Grey’s Anatomy shakes things up for its eleventh season by continuing to expand on its new characters, saying goodbye to long-time characters, and making sure there is time enough for some medicine between all the doctor romances. All 24 episodes of season 11 are collected in a DVD set that also comes loaded with bonus material to please long-time fans of the hit series.
Created and executive-produced by the brilliant Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens, Jr. as Richard Webber, Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jessica Capshaw as Arizona Robbins, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Sarah Drew as April Kepner, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Josephine “Jo” Wilson, Jerrika Hinton as Stephanie Edwards and Kelly McCreary as Margaret “Maggie” Pierce.
While staying as spoiler free as possible, the eleventh season of Grey’s Anatomy sees the great ensemble cast once again put through the ringer by the series’ writers and not all the characters make it out alive. Several characters once again have to deal with crumbling relationships (such as Callie and Arizona separation) and personal grief (the April and Jackson pregnancy story line is hard to watch). The season also expands on the younger cast of the series, introduces some new characters (Geena Davis’ guest-starring role was a blast to watch and helped cement Scorsone’s Amelia Shepherd as an important hospital leader). Along with the heartache, series fans can enjoy new romances thanks to Owen and Amelia’s new fling (and the drama it creates).
The season always features a great ensemble cast and makes sure to give fans a variety of story lines to keep the show from being bogged down by one or two characters – which is great when binge-watching one episode after the next. This season gave Kelly McCreary a chance to truly shine in the role of Maggie – one of the best things to happen to the series in a long time.
Like past seasons, the DVD comes loaded with bonus materials to help make it worth the purchase price. Spotlight: Caterina Scorsone is a profile on the talented actress covering her time on Private Practice and her current role on the show. There is an extended version of “You’re My Home,” and a feature on Rhimes saying goodbye to one of the show’s most-loved characters. Finally, the bonus material includes deleted scenes and a great gag reel – which is always a treat on these sets.
Although Grey’s Anatomy is starting to show its age, the eleventh season manages to keep you interested thanks to its incredible ensemble cast, and the excellent job the series’ writers do making every character matter to the show.