Grey’s Anatomy – Picture: ABC
With season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy now on Netflix in the United States and the show back in the US top 10s, you may be wondering if and when Grey’s Anatomy will be leaving the service. After all, it’s owned by Disney so when could it revert back to Hulu? Let’s take a look.
As we’ve covered over multiple years, Netflix US gets regular updates of Grey’s Anatomy with new seasons arriving around a month after the show wraps up. That’s been the case for years now with the show streaming since at least 2014.
Why is Grey’s Anatomy still on Netflix?
Before we look into when Grey’s leaves, perhaps it’s worth looking back at why and how Grey’s Anatomy is on Netflix. Long before Disney+, Netflix used to license television series from ABC although that’s very rare nowadays (unless the title is owned by another distributor like Sony does with The Good Doctor for example).
These contracts would be struck on a per-show basis and typically last the entire length of a show’s lifetime and then a few years before departing. With Grey’s Anatomy, because the show is still running, it’s still covered by this contract and will continue being so until the show ends.
There have been rumors the show will depart before this contract would’ve typically ended. A report back from 2019 stated that Grey’s Anatomy was going to be clawed back “soon” to head to Disney’s streaming service. Of course, that hasn’t come to fruition.
One other quick point is that Shonda Rhimes (who created Grey’s Anatomy) now works with Netflix under an overall deal. That may likely have some part to play in the future.
When will Grey’s Anatomy leave Netflix?
So enough with the spiel, when is it leaving for a rival streamer?
Well, that answer is still up in the air because, as we mentioned, it’s all to do with when the show comes to a close. Currently, the show is renewed through to the end of season 18. If the show finished next year, it’d then leave Netflix in either 2024 or 2026. If the show is renewed again, it will be pushed back a year.
It’s also worth noting that Private Practice rejoined Netflix in December 2019 and we suspect that may depart come the end of 2021 so do watch that if you haven’t done so already.
Will you miss Grey’s Anatomy once it does finally depart Netflix? Let us know in the comments.