After the final episode of Grey’s Anatomy season 20 threatened to completely destabilize Grey Sloan hospital, season 21 will return on September 26, offering a chance to tie up some notable loose ends. Showrunner Meg Marinis spoke at a special 20th Celebration for the long-running show at D23 to address not only Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s cliffhanger ending, but to also tease the return of Ben Warren (Jason George) as a regular cast member.
ScreenRant was in attendance at D23, where Marinis promised to follow-up on the explosive events following the revelation of Meredith’s secret research, and the residents’ confrontation with Catherine Fox over Adams’ potential departure:
“My favorite thing to do is to tie up our characters in the messiest knot possible in a finale, which I feel like we did pretty successfully. We have doctors who do not have jobs, and we pick up pretty close to where we ended after the finale, and we’re gonna see how and if those doctors get their jobs back.”
Even more intriguingly, Marinis addressed Ben Warren’s return after the cancelation of Station 19. And anyone thinking the former firefighter will have a swift re-integration into medicine may be in for a shock:
“It’s not going to be a super easy journey for him, but we’re excited to have him back at around Grey Sloan.”
Warren has had a number of jobs in the Grey’s Anatomy shared universe, starting as an anesthesiologist before swapping his specialty to surgery, and then moving over to firefighting. He will now embark on another stint in medicine, but it sounds like it’ll come with the show’s usual brand of drama.
Why Ben Warren Is Returning To Grey’s Anatomy As A Series Regular
Station 19 Set Up Warren’s Career Switch (Again)
Jason George has played Ben Warren on Grey’s Anatomy for 15 years, having debuted in Season 6 as a new love interest for Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). He stepped up as a series regular in season 12, before leaving for the show’s second spin-off, Station 19, in season 14. Since then, he’s been a guest star on Grey’s, remaining married to Bailey as well as appearing in crossover episodes. His return as a series regular avoids any need to split yet another main relationship up.
Station 19 season 7 saw Warren once more questioning his vocation, and as the most qualified first responder in Shondaland, the finale saw him hang up his hose to return to medicine and complete his surgical residency. Grey’s Anatomy was smart enough to leave that loophole in Ben’s story when he left, and now that Station 19’s ending has brought the curtain down on the second spin-off to be canceled, he’s on his way back.
Warren and Bailey have faced their fair share of emotional turmoil since they got together, and while their closer working relationship may be good for the show, the teased tension in Grey’s Anatomy season 21 may see further drama.