‘Station 19’ Creator Teases More ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Crossovers to Come

Station 19, the ABC spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy, made its first appearance at ATX Television Festival and teased the possibility of crossovers with the flagship medical drama.

Stars Jaina Lee Ortiz and Jason George made an appearance at the festival in Austin, along with series creator Stacy McKee and Shondaland casting director Linda Lowy.

When talking about the upcoming second season, Deadline reports, McKee teased that “there will be the same amount of heart and humor and action, plus way more. Now we’ve met the characters… we can dig even deeper. We’ve barely scratched the surface.”

George then added, “I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface of Grey’s world interacting with the Station 19 world and vice versa — that’s just getting started.”

McKee confirmed interactions between the two shows are definitely on the table.

The confirmation comes a few weeks after ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey announced the Thursday night lineup for next season with Grey’s airing at 8 p.m. ET, then Station 19 at 9 p.m. ET and How to Get Away With Murder at 10 p.m. ET; and teased upcoming crossovers between the two Seattle-based dramas.

“We are looking at more dynamic interplay between the 8 and 9 o’clock hours,” Dungey said at the ABC upfront presentation.

The focus, however, is to allow the new firefighter drama to find its own voice in the Shondaland universe.

“It was really important that this show worked as a companion piece with Grey’s but also had a very distinct voice,” McKee said. “It’s about being a nice sister to Grey’s but a sister with a little bit of edge. The one nice thing about the kinds of stories we tell is they run into fires and there’s a lot more action than there typically is on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, and that automatically heightens the stakes storytelling-wise. It’s keeping the same tone and sensibility but heighten things a bit.”

As far as the season final cliffhanger, which saw at least three characters in danger of losing their lives, McKee hinted that like Grey’s, no one is ever safe.

“Yes, anyone could die at any time,” McKee said. “That’s the nature of the job, and if you’ve ever watched an episode of Grey’s Anatomy you know.”

During the panel, the team behind Station 19 also discussed the importance of inclusive casting, a staple of Shondaland programming.

“I feel that’s the gift that we are able to represent what you go out and to see every day,” said Lowy. “We try to do that from the co-stars right up into the series regulars.”

For Ortiz, being and portraying a Latina lead character on a network series serves a bigger purpose.

“It’s another door of opportunity for the next generation.”

Station 19 will return for its second season in fall 2018.