Grey’s Anatomy Promotes Two Cast Members to Series Regulars for Season 17
Some changes are coming to Grey Sloan Memorial next season.
ABC’s popular long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy and its sister series, the firefighter-themed Station 19, announced several significant casting changes ahead of the former’s seventeenth season and the latter’s fourth.
Actor Richard Flood, who joined the series last fall in a recurring role as pediatric surgeon Dr. Cormac Hayes, has been promoted to series regular for Grey’s Anatomy Season 17.
Though Flood’s character and the titular Meredith Grey did not initially hit it off, they eventually bonded over the fact that they’re both widows.
His chemistry with star Ellen Pompeo is evident, and given Meredith’s ongoing struggles with her troubled ex Andrew DeLuca, it certainly sounds as though a more serious love triangle of some sort may be in the works.
Anthony Hill has also been tapped as a new series regular for the upcoming season. He guest-starred in a single episode last season as Dr. Winston Ndugu, an old colleague of Maggie’s with whom she recently reconnected at a medical conference.
But even as Grey’s Anatomy welcomes two new regulars, a third will be departing the series. (Don’t worry though, she’s not going far.)
After three seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, cast member Stefania Spampinato will transfer permanently to Station 19 next year, where her character, Dr. Carina DeLuca, will become a regular.
Spampinato made multiple appearances on the spinoff last season, and her relocation makes narrative sense, as Carina is currently romantically involved with Maya Bishop.
“These are the kind of news I would have loved to share with mamma Lorenza. Dreams can come true, wherever you make them from, even your little bedroom in Belpasso, Sicily,” Spampnato wrote in an Instagram post.
“Thank you @shondarhimes @kristavernoff & the rest of the writing team for creating Carina, thank you @greysabc @station19 & the incredible cast for making me feel at home since day [one, and] thank you to the AMAZING fans for the constant love and support.”
STEFANIA SPAMPINATO, DANIELLE SAVRE
Despite all this exciting casting news, we still don’t know when we’ll see Grey’s Anatomy Season 17, or what it will include, exactly.
COVID-19 cut Season 16 short by four installments, one of which — according to TV Line — was meant to feature the death of a major character. Whether those truncated storylines will be somehow included or resolved in the upcoming season is anyone’s guess.
We also don’t know when the series might return to production, or whether a delay in filming new episodes might push back the premiere of the next season. Like so much else related to COVID-19 delays and the new TV season, we’ll just have to wait and see.
—
What do you think about this Grey’s Anatomy casting news? Let us know in the comments below.
You can stream Grey’s Anatomy Season 16 on Hulu.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Lacy Baugher
Lacy is a pop culture enthusiast and television critic who loves period dramas, epic fantasy, space adventures, and the female characters everyone says you're supposed to hate. Ninth Doctor enthusiast, Aziraphale girlie, and cat lady, she's a member of the Television Critics Association and Rotten Tomatoes-approved. Find her at LacyMB on all platforms.