Fourteen seasons later Grey’s Anatomy is still airing new episodes every Thursday on ABC. Most people who watch it now were only little kids when the show first aired in 2005. For fourteen seasons characters have changed, come, and gone.

The pilot of the show immediately caught viewers’ attention with a strong love at first sight connection between intern Meredith Grey and neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd. It starts with five new surgeon interns arriving for their first day at Seattle Grace Hospital. Over the course of the first season, you learn the struggles of being an intern; it is a 24/7 competition with your peers. The amount of pressure and hard work is displayed through the interns’ battle to receive the first solo surgery. The show tugs at your heartstrings with romantic scenes, surgeries, and deaths of the characters- including some main ones. The show is intense with high pressure surgeries, tragic disasters and deaths up until about the start of season 13. Viewer Gina Valerio stated, “The start of the show relays a happy, positive vibe, but the later seasons are all depressing and sad.” The show took a turn for the worse when the most loved character, neurosurgeon Dr. Shepard, dies in a car accident. This left the majority of viewers upset and angry.

After removing many of the characters, the show slows down and strikes the interest of less people. Viewer Sarah Robbins comments, “It is many new characters and almost none of the original cast, which makes the storyline less interesting and more confusing.” During the earlier seasons, the show allows viewers to watch characters grow from immature young adult interns to grown specialty surgeons. In the later seasons, the show is more outside drama and less about the surgeries. However, the actors portray their characters and their backstories very well throughout all 14 seasons.

Grey’s Anatomy is a drama-filled and tear jerking show. While the changes in the show’s focus has caused a decline in viewership, there will always be a loyal audience that will watch for the plot twists and solid performances.