Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a mid-season replacement on March 27, 2005. The series focuses on the fictional lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships. The title is a play on "Gray's Anatomy", a human anatomy textbook by Henry Gray. The show's premise originated with Shonda Rhimes, who serves as an executive producer, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg. Although the show is set in Seattle at the fictional Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital (Formerly Seattle Grace-Mercy West) it is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California. The show was originally titled "Complications" following the complicated medical procedures and personal lives of the cast. 
The series was created to be racially diverse, utilizing a color-blind casting technique. It revolves around the title character Dr. Meredith Grey played by Ellen Pompeo. The series' original cast consisted of nine star billed cast members including Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T. R. Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey. The cast has undergone major changes throughout the run of the show, with many major cast members leaving and being replaced by several new characters. The series in its twelfth season had a large ensemble of sixteen actors, including four from the original cast. On March 3, 2016, ABC renewed "Grey's Anatomy" for a thirteenth season, which premiered on September 22, 2016.
"Grey's Anatomy" is one of the highest-rated dramas in the 18–49 demographic. Although the ratings have fallen over the past few seasons, it was once among the overall top 10 shows in the United States. "Grey's Anatomy" has been well received by critics throughout much of its run, and was included in various critics' top ten lists in 2006. It is considered an impact on culture and has received numerous awards. It is also the recipient of the 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series — Drama, and multiple Emmy nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series. The show has produced several specials, as well as distributed all seasons to DVD, and released a collection of merchandise. In 2012, "Grey's Anatomy" was named the fifth-highest revenue earning show, in terms of advertising per half-hour. It's the longest running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC and the second longest scripted primetime show ever on ABC only behind "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet".
The series follows Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), the daughter of an esteemed general surgeon named Ellis Grey, following her acceptance into the residency program at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. During her tenure as a resident, Grey works alongside fellow doctors Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and George O'Malley (T. R. Knight), who each struggle to balance their personal lives with the hectic work and training schedules assigned to them. They are overseen during their internship by Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), a senior resident who works beneath Grey's love-interest Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), the head of neurosurgery; Yang's fiancee Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), the head of cardio; and Ellis Grey's ex-lover Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.), the Chief of Surgery. The residents are later joined by Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and April Kepner (Sarah Drew), former Mercy-West residents who join Seattle Grace following an administrative merger in the sixth season. Throughout the first six seasons O'Malley, Burke and Stevens all depart the series which has become very controversial in the media over the life-span of the series. In addition to Shepherd, Webber, and Burke, the surgical wing is primarily supervised by Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), as head of trauma; Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), as head of pediatric surgery; Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), a resident who later becomes head of orthopedic surgery, who left Seattle at the end of the twelfth season; Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), as head of cardio; Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), as head of plastics; Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), as head of OB/GYN, neonatal, and fetal surgery; Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), as head of cardio; and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), Derek's sister who is hired to replace him as head of neuro.
Later additions to the residency program include Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), Meredith's half-sister. Grey is killed alongside Mark Sloan in the season eight finale; Leah Murphy (Tessa Ferrer); Shane Ross (Gaius Charles), who departs alongside Yang in the tenth season finale; Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton); Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), a doctor who begins a romantic relationship with Karev; Andrew Deluca (Giacomo Gianniotti), the love-interest of Meredith's half sister Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), who also serves as head of cardio; and Benjamin Warren (Jason George), an anesthesiologist and currently a resident, who has to balance his wife Miranda Bailey's new role as Chief of Surgery with his own desire to succeed. Season twelve sees the arrival of Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson), while Meredith is appointed head of general surgery.
Shonda Rhimes, the series' creator, wanted to make a show that she would enjoy watching, and thought it would be interesting to create a show about "smart women competing against one another". When asked how she decided to develop a medical drama, Rhimes responded: 
The series was pitched to ABC Entertainment, who gave the green light, and the show was picked up as a mid-season replacement for "Boston Legal" in the 2005 television season. Francie Calfo, executive vice president of development at ABC Entertainment, commented that ABC was looking for a medical show that was unlike the others airing at the time. She pointed out that "[m]edical shows are hard, and it was hard trying to figure out where ours could be different. But where everybody else is speeding up their medical shows, [Rhimes] found a way to slow it down, so you get to know the characters. There's definitely a strong female appeal to it."
Rhimes initially conceived "Grey's Anatomy" as a statement against racism. She endeavored to create a show that featured a racially diverse cast that allowed viewers to relate to characters regardless of race. While creating characters, as well as writing the first script, the series' writers had no character descriptions in mind, and hoped to cast the best actor available for each part. Rhimes has explained that if the network did not allow her to create characters this way, she would have been hesitant about moving forward with the series. Female roles in particular were developed as multi-faceted characters. Rhimes offered her insight on this, "I wanted to create a world in which you felt as if you were watching very real women. Most of the women I saw on TV didn't seem like people I actually knew. They felt like ideas of what women are. They never got to be nasty or competitive or hungry or angry. They were often just the loving wife or the nice friend. But who gets to be the bitch? Who gets to be the three-dimensional woman?"
Before the series debuted on March 27, 2005, there were a few early releases to close friends and family of the producers and actors. The show was scheduled to run in the "Boston Legal" time slot for four weeks. However, high ratings and viewership led to it holding onto the slot for the remainder of the season. ABC Entertainment President, Steve McPherson, commented on the scheduling change: "Ultimately we decided that, without having adequate lead time or marketing dollars to devote to moving either show so late in the season, we'd continue to let ["Grey's Anatomy"] build on its tremendous momentum through May." The show's title, "Grey's Anatomy", was devised as a play on words: a reference to both Henry Gray's medical textbook, "Gray's Anatomy", and the title character Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). Prior to broadcast, it was announced that the show's title would change from "Grey's Anatomy" to "Complications", although ultimately this did not come to pass.
"Grey's Anatomy" is produced by ShondaLand, in association with The Mark Gordon Company, and ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone Television). Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Krista Vernoff, Mark Gordon, Rob Corn, and Mark Wilding have all served as executive producers throughout the course of the series. In subsequent seasons, Steve Mulholland, Kent Hodder, Nancy Bordson, James D. Parriott, and Peter Horton have also been executive producers, with Allan Heinberg joining the show in 2006 in this role. As of season eight, the current executive producers are Rhimes, Beers, Gordon, Vernoff, Corn, Wilding, and Heinberg.
Rhimes is the series' most prolific writer. She often promotes the show by answering fan questions on her Twitter account. Other members of the writing staff are Vernoff, Wilding, Peter Nowalk, Stacy McKee, William Harper, Zoanne Clack, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, and Debora Cahn. From the second through seventh seasons, the writers maintained a blog entitled "Grey Matter", where the writer of an episode discussed the motives behind the writing. Directors vary by episode, with Rob Corn directing most frequently, followed by Tom Verica. Horton, Edward Ornelas, and Jessica Yu have also directed a substantial number of episodes. Cast members Chandra Wilson and Kevin McKidd have both directed multiple episodes.
"Grey's Anatomy" has been edited by Susan Vaill since the show's inception, and David Greenspan was named an editor in 2006. Casting directors Linda Lowy and John Brace have been a part of the production team since 2005. Production design is led by Donald Lee Harris, assisted by art director Brian Harms, and costume design is led by Mimi Melgaard. Working alongside Melgaard, Thomas Houchins supervises costumes, Ellen Vieira is the makeup artist, and Jerilynn Stevens serves as a hair stylist. The Director of Photography is Herbert Davis. The music coordinator is Danny Lux.
Karen Lisa Pike, M.D. is the on-set medical consultant, alongside Linda Klein, a RN. The production staff is part of a "Grey's Anatomy" softball team that competes against other television shows, such as "".
"Grey's Anatomy" used a color-blind casting technique, resulting in a racially diverse ensemble. Each role was cast without the character's races being pre-determined, keeping Rhimes' vision of diversity. The production staff began casting with the program's title character, Meredith Grey, which Rhimes stated was a difficult role to cast. "I kept saying we need a girl like that girl from "Moonlight Mile"," said Rhimes, "and after a while, they were like, 'We think we can get that girl from "Moonlight Mile"." The next to be cast, Sandra Oh (Dr. Cristina Yang), was initially invited to audition for the character of Bailey, but pressed to read for the role of Cristina instead. Many actors read for the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd, but when Patrick Dempsey read for the part, "he was just perfect", according to Rhimes.
The only character developed with a racial description in mind was Dr. Miranda Bailey, who is portrayed by Chandra Wilson. Her character was written as a tiny blonde with curly hair, but when Wilson began speaking, Rhimes reported: "[Wilson] is exactly who Miranda is." James Pickens Jr. was selected to appear as Dr. Richard Webber in the series' pilot and first season. Katherine Heigl wanted to portray Dr. Izzie Stevens as a brunette, but was requested to retain her natural blonde for the part. Isaiah Washington, who portrayed Dr. Preston Burke, initially read for the role of Shepherd, but was cast as Burke, because the original actor to play Burke had to withdraw. T. R. Knight signed on for the pilot as Dr. George O'Malley, expecting that the role might be short-lived, because he liked that the character was multi-faceted. Rounding out the season one cast was Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev.
The second season marked the introduction of Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) and Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez). They were initially cast as recurring characters, but both were given star billing at the opening of the third season. Ramirez was cast after ABC executives offered her a role in the network show of her choice, Dane had previously auditioned unsuccessfully for a role in the pilot episode. Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) also joined the show in season two, after making a guest appearance in season one. In October 2006, Washington allegedly insulted Knight with a homophobic slur, during an on-set altercation with Dempsey, and ABC terminated Washington's contract at the end of the third season. Washington also made a guest appearance in season 10. At the conclusion of the third season, Walsh also departed the show to pursue the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off, "Private Practice", but continues to make guest appearances.
Chyler Leigh joined the cast as a main character in the fourth season as Dr. Lexie Grey, Lexie had appeared as a guest star in the final two episodes of the third season. On the selection of Leigh for the role of Lexie, Rhimes said: "Chyler stood out...It felt like she could be Meredith's sister, but she had a depth that was very interesting." Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith ), who first appeared on "Grey's Anatomy" in the second season, became a series regular in the fourth season. Shortly after the announcement that Smith would be a regular member of the cast, "Entertainment Weekly" Michael Ausiello, reported that her character, Hahn, would depart from "Grey's Anatomy" on November 6, 2008. "E! Online" Kristin Dos Santos asserted that Smith's dismissal from the show had been forced by the ABC network, as part of an attempt to "de-gay" "Grey's Anatomy", but Rhimes countered these claims, saying that "we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run".
Season five introduced actor Kevin McKidd (Dr. Owen Hunt), who was signed as a series regular after originally being cast for a specific story arc. In addition, Jessica Capshaw (Dr. Arizona Robbins) was originally introduced for a three episode arc, but received a contract extension until the end of the season and then became a series regular in the sixth season. Knight departed the show at the conclusion of season five, citing an unhappiness with the development and lack of screen time for his character. Directly following Knight's departure, it was reported by "Entertainment Weekly" that Heigl had not returned to the set as scheduled after her maternity leave, and it was later confirmed that Heigl would not return to the show at all.
Kim Raver, who was cast as recurring character Dr. Teddy Altman in the sixth season, was given star billing later in the season. Sarah Drew (Dr. April Kepner) and Jesse Williams (Dr. Jackson Avery), who both made their series debuts as recurring characters in the sixth season, received star billing in the seventh.
The six original actors' contracts expired after season eight, but in May 2012, Pompeo, Oh, Dempsey, Chambers, Wilson, and Pickens renewed their contracts with the show for another two years. At the conclusion of the eighth season, Leigh's character departed from the show at Leigh's request, and with Rhimes' agreement. Raver's character was also written out of the show during the season eight finale, and Rhimes stated that Raver was offered a contract renewal, but declined. In July 2012, Dane confirmed that he was departing the show to pursue other projects; he made his final appearances in the first two episodes of the ninth season. With the start of season 10, Camilla Luddington, Jerrika Hinton, Gaius Charles  Tessa Ferrer were introduced to the show as series regulars. They were first introduced to the show in season 9 as new interns. On August 13, 2013, Oh announced that the show's tenth season would be her final season. In March 2014 it was announced that Isaiah Washington, who portrayed Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the show, would make a guest appearance to coincide with the departure of series regular Sandra Oh, his former on-screen love interest. As of March 25, 2014, both Charles and Ferrer's contracts were not renewed for season 11. On May 2, 2014 it was announced that, in addition to Pompeo and Dempsey, all original remaining cast members — aside from Sandra Oh — signed two year deals, extending their contracts through seasons 11 and 12. Despite joining the series in its second season, Sara Ramirez is on the same negotiation schedule as the first season cast and has also inked a new two-year deal.
Rhimes considered setting the medical drama in her hometown, Chicago, but eventually decided to go with Seattle, to distinguish "Grey's Anatomy" from the Chicago–based "ER".
Fisher Plaza, which is the headquarters building of Fisher Communications and Fisher's ABC affiliated KOMO radio and television stations in Seattle, is used for some exterior shots of Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. In particular, air ambulances land on the KOMO-TV newscopter's helipad. This suggests the hospital is close to the Space Needle (which is directly across the street from Fisher Plaza), the Seattle Monorail, and other local landmarks. However, the hospital used for most other exterior and a few interior shots is not in Seattle; these scenes are shot at the VA Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills, California. The exterior of Meredith Grey's house, also known as the Intern House, is real. In the show, the address of Grey's home is 613 Harper Lane, but in real life there is no such place. The actual home is located at 303 W. Comstock St., Seattle, Washington. Most scenes are taped at Prospect Studios in Los Feliz, just east of Hollywood, where the "Grey's Anatomy" set occupies six sound stages. Some outside scenes are shot at the Warren G. Magnuson Park in Seattle. Several props used are working medical equipment, including the MRI machine. When asked about operating room scenes, Sarah Drew offered this: Costumes are used to differentiate between attending surgeons, who wear navy blue scrubs, and residents, who wear light blue scrubs. The series is filmed with a single-camera setup, as are many dramas. "Grey's Anatomy" is often filmed using the "walk and talk" filming technique, popularized on television by series such as "St. Elsewhere", "ER", and "The West Wing".
"Greys Anatomy" follows the lives of surgical interns and residents at the fictional Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital (formerly Seattle Grace Hospital, Season 1–6, Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, Season 6–9, and then Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, Season 9–present), as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, with the help of their competent mentors. Every installment, typically, commences with a voice-over narrative from Meredith Grey or a season regular, foreshadowing the theme of the episode. Each season tends to represent the physicians' academic year, with each completed year qualifying the residents at a level higher in the surgical field. The season will always end with a finale, typically involving a tragic event such as a death or character departure. Most installments revolve around the doctors' everyday lives as surgeons, but the show puts an emphasis on their personal, rather than professional, lives. The series sets aside medical ethic concerns to focus on character development and relationships. Although the physicians treat the illnesses of their patients, often through complex surgeries, their primary motivation is customarily praise and competition.
The residents initially arrive at the hospital each morning and argue over who will care for a certain patient. A hospital superior is in charge of assigning cases, often translating to tense feelings between the residents and their superiors. Episodes migrate back and forth from the doctors interacting with their patients, and with their co-workers. Once assigned a case, each doctor diagnoses the patient, with the help of his or her attending physician, which usually leads to surgery. The surgeons tend to form personal connections with their patients, with a patient often conveying a message to his or her doctor, which unintentionally relates to the doctor's private life. The show displays the growth of relationships between the doctors, either friendly or sexual, often stemming to a clash between their personal and professional lives. Emotional scenes are often accompanied by an indie rock background song, something that has become a hallmark of the series. At the conclusion of each episode, one of the characters delivers another voice-over, typically contrasting or following up on their initial one.