BaseOps

Looks like there's some actual Alex / Jo stuff coming up. They have two bits in the new first-look promo.

Yet another new description, this one only for the first hour, along with a batch of promo photos. "Break Down the House" - Meredith and the team are focused on helping Owen's sister after her shocking return, and Amelia faces a conflict over a patient. Meanwhile, Bailey is forced to give Grey Sloan a facelift after the fire, and the doctors are introduced to a few new faces that spice things up around the hospital, on "Grey's Anatomy". Full batch of photos for the first hour here.

Slightly different description for the premiere: "Meredith struggles to come up with a new plan for Owen’s sister. Jo makes a surprising choice regarding Alex, and Andrew’s sister’s controversial research leads to a shocking discovery. Guest starring is Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Abigail Spencer as Megan Hunt and Stefania Spampinato as Carina DeLuca."

I had to pause for a second when I read 'Andrew', too. I assumed we wouldn't see her for a few episodes, but I'm guessing she'll pop up in the second hour of the premiere rather than the first since they seem to have been written as two episodes rather than an actual two-parter.

GREY'S ANATOMY TWO-HOUR SEASON 14 PREMIERE 14.01 / 14.02: "Break Down The House" / "Get Off On The Pain" - Meredith and the team focus on helping Owen's sister; Amelia faces a conflict over a patient; Jo makes a surprising choice; Andrew's sister's controversial research leads to a shocking discovery.

Richard was electrocuted in the S9 finale; in the premiere, Brooks went to get him and got electrocuted. It's actually been pretty all over the place in terms of how new interns are dealt with. The first batch came with Lexi in S4; she was the only intern to become a series regular, but many of them stuck around as background characters for years (Pierce and Graciela for 3 seasons, Steve for 5, etc.), then in season 9 we got Jo, Shane, Steph, Brooks, and Leah, all of whom became regulars in S10 aside from Brooks, and then Shane and Leah both left after S10. Along with DeLuca we got Cross and Spencer; DeLuca became a regular, and Cross has appeared as a recurring guest through S13, while Spencer only appeared in 11 & 12. Aside from all of them, we've had tons of random background interns appear in random scenes or episodes here and there. There's an intern named Hannah, for example, who has appeared in multiple episodes of season 12 & 13 (she is played by Debbie Allen's daughter Vivian Nixon). Basically, time will tell what happens with the interns. At this point there's no real pattern as to how they're dealt with.

The last time anyone died in a finale was Lexi in season 8.

Still, @Chas411, we will have a lot of new/fresh blood within the first few eps; - Megan - At least 3 interns - DeLuca's sister - Teddy Plus eventually Jo's husband (from a recent interview with Camila, it sounds like he isn't around for the first few episodes, so maybe he pops up a bit later?). I'm optimistic about the new season, though, with most of the cast saying the same thing - it feels much fresher, lighter, and more sexy and fun. Under Vernoff, I think we'll see a return to more structured storytelling and hopefully get more payoff and less doom & gloom.

It's pretty routine to get a full new batch of interns. Most won't stick around (remember DeLuca's class?). And, actually, I think the report I read was wrong - it may be 3 new interns, because I did some digging and one of the actresses was wearing pink scrubs, which makes me believe she's just a one-off guest star working in OB. Here's one of the new male interns;

4 new interns are being introduced as recurring guest stars; 2 male, 2 female.

Official poster for S14.

Megan (and Teddy!) will be around until at least episode 5. Here's the actual quote from EW: What do you have on Grey's Anatomy? You may have heard that Grey's Anatomy is heading into a lighter season, but trust me when I tell you that there will be some shocking news by the end of the two-hour premiere that will really make you question, well, everything.

There's apparently some shocking news / a big twist near the end of the 2-hour premiere.

I was hoping this would never be spoken of again. From EW: Should we be worried about Joluca on Grey’s Anatomy? Since the season is picking up right where we left off, DeLuca’s feelings for Jo certainly have not gone away. “It’s something that’s going to continue to be brought up until it has some resolution,” Giacomo Gianniotti says. “He’s aware that he jumped the gun a bit on a woman who was very fresh out a relationship, went through a very traumatic experience, is running from a very traumatic experience, and he jumped the gun a little bit. He needed to give her some space and time alone to figure out and sort through her emotions, and maybe then she’d be in a better place to open her life to someone new.”

Totally forgot about Ben's brother. I wonder why they never continued that.

Where is the new season of Grey’s Anatomy picking up? Right where we left off, so everyone is still reeling in the wake of the finale explosion. But it won’t be long before there’s a shakeup at Grey Sloan. “There’s obviously some damage to the hospital,” Kelly McCreary says. “But it is, in true Grey’s Anatomy style, a completely surmountable obstacle, because we are superhuman doctors. It serves more as a metaphor of the transformation that the show is going to go through tonally. It’s lighter this season. The hospital definitely is undergoing some changes in the form of a new crop of students coming in. It’ll look a bit different in certain areas, and some relationships have come to an end or are blossoming, so repairing the damage is more of a metaphor.”

From TVLine: “We will absolutely explore Jo’s story more,” Camilla Luddington told me at TCA when I hand-delivered your Qs. “I know that with the domestic violence storyline, we want to show the spectrum of emotional damage that can do to someone — what their triggers may be, how it affects past and future relationships, the details of what she experienced — and hopefully show recovery and healing. It will be very intense to play but I feel honored to be given the opportunity to tackle something so complex.” As for the mentor matter, although Callie is now gone, “this season Jo may feel inspired by someone again,” ventures the actress, who also has heard “rumblings” that Jo will (finally) brave her boards in Season 14.

Matthew Morrison (AKA Jo's husband) is returning. From a new interview: What do you see as your next act? Matthew: It’s been a crazy ride since the show. I have a big role in “Grey’s Anatomy” coming up.

Apparently they were filming for up to 14x07, so there's time for build-up. Justin and Ellen also filmed some scenes together, including one alone having a meal. There was also a scene of Alex jogging, so I wonder if we might be getting an Alex-centric episode at some point.

Unless it's a dream sequence, they're definitely getting back together. Apparently the Seattle shoots were for multiple episodes from the premiere to 13x07.

Several actors - Ellen, Justin, Jesse, Camilla, Jason, Chandra, and Kevin, at least - were filming on-location in Seattle. Ellen was seen shooting on a Ferry Boat. Apparently the Seattle shoots were for episode 7 of the season, which will be the series' 300 episode. Tons of photos, videos & tidbits here: https://twitter.com/i/moments/888205716858839040 There's some Alex and Jo kissing....

She asked to leave the show in S8, and she also has a guest arc coming up on Ray Donovan. There's no way she's coming back as a regular.

The premiere is called "Break Down the House", written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Debbie Allen. Thursday, September 28 8:00-10:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy” (two-hour premiere).

Buzz will definitely pick up as we get closer to the season; promos don't drop until early September, and since they just got back on set this week, there hasn't really been much chatter yet. Plus, more so than when Grey's started, there's so much TV now, and as a result the big TV websites (EW, TVLine, etc.) have lots of others shows to dominate their articles, whereas 10 years ago there weren't nearly as many summer series so they'd start talking about fall shows much earlier.

The Grey's fandom is still one of the most active online; I write for a TV website where Grey's is frequently among the most discussed, and almost always with the top 10 shows getting the most hits. If you look on Twitter, there's very rabid fan discussions / arguments / shipping, etc. I think the place of discussion has just moved from message boards to social media with a younger generation.