As one of the last original cast members in the Shondaland show, it’s understands why fans have concerns over if Ben Warren is leaving Station 19 and the future of Jason George’s character.
Station 19 is ABC’s drama series following the personal and professional lives of a group of firefighters at the Seattle Department’s Station 19. The series — which premiered in 2018 — is a spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy, which is also set in Seattle, Washington. George plays Dr. Benjamin “Ben” Warren, a former surgical resident at Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital in Grey’s Anatomy who quits in Season 13 to pursue a career as a firefighter and PRT physician at Station 19. Warren is also the husband of Dr. Miranda Bailey, a general surgeon and the former Chief of Surgery at Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital on Grey’s Anatomy.
“Grey’s Anatomy is, in TV terms, the 800-pound gorilla. It is the gold standard. It’s been around for 15 years, been there, done that,” Winston told Assignment X in 2019 of the difference between Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19. “If you’re brand new to the show, there’s somebody there who will explain to you how to do this thing that’s [reporters] in your face and the popularity of the show. So there’s a mentorship that happens with that, and everyone’s comfortable with how hot the room gets when you’re on a Number One show. Station 19, most people are brand new, or this is the biggest thing [they’ve done so far], so it’s a whole different level. We’re the new kids at school, and we have a lot of fun.”
Is Ben Warren leaving Station 19?
Is Ben Warren leaving Station 19? The answer is no. Jason Winston George — who has played Warren since Season 1 of Station 19 — hasn’t announced that he’s leaving the series. George hinted that he has no plans to leave Station 19 any time soon in an Instagram post in March 2023. “Hope you’re all watching tonight! @station19 and @greysabc have the #bestfans #muchlove to all of you who show up for us every time We’re gonna keep showing up for you,” George captioned a slideshow of photos of him as Warren on Station 19. On top of the photos, he also wrote, “We do this everyday so y’all can join us every Thursday.”
Station 19 recently sparked theories that Warren was going to die in Season 7, Episode 5, “My Way,” in which Warren got stuck in a fire with no exits. “There’s no way out!” he yells in the episode. During the episode, Warren also asked his team to give a message to his wife, Miranda Bailey, from Grey’s Anatomy. “Tell Miranda she was worth waiting for,” Warren says.
Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis confirmed, however, that Warren doesn’t die on Station 19 in an interview with Deadline in March 2024, where she confirmed that she plans to include the character in Grey’s Anatomy even after the series finale of Station 19 in 2024 What I can tell you is that the Bailey and Ben relationship will continue to cross,” she said. “Those two actors love crossing over and it’s very important to them that what they do over here and what they do over there, that it’s one symbiotic thing.”
Station 19 also previously sparked theories that Warren was going to die in Season 6, Episode 15, “What Are You Willing to Lose,” when Warren fell through the roof of a burning house and Fire Chief Natasha Ross was called to the scene. Warren left in the house with two children, one of whom he was able to rescue. Warren promised the other child that he would come back but wasn’t allowed to because of the unsafe conditions in the house. Warren blames himself for the child’s death, despite the other firefighters telling him that there was nothing he could have done and that he would’ve died with the kid if he went back inside. The episode ended with Station 19 trying to cheer up Warren after he returned from the hospital to check out his injuries.
When George posted a preview of the episode on his Instagram in April 2023, fans took to his comments with worries that he was leaving Station 19. “You better not be leaving the show anytime soon because I actually think I might go crazy!” commented Instagram user @hollyjane.96. Instagram user @benleylove12 commented, “I’m definitely going to watch. Gotta make sure Miranda’s husband is going to be okay.” Instagram user @thatysilveira wrote, “Ok, you’d better not play with me heart like this! Warren is my favorite character, you better not be leaving the show, @jasonwinstongeorge ! I haven’t even watched ( the episode hasn’t got in Brazil yet, but I do not mind a spoiler! I just need to know Warren is coming back for season 7!”
Who plays Ben Warren on Station 19?
Who plays Ben Warren on Station 19? Warren is played by Jason Winston George, who has starred has a series regular on Station 19 since Season 1. George was also a series regular on Grey’s Anatomy, in which he also played Ben, from Seasons 12 to 14 before he left to join Station 19. He was recurring cast member from Seasons 6 to 11, and has also returned in a recurring role since Season 15.
In an interview with Assignment X in 2019, George explained how the idea for him to move from Grey’s Anatomy to Station 19 came about. “The funny part is, serendipity is a real thing. [Station 19 creator] Stacy [McKee] wrote an episode that was the finale of Grey’s Anatomy [Season 13], where my character grabs a fireman’s coat, throws it on to run back into the fire to save somebody, because he’s deathly afraid of fire,” George said. “And she said she was writing the pilot of Station 19 at the time, and she said, it wasn’t a conscious thing, but there was a little part of her that would love to see me be available for the show, or something like that. So she has told her that she may have subconsciously set things up. And it worked out.”
George also explained E! News in 2018 why he wasn’t nervous to leave Grey’s Anatomy for Station 19. “No I’m not nervous because it’s in the Grey’s universe, it’s Grey’s adjacent so it has all the things about it that I love about Grey’s but it’s also got…I’m an action junkie, my character’s an action junkie and so it’s got all this action in it that I’m excited about,” he said.
He also told Assignment X about how Warren has changed since he changed careers from being a doctor to being a firefighter. “The change has been interesting, because Ben left being a surgeon to do this thing, so having to go back to school, having to be the rookie again, he’s familiar with that, but doing it is something that he knows nothing about, and just learned,” George said. “When he went back to school to be a doctor, he knew how to be a doctor already, so it was just learning a new discipline. But going back to school to be a firefighter is brand-new, and if you screw up, people die. So that was hard. But this season, in Season 2, it’s a lot more about the real-life consequences of basically risking your life for a living, on you and your family.”
He also told the site he why playing a firefighter was “hands down” harder than playing a doctor. “No matter what you do, any training you do for being a doctor is theoretical, and at the end of the day, you’re practicing. [Playing a firefighter], They will make you climb the damn ladder. They will make you jump in and out of the suit,” he said. “Getting dressed is normally an easy thing for anybody to do, but when the clothes you’re putting on weigh 45 pounds, and then you throw in another twenty-pound oxygen tank, you’re going to start to sweat when they make you do it. You have a minute to get your turn-outs on.”
He continued, “’Turn-outs’ is what they’re called, the fireproof suit. But if you do it in over thirty seconds, you’re going to get talked bad about, and you’re not going to be the first draft choice for firefighters. So jumping into some boots, slapping on [the turn-outs], throwing on your tank, we’re all sweating bullets just from getting dressed. And that was the first hour I showed up for training. And I was like, ‘OK. They’re going to kill us.’ [laughs] And it’s been like that ever since. But it’s a blessing. We all got physically caught up to the curve, and now we always yell, ‘Bring it!’”
