Well, it’s official, Grey’s Anatomy season 23 will indeed be one of the show’s shortest seasons yet.
As fans will recall, ahead of the season 23 premiere, the official Disney+ press site released a preview post that announced that the season would consist of just 13 episodes. When that post began circulating online in fan communities, the post was updated to remove any mention of the episode order for the season; however, original cast member Chandra Wilson has confirmed ABC has indeed ordered just 13 episodes for season 23.
During a recent appearance on the Chicks in the Office podcast, Wilson was asked about whether she has begun to think about hitting 500 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, to which she admitted it’s something that is very front of mind. In doing the math out loud, Wilson confirmed that season 23 currently consists of 13 episodes, though she is pushing for a fourteenth, which would put them just 20 episodes away from hitting the 500-episode mark.
“Yeah, we talk about 500. 500 is a really good number, and I had, like, kind of worked out how we were going to do it. I said, so we’re doing 13 this season. If we implode that and actually do a 13 and a 14 in a 2-hour season finale, that’ll put us at 480 at the end, right? So, now we only need 20, and we could do, like, a full 20-episode season next season instead of 13, and that would be 500 at the end or do 19 and start season 25 with [the 500th].”
It’s definitely disappointing to know that the initial reports were accurate and Grey’s Anatomy season 23 will only be 13 episodes. This will make season 23 the third-shortest season in the show’s history, behind only season 1 (nine episodes) and season 20 (10 episodes). Season 1 was only nine episodes due to the show entering the lineup at midseason, while season 20 was impacted by the writers' and actors’ strikes, which halted production on hundreds of TV series and led to shortened seasons for most shows that year.
While it’s certainly concerning to know that ABC is only producing 13 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy this season, Wilson’s comments certainly instill confidence that season 23 is not being eyed as the final season and that there is hope the show will continue for at least a few more seasons. And although we’ll only get 13 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, ABC is set to launch a new Grey’s Anatomy spinoff in early 2027, which will expand the franchise once again and give us another batch of episodes set within the Grey’s world to enjoy!
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.
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