Doctors. Death. Drama. Grey’s Anatomy, a teenage and adult favorite that seems to convince any viewer to strive to become a surgeon, recently released its 16th season on Netflix.

As usual, the season follows Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and her colleagues as they balance surgical cases and their personal lives. However, Season 16 focuses primarily on the social aspect of the hospital, while seasons in the past were more centered around patients. With less focus on solving life threatening cases, it was harder to binge the series and the episodes went by much slower.

The emphasis on character development was met with some disapproval from fans that were expecting more surgical cases, but definitely paved the way to tie up loose ends. Many beloved characters such as Christina Yang (Sandra Oh), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and Izzy Stevens (Katherine Heigl) have left the show since it aired in 2005, so producers used Season 16 to conclude their storylines and offer a sense of closure to fans.

(POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!)

In Season 16, Meredith Grey faces the repercussions of the insurance  fraud she committed in Season 15, causing potential loss of her medical license. Also, multiple relationships that have been carried through several seasons face potential breakups as new characters find their place at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Though many shows don’t survive 16 seasons while maintaining a dedicated fan base, Grey’s Anatomy continues to draw in more fans and satisfy old ones, having a viewership of over 16.5 million in the new season. Furthermore, Grey’s Anatomy continues to leave with a cliffhanger at the end of the season, setting the stage for Season 17. People who haven’t watched the show throughout the years may think that a 17th season is unnecessary, but for those who have enjoyed all the past seasons  will all be awaiting the arrival of the release. Season 16 is certainly worth the watch, having a wonderful balance of drama and surgical cases and showing the viewer what it’s really like at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.