Grey’s Anatomy has produced some of television’s best loved characters over the 15 years it’s been on air. Although the series predominantly follows the life of its fictional namesake, Meredith Grey, many other characters have also been given the chance to shine, and some have even become fan-favorites in their own right.

However, there have also been other characters on the show who had a relatively bumpy start. For whatever reason, sometimes new additions to the main cast just wouldn’t click with the viewers, at least not initially. Fortunately, amazing character development helped them to become just as popular as Meredith or Cristina Yang.

Miranda Bailey

So, one might be wondering whether we’re mad including the wonderfully beloved Miranda Bailey on this list of improved Grey’s characters. Indeed, Bailey has been on the show since the very beginning and has been utterly loveable for almost as long. However, in Season 1 of Grey’s, Bailey was seriously scary.

That’s not to say that that’s a bad thing, as Bailey has had some formidable moments later on as well, but this was before we knew that she had a soft side. Remember that Bailey once started ignoring Meredith because she discovered that she was sleeping with Derek Shepherd. This was almost petty.

Lexie Grey

When Meredith’s half-sister first appeared on the medical drama, viewers were completely shocked. It was a massive reveal, helped further by the knowledge that Lexie would soon be working at Seattle Grace Hospital as one of the new surgical interns. However, Lexie also proved to be slightly annoying.

She meant well and she was clearly a nice character but she was so desperate for his sister’s approval that it hindered her character development. Fortunately, once Meredith accepted her into her life, Lexie managed to chill out a bit and when she died in the Season 8 finale, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Callie Torres

Callie Torres was part of the main cast for 11 seasons and she was also one of Grey’s Anatomy’s most groundbreaking characters, as she was the first main LGBTQ+ character on the series. Her relationship with Arizona Robbins was particularly adorable. However, Callie wasn’t always so well liked.

When Callie made her debut halfway through Season 2, she and George O’Malley seemed to hit it off. The latter was recovering from being brutally rejected by Meredith and Callie helped to fill that void. Unfortunately, George wasn’t very committed, which made Callie appear needy and desperate.

Alex Karev

It’s hard to imagine that a character so well loved by almost all of the fandom started off on the show as a misogynistic, arrogant, young man who was the precise definition of toxic masculinity. Little did anyone know, though, that Alex had already had to deal with a lot of awfulness in his life before his residency.

Although portrayed as a jerk for the first half of Season 1, Alex began to slowly open up to his colleagues, developing a friendship with Meredith and a budding romance with Izzy Stevens. He most definitely had his moments but Alex finally managed to shake off his surly, bad boy facade in favor for a loving husband.

George O’Malley

George was incredibly sweet and remained so for the entirety of his Grey’s Anatomy run. However, he initially appeared to be a bit of a joke to the other interns, with Christina christening him ‘Bambi’ and Alex giving him the eternal nickname ‘007’. His unrequited crush on Meredith didn’t help matters either.

George’s problem was that he lacked confidence. Thankfully, the opportunity to prove himself came around when he operated on a patient while trapped in an elevator, saving their life and earning the respect of the entire hospital staff. He still had a way to go but he wasn’t Bailey’s favorite resident for nothing.

Mark Sloan

When Mark Sloan first walked through the doors of Seattle Grace Hospital, it wasn’t to a particularly warm welcome. He was Derek’s ex best friend who had slept with his wife, Addison Montgomery. It turned out that Mark was a serial womanizer, or, as Dr Bailey so succinctly put it, he was a ‘man whore’.

After that amazing speech, Mark decided to try and change his ways. He patched things up with Derek, and their bromance was pure Heaven. He also got into a relationship with Lexie Grey, who remain one of Grey’s Anatomy’s best ever couples to this day. His friendship with Callie was also adorably hot.

Levi Schmidt

Every single batch of interns since the original five have been socially awkward and initially incompetent. While we don’t expect interns to be amazing surgeons from the off, it’s insulting to insinuate that they have no social skills whatsoever and are perpetually clumsy. Sadly, Levi Schmidt was no exception.

Thankfully, despite being incredibly annoying at first, Levi became more and more confident in himself and his own abilities. The main reason for this change in personality was Levi coming out as gay, which was excellently done and very emotionally satisfying. He even ditched his glasses in favor of contacts.

Amelia Shepherd

Amelia Shepherd is a unique character, as although she’s been part of the Grey’s Anatomy universe for a long time now, she first started off as a main character on the spin off Private Practice, before moving to the main show in Season 10. Fans have criticized the character in the past, though, for acting irrationally.

In fairness, when Amelia and Owen first started dating, Amelia couldn’t make up her mind as to whether she truly loved Owen, which led to several unnecessary break ups. However, Amelia has improved so much since then, what with the removal of a brain tumor, and her caring for Betty and Leo.

Jo Karev

Jo Karev (formerly Wilson) was yet another intern who was initially irritating to viewers. She cried a lot when she got things wrong, or when one of her bosses told her off, despite her claiming that this was unusual behavior for her. Her jealousy of Stephanie Edwards also made her seem shallow and petty.

However, Jo persisted and slowly, she became a much better person and character, and has even earned Meredith Grey’s friendship, which is a massive achievement considering that Meredith couldn’t stand her at one point. Jo has also become an excellent surgeon and has overcome many tragedies in her life.

April Kepner

When April first appeared in Grey’s Anatomy, she was quite possibly the most annoying character ever seen on the series. Even Lexie Grey couldn’t stand her at first. Everything about her just screamed irritating, from her obsessive personality, to her utter devotion to the then Chief of Surgery.

It’s fair to say that April was not well liked. However, after the deaths of her friends, April made an effort to get along with her peers, which included not ratting them out to their bosses. April’s religious beliefs also came into play, highlighting her devotion to God and making her more sympathetic to the viewers.