The tenth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy premiered on September 26, 2013, with a two-hour special episode in the United States on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and it concluded with a Farewell to Cristina finale episode "Fear (Of the Unknown)" on May 15, 2014. The season was produced by ABC Studios, in association with Shondaland Production Company and The Mark Gordon Company; the showrunners being Tony Phelan and Joan Rater. The season was officially released on DVD as a 6-disc box-set under the title of Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Tenth Season – Live for the Moments on September 2, 2014, by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
The season mainly focuses on the relationship between the show's protagonist Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and "her person" Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) as both follow different paths relating their careers straining their relationship. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), having separated from her wife Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), teamed up with the White House to work on a brain mapping project. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) was on a project mapping out the human genome. Yang and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) gradually take their relationship from complicated and painful to a place of real friendship. April Kepner (Sarah Drew) and Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) elope during Kepner and paramedic Matthew Taylor's (Justin Bruening) wedding. Yang takes off to Switzerland for a job offer to take over Preston Burke's (Isaiah Washington) hospital because he wants to step down and move his family. She bids her farewell to her colleagues of the last 8 years, including Hunt and dances it out with Meredith one last time to an old favorite song. Caterina Scorsone begins portraying the role of Dr. Amelia Shepherd in a recurring capacity, as Amelia visits Meredith and her brother at their home and helps take care of their children. She is upgraded to a series regular in season 11 following her decision to move to Seattle full-time.
The season garnered 12.12 million viewers average viewers and was ranked #15 overall in total viewers which is 11 spots higher than the previous season. In the 18-49 key demographic, it ranked #5 and for the 2013–2014 primetime TV schedule, Grey's was the #1 drama in the 18-49 key demographic. James Pickens, Jr. and Chandra Wilson were nominated for Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Actress, respectively, at the 45th NAACP Image Awards. The show also garnered 5 nominations at the 40th People's Choice Awards. It was announced on May 8, 2014, by ABC that Grey's Anatomy would return in the fall of 2014 for an eleventh season.
The website Screen Rant ranked the season #8 on their 2023 ranking of the 19 Grey's Anatomy seasons.
Episodes
The number in the "No. overall" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans in millions who watched the episodes live. 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 Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey James Pickens Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber Sara Ramirez as Dr. Callie Torres Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins Sarah Drew as Dr. April Kepner Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Wilson Gaius Charles as Dr. Shane Ross Jerrika Hinton as Dr. Stephanie Edwards Tessa Ferrer as Dr. Leah Murphy Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd
Recurring Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren Debbie Allen as Dr. Catherine Avery James Remar as Jimmy Evans Justin Bruening as Matthew Taylor Marguerite Moreau as Dr. Emma Marling Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole Rebecca Field as Sabine McNeil Thomas Barbusca as Link McNeil Armani Jackson as Braden Morris Jadin Gould as Ivy McNeil Harley Graham as Francesca "Frankie" McNeil Billy Malone as Jon McNeil Elizabeth Bond as Kimmie Kepner Emily Happe as Libby Kepner Grace Bannon as Alice Kepner
Notable guests Isaiah Washington as Dr. Preston Burke Tina Majorino as Dr. Heather Brooks Bobby Campo as Brian Heather Hemmens as Sasha Héctor Elizondo as Carlos Torres Patrick Fabian as Dr. Oliver Lebackes Gordon Clapp as Victor Kaufman Paul James as Eric Valerie Mahaffey as Donna Kaufman Keke Palmer as Cheryl Jeffries Lainie Kazan as C.J. Annie Potts as Joyce Bosco
Production Development Grey's Anatomy was renewed for a tenth season on May 10, 2013. This season is to include the 200th episode of the series, the fourth episode to air, "Puttin' on the Ritz". This season was also split into 2 batches of episodes, each batch consisting of 12 uninterrupted episodes (excluding holidays). The mid-season premiere aired on February 27, 2014.
Casting In May 2012, it was announced that 6 original castmates - Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens, Jr. and Patrick Dempsey had renewed their contracts through season 10, as Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Alex Karev, Miranda Bailey, Richard Webber and Derek Shepherd respectively. It was revealed in June 2013, that 4 out of the 5 interns from Season 9 would be returning as series-regulars, including Camilla Luddington, Gaius Charles, Jerrika Hinton and Tessa Ferrer. It was announced in July 2013 that Bobby Campo and Heather Hemmens were slated to guest star in the 2-part season premiere. In August 2013, TVGuide reported that Dexter alum James Remar is set for a "mysterious" story-arc. It was later revealed that Remar would be playing Alex Karev's drug addict father, whom he hasn't seen in more than 20 years. In October 2013, it was announced that Hector Elizondo would be returning to the show, as Callie Torres' father, for a 'Callie-centric' episode that would air mid-November. Other guest stars in November were Valerie Mahaffey and Gordon Clapp.
It was announced in January 2014 that Nickelodeon star Keke Palmer would guest star in an upcoming episode slated to air in March 2014. It was also announced that Greek alum Paul James had been cast in a potentially recurring role. It was also announced in January that the role of Zola (Meredith and Derek's daughter) was recast and would now be played by Heaven White, who is significantly older than Jela K. Moore, the actress who previously played Zola.
On March 6, 2014, it was revealed that Isaiah Washington would reprise his role as Preston Burke for 1 episode in May 2014. It is believed that his reappearance will have ties with Cristina Yang's (Sandra Oh) departure from the show after 9 years. Dr. Burke was Cristina Yang's love-interest for much of his 3 years on the show. Washington was fired 7 years ago after he made a homophobic slur against castmate, T. R. Knight. On March 18, 2014, it was announced that another Grey's Anatomy alum would return in May and stay until the end of the season. Caterina Scorsone will return to play Amelia Shepherd, one of Derek's 4 sisters. Scorsone was a regular on the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice, where she also portrayed Amelia Shepherd.
In April, news broke that Kelly McCreary would guest star in the Season 10 finale. It wasn't known until the season finale aired that her character, Dr. Pierce, was hired by Dr. Yang to be the new head of cardio. It was also discovered at the end of the episode that Dr. Ellis Grey was her birth mother.
On August 13, 2013, Sandra Oh revealed that after the tenth season, she would be leaving Grey's Anatomy. It was announced on March 25, 2014, that Gaius Charles and Tessa Ferrer were not having their options picked up for Season 11, meaning that Season 10 would be their last season as regulars on the show. On January 23, 2014, it was announced that Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey had renewed their contracts for another 2 seasons, as Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd respectively, meaning their characters will be staying on the medical drama for seasons 11 and 12. On May 2, 2014, it was announced that the rest of the 6 original castmates, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson, and James Pickens Jr., excluding Sandra Oh, had renewed their contracts for another 2 seasons (11 and 12). Sara Ramirez also renewed her contract for another 2 seasons.
Reception
Ratings Grey's Anatomy's tenth season opened up to 9.27 million viewers with a 3.4/9 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. "Everybody's Crying Mercy" served as the season's most-viewed episode. "Man On The Moon" was the season's least-viewed episode, with 7.02 million viewers and a 2.3/6 Nielsen rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. At the time, the season finale was the series lowest-watched season finale with 8.92 million viewers and 2.6/8 in the 18-49 rating demo. Grey's Anatomy, in its tenth season, ranked #15 overall in total viewers (12.12 million). This is 11 spots higher than the previous season, which was ranked #26. In the 18-49 key demographic, Grey's Anatomy ranked #5. The last time a season of Grey's Anatomy was ranked #5 in the 18-49 key demographic was season 1. The highest ranking for the 18-49 key demographic was #3 for seasons 3, 4, and 5. Last season, Grey's Anatomy was ranked #10. For the 2013-2014 primetime TV schedule, Grey's Anatomy was the #1 drama in the 18-49 key demographic.
Live + SD ratings No. inseries No. inseason Episode Air date Time slot (EST) Rating/Share (18–49) Viewers (m) 18–49 Rank Viewership rank Drama rank 197 1 "Seal Our Fate" Thursdays9:00 p.m. 3.4/9 9.27 14 4 198 2 "I Want You With Me" 3.4/9 9.27 14 4 199 3 "Everybody's Crying Mercy" 3.1/9 9.60 17 25 5 200 4 "Puttin' on the Ritz" 2.8/8 8.79 15 5 201 5 "I Bet It Stung" 2.7/7 8.78 17 6 202 6 "Map of You" 2.8/8 8.73 16 4 203 7 "Thriller" 2.6/8 8.94 16 5 204 8 "Two Against One" 2.7/7 8.68 13 4 205 9 "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" 2.6/7 8.56 16 6 206 10 "Somebody That I Used to Know" 2.6/7 8.61 16 4 207 11 "Man on the Moon" 2.3/6 7.02 23 4 208 12 "Get Up, Stand Up" 2.7/8 8.36 13 25 3 209 13 "Take It Back" 3.1/9 9.42 11 19 3 210 14 "You Got to Hide Your Love Away" 2.6/7 8.21 14 5 211 15 "Throwing it All Away" 2.3/7 7.36 17 6 212 16 "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" 2.4/7 8.09 10 21 5 213 17 "Do You Know?" 2.6/7 8.42 9 19 3 214 18 "You Be Illin'" 2.7/8 8.28 10 22 3 215 19 "I'm Winning" 2.6/8 8.18 8 23 3 216 20 "Go It Alone" 2.6/8 8.45 5 16 2 217 21 "Change of Heart" 2.3/7 7.99 9 21 2 218 22 "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" 2.6/8 8.81 7 18 2 219 23 "Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right" 2.5/7 7.95 7 23 3 220 24 "Fear (of the Unknown)" 2.6/8 8.92 10 20 4
Live + 7 Day (DVR) ratings