Just over 19 years ago, Meredith Grey showed up to a Seattle hospital — and television screens across the country.
“Grey’s Anatomy” is still going strong today, gearing up for the season 21 premiere Thursday. With 20 seasons under its belt, “Grey’s Anatomy” has certainly left its mark in the television world. The show is the longest running primetime medical drama in history.
The show is still wildly successful and draws in massive viewership. As of May, “Grey’s Anatomy” has collected a whopping 3.2 billion hours viewed across streaming platforms Disney+, Hulu and Stars+. Despite entering season 21, the medical drama shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
With so many existing seasons, it is not out of line to question what else is left. What started as a following of main character Meredith Grey’s life turned into season after season of tragedy, heartbreak, love stories and, of course, medical emergencies.
As with most things, “Grey’s Anatomy” has changed a lot over 19 years. The show has said goodbye to many beloved characters, such as Cristina Yang, Alex Karev, Derek Shepherd, Lexie Grey, Mark Sloan and George O’Malley. Of the original five surgical interns, only Meredith Grey remains on the show. Even the hospital looks different from when the show premiered, and it underwent three name changes.
Heading into season 21, only three characters remain on the show that have been there since the very beginning: Grey, Miranda Bailey and Richard Webber. Owen Hunt, Amelia Shepherd, Teddy Altman and Jo Wilson are relatively older characters, but the bulk of the season 21 cast are newer characters.
21 seasons of any show are bound to see old characters go and welcome in new ones, but the new “Grey’s Anatomy” characters have extra big shoes to fill. The new class of surgical interns feel as if they were purposely written to mimic the original five interns, but as the show continues to bring back older characters such as Jackson Avery, Addison Montgomery, April Kepner and Arizona Robbins, it seems the new characters are not strong enough to carry the show on their own.
Although new characters keep coming in, “Grey’s Anatomy” is consistently losing pieces of its cast every season. Season 21 will feature the departure of both Levi Schmitt, played by Jake Borelli, and Mika Yasuda, played by Midori Francis. Even Grey appeared in very few episodes last season, although she will once again be featured in season 21.
“Grey’s Anatomy” would leave a big hole in television and in the lives of long-time fans, but as Grey herself is trying to move on from Seattle, it’s time for everyone else to move on too. The show will never feel like it once did. There are so many memorable moments from “Grey’s Anatomy” over the years, and the show will no doubt leave a lasting legacy, but enough is enough.
Elizabeth Talaga is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Elizabeth know by emailing her at et029322@ohio.edu
