Grey’s Anatomy is taking a short break from the 2024 TV schedule, but when it returns, one character we’re excited to keep following is Ben Warren. The doctor-turned-firefighter-turned-doctor-again is back at Grey Sloan Memorial after spending a few years chasing that first responder dream. Rather, I should say Jason George was rehired to Grey’s after the spinoff Station 19 got the ax and became one of 2024’s biggest TV cancellations. Either way, I love George’s analogy for what it’s like to return full time after six years.
Jason George made his first appearance as Ben Warren back on Grey’s Anatomy Season 6, and even though he was part of Station 19’s main cast, he continued to appear on the medical drama, largely because Ben is married to Chandra Wilson’s Miranda Bailey. It’s a pretty unique situation, but the actor made a comparison that made it way more relatable, telling People:
For people who live in the same town as their parents, you never stopped dropping by the house. I mean, it's never stopped being your house, it's just you've got your house that you built, and for me that was Station 19. And then now I'm moving back home and I'm like, ‘What is this going to be like?’ But it turns out it's super cool.
That’s actually brilliant. Many people can relate to their parents’ house still being “home,” even after they’ve moved out to do their own thing. If you ever move back in with them, the rules are a little different than when you were growing up. Jason George continued the analogy, saying:
Nobody tries to tell me when to be home. They treat me like I'm an adult. So it's been smooth. There are new faces that I got to get used to, but there's so many people that have been there for years. And then the other part is I get to see some of my favorite people every day.
It’s true that there are plenty of new faces, as Jason George technically missed the beginning of Grey’s Anatomy’s “Reboot Era,” which introduced a new class of interns in Season 19. We got to see Ben trying to find his footing alongside those residents in the most recent episode, “You Make My Heart Explode,” when he and Blue Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) got off to a rocky start.
It’s also been a time of adjustment for Bailey to have her husband back atvthe hospital, and she’s been snooping around to make sure Ben’s fitting in but not getting special treatment. That honestly makes Jason George’s metaphor even better, when you think of Bailey as the parent in the faux scenario, adjusting to her adult child moving back in.
We don’t have to wait too long for Grey’s Anatomy to return to Thursdays, as the show is only on hiatus for one week. Ben, Bailey and the whole gang will be back at 10 p.m. ET Thursday, November 7, on ABC and streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription.