Why is there no new episode of Grey’s Anatomy season 22 this week? Everything to know

ABC’s long-running primetime medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy season 22, is on its year-end break after airing the fall finale. As always, ABC is taking a prolonged pause to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. The ABC shows will resume in January 2026. As is the tradition with the show, the episode before the hiatus presented a cliffhanger situation that viewers can come back to when the show resumes on January 8, 2026. 

Grey’s Anatomy season 22 premiered on October 9, 2025. The previous season, season 21, ended on May 15, 2025, with a medical catastrophe when an explosion threatened the lives of patients and the staff of the hospital. The premiere episode of season 22 saw the aftermath of the explosion from the previous season. Dr Atticus “Linc” Lincoln was severely injured but survived thanks to timely intervention by his colleagues.

However, Dr. Monica Beltran could not survive the disaster after being pinned to the wall by surgical instruments and machinery. The storyline of Grey’s Anatomy season 22 continued to show Dr. Jo carrying her pregnancy with twins while the hospital continued with its plan to renovate.

Elsewhere, the central characters of Bailey, Meredith, Simone, Richard, Teddy and others persisted in giving their best to medical needs of their patients. However, in a turn of fate, Dr. Jo and Dr. Richard found themselves on the other side of the table in the fall finale.

Grey’s Anatomy season 22: Hiatus and return

As mentioned before, ABC is taking a long year-end pause to celebrate the upcoming festivities. Besides Grey’s Anatomy season 22, the hiatus also includes 9-1-1 and its spinoff, High Potential, 20/20, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and more. All the shows are slated to return after the first week of January 2026, on their scheduled day of the week.

Grey’s Anatomy season 22 will return with episode 7 on Thursday, January 8, 2026. The episode will air at 10 pm ET and 7 pm PT. It will be available to stream on Hulu next day, January 9, 2026.

Grey’s Anatomy season 22: Revisiting fall finale episode

Titled When I Crash, episode 6 of Grey’s Anatomy season 22 served as the mid-season finale which aired on November 13, 2025. The plot covered a disastrous bus accident, leaving a slew of injured patients for Grey Sloan. While Teddy was trapped under the bus, she managed to get out safely. Moreover, she stabilized another woman trapped underneath.

On the downside, the episode left two poignant arcs in cliffhanger. To start with, Jo, who is carrying twins was in for her routine checkup. However, she experienced a shortness of breath, leading to the diagnosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy. When the medication did not work, the medical team tried to insert a pump that endangered Jo and her twins.

With no OB/GYN doctors available and Jo crashing with a cardiac failure, Dr. Winston Ndugu was forced to perform a C-Section to try and save all three lives. However, Winston had last performed the surgery as a student and was no expert. Whether Jo and her babies survived the surgery remains to be seen when Grey’s Anatomy season 22 resumes in January 2026.

Another depressing cliffhanging arc revolved around Dr. Richard Webber who was seen giving Dr. Bailey a tough time. However, it was revealed that Richard was disturbed while waiting for his biopsy report. The report came with negative news. How this affects Richard’s performance at the hospital and his colleagues remains to be seen in the second half of Grey’s Anatomy season 22.

Tune in to ABC on January 8, 2026, at 10 pm ET to watch the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy season 22. Meanwhile, catch the previous episodes and seasons on Hulu and Netflix.