Station 19 Showrunners Reveal the Heartbreaking Way They Learned of the Series' Cancellation

The Station 19 showrunners say work had only just started on Season 7 when they got cancellation news.

By Nicole Drum

In December, ABC announced that the upcoming seventh season of Station 19 would be the Grey's Anatomy spinoff's last. It was news that surprised and saddened fans of the first responder drama and it turns out that's much the reaction the series' showrunners had as well. Station 19's new showrunners Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige told TVLine about how they found out about the show's fate just two days into production on the new season.

"We were what, two days into shooting the new episodes? And we got the call," Clack said.

"I was on a panel, in front of like, 100 people," Clack continued. "I kept getting calls, and I finally texted and said, 'Is this important? I'm in front of people!' And they were like, 'OK, you can wait.' And you know how sometimes after a panel people want to talk to you? [I didn't do that.] I just got on the phone and then I was told. I called Peter as soon as I heard and was like, 'Why did this happen?' as I'm driving to Disney."

"Basically, we got the news and were like 'Get the cast in, get the writers, get the crew assembled… Make sure they're all going to meet us at lunch!'" Paige said. "Then we raced, raced, raced to tell them before there were any leaks. We wanted to make sure they heard it from us."

Paige and Clack said that they were ultimately able to beat the news getting out and inform everyone in person by around three minutes. For Paige, it was an especially difficult day, however. Paige, who co-created Freeform's Good Trouble, also got the news about that show ending on the same day.

"[This was also] the day I got the call about Good Trouble ending, so it was really quite a day!" Paige said.

Why Was Station 19 Cancelled?

Last month, Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich explained that Station 19's cancellation was a case of the story simply coming to a natural end.

"Every show has its own journey so to speak. In the case of Station 19, it was time to bring that story to an end," Erwich said. "I love Station 19, and I think what's amazing about Station 19 is that it was yes, a spinoff of Grey's. But it really became its own show that stood on its own creatively and was fully realized and unique unto itself, and we've been very proud to have it on the air. I'm proud to be in business with Shonda [Rhimes] on that show."

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What Is Station 19 About?

Debuting in 2018, Station 19 follows the men and women at Seattle Fire Station 19. The series, a second spinoff of Grey's Anatomy (the first being Private Practice), stars Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon, Barrett Doss, Jay Hayden, Danielle Savre, Boris Kodjoe, Stefania Spampinato, and Carlos Miranda. It had been renewed for Season 7 back in April 2023, at which time Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige took over as co-showrunners from Krista Vernoff.

Station 19 returns for Season 7 on Thursday, March 14th on ABC.

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