'Grey's Anatomy' Promotes Four Interns to Regulars

The attendings at Seattle Grace-Mercy West may have wanted them gone, but apparently, viewers did not: Four of the five Grey's Anatomy interns are returning for the show's 10th season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gaius Charles, Camilla Luddington, Jerrika Hinton and Tessa Ferrer, who play Shane, Jo, Stephanie and Leah, respectively, have all been promoted to series regulars on the ABC drama. Absent from the list is Tina Majorino (Heather), but don't worry about her — the actress just signed on to reprise her role as Mac in the Veronica Mars movie, and she will be co-starring in TNT's Legends, out in 2014.

Giving the interns more screen time may be frustrating to some who found the ensemble show already too crowded, but it's not a surprising move. Over Grey's last season, the interns made increasingly regular appearances, and it's no shock that Shonda and Co. want to breathe some fresh air into a show that's been on the air for almost a decade. Besides, viewers shouldn't be too upset — the interns have evolved from annoying brownnosers who stole screen time away from Mer and Der to actually decent characters. Charles' Shane has stopped following McDreamy around like a puppy dog and has actually discovered a backbone, and as Jo, the tough, guarded love interest for Alex, Luddington has almost made us forget about the crazy exes she's replacing. Stephanie and Leah are less developed, but the Grey's writing staff will surely fix that in no time.

Besides, if you're a devoted fan of the show, you've already survived a bomb threat, a plane crash, a shooting spree and a tropical storm, among other disasters. The promotion of a few measly interns is hardly something to worry about.

[Image: ABC]