When Does 'Grey's Anatomy' Come Back? Season 16 Return Date, Spoilers and Everything Else to Know
Surely, there's only one question on everyone's mind now that September has finally rolled around: When does Grey's Anatomy return?
The countdown to the ABC series' Season 16 premiere is already on. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and the rest of the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital gang will be back with new episodes on September 26 at 8 p.m. ET.
ABC recently released a first look at the upcoming season, hinting at tumultuous times ahead for a number of notable doctors on the show, particularly Meredith, who will be adjusting to life following her insurance fraud scandal last season.
Season 16 will pick up where Season 15 left off, although some sort of time warp is expected early in the season. Showrunner Krista Vernoff explained to TVLine that the premiere episode will address some of the most crucial cliffhangers of the Season 15 finale, like Jackson Avery's (Jesse Williams) sudden disappearance, Andrew DeLuca's (Giacomo Gianniotti) imprisonment, and Meredith, Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and Alex Karev's (Justin Chambers) firing.
After all those issues are explained, the Grey's Anatomy world will jump ahead in time. Vernoff didn't specify how much time would pass within the premiere hour, but she did hint that it would bring some clarity to Meredith's potential future with DeLuca. As fans may recall, during a prison visit in the Season 15 finale, Meredith revealed she, too, was in love with the young surgeon, even though she thought him taking the blame for her fraudulent activities was "stupid."
"They've got to navigate the complexities of a new relationship in the wake of Meredith having been fired and having broken the law," Vernoff said. "There are stressors on their very new relationship coming from the ramifications of those decisions last season."
While the premiere trailer hinted Meredith's new position—parole-ordered roadside clean-up—the episode synopsis teased that a plate full of new responsibilities will fall into Tom Koracick's (Greg Germann) lap. His new duties will reportedly "throw the doctors for a loop."
On a brighter note, Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) will excitedly bring their new bundle of joy home, although Teddy's entry into motherhood won't come without a few anxieties.
"I think where we're really leading to is how Teddy going from cardiothoracic surgeon, like bada** knowing how to do everything in that world, to entering into a world that she knows nothing about—and is she going to be a good mother?" Raver told E! News in August.
