Now approaching its 22nd season, it comes as no surprise that Grey’s Anatomy has been through a hoard of characters throughout the years. Only three stars have been in the show since it premiered in 2005, while the rest have passed through the halls of Grey Sloan and moved on to bigger and better things. While the show needs these changes to keep the storylines fresh, fans are starting to get bored with their favorite characters coming and going.
Grey’s Anatomy has brought back a ton of previous characters, including Teddy Altman and April Kepner. Yet, the show struggles to keep up the momentum and ends up failing the returning character as well as the rest of the cast. As such, fans believe that it’s time for Grey’s Anatomy to drop its revolving door problem and focus on rebuilding its talented selection of remaining characters.
The Show Is Determined to Reproduce Its Initial Success
It’s very easy for fans and critics to pick apart everything wrong with Grey’s Anatomy because it’s been a staple of primetime TV for two decades. While casual viewers deem the show unrealistic or perhaps overbearing, die-hard fans understand that there’s so much more to this medical drama than the cases. The show does a fantastic job of exploring key relationships within the hospital and sprinkles in a few intimate scenes to keep the audience hooked. But, over the past few seasons, it is clear that Grey’s Anatomy has been determined to replicate the same level of success that it saw in the mid-2000s and early 2010s. However, fans find this a little boring and just want their favorite medical drama to keep moving forward instead of looking back.
A key example of this surrounds Martin Henderson, best known for playing Nathan Riggs. This doctor arrived in Season 12 and swiftly became a key love interest for Meredith Grey. But, because her husband Derek died in Season 11, she struggled to build a new relationship while still processing her grief. As such, he was a swoon-worthy surgeon with a lot to offer. However, he was given the boot in Season 14 and moved to Malibu with his partner Megan. A few years later, in Season 18, it was revealed that the pair had split up, and their separate futures were now hanging in the balance. Henderson has since gone on to complete a wealth of projects, such as Virgin River, but has recently said that he would be open to returning to Grey’s Anatomy. In an interview with Deadline, the actor said
But I think Shonda Rhimes has always been really supportive of me; we’ve actually worked together a bunch of times on different things, so I would always be open to the possibility.
While a lot of fans were excited at the prospect of Riggs returning to the hospital, it has the potential to ruin a lot of storylines. It’s clear that Meredith doesn’t really want a stable relationship after losing Derek, and that’s very understandable. In the later part of her arc, she’s mostly focused on being a mother and a researcher. So, by reintroducing Riggs as her love interest, the show runs the risk of making the same mistakes again. The show will never be able to replicate Meredith and Derek’s bond because it spent so long building the relationship. As such, instead of giving Meredith a long list of useless love interests, a lot of fans believe that it would be more effective to explore her life as a widow and single mother.
A similar thing occurs with the interns. The first batch of newbies, better known as the MAGIC era, introduced fans to the initial protagonists. Thus, a lot of fans hold these characters near and dear to their hearts and enjoy watching them flourish as they gain more experience in their careers. Yet, the show has tried to replicate this rag-tag group of interns multiple times, but it just doesn’t have the same effect. In 2018, Grey’s Anatomy released a spin-off called Grey’s Anatomy: B-Team, but these new recruits just seemed a little silly and naive compared to their predecessors. In Season 19, the show introduced even more interns, but again, they were just slight replicas of the original group. Benson Kwan is a great example of this because his headstrong attitude reminds viewers of Alex Karev. Overall, fans don’t necessarily want to see carbon copies of old characters and would prefer it if the new characters were a little more nuanced and vibrant.
Grey’s Anatomy Is Leaving Its Best Characters Out to Dry
It’s obvious that Grey’s Anatomy can’t stick with the same characters all the time, but the show’s obsession with replacing previous stars is impacting more significant characters. While Grey’s Anatomy is introducing Lucas Adams as a way to relate back to Derek, characters like Miranda Bailey are being deeply underutilized. At one point in the drama’s history, Miranda Bailey was at her peak. She had secured the Catherine Fox Award for her work in reproductive care and was keen to educate the next generation. Yet, since then, her arc has diminished severely. Bailey herself hasn’t received any significant storylines in years, and the show is currently focusing more on her husband, Ben Warren. Of course, Miranda Bailey will always be a big part of the show, and Chandra Wilson also shines behind the camera. Yet, by consistently overlooking her in favor of the new kid on the block, Grey’s Anatomy risks losing one of its most dramatic characters.
With so many character arcs and perspectives to choose from, it can be hard for the audience to keep up with the constant ups and downs of Grey Sloan. Yet, since the very beginning, Meredith Grey has acted as an anchor. Even when it seems like another doctor is in the spotlight, her relationship with the staff and her voice actors reminds audiences that she’s still the star of the show. Yet, despite all this, Meredith also briefly left the show in Season 19. Now, in Season 21, she only really appears every so often and acts more as a statue of her former self rather than a three-dimensional character. So, it begs the question, without Meredith Grey, who is the protagonist of Grey’s Anatomy?
This Medical Drama Is at Risk of Losing Sight of Itself
Grey’s Anatomy has always been recognized for its wide range of guest stars. From Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery to Christina Ricci as Hannah Davis, the show welcomes a fine selection of actors, all of whom take to these complex roles like ducks to water. Yet, it could be argued that the show is taking things too far. It’s very rare now for these actors to stay on the show for more than a few years, which only minimizes their arcs. For example, Sandra Oh remained as Cristina Yang for 11 years, while Vikram Roy was kicked out after just two seasons. Although it’s understandable why these actors would want to experiment with a plethora of different roles, it seems silly for Grey’s Anatomy to build a whole new character for them to leave after just a short period of time. Plus, while the show is busy developing a very short-lived character, those with longer arcs get pushed to the side.
Another aspect of Grey’s Anatomy that seems to be lacking is the spin-offs. While Private Practice and Station 19 were never as successful as the main show, these spin-offs allowed the writers to expand the universe without minimizing the doctors within Grey Sloan. So, while there’s no news of a spin-off at the moment, a lot of fans believe that this could be an easy way to save the main show. Overall, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Grey’s Anatomy is in a bit of a slump. While it still gets a decent viewership, even in the age of streaming, the show is consistently trying to live up to its previous success. But times are different now, and fans don’t necessarily want to be transported back to the 2000s. The medical landscape has also changed dramatically, so it’s not like the show is running out of inspiration. It’s clear that the show will never go out of fashion, but without some keen changes, Grey’s Anatomy risks pushing away some of its most devoted fans.