ABCAmidst all the relationship drama happening on Grey's Anatomy right now, something very exciting is about to make its way to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital!
When E! News caught up with Jerrika Hinton (who plays Stephanie Edwards on the ABC medical drama), she revealed that Stephanie is soon going to have bigger concerns on her plate than dealing with her ex Jackson (Jesse Williams) and April's (Sarah Drew) baby drama.
"She's only involved [with that storyline] as in she's the bearer of bad news," Hinton says. "The rest of that journey is theirs to take, thankfully. She has other medical concerns to attend to within the hospital."
And what could those "other medical concerns" be?
"Stephanie gets to be a part of something groundbreaking with someone you haven't seen her in too many scenes with before," Hinton reveals. "Stephanie's journey in the back half of the season, as it stands right now, I'm excited for it. It's been a while since I've been this excited because playing the jilted lover, that was something, but now I get to sink my teeth into something! And I love when I get to do research, and the things that Stephanie is involved with now…somehow or another Grey Sloan is always the place with groundbreaking medical discoveries. I don't know how that's case but it is!"
This is hardly the first time Stephanie has been a part of some huge trial or research project, but Hinton teases that this upcoming discovery will be career-defining for her young doc.
"What I've realized is, in the tiny three years that she's been there, this has happened to Stephanie a lot," Hinton says with a laugh. "She got to be a part of Meredith's [Ellen Pompeo] 3D printing lab, she got to be a part of Bailey's [Chandra Wilson] genome project, and now she's going to get to be a part of this third gigantic thing."
She continues, "How does this girl have such a nose for this? How does she keep sniffing out these avenues that turn out to be so exciting and titillating in a really fantastic way? I don't know, but that's what's on deck for her, another gigantically groundbreaking surgical discovery."
Hinton wonders if that's Stephanie's special skill, what makes her a truly stellar doctor: her ability to recognize what ideas and theories will be successful down the line.
"She's an innovator!" Hinton says. "I'm not sure if the writers are really tracking this about her, but from an acting point of view, it really does feel like that's what this girl's backbone and skill is, in a way. She wants the new thing. She wants to break new ground."
Of course, that hasn't left much time for a love life. Ever since Jackson left her for April, Stephanie hasn't gotten any new love interests on the show...at least, ones that we've seen onscreen.
"I keep telling myself that all of Stephanie's action happens outside of the hospital, because she's now learned not to bring her love life into her work place," Hinton says with a laugh. "That's why we don't see it on TV, even though she's getting laid left and right! No more incestuous relationships. She learned the hard way with Jackson! But I hope she'll get a new love interest soon."
Greys Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.