You’ll Worry About Everyone in ‘Station 19’-‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Crossover

STATION 19
Preview
ABC/Tony Rivetti

Regarding the cliff-hanging return of Grey’s Anatomy: “Watch with a whole box of tissues!” So says showrunner Krista Vernoff, who now holds the same job on companion series Station 19.

The Grey’s fall finale closed with a car crashing through the wall of Joe’s Bar, the watering hole frequented by staff from both Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and the firehouse three blocks away. When Thursday’s crossover kicks off on the new season of Station 19 (the Seattle-set shows have switched timeslots), there’s a very real danger the building will collapse.

The firefighters hustle to save team members Ben Warren (Jason George) and retired captain Pruitt Herrera (Miguel Sandoval), along with a batch of doctors including Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli), and an injured Taryn Helm (Jaicy Elliot), who are all trapped inside.

“The bar is underground, and the structure is unstable,” Vernoff notes. “Arguably, we could worry about everyone [in there] — which includes the responding [firefighters].”

(ABC/Eric McCandless)

You might also worry about someone outside. When we last saw Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson, above), the surgery chief — and wife of Ben — had suffered a miscarriage. Now she waits to see if she will lose her husband as well.

Looking ahead on Station 19, Vernoff says to expect a darker, grittier tone, “with more death and chaos.” She also promises flashbacks illuminating who these heroes are “and what makes them want to run toward fire.”

Station 19, Season Premiere, Thursday, January 23, 8/7c, ABC

Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC