‘Station 19’ Star Jaina Lee Ortiz Says the Show’s Cancelation Came as a “Shock”

‘Station 19’ Star Jaina Lee Ortiz Says the Show’s Cancelation Came as a “Shock”

With many shows set to return after the end of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, one is ending unexpectedly.

In early December 2023, fans of the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff series Station 19 were stunned to learn that ABC chose to cancel the show after seven years on the air. According to Deadline, the show’s final season will feature 10 episodes, and will hit filming its 100th episode by the time it wraps up. What’s more, the series is expected to return for its last installment on March 14 at 10 p.m. ET.

While the news certainly shocked longtime viewers, the cast was equally surprised to learn Station 19 wouldn’t move forward after season 7. When speaking on an episode of her podcast After We Wrap recently, Jaina Lee Ortiz (who plays Andrea “Andy” Herrera) shared how unexpected it was when she and her cast mates found out about their series’ untimely end.
“We got some bad news about the show not moving forward, and as of now, season seven will be the last season of Station 19,” she stated at the top of the episode. “It came as a shock. We weren’t told why … there wasn’t any reason behind it, so everyone was left pretty confused and heartbroken … I like to sit into what we’ve had and not let the sadness take over, because at the end of the day, we don’t know what will happen.”

While Jaina acknowledged that there’s always a chance Station 19 could be saved in some other way, she felt that it was good to know of the show’s fate now rather than after it wrapped for good.

“The silver lining is that we didn’t have to find out next year, waiting to see if it got picked up or not, and we know now,” she added. “As of right now, we’re working towards making this the best 10 episodes yet.”
When fans caught wind of Jaina’s thoughts about Station 19 not moving forward after season 7, they immediately got emotional, thinking they’ll never see the cast together again.

“😱 Nooooo, I’m going to miss Station 19!!!” one person exclaimed on TikTok. “They can’t do this to me. Who do I speak to? 😭,” another wrote. “THIS IS HOW I FIND OUTTTTTTTTT OH MY GOD,” a different follower screamed.

As fans know, Station 19 first aired in March 2018 and focused on the lives of those working at the Seattle Fire Station 19. Per Entertainment Weekly, the show has been lauded for pushing the boundaries in showing the bravery of first responders, along with winning a Sentinel Award from Hollywood, Health & Society for how it illustrated systemic racism throughout the previous installments in season 6.

We’re sad to see Station 19 go, but we eagerly await to see how the series wraps up.