Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, later briefly renamed Seattle Grace–Mercy West Hospital then the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. The series premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The show's title is a mixture of the protagonist's surname and the title of the classic human anatomy textbook Gray's Anatomy. Writer Shonda Rhimes developed the pilot and served as showrunner, head writer, and executive producer until stepping down in 2015. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia.

The original cast consisted of nine star-billed actors: Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T. R. Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Isaiah Washington, and Patrick Dempsey. For most of its run, the series revolves around Dr. Meredith Grey (Pompeo), chronicling her progression from surgical intern to fully-qualified doctor to the hospital's chief of general surgery. The cast has undergone major changes throughout the series' run, with only three original members remaining by the 19th season – Pompeo, Wilson, and Pickens. Pompeo stepped back from the series in its 19th season, at which point the show shifted to more of an ensemble format. ABC announced the show had been renewed for a twenty-first season in April 2024. In April 2025, the show was renewed for a twenty-second season. Grey's Anatomy has two spin-off series: Private Practice (2007–2013) and Station 19 (2018–2024).

Grey's Anatomy is the longest-running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC, and the longest scripted primetime series carried by ABC. Its success catapulted many series regulars, including Pompeo, Oh, and Dempsey, to worldwide recognition; they were among the five highest-earning television actors in 2013. Once among the overall top-ten shows in the United States, the show's ratings have fallen, although as of 2017^[update] it was still one of the highest-rated shows among the 18–49 demographic. The show also does well on streaming television; as of February 2023^[update], Grey's Anatomy was ranked the 10th most popular on-demand program.

Grey's Anatomy has been well received by critics throughout much of its run and has been included in various critics' year-end top 10 lists. Since its inception, the show has been described by the media outlets as a television "phenomenon" or a "juggernaut", owing to its longevity and dominant ratings. It is considered to have had a significant effect on popular culture and has received numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and a total of 38 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including 2 for Outstanding Drama Series. The cast members have also received accolades for their individual performances.

The series follows the life of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), the daughter of world renowned general surgeon Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), starting from her acceptance into the surgical residency program at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital (later named Seattle Grace Mercy West, and finally, Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital). During her time as an intern, Grey works alongside fellow physicians Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O'Malley (T. R. Knight), who each struggle to balance their personal lives with hectic schedules and stressful residency requirements. During their internship, they are overseen by Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), a senior resident, who works with attending physicians Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), head of neurosurgery and Meredith's love interest, and Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), head of cardiothoracic surgery and Yang's eventual fiancé. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), Chief of Surgery and attending general surgeon, is the former lover of Ellis Grey. During the first six seasons, Burke, O'Malley, and Stevens all depart the series.

In addition to Webber, Burke, and Shepherd, the surgical wing is primarily supervised by Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), Shepherd's ex-wife and the head of OB/GYN, neonatal and fetal surgery who leaves for Los Angeles at the end of Season 3; Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), head of plastic surgery and also certified in ENT surgery; Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), a resident who later becomes head of orthopedic surgery and leaves Seattle for New York at the end of Season 12; Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), as head of cardiothoracic surgery and Burke's replacement, who leaves Seattle Grace in Season 5 after a disagreement with Torres; Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), as head of trauma surgery who later marries and divorces Yang; Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), as head of pediatric surgery, and later head of maternal/fetal surgery who marries Torres; Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), as head of cardiothoracic surgery who departs at the end of Season 8 but returns in Season 14, later marrying Hunt; and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), Derek's sister, who is hired to replace him as head of neurosurgery.

Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), Meredith's paternal half-sister, joins the residency program in season 4 until her death with her love interest Sloan in a plane crash at the end of Season 8, after which Seattle Grace is renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in their memory. Former Mercy West residents April Kepner (Sarah Drew) and Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) join Seattle Grace following a hospital merger in Season 6. Other additions include Leah Murphy (Tessa Ferrer), who departs at the end of Season 10 but returns during Season 13; Shane Ross (Gaius Charles), who leaves with Yang to work in Zürich, Switzerland, in the Season 10 finale; Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton), who resigns at the end of Season 13; Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), who has a tumultuous romantic relationship with Karev; Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), the former love interest of Meredith's maternal half-sister Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) who also served as head of cardiothoracic surgery; and Ben Warren (Jason George), an anesthesiologist-turned resident-turned firefighter who marries Bailey.

Season 11 sees the deeply impactful death of Derek Shepherd. In Season 12, attending cardiovascular surgeon Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson) joins the show, and later briefly becomes Meredith's love interest. In the early episodes of Season 14, Tom Koracick (Greg Germann), an attending neurosurgeon, begins making appearances and Riggs leaves the series to start a life with Owen's long-lost sister Megan (Abigail Spencer); by the season finale, Robbins, Kepner and Warren also depart the show, with Warren joining the fire department featured on Station 19 before returning after the end of that series.