Where You've Seen The New Interns On Grey's Anatomy Before

Premiering in 2005, "Grey's Anatomy" is one of the longest-running medical drama series on television. With the 19th season premiering in the fall of 2022, it's clear that the primetime soap still has a hold on audiences. Characters may have come and gone, but the main ingredient — drama — remains the same.

"Grey's Anatomy" was the first massive success from the creator Shonda Rhimes. She acted as the showrunner for 15 seasons before passing the baton to Krista Vernoff, who worked with Rhimes on the series prior to leaving after addressing a somewhat difficult working relationship between the two. Luckily, Rhimes saw Vernoff's value and brought her back as showrunner, which allowed Rhimes to focus on other projects (via US Weekly). You may have heard of a few of her other properties: "How to Get Away with Murder" starring the superb Viola Davis, "Private Practice" starring Kate Walsh, or even "Scandal" starring the amazing Kerry Washington. And let us not forget the Netflix behemoth "Bridgerton."

"Grey's Anatomy" enjoys continued success because it keeps things fresh. Aside from an increasingly limited number of characters who've been around since the beginning, the medical series is always bringing in new faces to help drive the drama. Season 19 introduces a new crop of resident interns with incredibly familiar faces. Let's take a look at the new faces of "Grey's Anatomy," why they look so familiar, and how nostalgia plays a big role in their introduction.

Despite getting its start in 2005 — which happens to be the same year "Criminal Minds," "Supernatural," and the revival of "Doctor Who" all made their television premieres — "Grey's" is still introducing us to new crops of resident interns all the way in 2022. This time, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) is the chief of surgery, far removed from her days as an intern under Doctor Bailey's (Chandra Wilson) instruction. And while the show is in an entirely different place than it is in Season 1, some things remain the same.

Upon the new resident interns' introduction, audiences are able to make a few happy connections between these interns and the original ones that started the series. Our original crop of interns was Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (​​Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and George O'Malley (T.R. Knight). Our new interns are Benson "Blue" Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.), Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd), Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane), Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis), and Lucas Adams (Niko Terho). 

Now, here's where the nostalgia kicks in. Meredith gives the new resident interns the same speech she and her fellow interns heard on the first episode. Jules discovers that she and her attending Linc (Chris Carmack) have already slept together — a moment that's immediately reminiscent of Meredith and Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Simone arrives late on her first day just as Meredith did, and later reveals that she was born at this very hospital. The resident interns all spend their time relaxing in the same hallway hospital beds that our original group used to hang out in, which just brings out all the feels. But the biggest moment is the fact that Lucas is Derek's nephew, and he repeats the once iconic phrase, "It's a beautiful day to save lives."

Harry Shum Jr. portrays Benson "Blue" Kwan and is likely to be the most recognizable face in the new group of resident interns. Originally breaking into the world of Hollywood as a dancer, Shum had a small role in the dance film "Step Up 2: The Streets." From there, Shum landed a few smaller TV roles in "Caper" and the TV short series "Mortal Kombat: Legacy." However, his role as Mike Chang in "Glee" is what advanced his acting career into the mainstream. 

Mike is a character who goes from being in the background to becoming a regular cast member. He's eventually given a storyline that helps drive the plot, even beginning a relationship with another Glee club member Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz). Afterward, Shum landed the massive role of Magnus Bane in the teen drama "Shadowhunters." From there, audiences can find him acting in the film "All My Life," and the shows "Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens," and "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Most recently, he played a chef who is secretly controlled like a puppet by a talking racoon in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," and Shum also had a role in "Crazy Rich Asians." A spinoff featuring his and Gemma Chan's "Crazy Rich Asians" characters is in development (via People), so we're likely to see far more of this young actor.

Another familiar face that enters the doors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital is Adelaide Kane, who portrays the rulebreaker Jules Millin. On her first day as a resident intern, Jules discovers that she's already broken quite a big rule by sleeping with her attending Atticus Lincoln, otherwise known as Linc. That's a pretty major whoops. However, before joining the cast of "Grey's Anatomy," Kane appeared in various other television projects that are sure to have caught your eye over the past few years.

According to her IMDb page, Kane began her acting career in 2007 with her role Lolly Allen in the TV series "Neighbours." Following this, Kane portrayed a teenager with attitude on "Power Rangers R.P.M." before moving into smaller roles in films. A big break came to her when she landed the character Zoey Sandin in "The Purge" opposite Ethan Hawke and "Game of Thrones" star Lena Headey.

Kane went on to land a recurring role as Cora Hale in "Teen Wolf." A little later, she played a fictional version of Mary, Queen of Scots for four seasons of the hit teen drama series "Reign." Afterward, Kane was cast in the magical series "Once Upon a Time" as an "ugly stepsister" of Cinderella. Shortly before "Grey's Anatomy," Kane dropped into an episode of "This Is Us" and 10 episodes of "SEAL Team."

Alexis Floyd portrays Simone Griffin in "Grey's Anatomy." As a resident intern, Simone makes a big impression on her first day as she arrives embarrassingly late. However, she has a deeper connection to the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Simone has a moment when she is talking with Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and explains that she was born at the hospital, but her mother died in childbirth. Needless to say, Simone has some complicated feelings about working at Grey Sloan Memorial. There are some predictions online that suggest perhaps Richard or maybe even Meredith's mother was the doctor present at Simone's birth, making her connection to the hospital even more dramatic (via BuzzFeed).

Floyd's IMDb page is full of a few career-making roles on television. Her first big role was in 2019 as Tia Clayton in "The Bold Type." Her character acts as Kat's (Aisha Dee) campaign manager and love interest in Season 3. Following her recurring role, Floyd acted in episodes of "Dickinson, "The Good Fight," and "Boy Shorts" before landing a prominent role in 2022's "Way Down."

The year 2022 was a big one for Floyd as she was initially introduced to Shonda Rhimes when she was cast to portray the real-life character Neff in the Netflix series "Inventing Anna." 

If you don't recognize the actor behind Lucas Adams, we'll forgive you, as his IMDb page only consists of six entries. 

An alumnus of the ABC Discovers Showcase program, Niko Terho portrays the likable and determined resident intern Lucas. He is revealed to be the nephew of Derek Shepherd and wants to help people no matter the cost. Unfortunately for Lucas, his grades aren't reflective of his potential, therefore he spends his time hoping to overcome this obstacle as it stands in his way. While some don't think he has what it takes, audiences might see these characters change their minds over time as he proves himself a capable surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Before landing the coveted role of Lucas Adams, Terho began his acting career in 2019 working in the short film "Howard." Later that year, he was cast in an episode of "Sweetbitter" before grabbing the title character part of Harry Turpin in "The Thing About Harry," a TV movie that follows a young gay man reunited with his former high school bully. The two form an unlikely friendship that turns romantic once Harry shares that he identifies as pansexual. Fun fact, this TV movie also stars another "Grey's" actor Jake Borelli, who plays Dr. Levi Schmitt (via Hollywood Life).

Terho also appeared in one episode of "Station 19" as his "Grey's Anatomy" character. Like Lucas character, Terho has a lot to prove but will likely do so in a short amount of time.

The final resident intern to join "Grey's Anatomy" is Mika Yasuda. Portrayed by Midori Francis, Mika is a scrappy surgeon who tends to get overlooked, which she uses to her advantage. She grew accustomed to this practice growing up in a household with eight other siblings.

Francis is no stranger to working in television, as her IMDb page is filled with various TV roles prior to being cast as Mika in "Grey's Anatomy." In 2015, Francis began her career in the short film "Killing Machine." She went on to make small appearances in TV shows like "Younger," "Gotham," and "Divorce." However, the actress is mostly recognizable from her work in "The Birch," "Dash & Lily," and "The Sex Lives of College Girls." In 2019, Francis portrayed Lanie Bouchard in the thriller series "The Birch." Her character is one of the main protagonists in "Dash & Lily," a romantic TV series based on the young adult book series "Dash & Lily's Book of Dares." Her most recent work prior to "Grey's Anatomy" is her portrayal of Alicia in "The Sex Lives of College Girls." The series is created by Mindy Kaling with a second season on HBO Max slotted to be released in November 2022 (via Entertainment News).

Now that the new resident interns have made a name for themselves in the series, the actors share what it means for them to be cast in the iconic show "Grey's Anatomy." Each character brings something new to the story, and the actors are excited to have that shine through their performances.

For Harry Shum Jr., he expressed that stepping into these roles is "a lot of weight on [their] shoulders." He recognizes the position each actor is in, considering that they are all building on the legacy that Shonda Rhimes has created (via Shondaland). His character is ambitious and wants to win, something that's similar to the beloved character Cristina Yang, a role that was brought to life by Emmy winner Sandra Oh. Suffice it to say, Shum has some big shoes to fill.

Each of the new interns brings their own level of trauma and pain, and according to Alexis Floyd, this is something that she taps into when portraying Simone Griffin. Both Floyd and Adelaide Kane agree that their roles bring in a strong emotional aspect. And for the actresses, they've been lucky enough to rely on and have the legacy actors of Ellen Pompeo and James Pickens Jr. to guide them through the process. But at the end of the day, the newbies see each other as a crutch to help them navigate the world of "Grey's Anatomy," much like their characters do as resident interns.