McDreamy’s Return Set Twitter Ablaze, But Grey’s Ratings Were Still Down

The promo for the 17th season of Grey’s Anatomy promised a “shocking, jaw-dropping ending” and they delivered. Fans of the long-running medical drama were stunned when Patrick Dempsey reprised his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd during a dream sequence in the final scene of the season premiere. Dempsey was last seen in the season 11 finale where his character was killed off in a horrifying car crash. The Twittersphere exploded with reactions to the return of the beloved character. According to data obtained from Canvs AI, Total Tweet volume heavily increased during the season 17 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy, from 33,000 total tweets in the season 16 premiere to 125,000 — an increase of 280% season over season. The Reaction Rate, which measures fan’s passion, also increased 6% season over season from 31% during the season 16 premiere to 37% in the season 17 premiere. 

But despite the increased chatter on social media, ratings declined from the previous year. The two-hour premiere drew a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 and 5.93 million viewers — down 13% among adults 18-49 and 11% in viewers from 2019’s one hour premiere which scored a 1.5 rating and 6.51 million viewers. Station 19 led off the night with a 1.2 in the key demographic and 6.59 million viewers as the two shows came together to pay tribute to front-line workers in a crossover season premiere. Grey’s still won the night among non-NFL shows including the return of Law & Order: SVU (0.6). But the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans reigned supreme, notching a 2.1 rating and 8 million viewers.

It remains to be seen how viewers will respond to the next few episodes with Dempsey scheduled to appear at least three more times. Showrunner Krista Vernoff admitted it was not an easy feat to orchestrate the return and that the news was heavily guarded in an effort to avoid spoilers. 

“Most of the actors didn’t know. Some of the writers didn’t know. Most of the good folks at the studio and network didn’t know. It’s so fun watching it all unfold,” she tweeted.

In a statement after the episode aired on the East Coast, Vernoff explained why so much care was taken to make this season extra special. 

“The most important task we had this season was to honor the reality of this global pandemic and the impact it’s having — particularly on health care workers. Along with that we had to come up with creative ways to allow our show to still be fun and romantic and provide some escapism. Enter Patrick Dempsey. The beach motif — which will continue beyond the premiere — provided a way for us to live outside the pandemic even for a little while here and there. And Derek’s return provided pure joy for us, for Meredith, and for the fans. Season 17 has been a herculean effort by our cast, our crew, our writers, and our partners at Disney and ABC — and we are proud of it. But our effort is nothing compared to the work of our front-line health care workers to whom this season is dedicated. We hope our show inspires you to wear your masks to protect them and each other. As Derek Shepherd would say, ‘It’s a beautiful day to save lives.’”