Harry Shum Jr., Midori Francis, Alexis Floyd, Adelaide Kane and Niko Terho gave ET a tour of Grey Sloan ahead of the new season.
The new interns are back for Grey's Anatomy season 20 -- and there's even more drama, romance and complications to come.
Harry Shum Jr., Midori Francis, Alexis Floyd, Adelaide Kane and Niko Terho gave ET's Deidre Behar a tour of the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital set ahead of the season premiere, and opened up about what it's been like to join the long-running medical drama.
"It was exciting. It was challenging," said Shum, who plays Dr. Benson "Blue" Kwan. "You feel that you're part of history just being part of the show, but also just well taken care of. We have amazing doctors, amazing people that are gonna make sure that we succeed. We have to try hard to make it look like we're succeeding, but as interns, we are also failing a lot, so that's the fun part."
Francis, who plays Dr. Mika Yasuda, admitted that she was a bit naive about the show's "diehard" fan base when she took the role -- but she learned fast.
"There were people in my life that I've known for a long time that would suddenly be like, 'Oh my god, Grey's Anatomy. I've seen every single episode that's ever been on,'" she recalled. "It's never, like, a little tepid response. It's always like, if you're a great fan, you're a great fan... So that part's been really incredible, getting to know these fans who just love the show so much."
"They've been very kind to us," Kane agreed. "And we appreciate that, because it's always a little nerve-racking coming onto a well-established show, especially a show as storied and historic as Grey's."
And there's plenty of love happening onscreen as well. The season 19 finale saw Dr. Simone Griffith (Floyd) walk out on her wedding and share a swoonworthy moment -- and steamy on-call room hookup -- with Dr. Lucas Adams (Terho). But it seems it won't immediately be smooth sailing between the two, as they've got a lot to work through.
"Complicated is the word," Terho teased. "I mean, it's Grey's Anatomy -- what do you expect?"
As far as how steamy things might get between the two in the episodes to come, the pair admitted that they've only shot some of the season but that things are definitely "percolating."
"I'd say we're at a low boil," Floyd joked. "It's percolating, but we're cooking something."
One a scale of 1-10? "I think you're gonna get one through 10," the actress added.
As for Blue and Dr. Jules Millin (Kane), who have more of a "rivals to lovers" story going on, things are certain to be even more complicated after Blue disregarded a DNR order for Jules' elderly roommate and "favorite person," Maxine Anderson (Juliet Mills) -- leading her to make a spontaneous love confession in the heat of the moment.
"It's interesting watching them both just resist developing feelings, resistance for each other," Kane reflected. "That's very, like, rivals to lovers a little bit, which is a fantastic trope."
"The resistance is there," Shum agreed. "You just don't know where it can go."
But of course, everyone still has a job to do, and Floyd hinted that this season, the interns are "taking it back to basics" after the chaotic and tragic events of the season 19 finale.
"I think I'm finding a bit of relaxation and a rhythm," she continued. "It was a super nerve-racking first day on set, but pretty immediately, I think we realized that the OG cast and everyone who's joined the show since kind of swung the barn doors open to us and [welcomed us in]... This year, I'm trying to, like, relax and trust myself a little bit more than that. And then just continue to learn from my greatest teachers, which are these guys."
Francis agreed, adding that she's also gained "a genuine appreciation for what med school is like."
"These people who take care of us, they go through this -- so, mad respect and gratitude," she noted.
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET on ABC.
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