When a network TV drama is going into its 14th season, many bets are off as far as predicting how long certain cast members will be around. Grey's Anatomy already made it clear that Season 14 will bid farewell to one very familiar face, as well as a not-as-familiar face, and now it appears viewers won't be seeing consultant Eliza Minnick even outside of Grey Sloan anymore, as actress Marika Dominczyk will reportedly not be returning for the new season.
Of all the Grey's Anatomy characters that could have been be bidding the hit medical drama farewell in the coming weeks, Eliza Mennick should be hovering around the top of everyone's lists. Having started on the show last November, actress Marika Dominszyk has already shaken things up inside the hospital and had a relationship with Arizona. Although we don't really see them split up, one has to assume that Ariizona will be looking for someone else when Season 14 rolls around.
Markia Dominczyk's absence, as reported by TVLine, was also partly predetermined in the Season 13 finale, in the aftermath of the hospital explosion. Because Eliza failed to alert police to Stephanie's disappearance, and because she chose to adhere to hospital protocol over gut instincts, Bailey fired Eliza, who later packed up her stuff and alerted Arizona to her new occupational fluidity. It would have been easy to bring her back, at least from this story's perspective, but I guess it was decided not to be a good idea.
And speaking of Stephanie, the woeful doctor also has the Season 13 finale as her last Grey's Anatomy episode, with actress Jerrika Hinton choosing to exit the medical drama after five seasons. (That was announced at the time.) It was reported just recently that Bridget Regan, who appeared as Owen's presumed-but-not-actually-dead sister Megan, had to back out of Season 14, so she'll be replaced by Timeless star Abigail Spencer.
As far as returning characters go, we'll get to catch back up with Owen's ex, Teddy, as played by Kim Ravers, and Matthew Morrison will return as Jo's abusive husband Paul, and both of whom will return for multiple episodes. And that's not to mention the big behind-the-scenes re-introduction of former EP and head writer Krista Vernoff, who has been brought back into the fold.
Grey's Anatomy will kick off Season 14 on ABC starting Thursday, September 28, at 8:00 p.m. ET, and fans can get excited that it's a two-hour special presentation. If you're in need of other shows to look out for in the meantime, head to our summer premiere schedule and our fall TV schedule.
