Written by: Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief
Content warning: this article contains spoilers and discusses fictitious violence
Season 20 of “Grey’s Anatomy” was released to Netflix June 29, 2024, featuring ten episodes on top of its already prominent 430, spanning from 2005 to the present. Since premiering, “Grey’s Anatomy” has been nominated for 39 Emmys, won a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Drama, inspired two spin-off shows and hit an all-time audience record of 37.88 million viewers for episode 16 of season two.
The show has gone on so long that most of the main cast has moved on, their characters being killed or written off, with even protagonist Ellen Pompeo — Meredith Grey — stepping back in the latest seasons.
Most credit the success of “Grey’s Anatomy” to Shonda Rhimes, founder of the production company Shondaland and creator of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Rhimes has become well known for her tendency to kill off characters in the most tragic ways possible, with more than nine notable recurring character deaths overall. In 2015, Rhimes left “Grey’s Anatomy,” but the calamity persists in her absence.
Meredith Grey survived not just a plane crash, a shooting, a physical assault, a bomb, drowning and COVID-19, but also managed to scrape by after a miscarriage, the death of her husband, multiple deaths of her friends, losing her parents and even going to jail in season 16 for — easy guess — insurance fraud.
The show has always incorporated real-world issues, mixing them with fictitious characters and applying a level of relatability for viewers to connect to. Characters struggle with infertility, lack of insurance, love triangles, affairs, religion, relationships, family, cancer and more. “Grey’s Anatomy” takes those issues to an extreme level, allowing for an eventful watch in any episode, and often mixes humor in with how the characters interact and work together.
Most iconic are the original five interns of Seattle Grace Hospital, Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Alex Karev, Izzie Stephens and George O’Malley, starting strong in season one until, one by one, the team falls apart through loss, separation and other work opportunities. Most viewers refer to the first few seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy” as the best, having great rewatchability and incredible banter.
Although this might be the case for many viewers, the later seasons add more flexibility and characters and the budget increases over time, allowing for incredible set design, new actors and new plots — meaning more riveting turmoil for “Grey’s Anatomy’s” most loveable characters.
At the end of the day, “Grey’s Anatomy” is an ideal show to watch when coping with something difficult — why? Because Meredith Grey will always be having a worse day.
Contact the author at howleditorinchief@mail.wou.edu
