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Are you ready for another ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ spinoff?
ABC Network’s president, Channing Dungey announced on Tuesday as part of the network’s upfront presentation, that Shondaland will be spinning off ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ once again, this time centering on a group of heroic firefighters. Stacy McKee will serve as showrunner on the drama from Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers.
This spinoff follows ‘Private Practice,’ which ended its run after six seasons. The series, produced also by Rhimes and Beers, revolved around Kate Walsh’s character Addison by the time she left Seattle Grace Hospital to begin a new life in Los Angeles. Rhimes and Beers will executive produce the new untitled project as well.
The new spinoff, like ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ will take place in Seattle, focusing on firefighters from the captain down ranks in their professional and personal lives. Although it’s still unclear from which episode the series will launch out of, it has been said that the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 13 finale is set to feature an explosion at the hospital, which would make total sense.
“No one can interweave the jeopardy firefighters face in the line of duty with the drama in their personal lives quite like Shonda, and ‘Grey’s signature Seattle setting is the perfect backdrop for this exciting spinoff,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement on Tuesday.
McKee will serve as writer and executive producer, too. She has written some of the most memorable ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ episodes but has recently departed the series, leaving Krista Vernoff as exec producer. An episode count and a launch date have not yet been determined.
As ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ comes to an end, a spinoff is really convenient
The decision to create a spinoff of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ comes as the show, in its 13th season, continues to be ABC’s best performer, ranking as the network’s No. 1 scripted drama. That’s not as common as you may think.
Moreover, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ was moved to open Thursdays at 8 p.m., setting the start of an ABC’s Rhimes-produced night of programming, which also includes ‘Scandal’ – which is heading to an ending after seven seasons – and ‘How to Get Away With Murder.’
The new spinoff also means Rhimes will have again at least five shows on ABC’s schedule, including ‘Grey’s,’ ‘Scandal,’ ‘How to Get Away With Murder,’ and upcoming ‘For The People.’ If ‘Still Star-Crossed,’ which was picked up last year and will debut later this year, gets a renewal, Rhimes would have six shows on the air at the same time.
Rhimes has been considering other spinoffs of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Scandal’ for a few years now. Back in 2013, she told The Hollywood Reporter that she had been exploring Kevin McKidd’s character Owen, his history in the military and his PTSD.
“Every once in a while, I come up with a crazy idea. When we did our war episode where we saw Owen’s past and the history of his PTSD, I always thought that was an amazing world, with the idea of a MASH unit. There are a lot of different worlds for a spinoff,” Rhimes said.
About the ‘Scandal’ spinoff, she has been thinking about Joe Morton’s B613 storyline.
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