"Grey's Anatomy" EP About How Harry Shum Jr.

Fans can look forward to regular Cowan numbers from Harry Shum Jr. aka Blue in the upcoming 23rd season of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, which premieres this Thursday, October 15. At the same time, Shum Jr. competes with network stars in the dance competition. Grey's Anatomy exec: “No, we didn't have to cut him at all.

Fans can look forward to a regular number of Harry Shum Jr., Cowan aka Blue, in the upcoming 23rd season of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, which premieres this Thursday, October 15. Meanwhile, Shum Jr. is also competing on Dancing With the Stars.

"No, we didn't have to cut him at all," Grey's Anatomy executive producer and showrunner Meg Marinis told Deadline in an interview. We haven't changed our creative yet because blue is an important part of the show. Obviously it can be difficult to plan, but we knew it would work, we had everything on the table at the start of the season. We know which day and a half they always need him, and we've been able to make it work. He is training here. He is practicing offstage. Be here at night and at 6:15 the next morning. Related News 'Line Of Fire' News As Lisa Katz Talks NBC Fall Rollout, 'Newlyweds' Exit, 2027 Pilot Season, Peacock Strategy and 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' News 'Scream' at 30: Works composer Marco Belatings on C. and why 'Scream 4' missed the mark

Glee alum Shum Jr. is often featured in Dancing on Grey's Anatomy video packages, sometimes alongside his dance partner, Jenna Johnson. In the videos, she's in Gary Sloan and wearing blue scrubs, showing that Blue will return to the hospital after being fired at the end of season 22. Watch on Deadline

Marinis doesn't worry about spoilers.

"That's what we're going to find out," he said.

Ex-pro dancer Jr.'s sinister double duty while taxing is made possible by the fact that both Dancing With the Stars and Grey's Anatomy are set in Los Angeles. (You can watch a video she made about her double life, which alternates between Dancing and Grey's, below.)

During Junior's ill-fated journey on Dancing with the Stars, he's had strong support from the cast and crew of Grey's Anatomy, who have blocked his performance and asked fans to vote for him on social media.

"We'll put up a screen and watch it on Tuesdays on the East Coast feed and we'll all vote," Marinis said. "Some of us have been to see live tapes."

Another former dancer, newbie Jenna Dewan, who also stars on Dancing With the Stars and her own ABC drama series, saw her dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy appear on her show this season.

"No, right now she's totally Harry's partner, but never say never," Marinis said.

How about incorporating Junior's sinister dancing skills into the show?

"Well, now you know I want it," Marinis said. "He's very talented."

The next Super Bowl-themed episode of Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. Shum Jr. and Johnson Samba with "Yeah!" will perform by Usher ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris.

Season 23 of Grey's Anatomy premieres on October 15 at 10 p.m. For our full post-mortem interview with that night, check out Deadline. The Marinis describe the events of the premiere and how they set up the rest of the season.

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