We may be seeing less of Meredith Grey in the hospital when Grey’s Anatomy returns for Season 19 this October, but there’s little doubt there will be plenty of drama to go around. A handful of characters will be introduced into the Shonda-verse this year — a necessity, given the number of doctors the hospital lost at the end of the Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 finale — and a first look at the smiling interns decked out in their fresh baby blue scrubs is likely the calm before the inevitable storm.
James Pickens Jr., who will reprise his role as Richard Webber for the show’s 19th year, shared a photo on Instagram with the new Season 19 cast members — Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane and Midori Francis — who will all be playing first-year residents at Grey Sloan. Check out these fresh faces that haven’t yet been subjected to Seattle’s dark and twisty training hospital:
I’m actually really excited to see what this new class brings to the operating table. A new group of interns brings the possibility of the next great friendship, like Meredith and Cristina, or the next great love story, like Jackson and April (who confirmed that Japril is back together when Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew returned for Season 18’s last episode).
It’s also quite fitting that James Pickens Jr. stands alongside the new surgeons. Richard is the consummate mentor, even with the trouble he got Grey Sloan into last season via the Webber Method approach to training. There’s likely not a face more comforting to welcome them into the Grey’s family.
Caterina Scorsone shared her own excitement to see the new players in action, remarking that the Season 19 additions are gorgeous “inside and out.” While they’re all smiles in the Instagram photo, maybe it’s not fair to underestimate the baggage the characters will carry with them into their new jobs. Alexis Floyd, who Shondaland fans might recognize from Inventing Anna, joins the cast as Simone Griffin, who reportedly has a painful and personal history with the hospital.
Niko Terho also has a connection to the show, as the actor formerly starred opposite Jake Borelli in the Freeform rom-com The Thing About Harry. It will be interesting to see if Terho’s character Lucas Adams finds that on-screen chemistry again with Borelli’s Levi Schmitt. That’s assuming Schmitt and the other surgical residents even return this season, as they were last seen packing their bags after Grey Sloan’s residency program was shut down.
As of now there’s been no official word about Levi Schmitt’s fate, or what the future holds for the other characters who left the hospital at the end of Season 18. Jaicy Elliot, who has played Taryn Helm since Season 14, is heading to Hallmark to star in a movie about body positivity. Meanwhile, Kevin McKidd is starring in the book-to-screen adaptation of Six Four, after Owen Hunt and Kim Raver’s Teddy Altman’s story ended on a cliffhanger, with the couple on the run from the authorities.
Those projects are not expected to interfere with the actors’ work on Grey’s Anatomy, but we’ll just have to wait and see, because — like the newest group of interns — fans really can’t predict the drama that awaits. Season 19 is set to premiere at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, October 6, on ABC. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to keep up with the premiere dates for all of the new and returning shows. You can also catch up or refresh yourself on the events of last season, as all 18 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy are available for streaming with a Netflix subscription.
