It’s been a pretty quiet fall in the TV landscape, with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes delaying the majority of the productions we’re accustomed to seeing this time of year. But now that the historic labor battle has ended, productions are getting back to work, including ABC’s longtime medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. Several of the actors portraying the Grey Sloan Memorial surgeons posted photos that proved they were back on set — with scripts and everything! — and I’ve never been more excited about a table read.
Grey’s Anatomy left a lot up in the air when Season 19 concluded back in February, including Teddy Altman’s fate (although pesky contract negotiations may have spoiled that cliffhanger) and numerous relationship statuses, but the resolutions to those stories may now exist in script form. The cast gathered for their first Season 20 table read, with Midori Francis posting a group shot to her Instagram Stories:
Midori Francis, who plays Mika Yasuda, was one of five new main cast members brought in for Season 19’s quasi-reboot, which saw a new class of first-year interns join the show as Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey became the final member of the OG rookie class to leave the hospital.
We don’t know yet if or how much Meredith will return for Season 20 — especially given that the show is reportedly aiming for a shortened season of 10 episodes for a possible return in early 2024 — but the first-year residents will all be back. Adelaide Kane also posted an image from the table read to Instagram:
James Pickens Jr. and Camilla Luddington posted similar images showing what the cast was up to, and the Jo Wilson actress said the rain that was pouring down in Los Angeles was giving good Seattle vibes to the reunited staff.
Camilla Luddington also appeared to tease her character’s upcoming storyline, posting a photo with Chris Carmack. After so much “will-they-won’t-they” between Jo and Link, a romance finally seemed to be happening, as they professed their love for each other in the Season 19 finale.
Work on the Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 scripts began at the beginning of October, following the end of the WGA writer’s strike, and one of the stories I’m so excited to see in the upcoming episodes is Levi Schmitt experiencing more of the queer community. Actor Jake Borelli said it’s a storyline he’d been pitching for a while, and I can’t wait. Borelli seemed to be ready to go, too, as he posted to Instagram:
Anthony Hill should also have some interesting plotlines coming, as his character Winston Ndugu and Maggie Pierce decided in the season finale not to get divorced — despite Kelly McCreary exiting Grey’s Anatomy — and try to make their marriage work long-distance. Hill shared his own photo on social media:
We don’t have a date for Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 20 premiere yet, but series typically need 3 to 6 weeks for pre-production and prep before filming can start. With the holidays coming up, the shows that were delayed in the fall aren’t expected to resume before mid-February or early March, with comedies expected to be back quicker than dramas like Law & Order and Grey’s.
We’ll be keeping an eye on all of the upcoming premiere dates, so go ahead and bookmark the 2024 TV schedule, which will be updated as that news gets announced. In the meantime, you can refresh yourself on what went down on Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 by streaming it with a Netflix subscription, and if you want to relive one of the medical drama’s past eras, here are a few good Grey’s Anatomy jumping off points to get you started.
