Why was ‘Station 19’ canceled, and was it the right move on Shondaland’s part?

When Station 19 premiered in 2018, fans were excited by the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff focused on firefighters and their dramatic lives. Now Station 19 is ending after season 7 and fans are confused about why.

While no one can be sure how successful spinoffs are going to be, it was clear that Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) was a main character worth getting to know. It’s always hard to say goodbye, and now that Station 19 is finished, we want to know why it was canceled. We also have to wonder if the Shondaland show really needed to end.

What was the reason Station 19 was canceled after season 7?

ABC canceled Station 19 in December 2023, and the writers realized that the upcoming seventh season would be the final one. Fans are still stunned that the show is off the air because it has always been so popular.

According to TV Line, Station 19 was the “highest-rated, most watched drama” airing on ABC in 2023. Fans thought Netflix should pick up the show, but that didn’t happen.

However, it seems that ratings decreased in 2024. TV Line reported that ratings went down after ABC decided to put 9-1-1 in the same timeslot that Station 19 was in. That resulted in Station 19 getting lower ratings than it had before. It’s possible that change was why the show was canceled. The Hollywood Reporter also shared that 9-1-1 got higher ratings than Station 19 this past year. While 9-1-1 took the number one broadcast drama spot for viewers aged 18-49, Station 19 was number 13.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Station 19 has had several showrunners over the years. After Stacy McKee, who created the series, left when season 2 ended, Krista Vernoff was in charge of Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy from seasons 3 through 6. THR also reported there was a lot of off-air conflict. While the publication didn’t specify what happened, Distractify reported that fans think that co-stars Danielle Savre and Jaina Lee Ortiz don’t get along.

Should Station 19 have been canceled?

When thinking about whether Station 19 should have been allowed to continue past season 7, it’s clear that fans didn’t want this to happen. When viewing the cancelation of Station 19 from a storytelling perspective, it’s upsetting that a diverse drama had to end before the cast and crew wanted it to. Station 19 is a well-crafted series with a huge fanbase and a passionate, talented cast that deserved at least one more season.

While seven seasons is a great and respectable run for a TV drama, Station 19 told meaningful stories about relatable characters. As co-showrunner Peter Paige told Variety, “People think they’re watching a fire show. But they’re really watching a show about women and Black, brown and queer people navigating systems that aren’t necessarily set up for them to succeed.” 

There’s also the fact that the most famous Shondaland show, Grey’s Anatomy, just got renewed for season 21, and there didn’t seem to be a reason why Station 19 couldn’t follow that trajectory. There will always be more fires to put out, more family conflicts, and more friendships and romances. Both Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 are the kind of shows that can just keep going because that’s how they’re designed.

It’s sad to think about Station 19 ending when we’ve been following Andy’s romantic life for years now and have watched her well-deserved promotion to captain. It would have been great to at least see a Station 19 season 8 and watch Andy thrive even more. We’ll have to come to terms with the cancelation of Station 19… and at least we still have Grey’s Anatomy.