Grey’s Anatomy is officially the longest-running medical drama of all, with its season 19 underway and a confirmed renewal for season 20, along with plenty of other news on the series as well: let’s recap where we’re off together
Grey’s Anatomy has now become the longest-running medical drama TV series ever with its nineteen season currently airing and overcoming it for several years now of the other historic TV series ER which ended after fifteen seasons.
Just in these weeks Grey’s Anatomy is causing a lot of discussion for its audience the many announcements regarding the series, its cast and production.
Grey’s Anatomy: summary of where we are between renewals and abandonments
After nineteen seasons, a series like Grey’s Anatomy has certainly lost a lot of its audience, but it still remains a series that on the ABC channel still manages to dominate prime time ratings, as the most watched series in the 18-49 age group and also the fifth most watched overall, always for the same age group. And it is precisely for this reason that the series, although it has now lost its splendor and also its original meaning, has not yet been cancelled, on the contrary, a renewal for a 20th season has just been announced. And precisely for this reason I renew to a new, further season it is necessary to make the summary of where we are, namely: who is left surviving from the original cast and what is happening to the series.
Grey’s Anatomy: the farewell of Ellen Pompeo as that is not a farewell
The most important news of the last few months has certainly been the announcement of Ellen Pompeo’s farewell as Meredith Gray from the series. A partial farewell, however which also caused a lot of discussion, because ABC set the promo of the episodes as if the character of Meredith Gray was about to make his final exit, but instead a return is already planned in the May 18 episode and probably also for the season finale. The reason for his momentary exit from the scene is due to the fact that the character has decided to go to live and work in Boston, thus embarking on a new life alongside Ben, with an episode that greeted her without too many frills or exciting moments. But Meredith isn’t the only character exiting this season, because even Maggie, her sister and heart surgeon of the hospital will leave the series and in this case it seems definitively.
Grey’s Anatomy: change of guard also in the role of showrunner
In this mini series of abandonments, another one of weight is added which concerns the upper floors, in particular the important role of showrunner. Since 2017 this role was covered by Krista Vernoff, who had replaced Shonda Rhimes after her departure from ABC and signing with Netflix. Kirsta Vernoff was however among the writers and executive producers of the series, from the very beginning and even before 2017 she was in charge of writing most of the episodes, while the season premier and the season finale remained with the undisputed queen Shonda Rhimes. Another abandonment that marks an important change, the sign of which will surely be seen in the episodes of the twentieth season, just as Shonda Rhimes’s absence was noted after her passing of the baton.
What is left of the original series
At this point it is natural to wonder, what is left of the original series? The answer is simple: nothing. First of all because after nineteen seasons of the original cast there are only two characters left: Dr Bailey and Dr Richard Weber, that feel like just a reminder of the great characters they were in the first few seasons. There are also other characters who have been present for several years, such as Owen, who first appeared in the fifth season, Teddy who arrived in the sixth season and returned several years after her exit from the scene in the eighth season. It also adds Amelia, Derek’s sister who arrived in the eleventh season after starring in the spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Jo, arrived in the ninth season as a resident.
In addition to the characters, the series has lost its ideas, in fact it continues to repeat themes and script passages already seen in the first seasons and has also lost its polish, in the brilliant dialogues and in the characters who have always been able to leave their mark. It would have been better to close this TV series as was done with ER, therefore respecting its strengths that made it great and instead we find ourselves seeing dragged episodes, with a cast without depth and with nothing left to tell.
And what do you think of Grey’s Anatomy, have you abandoned it or are you still following it? For those who miss the first seasons, we recommend rewatching all the episodes that are available on Disney Plus and that still excite you. Let us know your opinion and continue to follow TechGameWorld.com for further updates on the world of cinema and TV series.
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