The Grey’s Anatomy cast reunited on the picket line on Friday, October 6, outside the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California, to show their support for the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike.
Sarah Drew, who played Dr. April Kepner on the long-running medical drama from 2009 to 2018, shared a video of a compilation of clips from the day via Instagram that featured current stars including Kim Raver, Chandra Wilson, Jason George, James Pickens Jr., Camilla Luddington, Kelly McCreary, Caterina Scorsone and others.
“We are out and we aren’t backing down!” she wrote.
Raver, who played Dr. Teddy Altman, also took to Instagram to share her own video set to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer.”
“Proud to stand in solidarity on the picket line today with many of our Grey’s cast/crew family and fellow #SAGAFTRA Union members today in front of Warner Brothers! A special shout out to @jasonwinstongeorge, thank you!! 
,” Raver wrote.
A release date for season 20 of ABC’s award winning show has not been announced by the network as the hit series has been impacted by the strikes, but it is expected to return after the strike ends.
Friday’s picket focused on actors who play first responders — including police officers, firefighters, ER doctors, paramedics and more. Prior to the event, SAG-AFTRA encouraged people via X, formerly known as Twitter, to join in “honoring the heroes who inspire our screens and the ones who bring them to life.”
This is not the first time that a Grey’s Anatomy star has been seen on the picket line. Kevin McKidd (who played Dr. Owen Hunt) and his girlfriend, Station 19 actress Danielle Savre, showed up to support SAG-AFTRA in July.
SAG-AFTRA — which includes the Grey’s Anatomy stars and approximately 160,000 actors — has been on strike since July after failing to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Their concerns include fair wages, streaming residuals and the use of artificial intelligence.
This decision came after the Writer’s Guild of America — which represents more than 11,000 members — began their strike in May over similar demands. This marked the first time that the two Hollywood unions had been on strike together since 1960.
The WGA voted on September 26 to lift its five month long strike after reaching a tentative agreement on a three-year contract with AMPTP. With this decision, production can resume on talk shows and variety shows but scripted films and TV shows that include actors — such as Grey’s Anatomy — will not start shooting until SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP reach an agreement.
