Grey’s Anatomy Season 20: Everything We Know, From When It Premieres to Which Cast Members Are Returning
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As suggested by the Grey’s Anatomy promo that ABC dropped on February 29 (press PLAY on the above video to check it out), Season 20 of the enduring drama is going to waste no time making our pulses race — with good reason, too. Owing to the delays brought on first by the WGA strike, then by the SAG-AFTRA strike, the whole season is only going to be 10 episodes long.
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What can we expect? As luck would have it, even before Season 19’s finale (recapped here), intel was already beginning to trickle out about Season 20. By now, we know not only when it is premiering but who’s in charge in the wake of showrunner Krista Vernoff’s exit, which actors are on board to scrub in once again and what plot device of the last few years isn’t likely to be used again. We can even tell you how much you can expect to see of OG Ellen Pompeo now that she’s no longer a regular as Meredith.
Ready to consult the chart? Just keep scrolling, and we’ll tell you everything that we know — and you need to know — about Grey’s Anatomy Season 20.
The Premiere Date Is Set
Ten months after ABC aired the Season 19 finale (read the recap here), Season 20 will premiere on Thursday, March 14, at 9/8c.
A New Showrunner Is in Charge
After six years, Krista Vernoff gave up the reins of Grey’s Anatomy at the end of Season 19. Picking up where she left off is Meg Marinis, who started at the show as a writer’s production assistant back in Season 3, worked her way up to staff writer and has been an executive producer since Season 15.
Ellen Pompeo Is Returning
Although the original cast member made her final appearance as a series regular midway through Season 19, she will continue to recur as Meredith. As Grey’s Anatomy MVP Debbie Allen put it in December of 2023, “Miss Thing is there, honey. She’s in the first episode, and she’s in the one I’m going to direct. We have to let her go and do some other things, but she’s still our No. 1 on the call sheet.”
Teddy Lives… Probably
Although Season 19 ended with Kim Raver’s character collapsing before beginning to operate on guest star Sam Page’s Sam Sutton, the smart money is on Owen’s better half surviving the toothache that the Season 20 trailer tells us leaves her in critical condition. News of the actress’ re-signing broke back in May of 2023 before the Season 19 finale had even aired.
Who’s Staying?
Also having re-upped for Season 20 are Chandra Wilson (aka Bailey) and James Pickens Jr. (Richard) — the series’ only remaining full-time original cast members — Kevin McKidd, who has played Owen since Season 5, Camilla Luddington, who scrubbed in as Jo in Season 9, and Private Practice vet Caterina Scorsone, who made her first Grey’s Anatomy appearance as Amelia back in Season 7.
Who’s Leaving?
In the Season 20 promo, Grey Sloan’s residency director Nick ponders which of the interns he’ll be pink-slipping. Considering that in the Season 19 finale, Lucas dove in and started operating on Sam without an attending present, and Blue ignored Max’s DNR to keep Jules’ beloved roommate alive, they’re the top contenders. But even likelier than either of their ousters is that none of the hospital’s fresh-faced newbies will be shown the door.
We May Have Seen Our Last Crossover
For the seventh and final season of Station 19, the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff is airing on Thursdays at 10/9c — after the mother ship rather than before it the way that it had since Season 3. So it would be hard, if not impossible, to continue plotting crossover “events” that follow characters saved by Station 19‘s first-responders as they check in to the hospital on Grey’s Anatomy.
Alex Landi Is Back
In January 2024, the Grey’s Anatomy vet, last seen making the rounds at Grey Sloan in Season 18, revealed via Instagram that he’d be reprising his role of Levi’s ex, Nico. Maybe “Schmico” isn’t as done as we thought?
Jessica Capshaw Is Visiting
Just over a month before the Season 20 premiere, ABC revealed Jessica Capshaw would be returning as Arizona Robbins for a guest stint. Whether the pediatric surgeon brings news of her relationship with ex-wife Callie remained to be seen. But we did know that Arizona would be bringing a new colleague…
Natalie Morales Is Scrubbing In
The Dead to Me vet has been tapped to play Monica Beltran, described by ABC as “a pediatric surgeon whose pragmatism and level-headedness have made her one of the best in her field. Her willingness to push boundaries can be admirable and aggravating, but it’s always aimed at providing top-quality care to her patients.”
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