‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 12: Denzel Washington set to direct episode

What is it with legendary actors deciding to direct episodes of select drama series these days? Following the recent gig from Morgan Freeman on “Madam Secretary,” we’re now hearing that screen icon Denzel Washington is going to go behind the camera for an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

This news was first reported by TVLine, with Denzel helming an episode that is set to air this November. He has never directed a TV series episode before, but has a pair of film credits under his belt already in “The Great Debaters” and “Antoine Fisher.”

In case you are wondering what’s going on here, there may be a reason why Washington has this particular role right now: He is a longtime friend of newly-minted executive producer / longtime director / actress behind Catherine Avery Debbie Allen. While we’re not sure that having him behind the camera will lead to any additional viewers, it is a fresh creative voice, and that is something that we always appreciate having on any series.

For the time being, “Grey’s Anatomy” has adopted a somewhat-lighter tone this season after losing Patrick Dempsey for the cast, but it’s far from a comedy. Just look at all of the April – Jackson drama recently as proof of that. You’ve also got the story involving Alex and Jo that brought the name of Izzie back into the fold, but it still feels extremely unlikely that we are ever going to see Katherine Heigl on the show again.

The last thing we’ll say on this for now is congratulations to ABC for getting Denzel on board! Head over here if you want to see some further news all about “Grey’s Anatomy,” and be sure to sign up here to get some further TV news on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)