The fifth season of the American television

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', created by

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Rhimes became known ...

, commenced airing on

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

(ABC) in the United States on September 25, 2008 and concluded on May 14, 2009 with 24 aired episodes. The season follows the story of a group of surgeons as they go through their residency, while they also deal with the personal challenges and relationships with their mentors. Season 5 had 13 series regulars with 12 of them returning from the previous season, out of which 8 are part of the original cast. The season aired in the Thursday night time-slot at 9:00 pm. The season was officially released on DVD as a seven disc boxset under the title of ''Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season – More Moments'' on September 9, 2009 by

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Atlantic County, is part of South Jersey and the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Ph ...

. The website

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

ranked the season #3 on their 2023 ranking of the 19 ''

'' seasons.

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. The fifth season's episodes are altogether 1080 minutes in length. Each episode of this season is named after a song.

Cast and characters

Main

Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances on ''Forbes'' year-end lists. Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award and a ...

as Dr.

Meredith Grey Meredith Grey M.D., F.A.C.S., (born 1977 or 1978) 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 c ...

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Rita Wu in ''Arliss (TV series), Arliss'' (1996–2002), Cristina Yang in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–14), and Eve Polastri in ''Kill ...

as Dr.

Cristina Yang Cristina Yang, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which has aired for 20 seasons on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the ...

Katherine Heigl Katherine Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and model. She portrayed Izzie Stevens, Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that b ...

as Dr.

Izzie Stevens Isobel Katherine Stevens, M.D. 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 producer Shonda R ...

Justin Chambers Justin Willman Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former model best known for his role as Dr. Alex Karev in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005-20). Born in Ohio, he went to Southeastern High School, South Charleston, and later studi ...

as Dr.

Alex Karev Alexander Michael "Alex" 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, Ka ...

* T. R. Knight as Dr.

George O'Malley George O'Malley, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States. The character was created by series producer S ...

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

as Dr.

Miranda Bailey Miranda Bailey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the long-running medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', created by Shonda Rhimes and portrayed by Chandra Wilson since the series' debut in 2005. Bailey has appeared in 387 episodes across ...

* James Pickens Jr. as Dr.

Richard Webber Richard Webber, M.D., Ph.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 series' incepti ...

Sara Ramirez Sara Elena Ramírez Vargas (; born August 31, 1975) is an American actor. Born in Mazatlán, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Ramírez moved from Mexico to the United States at eight years old, eventually graduating with a fine arts degree from the Juillia ...

as Dr.

Callie Torres Calliope Iphigenia "Callie" 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 portr ...

Eric Dane Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...

as Dr. Mark Sloan *

Chyler Leigh Chyler Leigh West (pronounced ; ''née'' Potts; born April 10, 1982), known professionally as Chyler Leigh, is an American actress, singer and model. She is best known for her roles as Janey Briggs in the comedy film '' Not Another Teen Movie' ...

as Dr.

Lexie Grey Alexandra Caroline "Lexie" Grey, M.D. 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 Chyler Leigh. She was first mentioned in Season 2 befo ...

* Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn *

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director best known as Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'' and Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' (1996). McKidd played Colin in the 2008 film Made of Hono ...

as Dr.

Owen Hunt Major (Ret.) Owen Hunt, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, 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) i ...

Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and racing driver best known for playing neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–15; 2020–21). He is also known for his leading man romantic film roles, such ...

as Dr.

Derek Shepherd Derek Christopher Shepherd, often referred to as "McDreamy" for his "attractiveness", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey. He made his first appearance in the series' pilot ep ...

Recurring

* Kate Walsh as Dr.

Addison Montgomery Addison Adrianne Forbes Montgomery, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S., American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, F.A.C.O.G., previously known as Shepherd, is a fictional character who first ap ...

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

as Dr.

Arizona Robbins Arizona Robbins, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the ABC in the United States, and is portrayed by Jessica Capshaw. She was introduced in the show's fifth sea ...

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022) and its spin-off '' The Walking Dead: Dead City'' (2023–present ...

as Denny Duquette *

Brandon Scott Brandon Maurice Scott (born April 8, 1984) is an American politician serving as the Mayor of Baltimore, mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, since 2020. He was the president of the Baltimore City Council from 2019 to 2020, having been elected to the p ...

as Dr. Ryan Spalding *

Melissa George Melissa Suzanne George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian and American actress. She began her career playing Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' between 1993–1996. After moving to the United States, George made her ...

as Dr. Sadie Harris * Steven W. Bailey as Joe the Bartender *

Kimberly Elise Kimberly Elise Trammel (born April 17, 1967) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in '' Set It Off'' (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in '' Beloved'' (1998). During her career, Elise has appeared ...

as Rebecca Swender *

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'' (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting ...

as William Dunn *

Mary McDonnell Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Awards, Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in ''Dances With Wolves'' and May-Alice Culhane in ''Pas ...

as Dr. Virginia Dixon *

Jennifer Westfeldt Jennifer Westfeldt (born February 2, 1970) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film '' Kissing Jessica Stein'', for which she received an I ...

as Jen Harmon *

Ben Shenkman Ben Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series '' Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe ...

as Rob Harmon *

Samantha Mathis Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in '' Pump Up ...

as Melinda Prescott

Notable guests

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress whose six-decade career included many leading roles in movies and theater. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award, and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of ...

as Carolyn Shepherd *

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American singer and actress. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acti ...

as Naomi Bennett *

Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (né Berry; born January 2, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals '' Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series '' Private Practice'' (2007–2013), '' Murder in ...

as Sam Bennett *

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), Gloria Mat ...

as Adele Webber *

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 *

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released reco ...

as Sarabeth Breyers *

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...

as Margaret Campbell *

Debra Mooney Debra Mooney is an American character actress, best known for her role as Edna Harper on The WB drama series '' Everwood'' (2002–06). Mooney is also known for her recurring roles in ''Scandal'', ''Grey's Anatomy'' and '' The Originals''. Lif ...

as Evelyn Hunt *

Sharon Lawrence Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence (born June 29, 1961) is an American actress. From 1993 to 1999, she starred as Sylvia Costas in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC drama series, ''NYPD Blue''. The role garnered her three Primetime Emmy Award nomina ...

as Robbie Stevens *

Perrey Reeves Perrey Reeves (born ) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her recurring role as Melissa Gold on the television series ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'' from 2004 to 2011 and Marissa Jones in the 2003 com ...

as Margaret *

Lauren Stamile Lauren Stamile (born September 12, 1976) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Nurse Rose on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Grey's Anatomy'', Michelle Slater on the National Broadcasting Company, NBC series ''C ...

as Nurse Rose *

Robin Pearson Rose Robin Pearson Rose is an American film and television actress. Filmography Film Television References External links * Robin Pearson Rose- Geffen Playhouse American film actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Livin ...

as Patricia Murphy *

Leslie Grossman Leslie Erin Grossman (born October 25, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lauren on The WB sitcom '' What I Like About You'', and for her frequent collaborations with Ryan Murphy, appearing as Mary Cherry on The WB's come ...

as Lauren Hammer *

Liza Weil Liza Weil (born June 5, 1977) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Paris Geller in the WB/ CW comedy-drama series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) and its Netflix revival series '' Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life' ...

as Alison Clark *

Leslie Odom, Jr. Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He made his acting debut on Broadway theatre, Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton (m ...

as P.J. Walling * Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole *

Grant Show Grant Show (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his role on ''Melrose Place'' as Jake Hanson, which he played from 1992 to 1997. From 2017 to 2022, he portrayed Blake Carrington in the soap opera reboot ''Dynasty' ...

as Archer Montgomery *

Shannon Lucio Shannon Lucio (born June 25, 1980) is an American actress. Biography Born in Denver, Colorado, Lucio grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from John Marshall High School. Her family is of Italian descent. She is a graduate of the Uni ...

as Amanda a Smith is no longer credited and does not appear after "Rise Up" (5.07).
b McKidd is promoted to series regular in the episode "Beat Your Heart Out" (5.14) after previously recurring for 11 episodes, starting with the season premiere.
c Dean-Morgan is uncredited in his first appearance of the season "Dream a Little Dream of Me: Part 2" (5.02).

Production

Crew

The season was produced by Touchstone Television

ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...

The Mark Gordon Company The Mark Gordon Company (formerly The Meledandri/Gordon Company) is an American production company owned by Mark Gordon. It is notable for their output, including feature films, like ''Speed'', many of Roland Emmerich's films Gordon produced lik ...

ShondaLand Shondaland (stylized as ShondaLand from 2005 to 2016 and shondaland thereafter) is an American television production company founded by television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes. She founded it to be one of the production companies of her fir ...

, and was distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc. The executive producers were creator

Betsy Beers Betsy Beers (born 1957) is an American television and film producer whose credits include ShondaLand's ''Grey's Anatomy,'' ''Scandal (TV series), Scandal,'' ''Private Practice (TV series), Private Practice'', ''How to Get Away with Murder'', ''Th ...

Mark Gordon Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Wyoming since January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as state treasurer; then-governor Matt Mead appointed him to th ...

Krista Vernoff Krista Vernoff (born October 24, 1971) is an American television screenwriter, executive producer and director. She is best known for being the showrunner for ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2007–11, 2017–2023) and its spin-off, ''Station 19'' (2019–202 ...

Rob Corn Robert L. Corn (born August 12, 1955) is an American television producer and director best known for Girls Club (TV series), Girls Club (2002), The District (2000), The Resident (TV series), The Resident (2018), Grey's Anatomy (2005), Chicago Hop ...

Mark Wilding Mark Wilding is an American television producer and screenwriter. He was nominated for two Emmys for his work as executive producer on the series ''Grey's Anatomy'', and won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series as a writer on the ...

, Joan Rater, and

James D. Parriott James D. Parriott (born November 14, 1950, in Denver, Colorado) is an American writer, director, and producer, with his own self named production company. Career He created the series: ''Voyagers!'', '' Misfits of Science'', ''Forever Knight'', ' ...

. The regular directors were

, and

Tom Verica Tom Verica (born May 13, 1964) is an American actor, director, and producer, best known for his role as Sam Keating in the ABC drama ''How to Get Away with Murder'' (2014–2020). He also played Jack Pryor in the NBC critically acclaimed drama ...

Casting

The fifth season had 13 roles receiving star-billing, with 12 of them returning from the previous season, out of which 8 are part of the original cast from

the first season ''The First Season'' is a Canadian drama film, released in 1989. The film stars Kate Trotter as Alex Cauldwell, a woman in British Columbia who, following the death of her fisherman husband Frank (Dwight Koss), tries to support herself and her dau ...

. All of the 13 regulars portray surgeons who work in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital.

continued her role as

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

and

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

of the series,

Dr. Meredith Grey Meredith Grey M.D., F.A.C.S., (born 1977 or 1978) 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 cr ...

, a

resident physician Residency or postgraduate training is a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS/MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM/VMD, BVSc/BVMS), dentist ( DDS or DMD), podiatrist ( DPM), o ...

and a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

played resident Dr. Cristina Yang, best-friend of Meredith and fellow surgeon.

portrayed resident Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens whose previous relationship with the now-deceased patient

Denny Duquette ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, later named the Grey Sloan Memorial Ho ...

threatens her career once again.

acted as surgical resident Dr. Alexander "Alex" Karev who becomes Izzie's husband, while T. R. Knight portrayed Dr. George O'Malley, an insecure resident whose sensitive personality puts his life in danger.

General surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and Chief Resident Dr. Miranda Bailey was portrayed by

, while

general surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and Chief of Surgery Dr. Richard Webber was played by James Pickens, Jr.

portrayed

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

Dr. Calliope "Callie" Torres whose storylines during the season revolve around her recently discovered

bisexuality Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, ...

's character, plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan, begins a relationship with intern Dr. Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister portrayed by

. Brooke Smith appeared in 7 episodes as cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Erica Hahn, Callie's love-interest, who eventually resigns and moves away.

portrayed

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...

Dr. Derek Shepherd whose relationship with Meredith Grey is the series' main storyline. Although originally introduced as a recurring character in the season premiere, trauma surgeon Dr. Owen Hunt was promoted to a series-regular in the fourteenth episode of the season "Beat Your Heart Out". He was portrayed by

and was conceived as a love-interest to resident

. Originally only signed onto the show until December 2008, it was later announced Kevin McKidd would be promoted to regular status after his fifth episode on the series aired. He was promoted in the fourteenth episode "Beat Your Heart Out" after 11 guest star appearances.

said, "I am excited to have Kevin McKidd joining us for the season, he's been a delight to collaborate with and brings incredible passion, talent and creativity to his work." Weeks after Hunt's first appearance on the show, Matt Roush of ''

TVGuide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. In 2008, the company sold its founding product, the ''TV Guide'' magazine and the entir ...

'' comments that "Hunt/McKidd is the most encouraging thing to happen to ''Grey's Anatomy'' in quite a while." Robert Rorke of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' states that McKidd was brought in as Hunt to "boost the sagging fortunes" of the show's ratings. Kelley L. Carter of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', describes Hunt as "hardcore" and "the

antithesis Antithesis (: antitheses; Greek for "setting opposite", from "against" and "placing") is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introd ...

of the other males on the show." Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including:

as Sadie Harris,

as Dr. Jo Swender,

as Dr. Arizona Robbins,

Amy Madigan Amy Marie Madigan (born September 11, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film ''Twice in a Lifetime (film), Twice in a Lifetime''. Her other film credits include ''Love ...

as Dr. Wyatt,

as Dr. Virginia Dixon,

as William Dunn,

as Jen Harmon,

as Rob Harmon,

as Amanda and

as Melinda.

returned as a guest star in the role of Carlos Torres, Callie's father. ''Private Practice'' guest star

portrays Dr. Archer Montgomery, the brother of former series-regular Dr. Dr. Addison Montgomery in one episode.

portrays Amanda in the fifth season finale, a witness to the John Doe bus accident in the finale, and returns in the following season's two-part premiere " Good Mourning" and " Goodbye". In the fifth season, 5 actors were given special guest-star billing, with 3 roles being reprised from a previous season.

returned as the deceased

in Izzie's hallucinations due to a brain tumor. Former series-regular Kate Walsh also returned as Dr. Addison Montgomery for two episodes ("Before and After", "An Honest Mistake") as part of a four-part crossover with her spin-off series, '' Private Practice''. Her fellow cast member

reprises the role of Naomi Bennett from the third season two-parter " The Other Side of This Life", which functioned as a

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

for the spin-off. She replaces

Merrin Dungey Merrin Melissa Dungey (born August 6, 1971) is an American film and television actress, known for her roles on the television series ''The King of Queens'', '' Alias'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', '' Summerland'', ''Conviction'', '' The Resident'' ...

in the role, who was recast after the two-part episode aired. McDonald is joined by

as Sam Bennett, who portrays McDonald's ex-husband for the episode "Before and After" as part of the crossover event.

joined the series in the role of Carolyn Shepherd (née Maloney), Derek's mother in the episode "Sympathy for the Devil". This was Daly's only appearance in the series until the fifteenth season episode, "

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd (, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 and Ezeki ...

", which aired in 2019.

Reception

Ratings

Critical response

While few critics weighed in their point of view on the fourth season, several had opinions on the fifth season.

Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...

from the ''

Newark Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'' said "Overall, it really feels more like the good-old-days than ''Grey's'' has in a long time" referring to season 5. Also regarding season 5, Misha Davenport from ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' said "Tonight's premiere hits on all the things the show does so well. There is romance, heartbreak, humor and a few moments that will move fans to tears." Robert Bianco from ''

'' said "Happily, it now seems to have landed on solid ground, with its best ensemble and most-engaging stories in years" regarding the show's fifth season. The return of Izzie's deceased fiancé Denny and the resumption of their romance during the season also proved unpopular with fans, and was deemed "the world's worst storyline" by Mary McNamara of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. McNamara was also critical of the episode " Now or Never", which saw Izzie

flatline A flatline is an electrical time sequence measurement that shows no activity and therefore, when represented, shows a flat line instead of a moving one. It almost always refers to either a flatlined electrocardiogram, where the heart shows no e ...

following

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

, opining that Izzie ought to die. The episode in which Izzie married long-term love Alex received 15.3 million viewers, the largest television audience of the night. Izzie's cancer storyline received a mixed response from the medical community. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

, commented that Izzie's treatment options were unrealistic. Whereas in the show she was offered the drug

interleukin-2 Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is an interleukin, which is a type of cytokine signaling molecule forming part of the immune system. It is a 15.5–16 kDa protein that regulates the activities of white blood cells (leukocytes, often lymphocytes) ...

, in reality the drug is never recommended to patients when melanoma has spread to the brain, as it can cause bleeding and strokes. Brawley explained that such patients would instead be offered

radiosurgery Radiosurgery is surgery using radiation, that is, the destruction of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy), it is usually us ...

. Conversely however, Tim Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation, praised ''Grey's Anatomy'' for bringing about greater public awareness of melanoma, stating: "We welcome the national spotlight ''Grey's Anatomy'' has created for melanoma and its efforts to encourage viewers to learn more about the importance of prevention, early detection and research."

Accolades

won the 2009 NAACP Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Dr. Miranda Bailey during the season.

Home Media release

The fifth season was released as a widescreen 7-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on September 15, 2009, with the title ''Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season – More Moments''. Each of these releases also contained DVD extras, including footage from behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes and extended episodes. For the U.S & Canada, a special limited box set edition of the season was released exclusively for

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, this box set included an extra disc with over 100 minutes of additional bonus content, including more unaired scenes of the season and crossover episodes with the Grey's Spin-Off, Private Practice. The season was also released on November 4, 2009 in Region 4 and on August 23, 2010 in Region 2. A 7-Disc Blu-ray set was originally going to release in Region A alongside the DVD version of the season on September 15, 2009, however, for unknown reasons the set was never released for the United States & Canada; but the set did get a release for Mexico & Central America on the same day their DVD's for the season came out. With this release, an exclusive extended version of the episode "Elevator Love Letter" was included among the rest of the special features. For Region B, the Blu-ray was also released, but only for Spain and France.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey's Anatomy Season 5 * 2009 American television seasons 2008 American television seasons Grey's Anatomy seasons