How Grey’s Anatomy keeps upping drama: Sex, disasters and more than 140 tumors

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Dr. Meredith Grey has nearly died seven times.

The hospital where she works has faced a bomb, an earthquake, shootings and a flood. Patients and staff in her hospital have been diagnosed with more than 140 tumors. During almost two decades on air, writers of hit TV show “Grey’s Anatomy," have had to weave a seemingly endless stream of medical cases into the complicated, sexy and often tragic lives of its characters.

The drama has been a darling of broadcast TV and the streaming eras, with roughly 300 hours of content. While bingeable comfort watches such as “Friends" and “Seinfeld" ended long ago, “Grey’s Anatomy" continues to air new episodes, entering its 21st season on Sept. 26.

“Insane medical cases and patients" have been the constant, said showrunner Meg Marinis, who joined the writing staff as an assistant in 2006. White boards line the walls of a Los Angeles bungalow where about a dozen writers, two writers’ assistants, a researcher and three doctors gather on a studio lot to map out how best to combine blood and scalpels with romantic encounters and friendship. Grey’s Anatomy made its debut in 2005, chronicling the exploits of ultracompetitive surgical interns at a fictional Seattle hospital.

The show opens after a one-night stand between Grey and a stranger she met at the bar who turns out to be a married brain surgeon at her new place of work. Since then, writers have faced a constant challenge of how to subject characters to just the right amount of heartache, professional hurdles and loss. Grey’s has appeared on ratings firm Nielsen’s weekly list of the 10 most-watched streaming shows 122 times since 2020, only one of four shows to hit triple digits.