Grey’s Anatomy is putting its characters through a lot of changes in its 18th season. Meredith and Amelia are involved in Parkinson’s research, Webber is fast-tracking his residents into solo surgeries, former regulars like Addison are back, and new characters are still being introduced. And in the midst of all the change is Jo, who is arguably going through the biggest personal transition of all, as she balances a new career path with being the single mom of 1-year-old Luna. It turns out there’s a little bit of art imitating life going on there.
Camilla Luddington gave birth to her second child last August, a son named Lucas, and she and husband Matthew Alan also share a 4-year-old daughter. So Luddington is very aware of the struggles her character is going through in Season 18 by way of being a working new mom. Such as when Jo started falling asleep on a bench outside the hospital because she was too tired to walk to her car. Luddington joked to EW that the makeup artists don’t have to try too hard to give her that “tired mom” look.
You know what's great about this? Luna's a year old and I have a 1-year-old too. During filming I am so tired because he is teething and she's teething, and so what you're seeing is just my life basically. [Laughs.] They don't need to make me look tired — I come in looking like I've never slept. It's this parallel happening, so [with] her falling asleep on the bench I was like, ‘I'm getting kind of tired just filming this.’ I'm going full method this season.
Even the babies’ names — Lucas and Luna — are similar. Man, I wonder how often Camilla Luddington says the wrong name on set or at home!
Somehow the new job track and new baby aren’t the only changes Jo is experiencing on Grey’s Anatomy. Jo has moved into a new place — taking Jackson’s old apartment when he left Seattle for Boston — and is rocking a shorter, blonder hairstyle. Whatever it takes to keep Jo on a path moving forward from ex-husband Alex, who savagely left her to reunite with his first bride, Izzie Stevens.
It remains to be seen, though, if Jo will get to learn the ropes of her new specialty under the queen that is Addison Forbes Montgomery (who coincidentally carved the path for Alex in the field years ago). Camilla Luddington spoke ahead of Season 18 about Jo being desperate to get on Addison’s uterine transplant case, but for now, Jo is “stuck” learning from the equally stellar Carina DeLuca-Bishop.
Grey’s Anatomy is on a short hiatus and will return November 11 with an explosive crossover event with Station 19. The promo for the upcoming episode “Bottle Up and Explode!” shows chaos across both of the Seattle dramas as our heroes are somehow involved in multiple explosions. Not only do we have to wait a couple of weeks to find out what happens, but the show’s promo has revealed that “Not everyone will survive.”
The crossover begins at 8 p.m. ET November 11 on ABC, with Grey’s Anatomy following at 9 p.m. ET. In the meantime, check out our 2021 Fall TV Schedule to see which shows are premiering soon!
