Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 begins with a predicament that will feel tonally familiar to longtime fans. After sneaking out of a disciplinary meeting, will-they-won’t-they duo Simone (Alexis Floyd) and Lucas (Niko Terho) encounter a medical emergency, and end up trapped in an ambulance.
Clearly, the new interns are living up to their forebears’ legacy.
“You think your class wasn’t as bad as this one?” Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) asks Meredith in the March 14 episode, as she lists off the original group’s various transgressions. “And look at me now,” says a successful Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), who’s on the verge of curing Alzheimer’s. But as her mentor playfully urges, “Remember how you got there.”
It’s a key theme for Grey’s Anatomy’s new season, which new showrunner Meg Marinis has described as “back to basics.”
“Sometimes, when you go through huge moments at work, you have to remember, Why do I love this, and why did I start this to begin with?” she tells Bustle. “It’s going back and remembering why you love what you do.”
Marinis, who started on Grey’s in 2006 as a writer’s production assistant, steps into the new role following Krista Vernoff’s departure last year. She takes the helm at an exciting moment of reset. Season 20 is the first without Pompeo as a series regular.
“She’s still really invested in the show. She’s still doing the voiceover,” Marinis says of Pompeo’s trademark monologues. “Now that [Meredith] is in this medical superstar role, it’s fun to see her interact with the new characters. She’s an icon to them.”
And Meredith isn’t the only Grey’s idol gracing the hospital halls this season. Below, Marinis opens up about Arizona’s return, Easter eggs, and a nerve-racking Season 11 storyline.
Which specific era from the show are hoping to capture the spirit of?
Season 1, when Meredith and all of them were interns. I love telling stories with interns. Attendings shouldn’t be messing up all the time, but interns can, and that’s really fun to write.
Looking back, are there storylines that made the writers room especially nervous?
Gosh, yes. When we broke up Callie and Arizona. I was like, We’re gonna get chased down the streets. Because they were such an iconic couple. It was my episode that they had that 30-day break, and they ended up not being together. And I mean, Twitter hated me. It was the right story at the time, but I remember the feeling in the room. It was like, We’re gonna do this, and it’s gonna be really hard.
Speaking of Arizona, can you talk about the decision to bring Jessica Capshaw back this season?
We haven’t seen her in a very long time. When it was pitched in the writers room, it was in conjunction with a story that really made sense. All the stars aligned. It was so nice to have her back. It felt like she’d never left, just hearing Jessica’s laugh on stage.
Do you have a favorite memory of working with Shonda Rhimes?
She was always so great about sharing her excitement for the stories. It would be a late night, and she’d be working on post, and she would pull me, the PA, into her office and say, “Listen to these three songs with me, and help me choose which one goes over Act 5.” And you’re like, Oh my god.
How has making Grey’s changed in the past 20 years?
Well, medicine has changed. The stories we were telling about Alzheimer’s 20 years ago, we’re not doing those treatments anymore. Workplaces are also different. I feel like 20 years ago, you’d hear horror stories about somebody throwing an instrument. I don’t hear those stories anymore when we talk to real doctors. I mean, I’d hope it’s different in hospitals, but at least in ours, it’s different.
Then we have that power dynamic. It’s not to say we don’t do [doctors dating higher-ups] anymore, but the show calls attention to how it can bring problems.
Grey’s has had many celebrity guest stars. Do you have favorite memories of working with them?
The most memorable guest star for me was Geena Davis. I was in awe the whole time. Beanie Feldstein loves this show so much — she’s a bigger fan than anyone — and she was running around the sets, so excited to be there. We had Jurnee Smollett on Season 4, and she was so lovely.
I hear you’re a Grey’s encyclopedia. Can you share any Easter eggs fans should look for on a rewatch?
There’s one episode in Season 6 when Jackson and April had just joined. The class had merged from Mercy West, and they were all working on a woman who was dying from smoke inhalation. There were so many people around the bed trying to save her. And we always try to give them medical business so it looks like the doctors are busy. But there’s one overhead shot — and I’ve laughed at this with Jesse Williams — but it looks like Jesse’s just tucking in the sheets and not doing anything. That’s one I always laugh about.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
