Grey’s Anatomy fans are scratching their heads over the Texas setting of the medical franchise’s newly announced spin-off. On Tuesday, news broke that ABC had greenlit an untitled one-hour offshoot of the long-running hospital drama, this time centred on a team at a West Texas rural medical centre — described as “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere”.
The spin-off is expected to premiere during the 2026 to 2027 broadcast season. Original Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo is attached to executive produce, alongside series creator Shonda Rhimes and Meg Marinis, who took over as showrunner in 2024. “I am incredibly excited to expand the Grey’s Anatomy universe,” Marinis said in a statement. “This opportunity will bring new characters and stories to life that will embody the same heart, emotion and connection audiences have loved for more than two decades — all set in my home state of Texas.”
While the forthcoming spin-off is far from the first in the Grey’s Anatomy universe — which has already spawned Private Practice, Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy: B-Team — its Texas location has left fans confused, as the southern state has little connection to the main series. Major characters who have left the show have ended up in Boston, Switzerland and, most recently, Paris.
Fans took to social media to express their confusion. “Who is even in Texas?” one asked, while another noted: “For it to be a spin-off it has to be related, so [do] we know if there is character crossover?” One fan, however, remembered that Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton), who appeared from 2012 to 2017, went to a Texas burn unit after the season 13 finale. Another recalled that Dr. Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli), who featured from 2017 to 2024, left for a paediatrics fellowship in San Antonio, Texas. At the moment, it is not yet known whether or how the new spin-off will connect to the original series.
