Just as we expected, Ben Warren is coming back to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital full-time in Season 21, with Jason George returning to Grey’s Anatomy following the conclusion of the firefighter spinoff Station 19.
But it sounds like this anesthesiologist-turned-surgeon-turned-firefighter-turned-surgeon won’t just scrub in right away as he navigates yet another turn in his career.
“We’ll see how Ben gets back into the fold,” showrunner Meg Marinis teased during Grey’s Anatomy’s 20th anniversary celebration at D23 on Saturday, August 10, per Deadline. “It’s not going to be a super easy journey for him, but we’re excited to have him back at around Grey Sloan.”
News of George’s Grey’s return broke in June, weeks after Station 19 ended its seven-season run amid a head-scratching cancellation. But fans saw the news coming, since the Station 19 finale had Ben hanging up the firehose and picking up the stethoscope, so to speak.
And for the actor — a series regular on Grey’s from Season 12 to 14 — the surgical comeback also makes sense since Ben married to Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), one of two original Grey’scharacters still on the show full-time.
“Whether it be the nuclear Ben–Bailey family or the whole Grey’s family, that’s home, you know what I mean?” George told People in June. “And it just feels good going back home. I just texted [executive producer and Catherine Fox portrayer] Debbie Allen and Megan, and was like, ‘Yo, happy to come back home.’ And Debbie said, ‘You need to get back home where you belong.’ Because Debbie Allen says stuff like that, and you listen.”
At D23 on Saturday, Marinis also spoke about Season 21 more broadly, saying the September 26 premiere will pick up more or less where Season 20’s cliffhanger left off.
“My favorite thing to do is to tie up our characters in the messiest knot possible in a finale, which I feel like we did pretty successfully,” she said. “We have doctors who do not have jobs, and we pick up pretty close to where we ended after the finale, and we’re gonna see how and if those doctors get their jobs back.”
