The planned Grey’s Anatomy spin-off set in rural West Texas is progressing, but producers have yet to decide how it will connect with the flagship medical drama.
Meg Marinis, Grey’s Anatomy’s showrunner, said the project created with Shonda Rhimes was sufficiently advanced for her to feel “really, really excited” about its direction. The series is expected to premiere during the midseason of the 2026-27 broadcast season.
Speaking about the show, Marinis said: “We are working away. I can’t say much, but we’re far enough along where I’m really, really excited.”
She said the creative team was examining “the actual communities and true stories of what happens out in rural West Texas”, adding that the setting would allow the programme to explore material she had not seen represented on television.
“It’s so different from Grey’s. It’s related to Grey’s, but its stories are going to be different,” Marinis said. She described the project as “something dear to my heart”, noting that she is from Texas.
The spin-off will focus in part on the challenges facing areas described as medical deserts, a subject Marinis said was difficult to portray through Grey’s Anatomy’s Seattle setting.
“Being on a medical show like Grey’s, and hearing a lot about what’s happening in medical deserts, it’s hard to show that in Seattle,” she said. “I’ve always been really interested in showing it, and in doing a small town show in Texas.”
Asked whether the Texas spin-off would be introduced through the original series, Marinis said the team had ideas but had not settled on an approach.
“We have thoughts based on airing schedule and things like that, but we’re still working it out,” she said. “Also because there are so many things going on on Grey’s, I want to make sure to do it where it’s servicing both shows equally.”
The Grey’s Anatomy spin-off was announced in May with a straight-to-series order. Ellen Pompeo has also joined the project as an executive producer.
