Over a month has passed since we bid farewell to the Seattle firefighters on Station 19, as the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff was canceled following its seventh season. While we’ll see Jason George return to the medical drama as Ben Warren, it’s been a little heartbreaking to see the other actors like Danielle Savre move on to other gigs. All hopes of the show being saved were dashed when the series finale basically flashed forward to each firefighter’s future, but two of Station 19’s stars revealed just how close we allegedly came to getting that sought-after eighth season, and now I’m upset all over again.
Fans were crushed when it was announced that Station 19’s shortened seventh season would be its last, and a petition to save the show immediately began collecting signatures. There was hope that Shonda Rhimes’ ties to Netflix might be just the lifeline the show needed, and while that never panned out, it may have been closer to reality than we all realized. Soaps.com reports that at a convention, Danielle Savre and Stefania Spampinato seemed to indicate the series did almost get picked up by the streaming service. The Carina DeLuca actress told fans:
It’s amazing what you’ve done for Station 19. The Netflix thing was a chance for a second, because of you.
Danielle Savre, who played Carina’s wife Maya Bishop on the series, appeared to confirm that. She looked at Stefania Spampinato before nodding to the fans and said:
Yeah. So close.
That sound you just heard was Marina stans’ broken hearts cracking in all the same places all over again. We’ve only just started to come to terms with the fact that Danielle Savre has joined the cast of Found, which was renewed for a second season on NBC, and that it’s unlikely Stefania Spampinato will return to Grey’s Anatomy in any meaningful capacity. Now we have to live with the knowledge that there may have, in fact, been talks to move Station 19 to Netflix?
I sob for the Marina babies we won’t get to watch grow up.
Of course, if Station 19 had gotten picked up for an eighth season — on whatever platform — the finale we saw would have been entirely different. Because showrunners Peter Paige and Zoanne Clack knew going into the final season that the series was ending, they were able to put a bow on each firefighter’s story, and I think they did that in a very satisfying way.
With Grey Damon’s Jack Gibson being forced to quit firefighting; Vic Hughes (Barrett Doss) and Travis Montgomery (Jay Hayden) heading off to Washington, D.C.; and Ben Warren returning to Grey Sloan to finish his medical residency, the writers really did close that chapter of the fire station’s story.
That’s all to say that the decision to allow Station 19 to end had to be final before that last episode could be written, so I’d be very interested to know when in the process any conversations with Shonda Rhimes and/or Netflix were taking place.
Regardless of how close we came to getting more of our favorite Seattle firefighters, it’s all over now. However, fans can still relive the series as much as they want, with all seven seasons available to stream with a Hulu subscription. Also keep an eye on the 2024 TV schedule for Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 21 premiere date.
