Grey’s Anatomy Premiere Thursday September 25 @ 9 PM on ABC
Grey’s Anatomy show runner and creator Shonda Rhimes spoke with the Associated Press about what to expect on this upcoming season, and how will deal with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd’s (Patrick Dempsey) happy reunion in the last moments of the season finale. Where the couple reunited after Meredith saw the light about her commitment issues after therapy. The couple kissed on Derek’s hill top land, filled with candles that Meredith used to outline their future home.
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| In this image released by ABC, Patrick Dempsey, left, and Ellen Pompeo are shown in a scene from, “Grey’s Anatomy,” premiering, Sept. 25, 2008, at 9:00 p.m. EDT on the ABC Television Network. (AP Photo/ABC, Eric McCandless) |
“We ended last season with the end of the fairy tale. I always thought this season was about what happens after the ‘happily ever after,’ for all our characters,” Rhimes describes. “For some, it’s about jumping off into something new. It feels like a very fresh start for everybody,” Rhimes said.
ABC released a number of promos that have upset fans, including one where Derek is in a car accident and killed after leaving Meredith, and another where Rose (Lauren Stamile) confronts Derek telling him “I wish there were a good way to say this: I’m carrying your child.” The admission stunned Derek as much it has stunned and angered fans. If true, this could ruin the Mer-Der reunion fans have been hoping for this season.
In an ABC podcast in May, Rhimes said Rose isn’t pregnant, and was later quoted as saying she wouldn’t deceive “Grey’s” loyalists. Leaked spoilers have proved that Lauren Stamile is in fact leaving the show after the premiere; her character will be gone, but it’s uncertain how the line fits into the show. As previously reported by Michael Ausiello two of the following are supposed to happen in the premiere with one a dream and the other reality:
A. Rose stabs Derek.
B. Derek suffers a heart attack and is visited by the ghost of Denny.
C. Dr. Burke returns to Seattle Grace and shoots Derek in the face before turning the gun on himself.
D. In a flashback, we learn that Derek got into a car accident shortly after leaving Meredith in the candle field.
Still despite these scenarios, Rhimes says that season five will be more upbeat, “We’ve settled in from all the attention paid and all the hoopla. We feel like we’re back to where we were in seasons one and two, in the sense that the writers feel a little bit fearless,” Rhimes said. “We know our characters so well at this point that now is the time to take chances.”
Also Rhimes said both she and Grey’s Anatomy benefited from the Hollywood writer’s strike. “It was the first time in four-and-a-half years I wasn’t working nonstop. It was a chance to sleep and clear my brain. … I know what happens next for these characters in a way I hadn’t known before.”
What is for certain that Meredith and Derek are definitely traveling down the road to commitment, but it won’t be smooth. (Obviously, without rough patches there is no show)
Also revealed was a new character including the new doctor Kevin McKidd, a military doctor who Rhimes said “makes an impression” on Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh). And guest stars including Bernadette Peters and Kathy Baker, and Mary McDonnell who is in advanced talks to join the drama for a multi-episode guest arc, according to ABC.
Rhimes also discussed Katherine Heigl (Dr. Izzie Stevens) and assured the press and fans that despite rumors to the contrary Heigl is not leaving the show. Heigl did not submit her name for Emmy consideration this year because the show did not write Emmy worthy material for her character, after her win last year for Best Supporting Actress Drama. “Talk? Who?” Rhimes responds, “We have every intention of seeing Katherine for the entire season.” And after being asked if Heigl asked to leave the show Rhimes responded, “No, she has not.”
Commenting on Grey’s Anatomy’s off screen drama notably Isiah Washington’s slur towards T.R Knight which prompted Washington’s exit. “I have to say we’ve been through a lot,” Rhimes said. She attributes it to “the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ phenomenon,” in which a “bunch of lovely and young actors” must learn to cope with the sudden fame a TV hit brings. “These are people who went from living their lives to not being able to walk down the street without paparazzi being able to follow them wherever they go,” she said.
Rhimes herself has grown accustomed to the fame, Grey’s was her first foray as a show producer, she now also produces its spin-off “Private Practice” and feels “everybody has grown up together.” “I drive my little golf cart over to the set and everybody is just really happy. … So it’s nice to see that we’re growing into it,” Rhimes continued. “I would be shocked if there were no more surprises,” she said. “It’s the nature of the beast. I don’t necessarily feel the same about ‘Private Practice.’ I just feel like this particular show is its own animal. … If it’s a calm day, we’re suspicious.”
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