Grey’s Anatomy Season 23: The original cast, then and now. Who’s long gone and who is still here?
Grey’s Anatomy at 20: Only three of the original nine doctors remain
Grey's Anatomy Season 23 premieres October 15, and if you're expecting a nice cast reunion, buckle up, because the 'originals' section of this roster has been getting demolished for two decades now. Let's do the math nobody wants to do.
The original nine, 20 years on
Back in 2005, ABC handed us nine star-billed doctors: Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, Alex, George, Bailey, Webber, Burke, and Derek. Twenty-plus seasons and one global pandemic later, here's the current headcount:
Still technically employed at Grey Sloan (full-time):
Chandra Wilson (Bailey) — the last woman standing, still running that hospital.
James Pickens Jr. (Webber) — the actual, literal foundation this show is built on. If you remember back in Season 1, Webber was meant to be retiring.
Also Read: Eric Dane, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star, dies at 52
Still around, but 'it's complicated'
Ellen Pompeo (Meredith) — stepped back to a limited role starting in Season 19, technically still narrating your life every Thursday and popping in for guest spots, but no longer staying for full shifts.
Everyone else? Gone.
Isaiah Washington (Burke) — out first, back in Season 3. (2007), following the infamous on-set incident. The OG cautionary tale.
T.R. Knight (George O'Malley) — hit by a bus in Season 5 (2009), because Shonda Rhimes has never once let a character die peacefully.
Katherine Heigl (Izzie) — beat cancer, then beat it out of Seattle entirely in Season 6 (2010).
Sandra Oh (Cristina) — the one exit fans still aren't over. Left for a hospital in Switzerland at the end of Season 10, and somehow that scene still lives rent-free in everyone's head. Everyone is still waiting for her to return, but we only see Cristina's texts.
Patrick Dempsey (Derek) — died in Season 11 (2015), in a way that made an entire generation distrust countryside hospitals forever.
Justin Chambers (Alex Karev) — This still stings, and is arguably the messiest exit of them all: abruptly left Seattle in Season 16 (2020) to reunite with Izzie off-screen, breaks up with his wife Jo, via a letter, never to be seen again.
The ones who joined later
The original nine aren't the only exits that hit hard. Several actors who joined in the early seasons became just as central to the show's identity, and their departures were some of the most talked-about in the series' run.
Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) — died in the Season 8 finale, plane crash, one of the show's most devastating episodes.
Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) — died in Season 9, from injuries sustained in that same crash. The actor died, too, earlier this year.
Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) — left in the Season 12 finale, moving to New York.
Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) — left in the Season 14 finale (2018).
April Kepner (Sarah Drew) — also left in the Season 14 finale, the same season as Arizona.
Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) — left in Season 17, relocating to Boston.
So what's the final tally going into Season 23?
Out of nine original stars, you're down to two full-time (Bailey and Webber) and one part-timer who mostly shows up to narrate and remind you why you cry during the theme song (Meredith). That's it. That's the club.
And just to really rub it in: Season 23 is also the first season to lose Kevin McKidd (Owen) and Kim Raver (Teddy), marking the first time since Season 5 without McKidd and Season 15 without Raver, meaning even the legacy cast (the ones who joined mid-run and basically became honorary originals) is thinning out.
At this rate, by Season 30 the entire hospital staff might just be Bailey, Webber, and a single tumbleweed rolling past the nurses' station.
The new face turning up
To help fill the gap left by Owen and Teddy's exit, Season 23 is bringing in one confirmed new doctor: James Wolk (Mad Men, Watchmen), joining as Dr. Seth Norton.
Seth isn't exactly a comfort-food replacement, though. Here's what we know:
Handsome and arrogant, per ABC's own character description, with a sharp focus on "the bottom line", and by now we know that every stern doctor suddenly turns into a puddle at this hospital. Literally or metaphorically.
Owns Olympic Regent Health, a private, pay-out-of-pocket luxury medical center that sounds like it's shaping up to be a rival presence to Grey Sloan.
Confirmed for at least four episodes, which for a Grey's newcomer could mean anything from a short arc to a long-term stay.
It's not yet clear which Grey Sloan doctors he will end up working with (or clashing with), but the timing is notable, a slick private-practice figure arriving just as the hospital navigates thinner staffing feels like it's setting up some tension.
