Shonda Rhimes Finally Opens Up About Grey's Anatomy Season 10

Well Grey's Fans, it's about time. An interview from the Hollywood Reporter was posted while I was sleeping over here in Australia and Shonda Rhimes has given the fans plenty of reason to tune in on the 26 Sept; well I believe so anyway. 

Shonda Rhimes has also talked about the upcoming 200th episode. Parts of this interview are below:

When Grey's Anatomy returns for its 10th season in September, the ABC medical drama will be inching toward what showrunner Shonda Rhimes described as a "momentous" 200th episode.

While that milestone may serve as a reminder that the clock on the show's shelf life may be winding down, the prolific producer doesn't see the network's No. 1 drama wrapping up any time soon. Instead, Rhimes tells THR that her third-year drama Scandal -- a breakout hit in its Twitter-fueled sophomore season -- has helped reinvigorate the ensemble drama starring Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo and Sandra Oh.

The Hollywood Reporter catches up with Rhimes at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour to discuss Grey's Anatomy's future, her approach to the season 10's split run, the 200th episode and whether she'd ever consider featuring a lesbian divorce story. 

The Hollywood Reporter: ABC's Paul Lee said he'd like to see Grey's continue for as long as you'd like it to. How long would you like it to run?

Shonda Rhimes: I would like to continue Grey's for as long as I continue to have some story that I can come up with to tell. I feel like when it's time to step away and be done is when somebody else has taken over and I can't do this anymore. That's the time to step away. I don't want everyone to say, "It was great until …" or "I loved it until and it doesn't feel the same." To me, it's letting the characters evolve and telling really interesting stories.

THR: How has Scandal helped reinvigorate Grey's?

Rhimes: I don't know that one thing influences the other, in a weird way. What's nice is that they're such different worlds. With Private Practice, which I loved writing, the first couple seasons were hard because I felt like I was in the same world, and it was about figuring out how to make it a different world. Scandal is such a different world that it doesn't have anything to do with Grey's. I liken it to this: I have a 10-year-old and almost 2-year-old child at home. At work, I have a 10-year-old and a just 2-year-old. You get to do things differently with the younger child, and you get reinvigorated because you need to exercise a completely different muscle, and that makes you stronger. But it's not about one being better than the other or being helpful. It's about getting a whole new experience.

THR: Both Grey's and Scandal are doing split-run seasons. How are you approaching both runs differently because of the format?

Rhimes: I'm not approaching them differently. Last year, I asked for us to have a split-run. I really wanted us to have a split run. For Grey's, we literally said, "We're going to split the season into two" last year and we're going to pretend we have season 9A and season 9B, and we're not going to think of 9B until we're done with 9A, which is how you do a whole season anyway. For Scandal, we did the same thing. We did 13 episodes and then we're going to figure out the back nine. This year, what's nice is that we know that that can also happen, and it's going to happen consecutively, without reruns which is very exciting. We're going to do the first 10 of Scandal and then the back 12 of Scandal. We're going to do 12 and 12 with Grey's, and it's going to be great to tell a story the way it makes sense to tell a story.

THR: Will both the mid season finale and the actual season finale have the same intensity that they did on both shows last year?

Rhimes: Absolutely. With Grey's, up until last season, we were always saying let's work to the 24th episode. But with Scandal, we said we were going to work toward the 13th episode and figure the rest of it out. This season, I've only pitched to episode 10 [of Scandal] and we're going to figure the rest out when we get there.

THR: For Grey's Anatomy, do you have the end of 12 and 24 in mind?

Rhimes: I know the end of 12; 24 I don't know, and that provides me with a lot more relief and security. When we were doing season eight and I didn't know it was going to end -- I didn't know who was going to stay and who was going to go -- it was really difficult to plan all those episodes. Now I plan to episode 12 and we have a [midseason] finale, and then we're going to figure out the end of the season. It's a lot better.

THR: The 200th episode is coming up early in season 10. Are you going big for the episode?

Rhimes: I don't know how many shows have gotten to 200 episodes; it's really rare. When we did the 100th, I thought it had to be super special. One of the things I want to do in our 200th is show how our interns have grown up; 200 episodes later, they're all bad ass surgeons, which is really huge. It's also just about remembering how great everybody is. I like to have people in black-tie, because that's always nice. We have a story that we're telling that I feel really good about. I feel excited about it. It feels momentous for us.

THR: Callie (Sara Ramirez) has now been cheated on a second time. How will her response be different this time than it was with George (T.R. Knight)?

Rhimes: It's not necessarily how it's different but how this time is influenced by the fact that she's been cheated on before by a spouse. That's the big deal. It's one thing to be cheated on by a spouse once, it's another thing to have it happen a second time. How does the first time affect you? We're going to get to see a very interesting journey for both women. I'm excited about it. I feel like one of two things will happen: They'll end up getting back together and we'll see this journey and watch them fight through it, or they won't and we'll get to see what happens when there's more than one major lesbian relationship on a big television show.

Go to The Hollywood Reporter to read the rest of this interview.

So Grey's fans, what did you think of this interview? Are you excited for Season 10? It would seem as though Calzona have a lot of work to do, as well as Cristina and Owen. Hit the comments with your thoughts or join me on our new Twitter page or on Facebook. 

This blog post contains an excerpt from the Hollywood Reporter's interview with Shonda Rhimes, to read the entire interview, please follow this link.

Don't forget that Season 9 of Grey's Anatomy on DVD is released at the end of this month. Time to pre-order your copy at Amazon.

Visit my website: Janelle Coulton; Freelance Writer 

All photos have a Creative Common's licence and are linked to the original source.

If you would like to place a link to your site when commenting, I would be happy to link-share or back-link from my site to yours and vice-versa. Thanks for visiting today. 

Copyright © 2013 Janelle Coulton

The Hollywood Reporter - Cristina Will Help Owen Find His Person?

Well Grey's fans, interesting times indeed coming up on Grey's Anatomy next season. I just cannot wait. The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Kevin McKidd yesterday and below is what he said about Season 10.

Kevin McKidd used to always believe that Cristina and Owen were MFEO on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, but following the couple's emotional split in the season-nine finale, that may no longer be the case.

"Should we hold out for Owen and Cristina being a couple? I don't know anymore," the actor behind Dr. Owen Hunt tells The Hollywood Reporter of the couple's long-term prospects.

In the ninth-season finale, Cristina broke things off with Owen for what seems like the final time in the duo's tumultuous relationship when she realized that she was the only person standing in the way of Owen following his dream of becoming a father.

"Cristina has given him this huge gift and she, in a way, helps him at the beginning of the season -- pushing him toward it in a very loving way," McKidd says, noting he'll still have just as many scenes with co-star Sandra Oh (Cristina) as he did when the pair were an on-screen item. "She's going to be helping him navigate new waters, trying to find a person who's going to be the person who has a kid with him. She's definitely encouraging him. He's definitely going to explore how he's going to construct a world and a life to become a father, and Cristina is trying to encourage him.

McKidd notes that the couple's most recent split -- which came after Cristina and Owen divorced so the former could reap the financial windfall from the plane crash settlement -- represents their most adult breakup and one that even Owen didn't protest.

"Owen tried to convince himself because he loves her so much that he doesn't want to be a father. He tried to convince himself of the fact that he can do without being a dad as long as he has Cristina," he says. "Then the complication comes when Ethan shows up, and Cristina, because she's a sharp cookie, can see what's going on -- that he's in denial because he loves her. The sad fact is this breakup is the first time they've broken up in an adult way and for an adult reason, ever. She's seen what he needs and is ready to give it to him, and sadly that means breaking apart."

The season 10 premiere picks up immediately where last season ended, with the hospital in the thick of a crisis from the super storm that soaked Seattle, causing everyone working in close quarters to manage the crush of patients.

To read the rest of this article, the link is below:

Kevin McKidd Interview With Hollywood Reporter

So people what do you all think of this, can they work it out, will Owen try to work it out and get Cristina back? Are you hoping to see them back together or do you think it's over for Owen and Cristina. I would love to hear your opinion. Hit the comments or connect via Twitter or Facebook.

Cristina Yang - A Wonderful Artist drew this

Season 10 of Grey's Anatomy premieres on Thursday the 26th September 2013 in a double episode. I don't know about all of you, but I cannot wait. I also seems as though we will be shown 12 new episodes before the Christmas Hiatus, and Grey's will return for the second half of the season on February 27, 2014. That will be awesome not to have too many repeat episodes. I know that most fans get sick of those. 

You can catch up with other Grey's Anatomy gossip over on Twitter at the Grey's Anatomy Addicts Twitter page or on the Grey's Anatomy Addicts Facebook Fan Page.

Visit my website: Janelle Coulton; Freelance Writer 


If you would like to place a link to your site when commenting, I would be happy to link-share or back-link from my site to yours and vice-versa. Thanks for visiting today.  




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Copyright © 2013 Janelle Coulton

Grey's Anatomy - TV Guide's List Of 25 Must Watch Episodes

Recently TVGuide.com published a list of 25 Grey's Anatomy episodes that fans must watch before Season 10 premieres in September. I have included the first four here and you can visit the link below to read the rest.

25 Grey's Anatomy Episodes You Must Watch Before Season 10

This fall, Grey's Anatomy kicks off its 10th season — which will include its momentous 200th episode — and TVGuide.com has compiled the best episodes that fans and new viewers alikemust watch (or re-watch!) before diving back in.

Grey's Ups Camilla Luddington, Gaius Charles, more to series regular — who's missing?

Through the death (George! Lexie!), heartbreak (Denny! Izzie!) and weddings (yay for post-its!), executive producer Shonda Rhimes, her team of writers and the talented cast and crew have taken all of us on an amazing journey. Check out a countdown of our top 25 episodes below:

 25. "Song Beneath the Song" — Season 7, Episode 18

What happened: After Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) get into a major car crash, a semi-comatose Callie envisions herself and her colleagues singing as they try to treat her extensive injuries. After the cast performs songs — no jazz hands, thankfully! — made famous by the series, like "Chasing Cars" and "Breathe (2AM)," Callie wakes up and proposes to Arizona. 

Why it was a game-changer: The musical episode may not have been everyone's favorite, but Rhimes, decided to take a risk similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of her favorite series, and try something new. Not only that, but it lead to Callie and Arizona's wedding, which — while not the first lesbian nuptials on broadcast television — was certainly a momentous occasion. 

24. "The Other Side of This Life Parts 1 and 2" — Season 3, Episode 22 and 23

What happened: The two-hour episode serves as a backdoor pilot for Private Practice, which sees Addison (Kate Walsh) venture to Los Angeles to reunite with old friends Naomi (played byMerrin Dungey, later replaced by Audra McDonald) and Sam (Taye Diggs) in hopes of enlisting their help to get pregnant. It also marksthe episode where Thatcher Grey's (Jeff Perry) wife Susan (Mare Winningham) dies essentially from hiccups.

Why it was a game-changer: It was the beginning of the end for Addison Montgomery at Seattle Grace, and the start of a series that spanned six seasons, putting Rhimes into a rare group of showrunners with multiple shows on the air and providing opportunities for crossovers.

23. "If/Then" — Season 8, Episode 13

What happened: Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) dreams of a world in which her mother Ellis Grey (Kate Burton) never got Alzheimer's and went on to become the Chief of Seattle Grace. In this alternate reality, Meredith is bright and shiny and dating Alex (Justin Chambers), who is cheating on her with April (Sarah Drew). Meredith and Cristina (Sandra Oh) are enemies, and Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Callie are unhappily married. Meanwhile, Addison and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) are still together, while Lexie (Chyler Leigh) has become a drug addict. 

Why it was a game-changer: Even though most of our favorite couples were separated in the alt-reality, by the end of the hour, there was some spark between each of them that insinuated they were all truly meant to be even in this reality, like when Meredith and Derek met up at Joe's bar at the end. 

22. "Moment of Truth" — Season 8, Episode 21

What happened: Our favorite residents, whose careers we've mostly been following since the beginning of the series, head to San Francisco to take the oral boards. But April scores better in life than on her test — which she ultimately fails — after she loses her virginity to best friend Jackson (Jesse Williams) while on the trip. Why it was a game-changer: "Virgin Mary" April Kepner finally lost her virginity, which kicked off a fun new relationship for Grey's fans to root for. Sorry, Intern Stephanie (Jerrika Hinton)!

Get the rest of this list at TVGuide.com

So Grey's fans; what do you think of this list? Would you have chosen different episodes? Tell me what your favourite Grey's Anatomy episodes are from the last nine seasons. Hit the comments below or you can join Grey's Anatomy Addicts on Facebook or connect with me at Twitter.

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If you would like to place a link to your site when commenting, I would be happy to link-share or back-link from my site to yours and vice-versa. Thanks for visiting today.  

Visit my website: Janelle Coulton; Freelance Writer

Copyright © 2013 Janelle Coulton

Grey’s Anatomy Post-Mortem – Dissecting Season 9

Was Shonda’s Season of Romance Seriously Good Or Did It Suck?

Well I have mostly positive thoughts about Grey’s this season; which surprises me because earlier on when all the stories were centered on the law suit and the plane crash victims buying the hospital, Shonda and her writers had begun to lose me. For the first time ever in the nine years that I have been addicted to Grey’s Anatomy; I actually missed two or three episodes and took my sweet time in catching up. And the thing is; I’m not the only one.

Ratings Were Not As Strong As Last Year

Ratings were down this year; especially for the finale; which is a little worrying. While last years finale certainly had more hype surrounding it and promotion; I still feel that ratings should have been better as there were so many reasons why ratings should have been higher for this season’s finale. It’s pretty clear that some Mark and Lexie shippers and the individual fans of both these characters have ditched the show given the tragic way in which Mark and Lexie were written out last year. So attracting new viewers or even the old fans back is going to be difficult for the network now given the show is nine years old. The numbers are not terrible, just going down steadily. Grey’s Anatomy averaged a 4.1 in the demographic ratings which makes the show as the highest rating drama in the 18-49 demo this year. 

While Season 9 revolved mostly around the recovery of the plane crash victims and their loved ones; it was also a season of changes for just about every character. The only part of the season that became tedious for me was the legal stuff, the sale of the hospital and Alex and Jo (which I will discuss later on in this post). A lot of my dislike with those stories was that they weren’t convincing and this is probably because there were so many other ways that these arcs could have been played out.

Anyway let’s talk about the characters’ and their story arcs for this season.

Meredith and Derek

I think most fans will agree that we have to start with Meredith and Derek. Their stories began pretty much as predicted last year. Meredith was holding it all inside and trying to support everyone else, which is what she does. Things came to a head for her in episode five, where she finally broke and took a moment to let it sink in that she had lost her sister. Not long after this there is happy news about the pregnancy, and I could not have asked for a better outcome for these two.

Happy MerDer 

Derek’s sister came into town to donate a nerve for Derek’s hand surgery and he stubbornly refused the surgery at first. It was his sister who finally convinced him that he needed the surgery. When they found out the Meredith had the Alzheimer’s gene, it came as no surprise. The birth of ‘fetus’ who was later named “Bailey” was wonderful, but the drama of possibly losing Meredith was way overdone. We all knew Meredith was not dying; so I found it to be a little ridiculous.

Cristina and Owen

Wow, this couple have had quite a season. It began with Cristina working miles away at her new fellowship position at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota. She then returns after losing yet another mentor, Dr Thomas. His death told her that she needed Owen and her people and so back to Seattle she came. Owen filed for divorce partly due to the conflict of interest with the law suit and because he felt it was the right thing as he felt that they would just keep hurting each other.

Baby Issue Still Stands Between Crowen 

Cristina reveals that she wants Owen back and from then on we see Cristina really step up to be Owen’s person, which is what he asked her to be in counseling last season. However there is a case of two parents who are critically injured who have a ten year old boy, and it’s looking like this kid is about to become an orphan. Owen starts getting ideas about adopting the kid. It brings the baby dilemma into the lime light again and they realise they have to face this difference in needs and wants. Owen says he wants Cristina, but does not sound convincing. In the season finale Cristina walks away and Owen does not follow, therefore leaving fans wondering what will happen to them. More than two seasons of baby drama and it’s still unresolved. I have no comment here, except that I loved these characters this season and I love Cristina no matter what she does.

Arizona and Callie

Well this couple’s story threw everyone for a loop. No-one ever expected Arizona to cheat on Callie, at least until skanky Lauren showed up. And even when it happened in the penultimate episode, I still could not believe it. In the season finale, I totally got it and I am still trying to wrap my head around this. Bottom line is Arizona was in pain, emotional and mental pain, but she dealt with it in a very stupid and cruel way. I don’t believe she deliberately took revenge on her wife, like some are saying. But she made a terrible mistake acting on impulse like that. She and Callie need to go to marriage counseling for some serious therapy and finally deal with the ‘leg.’ Arizona is still blaming Callie for cutting off her leg, because they never dealt with it. What will happen here I wonder? I don’t think Lauren is going away anytime soon, since she deliberately revealed Arizona’s wedding ring pinned to her scrubs. So we may see more of Lauren trying to break up Callie and Arizona. Not sure I want to see that.

Calzona's Troubles Are Just Beginning 

Alex and Jo

While I love seeing Alex in a happy place I am worried where this story is going to go. It is about time Alex found love. He has not really truly loved someone since Izzie and she was better for Alex than this intern is. Izzie may have left him when all he did was worry about her pushing herself so soon after having cancer treatments and the like, however she did come back and wanted to repair their marriage. When Alex told her to go, I understood it; but I really felt that she was the one for him. Jo Wilson is not and she worries me. The assault on her ex boyfriend is a worry, she seems to have issues and I think Alex has had enough crazy. And why are the writers shoving that storyline under the rug? Or are we going to revisit it next season?

April Jackson and Matthew

While I like April and Matthew, I prefer her with Jackson. They look good together and they are best friends in every sense of the word. Jackson is more tolerable when he has scenes with April. Matthew has already figured out the she has something going on with Jackson, so that relationship’s days’ are numbered. Then it will likely be more of the same with her and Jackson. I hope not actually, I hope they get married. Jackson is in love with April, but he just could not handle the crazy way she carried on when she thought they were pregnant. He had decided he would marry her if it were they were pregnant and that’s when Jackson realised he was in love with her and could not deal with the crazy. She just does not get it and I think he believes she is not ready for marriage. But now that she got engaged to Matthew, he is likely having second thoughts.

Miranda Bailey

What to say about Miranda Bailey? She had quite an interesting year. He subsequent melt down over the infection to her patients surprised many fans. She married her darling Ben, which was lovely; although I thought that she was going to make a run for it early on in the piece. At the end of the season when she came through for Meredith and saved her life was awesome and brought her out of her funk, however I could have slapped her when she burst into tears before telling Derek and Cristina that Meredith was okay. No self respecting doctor does that; the first thing you say to a patients family is that the patient is fine. That was the writers’ attempt at creating more drama. We know Bailey has been upset, we know she would have felt overwhelmed operating on Meredith. We are not stupid, we get it. I know, it‘s TV; suspend my belief before I watch, but seriously it annoyed me.

Bailey Gets Her Ben 

The Interns

I can’t really say much here as I cannot make up my minds about them. I do like Heather and Leah. I just heard recently that they have all been offered regular contracts, so this tells me they are here to stay. The show needs them. Meredith, Cristina and the gang have to have someone to teach. That’s the whole point of the show. But does this mean that they will become the next Meredith, Alex, Cristina, Izzie and George. Are they grooming these guys so that the show can go on without the main stars? Grey’s Anatomy would not last past five episodes if there was no Derek, Meredith or Cristina. Anyway I don’t think that’s what they are doing. In any case I would love to see more of Heather and Leah, so bring it on. The others I don’t really care for.

Richard Webber

I’ve saved the best for last. Richard had an extremely interesting year and a heart breaking one too. His wife Adele passed on, and he spent months feeling guilty that he was not there. He stopped seeing Katherine Avery and she got concerned. Meredith dragged him back into an OR in the hope he would start to snap out of his funk. He was supportive of everyone this season, like a father figure is how it felt to me. So I really hope he is not dead, Bailey will be devastated and I don’t want to see that. Meredith will be devastated and I definitely don’t want to see her lose another part of her family and let’s face it Richard might as well be her father.

So that’s my wrap on the characters and their stories this season. As far as rating this season, I would go as far as saying that is was better than Season Seven or Eight and I thought Season Eight was pretty good. I’ve never been one to compare, but Season 7 was ruined with the Callie, Arizona, Mark baby story. Season 8 was fabulous, until the plane crash happened. Season 9 was really awesome, except for the law suit/hospital purchase. And as far as the Season of Romance, I felt that Shonda did give us the romance promised.

RIP Mark Sloan 

So fans, what do you think about Season 9? I would love to hear your opinion.

Visit My Website: Janelle Coulton; Freelance Writer


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If you would like to place a link to your site when commenting, I would be happy to link-share or back-link from my site to yours and vice-versa. Thanks for visiting today. 

Copyright © 2013 Janelle Coulton