'Grey's Anatomy' Season 12 Cast News: Shonda Rhimes Promotes Jason George to Series Regular

Recent casting updates for the highly-anticipated 12th season of the hit ABC medical TV drama series "Grey's Anatomy" said a member of the cast will become a series regular position.

A report from Entertainment Weekly indicated that cast member Jason George has "officially been promoted to a series regular" for the next installment of the series.

 George expressed his thanks to show creator Shonda Rhimes.

"Thank you, @ShondaRhimes!" the actor who played the character Ben said on his Twitter."Y'all are gonna have 2 deal w/me and the whole @GreysABC family for a while now!"

Zap2it was quick to speculate regarding George's promotion. According to the site, Ben "will probably play an integral part in Bailey's run for Chief of Surgery" at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Aside from that, his character "can start [having] his own storylines."

"Season 11 saw the surgical resident start to come into the spotlight when his brother announced he was beginning the transition to a woman. Ben grappling with his brother's transgender identity could be an emotional throughline in the upcoming season," the site wrote.

As what has been reported earlier, the ABC drama is set to add yet another male doctor to its cast list. This "new male presence" will play in a "full-time capacity" following the death of Patrick Dempsey's Dr. Shepherd.

The character in question would be introduced in the upcoming season of the show in his "late 30s to late 40s." The actor eyed for the role must be "good-looking, charismatic, and believable as a surgeon."