Grey’s Anatomy fans might want to take a seat as ABC just dropped a major bombshell on us regarding the episode order for the show’s upcoming 23rd season.
In a newly posted Grey’s Anatomy season 23 preview on the official Disney+ website, it has been revealed that the upcoming season will consist of a mere 13 episodes. Yes, you read that right; Grey’s Anatomy season 23 will only be 13 episodes total, which makes it one of the show’s shortest seasons ever.
Recent years have seen the show’s episode count slowly being reduced, with the two most recent seasons coming in at 18 episodes each. It was anticipated that season 23 would follow this trend and produce 18 episodes as well. Instead, it will become the third shortest season in the history of Grey’s Anatomy.
The only time ABC has produced fewer episodes in a season was during seasons 1 and 20. The first season of Grey’s Anatomy entered the picture at midseason with a nine-episode season, with a nine-episode season that was so successful the show quickly earned its place on the fall schedule the following season with a super-sized 27-episode second season that was literally three times as long as the first season.
As for season 20? You might have guessed that it was the show’s COVID season, but the show managed to still produce a 17-episode season during the pandemic. Season 20 was impacted by the writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023, which resulted in season 20 consisting of just 10 episodes, making it the shortest season since the show’s first.
So why is ABC slashing the episode count this season and giving Grey’s Anatomy fans such a short season? Well, it seems that the move is due to the planned Texas-based spinoff, which will be taking over Grey’s Anatomy’s time slot at midseason sometime in early 2027. The plan seems to be for Grey’s Anatomy to air the majority of its season in the fall before wrapping at the top of the new year, with the new Texas spinoff then taking over Grey’s Anatomy’s Thursday night time slot and airing alongside 911 and 911: Nashville.
It’s certainly going to be an adjustment just getting 13 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, and it’ll be interesting to see if this becomes the new normal for the show or whether ABC will order more episodes should the series be renewed for season 24, which looks likely. With a smaller order, the one plus is that fans should be in for an action-packed season that will look to make the most of its limited time.
We’ll see what the writers have in store for us when Grey’s Anatomy season 23 premieres on Thursday, October 15, at 10/9c on ABC!
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