As if we do not get enough coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic already, our favorite medical drama on TV “Grey’s Anatomy” revealed that it would revolve its seventeenth season around it. Long time fans of the series recently suggested that the show has already had a somewhat similar storyline way back in Season 3, which was aired over 13 years ago.
The show is considered the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history, and a huge part of its success can be attributed to its gripping storylines that add an extra layer of realism by using certain health problems the world is currently experiencing. And that’s exactly what executive producer Krista Vernoff mentioned when she participated in “The Quaranstreaming: Comfort TV that Keeps Us Going TV” panel along with show’s stars Chandra Wilson (Dr. Miranda Bailey) and Kevin McKidd (Dr. Owen Hunt).
During the interview, Vernoff addressed fan speculation regarding the involvement of the current global pandemic in the next season.
“We are going to address this pandemic for sure,” and that “There’s no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes.”
Many fans then started to recall an earlier episode of the series that may have foreshadowed the upcoming season.
The first episode of the third season titled “Time Has Come Today” features a subplot that involves a woman in critical condition after she and her husband were driving to the hospital then crashed into a railing. Both of them told the medical staff at the Grey Sloan Memorial that they have been experiencing flu-like symptoms that needed immediate medical attention. It is later revealed that they were exposed to somebody who is suspected of having the plague.
Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and George O’Malley (T.R Knight) who performed the surgery, would also need to be quarantined in a locker room for safety precautions.
Despite this being a minor storyline, many people on Twitter and Reddit expressed their feelings on how the events in the episode are somehow relevant to the coronavirus pandemic.
Season 3, Episode 1 of @GreysABC has a storyline that includes a couple being exposed to “the plague”, forcibly quarantined and one of them dying alone.
It’s scary & a little too real.— cailyn (@cailynvictoria) April 11, 2020
all ima say is Greys Anatomy; Season 3; Episode 1; 30:30 #COVID19 #GreysAnatomy . This has been planned for years.
— Samyria.🌻 (@Samyrialove) July 7, 2020
Damn season 3 episode 1 is triggering because of what’s going on right now! #GreysAnatomy 😢
— ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (@Lilah425) May 1, 2020
Grey’;s Anatomy will tackle coronavirus pandemic in season 17 from r/greysanatomy
Fans of the series are pointing out how the episode reflects some of the things people are experiencing today, especially how it portrayed the feeling of isolation and fear for the ones who were exposed to it.
TV shows and movies have always been known for storylines that relate to real-life scenarios. And with this virus being one of the biggest health threats known in recent memory due to the high infection rates and the plummeting economies, it is something that will most likely be shown and used for many TV and movie plots in the future. That being said, with the 17th season of Grey’s Anatomy set to make its release around the end of September 2020, it should be a top priority for the show to give justice to the stories of these health workers who constantly battle this pandemic.
POP! Creator Community/ Jose Rafael Santamaria
