Recently, Deadline reported that Michael Thomas Grant would be joining the upcoming season of Grey’s Anatomy. Well, when we saw the news, our brains immediately kicked into fangirl mode. We were like, “OMG! Leif from Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist!” Which, of course, made us mad all over again about that show not getting anywhere near the respect or longevity it deserved. And so, we regret to inform you, we now see this as an opportunity for redemption — on multiple fronts. The industry loves its reboots, remakes, revivals…re-whatever, right? Well, let’s go for a redo on the whole musical episode concept. This time, just make it make sense.
Please hear us out before you start throwing rotten fruit at us…Actually. Ok. We’ll back up for a second. If you missed the article referenced above, you might not even know anything about the character Michael Thomas Grant will be playing. Here’s the character description as reported by Deadline (and credited back to ABC):
“James joins Grey Sloan as the hospital’s openly gay Episcopal chaplain. He holds a special place in his heart for his younger patients, and his warmth, training and spirituality make him comfortable and confident in any situation. In his personal life, James finds himself at a crossroads where he is open to love and taking great leaps of faith.”
Ok, so now that you have the most basic information, let’s continue with our probably-delusional request. We’re zooming in on the “special place in his heart for his younger patients” part of the character description. Could James the chaplain not, perhaps, maybe do a little song and dance to cheer some of the kiddos up? And, because the legend and icon Ms. Debbie Allen is involved with Grey’s Anatomy and already back for Season 21, could we not, perhaps, have her as involved with making that happen as possible? Imagine having someone with that dance background, who has also now directed something like 40 episodes of this show, behind the camera. Best of both worlds, honestly.
As a bonus — though, admittedly, there are probably legal roadblocks all over this — what if Grant’s character somehow referenced the cursed MRI that started it all? (For those of you who don’t know, the main character of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist gains the ability to hear people’s inner monologue through epic musical numbers because of an MRI appointment gone wrong. There’s an earthquake involved and everything!) Kids, fear of medical…stuff either for themselves or their families, James the chaplain tells the kid nothing bad will happen in there — except maybe suddenly gaining a new appreciation for music…
It could work!
…or not.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 premieres Thursday, September 26 at 10/9c on ABC. (We might even tune in if Michael Thomas Grant goes full Leif from Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist on the hospital.)
