These days, it’s rare for any show on TV to make it to 400 episodes, but this week, Grey’s Anatomy is joining this elite club. Yes, you read that right — May 26th’s season 18 finale of Grey’s is also officially celebrating 400 episodes!
During 18 glorious seasons of the longest-running U.S. prime-time medical series, we’ve been introduced to unforgettable characters, indulged in the steamiest of steamy romances, and been crushed (and crushed again) by heartbreaking deaths that we still can’t shake years later. Beyond that, though, each week on Grey’s Anatomy we have also witnessed powerful and provocative medical storylines tackling abortion, sexual assault, trans health, and mental health that have changed how we understand our collective health and the health-care system. Most importantly, Shonda Rhimes built Grey’s by embracing diversity and setting the standard for the importance of television mirroring the world’s reality and the people watching it, and today showrunner Krista Vernoff remains committed to these precedents.
Indeed, this powerhouse drama has truly stood and continues to stand the test of time.
So, how do you celebrate 400 episodes of such an influential and beloved show? You party, of course! Take a look at how the show’s creators, cast, and crew have celebrated this historic accomplishment.
Cut the cake!
In May, to commemorate the 400th episode of Grey’s, the cast and crew of the series gathered for a cake-cutting ceremony in Los Angeles that also brought together the show’s executive producers, Shondaland president Megha Tolia, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich, Walt Disney Television chairman of entertainment Dana Walden, ABC Signature president Jonnie Davis, and Disney General Entertainment Content chairman Peter Rice. But cake was just the start — during the festivities, the network and studio also surprised the cast and crew with a stage dedication, permanently commemorating the show’s legacy at the Prospect Studios as a reminder of just what has been and will continue to be achieved in the now-sacred space.
While Grey’s Anatomy’s beloved creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes, couldn’t be there in person, she was there virtually, sending an endearing video expressing her gratitude to her tenacious and talented team.
“This show was never created by one person,” she said in the video. “It’s a script written by all the writers over the years. All the actors who have brought all their talents. All the craftsmen who have built things on the set, who have brought props with amazing costumes, and who have lit the set or shot it so beautifully. All the surgeries have been so amazingly crafted by our doctors with their incredible talent and intelligence. We have all created this incredible show over the years and contributed something to this amazing, amazing miracle.”
Vernoff also took to the stage, reminding everyone about the show’s impact on its viewers over the years.
“We are medicine for the world,” Vernoff said, “and not just the lives that we literally save, with letters telling us that people learned how to save their baby or child from drowning because they learned it by watching Grey’s. But also the letters we get about the spirits that we lift while people go through the unimaginable.”
She added, “We make them laugh through it. And we make them cry [and] get the big feelings out of their body. That is medicine, I think, beyond what most pills can offer. We give them a place to feel witnessed and seen and that matters.”
And of course, Grey’s Anatomy’s own Meredith Grey, Ellen Pompeo, shared some advice for young people, reminding them that “nothing makes it this long without a tremendous amount of passion.”
Pompeo continued, “Whatever you want to give your life to, give it 200 percent. Give it everything you have. And something will come of it.”
The iconic Debbie Allen, who serves as a Grey’s star, executive producer, and director, has nothing but joy for the ride she and her TV family take every day on set.
“I’m so grateful every day to be a part of this family that rides on this roller coaster on fire. We came from this episode to the next to this last one to where we get back in the fall. Everyone on this cast and crew cares about this show, and we are family. We have lost people. We serve people. We gonna fight together. We gonna celebrate too. This is a blessing. Thank you, ABC,” Allen said.
Other cast attendees at the celebration included Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Chris Carmack, Kevin McKidd, Caterina Scorsone, Kim Raver, Scott Speedman, Camilla Luddington, Anthony Hill, and others.
Party all the time!
A few days after the inspirational cake-cutting event, Grey’s hosted a star-studded party in West Hollywood where the show’s cast sizzled on the red carpet. They also shared their excitement about being part of history, the power of representation, and more.
James Pickens Jr. (who plays Richard Webber): “Diversity is a term that sometimes gets overused, but it’s how Grey’s has engaged pop culture. Shonda did that. She has been such a visionary, and she knew that the landscape of TV needed to change, and change in a way that folks would respond to. This show did that. The way we look at race and gender, and how we perceive it now, and how you navigate these characters in this landscape, we see them when they’re not very pretty and when they’re very heroic. I think the audience said, ‘Okay, I’m going to take this journey with them because I understand this. I see people who look like me.’”
Jake Borelli (Levi Schmitt): “For me, what impacted me the most was the [episode where] my character Dr. Levi Schmitt [shared a same-sex kiss] and came out as gay. That’s also when I came out of the closet publicly, and I was like, ‘We both did it together.’ The way that forever changed my life. Even though I was afraid, I felt free. And immediately after coming out on Instagram, so many fans, queer fans, told me how they felt represented by this character and the show.”
Sylvia Kwan (Mabel Tseng): “I’ve been very, very lucky in my career to have such opportunities to represent my community. Also, Sandra Oh has been my hero forever. So, to be on a show that she was on is such an honor. And I also feel so grateful to be on a show with writers and producers that champion AAPI stories and diversity. I just feel so incredibly lucky, and I hope that I can fill those shoes.”
Zaiver Sinnett (Zander Perez): “One of the most important themes of the show and what’s been at its heart is ambitious women who are unapologetically so. They go after what they want, and they are flawed and human and real. And the women on Grey’s Anatomy reminded me and looked like the women who raised me. I feel like that’s what still resonates today and why the show has made it to 400 episodes.”
Jason George (Ben Warren): “[Grey’s] changed my life in terms of my career and certainly financial status [laughs]. I just got to direct my first episode of prime-time TV on Station 19 because I’m in this world, and they gave me a chance. Working with Shonda on the cusp of the new Hollywood generation of teaching people — ‘We don’t reward bad behavior’ — has been inspiring to watch. For Shonda and her team, it’s clear: ‘We’re going to be inclusive. We’re going to help people level up and learn new things and be curious.’”
So, are you ready for the 400th episode? We are! Even better? Grey’s Anatomy has been renewed for season 19, so there’s still so much more to come. Be sure to follow Shondaland and ABC to watch as TV history continues to be made.
Kellee Terrell is an L.A.-based screenwriter and journalist. Follow her on Twitter @kelleent.
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