If you’re not a fan of the darkness that has engulfed Grey’s Anatomy Season 17, we have some bad news for you.
Series showrunner Krista Vernoff opened up about the series to TV Line, and it sounds like the show will not be taking a happy turn soon.
“Do I anticipate light and frothy episodes upcoming?” Vernoff told the outlet, adding:
“I do not.”
However, Vernoff notes that despite the series being shrouded in darkness as it tackles the pandemic, Meredith in limbo, and the death of a fan-favorite, there has been light in the darkness.
“I would argue that we’re dealing with a lot of darkness, but we’re also dealing with beauty inside that darkness,” she told TV Line.
“Like Jo’s connection to baby Luna… Even though there’s darkness, there’s light inside the darkness. Maggie and Winston are falling in this deep, profound love inside the darkness.”
Indeed, some of the characters have found some light in the darkness, but the series has been a difficult watch for many of its long-term fans.
Tackling the pandemic was always going to be tough and taxing for the show’s fans, but there have been darker plots not tied to the pandemic.
If you watch Grey’s Anatomy online, you know the series recently killed off Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) after he was stabbed while pursuing Opal, a sex trafficker introduced to the series last season.
“These episodes came in whole cloth. This is what I came into the writers’ room knowing,” Vernoff said to Entertainment Weekly after the controversial episode aired.
“There literally was an entire imagining that came into my head… [and when] the whole thing downloaded and I was like, ‘Oh my god, we’re killing DeLuca?’ That’s how it happened,” she said.
Many other medical dramas have had a few episodes with COVID-19, but it appears Grey’s will have it as a storyline for as long as the pandemic is here.
Well, assuming the series gets a renewal for an 18th season.
There have been rumors for months that the show will end this season, and Vernoff is even framing the season finale as a potential series finale in the event an agreement to keep the show around is not reached.
Helping matters is that Vernoff inked a new overall deal with ABC Signature Entertainment this week.
The series continues tonight at 9/8c with an episode that finds Teddy in a dark place and Owen and Amelia trying to help.
What are your thoughts on the darkness?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.