Today, it was announced that Jason George, the actor that many of us adore as Dr. Ben Warren on Grey's Anatomy, will be leaving the show. However, before you add him to the epically long list of characters you can never forgive Shonda Rhimes for writing out of the medical drama, you should know that his character will live on. The Hollywood Reporter first reported that George will continue playing Ben Warren in a new Grey's Anatomy spin-off about a group of Seattle firefighters.
Shortly after THR broke the news about George joining the cast of the still untitled spinoff, the actor retweeted the announcement and wrote, "Oh, and, um,...this is happening... The #greysanatomy universe is expanding."
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Oh, and , um,...this is happening...
— Jason Winston George (@JasonWGeorge) September 12, 2017
The #greysanatomy universe is expanding https://t.co/OD197rxHGT
This firefighter show will be the second spinoff Grey's Anatomy has spawned since it premiered way back in 2005. The first, of course, was Private Practice, which followed Dr. Addison Montgomery Shepherd — McDreamy's ex-wife — after her move from working in Seattle Grace to a private practice in Los Angeles. The spinoff that George has just joined, however, will be the first in the Grey's Anatomy universe that doesn't solely revolve around medical professionals. According to E! News, this new series will follow both the personal and professional lives of a group firefighters of all different ranks.
There aren't yet any details about how George's Ben Warren will move from working at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital to a Seattle fire department, although we did see the character attempt to rescue Dr. Stephanie Edwards in the season 13 finale of Grey's Anatomy after there was an explosion in the hospital. Perhaps Warren will once again make a major career change and actually become a fireman.
THR says the spinoff is expected to premiere midseason and Ben Warren will continue as a series regular on Grey's until production of the spinoff starts. Hopefully he'll continue to pop in on Shonda Rhime's OG show every once in a while. He is, after all, married to the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Miranda Bailey, so it would be rather sad if he completely disappeared.