Now that we're only a month and a half out from our return to the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial, details about the 14th season of Grey's Anatomy have slowly begun trickling out.
When we check back in with our favorite Seattle-based surgeons, they'll be in the midst of what star Jessica Capshaw calls a "recovery," which makes perfect sense when you remember that season 13 ended with half of the hospital on fire after an explosion caused by a mad man.
"I think it's in a recovery and I think it's not only in a recovery, but it's in sort of like a moment where you find your place and you gain a little traction and then you move positively and forward-ly on," she told E! News on the white carpet at ABC's 2017 TCA summer press tour party. "We did a table read for both the first and second episodes, and they are righteously hysterical. They're so much fun and very sort of going back to first and second season Grey's. It's very funny. It's very irreverent and funny and sort of on its side. I think it's what you remember and love about the beginning of the original group."
For more Grey's season 14 scoop, read on...
Arizona's Love Life (or Lack Thereof)
When the troublemaking Eliza Minnick (guest star Marika Dominczyk) was fired in the final minutes of the season 13 finale, it threw her burgeoning relationship with Arizona into a lurch. And as Capshaw tells it, you would be wise to let go of your hope that they might work it out. "Well, I mean, I think she was on the way to being a little bit—I mean, she was super crushed out, but I think she was on the way to being a little in love, right," she told us. "And now her girlfriend gets fired. So what happens now? I think it's a little bit of being in a wash cycle and sort of going 'What happened and why and now what do I do?'"
"I think I can safely tell you that she leaves," she continued. "She's peace out. She's gone. She leaves Arizona high and dry after all that super love talk."
A Matthew Morrison Return
When we finally met Jo's (Camilla Luddington) abusive husband at the end of last season, fans felt as though it would only be a matter of time until Paul Stadler (played by Glee alum Matthew Morrison) would pop back up to wreak havoc on her and Alex's (Justin Chambers) lives. After all, that look he shot Alex as he stole his cab from him seemed to indicate that he recognized the undercover doc. And now Morrison is confirming that a season 14 return in a new interview with The Argonaut, saying that his character has a "big role" in the coming season. (A rep for ABC declined to comment.)
A New Face for Megan Hunt
As previously reported, the series has recast the role of Owen's (Kevin McKidd) presumed dead sister Megan, played by Jane the Virgin alum Bridget Regan via flashback in a season 13 episode. After Regan had to bow out due to a scheduling conflict (she's a series regular on TNT's The Last Ship), Shondaland tapped Timeless star Abigail Spencer to take the role over for a multi-episode arc in season 14. And to prove that there was no ill will on her part, Regan tweeted in support of Spencer jumping into the role. "Thanks for all the love guys! @abigailspencer is an incredible actor, tip top lady and will be a BRILLIANT Megan on #GreysAnatomy," she wrote.
Old Friends (In Front of and Behind the Camera)
Fitting into Megan's storyline is the return of former series regular Kim Raver, whose character Teddy Altman hasn't been seen since Owen fired her in the season eight finale so she'd pursue her dream job as chief with Army Medical Command. After Megan was found alive at the end of last season, Teddy was name-checked, with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) telling Owen that Teddy was with his sister and confirmed it was really her. E! News confirmed that the actress will be back for a guest arc in the beginning of season 14.
Also returning to her old stomping grounds after years away is Krista Vernoff, who acted as head writer and executive producer for the show's first seven seasons. Not only is she joining the showrunning team of Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers for season 14, but she's also the writer responsible for the season's first two episodes—AKA the "righteously hysterical" hours Capshaw praised above.
Grey's Anatomy returns with a two-hour season premiere on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. on ABC.