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The long-running ABC medical drama 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy鈥� returns on Sept. 24 for its twelfth season and those behind the scenes have revealed some of what viewers can expect when the new episodes air.

The show centers on the doctors at a Seattle hospital and was created by Shonda Rhimes, who also created or is producing other shows airing on Thursday nights on ABC, including 鈥淪candal鈥� and 鈥淗ow to Get Away with Murder.鈥�

Last season of 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� included the controversial death of one of 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� main characters, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), who was a doctor at the hospital in which the show takes place and was married to protagonist Meredith (Ellen Pompeo). Viewers may be expecting that any new story involving Meredith will be sad because of the recent tragedy she experienced, but Ms. Rhimes says that will probably not always be the case. 鈥淢eredith being a widow, surprisingly,聽should聽be funny in some ways,鈥� she said in an . 鈥淪he's been a woman who has been off the market forever and that humor of鈥� 鈥業'm not interested in men' should be funny in a way. She should have some darker humor in that feeling.鈥澛�

Ms. Pompeo, meanwhile, of Derek not being on the show any longer, 鈥淟et鈥檚 keep it really real for a second聽and say this is really difficult for my ego. It鈥檚 okay!聽We all have one! It鈥檚 like,聽Annalise Keating [of 鈥楬ow to Get Away with Murder鈥橾 carries the show,聽Olivia Pope [of 鈥楽candal鈥橾 carries the show. But somehow, Meredith Grey needs someone. Why can鈥檛 I just be the lead of the show the way Annalise and Olivia can? Why can鈥檛 I be on that poster by myself?鈥澛�

Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), Derek鈥檚 sister, will be recovering from Derek鈥檚 death as well. 鈥淭hey were competitive in a really creative and fruitful way,鈥� the actress of the relationship between Amelia and Derek. 鈥淗er drive was very much fueled by his excellence. Losing Derek is going to spin her head around and cause her to have to redefine herself.鈥�

As for other characters, Rhimes said the characters of Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw), who were once married but are now no longer together, will both be involved with new people in the upcoming episodes. The new love interests will be 鈥渟ome pretty exciting ones, too,鈥� Rhimes .

As it enters its twelfth season, 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� is one of the longest-running fictional programs on TV right now. The show has gained and lost many cast members, with Pompeo; actor Justin Chambers, who portrays fellow doctor Alex; and Chandra Wilson, who plays doctor Bailey, being some of the early cast members who are still on the program. Many others, including Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, T.R. Knight, and now Mr. Dempsey, have since departed.

Many of the longest-running programs on television are news or talk shows like CBS鈥檚 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� or 鈥�20/20,鈥� which airs on ABC. Other current long-running programs are NBC鈥檚 鈥淪aturday Night Live,鈥� which is a comedy variety program, and 鈥淭he Simpsons,鈥� which is an animated program. The closest comparisons to 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� would most likely be NBC鈥檚 show 鈥淟aw & Order: Special Victims Unit,鈥� which debuts its seventeenth season this year and has also experienced a lot of cast changeover, and CBS鈥檚 鈥淣CIS,鈥� which is debuting its thirteenth season this year.聽

The CW鈥檚 show 鈥淪upernatural鈥� and Fox鈥檚 鈥淏ones鈥� are also not far behind 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� in terms of amount of seasons.聽

Judging a TV show鈥檚 run by the amount of seasons, however, is no longer as reliable an indicator as it once was. Comparing the run of 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� to a show like, for example, HBO鈥檚 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� would be comparing apples and oranges because 鈥淭hrones鈥� has far fewer episodes because it airs on cable. While 鈥淭hrones鈥� has aired five seasons, it鈥檚 only created 50 episodes. 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� had a short first season but nevertheless had aired 50 episodes by halfway through its third season.

This can be interesting when it comes to awards seasons 鈥� for example, all of the nominees for Best Drama Series at this year鈥檚 Emmy Awards produced what networks would consider a limited number of episodes. To name a couple, nominee 鈥淒ownton Abbey,鈥� which airs on PBS in the U.S., aired nine episodes, while AMC鈥檚 鈥淏etter Call Saul鈥� aired 10.聽