The end of the 2024 TV schedule means that the time is right to look back on some of the most notable small screen ratings and audience sizes from the past several months. While Grey's Anatomy has been secure on ABC's Thursday nights going back to 2006, the network moved it to the 10 p.m. ET time slot for the first time since Season 2 as Doctor Odyssey joined to fill the Station 19 vacancy. There's a long wait until Grey's returns in the 2025 TV schedule, and worth looking at the ratings to see if change is warranted in the new year.
ABC's Thursday lineup in fall of the 2024-2025 TV schedule started with 9-1-1 Season 8 at 8 p.m. ET, continued with Doctor Odyssey in Grey's Anatomy's former slot at 9 p.m. ET, and then the long-running medical drama closed out the night in Station 19's previous slot at 10 p.m. ET. According to TVLine, the average audience for Grey's in Season 21 so far across seven days is just 4 million, with a rating of 0.52.
That marks a drop of 17% since Season 20 aired at 9 p.m. on Thursdays in the spring, which is a big dip. That said, it is worth noting that Season 21 has remained steady with the numbers from Station 19's final season. It also makes Grey's Anatomy the ABC show on Thursday nights with the smallest average audience, although the 0.52 rating comes between 9-1-1 (at 0.65) and Doctor Odyssey (at 0.46). (All three shows are available streaming with a Hulu subscription now.)
While comparing those three series, though, Joshua Jackson's new project has improved on the audience size from Grey's Anatomy's previous season in the 9 p.m. slot. by 3%. As for 9-1-1, the audience has remained steady for Season 8 from how the show's first season on ABC performed earlier in the year following its migration over from Fox, and it is tied for #2 among highest-rated broadcast network dramas. According to the figures from TVLine, Grey's is the only one of ABC's scripted shows to dip in the ratings and audience from the 2023-2024 TV season to the 2024-2025 TV season so far.
If this all seems like a lot of math, just know that Grey's Anatomy has dropped in ratings and audience size since moving from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET on Thursdays and is currently the least-viewed of the ABC shows on the night. That's of course not the end of the world, and that late slot could still allow for some extra steamy scenes as Season 21 continues. Plus, there are other variables to consider, including that the medical drama is no longer paired with another show set in the same universe since the end of Station 19.
At the time of writing, ABC hasn't changed the order of the primetime lineup of 9-1-1, then Doctor Odyssey, then Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays in 2025, so the ratings may not matter much until closer to the end of Season 21. Unfortunately for fans, the network isn't bringing the shows back any time too soon. All three return with their winter premieres on Thursday, March 6. In the meantime, you can always revisit earlier episodes via Hulu.
