Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 19 on Netflix, The Last Rounds Of Meredith Grey

Yes, it’s hard to believe that Grey’s Anatomy is still on the air but it is! Now on its 19th season and dealing with its star Ellen Pompeo walking away from the series, the ABC drama has even more to prove. Luckily, the writers went back to the basics and leaned on the hallmarks of the long-running show. Season 19 is now on Netflix — is it worth the binge?

GREY’S ANATOMY – SEASON 19: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A group of new faces rush to their first day at work as interns at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital repeating familiar beats, including one intern who has already slept with an attending.

The Gist: Centered on the surgical interns, residents, and attendings at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, Grey’s Anatomy’s 19th season introduces a new intern class that all have shades of the show’s original cast. Elsewhere in the hospital, Meredith and on-and-off boyfriend Nick have to confront the status of their relationship; Webber finds a new intern to take under his wing; Amelia deals with another family member entering the medical profession; and Bailey remains on leave, taking a much needed break from the high stress profession.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? This might be cheating, but the 19th season of the show reminds us of…the early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. With a new emphasis on the interns, the show is finally getting back to what made it such a standout when it premiered almost 20 years ago.

Our Take: Most television shows aren’t built to run more than five or six seasons, let alone two decades. But Grey’s Anatomy is an engine that has, for the most part, churned out a solid set of stories over the years. Season 19, which aired on ABC from fall 2022 through spring 2023, gives the show a needed refresh by introducing a new set of interns to traverse the uphill battle of the surgical practice.

What made Grey’s fun in the early days was the rough edges and messiness of a group of high achieving brainiacs forced to spend an ungodly amount of time together: there were ill-advised hook-ups, inter-class competitions, and many mistakes and learnings along the way. In the 19th season premiere, we get a glimpse of the show getting back to basics and allowing the interns to take more of the stage and start to make those errors and problem-solve the way that our favorite characters did back in 2005.

The new season still has time for its older actors (even Owen and Teddy make an appearance at the end of the episode, though I’ll be happy when the show writes them off), but as those storylines have largely become stale, the new faces around the hospital allow for our old guard to find new passions, conversations, and teaching moments.

Later in the season is the much talked about exit of Ellen Pompeo who plays the titular Meredith Grey and while her farewell episode was lackluster, her departure in general does pave the way for the show to reinvent itself and get back to the fun of its earlier glory days.

Sex and Skin: No sex or skin in the first episode, but knowing Grey’s, it won’t be long until there is a steamy on-call room hookup between coworkers.

Parting Shot: The first episode of the new season ends on a familiar sight of interns perched on rollaway beds in a hallway, scurrying away at the sight of an urgent page.

Sleeper Star: Harry Shum Jr. as Dr. Benson Kwan shines in the season premiere as the older intern who is willing to do anything to get ahead (if we’re comparing this season to early Grey’s, he’s closest to a Karev comp).

Most Pilot-y Line:: “I do recommend you stay away from elevators for the foreseeable future,” Meredith quips when Link admits that he slept with an intern as a callback to her many dalliances throughout the hospital with her late husband Derek Shepherd.

Our Call: STREAM IT. One of the longest-running dramas, Grey’s Anatomy is finally fun again by leaning on the strengths from its early days.