Grey's Anatomy didn't kill off April Kepner, in the silver lining to writing her off the show in the Season 14 finale. It was a shock to fans when it was announced that both Sarah Drew's April and Jessica Capshaw's Arizona would be leaving at the end of last season. The characters are both still alive, though, and April is now married to Matthew. April doesn't work at Grey Sloan anymore, but she's still in the Seattle area (unlike Arizona). So, as Jesse Williams noted, it would make perfect sense to see April again as she and Jackson Avery co-parent their daughter Harriet:
April is local and we share a kid together, so it would be an opportunity to highlight what it is to be a co-parent, or what it is for April to be a third wheel in my relationship with Maggie. It's real-life. Most marriages end in divorce which means new people come into our lives and you have to co-exist. You don't see a lot of that on broadcast television.
Jesse Williams is right. And the show did leave that door open by keeping April in the area. Right now, Grey's Anatomy Season 15 is doing the awkward love triangle baby mama thing with Teddy, Owen, and Amelia, but this storyline with Jackson and April has the potential to be more mature and realistic. Grey's doesn't often do realistic, let's be honest, but it would be a refreshing break from the rest of the drama.
Right now, Grey's Anatomy Season 15 has given Jackson a couple of complications -- his mother Catherine is potentially dying of cancer, and he's having trouble in his fledgling relationship with (stepsister) Maggie. April could actually be a safe haven for him, with her faith and her friendship.
The snag there is that Sarah Drew did seem pretty hurt on her way out of Grey Sloan. She said it would be "hard" to return after being written off the show, supposedly for creative reasons to "downsize" characters. Meaning they couldn't come up with a good storyline for April even though Jesse Williams just shared a perfectly fine storyline during a chat with TVLine. Plus, they keep adding characters, so how are they downsizing? Anyway...
Here's what Sarah Drew told Entertainment Tonight in October 2018, when asked if she'd ever consider returning to Grey's Anatomy:
I'll never say never because they are my family. I still love everyone over there. I love that community and I still have such an incredible space in my heart for everyone over there. But I really do feel like, because of how it went down, I really had to part ways with April, I just had to. There was no way for me to live in a space of possibility of her returning and also be healthy in my letting go of all of it, so I really have said goodbye to her.
Time may heal that wound, but it's too soon to expect that in Season 15. At this point, we know there will at least be a Grey's Anatomy Season 16, since Ellen Pompeo's contract as Meredith Grey extends through that season. After that? It's not clear. Pompeo said she'll leave when the ratings go down, and so far the ratings seem pretty strong.
Grey's Anatomy Season 15 has some extra episodes to burn through this year, and there's a lot to look forward to ... and dread, like more devastating patient deaths and watching Meredith choose the wrong guy. Grey's airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, as one of the many shows competing for your attention in midseason 2019.
