| Grey's Anatomy | |
|---|---|
| Season 12 | |
 DVD cover art for the twelfth season of Grey's Anatomy | |
| Showrunners |
|
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 24, 2015 – May 19, 2016 |
| Season chronology | |
The twelfth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy was ordered on May 7, 2015, by ABC.[1] It premiered on September 24, 2015, in the United States on ABC. The twelfth season includes the show's 250th episode, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", which is the fifth episode of the season. The season is 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 premiere episode "Sledgehammer" and concluded with the finale episode "Family Affair".
This season was the first not to feature Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd following the death of the character at the end of the eleventh season. On June 5, 2015 ABC announced that Jason George has been promoted to series-regular status after having performed a recurring role as Dr. Ben Warren since the sixth season of the medical drama.[2] Part way into the season, Martin Henderson was introduced as new regular character, Dr. Nathan Riggs. In the tenth episode of the season, Giacomo Gianniotti was also promoted to series-regular status as intern Andrew DeLuca.
The season garnered 11.21 million average viewers and was ranked #21 overall in total viewers which is 15 spots higher than the previous season. TV critics and analysts noted the renewed interest in viewership with Rich Kissell of Variety calling it a 'renaissance.'[3] Grey's Anatomy finished the 2015–16 television season as ABC's highest-rated drama in the 18-49 demographics and also ranked among the top 5 dramas on all of broadcast, averaging a 3.9 rating in the demo, an unprecedented accomplishment for a show in its 12th season.[4] On March 3, 2016, the network renewed Grey's Anatomy for a thirteenth season.[5]
The website Screen Rant ranked the season #9 on their 2023 ranking of the 19 Grey's Anatomy seasons.[6]
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (May 7, 2014). "ABC Renews Castle, Secrets and Lies, Nashville, Galavant, S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter and 16 Other Series". TVLine. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Cantle, Lewis (June 5, 2015). "'Grey's Anatomy' Promotes Jason George to Series Regular". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- ^ Kissell, Rick (April 28, 2016). "Grey's Enjoys Ratings Renaissance". Variety. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 31, 2016). "'Grey's Anatomy' Poised to Become ABC's Top-Rated Show in 12th Season". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ^ Abrams, Natalie (March 3, 2016). "Grey's Anatomy, Quantico, and more renewed at ABC". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ^ Norman, Dalton (May 15, 2020). "All 19 Grey's Anatomy Seasons Ranked". ScreenRant. Retrieved August 22, 2024.