As Grey's Anatomy season 12 nears its premiere date, Twitter recently announced that the ABC medical drama soared to the top of the most-tweeted shows of fall TV list.
Garnering 2.2 million tweets between June 1 and Sept. 4, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ has gained the top spot, all the way from sixth place last year.
Following Shonda Rhimes’ hit series, the other most-tweeted TV programs for fall include ‘Supernatural,’ ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ and ‘Once Upon a Time.’
While Twitter learned that 90 percent of all the tweets had focused on the return of these shows, there have also been posts about fresh programs, and the top tweeted series include ‘American Horror Story: Hotel,’ ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,’ ‘Scream Queens,’ ‘Heroes Reborn’ and ‘Supergirl.’
Meanwhile, the first official trailer for ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 12 has been unveiled and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) reveals that, "You are about to find out that everything has changed."
After the show’s storyline went through major changes with the unanticipated death of Dr. Derek Shephered (Patrick Dempsey) at the end of last season, the medical series was set for a transformation.
"We've seen the pitch for ‘Grey's Anatomy’ next season. The show reinvents itself again,” ABC executive Paul Lee explained to the media at the 2015 Television Critics Association summer press tour.
Lee also shared the sentiments that fans did when it comes to Dempsey’s departure from the series, saying that it had been a tough experience. Nonetheless, he added: "It was great to see [the show] so relevant and taking the national conversation.”
As for Pompeo, she made a comparison between ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and the other TV programs also created by Rhimes, such as ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ and ‘Scandal,’ to assure everyone that the medical drama will remain a successful program despite McDreamy’s absence.
"It is, like, Annalise Keating carries the show," Pompeo said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Olivia Pope carries the show. But, somehow, Meredith Gray needs someone. Why can't I just be the lead of the show the way Annalise and Olivia can? Why can't I be on that poster by myself?"
After having to deal with Dr. Shepherd’s death, viewers can look forward to the next season with a “lighter” tone.
"’Grey's,’ there's a much sort of lighter tone this year that we're going for. Meredith Grey has never been defined by her relationship with a man,” Rhimes explained.
The showrunner has not yet come up with plans for a new love interest for Meredith in season 12, although Martin Henderson did sign on to the show to play a new charming surgeon.
“Meredith is in a rebirth and she's evolving. I'm watching the character do what the character's doing and I'll see where it goes,” Rhimes added.
Grey’s Anatomy returns for Season 12 on Thursday, September 24, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Its first official trailer can be viewed below.