Finally some good news for Grey’s Anatomy fans in the UK – the much-anticipated 18th season is set to premiere on Sky Witness this week.
The new series began at the end of September in the US, with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) recovering from COVID and bumping into former patient Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman), but thankfully we won’t be too far behind, with just four episodes having already aired across the pond.
Now in its 18th season, Grey’s Anatomy has become one of ABC’s longest-running shows, with the medical drama picking up multiple Emmys over its 16-year run, while countless cast members have come and gone.
Speaking of cast members, season 18 will see a number of stars return to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in the upcoming series, including Kate Walsh as Addison Montgomery, Greg Germann as Thomas Koracick and even Kate Burton as Meredith’s late mother Ellis.
As for the future of the show, Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff recently revealed that she’d already had some thoughts on how it might end, teasing: “I have something percolating in my mind.”
Read on for all the details we have so far about Grey’s Anatomy season 18.
Grey’s Anatomy season 18 release date
Fans in the UK finally have a release date for Grey’s Anatomy season 18 and it’s Wednesday 10th November at 9pm on Sky Witness.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Grey’s Anatomy season 17 got started slightly later than usual in the United States, premiering in November as opposed to the show’s typical late September slot.
Production began on season 18 back in August, with Ellen Pompeo sharing a video of her back in the make-up chair on Instagram, captioned: “Guess what time it is? #GreysSeason18”
How to watch Grey’s Anatomy season 18 in the UK
Grey’s Anatomy season 18 will be broadcast in the UK on Sky Witness and NOW, as has been the case for several years now.
If you want to catch up with earlier seasons (or have a marathon rewatch), Grey’s Anatomy seasons one through to 16 are available to stream on both Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video (as of November 2021).
Greys Anatomy season 18 cast
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Good news! Grey’s Anatomy secured its three remaining original cast members – Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Grey), Chandra Wilson (Miranda Bailey) and James Pickens Jr (Richard Webber) – for the 18th season.
There had been some doubt over whether the trio would reprise their roles once again, but a return was agreed after what Deadline describes as “lengthy” contract negotiations.
Kevin McKidd, Kim Raver, Camilla Luddington and Caterina Scorsone, among others, also returned for the new season.
Greg Germann, who has played Dr Tom Koracick on Grey’s Anatomy since season 14, will return as a guest star but his time as a series regular has come to an end.
At least two popular actors will not be returning season: Jesse Williams (Dr Jackson Avery) is moving on to new projects after a 12-year stint on the show, while Giacomo Gianniotti (Dr Andrew DeLuca) has also departed the series.
While earlier this year, Deadline confirmed that Kate Burton would be returning to play Meredith’s late mother Ellis Grey, who died in season three, in multiple episodes – however, it’s unclear how the character will be reintroduced. Perhaps through another one of Meredith’s COVID-caused hallucinations?
Also returning to the cast in season 18 is Abigail Spencer, who is reprising her role as Dr. Megan Hunt, as well as Kate Walsh, who played Dr. Addison Montgomery from 2005 until 2012.
Meanwhile Scott Speedman, who guest-starred as Nick Marsh in season 14, has joined the cast as a series regular for season 18. In the season premiere, Meredith bumps into Nick Marsh whilst opening a library dedicated to her mother in Minnesota and goes for a drink with him.
What will happen in season 18?
The last 16 years have been quite the whirlwind for the staff and patients of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, with previous seasons seeing love affairs, surprise marriages and shock deaths – however, according to executive producer Meg Marinis, this season will be different.
The season opens with newlyweds Maggie (Kelly McCreary) and Winston (Anthony Hill) returning from their honeymoon “very much in love and happy to be together and working together”, Marinis told TVLine. “We’re definitely celebrating the couple,” she added.
Meanwhile, happiness is also in store for Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd). “They’re starting the season stronger than ever,” Marinis said. “They’ve both grown a lot from her breakthrough about her past last season and from Owen seeing that they’ve both struggled with PTSD — in different ways, but they’ve both struggled.
“They’ll still face challenges as a couple but we took them a long way last season, so we’re happy where they are,” she added.
Is there a trailer for Grey’s Anatomy season 18?
ABC shared a promo for the season 18 premiere back in September, teasing Teddy and Owen’s wedding as well as Meredith’s doubts over her plans for the future.
Meanwhile, those excited for the return of Kate Walsh as Addison Montgomery are in luck as ABC released a sneak-peek of her grand entrance in episode three.
In a callback to her iconic introduction in the very first season, the clip shows Addison greeting the hospital staff with: “And you must be the group that’s been screwing up the programme.”
Is Grey’s Anatomy ending with season 18?
While Grey’s Anatomy season 18 has only just recently begun, fans are fretting that this could be the very last instalment of the long-running medical drama – however, it looks as though they needn’t worry.
According to TVLine, ABC sources have said that the network is hoping to continue Grey’s Anatomy for an extra season before ending the show.
That being said, deals secured by Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr are set to expire following the conclusion of season 18 so we’ll have to see what happens.
Plus – showrunner Krista Vernoff recently revealed on the At Home with the Creative Coalition podcast that she had plans to wrap up the drama.
“I have something percolating in my mind,” she said. “And the percolating changes. I had some ideas percolating during the first seven seasons. I used to pitch things to Shonda [Rhimes], and she’d go, ‘That’s a season eight idea,’ meaning, that’s the finale-season-of-the-show idea.
“And now, we blew so far past season eight, we’re in season 18. So your idea of where the characters are going to end changes every year. Every year, I never know if I’m writing the last season of the show, literally. I percolate new ideas every year. If we ended it this year, what would it be?”
Meanwhile, Ellen Pompeo told Entertainment Tonight that the Grey’s Anatomy team are “not far off [ending it]”.
“I mean, I’ve been trying to get away for years. I have been trying. It’s not because I haven’t been trying,” she said. “I have strong relationships at the network, and they have been very, very good to me and have incentivised me to stay. Miraculously, we keep coming up with ways to have a reason to stay, and if there’s a reason, that warrants it.”
What happened in Grey’s Anatomy season 17?
It was an emotional season for longtime viewers of Grey’s Anatomy as lead character Meredith Grey has been in a coma for much of it, suffering from a severe case of COVID-19.
The writers have prevented the show from becoming too bleak by gifting Meredith with some touching dream sequences as she lay unconscious, which have taken the form of picturesque beach reunions with long-absent friends.
The confirmed return of Ellen Pompeo always indicated that Meredith would wake up and recover from her illness, after some fans had worried she could succumb to her serious condition.
Meanwhile, in the real world, life at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital remains very busy indeed, with the one of the biggest developments being Jackson Avery’s decision to leave the medical facility.
Following recent traumatic events, he now strives to create “real racial equity” in medicine and will move to Boston in order to work towards that goal.
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In Jackson’s final episode, which aired in May 2021, Grey’s also bid farewell to another of its biggest personalities, that being Dr Tom Koracick (played by Greg Germann), who decided to team up with Jackson on his new endeavour.
However, Koracick isn’t leaving the medical drama permanently, as showrunner Krista Vernoff has confirmed the character will return as a guest star in the future.
Grey’s Anatomy seasons 1-16 are available to stream on Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.