‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Casts HBO Max Star for Season 19

Grey’s Anatomy is bringing in Sex Lives of College Girls star Midori Francis as a new medical resident in the upcoming 19th season of the long-running ABC medical drama, Deadline reports. Francis, who plays Alicia, the leader of the Essex College Women’s Center on the HBO Max show, is the third new addition for Grey’s Anatomy Season 19, joining fellow newcomers Alexis Floyd and Niko Terho.

All three new cast members will play first-year surgical residents at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, coming in after the hospital was forced to disband its teaching program and rebuild it completely in the Season 18 finale. Francis will play Mika Yasuda, the middle child of nine children who uses people underestimating her to her advantage, according to Deadline. Dealing with overwhelming student loans from her medical education, Mika is confident she’ll still rise to the top of the competitive program.

Francis will still appear on The Sex Lives of College Girls as a recurring character on the show’s upcoming second season after a one-series regular deal on the HBO Max series. Francis previously appeared in the Netflix series Dash & Lily as Lily, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for her role, as well as the 2019 film Good Boys.

Grey’s Anatomy has several beloved characters at a crossroads after the end of Season 18, although fans’ concerns that Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) would be leaving the show have been quelled for now. With the teaching hospital now closed, Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) has an unclear future at the hospital, leaving fans to wonder if he’s on his way out on the show as well.

Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) are also on the run going into Season 19 after Owen’s physician-assisted suicide program was uncovered. Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) is also in the wind, possibly heading back to his home state of Minnesota after a confrontation with Meredith, but none of these characters have been announced as leaving the show altogether. The hit ABC medical drama returns in the fall, premiering its 19th season on Thursday, Oct. 6.