ABC's New Grey's Anatomy Spinoff Is Already Set Up For Success Better Than Station 19

2 weeks ago 11

Meredith holding her phone in Grey's Anatomy

Published May 26, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT

Laura Hurley has been writing about the entertainment industry for more than twelve years, after a decade as a content producer and editor at CinemaBlend after writing for WhatCulture and Examiner. Attending events like SCAD TVfest and San Diego Comic-Con over the course of her career, she has been immersed in the world of network, streaming, and cable TV.

Grey's Anatomy has spent more than 20 years delivering every kind of crisis and tragedy imaginable to the city of Seattle, and even once had a spinoff to raise the stakes even higher for the people who live in Meredith Grey's world in Washington state. That world expanded further with the spinoff titled Station 19, and now another show set in that TV universe is on the way from ABC.

Add on the success of ABC's 9-1-1 franchise when it comes to launching spinoffs, and the new project has a lot going for it already compared to Station 19, which ended for good in 2024. However, there are enough key differences from Station 19 that the new Grey's Anatomy spinoff has a better recipe for long-term success. The project will be a fresh start for the franchise in many ways, as the medical action will take place in rural Texas at a hospital where the doctors have challenges that the surgeons at Grey Sloan never have to deal with.

Grey's Anatomy's Texas Spinoff Isn't Reliant On The Flagship (Like Station 19 Was)

Ben and Webber looking worried in Grey's Anatomy

While details about the kinds of characters who will be front and center in the spinoff are scarce at the time of writing, the hospital will be located in a remote enough area of West Texas that it's the last chance for care for many miles. There are expected to be connections to the original show, with Deadline reporting that Grey's Anatomy's Catherine Fox, played by Debbie Allen, could appear to keep the two projects connected.

But it's already clear that the new show isn't going to be as reliant on Grey's Anatomy as Station 19 was, thanks to that remote West Texas setting. Station 19 even launched by bringing a Grey's Anatomy doctor over to the Seattle Fire Department to try his hand at becoming a firefighter. (Jason George's Dr. Ben Warren returned to Grey Sloan after Station 19 ended.) The two series aired back-to-back on ABC's Thursday nights and frequently crossed over.

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In fact, they so frequently crossed over that it often felt like a requirement to watch both shows just to keep track of what was happening. Even if you loved Station 19 but didn't care about Grey's Anatomy (or vice versa), you had to watch both. It became both exhausting and frustrating by the end. Station 19 truly did feel a lot more like a direct offshoot of the original than Kate Walsh's Private Practice ever did.

Station 19 admittedly was a solid hit for ABC, with a run of seven seasons and 105 episodes. Still, even now, it only feels like Station 19 became so successful because it was so closely connected to Grey's Anatomy, to the point that it's not even surprising if Station 19 characters pop up on the ongoing show.

Why A Texas-Based Grey's Anatomy Spinoff Is Better Than Another Show Set In Seattle

Grey's Anatomy's Harry Shum Jr. as Benson Blue Kwan and Jason George as Ben Warren

Setting a spinoff in Texas really requires it to start from scratch, regardless of whether Catherine Fox or any other Grey's Anatomy characters suddenly feel the need to visit the rural Southwest. Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver didn't leave the parent series to star as Owen and Teddy in the spinoff, as some might have expected after news of their exits broke. The new show is starting with such a blank slate that ABC hasn't even confirmed the title just yet.

It'll be a fresh take on a franchise that has already tried spinoffs that have strong ties to Grey's Anatomy. Private Practice was another hit for ABC, and it was set in Los Angeles rather than practically right next door to Grey Sloan in Seattle, like Station 19 was. Still, with Kate Walsh reprising her role as Addison Montgomery, Private Practice's ties to Grey's Anatomy were impossible to ignore.

The franchise certainly has a history of using existing characters to launch new entries in the franchise. Both of the two hit spinoffs so far have had such strong connections to Grey's Anatomy that Jackson reuniting with April seemed like a setup for a Japril spinoff set in Boston, with Jesse Williams commenting on the spinoff possibility.

The Texas series could launch without any pre-existing romantic entanglements or fans already feeling loyal to some characters more than others. The new location could help it feel like a totally new show while still part of the same universe. That approach worked for several seasons of 9-1-1: Lone Star, and is now working again for ABC with 9-1-1: Nashville.

How Grey's Anatomy's Texas Spinoff Can Connect To The Flagship

Grey Sloan doctors looking skeptical in Grey's Anatomy

None of this is to say that setting the medical drama action in Texas means the spinoff will only feel slightly connected to Grey's Anatomy. In addition to the rumor that Catherine Fox could be a bridge between them, there are plenty of other veterans from the original shows (as well as Station 19 and Private Practice) who could appear. Both Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew appeared on Grey's Anatomy after exiting the show as series regulars, and Kate Walsh has dropped in and out over the years, as just a few examples. The spinoff could do something similar.

If the two hospitals are connected in an administrative capacity, as Catherine's inclusion might suggest, then occasional crossovers between Grey's Anatomy and its newest offshoot could make much more sense than those between 9-1-1 and its spinoffs. Sure, doctors from Texas might not be the best fit to fly up to Seattle in the event of a ferry crisis or the latest hospital explosion, and the rural setting makes it sound like a log to get any Grey Sloan doctors to the new hospital. But connections are there.

And frankly, there are enough former Grey's Anatomy stars from the past 22 seasons that it's not hard to imagine some of them being up for at least a recurring guest stint. The new project could be connected enough to the original that existing fans will love it, without episodes regularly feeling like half of a two-parter, like what happened with Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy. The freshman series and season 23 are expected to air back-to-back on Thursdays in 2027, so ABC is giving the Texas-set spinoff the strongest push possible for next year.