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 s ...

'' 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, Calif ...

(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 production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

, 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. 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 cr ...

(

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 ( Patrick Dempsey) and

Callie Torres Calliope Iphegenia Torres, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the ABC in the United States. The character was created by series' producer Shonda Rhimes, and is portrayed by ...

( Sara Ramirez), having separated from her wife Arizona Robbins (

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' produce ...

(

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 ( Sarah Drew) 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 intro ...

( Jesse Williams) elope during Kepner and paramedic Matthew Taylor's ( Justin Bruening) 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 ac ...

'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 Caterina Scorsone (born October 16, 1981) is a Canadian-American actress. She is best known for playing Dr. Amelia Shepherd on the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2010–present) and its spin-offs '' Private Practice'' (2010–2013) and ' ...

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. 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 Ker ...

and

were nominated for Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Actress respectively at the

45th NAACP Image Awards The 45th NAACP Image Awards, presented by the NAACP, honored outstanding representations and achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music and literature during the 2013 calendar year. The awards were presented in two sep ...

. The show also garnered 5 nominations at the 40th People's Choice Awards. It was announced on May 8, 2014, by ABC 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 as Dr.

Alex Karev Alexander Michael Karev, (né Evans), M.D., F.A.C.S is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Justin Chambers. Introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, Karev eve ...

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 Ke ...

as Dr. Richard Webber * Sara Ramirez as Dr.

as Dr.

as Dr. Arizona Robbins * Sarah Drew as Dr. April Kepner * 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 as Dr. Shane Ross *

Jerrika Hinton Jerrika Hinton is an American actress, best known for her role as Stephanie Edwards (Grey's Anatomy), Stephanie Edwards in the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy''. Early life Hinton was born and raised in Oak Cliff, Oak Cliff, Dallas, T ...

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 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Recurring

as Dr.

Amelia Shepherd Amelia Frances Shepherd, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the ABC American television ''Grey's Anatomy ''medical drama and the spin-off series '' Private Practice'', portrayed by Caterina Scorsone. In her debut appearance in season th ...

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 at ...

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 Shon ...

* Jason George 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 * Justin Bruening 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 Mig ...

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 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 as Carlos Torres * Patrick Fabian 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 Con ...

as Victor Kaufman * Paul James as Eric * Valerie Mahaffey 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 I ...

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 ...

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 -

, Justin Chambers,

and Patrick Dempsey had renewed their contracts through season 10, as

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

, Gaius Charles,

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 Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

'' alum

is set for a "mysterious" story-arc. It was later revealed that Remar would be playing

's drug addict father, whom he hasn't seen in more than 20 years. In October 2013, it was announced that Hector Elizondo would be returning to the show, as

' father, for a 'Callie-centric' episode that would air mid-November. Other guest stars in November were Valerie Mahaffey and

It was announced in January 2014 that

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

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 Pr ...

. 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.

will return to play

, one of Derek's 4 sisters. Scorsone was a regular on the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spin-off, '' Private Practice'', 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). Sara Ramirez 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 Wan ...

'' 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 ...

'' 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'' 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