What You Need to Know About Season 17 of Grey's Anatomy

Author:
Lauren Thoman
Dec 18, 2020

The 2020 spring TV season got hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, and not even the highly trained doctors of Grey's Anatomywere spared the repercussions. Instead of the 25 episodes it had planned, the medical drama was forced to shut down production four episodes shy of completing its 16th season. Yet, despite the early season wrap, Grey's Anatomy Season 16 was still able to deliver a mostly satisfying conclusion, setting up several intriguing and juicy plotlines for Season 17. Here's everything we know so far about Grey's Anatomy Season 17.

When is Grey's Anatomy returning in 2021?

With the winter finale behind us, we have to wait until March 4, 2021 for the rest of the season to return.

What time will Grey's Anatomy be on?

It will be on at 9 p.m./8, right after Station 19.

Is McDreamy back for good?

Unlikely.

The highlight of the Season 17 premiere might have been Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) sudden appearance at the end of the episode. Find out more about McDreamy's return and his reunion with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo).

How will Grey's Anatomy tackle the coronavirus pandemic in Season 17?

Grey's Anatomy has never been a show to shy away from the topics and events dominating headlines in the real world, so it would be pretty out of character if the series didn't grapple with the coronavirus pandemic that forced it to shut down. Speaking on a Television Academy panel, Krista Vernoff confirmed, "We’re going to address this pandemic for sure. There’s no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes."

Vernoff went on to explain that Grey's Anatomy is in a unique position to be able to tell the stories of what frontline medical workers are facing during the pandemic. And not just due to the medical nature of the show, but because of the background of Owen Hunt, who served as an Army medic before joining the staff at Grey Sloan (back when it was still called Seattle Grace).

“The doctors come in, and we’re the first people they’re talking to about these types of experiences they’re having,” Vernoff said. “They are literally shaking and trying not to cry, they’re pale and they’re talking about it as war—a war that they were not trained for. And that’s been one of our big conversations about Owen, that he’s actually trained for this in a way that most of the other doctors aren’t.”

Owen isn't the only Grey's Anatomy doctor to have practiced medicine in a war zone. Teddy Altman was also an Army doctor, which is how she and Owen first met. Additionally, surgical resident Dr. Casey Parker (Alex Blue Davis) served two tours of duty in the Air Force before going into medicine. And while she's no longer on staff at Grey Sloan, Dr. April Kepner (Sarah Drew), who left the series at the end of Season 14, previously served as a trauma surgeon in the Army. Although April is no longer on Grey's Anatomy, she's still practicing medicine in the Seattle area, and in a pandemic, you never know who may be called back to the frontlines.

According to cast member Giacomo Gianniotti, Season 17 of Grey's Anatomy will begin "a month and a half [into] full COVID," which will drop the doctors of Grey Sloan right into the thick of the pandemic, when confirmed cases were skyrocketing and answers were slim. Of how his character will respond to the pandemic, Gianniotti was optimistic, saying, "This is going to be an obviously stressful situation, but I think an exciting one where [Andrew DeLuca] can really shine and then thrive."

Gianniotti's positive outlook seems reflective of Vernoff's intent with Grey's Anatomy's COVID storylines, which she says will not be nearly as doom-and-gloom as one might think. "There's a lot of story to tell that is sort of COVID-related, but not about death and despair," Vernoff said, promising that next season will "honor the heroes on the front lines, and provide some escapism and some romance and some laughs."

In a new interview with Variety, Vernoff went into more detail. The premiere crossover will be set "some weeks" into the pandemic. It will flash back to the "Time Before." They will do this with footage from the episode they were in the middle of when production shut down, Variety explains.

Filming amid the pandemic hasn't been simple, Vernoff said. “It’s social distancing, it’s masks, it’s visors — it’s masks on the actors between takes and during rehearsals," she said. There is no speaking allowed in the hair and makeup trailer, "because the actors’ faces are bare, and that leaves the makeup artists and hair stylists vulnerable." The actors, plus anyone who comes within six feet of them, are tested three times a week.

They're using camera lenses to make actors look closer than they actually are and they’re writing fewer scenes per episode because instead of nine 12-hour days, they’re shooting 10 10-hour days, Variety reports.“It’s just shocking how slowly we’re having to move,” Vernoff said. And don't expect those crowded emergency and operating rooms Grey's has become known for. Obviously, that's not social distancing.

“It changes the feeling of the show; it changes the pacing of the show,” Vernoff said.

Is Alex Karev really gone?

Unfortunately, yes. After 15 years, original cast member Justin Chambers, who portrayed Dr. Alex Karev, announced in January of 2020 that he was leaving the show and that his final episode had in fact already aired. This came as a surprise to longtime viewers, especially since during Alex's last handful of episodes preceding the announcement, he was named chief of staff at Pacific Northwest General Hospital, re-proposed to his wife, Jo (Camilla Luddington) and made a grand gesture of support for his best friend, Meredith. When viewers last saw Alex in the November 14, 2019 episode, "My Shot," he was headed off to Iowa to care for his ailing mother, but was still deeply invested in his life in Seattle…or so we thought.

On January 10, 2020, Chambers issued a shocking statement announcing his departure. Speaking to Deadline, 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. 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.”

While the Grey's Anatomy cast and crew have largely remained silent on the circumstances surrounding Chambers' abrupt exit, Alex himself did get some closure in the episode "Leave a Light On," which aired March 5, 2020. In the episode, Alex reveals via letters sent to Jo, Meredith, Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) that Alex had decided to leave his life in Seattle behind to reunite with his ex-wife, Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl). It turned out that, unbeknownst to Alex, Izzie (who departed the show back in Season 6) had secretly decided to have two of Alex's children from the embryos she'd had frozen when she had cancer in Season 5. Upon learning that Izzie had his children, Alex opted to leave his life in Seattle to raise his family with Izzie, sending Jo divorce papers through the mail.

It was a much more peaceful exit than the violent, dramatic deaths Grey's Anatomy is known for, but still came as a shock for longtime fans, who had spent a decade watching Alex ostensibly get over Izzie and move on with his life. Still, it at least provided a definitive reason why Alex wouldn't be popping into Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital anymore; after pulling a stunt like that, we doubt he'll ever want to show his face in Seattle again.

Which Grey’s Anatomy cast members are returning for Season 17?

Aside from Chambers' shocking exit, all of the main players on Grey's Anatomy are expected to return for Season 17, including Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey, Pickens Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber, Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey, Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery, Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd, Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce, Gianniotti as Dr. Andrew DeLuca, Chris Carmack as Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln, Jake Borelli as Dr. Levi Schmitt, Greg Germann as Dr. Tom Koracick, Luddington as Dr. Jo (last name TBD, since she no longer wants to go by Karev or Wilson), Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt and Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman.

In July 2020, Luddington, McKidd and Kim Raver all signed new multi-year contracts to continue in their roles through a possible Season 19, although the show hasn't yet been renewed past Season 17.

Who is joining the cast in Season 17?

In addition to Grey's Anatomy's impressive roster of returning main cast members, the medical drama increased its ranks by two in July 2020, when it upped Richard Flood and Anthony Hill to series regulars.

Flood came aboard the Grey's Anatomy ship in Season 16 as Dr. Cormac Hayes, a pediatric surgeon sent to Seattle courtesy of Meredith's "person," Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), who is currently serving as the director of cardiothoracic surgery at the Klausman Institute for Medical Research in Switzerland. Dubbed "McWidow" by Cristina, Cormac is the father of two teenage sons who lost their mother at a young age to cancer. Unbeknownst to Cormac, Cristina framed his arrival as a gift for her BFF, although Meredith insisted she didn't need a new man following her breakup with Andrew DeLuca. Cormac and Meredith butted heads at first, but by the end of Season 16, the two were on friendly terms, and Cormac is expected to be Meredith's next major love interest on the series.

As for Hill, he made his first appearance in Season 16 as Dr. Winston Ndugu, a surgeon who once trained under Meredith's sister, Maggie, and has been carrying a torch for her ever since. While Winston never worked up the courage to ask Maggie for a date when they were working together, sparks flew when they ran into each other at a medical conference. At the time, it seemed like the most it could be was a one-night stand, since Winston lived in Boston and Maggie in Seattle. However, Winston was so smitten that he immediately floated the possibility of one of them moving so that they could be together. While Maggie said she needed some time to think about it, Hill's promotion to series regular for Season 17 seems to indicate that, one way or another, the two will be in the same city pretty soon.

Who else is leaving?

Aside from the seismic departure of Chambers, it seems as though the rest of the main cast of Grey's Anatomy will remain intact going into Season 17. Krista Vernoff confirmed in April 2020 that, "There are no notable castmember departures happening between seasons."

Of course, that doesn't rule out that someone could exit at some point during Season 17. Before being forced to shut down production on Season 16, the original plan for the final four episodes included "a cataclysmic event that would have likely claimed the life of a major character." Whoever that character was, they seem to have gained at least a reprieve, especially since Vernoff has said that not everything the writers had planned for the end of Season 16 will make the jump to Season 17. "What we were planning to do is changing," Vernoff told E!. "We want to keep some of it and some of it's going to change."

While no main cast members are leaving, recurring guest star Stefania Spampinato, who plays Dr. Carina DeLuca, will be moving into a series regular role on Grey's Anatomy spinoff series, Station 19. The sister of Andrew DeLuca, Carina began dating Maya Bishop (Danielle Savre) in the firefighting series' third season. Spampinato will be the second Grey's Anatomy cast member to make the jump to Station 19; Jason George, who began appearing on Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Ben Warren back in Season 6 and eventually married Miranda Bailey, was the first to depart Grey Sloan Memorial for the fire station and is a member of the original cast of Station 19.