ABC renewed Grey's Anatomy for a 23rd season, the network confirmed, extending the longest-running primetime medical drama in American television history. The pickup lands just as two of its most familiar faces prepare to walk out the door.
Kevin McKidd, who played trauma surgeon Owen Hunt since Season 4, and Kim Raver, who joined as cardiothoracic surgeon Teddy Altman in Season 6, will both exit the series after the Season 22 finale. Their departures leave a cast increasingly populated by actors who were not around when Meredith Grey first stepped into Seattle Grace Hospital in March 2005. Only three original cast members from that debut season remain with the series today.
The identity question that renewal raises is pointed. A show named for its protagonist, whose original ensemble has largely scattered across two decades, now holds its shape through something other than legacy casting. The current roster mixes long-tenured veterans with series regulars who joined significantly later, a composition that TVLine confirmed reflects the evolving ensemble structure of the series.
Grey's Anatomy Streaming Numbers and Ratings in 2025
The business case for renewal is visible in the streaming data. Grey's Anatomy ranked as the No. 1 most-streamed series across Disney+ and Hulu in 2025 and placed second across all U.S. platforms that year, according to Variety. The Wrap separately reported the show closed 2025 as the most-streamed series globally across both platforms.
On traditional broadcast, the picture is more complicated. The series has experienced a significant decline in linear viewership over its run, according to The TV Ratings Guide, though it still ranks among the top 15 network series in the adults 18-49 demographic and consistently features in Nielsen's weekly streaming rankings. The gap between its diminished broadcast numbers and its streaming dominance illustrates a structural shift in how the show's audience actually watches it.
Budget pressure appears to be shaping Season 23 in practical ways. The exits of McKidd and Raver may partly reflect cost-cutting decisions, according to TellTaleTV, and the upcoming season could feature a reduced episode count compared to prior seasons, Economic Times reported. Neither ABC nor the show's producers have publicly confirmed a specific episode order for Season 23, and those figures have not been independently verified from a second source.
Fan response to the renewal on social media skewed positive, with audiences expressing particular interest in how the three remaining originals will anchor the new season. One viewer, writing on Reddit in a thread that drew significant engagement, captured a sentiment common in the replies: "The show has basically rebuilt itself from scratch twice. At this point it survives on its own mythology more than its original cast."
What the renewal confirms is that Grey's Anatomy, now in its third decade on American television, has separated its commercial identity from its founding ensemble. The streaming figures give ABC a clear financial argument for continuing. The cast turnover gives the show's creative team a structural challenge that Season 23 will have to navigate without two of its most prominent remaining anchors.
