Grey's Anatomy Season 20 is about to launch, and showrunner Meg Marinis has given a number of interviews to explain the direction the show will take. She describes going "back to basics" with Grey's Anatomy, and was able to speak on the returning characters that have been confirmed so far.
While Netflix is planning to bring out one of the most bizarre shows we've ever heard about this week, ABC will be trotting out the old war horse Grey's Anatomy for yet another season. But as the old adage goes, if it ain't broke (and "it ain't"; Grey's Anatomy continues to be one of the most popular shows on the entire network) then don't fix it.
This will be Grey's Anatomy Season 20, and it kicks off on Thursday, March 14 at 9pm ET. But as showrunner Meg Marinis recently explained in an interview with TV Line, they'll be using this season to give the whole show a kind of "reset". In keeping with that goal, a number of beloved characters will be returning to the show, including: Meredith Grey, Nico Kim, and Arizona Robbins.
Marinis also revealed the fate of Teddy Altman, who collapsed at the end of Season 19, leaving the show on a cliffhanger. For those who don't mind being spoiled, head to the bottom to find out what happened to Teddy.
Grey's Anatomy will be releasing on ABC, a network that does not provide a way for their content to be watched internationally. But, for those in the UK or Australia, it will be released on Disney Plus from March 28 (Disney Plus is seeing a huge drop in subscribers, so they're desperate for new content right now). This sadly means you'll be two weeks behind the US audience, so watch out for spoilers!
Showrunner Confirms Returning Characters Meredith Grey, Nico Kim, and Arizona Robbins
During the Television Critics Association press tour on March 9, ABC confirmed the return of Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) and Nico Kim (Alex Landi) to the show. This news came just a few weeks after the Hollywood Reporter leaked the return of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) to the show for at least four episodes.
In two separate interviews with Deadline and TV Line on March 11, the showrunner Meg Marinis was able to explain why all these old faces were returning to the show, and she revealed that Season 20 of Grey's Anatomy "is kind of a reset. It’s back to basics". Could this mark the beginning of the end for Grey's Anatomy? Are they going full circle before calling it a day? We really don't know, but we can at least share what we know about the storylines for each of these returning characters.
Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey, who was in the show since the pilot, actually stopped being a recurring character in Season 19. In episode 6 of that season, she emailed the staff at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, telling them that she was leaving the hospital and moving from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts, to take a job with the Catherine Fox Foundation.
Meredith will return in a number of episodes in Season 20, although it seems that for the most part her story will revolve around her ongoing relationship with Nick Marsh.
Per TV Line:
Not to worry, says Marinis. We will see enough of [Meredith and Nick] to get a sense of how their hard-won relationship is progressing.
It's probably fitting that after twenty years, the show has moved most of the drama on to other characters.
Nico Kim
Nico Kim is a surgeon who become involved romantically with fellow surgeon Levi Schmitt. However, Nico broke up with Levi in Season 18 and was absent from Season 19 (new hospital).
Nico will return, but when asked about whether Nico and Levi would get back together, Marinis made it seem unlikely:
With Alex Landi scrubbing back in as Nico, is it a fair assumption that we’re getting “Schmico” 2.0? “A fair assumption is that Levi and Nico will interact,” Marinis allows. “You’ll have to see how that interaction goes. Levi has grown quite a bit since we last saw them together. He’s co-chief resident, and he’s had a lot more doctoring under his belt since he’s seen Nico. So their interactions will look different, given how much he’s matured.”
So, Nico has matured, we'll have to see it to believe it.
Arizona Robbins
Lastly, but perhaps most excitingly, we also know that Arizona Robbins is coming back to Grey's Anatomy. She left in Season 14, but not for an in-universe reason, the writers simply felt that they wanted to move on from her storyline for creative reasons (it's not like the writing team ever liked the character; here is a very funny thread explaining why Arizona Robbins is so terrible).
In her interview with Deadline, Marinis was able to give us a clearer picture of the role Dr. Arizona Robbins will fulfill on the show. It sounds like she'll be returning as a kind of teacher-mentor to the new interns:
We’ve got these new interns and she is an innovative surgeon in fetal medicine and she also has the peeds element to her, so I thought, how interesting for her to come back and see this new class. I think there’s got to be so much fun to be had.
Will Arizona Robbins be a bit more popular this time around? We hope so.
Teddy Altman's Fate Revealed
In the TV Line interview, Marinis was able to confirm what happened to Teddy Altman, and (spoiler alert) she survived. But, it seems like the incident will have a profound effect on Teddy, and will likely be a major cause of tension this season:
So like it would with anyone, [the accident] has an impact on her relationship with Owen, as well as with patients and how she treats other surgeons. It’s not going to be one of those things where she recovers and forgets.
Hopefully this doesn't mean the end for Teddy and Owen, fingers crossed!
Are you excited for Season 20? Are there any other characters you want to see make a return?