Despite his difficult thoughts regarding the unexpected demise of Station 19, Jason George is cherishing the time he has left with the show.
The actor discusses his conflicted feelings with The Hollywood Reporter as the seven-season ABC firefighter drama series comes to an end this month. Before the spinoff series Station 19 debuted in March 2018, George played Ben Warren in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy during its sixth season, which aired in 2010.
In fact, when word leaked out late last year that ABC was canceling the series after this season, viewers were taken aback. About Station 19 closing, Warren tells THR, “It’s incredibly tough because it feels like we have so many more years in us.”
Nevertheless, the actor finds comfort in the knowledge that, unlike some other series, his show’s crew was able to prepare for the series finale.
“Knowing that this was our last season, the writers got to write an ending that landed that plane the way it was supposed to land,” George says. “We got to write a beautiful ending, and we also got to schedule the whole thing and deal with each other knowing that this is going to be goodbye as a family every day.”
He adds, “If the audience feels the way we felt in the moment when we saw that last shot, they’ll be in tears.”
Grey’s Anatomy fans continue to hope that Ben — who is married to Miranda Bailey, portrayed on the medical drama by Chandra Wilson — will again pop up on the long-running series. George is open to the potential return but claims he’s unsure where any conversations might lead.
“I like to think that there’s still a Ben-Bailey, or Benley, story to tell,” he says. He goes on to tease, “I think that’s a possibility. There may be conversations.”
THR spoke to George during Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Waves of Change event at Santa Monica‘s Casa del Mar hotel on Saturday. The event was presented by the Ocean Rising initiative and featured a fashion show of ocean-inspired looks, in addition to George reading an author’s spoken-word contribution about a robot falling in love with a mermaid.
George was eager to participate, having grown up near the ocean as a Virginia Beach resident, not to mention that his dad was a member of the Navy. “I’ve always been paying attention to the environment,” the actor shares. “So I was like, ‘That’s a no-brainer.’”