The 2017-2018 TV season is winding down, which means that the time has come for networks to announce the futures of their many shows. The week of May 6 was a bloodbath for more than one network as a whole bunch of shows -- comedies and dramas alike -- got the axe. The good news is that ABC has officially decided to spare one of its most intense freshman series from the 2017-2018 season. Grey's Anatomy spinoff Station 19 has been renewed for a second season.


ABC announced the renewal ahead of its official presentation for the 2018-2019 lineup, according to TVLine. Viewers who have gotten used to seeing some fire station action in the same universe as the Grey's Anatomy hospital action don't need to worry that the firefighters won't be back next season, and Grey's Anatomy doesn't need to worry about coming up with a reason to bring Jason George back to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital after his departure to become a firefighter.


The renewal isn't all that shocking. Station 19 has averaged 5.4 million weekly viewers and a 1.1 rating in the key 18-49 age demographic in Live+Same day calculations, ranking it as the third among all ABC dramas currently ongoing. Station 19 comes in behind only Grey's Anatomy and The Good Doctor.


While we can be sure that Station 19 has benefited a great deal from its connection to Grey's Anatomy and the crossovers that have already happened, not all TV spinoffs fare nearly so well.


It should be interesting to see if ABC changes the show's spot in primetime for the 2018-2019 season. Station 19 premiered back in March and will end its first season on May 17. Now that the show is a proven success, ABC may want to up the episode order and premiere it in the fall with Grey's Anatomy. The end of Scandal does open up the lineup somewhat, and what better way to keep Station 19's ratings afloat than by pairing it with Grey's Anatomy?We'll have to wait and see. ABC axed a surprising number of its shows this week, and there's no guarantee of what the lineup will look like next season. We do know that Grey's Anatomy scored a renewal, although not all the familiar faces will be back. ABC also announced that How to Get Away with Murder and For the People will be back as well, so Shonda Rhimes' series will be going strong in primetime once more.