Grey's Anatomy | |
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Season 11 | |
Showrunners |
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Starring | |
No. of episodes | 25 |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Original release | September 25, 2014 May 14, 2015 | –
Season chronology | |
The eleventh season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy premiered on September 25, 2014, in the United States on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and consists of 25 episodes. The season was produced by ABC Studios, in association with Shondaland Production Company and The Mark Gordon Company; the showrunners being Stacy McKee and William Harper. The season commenced airing with the episode "I Must Have Lost It On The Wind" and concluded with the season finale "You're My Home" airing on May 14, 2015. The season was officially released on DVD as a 6-disc boxset under the title of Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Eleventh Season – Life Changes on August 18, 2015, by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.[1]
The season is the first in which Dr. Cristina Yang, portrayed by Sandra Oh, is not included in the main cast of characters following her departure in previous season's finale.[2] The season's main storylines include Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) dealing with "her person's" departure, her problematic love-life with her husband Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), and the arrival of Dr. Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), whom Meredith learns is her half-sister. The biggest storyline of the season was the death of Derek who is involved in a car accident in "How to Save a Life". Other story-arcs include Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) moving to Seattle, learning the ropes at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) try to save their marriage by going to marriage counseling, April Kepner (Sarah Drew) and Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) end up having a boy, named Samuel, who dies moments after birth having been diagnosed to have osteogenesis imperfecta, a lethal birth defect. The season also focuses on the deepening friendship between Meredith and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) causing problems for him and girlfriend Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington).
The season ended with 11.08 million viewers ranking #36 overall in total viewers. This is much lower than the tenth season, which was ranked #15. In the 18–49 key demographic, Grey's Anatomy ranked #13 down 8 places from the previous season, it is the lowest ranking in the series' history. For the 2014-2015 Primetime TV schedule, it was the #5 drama in the 18–49 key demographic.[3] The season was well received among television critics with several praising the writing and performances of the cast, with lead Ellen Pompeo's performance receiving high critical acclaim. In terms of awards and accolades the season garnered 6 nominations at the 41st People's Choice Awards winning 4 including Favorite Network TV Drama, Dempsey and Pompeo won Favorite Dramatic TV Actor and Actress respectively and Oh winning for Favorite TV Character We Miss Most.[4] On May 7, 2015, ABC announced the renewal of Grey's Anatomy for a twelfth season as part of their 2015-16 TV lineup.[5]
The website Screen Rant ranked the season #6 on their 2023 ranking of the 19 Grey's Anatomy seasons.[6]