ABC’s medical juggernaut is only days away from once again taking over our lives with unshakeable drama brought by gut-wrenching storylines.
Last season, Grey’s Anatomy took us on a downward spiral by killing off Patrick Dempsey’s beloved character, Dr. Shepherd a.k.a McDreamy. The episode definitely made us question the creative decision behind the unfortunate event.
In light of this, creator Shonda Rhimes finally broke her silence and released a statement months after she ended the life of the world-renowned surgeon. In a report by Deadline, she said:
“The decision to have the character die the way that he did wasn’t a difficult one in the show. Either Derek was going to walk out on Meredith and leave her high and dry, but then that would say that the love wasn’t true over the last 11 years of the show… That would be untenable… He couldn’t be the bad guy and walk out. The only way to make Meredith and Derek’s magic remain true was to keep it frozen in time. There had been a lot of discussions ,and we had been working for a long time, so those choices weren’t easy for us.”
Now that we’re moving on towards season 12, expect for Grey’s Anatomy to hit the reset button in terms of relationships and storylines of its major players. Creator/showrunner Shonda Rhimes has previewed via Deadline what’s ahead for Ellen Pompeo’s recently-widowed character in an interview. She said:
“There’s a much lighter tone this year… Meredith is single and she’s living this life that she never thought she would be living again. She’s living in a house with her sisters, and she’s surrounded by single women who are dating and having a whole life and she’s not interested in that. Is there a second life here or are the best years of your life behind you? It’s a weird rebirth of all the characters but really for Meredith.”
As for what’s happening in the romance department, Rhimes has revealed what’s abound for some fan-favorite couples.
For Callie and Arizona, the executive producer has shared in a report from TV Line that there are “definitely some new romances” for the split couple. She also adds that “some pretty exciting ones, too” are coming their way.
Season 12 will also give focus to the deepening relationship of Jo and Alex. Rhimes confirmed this scoop via TV Line as well.
“We had a lot of stories we wanted to tell with them last season, and I promised the fans, ‘We’re going to tell all these Alex and Jo stories… And then we had to take a left turn because Patrick [Dempsey] was leaving. And now we want to tell a lot of those stories — except in a lighter way. So there’s a real focus on them this season. I feel like we didn’t get to know Jo the way we should. And Alex is sort of a grown man now; it’s time to watch that happen.”
In other news, series star Jason George, who plays Ben in the series, has revealed to People that the new season will bring a higher level of excitement for the fans, with the writers plotting to bring “sexy back” in a new bunch of episodes.
“The writers have made this extra effort to breathe new air and refresh everything. They've hit reboot almost. There's a lot of things that make it feel brand new, but it has that lightness and sense of humor that people fell in love with in the first place. And the sexy sexy is back on. There are a lot of people who are not in couples now and are falling into bed. Everyone's getting a little bit of loving.”
Grey’s Anatomy will return on Thursday, Sept. 24th at 8PM on ABC.
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