The O.R. is open, as Grey’s Anatomy has returned to the 2024 TV schedule, but as we got a peek into the love lives of Grey Sloan’s interns in the Season 21 premiere, fans may have realized there were some familiar faces missing from the halls of the hospital. Owen Hunt and Teddy Altman, for instance, were amongst the main characters who weren’t featured in the September 26 episode, and that’s because series regulars across the board are seeing reduced episode counts this season due to cuts in the Grey’s Anatomy budget. Camilla Luddington addressed how the cast is feeling amidst the changes.
Camilla Luddington has played Jo Wilson on Grey’s Anatomy since 2012, and her character had a pretty big role in the Season 21 premiere, when she told her partner Link (Chris Carmack) that she’s pregnant. This ensures some wild times to come for the longtime BFFs, but Luddington confirmed there will be some weeks when the parents-to-be won’t be featured, telling Variety:
You won’t be seeing Jo in every episode this se ason. But I will say one thing that I feel like it kind of does is that you see in the episodes that we are in, you’re getting a lot of story condensed into it. So, I hope fans don’t feel like they’re missing out on seeing any of these characters’ storylines.
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I guess we can call that quality over quantity, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. There are so. many. characters. that it does seem hard to give everyone their fair shake. If we can really focus on a smaller number per episode, it seems like that better serves the storytelling.
The rest of the cast seemed to be on board as well, Camilla Luddington said, as she continued:
I just left a table read, and we were all just literally walking out talking about how absolutely incredible this season is. It’s packed with so much story for every character. It definitely does not feel like someone’s storyline is less-than in any way this season, and fans will get to see that.
It’s very promising to hear that every character should be getting a satisfying story this season, because it’s not just the budget cuts that could possibly be working against Grey’s Anatomy. The show was also shifted to a later timeslot to make room for a second Thursday night medical drama, Doctor Odyssey, and is losing series regulars Jake Borelli and Midori Francis.
Some fans are frustrated by the cast members’ exits, even as the show continues to add to its cast by welcoming back Ellen Pompeo, Scott Speedman, Kali Rocha (who was last seen in Season 4), Jason George after Station 19’s cancellation and Season 20 newcomer Natalie Morales. Jesse Williams also appeared in the season premiere as Jackson Avery, and there’s a new chaplain in town, with Michael Thomas Grant set to make his debut.
It’s easy to see how the Grey’s Anatomy crew has their hands full. If cutting back the actors’ episode counts benefits the story and the budget, that sounds good to me, and it sounds like the cast as a whole is also excited for what’s to come.
New episodes of Grey’s Anatomy air at 10 p.m. ET Thursdays on ABC and can be streamed the next day with a Hulu subscription.