Created by powerhouse producer Shonda Rhimes in 2005, Grey’s Anatomy started out following an ensemble of ambitious, fresh-faced surgical interns during the first year of their residency. Led by Ellen Pompeo as titular star Meredith Grey, the group grew over the years from wide-eyed rookies into surgical rockstars. They eventually completed their residencies, rose to the very tops of their various specialties and became teachers to new crops of promising young interns. Much of the first season cast has rotated out over the years, until in the back half of Season 17, the only original actors who remain are Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. However, dozens of new doctors have come and gone in the years between Seasons 1 and 17, and the Grey’s Anatomy cast now is as large as it’s ever been. And while the overall tone of Grey’s Anatomy has generally matured alongside its characters (mostly gone are the days of impulsive steamy hookups in elevators and supply closets; now, characters need to plan their romances around co-parenting arrangements and baby feeding schedules), its emotional storylines remain complex and varied, cutting straight to the hearts of its audiences as smoothly as a scalpel. In Season 17, Grey’s Anatomy is among the many shows working the ongoing coronavirus pandemic into its plot. Unlike some series such as This is Us or Superstore, which have used COVID-19 mostly as a backdrop for largely unrelated storylines, Grey’s Anatomy has tackled the pandemic head-on as part of its main storyline, with Meredith Grey spending much of the Season trapped in a COVID-induced coma. That storyline has allowed the show to bring back long-departed cast members Patrick Dempseyand T.R. Knight as Derek Shepherd and George O’Malley, respectively, appearing in Meredith’s dreams. Both of their characters passed away in earlier seasons after being struck by large vehicles but were formative in Meredith’s journey on the show. If Season 17 turns out to be the end of Grey’s Anatomy, it seems fitting that it will be a season that has enabled some of the people who helped launch the flagship to return. Of course, Vernoff doesn’t know for sure if Grey’s Anatomy will be ending at the end of Season 17. Meaning she has to plan for both a season and series finale, creating double the amount of work in a season that is already challenging, thanks to the excessive safety precautions that need to be taken while shooting during a pandemic. “It’s been so complicated and so difficult to come back to production during the pandemic,” Vernoff told THR. “We are on fumes. I don’t really have creative space for imaginings of what might happen next year; I’m trying to get through this Season. Once I know if this is the final season or not, I can start to try to imagine other things. But trying to simultaneously plan for the end of the series and the end of the season—if it’s not the end of the series—it’s like breaking two shows. That’s what I’ve got bandwidth for.” Previously, Pompeo had also indicated that the future of the series was up in the air, mentioning before the start of Season 17 that, “We don’t know when the show is really ending yet, but the truth is, this year could be it.” If Season 17 is indeed the final season of Grey’s Anatomy, it certainly has a lot of storylines to wrap up. Not only has Meredith’s slow-burn story with her new love interest barely even gotten off the ground, but other characters on the show are all in the midst of their own complicated storylines. That includes a freshly divorced Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) trying to forge a new path after the abrupt abandonment of her husband, Alex Karev (series original Justin Chambers); the messy love triangle between Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Tom Koracick (Greg Germann); Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) chasing down child traffickers while struggling with mental illness; and Meredith’s sisters Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) both just starting down new paths of motherhood (Amelia) and a new relationship (Maggie). It seems like a lot of ground to cover, if in fact, this is the end, but Grey’s Anatomy is no stranger to juggling a daunting number of simultaneous storylines. With enough runway, hopefully, Vernoff will be able to land the Grey’s Anatomy plane smoothly (unlike in Season 8), whether it’s only for a brief hiatus in between seasons, or permanently. And if Grey’s Anatomy does have to end with a COVID-19 storyline, it could actually offer an advantage, if part of the finale plan includes bringing back some more former cast members who are very much still alive in the Grey’s Anatomy universe. After all, in our current pandemic reality, Zoom calls from our living rooms are the new norm, which might make it easy for a familiar face or two to pop in for a scene without actually having to physically show up on set. That could even crack open the door for some cast members who have vocally said they wouldn’t be open to a return, if they were so inclined. As for when we’ll know for sure whether Season 17 is the end of the road, Vernoff says she’ll need a solid answer before going into production on the finale. “I’ve told [ABC parent company Disney] that I have to know before I’m making the finale what we’re making,” Vernoff told THR. “Because there are a couple of character threads that will change. I’ve got plans for both contingencies. Either there will be closure or I will build something in that allows me to have a bit of a cliffhanger and a thread for next season.” So while the fate of the series is currently in flux, at least by the time the final episode rolls around, we’ll know exactly what type of finale it is. Next, we have some other inspiring shows about strong women to watch in 2021.
