New ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Showrunner Suggests There’s No End In Sight

The Big Picture

• New showrunner Meg Marinis is enthusiastic about
  Grey’s Anatomy
  ‘s future and reveals there’s no talk about ending the series.
• The show remains strong in ratings and creatively, with potential for more new characters and surprises.
• Previous cast members may return, adding to the appeal of the long-running series with fans.

If there’s one thing that everyone agrees on, it’s that Grey’s Anatomy has been on the air for longer than most of us can remember. With the long-running ABC series kicking off its landmark Season 20 this week, you might think the network would start to contemplate the medical show’s send-off, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In an interview with Deadline, new showrunner Meg Marinis revealed she hasn’t heard any talk of a Grey’s farewell.

If anything, the new showrunner sounded as excited about the future of Grey’s Anatomyas if the show was in its early seasons. Marinis also knows the characters pretty well: Even though she’s new at the showrunner position, she’s served as a writer for the series for the last 18 years, and penned fan-favorite episodes like Amelia Shepherd’s (Caterina Scorsone) return to Seattle in Season 10, and the Season 11 finale “Time Stops.” Marinis shared her excitement about Season 20 and the future:

“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.”

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Could Go On and On

Long-time fans of Grey’s Anatomy know pretty well that the series could run for as long as ABC wants it to. Not only is the series still holding strong on Thursday nights audience-wise, but it also has immense appeal on streaming platforms – Deadline underscored that Grey’s is ABC’s #1 entertainment series in delayed multi-platform viewing. Additionally, the series’ creative team doesn’t shy away from introducing new characters to the story, which contributes to the show feeling fresh.

The President of Disney Television Group Craig Erwich‘s comments from last month at the TCA help underscore Marinis’ impression that Grey’s Anatomy will continue. The executive stated that the show “is as creatively strong as it’s ever been.” Another good thing about the series – which keeps fans coming back to it – is that now the show has so many ex-cast members that it’s possible for several of them to pop up at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for a visit, as will happen at the Season 20 premiere. Former regular cast member Jessica Capshaw will reprise her role as Arizona Robbins as a guest star.

The new season of Grey’s Anatomy kicks off this Thursday on ABC.

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