Grey's Anatomy Season 20 Release Delay Breaks 18 Year Tradition

The premiere of 'Grey's Anatomy' season 20 has been delayed, breaking an 18 year tradition.

Focusing on the life of patients and staff at Seattle Grace Hospital, the show has released new episodes every year since 2005, and is currently preparing for season 20, but encountered a major problem. 

The ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought a halt to the development, and now instead of continuing its tradition of providing new content every year, ABC's 2023-2024 schedule was released, not include 'Grey's Anatomy.' 

'Will Trent' is also not included, and 'Abbott Elementary' is relegated to encore episodes. It's been confirmed the premiere will be delayed due to the strikes. 

This results in breaking a tradition for the medical drama, as this will be the first time the show won't return for its slated schedule, and could be the longest gap between seasons. 

Before this year, 'Grey's Anatomy' released a new season every year.

It's likely the show won't return until after the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Development was unable to continue despite being renewed, and scripts aren't ready for full production.

There hasn't been enough time to complete the season, which is the likely main contribution to the failure to release in time for the usual schedule.

Currently, there's no end in site for the strikes, as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has failed to negotiate with the writers for several months.

They agreed to meet on August 4th, however, the strikes will continue indefinitely after the two sides failed to reach an agreement. 

The WGA and SAG-AFTRA are seeking better working conditions, better payment and residuals, and restrictions on studio AI usage. Until these are resolved, 'Grey's Anatomy' won't continue.

AMPTP will likely need to reach an agreement with the WGA before moving to the negotiation tables with SAG-AFTRA. 

The WGA strike has been ongoing for over 100 days, so the studios will need to get writers back to work soon if they wish to complete their schedules. 

When negotiations finally do result in an end to the strikes, it will still be some time before 'Grey's Anatomy' returns.