The third season of the American television action-drama Station 19, spin off of Grey's Anatomy, began airing in the United States on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on January 23, 2020, and concluded on May 14, 2020.  The season was produced by ABC Studios, in association with Shondaland Production Company.  

This is the first season under showrunner Krista Vernoff.  This is the first season without Alberto Frezza as a series regular and is also the last season to feature Miguel Sandoval as a series regular.  On March 11, 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season.

Station 19 centers around the professional and personal lives of the firefighters of the fictional Station 19 of the Seattle Fire Department.  Several plot points connect to parent series Grey's Anatomy through fictional crossover events.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main
 Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andrea "Andy" Herrera
 Jason George as Benjamin “Ben” Warren
 Boris Kodjoe as Robert Sullivan
 Grey Damon as Jack Gibson
 Barrett Doss as Victoria "Vic" Hughes
 Jay Hayden as Travis Montgomery
 Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller
 Danielle Savre as Maya Bishop
 Miguel Sandoval as Pruitt Herrera

Recurring 
 Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
  Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
 Alex Landi as Dr. Nico Kim
 Alberto Frezza as Ryan Tanner
  Pat Healy as Fire Chief Michael Dixon
 Rigo Sanchez as Rigo Vasquez
 Kelly Thiebaud as Eva Vasquez
 Brenda Song as JJ
 Stefania Spampinato as Dr. Carina DeLuca
 Lachlan Buchanan as Emmett Dixon
 Jayne Taini as Marsha Smith

Notable guests 
 Jake Borelli as Dr. Levi Schmitt
 Jaicy Elliot as Dr. Taryn Helm
 Alex Blue Davis as Dr. Casey Parker
 Devin Way as Dr. Blake Simms
 Vivian Nixon as Dr. Hannah Brody
 Greg Germann as Dr. Tom Koracick
 Phylicia Rashad as Pilar
  Jonathan Bennett as Michael Williams
 Jeanne Sakata as Nari Montgomery
 Brett Tucker as Fire Chief Lucas Ripley
 Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd
 Tracie Thoms as Dr. Diane Lewis
 BJ Tanner as William George “Tuck” Jones
 Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt 
 Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
 Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce 
 Colleen Foy as Inara
 Ansel Sluyter-Obidos as Marcus
 Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
  Patricia de Leon as Elena Herrera

Production

Development
At the end of the second season, Stacy McKee stepped down as showrunner after her overall deal with ABC Studios expired. In May 2019, the series was renewed for a third season with Krista Vernoff as showrunner to provide more seamless crossovers with Grey's Anatomy. Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers remained executive producers, and Paris Barclay remained executive producer and producing director.  Vernoff described the season as being messier and featuring more death.  Production on the season was completed before the  coronavirus production shutdown.  Crossover elements from the season finale needed to be edited out because four Grey's Anatomy episodes could not be filmed due to the pandemic.

Casting
The entire main cast from the second season, except for Alberto Frezza, returned for the third season.  Alberto Frezza only appeared as a guest star.  Jesse Williams and Stefania Spampinato reprised their Grey's Anatomy roles as Dr. Jackson Avery and Dr. Carina DeLuca as romantic interests for Vic and Maya, respectively.  Chandra Wilson continued her recurring role as Dr. Miranda Bailey, and Jake Borelli appeared in a crossover event as Dr. Levi Schmitt.   Pat Healy was cast as the new fire chief, and Lachlan Buchanan was cast as his son Emmett.  In February 2020, it was reported that  Jonathan Bennett would appear as the late husband of Travis.  Phylicia Rashad would play a blizzard victim named Pilar in the same episode.   Patricia de Leon appeared as Andy's mother in the season finale.

Release
When the 2019–20 United States network television schedule was announced, Station 19 was held for mid-season.  The third season premiered on January 23, 2020 with a  crossover event, while also taking over the Thursday 8:00 PM timeslot of Grey's Anatomy, which moved to 9:00 PM.   After the COVID-19 pandemic truncated production of Grey's Anatomy, Station 19 was moved to Thursdays at 9:00 PM for the remainder of the season.

Reception

Critical Response
Charlie Mason of TVLine stated that the show had improved, possibly due to Krista Vernoff's takeover of the show, because the uninteresting love triangle of the previous season were now replaced with romantic storylines that were much more engrossing.  Laura Hurley of CinemaBlend felt that having so many crossover characters from  Grey's Anatomy was detrimental to the development of Station 19's characters and that it was more interesting when focusing on its own characters.

Ratings
The season was ABC's sixth most-watched scripted television series during the 2019–2020 television season in the 18-49 demographic. Throughout its broadcast, in same-day viewership, the season averaged a 1.05 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 6.46 million viewers, up 11 and 22 percent, respectively, from the previous season. In Live+7 the season averaged a 1.5 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 8.5 million viewers, down 6 and up 11 percent from the second season.

Notes

References

External links
 

2020 American television seasons