cut off all treatment, to see whether the many drugs she was on were masking the underlying condition that was the big problem. Suzanne’s sister was livid over the idea. So Dr. Riley appealed directly to her — if she was in Suzanne’s position, she’d want her favorite sister to make this impossible decision for her. In the end, they agreed to cut off treatment. (After which Lauren admitted to DeLuca that she was an only child.)
‘GOD, HOW I MISS O.R. 2’ | During Richard’s interview with Koracick… well, it wasn’t an interview at all, really. Tom informed Webber that Catherine had told him her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s job was safe. She just wanted him back at Grey Sloan. And Richard had thought that he could do that. But nope, he wouldn’t, couldn’t (!) let Catherine move him around like a pawn. Or a bishop. Or even the queen that Koracick suggested he was to his estranged missus. When it was Maggie’s turn, Tom told her that she still had a job. But her department was no longer hers — having left him in the lurch, she’d be working under Teddy. When Owen balked at being made to wait till Koracick had interviewed even the residents, Tom promised to get him outta there in time for his wedding. (Snap.) At least the turmoil seemed to allow Jackson and Maggie to be in one another’s proximity without sniping at one another. That night, Jackson found Richard sitting outside Grey Sloan. His stepson told him that he did, too, know where he worked — he worked there at Grey Sloan, whether he liked it or not. Jackson even seemed to think that soon enough, Richard and Catherine would be laughing about their “split.” Moments later, Jackson reported to Mer and Bailey that Richard had walked, and he wanted to, too. Were they just gonna take this BS or fight back? Choosing the latter, Mer, Richard, Bailey, Owen and Jackson stormed the conference room to point out to Tom that he couldn’t afford to let all of his best doctors quit. “We’re a family,” Bailey said. And he didn’t get to screw with their family. That being the case, Richard and Owen were rehired, Maggie and Teddy would be cardio co-chiefs, and Cormac and Alex would be peds co-chiefs (as if that was going to be an issue). And best of luck, Tom, finding the co-budget to co-pay for all of those co-chiefs!
‘I MADE A PROMISE THAT WE WOULD NEVER SPLIT UP’ | When young Joey from Station 19 was done being treated by Nico, Bailey broke it to him that his foster siblings had been taken away by social services. He did not take it well. Shortly, Jo found him trying to sneak out of the hospital. “Nurse Jones” had said it was OK, he lied. Later, Bailey reported back to him that social services tried to keep siblings together. But they weren’t his biological brothers and sister, Joey exclaimed. Taking the lead, Jo insisted that he not do anything rash. Of all people, she understood what he was going through. “But you can’t help them if you’re dead.” While operating on Joey, Bailey revealed to Jo that she’d done some research on the boy — he was a good kid. Make that a great one. And Jo knew that no one was going to adopt a 17-year-old. That evening, Jo assured Bailey that Joey’s case in the foster system wasn’t hopeless, it just wasn’t easy. (But you could see the wheels turning in one — or was it both? — of their heads… )
‘WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN THEN?’ | Off her talk with Jo, Amelia paged Link to the plant room to ask what would happen if it turned out that the baby was Owen’s. He’d said he loves her. Did he love her enough to be in her and this baby’s life no matter what? In response, Link admitted that he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t think her history with Owen would impact their future if the baby turned out to be her ex-husband’s. So basically, they’d have to wait and see. Later, the former marrieds ran into one another while Owen was trying not to let steam come out of his ears over Koracick. “You stole his girlfriend,” Amelia reminded him. So “just let Tom have his fun — or his pain. He’s lonely.” Owen was awestruck: How did she manage to feel everyone’s feelings so much and so well 24/7? As the episode drew to a close, Amelia texted Link that she hadn’t taken the paternity test yet — she needed time.
‘I USED TO BE A ROMANTIC’ | In other developments, Cormac, whose kids were visiting Grey Sloan, continued to charm Mer (or at least us). Levi treated a cancer patient named Irene who was living her best life with her husband for as long as she possibly could. Which wasn’t going to be much longer, Schmitt and Grey sadly had to report. Irene’s husband, having taken a shine to Levi, asked for his help in setting up the cafeteria like a ballroom so that the dance enthusiasts could have one last twirl around the floor. (To the tune of “Moon River,” no less.) Later, while Mer observed that once upon a time, she would’ve been the one setting up the makeshift ballroom for the doomed couple, not a resident, Irene asked Levi if he’d met the love of his life yet. He had, but he had difficulty communicating that to Nico. If they were on the same page, they might’ve been reading different books. Finally, Jo returned home to her and Alex’s empty apartment. Unless I miss my mark, she was definitely considering filling it with Joey and his siblings.
Yet the movie, about high-school nemeses Sam and Harry (Borelli and newcomer Niko Terho) dancing on the thin lines between love and hate, and friendship and romance, is more than a mere When Harry Met Sammy. “It’s not trying to be political, but it is,” says the Grey’s Anatomy actor, “just because it’s two queer people at the helm of it.”
In this age when the Hallmark Channel would even consider, much less go through with, yanking a commercial featuring lesbian brides, and “equality is being threatened, the fact that this got made,” he continues, “and is being supported by huge companies like Freeform and [its parent] Disney is just massive.” Lest you need reminding, Harry is also massively appealing. “This is a movie anyone can relate to,” says Borelli. “We’re not really talking about the things that a lot of queer content does, like coming out and overcoming shame. It’s just a story about two young guys trying to fall in love and keep that love once they’ve found it.”
If those guys have killer chemistry, credit, at least in part, director Peter Paige (Good Trouble). “Once we started production, he thought it would be a good idea for Niko and me to have a bonding moment,” Borelli says. “Since Niko was a professional soccer player at one time, Peter had him teach me how to play soccer, which was one of our more intense bonding moments, because I am not a great athlete!
“He had such patience,” though, he adds, “and I learned quite a bit about soccer.” At least enough to know that it wasn’t for him since he has “absolutely not” continued to play.
On the sitcom front, Young Sheldon (9 mil/1.0) and Mom (6.3 mil/0.7) were steady, The Unicorn (6.2 mil/0.7) ticked up and Carol’s Second Act (4.8 mil/0.5) dipped.
Elsewhere….
THE CW | Katy Keene‘s debut numbers (661K/0.2) were more on par with its sorta-sire Riverdale‘s latest than time slot predecessor Supernatural‘s season-to-date average (1.14 mil/0.3). Legacies (620K/0.2) in turn dipped to hit and match series lows.
FOX | Last Man Standing (4 mil/0.8) rebounded from last week’s revival lows, while Outmatched (2.7 mil/0.6) and Deputy (3.5 mil/0.6) were steady.
ABC | Station 19 (5.9 mil/0.9) dipped, Grey’s Anatomy (5.5 mil/1.1) was steady and Million Little things (3.8 mil/0.7) ticked up.
NBC | Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s opener (2.7 mil/0.7) was on par with its prior season average, but the second half-hour slipped to 2 mil/0.5. Leading out of Will & Grace (2.3 mil/0.5), Indebted debuted to 2.1 mil and a 0.4. SVU (3.2 mil/0.6) was steady.
‘YOU’RE CLEARLY IN THE MOOD TO CELEBRATE’ | As the episode began, Maggie ran into Jackson at Grey Sloan and snarkily related that Koracick had to think about whether or not to let her return to her old job. Nearby, Richard and Catherine bickered about whether they should still have the dinner. Catherine maintained that absolutely, they should; even though they were separating, they wanted the kids to know that they would still be a family. (This, despite the fact that the kids didn’t much want to be a family or even in the same hospital as each other.) That evening, Maggie was first to arrive for the “anniversary party” — and the first to notice the thickness of the tension in the mansion. Jackson showed up next with a gift that outshone his stepsister/ex-girlfriend’s. In no time, Catherine got the wine flowing — and not a moment too soon. Richard was anxious to break it to Jackson and Maggie that they were splitting up. Before he could, though, Vic arrived — with, to Jackson’s surprise, Dean.
“Did you know they were bringing dates to dinner?” Catherine asked Richard privately. Of course he didn’t. Anyway, they obviously couldn’t break their news now. Adding place settings to the table, Maggie accused Jackson of being unable to be alone. He’d gone immediately from April to her, and even on his “nature walk,” he’d wound up meeting a woman named Kate. (Remember her?) Back in the living room, Dean fussed at Vic for not warning Maggie that he was coming. “Time to eat,” cried Catherine. Good God, someone hide the knives! After sharing that she’d made — made? Catherine Avery cooked? — shrimp scampi, she inquired whether Vic was allergic. Heavens no, said Dean. “She’ll put anything in her mouth.” Come again? “Anything that’s food,” he quickly clarified. And believe it or not, things got worse from there. Dean made the mistake of asking whether Richard and Catherine had been married when Jackson and Maggie got together — the gift that keeps on giving!
‘WHEN I WAS IN TRAINING, THEY CALLED [PAC-NORTH] THE MORGUE’ | From there, topics included Maggie’s dislike of rich guys (at least those who aren’t down to earth), Richard’s job at Pac-North (aka the Morgue) and that “coffee” that Richard had had with his “friend.” Later, Maggie regaled the group with the story of Catherine’s very un-Catherine-like, super-romantic proposal to Richard. (Did I see the Averys softening toward one another?) “You’ve had your ups and downs,” Jackson noted, making a toast to his mom and stepdad, “but you always push through.” They are, in his estimation, the gold standard of coupledom. Afterwards, Catherine stole a moment alone with Richard to suggest that Jackson was right, they did always persevere, so maybe they shouldn’t give up. (I had seen them softening! Just not enough… ) “Apologize,” Richard said. “If you love me and you want this to work, say you’re sorry that you didn’t stand by me as I had to leave [Grey Sloan] and rebuild my life.” In response, she said, “I am sorry, but… ” Which wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He didn’t think that apologies could include the word “but.” So “it’s too late,” he declared. (Such children — and they were only getting warmed up!)
Back at the table, Catherine lashed out at Richard, who was busy chuckling at texts that he was receiving. She assumed they were from the “Pac-North heifer” he was seeing. (That’s no way to talk about Jasmine Guy!) But they were actually from Alex, who’d just given Webber the go-ahead to make Maggie an offer to be Pac-North’s cardio chief. Was that what Catherine hadn’t wanted to discuss with Jackson? No, that, his mom said, was that she and Richard were splitting up. She just hadn’t intended for him and Maggie to find out at a potluck free-for-all. Ironically, it was when Vic walked in on Jackson comforting his mom afterwards that she at last gave his new girlfriend a chance — as well as a taste of her famous cobbler. Outside, Richard confided in Maggie that yes, he really did think it was over between him and Catherine. About that offer, though… she wanted to see it. “Alex thinks I’m worth this much?” she marveled. “Then I guess I’ve got a new job.” When she went back inside, she ran into Dean and somehow let him leave without saying, “You’re adorable. I should totally date you.” But at least Maggie apologized to Vic for taking out some of her unresolved anger on her.
‘EXCEPT FOR THE BALL GAG AND JOCKSTRAP, WE’RE GOOD’ | In the episode’s other plot, Levi, still recovering from his attack of heartbreak syndrome, learned from his mom that his ornery Uncle Saul was on his last legs. Since only Schmitt had ever really gotten along with the grump, off he and Nico went to pay him a visit at his nursing home. Once there, Levi found out that Uncle Saul was in end-stage heart failure. Like, really end-stage. No sooner had Schmitt revealed that Nico was his boyfriend than Uncle Saul croaked. “I killed him with my gayness,” gasped Levi. Owing to Jewish tradition — which Schmitt had gleaned from Google — he couldn’t leave his uncle’s body alone until another relative arrived to sit with it. Once Aunt Gertie showed up, Levi backed off from calling Nico his boyfriend and just introduced him as his friend. Since Aunt Gertie and Uncle Saul had agreed that the end was The End, she told his corpse, “Love ya, buddy,” and split. That night, Levi and Nico were still there, still waiting for a relative to spell them, when at last a man played by Peter Strauss came in and began weeping over Uncle Saul. The mystery man knew all about Levi… and, for that matter, his boyfriend. Of course Saul had known that Levi was gay. “Takes one to know one,” said the man, whose name was Daniel and who was the love of Saul’s life. Aww.
Later, Daniel revealed that he’d been trained in how to prepare Saul’s body and offered to teach Levi. In fact, “it would be an honor,” said the older man. During the process, Schmitt asked why Uncle Saul had been with Aunt Gertie instead of making a home with Daniel. It was different for Levi’s generation, Daniel explained. Uncle Saul was ashamed of himself. Maybe, Daniel theorized, Levi had been with Saul at the end so that he’d never again take for granted that “you have the freedom that he wouldn’t give himself.” As the episode drew to a close, Levi was back home and informing his mother that he was moving out. Her saying that she accepted him wasn’t the same thing as actually accepting and being proud of her “super gay” son. So he thanked her for the food and the laundry, and split. Finally, Catherine and Richard had one last spat, this time about him dragging Maggie’s career down along with his own. He could damn well hire her if he wanted, he said. “And there isn’t a thing you can do to stop me.” In response, she made a phone call to inquire about buying Pac-North. “This is absurd,” cried Richard. And petty as hell. “Maybe it’ll be a good investment,” said Catherine, “or maybe I’ll just shut it down.” Such children!
As “The Last Supper” begins, “he’s still at home recovering from [his bout with] heartbreak syndrome,” the actor tells TVLine. “Since he lives in his mom’s basement, we get to delve into their relationship a little bit more… and she lets him know that his uncle, who is kind of a jerk, is in hospice.
“She basically says, ‘If you want to go and say your goodbyes, now would be a good time,'” he continues. “Out of Levi’s whole family, he’s had the best relationship with his Uncle Saul. Now that he’s out and proud and growing in his own confidence, he decides this would be a good time to introduce his uncle to [his boyfriend] Nico.”
So, off goes Grey’s first gay male couple to the nursing home. Once they arrive, though, it’s Levi who might need to be on life support. “Uncle Saul’s reaction sort of shocks him,” Borelli teases. “We get to explore Levi coming out to other family members and how the rest of them react.
“We saw a little bit of his mom’s reaction to it, but now we’re starting to see behind the veil,” he adds. “His mom is sort of okay with [his sexual orientation], but she doesn’t want to talk about it with the rest of the family, and she doesn’t want it outside of the basement. In her own way, she’s kept him in the closet.”
“The Last Supper,” which also focuses on what Jackson and Maggie think is going to be a celebration of their quarrelsome parents Catherine and Richard’s wedding anniversary — but most definitely isn’t any such thing — airs Thursday at 9/8c on ABC.
TVLine has learned that Dempsey has been tapped to star in Ways & Means (fka The Whip), a politically-themed drama from Without a Trace EP Ed Redlich that has just scored a CBS pilot order. The potential series finds the erstwhile McDreamy playing a powerful Congressional leader who, after having lost faith in politics, finds himself working secretly with an idealistic young Congresswoman from the opposing party to subvert the hopelessly gridlocked system he helped create. Together, they’ll attempt to save American politics (provided they don’t get caught).
Redlich is co-writing the script with noted GOP political consultant Mike Murphy, and the duo will serve as EPs alongside Denise Di Novi, Tom Lassally and former CBS president Nina Tassler. Joannie Burstein is a Co-EP.
Should Ways & Means get picked up to series, it would serve as Dempsey’s first full-time series gig since exiting Grey’s in March 2015 after 11 years; his fan-favorite character was killed in a car crash.
”It had been long enough,” he later said of his Grey’s exit. “It was time for me to move on with other things and other interests. I probably should have moved on a couple of years earlier. I stayed a bit longer than I should have.”
Dempsey briefly returned to the small screen in 2018 in the Epix 10-part limited series The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.
Bookending the acclaimed comedy’s sendoff, Superstore (2.8 mil/0.7) and SVU (3.6 mil/0.6) were both steady.
Elsewhere….
ABC | Station 19 (6.1 mil/1.0) slipped 16 percent from its season opener, while Grey’s Anatomy (5.6 mil/1.1) fell 21 percent to match its series low (set on Halloween Night 2019). In its second week in a later slot, A Million Little Things (3.8 mil/0.6) similarly dipped to series lows.
FOX | Last Man Standing (3.9 mil/0.7) and Outmatched (2.3 mil/0.6) each ticked down, with the former hitting revival lows. Deputy (3.3 mil/0.6) ticked up after a multi-week slide.
THE CW | Monday-bound Supernatural‘s winter finale (1.09 mil/0.3) and Legacies (864K/0.3, read recap) each ticked up.
CBS | Young Sheldon (8.6 mil/1.0), The Unicorn (5.8 mil/0.6), Mom (6 mil/0.7) and Carol’s Second Act (4.6 mil/0.6) were all steady in the demo, while Evil (3.2 mil/0.5, read post mortem) rose a tenth with its season finale.
‘SEATTLE IS KINDA WELL-KNOWN FOR ITS COFFEE’ | As “A Hard Pill to Swallow” began, Meredith was texting Cristina, who was playing coy about her “gift.” When the present in question entered the doctors’ lounge, Cormac put even greater distance between himself and his crankypants introduction at Grey Sloan by helping Amelia tie her shoe and offering Mer coffee. (I know it sounds simple, but the twinkle in his eye as he did it — as he does most everything — really sold it.) “That is a very well-wrapped gift,” Amelia cracked after he left the lounge. Seemingly determined to turn a blind eye to McWidow’s appeal, Mer grumpily re-untied Amelia’s shoe. (If they say romance is dead, that’s why!) Afterwards, Mer grumbled to DeLuca that she hadn’t liked being told to take some time, but — in Italian, she added — she missed him. She didn’t have to, he noted; he hadn’t dumped her. Outside the hospital, Amelia broke it to Link that she was more pregnant than she thought, which meant that he might not be the father. “I don’t need a paternity test to know that I want to be with you, she assured him. “You have yet to make me cry. I’m in love with you, Link.” Even if Owen did turn out to be the dad, that wasn’t going to change.
Back at work after taking some time to process her recent miscarriage, Bailey teamed up with DeLuca to treat a mother of two named Suzanne (Suits’ Sarah Rafferty), who wasn’t recovering from her appendectomy as expected. She kept spiking a fever every night, therefore she couldn’t be sent home… which was where she was desperately needed since her girls’ dad had died only a year ago. In the pit, Cormac, who seemed not to even know who Cristina was, partnered with Mer to treat a 17-year-old who was coughing up blood. After some tests were run, the docs remained mystified. Elsewhere, Teddy wept to Owen that she’d lost her engagement ring. Though he allowed that his mom might kill his fiancée, it’d be OK — they’d find it. Elsewhere, Link, Jo and Jackson treated an idiot who capped a night of drinking at a local bar by swallowing a goldfish that turned out not to be a goldfish. While all this was going on, Richard showed up at Mer’s and suggested Maggie join him for breakfast. But upon seeing her disheveled state, he decided, uh, maybe they’d eat in — he’d cook. Which he could do, he added. A mess, Maggie didn’t want to accept his forgiveness for “killing” Sabi. “I’m useless and mean and awful,” she cried. She preferred to go back to him not being able to look at her.greys-anatomy-recap-season-16-episode-11-hard-pill-to-swallow
‘YOU CAN LOVE HER AND BE MAD AT HER AT THE SAME TIME’ | Later, Bailey and DeLuca freaked out Suzanne’s kids — not hospital fans after losing their dad — by insisting on doing a CT and keeping her for another night. Before operating on the dude who’d swallowed the poisonous fish, Link assured Jo that he was cool with Amelia not having a paternity test; he liked Owen, and the baby would have, like, eight parents. Jo was stunned that Link could be — or insist he was — so chill, and told him that he could be in love with and incensed with Amelia at the same time. “Both things can be true.” Treating the blood-spewing teen, Cormac confessed to Mer that he always gets testy this time of year. “It’s when I lost [my boys’] mom — cancer. So I hope we can start over.” Certainly, she understood. And soon, they understood why the young jock had the lungs of a 60-year-old: He was vaping. After filling in the boy’s father and friends, Cormac deferred to Mer when she recommended a different course of treatment than he did. By and by, Teddy and Owen discovered that Leo had swallowed her ring. Hey, at least he wasn’t an adult who swallowed a poison fish.
Back at Mer’s, Richard admitted that he hadn’t been able to look at Maggie after Sabi died not because she’d “killed” his niece but because he’d pushed her to operate. But it wasn’t his fault — at all, Maggie countered. She hadn’t asked the right questions, and because Pac-North’s protocol was different than Grey Sloan’s, her cousin was dead. “I was arrogant and blinded by emotion,” she said. And when she pleaded again to be left alone, her father complied. In the O.R., Mer’s course of treatment didn’t work out, so Cormac leapt in with his. He’d been in a similar situation with his Swiss boss, a Dr. Yang — did he really not know her first name? Or any better than to tell her person she was an absolute nightmare? Bailey and DeLuca ran into still more trouble with Suzanne, too. While she was getting an MRI, she began coding. Once she was stable, she reassured her petrified kids that she wasn’t sick like their daddy had been, and these doctors were going to figure out what was wrong. “Create a war room,” Bailey ordered DeLuca. “We are not letting this mother die.” After fish guy came out of surgery, his fiancée came roaring in and dumped him for his stupidity. “When somebody shows you who they are over and over,” she yelled in front of Link, “you believe them.”
‘FAMILY DOESN’T OPERATE ON FAMILY’ | Maggie thought she’d gotten rid of her dad, but he came back with more food. “Please just yell — be mad at me,” she begged him. She wanted all the punishment that was coming her way. Instead of RSVP yes to her pity party, Richard recalled that when he was temperamental as a kid, his mother would suggest they eat, then talk about it. So that was what he was doing with her. Once they’d had at least a little bite, Richard told Maggie definitively that it was his fault. He knew the rules, and he’d broken them by all but forcing his daughter to operate on her cousin. She’d settle with his brother, letting him feel that some justice had been done by Sabi, and she’d never make the same mistake again. It happened to every doctor at some awful point or another. Back at Grey Sloan, Owen suggested to Teddy that they keep the ring in a safe for special occasions, and instead she’d wear a necklace with the family’s initials on it.
As Cormac outlined the long road to recovery the teen vaper faced, he reassured the kid’s dad that he wasn’t stupid, e-cigarettes are just evil. After riding Bailey all day, Koracick finally got an earful from her: She had a miscarriage, dammit, and she’d been doing some self-care. In response, he suggested that she light a candle. He and his ex had some experience with that, too. He still lit a candle for the children they didn’t have on what would have been their birthdays. (That’s the Tom we know and love.) Paged by Link to the plant room, Amelia was concerned. And kinda rightfully. He should’ve known from the start if there had been any doubt about the baby’s paternity, he said. Now he deserved to know. Everyone involved did. He wanted to be the guy to whom the paternity didn’t matter but, rather than shoot off his mouth, suggested they gather information and then figure it out. Finally, Mer responded to DeLuca’s text, but he wasn’t looking for a date, he wanted Grey’s help with Suzanne’s confounding case. And when Richard came home, Catherine expressed her skepticism that his discussion with Maggie had taken all day. She had to trust him if this was going to work. “Who says this is working?” she replied before admitting, “Richard, I think it’s time for us to have a much bigger conversation.” Yikes.
Stern will play Dr. Lauren Riley, a diagnostics expert who helps DeLuca with a supposedly “incurable” patient. The episode, directed by Grey’s star Jesse Williams, will air Thursday, Feb. 13 at 9/8c.
Known for playing hunter Eileen Leahy on Supernatural, Stern has also appeared on Weeds, Jericho and the Sundance dramedy This Close, which the deaf actress also co-created with Josh Feldman.
With Jesse Williams set to make his Broadway debut in early April — in a revival of Richard Greenberg’s Tony-winning play Take Me Out — conventional wisdom suggests that viewers will be seeing less of his character, Dr. Jackson Avery, come spring. After all, Grey’s will still be in production on Season 16 when Take Me Out begins previews on April, 2. (And that’s not accounting for rehearsals, which will likely put Williams in New York well before then).
But as showrunner Krista Vernoff explains to TVLine, a plan has long been in place to accommodate Williams’ extracurricular activity. “I’ve known since the beginning of the season and I’ve been able to plan [Jackson]’s storyline [accordingly],” the EP assures us, adding that, through the magic of air travel, Jackson will be staying put in Seattle while Williams is in New York. “Jesse is able to fly back one day a week; we’re just making it work [because] this was important to him.”
Last summer, Williams inked a new two-year deal with Grey’s that will keep him around through Season 17. The actor joined the long-running medical drama in Season 6.
News of Williams’ professional juggling act comes as Grey’s fans are still reeling from the sudden departure of original cast member Justin Chambers, whose final episode as Alex aired in November.
Christening later time slots and after a nine-week break, Grey’s Anatomy (6.7 mil/1.4) and A Million Little Things (4.2 mil/0.8) were both on par with their fall finales. What’s more, Grey’s improved on Million Things‘ fall average in the hammock slot (4.5 mil/0.8), while AMLT improved on HTGAWM‘s fall average (2.3 mil/0.5).
All told, #TGIT was up 40 and 22 percent from the fall line-up’s average. Elsewhere….
THE CW | Supernatural (1.02 mil/0.2) hit and tied season (series?) lows, while Legacies (720K/0.2) was steady.
FOX | Last Man Standing (4.5 mil/0.8) was steady, while Outmatched‘s series premiere retained 3.2 mil/0.7 (improving on the time slot YOY by a tenth). With a slightly softer lead-in, Deputy (3.2 mil0.5) dipped for a third straight week.
NBC | Superstore (2.7 mil/0.7), The Good Place (2.1 mil/0.6) and Will & Grace (2.3 mil/0.5) all rose a tenth, while Perfect Harmony (1.4 mil/0.3) was flat with its finale.
When everybody left Joe’s Bar in Station 19’s Season 3 premiere Thursday, they all had a pulse. But would they still have one by the conclusion of Grey’s Anatomy’s midseason premiere? That was the question as we headed into “Help Me Through the Night.” And the answer? Read on…
‘JO STOLE A BABY’ | Early on in the episode, Meredith showed up at Jolex’s to tell Alex about his replacement, only to find Jo and Link preoccupied with the baby that she insisted she hadn’t abducted, she just hadn’t brought to Grey Sloan yet. When the doctors received texts about multiple incoming traumas, they all hightailed it to the hospital — even Jo. Though she’d had two glasses of wine and therefore couldn’t work, she was going to take Link’s advice and sneak the baby into the nursery. At Grey Sloan, Tom ordered DeLuca to babysit Elliot until his heart restarted — a d—k move, it seemed to Andrew. But really, Koracick just didn’t want him to have to see the condition his fellow residents were in post-Joe’s. (More of this Tom, please.)
Shortly after Mer arrived with Link and Jo, Richard and Owen showed up — Grey had called in reinforcements, to whom Bailey was quick to give privileges. (Very Wild West, isn’t it, the way chiefs are always giving doctors privileges? Like sheriffs deputizing townsfolk willy-nilly.) Taking Richard aside, Ben confided that he was concerned about Bailey operating on her residents when she’d yet to process her miscarriage; Warren wanted Webber to be with Miranda in the O.R. Nearby, Amelia and Teddy discovered that Casey had a temporal lobe contusion, which was why his PTSD had been exacerbated. While they were discovering this, Parker vanished into the hospital.
‘I LOVE YOU, MEREDITH GREY’ | While Tom reverted to obnoxious form, questioning whether Jackson was up to the task of reconstructing Blake’s face, Koracick also hinted at his softer side, revealing that his protégé had a grandmother who was local and should be called. Off that scene, Teddy defended her ex to Owen, who suggested that she and Amelia look for Casey in whatever the hospital’s equivalent of a bomb shelter was. Amid all the hubbub, Cormac found Jo with the baby in the nursery, and not only gave the tot his wellness check, endeared himself by sensing her attachment to the infant. The father of two teenage “hellions” even admitted that, were he in Jo’s shoes, he might’ve stolen the baby. (Wait, is McWidow actually being positioned as a post-Alex love interest for Jo? Too soon, Grey’s. Much. Too. Soon.)
Before a delirious Taryn went into surgery, she blathered on about how Levi “got the love of my life fired, which is you,” she told Mer. “Surprise.” Helm would get over it, though, she was sure, if she ever met someone else. Just then, Schmitt collapsed. When he came to, suffering from symptoms of a heart attack, he told Grey that there was no one to call. His mother would just have a heart attack of her own, his estranged bestie was in surgery, and his boyfriend was operating on his bestie! Elsewhere, while working on Blake with Owen and Jackson, resident Hannah (who seemed to be getting more screentime in the wake of Dahlia’s firing, no?) marveled that Teddy could do a lot better than Tom. Er, what? Yeah, she didn’t realize that Altman was with Hunt. In turn, Jackson was taken aback to learn that the couple wasn’t engaged. “I figured [you were] ’cause you have two kids together, you live together, you marry everyone… ” Good one, Avery.
‘LET’S GET THE SAW READY’ | When suddenly Taryn’s vitals plummeted during surgery, Bailey was called in with Richard hot on her heels. To save the patient’s life, they’d have to crack open her chest, a job that Bailey, shaken as she was, wisely handed off to Webber. Though it was touch-and-go for a minute — and Bailey freaked out, crying, “You’re gonna lose her!” — Richard stopped the bleeding, and Taryn pulled through. Afterwards, Webber updated Miranda on her residents, prompting her to reflect upon the fact that everyone she’d touched, or had someone touch, that day had lived. Yet she couldn’t save her daughter. “She just was, and now she isn’t,” she said, breaking down in Richard’s arms. (Chandra Wilson crushed the scene — and a lot of us with her, I suspect.) In another O.R., Jackson advised Owen that if Teddy is “somebody you feel like you wanna be with forever, that should include now.” In other words, shrug off the pressure of not ever having proposed and get it done!
Just as Avery and Hunt’s surgery on Simms was wrapping up, Owen noticed that the patient was, for lack of a better term, leaking brains. So Tom leapt in to keep his protégé’s head in his skull, as it were. Before locating Casey in the hyperbaric chamber, Teddy wondered aloud to Amelia whether Owen had been triggered by the mountain of obligations with which she’d arrived in Seattle. Sweetly, Amelia suggested that if he felt trapped, he would’ve already proposed; he was just trying to do things differently this time. Elsewhere, DeLuca was texting Mer to ask if they could talk later when Elliott’s heart regained its beat. Grey couldn’t reply, though, because she was checking out Schmitt with Teddy, who discovered that his general state of high anxiety had given him broken-heart syndrome, which presents like a heart attack but isn’t. At least Mer forgave him for ratting her out — one less thing for Levi to stress over.
‘MARRY ME, TEDDY’ | The following day, when Levi awakened, Nico was at his bedside, sweetly saying that his heart had been broken, too, when his boyfriend seemed to be in jeopardy. After a snuggle in Schmitt’s hospital bed, Nico took him to see Taryn, who forgave him for getting Mer in trouble. The residents all had a laugh about Helm’s confession to Grey, too. “She didn’t say it back, did she?” asked Taryn. Yeah, no. When Simms’ grandma arrived, Jackson and Owen were stunned to hear how “emotional” she thought “Dr. Tommy” was, and further stunned to learn that since Blake hadn’t wanted to leave her, Koracick had arranged for her to move along with him. But the biggest shock came when Tom sincerely thanked Owen for catching the brain leak and shook his nemesis’ hand. Off that twist, Hunt pulled Teddy into a nearby room and proposed. “There’s no perfect moment” to do this, he said, “and I am not a perfect man, but the one thing I know for sure is you’re the perfect woman for me.”
At first, Teddy hesitated for fear that Owen felt obligated and was repeating a pattern. But after he assured her that he was starting a new pattern — loving her and their family — she said yes with a kiss. Nearby, Amelia was just about to tell Link what she’d discovered during her ultrasound when Owen and Teddy came out with their joyful news. So instead, Amelia fibbed that what she’d wanted to tell Link was that they’re having a boy. Elated, he asked, “What do you think of the name Scout like Atticus and Scout?” At the same time, Richard and Mer approached Bailey with tissues, donuts and shoulders to cry on. Finally, Maggie was awakened from a nap on her sister’s couch by DeLuca, who wanted her to know that Elliott’s heart had restarted. He was just about to ask his ex’s advice on his situation with Mer when Maggie was served legal documents stating that she was being sued for the wrongful death of her cousin, Sabi. So I guess we won’t be getting Fun Maggie back anytime soon.
TWO WEEKS AGO | Since “I Know This Bar” took place not only in the present (picking up at the point that Grey’s turned Joe’s into a parking lot) but also the recent past (two weeks earlier), I’m going to detail the events of that not-so-ancient history first for the sake of a linear read. So… 14 days ago, the Station 19 crew threw Ben and Bailey a “You’re having a firehouse baby” party, just before which Vic introduced new beau, Jackson, to her friends. Besides being the first that Bailey knew about Jackson and Vic’s relationship, the celebration also clued in Pruitt to the attraction simmering between Andy and Sullivan when the captain volunteered to join her on a routine call. While away from the station, he apologized for hurting her but maintained that they couldn’t break the rules and be together. Yet they fell in love, which was also against the rules, she angrily noted. “And you did nothing to discourage it!”
Later, alone with Sullivan at the station, Andy suggested that “if Ripley were still here, I think he might tell you to screw the rules.” So Sullivan at last came clean about why he’d pumped the brakes: “They’re making me battalion chief, and I want you to make captain, but that’s not gonna happen if we’re together.” Sensing that he was more worried about his own promotion than hers, and to hell with their relationship, she walked away. At home, Pruitt raged at his daughter about the situation she was in — or rather, the one she’d put him in. “Your decisions reflect on me and my legacy!” he hollered. When he refused to follow Andy’s order to get out, she stormed out herself. And, of course, the whole shouting match was overheard by Maya, who’d have had to have been deaf to have missed it.
HERE AND NOW | In our current timeline, chaos reigned in the aftermath of the car crash at Joe’s. Grey’s residents Helm and Simms appeared to be in particularly bad shape, and Casey, suffering from PTSD, kept asking whether a bomb had gone off. Though Ben was able to ascertain that the car wasn’t leaking gas and therefore wasn’t a fire risk, the structural integrity of the bar had been compromised, so he had to get everyone upstairs and outside asap. Trouble was, the back door had been blocked by a cement truck. While Station 19’s firefighters raced to the scene, Vic panicking upon finding out that her “hot doctor lover” was among those in the bar, Ben and Levi treated the car’s driver, a woman named Joan who’d swerved wildly as she was racing husband Don to the hospital, lest he die of a heart attack.
While trying to figure out how they could move the cement truck the fastest, Vic sensed that Andy was judging her for worrying about Jackson when, having so recently lost Ripley, her “vagina should be a war widow,” right? So Vic explained how she’d grieved — Barrett Doss delivering a helluva monologue — and theorized that Andy was grieving something, too. (If she only knew… !) By and by, the firefighters all pulled together to push the cement truck out of the way, only for it to wind up being blocked by the arriving tow truck! D’oh! Inside, Ben had a distraught Joan perform CPR on Don and even affix EKG paddles. Miraculously, they were able to restart his heart. After Travis got him out of the car and out of the front window to safety, Joan attempted to use her crafting scissors to cut herself free of her seatbelt — just as the car lurched forward, causing her to stab herself in the carotid artery. RIP, Joan.
UNHAPPY ENDINGS | Nearby, a delirious Taryn babbled on about how they had to get out of there, because Ben was having a baby and all that, prompting Warren to admit to Jackson that no… no, he and Bailey weren’t expecting anymore. Just as the cement truck was finally moved from the back exit, Blake started choking and turning blue, and Bailey arrived on the scene. Upon learning that her husband was in the bar, she tried to pull rank, but in this instance, she had none. “Dr. Bailey, you are not my chief!” Dean had to remind her as he ordered her to stay back so that she didn’t cost him any time — time she’d be livid if he cost her in an O.R. Once she was eventually reunited with Ben, he tried to blame her miscarriage on the stress that his job caused her. It wasn’t that, she reassured him. Just, “life scares me to death sometimes.” Right there with ya, Miranda.
As all of Grey’s docs were taken to the hospital, as far as we knew alive if not well, Maya challenged Andy to talk to her — she apparently hadn’t, not really, since the night of her and her dad’s big blowup. So Andy, while stressing that she hadn’t slept with Sullivan, revealed that the captain had torpedoed their budding romance for the sake of possible promotions. Armed with this new intel, Maya immediately dumped Jack, who guessed that, with a new fire chief soon to be named, she was hoping that when the promotions trickled down, she might make captain. Meanwhile, blaming himself for Joan’s death, Travis told Vic that the deceased had spoken about her and her husband’s dog, Cleo. So they made a detour en route back to the station so that he could feed the pooch. (I’d love to say that I didn’t tear up as Cleo greeted Travis, but er… I can’t. Animals get me every time.) Back at the firehouse, Sullivan first called Andy out for insubordination, then ordered her to take a week off so that she could figure out how to at least pretend to respect him. Snap!
Vernoff declined to reveal which Grey’s character(s) the story will focus on, but Jo (Camilla Luddington) would seem to be a prime suspect given her past struggles with mental health and the fact that her marriage to Alex is presumably headed for upheaval in light of Justin Chambers’ abrupt departure. (Our interview with Vernoff took place prior to news of Chambers’ exit.)
That said, the storyline in question could also very well center on Kelly McCreary’s Maggie, whom Vernoff confirms will be “in a very dark place” when Grey’s returns. “She’s never made an error that led to the death of a patient, and now she’s done it — and it was her cousin,” the EP notes. “People who love her have to rise to the occasion to help her.”
The movie follows high school enemies Sam (Jake Borelli, Grey’s Anatomy) and Harry (newcomer Niko Terho), who are forced to share a car ride to their Missouri hometown for a friend’s Valentine’s Day engagement party. The twist? Harry has come out in the years since high school; Sam, as we learn in the video, did so much earlier.
The pair wind up stuck spending the night together in a roadside motel, which is where we find them in the sneak peek above. “So, you really didn’t know?” Harry wonders, cracking open a beer. “I really did not,” Sam replies, which leads to a sweet conversation about how each regarded the other during their adolescence.
“Truth is, I admired you,” Harry tells his flustered road-trip companion. “You were out, and living in Missouri. Me, I was just too scared.”
Britt Baron (GLOW) and Karamo (Queer Eye) co-star. Peter Paige (The Fosters) pulls double duty: He directs and appears in the film as Sam’s loving roommate, Casey.
The Thing About Harry will premiere on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 8/7c.
The cable network will air She Walks With Apes on Wednesday April 22, marking the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The film, which was originally commissioned by Canada’s CBC, follows three women who went into the jungles of Africa and Borneo to live with great apes. It features Jane Goodall, the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, who was the subject of Brett Morgen’s Nat Geo doc Jane.
The film is a fresh take on Goodall’s early years living with the chimpanzees, and also reveals rarely seen images of Dian Fossey, the legendary scientist who was murdered while working with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. The two-hour documentary also gives credit to the third pioneering woman, Canadian Biruté Galdikas, who went to live among the orangutans of Borneo 50 years ago and is still there today. The three women became known as the “Trimates.”
The film was filmed over the course of a year by the father-daughter filmmaking team of Caitlin and Mark Starowicz, who trudged through jungles to tell the story of the women who helped launch the global environmental movement. Filmed in 4K, She Walks With Apes was produced by Grand Passage Media.
Elsewhere, BBC America is co-producing the return of a new installment of Meerkat Manor, which previously aired on Animal Planet. Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty (w/t), which launches in 2021, is the tale of survival revolving around three families who are descendants of meerkat matriarch Flower.
Produced in association with Oxford Scientific Films, the series will consist of 13 half-hour episodes. It is distributed globally by Endemol Shine International Distribution.
“Both of these additions to BBC America’s best-in-class nature lineup are outstanding,” said Sarah Barnett, President, AMC Networks Entertainment Group & AMC Studios. “Funny, engaging, profoundly moving and most of all joyful, nature programming is embraced by our audiences and we are delighted to keep fueling passion for our planet and the natural world we’re all part of.”
TVLine on Jan. 10 confirmed that the final episode featuring Chambers, an original cast member, has already aired, back on Nov. 14. (In the following episode, viewers learned that Alex Karev had returned home to care for his ailing mother.) The fact that Chambers will not be given a proper onscreen sendoff suggests his departure came abruptly and without much notice.
On Saturday, nearly 24 hours after the news broke, Grey’s lead Pompeo commented on a Vanity Fair tweet which posited that ABC’s top-rated (and broadcast-TV’s No. 2 overall) drama “is about to feel one of its biggest losses yet,” saying: “Truer words have never been spoken” — her first comments on the matter.
In a Friday statement, Chambers himself said, “There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time. As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda [Rhimes], original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”
Sure, Justin Chambers’ surprise exit from ABC’s long-running medical drama has left fans reeling — but it’s far from the first time they’ve been shocked by a star character’s sudden departure.
Chambers’ Dr. Alex Karev was a staple of the show for 15 years, which premiered in 2005 when the main characters were interns at a Seattle hospital. Now, only Dr. Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, 50, remains among the original interns in the series created by Shonda Rhimes.
The 49-year-old actor announced he would be leaving the show to pursue other gigs, though Page Six reports that the actor was also seeking treatment for “stress, depression and life-coaching,” according to one source. “There is a lot going on with [‘Grey’s Anatomy’] behind the scenes right now.”
But this season isn’t the only one with more drama than the confines of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. The show has seen an unusually high volume of eyebrow-raising scandals and cast departures, many of which sent shock waves through the world of TV.
After all these years, the mounting losses haven’t done a thing to damage the show’s enduring viewership: “Grey’s Anatomy” is still the third-most watched show on network TV in the coveted 18 to 49 demo.
Here’s a look back on the most high-profile departures in “Grey’s” history — which, should be noted, does not include Pompeo. She’s currently the highest-paid actress on a TV drama and is safely signed on for the show’s upcoming 17th season. But then again, as history proves, no one’s safe in Shondaland.
Katherine Heigl: Heigl, 41, played Izzie Stevens on “Grey’s Anatomy” from 2005 to 2010 (winning an Emmy in 2007) and in her downtime, she became the queen of rom-coms, with movies such as “Knocked Up” (2007), “27 Dresses” (2008) and “The Ugly Truth” (2009). But the year after her Emmy win, she didn’t submit herself because of the quality of the writing — she said she didn’t feel that the material warranted consideration.
After that much-publicized controversial comment, it was over. She reached an agreement with Rhimes to be released from her contract.
Izzie never officially died on the show, but her storylines became increasingly outlandish: getting cancer, getting fired from her job and divorcing Alex (Chambers). Heigl got a rep for being difficult to work with and hasn’t recovered since.
Patrick Dempsey: In one of the biggest shockers, McDreamy himself got the axe. Dempsey, 53, was once one of the faces of the show, starring as Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd for 11 seasons (2005-2015). He was unceremoniously written off via a tragic car crash, leaving fans seriously McBummed.
Although he and Rhimes both publicly stated they were cordial and that he wanted to leave, co-star Ellen Pompeo later appeared on “Red Table Talk” where she said, “We haven’t spoken since he’s left the show.”
“I think after a certain period of time, no matter how much money you make, you want control out of your own schedule,” he told People about his departure in 2015.
Sara Ramirez: Ramirez, 44, who played Dr. Callie Torres for 11 seasons, reportedly surprised Rhimes herself when she announced her departure from the show in 2016. Rhimes told Vulture that this departure was different from all the others. Speaking at Vulture Festival that year, Rhimes said, “It wasn’t a big, planned thing. I had a different plan going and then Sara came and said, ‘I really need to take a break.’ “ She left after Season 12. Rather than dying, Callie was written off by her moving to New York.
Isaiah Washington: In October 2006, backstage rumors surfaced that Washington, 56, who played surgeon Preston Burke, reportedly used a homophobic slur to refer to his co-star T.R. Knight in an argument with Dempsey. Knight came out publicly as gay following the incident, and Washington issued an apology. Fast forward to the Golden Globes in January 2007, where “Grey’s” was named Best Drama.
On June 7, 2007, ABC announced it had decided not to renew Washington’s contract, and that he would be dropped from the show — though he did return for an episode in 2014. That one, coincidentally, marked the departure of yet another high profile actor on the show, Sandra Oh, 48. As far as anyone knows, Oh left to pursue other opportunities. In 2019, she won a “Best Actress” Golden Globe for her performance in the smash hit “Killing Eve.”
T.R. Knight: Knight, 46, was cast as Dr. George O’Malley and appeared in Episode 1. O’Malley worked his way up from intern to resident, having a major love storyline with Izzie (Heigl). In 2009, two years after Isaiah Washington left the show after his comments regarding Knight, “Grey’s” wrote Knight’s character out of the show.
The departure was slow and painful. Knight said he watched his character gradually get less airtime. By that point, he and Rhimes were experiencing what he called a “breakdown in communication.” He was surprisingly candid in explaining why he asked to leave the show.
“My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about O’Malley],” he told Entertainment Weekly. “And with respect, I’m going to leave it at that.”
Brooke Smith: Smith, 52, was brought on the show in 2006 to play the workaholic attending surgeon — who happened to be a lesbian. The character, Dr. Erica Hahn, sparked up a romance with Callie (Ramirez), leading up to a passionate (network TV!) kiss. She was booted from the show in 2008, reportedly in an effort to tone down the LGBTQ storylines on the show, according to E!
Rhimes denied that Smith’s sexuality was her reason for leaving the show — certainly “Grey’s Anatomy” hasn’t shied away from queer characters, she pointed out. Nevertheless, the departure sent the message that it’s “OK to be gay — just not too gay,” said NPR’s TV critic Andrew Wallenstein.
Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew: One man’s ceiling would seem to be another man’s floor on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Jessica Capshaw, who had been on the medical drama for 10 seasons as Dr. Arizona Robbins, and Sarah Drew, who played Dr. April Kepner for nine seasons, were written out at the end of Season 14. The timing of the double exit raised eyebrows as it coincided with star Ellen Pompeo signing a new two-year deal that paid her as much as $20 million a year.
Sources exclusively told Page Six that the star was also recently addressing some mental health issues at the same luxury facility where Selena Gomez and “Game of Thrones” star Kit Harington have been patients.
A source told Page Six that Chambers spent time at Privé-Swiss in Connecticut before leaving Wednesday to fly back to LA.
“Justin has been at [Privé-Swiss] for stress and life coaching. He has been seen in the area at different places over several weeks including at a restaurant at Old Saybrook — where he was nice and chatted to other diners, but looked very thin.”
A second source told us that, “Justin was at Privé-Swiss being treated for stress, depression and life-coaching. There is a lot going on with [‘Grey’s Anatomy”] behind-the-scenes right now.”
In a statement to Page Six, Chambers said: “There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years. For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
He added, “As I move on from ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.
A rep for the facility said: “Privé-Swiss does not comment on clients, past or present.”
More than a decade ago, Chambers opened up about a longtime sleep disorder that led him to check into the same UCLA Medical Center where Britney Spears was once treated.
He told People in 2008: “It’s a biological sleep disorder. Your mind keeps racing, and your body is tired. It wants to go to sleep, but it can’t.”
Fans were disappointed with the news of Chambers’ departure, but were even more concerned with the fate of Karev, hoping Rhimes doesn’t take him out à la George O’Malley, Lexi Grey, Mark Sloan or Derek Shepherd.
“If Shonda kills off Alex, I’ll be no good. Just let him move away, like Christiana,” wrote one fan, with another adding, “I already know Shonda Rhimes about to slaughter his a– and have us more depressed than we was for [Derek].”
Another fan noted how many loved ones protagonist Meredith Grey has lost over the years, writing, “Shonda bet not kill off Alex Karev. Meredith lost way too many people already … now Justin Chambers is leaving so if Alex dies, me and Shonda gone have a problem.”
Other fans complained that viewers have been begging her to get rid of Owen Hunt — played by Kevin McKidd — for at least two seasons.
“Shonda getting rid of everybody but who we want gone … *cough cough* Owen,” wrote one tweeter, with another agreeing, “Shonda Rhimes getting rid of everyone but Owen is really beyond me.”
“Grey’s Anatomy losing Karev is a fatal loss for the show,” tweeted another fan. “Greatest character arc of all time. Ellen is incredible but now we have no core cast members and without fodder for storylines they just keep randomly giving Owen Hunt more babies. He has enough. We’ve all had enough, Shonda.”
The fact that Chambers will not be given a proper onscreen sendoff suggests his departure came abruptly and without much notice.
Reps for ABC declined to comment for this story.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers said in a statement. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time. As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”
Chambers’ departure might explain the speediness with which the show — and Grey Sloan — replaced Karev as head of peds with McWidow, Shameless vet Richard Flood’s Cormac Hayes.
Even more surprising, Chambers’ final episode already aired — two months ago — meaning there is no big sendoff ahead for Alex.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers said in a statement to our sister site Deadline. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time. As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”
The Chambers news ends a relatively quiet stretch on the Greys casting front. Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew exited the ABC drama, in an abrupt one-two punch, at the end of Season 14, and two years before that Sara Ramirez ended her decade-plus run as Callie. And in April 2015, original cast member Patrick Dempsey shockingly left the series when Derek aka McDreamy was killed off after a car accident.
Titular star Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. are now the lone remaining original cast members.
Although Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff, who has also taken on oversight of Station 19, admits that she “loves hearing” all of the Pac-North spinoff chatter, she insists, “I’m not spinning it off.” Rather, Pac-North was merely a necessary creation in the wake of last season’s Grey’s finale, in which Bailey handed out pink slips like they were scrubs.
“It was born of the question, ‘What happens when Bailey fires everybody?'” Vernoff explains. “As a showrunner, you can’t just fire four people and go, ‘Psych! They’re all back at work!’ So we had to come up with what might really happen, and Pac-North was born.”
Looking ahead, Vernoff teases that she has “fun plans” for the Pac-North plot as Season 16 progresses. But of course, her idea of “fun” might be different than its beleaguered chief Alex’s. “That hospital,” she concludes with a laugh, “is a mess.”
• Ava DuVernay – “When They See Us” – Part Four (Netflix)
• Carl H. Seaton, Jr. – “Snowfall” – Hedgehogs (FX Networks)
• Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson – “Power” – Forgot About Dre (STARZ)
• Debbie Allen – “Grey’s Anatomy” – Silent All These Years (ABC)
• Jet Wilkinson – “The Chi” – The Scorpion and the Frog (Showtime).
“I hope not,” ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke said during TCA. “Grey’s Anatomy will live as long as Ellen is interested in playing Meredith Grey.”
Soon moving to 9 PM, Grey’s Anatomy, the longest running medical drama on television, will be proceeded on Thursdays by the third season of spinoff Station 19, with Grey’s executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff now in charge of both series, creating opportunities for seamless narrative.
Season 19 will kick off its third season with a two-hour Station 19-Grey’s crossover. It will be one of four such crossover events through the season, Burke said today.
In an interview with Deadline in November, Vernoff said that the two shows will interconnect “every few episodes.” “We don’t want to do it every week, we don’t want to create a mold, we don’t want to fall into any kind of pattern, we don’t want people to ever know what to expect,” she said. “We have found many different, really quite exciting and fun ways to interact between the two shows.”
Today, Vernoff was complicated by Burke about the way she has done that.
“You will start to see relationships emerge between characters that exist in the Station world and the Grey’s world in a really organic ways,” Burke said. “I am incredibly impressed by what Krista and her team have done to make those worlds feel very seamless in a organic way, not feel forced. And then we will have throughout the season four tentpole events that revolve around big emergencies that would naturally start with first responders (on Station 19) and end up in the hospital (ion Grey’s) and will take the storytelling to a two-hour block.”
PREVIOUSLY, November 11: Jake Borelli (Grey’s Anatomy) and newcomer Niko Terho lead the cast of The Thing About Harry, a Valentine’s Day-themed road-trip movie from Freeform. Karamo Brown, Britt Baron and the film director Peter Paige also star in the romantic comedy, with production underway in Chicago for a February premiere.
Borelli will play Sam, a handsome, funny, neurotic, intelligent young gay man who combines a scathing wit with an overly idealistic worldview. Sam came out when he was still in high school, something that took a lot of courage in his small Missouri town, but was bullied constantly. Terho will portray Harry, an emotionally uncomplicated, promiscuous player who has always left a string of broken hearts in his wake. Under the surface, Harry actually yearns for love, family and stability, but the thought of commitment still terrifies him.
Karamo (Queer Eye) will play Paul, an exceedingly well put-together yet overbearing and pretentious gay man. Baron (GLOW), will play Stasia, Sam’s edgy and opinionated best friend. Paige (Queer as Folk) returns to the screen as Casey, Sam’s warm-hearted roommate, who always wants the best for Sam.
“It’s been an honor to partner with Freeform in making great television with LGBTQ+ characters as leads,” The Thing About Harry executive producers Paige, Greg Gugliotta and F.J. Denny in a statement. “True equality can only be achieved when you see yourself reflected in the movies, music and stories that paint our culture. “As young gay men in the ’90s, whenever a rom-com opened, we would watch the leading lady fall in love and imagine what it would be like if the boy was saying all those things to another boy. We’ve always wanted to make a movie — an unabashedly romantic comedy — that queer boys wouldn’t have to translate. It’s rewarding to take the genre to a new, all-inclusive level.”
She’s been busy in the real estate realm over the last few years, selling a Hollywood Hills Midcentury for $2.075 million in 2017 and a Spanish villa in the same neighborhood for $2.765 million a year later.
Pompeo designed this one herself. Built in 2013, it spans 2,400 square feet on eight acres in Sag Harbor, N.Y., a waterfront community in East Hampton.
Past a rustic gray-blue exterior, the three-story floor plan boasts busy living spaces with hardwood floors, white-painted beams, paneled walls and marble accents. There’s a two-story living room, as well as a chef’s kitchen, breakfast nook and expansive dining porch. Through walls of glass, the space overlooks a densely landscaped yard.
Five bedrooms and four bathrooms complete the floor plan, including a master suite with a private lounge and office. Outside, a wood deck descends to a gunite pool surrounded by lawns.
The Corcoran Group held the listing. Martha Gundersen of Douglas Elliman represented the buyer.
Pompeo’s role as Dr. Meredith Grey in “Grey’s Anatomy” landed her a Golden Globe nomination in 2007. On the big screen, she has appeared in “Old School,” “Daredevil” and “Life of the Party.” She paid $925,000 for the home in 2011, records show.
“How could we not have massive confidence in Killing Eve? It has won big in every major award show and is the highest growing show on U.S. television for six years,” AMC Networks Entertainment Group president Sarah Barnett said in a statement. “The reason for this series’ emphatic embrace is the brilliant women who breathed it into being: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emerald Fennell, Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw and it’s fairy godmother, executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle. Season 3 lead writer Suzanne Heathcote takes Eve, Villanelle and Carolyn to places more thrilling, twisted and surprising than ever. Our addicted fans will not be disappointed.”
“I am beyond thrilled that we can continue our extraordinary journey,” said executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle. “It is testament to everyone involved that we have been picked up so early — the magnificent actors, writers, directors and production team. We are extremely lucky to work with such fierce and dedicated people.”
Following in the footsteps of Season 1’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Season 2’s Emerald Fennell and the upcoming season’s Suzanne Heathcote, Killing Eve will continue its tradition of naming a new female lead writer for Season 4.
Simulcast on BBC America and AMC, Season 2 of Killing Eve had the highest rate of growth of any returning TV drama since the final season of AMC’s Breaking Bad in 2013, doubling its freshman audience in Live+SD ratings, to north of 1 million total viewers.
The streamer announced Friday that its Al Pacino-led thriller Hunters will drop on Friday, Feb. 21.
Executive-produced by Oscar winner Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us), Hunters stars Pacino as Meyer Offerman, the co-founder of a diverse band of Nazi hunters living in 1977 New York City. When the grandmother of Jonah Heidelbaum (Jack & Bobby‘s Logan Lerman) is suddenly killed, Meyer recruits Jonah to The Hunters, who discover that hundreds of high-ranking Nazi officials are living among them and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in the United States.
“The eclectic team of Hunters will set out on a bloody quest to bring the Nazis to justice and thwart their new genocidal plans,” the drama’s logline reads.
Hunters also stars Jerrika Hinton (Grey’s Anatomy), Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Carol Kane (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Dylan Baker (The Good Wife), Tiffany Boone (The Chi) and Lena Olin (Alias), among others.
In addition to a premiere date, Amazon has unveiled a new, full-length trailer for the series, which offers a more thorough introduction to the titular group — or, as they’re described in the video, “a lock-picker, a spy, a soldier, a master of disguise and two weapons experts.”
Rafferty will make her debut in the Jan. 30 episode as Suzanne, a patient who comes in to Grey Sloan for a routine procedure, but develops puzzling complications that stump Bailey and DeLuca.
As previously reported, when Grey’s returns from its winter break on Jan. 23 it will do so in its old Thursday-at-9 pm time slot, with spinoff series Station 19 will now leading off Thursday. (Grey’s spent eight of its 16 seasons airing Thursdays at 9 pm before turning the time slot over to Scandal beginning in Season 11.) The move to the later hour will allow showrunner Krista Vernoff to ramp up the show’s adult content.
“There are different rules for a 9 pm show than there are for an 8 pm show, and we hope to take advantage of those rules,” Vernoff previously shared to our sister site Deadline. “Grey’s was definitely allowed to be a sexier show when it was on at 9 [pm]. So we are excited by the change back to our [previous Thursday] time slot.”
Rafferty’s debut episode is titled “A Hard Pill to Swallow.”
Fans of the ABC dramas will recall that in the closing moments of Grey’s “Let’s All Go to the Bar” back in November, a car came crashing into Joe’s while it was full of characters from both series: Grey’s Jackson, Schmitt, Nico, Helm, Casey and Blake, and Station 19‘s Chief Herrera and Ben, who had been drowning his sorrows over wife Bailey’s miscarriage. In this exclusive first look at Station 19‘s third-season opener, Schmitt and Ben appear to be ready to leap into action — Ben, a man after our own hearts, holding onto his beer as he does so!
When the shows return — er, maybe you’ve heard? — they’ll have swapped timeslots, with Station 19 displacing Grey’s from its berth in order to better facilitate crossovers. “Ever since Station 19 premiered, in the writers’ room, we always thought the better progression was from firefighters to the hospital,” showrunner Krista Vernoff has said. Now, “with Station 19 airing at 8 o’clock and Grey’s airing at 9, there are very organic opportunities for Grey’s to, for example, inherit patients we see rescued on Station 19.”
But Station 19’s new timeslot may be the least of its changes in Season 3. “It’s quite a different show this year,” Vernoff has teased. “It’s messier emotionally than it’s ever been. People are a little less polite this season, a little less kind, a little more competitive and dirtier, literally and metaphorically.”
TELEVISION
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BIG LITTLE LIES
IAIN ARMITAGE / Ziggy Chapman
DARBY CAMP / Chloe Mackenzie
CAMERON CROVETTI / Josh Wright
NICHOLAS CROVETTI / Max Wright
LAURA DERN / Renata Klein
MARTIN DONOVAN / Martin Howard
MERRIN DUNGEY / Det. Adrienne Quinlan
CRYSTAL FOX / Elizabeth Howard
IVY GEORGE / Amabella Klein
NICOLE KIDMAN / Celeste Wright
ZOË KRAVITZ / Bonnie Carlson
KATHRYN NEWTON / Abigail Carlson
JEFFREY NORDLING / Gordon Klein
DENIS O’HARE / Ira Farber
ADAM SCOTT / Ed Mackenzie
ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD / Perry Wright
DOUGLAS SMITH / Corey Brockfield
MERYL STREEP / Mary Louise Wright
JAMES TUPPER / Nathan Carlson
ROBIN WEIGERT / Dr. Amanda Reisman
REESE WITHERSPOON / Madeline Mackenzie
SHAILENE WOODLEY / Jane Chapman
THE CROWN
MARION BAILEY / Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Princess Margaret
OLIVIA COLMAN / Queen Elizabeth II
CHARLES DANCE / Lord Mountbatten
BEN DANIELS / Lord Snowdon
ERIN DOHERTY / Princess Anne
CHARLES EDWARDS / Martin Charteris
TOBIAS MENZIES / Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
JOSH O’CONNOR / Prince Charles
SAM PHILLIPS / Equerry
DAVID RINTOUL / Michael Adeane
JASON WATKINS / Harold Wilson
GAME OF THRONES
ALFIE ALLEN / Theon Greyjoy
PILOU ASBÆK / Euron Greyjoy
JACOB ANDERSON / Grey Worm
JOHN BRADLEY / Samwell Tarly
GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE / Brienne of Tarth
EMILIA CLARKE / Daenerys Targaryen
NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU / Jaime Lannister
BEN CROMPTON / Dolorous Edd
LIAM CUNNINGHAM / Davos Seaworth
JOE DEMPSIE / Gendry
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister
RICHARD DORMER / Beric Dondarrion
NATHALIE EMMANUEL / Missandei
JEROME FLYNN / Bronn
IAIN GLEN / Jorah Mormont
KIT HARINGTON / Jon Snow
LENA HEADEY / Cersei Lannister
ISAAC HEMPSTEAD WRIGHT / Bran Stark
CONLETH HILL / Varys
KRISTOFER HIVJU / Tormund Giantsbane
RORY McCANN / The Hound
HANNAH MURRAY / Gilly
STAZ NAIR / Qhono
DANIEL PORTMAN / Podrick Payne
BELLA RAMSEY / Lyanna Mormont
RICHARD RYCROFT / Maester Wolkan
SOPHIE TURNER / Sansa Stark
RUPERT VANSITTART / Yohn Royce
MAISIE WILLIAMS / Arya Stark
THE HANDMAID’S TALE
ALEXIS BLEDEL / Emily
MADELINE BREWER / Janine
AMANDA BRUGEL / Rita
ANN DOWD / Aunt Lydia
O-T FAGBENLE / Luke
JOSEPH FIENNES / Commander Waterford
KRISTEN GUTOSKIE / Martha Beth
NINA KIRI / Alam/Ofrobert
ASHLEIGH LaTHROP / Ofmatthew
ELISABETH MOSS / Offred/June
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI / Serena Joy
BAHIA WATSON / Oferic
BRADLEY WHITFORD / Commander Lawrence
SAMIRA WILEY / Moira
STRANGER THINGS
MILLIE BOBBY BROWN / Eleven
CARA BUONO / Karen Wheeler
JAKE BUSEY / Bruce
NATALIA DYER / Nancy Wheeler
CARY ELWES / Mayor Larry Kline
PRIAH FERGUSON / Erica Sinclair
BRETT GELMAN / Murray
DAVID HARBOUR / Jim Hopper
MAYA HAWKE / Robin Buckley
CHARLIE HEATON / Jonathan Byers
ANDREY IVCHENKO / Grigori
JOE KEERY / Steve Harrington
GATEN MATARAZZO / Dustin Henderson
CALEB McLAUGHLIN / Lucas Sinclair
DACRE MONTGOMERY / Billy Hargrove
MICHAEL PARK / Tom Holloway
FRANCESCA REALE / Heather Holloway
WINONA RYDER / Joyce Byers
NOAH SCHNAPP / Will Byers
SADIE SINK / Max Mayfield
FINN WOLFHARD / Mike Wheeler
A new study published by The Journal of the American Medical Association found that the Season 15 episode titled "Silent All These Years," which included a post-episode PSA from Ellen Pompeo that encouraged audiences to reach out to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) hotline (1-800-656-4673), was directly linked to an increase in searches related to the hotline as well as a 1,000 percent increase in engagements with the organization's Twitter account, the day after the episode aired.
Trevor Torgerson, the Oklahoma State University medical student who co-authored the study, told Axios that he also uncovered a sharp uptick in communications with RAINN's hotline in conjunction with the episode as well.
"More importantly, the RAINN hotline saw their call volume increase by 43 percent in the 48 hours after the episode," Torgerson told the site. "These findings are important as it displays another way for the media and involved parties to reach survivors of sexual violence who may not be aware of the resources otherwise."
Grey's Anatomy's "Silent All These Years," which aired in March, featured devastating descriptions of sexual assault, after Jo (Camilla Luddington) visited her estranged birth mother (Michelle Forbes) and found out the horrific details of her pregnancy.
It was one of several episodes throughout the season that directed audiences to seek help if they were to identify with the characters' crises. A previous episode centered on Jo's history with domestic abuse went so far as to re-title itself "1-800-799-7233" in order to direct audiences to a helpline.
Grey's Anatomy returns to ABC on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 for a crossover event with Station 19, starting at 8/7c.
Written by Little Marvin, the 1953-set Them centers on Alfred and Lucky Emory (Ayorinde and Thomas), who decide to move their family from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood. The family’s home on a tree-lined, seemingly idyllic street becomes ground zero where malevolent forces both real and supernatural threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them.
Smith will play Helen Koistra, the realtor who moves the Emory family into their new home to the chagrin of their white neighbors.
Rose will play Ella Mae, a petite, loving, god-fearing, if a bit fastidious housewife. Like the Emorys, Ella Mae and her family are a pioneering black family in lily-white Compton.
Byrne will portray Stu Berks, Henry’s patronizing new boss at the aeronautics plant. A 1950’s version of the white dude who says shit like “I can’t be racist, I have black friends”.
Mays is Calvin, the first friendly face Henry meets at his new job in the aeronautics plant. Good humored and affable, Calvin helps Henry navigate the racial tension of being the first black engineer of the newly integrated office.
Birkett and Guest’s characters are being kept under wraps.
Little Marvin executive produces with Waithe, along with Roy Lee, Miri Yoon and Michael Connolly of Vertigo Entertainment. David Matthews as executive producer and showrunner. Sony Pictures TV, which has a deal with Vertigo, is the studio.
Smith will next be seen as Irena Briganti in Bombshell. Her most recent TV credits include Unbelievable, The Good Fight, The Act and Project Blue Book and she previously recurred on Bates Motel. Smith is repped by Paradigm and manager Sue Leibman/Barking Dog Entertainment.
Rose will next be seen in a recurring role on Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere. Her other recent television credits include Power and The Quad. She’s repped by Innovative, David Williams Management, GoodManagement and Schreck Rose Dapello.
Byrne was most recently seen in a recurring role in Black Lightning and in the second installment of Big Little Lies. He’ll next appear on the big screen as Neil Cavuto in Bombshell.
Mays played Kevin Hamilton for two seasons on FX’s Snowfall. He also starred in Antoine Fuqua’s boxing movie Southpaw and the Cuba Gooding Jr.-Dennis Haysbert film Life of a King. He can be seen starring opposite Anna Kendrick in IFC’s The Day Shall Come from See-Saw Films.
Birkett appeared in recurring roles on Euphoria and Lucifer. On the film side, he can currently be seen in Lucy in the Sky. He is repped by Pantheon, Matt Sherman Management and Skrzyniarz & Mallean.
Guest was most recently seen starring as Sophie Walsh in the Lifetime thrillers The Good Nanny and Fatal Defense. Her film work includes The Fault In Our Stars and Love the Coopers. She’s repped by Coast to Coast Talent Group and Treadwell Entertainment Group.
“I support @itsgabrielleu commitment to speaking up to injustice. It takes courage,” the “Grey’s Anatomy” star wrote.
Union, 47, and fellow judge Julianne Hough exited “America’s Got Talent” last week. On Wednesday, reports surfaced of alleged toxicity on the NBC talent competition series. Union is said to have addressed racially insensitive incidents with producers, according to Variety.
“Workplace cultures will continue to be toxic until there is unity and solidarity among all women,” Pompeo tweeted.
“If you go for self in these moments you undermine the work we are out here trying to do. Obviously this network feels like they can operate like this and it’s okay,” she continued.
The actress also encouraged women to look elsewhere for entertainment.
“With that said GIRLS….instead of wack jugglers and messy Simon Cowell [a judge and executive producer on ‘America’s Got Talent’] watch @ReeseW and Jennifer Anniston [sic] in The Morning Show!! Soooo much better. Hard to believe these networks are still getting away with this,” Pompeo continued. “Our work continues @itsgabrielleu.”
Pompeo, who previously spoke about a “toxic” environment on “Grey’s Anatomy,” also addressed her own network.
“Also I feel important to mention our problems on the Greys set and every set has them…some kind of issue …there’s lots of people in a workplace.. point is… exec producers and the NETWORK cared enough to help us make change support is crucial,” she tweeted.
Union spoke out Wednesday, stating she is “humbled and thankful” amid the controversy.
“So many tears, so much gratitude. THANK YOU!” Union tweeted. “Just when you feel lost, adrift, alone… you got me up off the ground. Humbled and thankful, forever.”
Reps for NBC did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
