With the Derek death storyline concluded, the path is clear for other storylines to develop in the new season of Grey's Anatomy, according to Shonda Rhimes, the show's creator and executive producer.

 Season 12 will develop, among other storylines, the love story between Alex (Justin Chambers) and Jo (Camilla Luddington). Rhimes assures fans on TV Line that there is a lot of story to tell about Meredith's friend and his long-time partner.

"We had a lot of stories we wanted to tell with them last season, and I promised the fans, 'We're going to tell all these Alex and Jo stories... And then we had to take a left turn because Patrick [Dempsey] was leaving. 'And now we want to tell a lot of those stories - except in a lighter way. So there's a real focus on them this season."

In the new season, we discover that Alex is very different from the man we thought we knew at the beginning of the saga. Shonda said of his character development:

"Alex is sort of a grown man now; it's time to watch that happen." Shonda also stated: "I feel like we didn't get to know Jo the way we should."

The end of season 11 saw Alex and Jo move in together. Their emotional scene in the finale had Alex realising that Jo had never said 'I love you' to him before.

Jo's response was sweet and timeless: "I didn't think that I had to," after which they shared a passionate kiss. Season 12 of Grey's Anatomy premieres on ABC 24th September at 8:00 p.m. ET.