What a season Maggie Pierce has had. From finding out she’s the sister of the brilliant, gifted, Mayor of dark and twisty land Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), to dealing with her adorable parent’s divorce, Pierce hasn’t had it easy. Now with new roommates, a killer job, and a newborn niece thing’s are looking up for Pierce. This could be her year to find love, punch someone in the face, and make history at Grey Sloan Memorial.
I caught up with her passionate portrayer Kelly McCreary to get the scoop on Maggie’s dating life, that intense punch in the promos, and what we can look forward to in tonight’s return.
We ended last season on a really sweet note with Meredith, Maggie, and Amelia. How will we see those sisters come together and be there for each other this season?
Kelly McCreary: Well we come together quite literally by living together in Ellis’s (Kate Burton) house which is now known as the sister house. There is that very interesting dynamic, three women who obviously moved in together because they need each other’s support as this coupled together family. They each have very strong personalities so we’re going to see those personalities being supportive of each other, clashing against each other, and learning how to compromise and how to care for each.
We saw Maggie attempt dating last season, will she try again this season?
I can tell you that Maggie definitely tries dating again this season. Something happens that makes her become very concerned about some of the choices that she is making in her life in general, but particularly about her dating life. Let’s just say she gets pretty aggressive about dating.
We left off with things a bit rocky between April (Sarah Drew) and Jackson (Jesse Williams) can you tease anything about what we will see with their relationship this season?
April and Jackson’s relationship is beloved by the fans, it’s several seasons old they have a long relationship, they’re married. It’s obviously a complicated situation that they are in. Jackson has sort of given her this ultimatum. I think we are going to be able to see how complicated it’s going to get for them to negotiate this new aspect of their relationship where they don’t really know where they are in each other’s life.
Aside from Maggie, which storyline are you most excited to watch unravel this season?
I’m really excited about Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Amelia, (Caterina Scorsone) that also is a very complicated relationship of two people who care very much about each other but can’t find a way to come together. I’m really excited to see how that plays out. I love both of those characters so much and I’m not necessarily rooting for them to be together or apart, but I’m rooting for them to have a transformative experience with that relationship.
In the promo for the new season we saw Maggie punching someone. What can you tell us about that?
That comes as big of a surprise to Maggie as it does to the audience. It comes from, probably where most violence comes from, from her fight or flight mechanism. There is a mess that Maggie has gotten herself into and I think the course of it is from a really interesting place that a lot of people really do relate to. Violence is never the answer (laughs).
What can we look forward to in tonight’s premiere?
There is a storyline about bullying and we are going to hear a really tough conversation between Callie, (Sara Ramirez) Maggie, and Karev. (Justin Chamber) It deals with the subject which I think we talk about a lot in our culture these days. I think it’s a really great window into these characters’ personal lives. It’s a story that’s incredibly powerful
What shows are you loving right now on TV?
I am really looking forward to the return of JANE THE VIRGIN and I’m really loving YOU’RE THE WORST, that is one of my very favorite shows. I’m loving HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, of course and I’m also really excited about NEW GIRL.
You can watch Kelly in the season premiere of GREY’S ANATOMY tonight at 8:00 on ABC.