‘Grey’s Anatomy’ will be totally different this season —the new trailer proves it

Things got dark last season on Grey’s Anatomy. Really dark. Like, so much crying we basically couldn’t handle it dark. That’s a place the show has been in for several seasons, and it’s kind of the show we turn to when we need a good cry because it delivers one almost every week.

For the show’s 12th season, though, star Ellen Pompeo told Entertainment Weekly things are going to turn back to the lighter side of Grey’s. After talking about the challenges involved with being on the air for so long, namely keeping fans interested and reinventing without completely changing, Pompeo says we’re coming out of the dark and into the light for the next chapter.

“Everyone can agree last year was pretty dark tonally,” Pompeo said. “We were telling volatile stories, and this year we’re going to turn over the soil, and the show has a lighter look. It’s brighter. We’re trying to go back a little bit more to the original Grey’s and have a little bit of a lighter tone this year.”

Pompeo paraphrases former co-star Sandra Oh, whose character Christina says that Meredith is “the sun.” That’s how show creator Shonda Rimes and the writer’s room are planning to give us Meredith without Derek and turn things to a lighter tone. Pompeo explains that while he was an “important person,” he didn’t define Meredith and we’ll see that process of finding herself again play out this season.

It’s an important lesson to take to heart. Marriage is no longer an exchange where women are property done for business reasons, it’s done for love. But the idea that a woman can be in love and not be utterly defined by her relationship is amazing. We’re thrilled to see Grey’s take that idea on!

In other spoilers, Pompeo reveals that Meredith is getting two new lady roommates, in another return to the original Grey’s, and that she’ll explore what to expect from her love life after having had “the perfect love and a perfect marriage.” So, that’s what we’re going to have our weekly cry about, huh?

Even though we’ve got a week to go until Grey’s returns, you can watch the new trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8DwupUJhJU

Grey’s Anatomy returns on Thursday, September 24 at 8PM ET.

(Image via YouTube)