With its 20th season underway, “Grey’s Anatomy” is having its own hail mary, but as it loses its charisma, it’s time for ABC to stop renewing the show. 

“Grey’s Anatomy” is a fan-favorite drama that began production in 2005 and is still continuing, 19 years later. The series follows the titular character Dr. Meredith Grey’s career from internship to chief of surgery, the relationships among the characters, and the medical challenges that translate to the doctors’ personal lives. Much of fans’ dedication to the series is credited to the ensemble cast and the emotional bonds that the audience develops with the characters over time. The show has won numerous awards over the years including the American Film Institute, Golden Globe, People’s Choice, and Teen Choice Awards. There is no denying that the medical drama has become one of the biggest successes of American television. However, in recent years, the quality of the show has become subpar to the standard established in older seasons, and viewers have been left disappointed.

Throughout the progression of the seasons, many beloved characters have left and been replaced with new characters that merely feel like acquaintances for the audience. Lead characters have been leaving the show due to casting issues including conflicts with other members, termination of contracts, and the actors’ desire to leave the long-running show. But now, due to a large number of cumulative departures, hardly any of the original cast members remain in “Grey’s Anatomy” and this proves to be a problem for maintaining the show’s appeal to the audience. When the doctors – regardless of which one is a viewer’s favorite – have been shown throughout their growth, only to be written off in the most uncharacteristic way, audiences become frustrated with the show. For example, Dr. Alex Karev was originally one of Dr. Grey’s fellow interns and he was a misogynistic, selfish bully. Through his career development and relationships, he had grown into being a kind and supportive friend. When Justin Chambers (who played Dr. Karev) left the show during its 16th season, fans were frustrated due to the abruptness and sad that the character they had bonded with was gone. With the only originals left being Dr. Richard Webber (played by James Pickens Jr.) and Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), and new characters every season, viewers feel less and less invested in the characters’ development. Most surprising was the departure of Ellen Pompeo, who played Dr. Grey, the central character. Pompeo left the show and was casted in only half of season 19’s episodes.

Pompeo, the heart of the show, left its production in Feb. 2023 and is no longer starring as a main character. Though she will be returning to the show as a guest star, the lack of her presence makes the show lose even more of its value. Aside from being named “Grey’s Anatomy,” Pompeo’s character has been the center of the show, tying all the characters together; Pompeo’s voice has been the narrations at the beginning and end of each episode; Pompeo’s acting has been one of the cornerstones of the show’s success. So without her, the show really doesn’t make sense. 

While it’s appealing to have the same characters in the show, having the same storylines over and over is not. The repetitiveness of characters’ backstories, personalities, and the plots make the show less creative with every season. A prime example of this is the new set of interns in season 19 — Drs. Blue, Millins, Griffith, Adams, and Yasuda — who are mirror images of the original interns from season one. While each of the new interns are amazing doctors, their characters are merely slightly-altered dupes of the original interns that fans watched for and truly miss. There are parallels between Dr. Grey and Dr. Griffith. Like how Dr. Grey had been the caretaker of her mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s, Dr. Griffith’s grandmother has the same degenerative disease. Both of them also were adamant of hiding their relatives’ states from their fellow interns. When watching the newest season, Dr. Yasuda’s financial issues and residence being a trailer in the parking lot was an exact repetition of Dr. Karev’s situation in season five. Coupled with the fact that fan-favorite characters have been written off, the lack of originality in the new characters weakens the freshness they are supposed to bring to the show. 

Not only are the characters repetitive, but also the storylines which has made each new season predictable. In almost every season, there is bound to be one huge incident where all the doctors are emotionally wounded. Whether it be a secret wife, a drowning, a runaway groom, or any other possible kind of natural but dramatized disasters, a major not-so-shocking event will occur. As a result, the show has lost its dramatic flair that once made it enticing. Instead of really surprising the audience, it simply becomes the question of “what crazy thing will happen this time?”

The lack of realism in the storylines have made the show less enjoyable. Realistically, how many different things can happen to the same group of people in a hospital? While some plot points are exaggerated for dramatic effect, they have clearly gotten increasingly peculiar. There are a number of catastrophes that almost but never actually upend the doctors’ lives, along with inappropriate subordinate and doctor-patient relationships that somehow go unpunished and surprising recoveries that falsely represent the medical world. 

While it will be difficult to end the production of a show that gave millions of viewers enjoyment and comfort, the end of “Grey’s Anatomy” is necessary to preserve the legacy it has in the television industry. It has brought to light many current issues, romanticized the medical profession and drawn viewers into a fictional world that they could emotionally connect with. Rather than being known as a show that drags on beyond its prime, “Grey’s Anatomy” should be remembered as a pillar of American television culture.