Fans are looking forward to the season 12 premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" to know how Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is coping a year after Derek's death, and whether Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) are able to move on after their breakup.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, show creator Shonda Rhimes said that Meredith will be giving up the home that she and Derek lived in and will be moving back into her mother's house, sharing the space with sister-in-law Maggie (Kelly McCrearie) and Amelia (Caterina Scorsone).
"Right now it's very funny," said Rhimes to THR. "Those three women are very different and don't have very much in common, which is fantastic."
The show creator added that Meredith needs support right now and since she's related to them, the dynamic will be different compared to the time when she was living with Izzie (Katherine Heigl) and George (T.R. Knight).
As for Callie and Arizona, Rhimes revealed that both women will have new love interests, saying, "And some pretty exciting ones too, which I think is going to be interesting."
After Callie and Arizona broke up, it was speculated that the former, who is bisexual, might have a relationship with a man this time around, but Rhimes told THR that Callie will fall for and have a relationship with a woman. As for Arizona, Rhimes said that she is going to be reevaluating her life as she prepares to go on dates again.
"Arizona is searching herself. We wanted to see her delve into and figure out what she wanted and needed," she said.
One thing that fans can be assured of is a lighter season this time around compared to the heavy drama of season 11. Rhimes said that she realized at a recent table read that she has never heard the cast laugh so much since season 1, and that the entire room laughed and broke into applause after they were done reading.
"It was a nice feeling to be so light again but in a way that didn't feel like we were trying too hard; it felt natural," said Rhimes.
Season 12 of "Grey's Anatomy" premieres on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
