A 9-1-1 And Grey’s Anatomy Crossover? Why It’s More Likely Now Than Ever

With Station 118 and Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital both on the same network now, there are theories that there could be a 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy crossover episode in the future. But how possible is it? Well, a past episode has a massive clue.

9-1-1 is a procedural drama series following the personal and professional lives of first responders — including police officers, paramedics, firefighters and dispatchers — in Los Angeles, California. The series — which is created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, the minds behind shows like Glee and American Horror Story — premiered on FOX in 2018 and ran for six seasons before it moved to ABC in 2023. The series is also the second in the 9-1-1 franchise, which also includes 9-1-1: Lone Star, another procedural drama set in Austin, Texas.

Grey’s Anatomy, for its part, is a medical drama following the personal and professional lives of surgical interns, residents and attendings at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital (previously known as Seattle Grace Hospital and Seattle Grace Mercy West) in Seattle, Washington. The series — which is created by Shonda Rhimes, the same mind behind shows like Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder — premiered on ABC in 2005 and has since led to one spin-off:  Station 19, which follows firefighters at the Seattle Fire Department’s fictional Station 19.

9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy are two of the highest-rated and most beloved primetime dramas on television right now. But could they see a crossover in the future? The chances to see Station 118 and Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital cross paths are the best they’ve ever been. One clue from the past could hold the answer.

Will there be a 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy crossover?

Will there be a 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy crossover? Fans started theorizing there could be a 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy crossover after news in May 2023 that the series was moving from FOX to ABC for its seventh season. Variety reported at the time that 9-1-1 was cancelled by FOX after six seasons but was renewed by ABC. 9-1-1‘s spin-off, 9-1-1: Lone Star, will remain on FOX.

“It has been an honor to be the founding network of 9-1-1 and we are grateful to Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, together with Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Ryan Guzman and the rest of the cast and crew, and 20th Television for delivering such an impactful series to Fox,” FOX said in a statement at the time. “We wish them well after ‘9-1-1’s’ final Fox season concludes.”

Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, which owns ABC, said in his own statement, “Thanks to the creative drive of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, as well as the talented cast, 9-1-1 has been one of the most defining and original dramas on network television over the last six seasons and we are honored to bring it to the esteemed group of series on ABC. It’s a privilege to keep ‘9-1-1’ in the family with 20th Television producing, and we look forward to telling more heart-racing and uplifting stories about these beloved characters on our air.”

Now that they’re both on ABC, could there be a 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy crossover? The answer seems to be no. 9-1-1 references Grey’s Anatomy in Season 2, Episode 2 “7.1,” in which an emergency operator mentions the series on a call. “You would think, after 14 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, people would know this stuff,” he says. Given that Grey’s Anatomy exists a TV show on 9-1-1, it’s highly unlikely that characters on the series could cross over to 9-1-1‘s real world.

Still, that doesn’t mean that other ABC primetime dramas couldn’t crossover. One popular series for a 9-1-1 crossover on Reddit is The Rookie, another police procedural drama that’s also set in Los Angeles, California. Another series fans have theorized about is The Good Doctor, a medical drama that’s set in San Jose, California. However, given that 9-1-1 has featured natural and man-made disasters that haven’t been mentioned on either series, it’s also unlikely there could be a cross over without some serious plot holes. “Only reason I would say no to that one (I love The Rookie) is due to the 9-1-1 disasters of the tsunami, mudslide, etc & we never saw those on Rookie & rookie had the false missile thing happen but nothing in 9-1-1. These are events that would definitely effect both sides. I just think it would be too hard to smush the two together without retconning a whole bunch of stuff,” a Reddit user wrote.

Why was 9-1-1 cancelled by FOX?

Why was 9-1-1 cancelled by FOX? Variety reported in May 2023 that 9-1-1 was originally picked up by FOX in 2018 when the network was under the same company as 20th Television. But after The Walt Disney Company — which also owns ABC — acquired 20th Television in 2018, FOX no longer had the same financial stake in 9-1-1 as it did, despite the series being one of the network’s highest-rated programs.

According to Deadline, finances were also part of the reason for FOX’s decision to cancel 9-1-1. Sources told the magazine that, though 9-1-1 was FOX’s highest-rated program, the series was also its most expensive show to produce, with episodes costing $9 million to $10 million each.

According to a 2021 report by Deadline, the 9-1-1 cast’s salaries and the cost to produce the series’ realistic natural disasters were the main reasons for its expensive budgets. The magazine reported that Angela Bassett, who is an executive producer on 9-1-1, makes $450,000 per episode; Peter Krause makes $300,000 per episode; while Alisha Hinds, Rockmond Dunbar, Kenneth Choi, Oliver Stark and Ryan Guzman make $100,000 per episode.  Jennifer Love Hewitt is the third highest paid beneath Bassett and Krause, though her salary wasn’t confirmed.

9-1-1 airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

For more on 9-1-1, check out the gallery below on the 9-1-1 cast’s salaries per episode.