‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Showrunner Recalls Learning Dolly Parton Died in the ‘Middle of Shooting’ an Episode About Her

Nobody knows where they might end up, and the Grey’s Anatomy crew definitely wasn’t anticipating learning that Dolly Parton had died while they were right in the middle of shooting an episode indirectly about her.

In an interview with Variety about the long-running drama’s 23rd season published Thursday (Oct. 15), showrunner Meg Marinis teased that one new episode centers around a Dolly Parton impersonator, which they wrote and started shooting before the country superstar died in August at age 80 after a cancer battle. “We were in the middle of shooting that storyline when Dolly Parton passed,” she told the outlet.

“It was a story that was pitched out of our writers’ room by the writer of episode three, Jase Miles-Perez,” she continued. “We were laughing, and we thought it was a hilarious storyline and so endearing because, again, who doesn’t like Dolly Parton? The impersonator storyline is so fun, but it was emotional over here, in particular for [director] Debbie [Allen]. She was directing that storyline when we had to walk over there and pull her aside and tell her what happened.”

“Obviously, it wasn’t planned, but we were able to honor her with the storyline, and it must have been a trip,” Marinis added. “I don’t understand how Debbie did that. We were literally filming the storyline that day on stage — and the title of that episode [‘It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right’] is a Dolly Parton song.”

Season 23 of Grey’s premiered the same day of the interview’s publication, picking up after longtime stars Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver hung up their scrubs at the end of last season. The Shonda Rhimes-created show first premiered in 2005, but some fans have begun to wonder whether it’ll return for a 24th installment.

“No one’s told me that the end is coming, so for that I’m grateful,” Marinis said on that topic. “I feel like because of what this show has done, they will give me a little bit of a heads’ up. But it’s always top of mind because of what you’re seeing in the industry.”

Parton’s death has continued to reverberate across the music industry and culture as a whole. The beloved icon scored 23 career Billboard Hot 100 entries — including two No. 1 hits — as a soloist.

In recent weeks, legal trouble has brewed between her estate and nephew Brian Seaver, who was also her longtime head of security and the one who announced her passing to fans in a video on her social media.