‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Showrunner Admits She ‘Planned’ Season 18 Around Scott Speedman
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
- Scott Speedman first appeared as Dr. Nick Marsh in season 14 of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
- Speedman is now a series regular and Meredith Grey’s love interest for season 18
- ‘Grey’s’ showrunner Krista Vernoff admits she ‘planned’ season 18 after Speedman agreed to return
Grey’s Anatomy surprised fans in the season 18 premiere with the return of Scott Speedman’s Dr. Nick Marsh. Four seasons after what was supposed to be a one-off appearance, Speedman’s character is back. But this isn’t a guest-starring role. Speedman is the ABC medical drama’s newest series regular.
According to Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff, she planned season 18 around Speedman when he agreed to join the cast.
Dr. Nick Marsh first appeared in season 14 of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Fans will recall that Dr. Nick Marsh showed up at Grey Sloan Memorial back in Season 14, Episode 17 “One Day Like This.” It was a memorable appearance for a number of reasons. One being that the chemistry between Nick and Meredith was off the charts.
The traveling transplant surgeon was in Seattle to get an organ for a patient. But it was just a few short weeks after his own kidney transplant, and his body started to reject it. That’s when Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) stepped in, and she ended up saving Nick’s life.
In the final scene of the episode, Meredith told Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) that she had saved the life of a “smart, funny, and hot” transplant surgeon. She also confessed that he made her feel something she hadn’t felt since Derek (Patrick Dempsey).
Scott Speedman couldn’t think of a reason to say no
Speedman has signed on for just one season, so far. He says he decided to join the cast because he enjoyed working with Ellen Pompeo, and he had a good experience when he was a guest star.
“You put something in the back of your mind when you do have chemistry with somebody, and you do enjoy the work experience, because that’s rare, actually,” Speedman told Deadline.
“So, when this opportunity came around, I was trying to think of why not to do it, and I couldn’t come up with any reasons. It was a great show, really fun people, and it just felt the right timing for me. I wanted to jump in, and then, when I heard what the storyline could be, that was exciting to me.”
Krista Vernoff admits she planned ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 18 around Scott Speedman
Because of the chemistry between Meredith and Nick, fans were expecting him to return at some point in season 15 or 16. Showrunner Krista Vernoff says she did attempt to bring Speedman back. But they just couldn’t get the timing right. Finally — toward the end of season 17 — Speedman said yes.
“We reached out to Scott as I was envisioning the show,” Vernoff said. “Actually toward the end of last season, I started saying to Ellen, I’m having this thought, and she was like, ‘Again?’, because I had made that phone call a few times. But this time, we got lucky, he said yes, and we planned the season accordingly.”
Will fans see a Meredith/Hayes/Nick love triangle?
Meredith and Nick reconnected in Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic, where Dr. David Hamilton (Peter Gallagher) was attempting to woo her away from Seattle by offering her a state-of-the-art Parkinson’s Disease research lab.
The award-winning surgeon eventually agreed to split her time between Seattle and Minnesota. At the same time, the traveling transplant surgeon is based out of Minnesota but travels all over the country. When will they have time to start a relationship? And what about Hayes (Richard Flood), aka McWidow? Will there be a love triangle?
The ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ showrunner promises more will be revealed
Vernoff promises that Nick and Meredith’s relationship is not without its obstacles. And she doesn’t completely count Hayes out of the picture. The Grey’s Anatomy showrunner says it’s all about timing.
“I think there is complexity. I think that she and Hayes had begun to connect, clearly, toward the end of last season,” Vernoff admits. “He’s a father first, and he’s a widow, he’s a far more recent widow, and I think there is beautiful complexity to be had in Meredith, once again, having two men for whom she has feelings. I think that it’s all in the timing, and more will be revealed.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursday nights on ABC.
