ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy is transitioning from episodes filled with Patrick Dempsey's character Dr. Derek Shepherd to moving on with new characters and upping previous recurring roles to series regular positions for the upcoming season.

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On Friday, Jason George (Dr. Ben Warren on the show) tweeted his thanks to the show's creator Shonda Rhimes.

"Thank you @shondarhimes!!" he gushed, adding, "Ya'll R gonna have 2 deal w/me and the whole ‪@GreysABC family [f]or a while now!" while sharing the link to Entertainment Weekly's article about his promotion.

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George's character is married to Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson).

Ben was first brought onto the show in Season 6 in a guest role and was upped to recurring in Season 11 and is now officially a series regular!

Does George's promotion mean he and Bailey will have bigger storylines moving forward in the upcoming twelfth season? Possibly since the dynamic of the series is evolving due to the loss of McDreamy.

Dempsey's character was such a prominent figure on Grey's Anatomy so it seems as though perhaps various other male characters will jointly be taking on the prominence now.

Plus, in the Season 11 finale Bailey appears to be interested in running for Chief of Surgery so she can definitely use Ben's support.

Grey's Anatomy will return to ABC for its twelfth season.

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