The fourth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) channel on September 27, 2007, and concluded on May 22, 2008. The season continues the story of a group of surgeons and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, describing their professional lives and how they're influenced by the personal background of each character. Out of 12 series regulars, 10 of them returned from the previous season, 8 of which were part of the original cast from the first season.
The season aired in the Thursday night timeslot at 9:00 EST. In addition to the regular 17 episodes, a clip-show narrated by the editors of People recapped previous events of the show and made the transition from Grey's Anatomy to Private Practice, a spin-off focusing on Dr. Addison Montgomery, and aired on September 19, 2007, before the season premiere. The season was officially released on DVD as a 5-disc box-set under the title of Grey's Anatomy: Season Four – Expanded on September 9, 2008, by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
For the first time in the show's history, many cast changes occurred, seeing the first departure of two main cast members. Despite garnering several awards and nominations for the cast members and the production team, the season received a mixed response from critics and fans. Show creator Shonda Rhimes heavily contributed to the production of the season, writing 5 out of the 17 episodes. The highest-rated episode was the season premiere, which was watched by 20.93 million viewers. The season was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which resulted in the production of only 17 episodes, instead of 23 originally planned.
The website Screen Rant ranked the season at number 11 on their 2023 ranking of the 19 Grey's Anatomy seasons that had aired at the time.
Episodes
Each episode of this season is named after a song.
Cast and characters
Main Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang Katherine Heigl as Dr. Izzie Stevens Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev T. R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey James Pickens Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber Sara Ramirez as Dr. Callie Torres Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan Chyler Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd
Recurring Lauren Stamile as Nurse Rose Sarah Utterback as Nurse Olivia Harper Diahann Carroll as Jane Burke Jack Axelrod as Charlie "Really Old Guy" Yost Edward Herrmann as Norman Shales Kali Rocha as Sydney Heron Elizabeth Reaser as Rebecca "Ava" Pope Loretta Devine as Adele Webber Anjul Nigam as Dr. Raj Sen Jeff Perry as Thatcher Grey Debra Monk as Louise O'Malley Mark Saul as Dr. Steve Mostow Amy Madigan as Dr. Katharine Wyatt Cress Williams as Tucker Jones
Notable guests
Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery Mark Pellegrino as Chris Caroline Aaron as Connie Michael McGrady as Stanley Singer Miriam Flynn as Gretchen Bitzer Amy Hill as Joanne Dylan Minnette as Ryan David Denman as Rick Jacobs Matt Lanter as Adam Singer David Clennon as Jack Shandley Kurt Fuller as Jerry Seth Green as Nick Hanscom Gale Harold as Paramedic Shane John Billingsley as Jacob Nolston Alison La Placa as Mrs. Nolston Kimberly Huie as Mary Daltrey Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole Theo Rossi as Stan Giamatti Cheech Marin as Otis Sharon Paul Dooley as Dr. Walter Tapley John Cothran as Ken Monroe Kathryn Meisle as Liz Monroe Jurnee Smollett as Beth Monroe Jana Kramer as Lola Sterling Knight as Kip
Production This is the last season to be produced by Touchstone Television, which was renamed to ABC Studios by June 2007. It was also produced by ShondaLand Production Company, and The Mark Gordon Company, whereas Buena Vista International, Inc. distributed it. The executive producers were creator and showrunner Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, Joan Rater, and James D. Parriott, all part of the production team since the series' inception. The regular directors were Rob Corn and Jessica Yu. Producer Shonda Rhimes wrote 5 of the 17 episodes, 2 of which were along with fellow producer Krista Vernoff.The crew for Grey's Anatomy season 4 is listed on every episode during the credits. Unlike the other seasons, except from the first one, which aired mid-season, the fourth season of Grey's Anatomy had a reduced number of episodes, due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which caused the production to cease from February to April, leaving the show with no writing staff during that time. Since the show had only produced 10 episodes before the winter-holiday hiatus, and aired another one after the break ended, the show decided to complete the season with 6 new episodes, and returned on April 24, 2008. Only 17 episodes were produced out of the 23 originally conceived for the season. The episode "Love/Addiction" was the last episode to feature the "Touchstone Television" logo.
After Kate Walsh's transition the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice, her character left the show after a 2-year run. On June 7, 2007, it was announced that Isaiah Washington's contract had not been renewed. Former Reunion star, Chyler Leigh, guest starred in the final 2 episodes of season 3 as Lexie Grey, a new intern and Meredith Grey's younger half-sister. On June 11, 2007, it was announced that Leigh would become a series-regular, instead of a 13-episode story-arc as previously planned. The character Dr. Erica Hahn, portrayed by Brooke Smith joined the main cast, reprising her antagonizing role in the season's fifth episode. She replaces Preston Burke as Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Upon her return, she makes Sandra Oh's character, Cristina Yang work harder for her success in Cardiothoracics and initially served as a new love-interest for Mark Sloan, played by Eric Dane. Even though a new male character was originally thought to be introduced as a rival for Dr. Derek Shepherd, the change didn't occur. Former Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson was scheduled to make his return to television in a multi-episode arc as a doctor with his first appearance in the season's eleventh episode. Jackson's appearance was cancelled due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, and the storyline of the character he was supposed to play never aired on the show.Jackson's TV Comeback Derailed By Strikes , TeenTelevision.com, December 14, 2007
Casting
The fourth season had 12 roles receiving star-billing, with 10 of them returning from the previous season, 8 of whom are part of the original cast from the first one. All the actors who are billed as series-regulars portray physicians from the surgical wing of the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. The majority of the show's episodes are narrated by Ellen Pompeo, who portrayed protagonist Dr. Meredith Grey, a surgical resident whose storylines are the series' focal-points. Sandra Oh acted as Meredith's best-friend, highly competitive resident Dr. Cristina Yang. Fellow resident Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens was portrayed by Katherine Heigl, while Dr. Alexander "Alex" Karev was played by Justin Chambers. T. R. Knight acted as insecure resident with self-confidence issues, Dr. George O'Malley, whereas Chandra Wilson portrayed Chief Resident and general surgeon Dr. Miranda Bailey, former mentor of the 5 residents during their internship. James Pickens, Jr. portrayed attending physician and general surgeon Dr. Richard Webber, who continues his position as Chief of Surgery, despite his former wishes of retirement. Orthopedic surgeon and fifth-year resident Dr. Calliope "Callie" Torres, who was portrayed by Sara Ramirez, has to face her husband's unfaithfulness and her unexpected bisexuality. Attending plastic surgeon, Dr. Mark Sloan was portrayed by Eric Dane, who is constantly seeking reconciliation with former best-friend, attending physician and Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), whose lasting relationship with Meredith Grey faces difficulties. Former Reunion star Chyler Leigh was promoted to series-regular status, after short appearances in the final 2 episodes of the third season, portraying Meredith's half-sister Lexie Grey, who opts for a surgical internship at Seattle Grace Hospital against Massachusetts General Hospital, after her mother's sudden death. Silence of the Lambs star, Brooke Smith was upgraded to series-regular status after multiple guest appearances in the second and third seasons. An antagonizing character at first, she replaces Preston Burke as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, constantly displaying disrespect for Cristina's previous relationship with him.
Numerous supporting characters have been given recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including former Gilmore Girls actor Edward Herrmann who appeared in 3 episodes. Seth Green of Buffy the Vampire Slayer guest starred in 2 episodes, whereas Lauren Stamile portrayed nurse Rose, a love-interest for Derek. Former regular Kate Walsh appeared for the first time since her departure on May 1, 2008, receiving a special guest-star billing in the role of Addison Montgomery, now the main character of the spin-off Private Practice. Jeff Perry, Loretta Devine and Debra Monk reprised their roles as Thatcher Grey, Adele Webber and Louise O'Malley, respectively. Diahann Carroll and Elizabeth Reaser continued their season 3-introduced roles as Jane Burke and Rebecca Pope, respectively.
In October 2006, news reports surfaced that Washington had insulted co-star T. R. Knight with a homophobic slur during an argument with Patrick Dempsey. Shortly after the details of the argument became public, Knight publicly disclosed that he was gay. The situation seemed somewhat resolved when Washington issued a statement, apologizing for his "unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set." The controversy later resurfaced when the cast appeared at the Golden Globes in January 2007. While being interviewed on the red carpet prior to the awards, Washington joked, "I love gay. I wanted to be gay. Please let me be gay." After the show won Best Drama Series, Washington, in response to press queries as to any conflicts backstage, said, "I never called T. R. a faggot." However, in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Knight said that "everybody heard him."