At fifteen seasons, Grey’s Anatomy is one of the longest running TV shows in television history.
Considering how long it’s been, it’s no surprise that there have been a whole lot of canceled storylines.
Let’s look at a couple!
1. Bailey and George were meant to be a couple.
The relationship was described by Shona Rhimes, creator of the series, as ” odd but sexual “.
It was supposed to be a steamy love between an intern and his boss… ooh la la.
2. Burke was supposed to have a wife and children.
He was supposed to feel trapped in his marriage , which would have made him eventually divorce his wife and fall in love with Christina.
I’m sure that would’ve contributed greatly to the melodrama.
3. Derek and Meredith were supposed to remain childless.
This would’ve meant that the two of them could’ve focused more on their careers instead of three beautiful children .
While you might think this could’ve been a detriment, it would’ve meant the show would’ve focused more on surgeries.
4. Lexie was supposed to become the main character.
This was of course if Ellen Pompeo ever decided to leave the show .
This of course never came to fruition, as her character was eventually killed off.
5. Christina was supposed to fall in love with a patient.
Much like Izzie did with Denny. Which is probably why they eventually decided to scrap the idea .
I dunno, but the storylines probably would’ve been way too similar… then again, they must’ve repeated some stuff.
6. Izzie was supposed to return.
There were some conflicts with the actress who portrayed Izzie, so it’s no surprise this storyline didn’t actually happen.
As a fan, however, it would’ve been nice to see Izzie return .
7. Derek and Addison were supposed to have a teenage daughter.
Imagine if these two had a daughter together .
It would’ve made the on again off again relationship between these two much, much more dramatic. Also, she could’ve helped Derek make tough decisions.
8. Christina’s Dad was supposed to be a donor.
This was supposed to be revealed very early in the series, which meant that the other interns probably would’ve hated her from the beginning, making her rise to having people like her much more interesting.
9. Meredith and Burke were supposed to be a couple.
Although he didn’t end up dating Meredith, he did date Christina, but it would have been interesting to see Burke with Grey.
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I wonder why they scrapped this idea .
10. April was supposed to leave.
After she got fired, April was supposed to leave the show indefinitely. Instead, they had Derek rehire her .
April is a fine character, but her leaving probably would’ve been more dramatic.
11. Mark and Addison were supposed to rekindle their love.
Of course, this would’ve taken place after Lexie died.
Shonda liked the idea, however, they ultimately decided that Mark wouldn’t have been able to move on from Lexie as she was his greatest love .
12. During the 300th episode…
All of the ghosts of Meredith’s past were supposed to be standing in the crowd, cheering her on as she won the Harper Avery Award.
However, they cut it down to just Ellis Grey .
13. We were supposed to see George’s last day.
Shonda Rhimes actually commented on this decision, saying:
“I wanted to see his last day [alive] really badly. What I thought was interesting was the idea of, we now know it’s the last day of someone’s life, [so we’re] looking at it differently than [we] would any other time.”
14. Christina was supposed to have an abortion.
This storyline was too much for the other producers of the show, so they decided to go with an ectopic pregnancy instead.
Too bad, I’m sure the episode would’ve been very dramatic.
15. Meredith wasn’t supposed to move on.
After Derek died, of course.
This would mean that during the remainder of her career she would’ve focused on interesting surgeries and the way Derek’s death affected that rather than different relationships .
16. The Doctors Were Supposed To Be Smokers
Now hear me out on this one, folks.
Imagine if we had doctors who were smokers, which I know sounds counterintuitive, but then we could’ve had all sorts of interesting storylines …
Such As…
Well, I feel like a lot of the episodes (or at least one of them) could’ve revolved around the idea of quitting.
They could have shown how hard it is, even for people as disciplined as doctors, to get rid of the habit.
I feel…
That this would’ve made the doctors more human! Don’t look me in the eyes and tell me that it wouldn’t have been funny to see how some of them reacted.
Christina? Trying to quit smoking? Hello!
17. Arizona and Callie were supposed to meet before they left.
So remember that whole storyline where Callie Torres just up and left to New York after she broke up with her wife Arizona?
And then suddenly Arizona did the same, without even seeing her?
Well…
Apparently, there was supposed to be an episode where Callie comes back and talks to Arizona and the two of them decide to go to rekindle their lost love and go to New York together.
That would’ve at least made a little more sense.
18. The show was supposed to be set in Chicago.
Is it just me, or does Chicago just sound like a better setting than Seattle?
Call me a fair weather fan, but I just hate how it rains constantly at Seattle Grace.
Also…
Chicago is one of the most violent cities in America.
Imagine all the social issues they could’ve tackled while in the Windy City , plus all the great places they could’ve visited!
Plus, Bears > Seahawks any day.
19. Alex Karev wasn’t supposed to be in the pilot.
Hey, hey! Relax there tiger, I’m not saying that Karev shouldn’t have been in the show at all.
I, like many of you, am a fan of the doctor.
However…
Alex Karev was actually put in the pilot in the last second. He was, in a way, an afterthought.