The ABC medical drama, which has been set at Seattle Grace since the show's first season, will split its time between two locations in Season 9.
The harrowing and tragic season finale saw the Stranded Six — Meredith, Derek, Cristina, Mark, Arizona and Lexie — crash-land in the mountains, with Lexie subsequently succumbing to her injuries. (Apparently, she might not be the only one to die since Eric Dane is also exiting the series sometime next season). Even though there seemed to be no hope on the horizon in the closing moments of the finale, the doctors will eventually get rescued since the Season 9 premiere will jump ahead two to three months, executive producer Shonda Rhimes tells TVGuide.com. But that doesn't mean we won't see what transpired in those mountains. Get the scoop from Rhimes below, including Derek's new troubles, Bailey's wedding (!) and Calzona's fate:
You left the doctors in the woods without rescue! Will there be a time jump next season or are you picking up right where you left off?
Shonda Rhimes: We're doing something really interesting that we've never really done before. As you know, I try to reinvent every season. When we start the season, we're two to three months in the future and we're well settled into the year for these doctors. We're watching them do what they're going to do. They're located where they're going to be located, things are happening. You see the aftermath of what happened. You're left with some questions as to how this happened and "Why is this the way it is?" and "Why is that the way it is?" Then, in the second episode of the season, we start back in the woods. We go from there and you see what happens. Then ensuing episodes, you're back to regular time and we're back on our timeline.
What can you talk about in regards to the structure of this season? At the end of last season, the doctors planned to take jobs elsewhere, so are we seeing a show that's just set at Seattle Grace or are we seeing a show that is set at many hospitals?
Rhimes: We're seeing a show set at Seattle Grace and someplace else. What's interesting to me is that I didn't want us to feel like you're coming back and magically everyone is back home. You understand why some people stayed and why some people left. There are some very clear reasons what happened. It's very challenging playing an entirely separate story line in another location.
Can you tell us where this location is?
Rhimes: I don't want to say where the location is because that would be too spoilery. It's a hospital. When we come back at the beginning of the season, some of our doctors are in different locations, more than one of them, and some of our doctors are preparing to leave for different locations.
We've seen the doctors deal with PTSD after the shooting. How will this be different from what we saw before?
Rhimes: What's interesting to me about what we're doing this time is that it's not that we've traumatized them by having a plane crash like when they were shot. There are real physical aftereffects for all of our people that they're dealing with. More importantly, we're not coming back to a bunch of traumatized people, though flying is pretty much out of the question for any of them. I would say Meredith is an ultimate survivor. She's been through the shooting, and now she's been through the plane crash. Their attitudes are very different. They already have the coping mechanisms in place, so it's just a very different attitude.
Still, Meredith is dealing with the loss of her sister Lexie. How has Meredith changed?
Rhimes: You're going to find a very different person. We really talked about it a lot and really worked to figure out what she would be like when we came back to her. As importantly, they've gone from being residents to being Attendings. Now they're in charge. They're absolutely in charge of their own destinies and in charge of their own people. They're now on a footing with all these doctors who they used to work under so you're watching what that means for them, all of them.
Surgeons need their hands! We saw Derek severely injure his hand in the accident. How will we see him dealing with that?
Rhimes: Any of the people we saw injured are not going to be A-OK when we come back, that's not what we're doing. What's interesting for me is we really planned the idea that we're going to watch what happens to a doctor who can temporarily no longer perform surgery...When Burke injured his hand, it was very much about keeping it a secret. It's not about that. This is really, very clearly who you blame when your hand is injured like this. And what do you do and how do you overcome this? Derek is being pretty heroic about it, which is interesting.
What can you tell us about Cristina's journey next season? Are she and Owen really over or are there attempts to reconcile?
Rhimes: I've dubbed this the season of romance purposefully. I feel like one of the things we're going to be seeing this season is Cristina and Owen finding their way back to each other. It's not going to be easy and it's not going to be quick, but I think it's going to be really beautiful. I'm happy because I love them, so I'm excited.
Will Alex feel any sort of guilt over Arizona taking his place on the plane?
Rhimes: Yes, there is some very dark stuff happening for him in terms of that idea. He's trying not to feel guilty and trying not to feel a sense of responsibility, but he does.
You're saying it's the season of romance, so does that mean we'll see more Callie and Arizona romance? Just hoping Jessica Capshaw is coming back.
Rhimes: I don't want to say anything about that yet. The first episode would have to air and then I'm happy to talk about it, but I don't want to say anything yet.
What can you tell us about the state of Ben and Bailey's relationship next season since Jason George is on Mistresses?
Rhimes: We're still using Ben. Jason George is still showing up for work. We're very grateful to Mistresses for the loan. They're letting us continue to tell stories about Ben and Bailey. They're having a great deal of fun. A happy Bailey is delightful and very funny. It's interesting because in the finale, we originally shot a scene in which Ben showed up and said, "We're going to City Hall right now and getting married." We played it out, but I cut it from the show because there was something about it that I felt like denied the audience. They're not technically married at this moment, but we'll probably see that happen and really enjoy it.
How does April fit into the world of Grey's Anatomy now?
Rhimes: You won't see April Kepner bartending at Joe's bar. She has a part to play in the world and there are some surprising moments to show us how that happens. April Kepner goes home. How she comes back is pretty charming and interesting and it happens in the first episode.
The Hollywood Reporter: How are you approaching this season? In the past, you've known what the finale was and worked backward but last season because of all the uncertainty, it was split in two.
Shonda Rhimes: We know what the finale is and we're working backward from that. It's the usual way we work and we had a lot of fun last season but because we were unsure of a lot of things we were left with building a lot of things and it doesn't matter because we have a finale that's totally separate from what else is happening.
Could we see a time jump in the premiere?
Not a big one. We're doing something really interesting this year. Our first episode takes place two to three months after we left the finale, so you see the aftermath and where everyone ends up. The second episode jumps back and we're back in the woods, we start the episode back in the woods. To me, it's a very different way of telling the story and you have some questions about why people are the way they are and in the second episode you find out why things are the way they are.
Will you continue to play with that format throughout the season?
We're not. We don't have big plans to play with it back and forth. Even though we had a plane crash, this isn't Lost (laughs). We wanted to find a way to clearly and interestingly tell the story of who our character and why they are who they are.
What's the likelihood we could see additional fatalities or cast member departures?
I think that's possible, yes.
Could it be one of the five remaining plane crash survivors -- Arizona, Meredith, Cristina, Derek and Mark -- who don't make it?
I think any number of people could be departing at this point. That's left open.
Considering the way with the finale ended with Alex (Justin Chambers) and Jackson (Jesse Williams) both being accepted to other programs -- and Cristina, if she survives, could we see some of the season take place in other hospitals?
Yes, we could absolutely see some of the season take place somewhere else; that was always in the cards for us -- the idea that somebody would be somewhere else and we would see things play out that way. When we start the season, there are some doctors who are not at Seattle Grace and we will come to understand what that means as time goes on.
Might that be something that continues on for the length of the series?
I don't know that it's going to be the length of the series; we're going to do it for as long as it feels interesting to us for as long as we have story to tell in the way that we need to tell it. At the end of every season, I always say let's leave it on the table for next season and part of the reason for next season is what happens if a doctor is someplace else and what that means for our story and how that works.
Will there be a funeral for Lexie?
That was heartbreaking. I could have written for Chyler for the rest of my life; that was the hardest thing we did last year. We're not doing funerals this season, that's not part of the language of what we're trying to do this season. It's not about a funeral at all.
You mention funerals -- might there be a need for more than one?
There could be, but we're not doing them even if there were.
How will Mark's upcoming departure be handled?
I'm really proud of the way we're handing his exit. I really wanted and fought for that character to be given their due. I didn't want to come back to this season and say, "Mark Sloae is gone." I really wanted to give that character his due and we came up with a beautiful and creative way to showcase that and that goodbye.
How will his departure impact Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona and their shared family with him?
His departure impacts everybody. Mark is a teacher to Jackson, he's best friends with Derek, he's Callie's best friend, he's Sofia's father. It's going to be a big loss for everyone and I don't want to minimize that.
What shape will Meredith, Cristina and Derek be in mentally and emotionally when the season picks up?
It's surprising. Derek is coping with the loss of the use of his hand in surgery and what that might mean for him. I love the heroic way he deals with it, which is: Who are you if you're not the guy who operates. We really play with that and show what that means for him as a person. Meredith and Cristina are coping in ways that are both expected and unexpected for those characters.
It sounds like all three will survive the crash.
I can confirm to you that Meredith, Cristina and Derek survive.
Which leaves Arizona, who wasn't in great shape in the season finale. What's her heath status like when the season picks up?
I don't know that I want to talk about Arizona.
Arizona has a huge following in the LGBT community and you and Grey's have continued to get recognition from GLAAD. Any comment on the notion that Arizona could be leaving?
I was honored to receive two awards from GLAAD this year and I feel like that character is iconic to me at this point. The way people respond to that character and that relationship, there's something really beautiful about that. We don't make decisions lightly and I certainly don't make these decisions lightly. I really try to stick to what's best for story and what's best for the show and it's really sometimes difficult to do that but it's also sometimes really gratifying to that. We're doing what feels completely right and in line with where we've been and where we're going.
How is Arizona's fate going to impact Callie?
It's going to impact her hugely. We're going to spend a lot of time with Callie this season, there's a lot of story to be told there.
Cristina mentions during the finale that she's experiencing PTSD, is that something you're going to explore this season?
Cristina has been experiencing PTSD since the shooting and trying to cope with that. One of the things I love is that she and Owen experience PTSD at different times, but yes, we're going to really follow that. Not in the typical way that you'd think, although none of them are going to have an easy time getting on a plane again. No one is flying again anytime soon. We're watching her cope in the best way she knows how.
How will Lexie's death impact Meredith? Could we potentially see the return of dark and twisty Meredith from early Grey's Anatomy?
You're going to be surprised at the Meredith you see. I think there's a lot of growth there for the girl who drowned, put her hand on a bomb in a body cavity, the girl whose husband was shot in front of her. She's grown in a number of ways and the way that she's coping with the plane crash is very different from the Meredith you would have seen coping with the shooting and the Meredith who was coping with the bomb guy exploding -- she's a different person at this point.
Will Cristina still be there for her or will she be one of those who explore life outside of Seattle as she mentioned in the finale?
You'll have to wait and see.
Could we see Jeff Perry return as Meredith's father?
I've gone back and forth with that. We lost the chance to cross over the moment that Jeff Perry became both Meredith's father became Cyrus [on Rhimes' Scandal]. There's something very strange about watching Jeff Perry play Meredith's father at 9 p.m. then at 10 p.m. watch him play Cyrus.
How will Owen respond to his role in the crash after he held his calls in the finale and potentially delayed their rescue?
I don't think there's any guilt there. We're not playing with the idea that he did a terrible thing not taking his calls that day, that's not really an issue for us.
What kind of Seattle Grace will the docs be returning to, clearly it will be a bit depleted with a few people moving on.
It's going to be a very interesting place. We've been calling this season the season of romance and talking about playing up the romance of surgery and the romance between characters and the romance of friendships and really mining that as much as we can so it's not going to be a dark season.
What's next for April (Sarah Drew) now that she doesn't have a job?
When we come back to April, she's back home on the farm so how she gets back to us at the hospital is going to be a very interesting journey.
Will the Chief (James Pickens Jr.) and Adele's story continue to be explored?
We love Loretta Devine, so anytime we can get her we are thrilled. So yes. We have a really beautiful and painful journey that we want to really have a chance to watch and see.
You've added a couple recurring characters in Camilla Luddington and Gaius Charles. Will they be doctors at Seattle Grace or elsewhere?
People keep asking me about these guest stars. We didn't add series regulars, these are guest stars who are coming on to be guest stars. I prefer not to discuss guest stars at this time.
Source 1
Source 2