Everything to Know About Grey’s Anatomy Season 20

A trailer for season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy has not been released yet. In the meantime, check out this touching moment from the season 19 finale.

Shonda Rhimes: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Will End When ‘We’ve Done What We Needed to Do’ (Exclusive)

The ‘Queen Charlotte’ creator talks to ET about when she thinks it’ll be time to hang up the doctor’s coat.

As Grey’s Anatomy gears up for its 20th season , speculation continues on when TV’s longest-running primetime medical drama will hang up the stethoscope. Series creator Shonda Rhimes , who oversaw the early seasons of Grey’s , maintains that nothing has changed when it comes to her stance on if and when the show should sign off. Rhimes and longtime star Ellen Pompeo , who left Grey’s full-time earlier this season, have said over the years that it’ll be time to end the show when they both decide to.

“My involvement stands in the exact same place it has always been,” Rhimes told ET’s Deidre Behar while promoting the launch of Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story , which drops Thursday.

“Ellen’s spectacular and I think she deserves a little bit of creative time that’s different from what she’s been doing,” she explained. “She’s been doing this job — I mean, nobody expected the show to go this many seasons. We’re entering the 20th season, so she deserves the break and get the chance to do something else.”

Rhimes stepped away from day-to-day duties on Grey’s several years ago, handing it off to showrunner Krista Vernoff, who herself will be leaving the post at the end of season 19. She kept the door open for Pompeo, who is slated to return once more on the current season of Grey ‘s, should she decide to put on the doctor’s coat again.

“And if she wants to come back, she comes back,” the mega-producer said.

Rhimes admits she’s given up on planning potential endings for Grey’s now that it’s continued on for nearly two decades. She confirmed she has no idea how the show will end — not yet anyway.

“I knew how that story will end when we were in season 6, in season 7 and maybe season 10, and after that I just gave up because I would write those endings and the show just kept going,” Rhimes said. “I’ll have a feeling the same way I knew Scandal [was going to end]. I’ll have a feeling of like, ‘We’ve done what we needed to do here.'”

As for what’s next on her TV bucket list? Possibly exploring the sci-fi genre.

“Maybe sci-fi because I’m very into sci-fi and I’d like to do it in a way that feels accessible, and people really enjoy it because that’s the kind of viewer I am,” Rhimes said, confessing her worries of even tackling the space “because sci-fi is very specific and it’s a pretty hard genre to crack.”

If anything were to come to fruition though, Rhimes has a Rolodex of actors from projects past and present she’d reach out to: “I would attach any of the actors I’ve worked with before to it.”

Grey’s Anatomy returns Thursday, May 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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Everything to Know About ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 20

Jacqueline Weiss is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Food and Wine, Insider and Apartment Therapy.

After nearly two decades of medical marvels and twists and turns, Grey’s Anatomy is returning for its 20th season.

The long-running medical drama, which was renewed for a 20th season in March 2023 after wrapping its 19th season in May 2023, will see some major changes.

Season 20 will be the first not to feature Meredith Grey, portrayed by Ellen Pompeo, as a series regular. The actress already had a scaled-back role in season 19, but will remain as an executive producer on the series moving forward, in addition to providing the opening and closing voiceover for each episode.

In an installment of Variety‘s Actors on Actors series, the actress opened up to her former Grey’s costar Katherine Heigl about the future of her character.

“I will be making some appearances hopefully next year, if I can find some time,” she said. “It’s not a complete goodbye. And I think we’ve got an interesting story to tell.”

Read ahead for everything to know about Grey’s Anatomy season 20.

Warning: spoilers for season 19 are ahead.

Who is in the cast of Grey’s Anatomy season 20?

Many cast members from earlier seasons are expected to return for season 20, including the final two original cast members, James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber and Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, who says she has no plans to depart the show until the very end, no matter how long it takes.

“I used to say, ‘I’m there until the wheels fall off until the very, very end, and it can’t last that much longer, right?’ And then we keep going,” Wilson told PEOPLE exclusively at a Grey’s Anatomy PaleyFest event in April 2023. “For now, I’m challenging myself to be there until the very last episode, the very last day, the very last scene.”

She added, “I said it, so now I’ve got to get there.”

Other confirmed returning stars include Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd and Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson.

Who is leaving the cast of Grey’s Anatomy in season 20?

As for who is leaving the show, both of Ellis Grey’s daughters will not be returning as series regulars in season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy. In addition to Ellen Pompeo stepping back from her longtime role of Meredith Grey, her on-screen half-sister Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) who became a series regular in season 11, will also exit the show.

“After nine seasons, I am saying goodbye to Maggie Pierce and her Grey Sloan family. It has been a tremendous honor to be a part of such a legendary television institution as Grey’s Anatomy,” she said in a statement. “I will always be grateful to Shonda Rhimes, Krista Vernoff and ABC for the opportunity, and to the incredible fans for their passionate support.”

“To spend nine years exploring a character inside and out, while reaching a global audience with impactful stories, is a rare gift,” McCreary continued. “It has afforded me an opportunity to collaborate with, learn from, and be inspired by countless brilliant artists both in front of and behind the camera.”

She added: “Playing Maggie Pierce has been one of the true joys of my life and I leave with profound gratitude for every step of this journey. I am excited for this next chapter, and what the future holds.”

How did Grey’s Anatomy season 19 leave off?

While information about season 20’s plot has not yet been shared yet, there were a few big moments and cliffhangers at the end of season 19 that fans are waiting to see resolved.

Teddy Altman’s fate, and the fate of her patient, is uncertain after she suddenly collapsed. She complained of a toothache throughout the finale, but pushed through the pain since the hospital was short-staffed.

Teddy collapsed on the OR floor while preparing to operate on Sam Sutton (Sam Page) and was unresponsive to defibrillation shock at the hands of her husband, Owen Hunt. As the chaos unfolded with Teddy, Sam went into cardiac arrest and was bleeding out on the table.

Fans were also left with a cliffhanger after Jo and Link (Chris Carmack) shared a kiss. Despite initially denying his feelings for her and blaming his frustration on the doctor-patient relationship between her and Sam Sutton, he finally admitted how he truly feels.

He said, “I love you, and I’m gonna love you forever.”

“You unbelievable dummy. I love you too,” she responded, before they kissed in the rain.

Meredith and Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) also shared a kiss of their own. She admitted that she pretended to not hear him say he loved her before she left for Boston, stating, “I was tired and scared and overwhelmed. And I know that sounds stupid, but I thought what I should do in that moment was to focus on the children so that’s what I did … but I miss you.”

He had wrongly assumed that Michael, Zola’s tutor, was her boyfriend and shared, “I wasted years of my life trying to avoid pain and I went to your house to say that I never shouldn’t have let you walk away and say I want to live a whole life with love and mess and pain with you.”

Before they shared a kiss, she responded: “Well, okay then.”

Other standout moments from the two-part season 19 finale include Miranda Bailey receiving the Catherine Fox Award for her work in reproductive care and estranged couple Maggie and Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) hooking up.

When did Grey’s Anatomy season 20 film?

Due to the ongoing writers strike and actors strike, it is unclear when production of season 20 will begin.

How many episodes will Grey’s Anatomy season 20 be?

It has not been confirmed how many episodes season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy will be. Aside from season 1 which had just 9 episodes, previous seasons have ranged between 17 and 27 episodes in length. Seasons 18 and 19 were 20 episodes each.

Has ABC released a first look at Grey’s Anatomy season 20?

A trailer for season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy has not been released yet. In the meantime, check out this touching moment from the season 19 finale.

Where can I watch Grey’s Anatomy?

Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. New episodes are available to watch the day after their premiere on Hulu. Seasons 1 through 19 are available to stream on Netflix.

When will Grey’s Anatomy season 20 release?

A release date for season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy has not been provided yet by ABC. In May, ABC shared that timing for renewals of their scripted series “will be announced at a later date,” with the network restructuring the fall 2023 primetime lineup due to the writers strike.