The tenth season of the American television medical drama ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

'' premiered on September 26, 2013, with a two-hour special episode in the United States on the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

(ABC), and it concluded with a ''Farewell To Cristina'' finale episode " Fear (Of The Unknown)" on May 15, 2014. The season was produced by

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television Filmmaking#Production, production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the List of assets owned by The Walt Disney Company#Disne ...

, in association with Shondaland Production Company and The Mark Gordon Company; the showrunners being

Tony Phelan Tony Phelan is an American television screenwriter, producer and director. He is married to television producer and screenwriter Joan Rater. Phelan is best known for his work on ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he has been nominated for two Em ...

and

Joan Rater Joan Rater is an American television producer and screenwriter. Her most notable work has been for the medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which she has served as writer, producer and supervising producer for over fifty separate episodes. She is ...

. The season was officially released on DVD as a 6-disc box-set under the title of ''Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Tenth Season – Live For The Moments'' on September 2, 2014 by

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Meredith Grey Meredith Grey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional and titular character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series pro ...

(

Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her role on ''Grey's Anatomy'' as the titular Dr. Meredith Grey. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances ...

) and "her person"

Cristina Yang Cristina Yang, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which has aired for over 16 years on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was crea ...

(

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005� ...

) as both follow different paths relating their careers straining their relationship.

Derek Shepherd Derek Christopher Shepherd, M.D., F.A.C.S., also referred to as "McDreamy", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey. He made his first appearance in the pilot episode, " A Hard D ...

(

Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and race car driver. He is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy''. He had early success as an actor, starring in a number of fil ...

) and Callie Torres (

Sara Ramirez Sara Elena Ramírez (; born August 31, 1975) is a Mexican-American actor and singer. Born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Ramírez moved to the United States at eight years old, eventually graduating with a fine arts degree from the Juilliard School. R ...

), having separated from her wife

Arizona Robbins Arizona Robbins, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by Jessica Capshaw. She was intro ...

(

Jessica Capshaw Jessica Capshaw (born August 9, 1976) is an American actress known for her roles as Jamie Stringer in ''The Practice'', and as Dr. Arizona Robbins on the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy''. Early life Capshaw was born on August 9, 1976, in ...

), teamed up with the White House to work on a brain mapping project.

Miranda Bailey Miranda Bailey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy''. The character was created by series creator and producer Shonda Rhimes, and has been portrayed by actress Chandra Wilson since t ...

(

Chandra Wilson Chandra Danette Wilson (born August 27, 1969) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Dr. Miranda Bailey in the ABC television drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' since 2005, for which she has been nominated for the Emmy ...

) was on a project mapping out the human genome. Yang and

Owen Hunt Major (Ret.) Owen Hunt, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series' produc ...

(

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' ...

) gradually take their relationship from complicated and painful to a place of real friendship.

April Kepner April Kepner, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the ABC's medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy''. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes and is portrayed by actress Sarah Drew. She was introduced in the episode ...

(

Sarah Drew Sarah Drew is an American actress and director. She played Hannah Rogers in The WB family drama series ''Everwood'' (2004–2006) and Dr. April Kepner in the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2009–2018, 2021–2022). Early life D ...

) and

Jackson Avery Jackson Avery, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character in the ABC prime time medical drama, ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Jesse Williams. The character was created by series creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes. He was introd ...

( Jesse Williams) elope during Kepner and paramedic Matthew Taylor's (

Justin Bruening Justin Bruening (born September 24, 1979) is an American actor and former fashion model. He was originally discovered at McDonald's in Escondido, California, by Sue Nessel, a scout for Scott Copeland. Within a week, he was shooting photos with Br ...

) wedding. Yang takes off to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

for a job offer to take over

Preston Burke Preston Xavier Burke, M.D., F.A.C.S is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on ABC in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, and was portrayed by ...

's (

Isaiah Washington Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor and media personality. Following a series of film appearances, he came to prominence for portraying Dr. Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the series ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2007. Wash ...

) hospital because he wants to step down and move his family. She bids her farewell to her colleagues of the last 7 years, including Hunt and dances it out with Meredith one last time to an old favorite song. Caterina Scorsone begins portraying the role of Dr. Amelia Shepherd in a recurring capacity, as Amelia visits Meredith and her brother at their home and helps take care of their children. She is upgraded to a series regular in season 11 following her decision to move to Seattle full-time. The season, garnered 12.12 million viewers average viewers and was ranked #15 overall in total viewers which is 11 spots higher than the previous season. In the 18-49 key demographic, it ranked #5 and for the 2013-2014 primetime TV schedule, ''Grey's'' was the #1 drama in the 18-49 key demographic. James Pickens, Jr. and

were nominated for Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Actress respectively at the 45th NAACP Image Awards. The show also garnered 5 nominations at the

40th People's Choice Awards The 40th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2013, was held January 8, 2014, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast live on CBS at 9:00 pm EST. The ceremony was hosted by Beth Behrs and Ka ...

. It was announced on May 8, 2014, by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

that ''Grey's Anatomy'' would return in the fall of 2014 for an eleventh season.

Episodes

The number in the "No. overall" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans in millions who watched the episodes live. Each episode of this season is named after a song.

Cast and characters

Main

as Dr.

Meredith Grey Meredith Grey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional and titular character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series pro ...

as Dr.

Justin Chambers Justin Willman Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He is best known for his role as Dr. Alex Karev in the ABC television drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2020. Born in Ohio, he went to Southeastern High S ...

as Dr. Alex Karev *

as Dr.

James Pickens Jr. James Pickens Jr. (born October 26, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', and for his supporting role as Deputy Director Alvin Kers ...

as Dr.

Richard Webber Richard Webber, M.D., F.A.C.S is a fictional character from the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy''. The character was created by Shonda Rhimes and is portrayed by actor James Pickens Jr. since the start of the show in 200 ...

as Dr. Callie Torres *

as Dr.

* Jesse Williams as Dr.

Camilla Luddington Camilla Anne Luddington (born 15 December 1983) is a British actress, best known for her role as Dr. Josephine "Jo" Wilson in the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy''. She is known for voicing Lara Croft in the ''Tomb Raider'' video ga ...

as Dr. Jo Wilson *

Gaius Charles Gaius Charles (born May 2, 1983) is an American actor known for his portrayal of Brian "Smash" Williams in the television drama, ''Friday Night Lights''. He also played Dr. Shane Ross on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' and a recur ...

as Dr. Shane Ross * Jerrika Hinton as Dr. Stephanie Edwards *

Tessa Ferrer Tessa Rosiola Ferrer (born March 30, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for playing Dr. Leah Murphy, a surgical intern then resident, in ''Grey's Anatomy''. She is the daughter of singer Debby Boone and Gabriel Ferrer. Career In 2012, S ...

as Dr. Leah Murphy *

as Dr.

Recurring

* Caterina Scorsone as Dr.

Amelia Shepherd Amelia Frances Shepherd, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC American television ''Grey's Anatomy (TV series), Grey's Anatomy ''medical d ...

Kelly McCreary Kelly J. McCreary (born September 29, 1981) is an American actress, best known for her role on the ABC drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Maggie Pierce, the half-sister of series protagonist Meredith Grey. She joined the series as a guest a ...

as Dr.

Maggie Pierce Margaret Pierce, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the American television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Sho ...

Jason George Jason Winston George (born February 9, 1972) is an American actor and model. He is best known for his roles as Michael Bourne on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Sunset Beach'', as J.T. Hunter on the UPN television sitcom ''Eve'', as Dr. Otis Cole ...

as Dr. Ben Warren *

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...

as Dr. Catherine Avery *

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...

as Jimmy Evans *

as Matthew Taylor *

Marguerite Moreau Marguerite Moreau (born April 25, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jesse Reeves in the fantasy horror film ''Queen of the Damned'', Katie in the comedy '' Wet Hot American Summer'', and her role as Connie in '' The Mi ...

as Dr. Emma Marling * Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole * Rebecca Field as Sabine McNeil *

Thomas Barbusca Thomas Barbusca is an American actor. He is known for portraying Chip Pemberton, one of the three kids on the television sitcom '' The Mick''. He also starred in the film '' Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life'' and plays Drew, the camp ...

as Link McNeil * Armani Jackson as Braden Morris * Jadin Gould as Ivy McNeil * Harley Graham as Francesca "Frankie" McNeil * Billy Malone as Jon McNeil * Elizabeth Bond as Kimmie Kepner * Emily Happe as Libby Kepner * Grace Bannon as Alice Kepner

Notable guests

as Dr.

Tina Majorino Albertina Marie Majorino (; born February 7, 1985) is an American film and television actress. She started her career as a child actor, starring in films such as ''Andre (film), Andre'', ''When a Man Loves a Woman (film), When a Man Loves a Woma ...

as Dr. Heather Brooks *

Bobby Campo Robert Joseph Camposecco (born March 9, 1983) known professionally as Bobby Campo, is an American actor. He is known for playing the lead role as Nick O'Bannon in the horror film ''The Final Destination''. Life and career Campo was born in Wheel ...

as Brian *

Heather Hemmens Heather Hemmens is an American actress, film director, and film producer. She is best known for her role as Alice Verdura in The CW series ''Hellcats'' (2010-2011). She starred as Stacy Collins in the Netflix comedy ''Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!'' ...

as Sasha *

Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...

as Carlos Torres *

Patrick Fabian Patrick Fabian (born December 7, 1964) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is known for his role as attorney Howard Hamlin in ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). His film roles include '' End Game'' (2006), ''The Last Exorcism' ...

as Dr. Oliver Lebackes *

Gordon Clapp Gordon Clapp (born September 24, 1948) is an American actor best known for playing Det. Greg Medavoy for all 12 seasons of the television series ''NYPD Blue'', winning an Emmy Award in 1998. Early life and education Clapp was born in North Conw ...

as Victor Kaufman * Paul James as Eric *

Valerie Mahaffey Valerie Mahaffey (born June 16, 1953) is an American character actress and producer. She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera '' The Doctors'' (1979–81), for which in 1980 she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outst ...

as Donna Kaufman *

Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) ( ) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP ...

as Cheryl Jeffries *

Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for '' St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...

as C.J. *

Annie Potts Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty i ...

as Joyce Bosco

Production

Development

'' was renewed for a tenth season on May 10, 2013. This season is to include the 200th episode of the series, the fourth episode to air, "Puttin' on the Ritz". This season was also split into 2 batches of episodes, each batch consisting of 12 uninterrupted episodes (excluding holidays). The mid-season premiere aired on February 27, 2014.

Casting

In May 2012, it was announced that 6 original castmates -

, James Pickens, Jr. and

had renewed their contracts through season 10, as

, Alex Karev,

and

respectively. It was revealed in June 2013, that 4 out of the 5 interns from Season 9 would be returning as series-regulars, including

, Jerrika Hinton and

. It was announced in July 2013 that

and

were slated to guest star in the 2-part season premiere. In August 2013, ''TVGuide'' reported that '' Dexter'' alum

is set for a "mysterious" story-arc. It was later revealed that Remar would be playing Alex Karev's drug addict father, whom he hasn't seen in more than 20 years. In October 2013, it was announced that

Hector Elizondo In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

would be returning to the show, as Callie Torres' father, for a 'Callie-centric' episode that would air mid-November. Other guest stars in November were

and

It was announced in January 2014 that

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

star

would guest star in an upcoming episode slated to air in March 2014. It was also announced that ''

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'' alum Paul James had been cast in a potentially recurring role. It was also announced in January that the role of Zola (Meredith and Derek's daughter) was recast and would now be played by Heaven White, who is significantly older than Jela K. Moore, the actress who previously played Zola. On March 6, 2014, it was revealed that

would reprise his role as

for 1 episode in May 2014. It is believed that his reappearance will have ties with Cristina Yang's (

) departure from the show after 9 years. Dr. Burke was Cristina Yang's love-interest for much of his 3 years on the show. Washington was fired 7 years ago after he made a homophobic slur against castmate,

T. R. Knight Theodore Raymond Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–2009, 2020), which earned him a nomination for the P ...

. On March 18, 2014, it was announced that another ''Grey's Anatomy'' alum would return in May and stay until the end of the season. Caterina Scorsone will return to play

, one of Derek's 4 sisters. Scorsone was a regular on the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spin-off, ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

'', where she also portrayed Amelia Shepherd. In April, news broke that

would guest star in the Season 10 finale. It wasn't known until the season finale aired that her character, Dr. Pierce, was hired by Dr. Yang to be the new head of cardio. It was also discovered at the end of the episode that Dr.

Ellis Grey ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

was her birth mother. On August 13, 2013, Sandra Oh revealed that after the tenth season, she would be leaving ''

''. It was announced on March 25, 2014, that Gaius Charles and Tessa Ferrer were not having their options picked up for Season 11, meaning that Season 10 would be their last season as regulars on the show. On January 23, 2014, it was announced that Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey had renewed their contracts for another 2 seasons, as Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd respectively, meaning their characters will be staying on the medical drama for seasons 11 and 12. On May 2, 2014, it was announced that the rest of the 6 original castmates, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson, and James Pickens Jr., excluding Sandra Oh, had renewed their contracts for another 2 seasons (11 and 12).

also renewed her contract for another 2 seasons.

Reception

Ratings

's'' tenth season opened up to 9.27 million viewers with a 3.4/9 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. "Everybody's Crying Mercy" served as the season's most-viewed episode. "Man On The Moon" was the season's least-viewed episode, with 7.02 million viewers and a 2.3/6 Nielsen rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. At the time, the season finale was the series lowest-watched season finale with 8.92 million viewers and 2.6/8 in the 18-49 rating demo. ''Grey's Anatomy'', in its tenth season, ranked #15 overall in total viewers (12.12 million). This is 11 spots higher than the previous season, which was ranked #26. In the 18-49 key demographic, ''Grey's Anatomy'' ranked #5. The last time a season of ''Grey's Anatomy'' was ranked #5 in the 18-49 key demographic was season 1. The highest ranking for the 18-49 key demographic was #3 for seasons 3, 4, and 5. Last season, ''Grey's Anatomy'' was ranked #10. For the 2013-2014 primetime TV schedule, ''Grey's Anatomy'' was the #1 drama in the 18-49 key demographic.

Live + SD ratings

Live + 7 Day (DVR) ratings

Critical response

The tenth season of the medical-drama received positive reviews from the critics with many referring to the season as a return to form for the long-running show. The season holds a 100% positive score on ''

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

'' and a "Fresh" rating. Annie Barett of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave a positive review to the season and wrote, "There's true sorrow here along with the passion, which keeps their dynamic so intriguing to me." ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' also praised the tenth season of the show stating, "At its best, ''Grey's Anatomy'' is about everyday bravery, sacrifice, and courage. At its worst, it's a melodramatic, moralizing soap opera. Both sides are on display as the show heads confidently into its tenth season." ''The Loop'' also acknowledged the return to form giving a positive review, "After a shaky start to its tenth season, ''Grey's Anatomy'' has picked up the pace over the past 2 episodes and is once again showing a great deal of promise that it can revive itself after nearly a decade on the air." Many sources, including Rachel Simon of ''Bustle'' and Nicole Pomarico of ''

Wetpaint Wetpaint was an Internet company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Function(X). Founded in 2005, Wetpaint both published the website Wetpaint Entertainment, focused on entertainment news, and developed a proprietary technology platform, the Socia ...

'', claimed that

's performance during her tenth and final season on ''Grey's Anatomy'' is worthy of an Emmy nomination. Simon stated "She made us care about ''Grey’s'' in a way we hadn’t in years, bringing us into Cristina’s life and mind, fully and ferociously. The show has been good for several seasons now; because of Oh’s performance this year, it once again became great." On Oh's exit ''

'' wrote, "Cristina and Meredith is the friendship to end all friendships—some would even argue it’s what the show is about. Cristina is Meredith’s person. How could she possibly function without Cristina in her life? More than that, Cristina on her own was a great character. She didn’t want kids, she didn’t need a man, and she’d rather receive compliments on her brain instead of her beauty. She was everything we needed in a character—and more. Seeing her go was devastating."

DVD release

References

{{Wikiquote * 2013 American television seasons 2014 American television seasons Grey's Anatomy seasons