The 19th season of Grey’s Anatomy has now come to an end on ABC in the US, while episodes are continuing to drop on Disney Plus in the UK.
Season 19 saw Chandra Wilson’s character Dr Miranda Bailey focus on providing vital healthcare for women including abortions, while it also featured the departure of the titular character Meredith Grey, with Ellen Pompeo reducing her involvement in the series.
Meanwhile, further change is afoot with showrunner Krista Vernoff departing the series with the season finale.
Amongst the cast still playing major roles in the series are James Pickens Jr, Kevin McKidd and Caterina Scorsone, but will the show be returning for a whopping 20th season?
Read on for everything you need to know about Grey’s Anatomy season 20.
Will there be a season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy?
Yes, Grey’s Anatomy season 20 has been confirmed by ABC.
It was confirmed in March of this year that the show would be back for another season, with Meg Marinis taking over as showrunner from Krista Vernoff.
In fact, if creator Shonda Rhimes has anything to do with it, it seems like we may be continuing to see Grey’s Anatomy on our screens for many years to come.
Rhimes told Deadline: “I might be a very old lady by the time we reach its last season because it doesn’t seem to be stopping which is wonderful and I feel the world really belongs to the fans and the fans have been really clear about what they want.
“It’s such an amazing show and it’s doing so well as it’s moving forward. I’m going to leave it alone and see where it goes, and we’re going to stay a show as long as everybody wants to be there and as long as the fans want to be there.”
When will Grey’s Anatomy season 20 be released?
We don’t yet know exactly when Grey’s Anatomy season 20 will arrive on Disney Plus in the UK, but we can have an estimated guess.
Based on previous release schedules it’s likely that the new season will start airing on ABC in the US from the end of September or the start of October 2023.
In the UK, season 19 started airing in the UK a matter of weeks after it did in the US. If season 20 follows the same pattern, we could be looking at a UK release towards the end of October 2023.
We’ll keep this page updated once a release date has been officially confirmed.
Grey’s Anatomy cast – who will be back for season 20?
The following cast members were confirmed by Deadline to be returning for Grey’s Anatomy season 20.
Pompeo returned for the season 19 finale and continues to narrate the series, but isn’t expected to play a major role in future.
However, given the developments in Meredith’s research into Alzheimer’s Disease in the finale it would seem there is still a great deal of story to examine with Meredith.
Meanwhile, Kelly McCreary also left the series in season 19 and isn’t expected to return for season 20 as Dr Maggie Pierce in a regular capacity. However, the door has been left open for a return.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, McCreary said: “I love that about the show, that people come back. I think it’s open. I think that’s a question for Meg Marinis, who is the new showrunner. But I am open to it and I think the storyline leaves it pretty open.”
She later added: “It seems like even though she’s gone to Chicago, Maggie and Winston’s story isn’t over. I’m happy to see there’s still love, respect — and of course a lot of heat between them.”
The future of Anthony Hill as Dr Winston Ndugu and Scott Speedman as Dr Nick Marsh is less clear after both romantically reconciled with their departed love interests at the end of the last season.
However, Winston was made the new Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the finale, so it would seem he has a future at Grey Sloan. The future of Nick is less clear after his romantic reconciliation with Meredith who remains in Boston.
It is also reported that we can expect Jake Borelli to return as Dr Levi Schmitt alongside Chris Carmack as Dr Atticus “Link” Lincoln, while the newer interns played by Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, and Midori Francis are also expected to be back. Jaicy Elliot will likely be back as Dr Taryn Helm given where her story ended as she joined Schmitt as a co-chief resident.
It is also likely that we will see the return of recurring characters such as Dr Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) and Dr Carina DeLuca (Stefania Spampinato).
Finally, given the recurring appearances of Kate Walsh as fan-favourite Dr Addison Forbes Montgomery over the last two seasons, we may see her back again next season.
What will be the plot of Grey’s Anatomy season 20?
Well, we know very little plot details about the next season of Grey’s Anatomy but we can expect an immediate resolution to the cliffhanger which sees the interns operating on a patient on their own after Teddy fell unconscious after experiencing tooth pain.
The series will also need to continue the plot thread of Meredith’s potentially controversial research into Alzheimer’s Disease after setting up the new storyline in the finale.
Meanwhile, we have a host of romantic pairings who are in happy places as of the finale too, despite how complicated their living arrangements are including Meredith and Nick, plus Maggie and Winston.
Is there a trailer for Grey’s Anatomy season 20?
There isn’t a trailer available online for Grey’s Anatomy season 20 just yet, but we’ll keep this page updated once any new footage emerges.