As the 2026 TV schedule pushes on, Grey’s Anatomy is entering its 23rd season, meaning fans are getting reacquainted with their favorite doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial. Of course, the season has already kicked off with an intense trauma, steamy romance and surprising twists, but through all of this, I still have one question. With Grey’s officially back, where does the upcoming spinoff stand? I’ve been looking for an update, and someone finally asked the executive producer.
ABC announced in May that it had ordered a Texas-based offshoot of Grey’s Anatomy. This marks the third spinoff of the long-running medical drama, following Private Practice and Station 19. The news definitely came as a surprise to me, and the series set to premiere during midseason 2027. It’s set in rural West Texas at a medical center, but not many details have been released, including a premiere date or a title. Grey’s showrunner Meg Marinis, who co-created the spinoff with Shonda Rhimes, recently shared an update with The Hollywood Reporter that will make fans happy:
We are working away. I can’t say much, but we’re far enough along where I’m really, really excited. We’re digging into the actual communities and true stories of what happens out in rural West Texas. There’s so much going on there that I haven’t seen on TV. I’m thrilled to be able to dive into that world. It’s so different from Grey’s. It’s related to Grey’s, but its stories are going to be different.
Considering how many medical dramas are currently on TV and how prevalent they've been over the years, I was skeptical at first. But, since it seems like the new series will be tackling subject matter that other medical shows have not, and throwing that against the backdrop of rural West Texas, I’m definitely intrigued. I’m even more eager to how this show is going to be connected to Grey’s Anatomy and how it will also differ from its parent show.
Considering Grey’s has had two successful spinoffs in Private Practice and Station 19, which ran for six seasons and seven seasons, respectively, I wonder if this show might have similar longevity. With three successful shows in the Grey’s franchise at this point, it's fair to wonder if the creative team feels pressure to keep the momentum going. But, when it comes to making the new spinoff, there's a special element for Marinis that goes beyond lessons learned from previous shows:
The only lessons are good lessons from those two. They were very successful spinoffs with hardcore fan followings. I loved both of them. This one is something dear to my heart [Marinis is from Houston, Texas] and being on a medical show like Grey’s, and hearing a lot about what’s happening in medical deserts, it’s hard to show that in Seattle. I’ve always been really interested in showing it, and in doing a small town show in Texas.
Since this is a spinoff and there are connections to Grey’s Anatomy, many people, like myself, have been wondering just how the new series will debut. While Marinis couldn’t give any proper updates since things are still being worked on, she did make sure to note that both shows are getting the proper attention they deserve:
We have thoughts based on airing schedule and things like that, but we’re still working it out, also because there are so many things going on on Grey’s, I want to make sure to do it where it’s servicing both shows equally.
As of now, it’s unknown how many episodes Grey’s Anatomy will be getting this season, but there have been reports that the drama could be getting a shorter season to make room for the spinoff. With the 9-1-1 franchise taking up two-thirds of ABC’s Thursday slot and possibly airing full seasons, there’s no telling what things will look like in the new year. What is clear is that the Grey’s franchise is not going anywhere any time soon, and I'm hopeful about what's to come with the spinoff.
In the meantime, though, new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy air on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription.
