ABC Makes the Call on Grey's Anatomy Renewal After Surprise Cast Shake-Up
Scrub back in: ABC has renewed Grey’s Anatomy for season 23 just days after the shock exits of Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver.
Grey Sloan is not closing its doors anytime soon. ABC just locked in Grey's Anatomy for season 23, because of course it did. The renewal landed Monday, March 30 — notably just days after two longtime leads said they were out.
The show is renewed — even as two vets bow out
Variety confirmed on Monday, March 30, that ABC has renewed Grey's Anatomy for a 23rd season. That news hit less than a week after Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver announced they were leaving the series.
McKidd, 53, put out his statement on Wednesday, March 25. He framed it as closing a major chapter: grateful for what the show gave him, proud of his run as Dr. Owen Hunt, and appreciative of the chance to direct episodes along the way — with a specific nod to Shonda Rhimes for creating Owen and encouraging him behind the camera. He says he is ready to build new projects and tell new stories next.
Raver, 57, spoke to the moment too. She called playing Dr. Teddy Altman a role that means a lot to her, and looked back at joining the show 16 years ago thanks to Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. She shouted out the writers whose words she has been bringing to life all this time, and thanked fans for sticking with the series — saying the set felt like home.
What happens to Teddy and Owen
Creator Shonda Rhimes all but spoiled where the season is steering those two. She described Teddy and Owen as a couple who inevitably circle back to each other, and said their story is getting the send-off fans want.
'It is both bittersweet and joyful to give this couple the happy ending their story deserves.'
Rhimes also praised what McKidd and Raver brought to Grey's — on screen and, in McKidd's case, in the director 's chair — and said she is excited to see what they do next, even if the halls of Grey Sloan will miss them.
The timeline, cleaned up
Deadline reported that McKidd and Raver were told more than a month ago that they would be leaving. Their final appearance is the season 22 finale, which just wrapped production and airs May 7. So, if you are tracking the sequence: the exits were decided weeks back, announced publicly this past week, and then ABC went ahead and renewed the show the following Monday.
When to watch
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.