The Grey’s Anatomy spinoff set in West Texas is moving its production to New Mexico, and its premiere is sliding back a season. ABC’s untitled series will now debut in the 2027-28 season instead of midseason 2027 after the show failed to land a California film and TV tax credit.
ABC gave the spinoff a straight-to-series order in May, slating it for a midseason 2027 premiere in the 2026-27 season. The show was always going to be set in Texas, but the production intended to shoot in California with help from the state’s incentive program. Its application was turned down twice, and the series will now film in Albuquerque instead. It is the first time the Grey’s Anatomy franchise has left California in its 23-year history.
What The Spinoff Is About
Shonda Rhimes and current Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis created the new series. ABC has described it as an edgy drama about a team at a rural medical center in West Texas, the last chance for care before miles of nowhere. It is set in the same world as Grey’s Anatomy, which is still airing on ABC, and Ellen Pompeo is among its executive producers.
The series still does not have an official title, and no cast has been announced. It will be the third Grey’s Anatomy spinoff, after Private Practice and Station 19.
Betsy Beers Wants The Program Changed
Betsy Beers, Rhimes’ producing partner at Shondaland, which produces both Grey’s and the spinoff, is pushing for changes to the program. She testified at a state Assembly committee hearing in North Hollywood on October 29, and she sees two problems with how the credit works.
The first is money. California’s film and TV tax credit is capped at $750 million a year, and there is not enough in the pot for every production that wants to stay. The second is how projects are scored. The spinoff was turned down for not creating enough jobs, and Beers argues that the years of work Shondaland has already brought to the state should count toward an application. “None of our past history or track record were taken into consideration,” she said.
For more than a decade, the program has also put an emphasis on bringing series back to California from other states. That does little for a franchise that has always been based there.
A Year Later Than Planned
The delay came while ABC and 20th Television waited on the California tax credit process, which held up preparation and hiring for the show. The spinoff is now in pre-production in Albuquerque, a full television season later than ABC first slotted it.
For Grey’s Anatomy fans, the wait for the next spinoff just got longer. The original keeps rolling in the meantime, including its recent Dolly Parton tribute episode.
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