Jason George Poised To Return To ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ After End Of ‘Station 19’
EXCLUSIVE: In 2017, Jason George left ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy to help launch its spinoff series, Station 19. For seven seasons, he was a series regular on the firefighter drama as Ben Warren while making frequent guest appearances on the mothership series. With Station 19 coming to an end, all signs point to him going back to Grey’s Anatomy, a return which the Station 19 finale helped set up.
According to sources, there is no deal in place and the exact capacity in which George would return to Grey’s Anatomy is unclear but talks are ongoing, and the intent is to have him back full-time on the show where he has been since Season 6, including a series regular stint from S12-S14, before moving to Station 19. Reps for ABC and ABC Signature, which produces Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, declined comment.
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Rumblings about George potentially rejoining Grey’s Anatomy next season started in January. In a March interview with new Grey’s showrunner Meg Martinis, Deadline asked whether Station 19 series regular characters who originated on the medical drama, George’s Ben or Stefania Spampinato’s Carina, could end up back on the mothership.
“How they end their stories [on Station 19] will help me determine whether or not I will be seeing those characters on Grey’s,” Martinis said. The way the firefighter drama wrapped Ben’s story, he is practically headed back to Grey Sloan. More on that in a bit, preceded by a spoiler warning.
Ben Warren always has had a personal connection to Grey’s Anatomy through his marriage to Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). But his professional connection has grown stronger too over the final season of Station 19 as Ben has been stepping up more to use his medical background.
Back in 2017, as a fifth year resident at Grey Sloan, Ben found a way he could explore a dream second career as a firefighter without jeopardizing his chances at going back one day should he choose to do so. Thanks to the elite Medic One program, Ben successfully became an EMT through its fellowship program and, with Miranda’s support, became a firefighter at Station 19.
Across 7 seasons on Station 19, Ben always embraced the duality of his professional passions which at its core center around helping people.
There were many instances where Ben was able to apply his talents as a doctor while working as a firefighter, including performing an amputation in the field. The most notable was probably the launch of his Physician Response Team in Season 3, a mobile emergency room offering on-the-spot assistance to patients who maybe would not survive a trip to the hospital. The initiative, jointly funded by the Seattle Fire Department and Grey Sloan, was short-lived due to critical flaws but it was a touchpoint for Ben that further fueled his love of medicine.
In Station 19‘s penultimate episode, he saved a severely burned man by cutting through the burnt skin to let him breathe but could not lift the gurney the victim was on because of his shoulder injury. That prompted Ben to open up to Vic (Barrett Doss) about the duality to his life, noting that he was a really good doctor that day but his injury was making it impossible for him to be a really good firefighter, hinting at a potential career path reversal.
When Theo (Carlos Miranda) was gravely injured, Ben was there to triage him before accompanying him to Grey Sloan in the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy, seamlessly passing the medical care baton to Owen (Grey’s Kevin McKidd).
SPOILER ALERT: The remaining portion of the story includes mild spoilers about the series finale of Station 19.
In the series finale of Station 19, which saw the crew battling a massive wildfire, Ben was alongside Carina (Spampinato) while she assisted a badly burned mother in labor.
It came at no surprise that by episode’s end, Captain Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) figured out Ben’s plans to retire as a firefighter and return to medicine (and Miranda).
“Let me guess, you’re going back to finish your surgical residency?” Andy asked.
“It’s that obvious, huh? It’s just that between the multiple injuries and constantly being away from Miranda…,” Ben tried to explain before Andy stepped in.
“No explanation needed. It’s alright, I get it,” she said. “Look, you’re a great firefighter but I know that your love of medicine and helping people knows no bounds. We all have our calling.”
As the two later walked back into the main room, Ben couldn’t resist one last quip, “I don’t know if I ever told you but I’m a doctor,” he said to a laugh because Ben reminding everyone he is MD has been a recurring theme on the show.
“I’ve never heard you say that before. Like ever,” Andy deadpanned.
The Station 19 finale flash-forward provided a glimpse at Miranda and Ben’s future as their adopted daughter Prue, daughter of late Station 19 firefighter Dean Miller (Okieriete Onaodowan), is seen graduating from the Fire Academy and joining Station 19.
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