Grey’s Anatomy Heads To Texas As ABC Orders New Spin-Off From Shonda Rhimes

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ABC is expanding the ‘Grey’s Anatomy‘ universe once again, with a brand new medical drama heading to rural West Texas.

The untitled spin-off has been given a straight-to-series order by ABC, with Shonda Rhimes and current ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ showrunner Meg Marinis co-creating, writing and executive producing the new drama. The series is set to premiere in the US in midseason 2027, although there is no UK broadcaster or streaming home announced at the moment.

The new series is described as an edgy drama following a team at a rural West Texas medical centre, “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere.” That gives the franchise a very different setting from its previous homes, moving away from the big-city, West Coast backdrop of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Private Practice’ and ‘Station 19’.

This will be the fourth series in the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ franchise, following the long-running mothership, the Los Angeles-set ‘Private Practice’, and firefighter spin-off ‘Station 19’. It is also notable because, unlike the previous two spin-offs, this one is not currently built around an existing regular character moving over from the main show.

That said, the new drama is still expected to connect back to the wider ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ universe in some way, with one possible link being Catherine Fox, played by Debbie Allen (‘Grey’s Anatomy’).

“I am incredibly excited to expand the Grey’s Anatomy universe,” Marinis said. “This opportunity will bring new characters and stories to life that will embody the same heart, emotion and connection audiences have loved from Grey’s for more than two decades — all set in my home state of Texas. I am so grateful to Shonda Rhimes for creating this dynamic world and feel so fortunate that I get to be a part of it.”

Rhimes and Betsy Beers executive produce the new series alongside Marinis and Ellen Pompeo (‘Grey’s Anatomy’), who is also an executive producer on the mothership series. Shondaland and 20th Television are producing.

The project also marks Rhimes’ first episode written or co-written for the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ franchise since the Season 11 episode “How to Save a Life,” which famously killed off Derek Shepherd. Rhimes previously wrote the original ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ pilot, along with the backdoor pilot and first episode of ‘Private Practice’.

ABC has not yet confirmed the episode count, although it is likely to be a limited midseason order rather than a full-length first season. The current expectation is that ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and the new Texas-set spin-off could share the same Thursday 10pm US slot across the season, with the mothership airing in the autumn and the new show following in midseason.

The order comes as ABC continues to build franchises around some of its biggest dramas. Alongside ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, the network has also expanded ‘9-1-1’ with ‘9-1-1: Nashville’, while ‘The Rookie: North‘ is set to join ‘The Rookie’ next season.

The untitled ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ spin-off premieres in midseason 2027 on ABC in the US. The series does not yet have a UK broadcaster or premiere date, but will very likely air on Disney+ UK alongside the mothership.