ABC’s New Medical Spinoff Series Delayed To Fall 2027 As It Changes Locations

The upcoming Texas-based Grey’s Anatomy spinoff just faced a major setback that’s not only delaying the premiere but also forcing production to move to a completely different filming location.

The series will take place at a medical center in a rural part of Texas and center on stories fitting of that environment that otherwise might not have been told on Grey’s Anatomy or other spinoffs. Shonda Rhimes and Meg Marinis are the creators, executive producers and writers, with Betsy Beers and Ellen Pompeo on the producing team as well.

While a premiere date has not been announced, the spinoff was expected to premiere midseason in the same Thursday 10 p.m. EST time slot that Grey’s Anatomy currently holds. Now those plans have changed.

Deadline reports that ABC has delayed the show to the 2027-2028 television season after it couldn’t secure a California tax credit to film in the Golden State, as its predecessors have. As a result, Rhimes and Marinis are moving production to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The process to secure a tax credit in California has been long, but ABC and 20th Television’s application was ultimately turned down twice. This shocking development comes after Beers recently participated in an Assembly Committee hearing to explain why California’s current tax credit system is too limiting and prevents various shows from filming there, resulting in lost revenue for the state.

Rhimes’ production company Shondaland typically films its shows in California, and at the hearing, Beers admitted that she and her fellow producers assumed the new Grey’s Anatomy spinoff would get the same attention. Their “long history of loyalty to the state” ultimately didn’t matter.

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When the show was denied a tax credit, the reason given was that it would not provide “enough jobs for the state to consider us an asset,” according to Beers. The network recently tried to submit another application, but doing so forced them to delay the show until they heard back from the state.

Interestingly, Beers claimed that a returning series would have had a stronger chance of securing a tax credit, but a brand-new show didn’t stand a chance, despite its connection to Rhimes and the long-running Grey’s Anatomy.

“We lost personnel, we lost a lot of time and we lost money trying to find a way to stay where we have always been,” Beers added. “Now we are filming in Albuquerque, where they have been wonderful to work with, but we want to be here” in California.

Betsy Beers: “When our great partners at ABC applied for the new tax credits this past summer for our new Grey’s Anatomy spinoff set in West Texas, we assumed there’s a long history of loyalty to the state, fighting to stay here when there were no credits to be had, and the fact the odds were — as they had been with every single show that Shonda has created or co-created — there would be at least six seasons for a wonderful crew and staff to keep working and to sleep in their beds at night. It was also crucial since the co-creator and showrunner is also running Grey’s, and the geographical proximity was key to her ability to doing the job.

“How wrong we were! We were denied credit due to the fact we were not providing enough jobs for the state to consider us an asset. None of our past history or track record were taken into consideration. And then we were told, regardless of earlier messaging, there would be no chance to apply if you were a new show; returning, sure, not a new show. We lost personnel, we lost a lot of time and we lost money trying to find a way to stay where we have always been. Now we are filming in Albuquerque, where they have been wonderful to work with, but we want to be here.”

Betsy Beers: “When our great partners at ABC applied for the new tax credits this past summer for our new Grey’s Anatomy spinoff set in West Texas, we assumed there’s a long history of loyalty to the state, fighting to stay here when there were no credits to be had, and the fact the odds were — as they had been with every single show that Shonda has created or co-created — there would be at least six seasons for a wonderful crew and staff to keep working and to sleep in their beds at night. It was also crucial since the co-creator and showrunner is also running Grey’s, and the geographical proximity was key to her ability to doing the job.

“How wrong we were! We were denied credit due to the fact we were not providing enough jobs for the state to consider us an asset. None of our past history or track record were taken into consideration. And then we were told, regardless of earlier messaging, there would be no chance to apply if you were a new show; returning, sure, not a new show. We lost personnel, we lost a lot of time and we lost money trying to find a way to stay where we have always been. Now we are filming in Albuquerque, where they have been wonderful to work with, but we want to be here.”

Under current California law, the film and TV tax credit program has a cap of $750 million per year. Governor Gavin Newsom wants to expand the credit to $1 billion, but any movement by the state legislature on this front will likely have to wait until governor-elect Xavier Becerra is sworn in next year. Meanwhile, Nithya Raman, who was just elected the mayor of Los Angeles, doesn’t believe the program should have a cap at all.

Pre-production on the now-delayed series has already begun in New Mexico, but no cast members have been announced yet. Once it premieres, it will be the third spinoff in the Grey’s Anatomy franchise, after Private Practice and Station 19, which aired for six and seven seasons, respectively.

In the former, Kate Walsh’s Addison Montgomery left Seattle for a clinic in Los Angeles, while the latter series saw Jason George’s Ben Warren go from doctor to firefighter.

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It’s unclear how connected the Texas-based spinoff will be to Grey’s Anatomy, but some reports have indicated Debbie Allen’s character, Catherine Fox, could be the thread that ties the two shows together. Fans of the longest-running medical drama in TV history will now have to wait much longer to find out what happens next.

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.

Grey’s Anatomy

Created by Shonda Rhimes, long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy depicts the professional and personal lives of the employees of a Seattle hospital.