After Grey's Anatomy's fifteenth season, it became the longest-running medical drama in television history. The show that had started out following Meredith Grey as an intern at Seattle Grace Hospital is currently unchallenged in this regard. Meredith is no longer an intern struggling with the romances and pitfalls of a surgeon-in-training's life. She is head of general surgery now. Though, yes, we suppose she is still dealing with the romances and pitfalls of a surgeon's life.

After fifteen seasons jam-packed with drama, Grey's Anatomy has become an ocean of tragic storylines you have to navigate through. Initially, these moments drew you in, but after a series of serious events, the show's realism has taken a nosedive. How many bad things can happen to one hospital? As you continue to watch the show, a part of you wonders where the show can go from here and if, perhaps, it should have done something different along the way.

Many canceled storylines and plot points exist for Grey's Anatomy. These are ideas that the showrunner Shonda Rhimes had that were not used or were altered slightly to better fit in with things like the production schedule. After reading through these unused story bits, you might feel as if Grey's Anatomy could have definitely used those storylines to improve the show. Conversely, you might also feel immensely relieved that some of those storylines never saw the light of day. Read on if you want to learn about forgotten storylines that would have either helped or hurt Grey's Anatomy. 

Would Have Saved: Meredith And Derek Remaining Childless

By this latest season, Meredith is the proud mother of three children. However, this was not originally her intended future. When Meredith and Derek were first building the solid foundations of their relationship (not during that time period of will-they/won't-they), the possibility of them having children was remote.

Instead, Rhimes believed Meredith should spend time focusing on her career.

Clearly, Meredith juggles having a successful career while being a caring mother in these current seasons. However, we believe having Meredith and Derek remain childless would have helped the show focus more on surgery and atypical marriages rather than taking the easy way forward.

Would Have Saved: Lexie Becoming The Main Character

Before you chew us out for even considering the notion of replacing Meredith, just hear us out. Lexie Grey was introduced to viewers of the show in the fourth season. She was Meredith's half-sister. If, for some reason, Ellen Pompeo was unable to return to the show, Lexie would have been able to pick up the reins while still having the title of the show remain relevant.

Say what you will, but that would have been one daring move for the show to make. It would have taken the show in an entirely new direction, maybe even giving it a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Would Have Hurt: If The Doctors Were Smokers

It goes without saying that having a serious medical drama with doctors who frequently smoke would have hurt the show. Smoking and health care do not go hand in hand. But apparently, there were plans in the works for the doctors of Seattle Grace Hospital to be big smokers.

Most notably among them, Meredith Grey would have been puffing quite often. The cancellation of this bit of the story is a godsend. The show would have made itself a hypocritical mess, and viewers would have been left wondering how these doctors could call themselves "doctors."

Would Have Saved: Preston Burke Having A Wife

Preston Burke was initially going to have a wife that Cristina Yang would have had to contend with. This definitely would have upped the ante when it came to the "forbidden" nature of their relationship. It would have been a more dire case than a superior having relations with a subordinate.

Plus, it would have tied into Burke being a less-than-estimable person later on. However, this storyline was ultimately never used. As a consolation, this plot shifted over to Meredith and Derek instead, so at least we got to see it in some way.

Would Have Saved: Arizona Seeing Callie Before Leaving

Actors come and go from shows. It's not the show's fault when that happens. However, it is absolutely hilarious when shows come up with reasons for why their characters have to suddenly stop showing up. Callie Torres was one of the lucky ones. She just decided to move to New York after breaking up with her wife, Arizona Robbins.

Arizona, on the other hand, left the show without rationality.

She decides to pack up everything and move back with Callie without having seen her at least once in person since they separated. A canceled storyline would have had the two reunite once before they both departed, but alas, that was not to be, and Arizona left Seattle without any physical reassurance from her former wife.

Would Have Hurt: The Show Being Set In Chicago

Granted, this is not exactly a canceled storyline, but this change would have altered the story drastically. Before settling on Seattle, Washington as the location for her show, Shonda Rhimes considered placing her story in Chicago.

Like Seattle, Chicago is a bustling city and would have seen the interns of the hospital living marginally the same lifestyles. However, not only would it have mimicked the setting from the show ER, Grey's Anatomy would have been unable to include several important storylines down the road. The ferry incident, for example, would never have happened.

Would Have Saved: Izzie Returning To The Hospital

Conflicts with the actress who played her aside, Izzie Stevens was an important part of the Grey's Anatomy series. She was one of the original interns that Meredith entered the hospital with, and her struggles with patient care and a bout of cancer made up a huge part of the story.

There were talks of her returning to the show, but these talks fell through and it never happened. At this point, after several seasons without her, Izzie's return would feel odd. However, if it could have happened naturally, it would have been an in-character move.

Would Have Saved: Derek And Addison Having A Teenage Daughter

Think of the drama that would have occurred if Derek and Addison had had a teenage daughter. That would have placed Meredith in even more of a dilemma than she was in when she found out Derek was married. She would have to contend with dating someone who lied to her about an entire family.

And the poor daughter would have had to deal with her mother cheating on her father and her father cheating on her mother. Holy moly, there was so much missed potential from that canceled plot complication. Derek would have seemed like a jerk-wad at the end of it. Huh. Maybe that's why the showrunners didn't go for that storyline.

Would Have Hurt: Addison Leaving So Soon

Addison's arrival on the show spelled doom for Meredith and Derek's relationship. It seemed par for the course that fans of their relationship would loathe Addison. However, Addison became a beloved character in her own right. She earned her way into the hearts of viewers with her no-nonsense attitude and relatable sense of judgment.

We are truly thankful that her departure from the show was delayed. The original storyline would have seen her leave after a few episodes. But because she stayed, we got to know one of the best characters Grey's Anatomy has to offer.

Would Have Saved: Cristina's Father Becoming A Donor For The Hospital

One storyline Shonda Rhimes had planned for Grey's Anatomy was a conflict regarding Cristina's father. Cristina Yang's dad was set up to be a major donor for Seattle Grace Hospital. That would have meant he would have had a lot of influence on what goes on in the hospital.

This sets up Cristina to potentially be loathed by her fellow interns. Unfortunately, this storyline never happened. It would have been interesting to see Cristina, a talented surgeon regardless of any favoritism, deal with the looming specter of her father hovering around her actions.