Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 16 Premiere Has A Time Jump Twist

Published on September 6, 2019.

Adam Taylor/©ABC/courtesy Everett Collection

The season 16 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy is only a few weeks away, and showrunner Krista Vernoff is hinting at what to expect from the first episode of the brand new season.

After the season 15 finale ended with a lot of cliffhangers including DeLuca being in jail, Meredith coming clean about insurance fraud, Jackson vanishing into the fog, and Miranda firing both Alex Karev and Richard Webber, there is a lot to come back to and Vernoff said the premiere will start right at that moment.

“All of the lingering [cliffhangers will be addressed] pretty immediately,” Vernoff said, before adding that the remainder of the episode will go through a little bit of a time jump. “We will then span a little bit of time over the course of the hour.”

When asked just how much time will elapse over the course of the first episode, Vernoff teased, “I would rather not reveal that.”

Despite the time jump which could be months or longer, Vernoff added that there will be a lot of fallout from all of the issues left by the finale. “They’ve got to navigate the complexities of a new relationship in the wake of Meredith having been fired and having broken the law,”she explained.

Meanwhile Vernoff added that she is working hard to get an appearance from a past character in the season. “I’m trying to get someone back,” Vernoff revealed at the TCA summer press tour. “There’s someone I’m hoping will make an appearance this year, [but] it’s a real maybe. I’m trying.”

Grey’s Anatomy season 16 premieres on Thursday, September 26.