After the explosive finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” season 21 left viewers of the long-running medical drama on a major cliffhanger in May, fans have been chomping at the bit for answers as to which of Grey-Sloan’s beloved doctors will reprise their roles as season 22 begins to make its ABC debut on Thursday, October 9, 2025.
With the season’s highly anticipated premiere less than a month away, here’s everything fans need to know about “Grey’s Anatomy” season 22, including when the premiere will air, which cast members are confirmed to be returning, and which characters are still in danger of being killed-off following the hospital explosion that concluded last season’s finale episode.
When Does ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 22 Premiere?
“Grey’s Anatomy” will make its triumphant return to ABC screens on Thursday, October 9, 2025. The debut episode will begin at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
The series, which originally debuted in March 2005, will return with its 449th episode, meaning that the second episode in the new season will act as the franchise’s landmark 450th episode. In anticipation of the event, Camilla Luddington, who portrays Dr. Jo Wilson on the series, warned fans that the upcoming premier will be “even crazier” than season 21’s finale, adding that season 22 will begin will a trio of episodes of “nonstop action.”
Which ‘Grey’s’ Stars are DEFINITELY Scrubbing In for Season 22?
Disney/ABCAt the close of “Grey’s Anatomy” season 21, fans were only certain that two of the series’ iconic characters were safe and sound as an explosion in the O.R. rocked Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital to its core: Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Dr. Ben Warren (Jason George).
Disney/ABCThis left plenty of other doctors still in the line of fire as production on season 22 began. That being said, as filming and table reads began, behind the scenes videos of the cast seemingly confirmed that Kim Raver’s Dr. Teddy Altman and Kevin McKidd’s Dr. Owen Hunt will similarly be reprising their roles in the upcoming season, continuing their ongoing divorce storyline that began in season 21.
Disney/ABCCamilla Luddington’s Dr. Wilson is also likely safe following the events of the cliffhanger finale, with the actress reporting that the upcoming premiere is a “rough episode” for her character. While this doesn’t 100% confirm Jo’s safety, it seems unlikely that the showrunners would kill off a character who was 1) held at gunpoint during a convenience store robbery, 2) got married, and 3) welcomed her new-born twin daughters all in the back-half of season 21.
Disney/ABCHarry Shum Jr., who portrays second-year surgical intern Dr. Benson “Blue” Kwan, has also been shown in backstage footage, seemingly confirming that he survived the explosion.
Recently released promo photos from the upcoming premiere similarly confirmed that Dr. Simone Giffiths, another second-year-intern played by Alexis Floyd, will also be returning, continuing her storyline with “Grown-ish” star Trevor Jackson, who Simone had an affair with the night before the explosion. While Jackson’s character remained unnamed in the previous season, “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner Meg Marinis confirmed that his title will be revealed in the upcoming season.
Disney/ABCThe promo pics similarly revealed that Caterina Scorsone’s Dr. Amelia Shepherd and Anthony Hill’s Dr. Winton Ndugu survived the explosion, though given Amelia’s distraught expression in the first-look snaps, it seems likely that someone she’s close to was either killed or seriously injured in the incident, but the question remains – who’s still in danger?
Which ‘Grey’s’ Stars Might Not Survive the Season 22 Premiere?
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Marinis confirmed that season 22 will pick up immediately after the events of season 21 without any sort of time jump, leaving several characters – including two doctors who have been part of the series since its very first episode – in danger of being the latest “Grey’s Anatomy” casualty.
Disney/ABCAt the end of season 21, both Dr. Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales) and intern Dr. Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane) were prepping for surgery, presumably on the surgical floor where the explosion went off, placing them – quite literally – in the line of fire. Both Morales and Kane are newer additions to the “Grey’s” cast, joining in seasons 20 and 19, respectively.
While writing off Kane’s Dr. Millin might not make logistical sense after her fellow surgical intern Dr. Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis) left the series at the end of season 20 following the death of her sister, the passing of Morales’ Dr. Beltran could potentially explain Amelia’s desperate expression in the season 22 premiere promo photos, given that the two doctors were on the verge of a potential romance last season.
That being said, several other unaccounted for characters could also elicit a similar reaction from Amelia, including her own nephew, Dr. Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) who was trying to warn Dr. Richard Webber (James Picken Jr.) about the explosion just moments before it happened.
Disney/ABCThe fate of both Dr. Webber and Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) similarly remains uncertain as fans come into season 22. The characters have been part of “Grey’s” since its debut episode in 2005, but could it be one of them on the chopping block?
Disney/ABCSome fans seem to think it’s a distinct possibility, with some even going so far as to suggest that season 22 episode 2, the 450th episode of the series overall, will feature Dr. Webber’s funeral.
Of course, the character who has been at the centre of discussions since the season 21 finale has been Chris Carmack’s Dr. Atticus “Link” Lincoln, who appeared to be the one who accidentally set off the explosion at the end of the finale after a disgruntled patient’s mother (Piper Perabo) leaked acetylene gas into the operating room.
Disney/ABCCould Link’s death, just hours after the birth of his twin daughters, be the reason that the season 22 premiere is so “rough” for Jo?
Unfortunately, only time will tell. Be sure to catch the premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” season 22 when it debuts on Thursday, October 9, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time on ABC. New episodes of the season will be available to stream on Disney+ the following day.
