Why ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Is Better Than Ever

If you aren’t already watching Season 11, get into it STAT.

Way back in my pre-DVR days (ye olde 2005), I was a die hard Grey’s Anatomy fan. DIE HARD. I was just starting out my career in PR in NYC—not a path for the faint of heart, but perfect for a professional masochist—and the days were long. A grind, for sure, but it honestly didn’t bother me much since the gig was a long-fought dream come true and a major goal achieved.

That is, until Thursdays came around.

Getting home in time for Grey’s became a weekly game of traversing a 10-hour, Double Dare-style professional obstacle course that I hoped would end in a visit to Seattle Grace and not with me covered in a bucket of proverbial green slime. I would blast out of the office with minutes to spare, shoot downtown on the subway to SoHo and sprint up the stairs of our seven-floor walk-up (bokay) to claim my stake on the remote. There were three of us sharing approximately two square feet of space, and given that we only had cable on one tiny 13” TV in the litchen (that’s the signature Manhattan ‘living room-kitchen’ hybrid), players couldn’t play. Everyone knew that for that one hour, Grey’s was the thing, and the second it was over, roommate time commenced.

I told you: DIE HARD.

Now, I’m fully aware of how tragic it sounds to put so much effort into watching a TV show, but it was a reliable bright spot in my otherwise stressful, somewhat lonely new-to-New York existence. Following the pitfalls and pratfalls of Meredith, Derek and their fellow docs was not only a soapy escape, but it allowed me to curl up in a world where strangers became friends, and friends became family, as they navigated the uncertainties of a new city, career and life.

It was kind of like my own journey, only in cool scrubs.

That second season—Denny’s death (DENNY!), Cristina’s miscarriage, the Superbowl episode bombing (Kyle Chandler still looked good even as a splat), the arrival of Addison, Callie and McSteamy—was primetime soap perfection. And the few that followed were great, too. (The season six finale with the hospital shooting, anyone?) They were so good, in fact, that it became evident the creative pendulum had to swing. And swing it did, into somewhat labored, ‘haven’t-we-seen-this-already?’ territory.

And so, I gave up on Grey’s. Time of death: Season seven.

I didn’t miss it all that much until last spring, when I checked back in to watch the incomparable Sandra Oh’s swan song as Cristina. It was classic Grey’s, but at the same time, I noticed that something intriguing had changed since I was last in the operating room. I couldn’t put my finger directly on it but my curiosity was piqued, so I planned to catch the first episode when it came back in the fall.

I watched the Season 11 premiere, and I haven’t missed an episode since.

I got back on the Grey’s gurney for one simple reason: It’s that good again. Instead of focusing on the ‘patient of the week,’ Shonda Rimes + Co. have pivoted their approach to focus on the characters we’ve known and loved—and, at times, not loved all that much—for a decade. Every plot point mines history to facilitate a new reveal about an individual or relationship, sparking dramatic on-screen tension that challenges us as an audience to consider and weigh the characters’ colors and history—their good, their bad, their humanity—as we choose sides from the comfort of our couches.

This thread of deeply layered, rich storytelling runs through every plot point on Grey’s these days. The show is at its most virile and alive, though, when it explores Meredith and Derek’s conflict over career, family, ego and power, and Callie and Arizona’s struggle to resolve love and friendship in the face of heartbreak. This past fall’s series of tour de force scenes where Meredith roils back against Derek and his (in)decision about a move to DC in a fight for her family, herself and her truth, and Callie and Arizona’s therapy sessions where the ties that bound them knotted and unraveled, carried the weight of 11 years in every line like very few other shows are able to achieve. That’s a unique and rare kind of network entertainment.

Much like anything long-term in life, Grey’s has had its high points and low points, memorable moments and sad disappointments. But if you still think of it fondly even if you’ve stopped tuning in, there’s no better time to give it another try. After all, there’s something special about reconnecting with an old friend who defies the odds to surprise you with their best even after you think you know all the rest.

I just hope Meredith dances it out at least one more time.

Grey’s Anatomy returns to making rounds on January 29^th.