Grey's Anatomy creator looking ahead

Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes said she's confident fans will put last year's unsettling season in perspective and remain loyal to the ABC medical drama.

''It's a thing that happens in any show,'' Rhimes said. ''People love you, then there has to be a moment...in which people disagree with where you're going creatively. But if you're telling your stories, well, they'll stick with you, hopefully, and watch us grow and change.''

The series will get back to having fun next season, she said Thursday.

Rhimes acknowledged story lines that included death and infidelity represented a ''darker journey,'' one that provoked some critics and fans. The series was hit by the real-life drama involving Isaiah Washington, who was fired after he twice used an antigay slur.

Rhimes said the show rose above that crisis.

''It was a difficult season for us behind the scenes. But, creatively, we moved in the direction we planned to move,'' Rhimes told a meeting of the Television Critics Association.

Washington moved on quickly, hired by NBC to appear in five episodes of the network's new fall drama Bionic Woman. Last week NBC Entertainment cochair Ben Silverman said he had spoken to Washington about coming to the network before the actor was dumped by ABC in June. The move prompted ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson to denounce his NBC counterpart at TCA for allowing Washington's hiring.

Rhimes, who had called Washington with the network's decision, was asked if she was aware he had talked to NBC and what her reaction was to his hiring.

''No, I wasn't aware of any conversation that happened before I had a conversation with him,'' she said. ''I guess I don't have a reaction. He's a very talented actor. I hope he does really well with the Bionic Woman. I hope that show does well.''

''Not as well as Private Practice,'' she added, a reference to the Grey's Anatomy spin-off debuting this fall. The series stars Kate Walsh as her Grey's character, Dr. Addison Shepherd, and costars include Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly, and Taye Diggs. (AP)