Grey's Anatomy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a mid-season replacement on March 27, 2005. The series has aired ten seasons, and focuses on the fictional lives of surgical interns and residents as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships. The title is a play on the name Gray's Anatomy, an English-language human anatomy textbook originally written 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. The series was created to be racially diverse, utilizing a color-blind casting technique. While the show is set in Seattle, it is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California.

The series' protagonist is Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who originally is accepted into the residency program at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. Meredith is assigned to work under Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), along with Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Dr. George O'Malley (T. R. Knight), Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). Following O'Malley's death and Stevens' departure, the hospital's merger with Mercy West brings in Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and Dr. April Kepner (Sarah Drew), in the sixth season.

The surgical wing is primarily supervised by Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.), who is eventually replaced by Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), and later, Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd). Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) is the chief of neurosurgery, Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) is chief of pediatrics, Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) is chief of trauma, Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) is chief of orthopedics, Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) is the chief of plastic surgery, and the chief of cardiothoracic surgery has been five different doctors throughout the show: Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), Dr. Jeff Russell (Dominic Hoffman) and Dr. Margaret Pearce (Kelly McCreary).

Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) departs at the conclusion of the third season, after a failed relationship with Dr. Cristina Yang, and is replaced by Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), who leaves the show during the fifth season, and later Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), who departs at the end of the eighth season. Introduced at the end of first season is Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), who leaves the show at the end of the third season, in order to launch her own spin-off medical drama Private Practice. Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) also enter the show in the second season, while Mark Sloan dies in the premiere of the ninth season. Meredith's half-sister, Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), appears from season three and dies at the end of season eight. Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) is given series regular status at the beginning of the sixth season. The ninth season introduced a new set of five recurring interns, with four Dr. Josephine "Jo" Wilson (Camilla Luddington), Dr. Shane Ross (Gaius Charles), Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton) and Dr. Leah Murphy (Tessa Ferrer) becoming series regulars in the tenth season.

Grey's Anatomy is the highest-rated drama in the key 1849 demographic. While the ratings have fallen over the past few seasons, it was once among the overall top-ten rated shows in the United States. Grey's Anatomy has been well received by critics. Considered an impact on culture, the series has received numerous awards, and has also been included in various critics' top ten lists. It is 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. The series was renewed for a tenth season on May 10, 2013, which premiered on September 26, 2013 with a two-hour episode.[1]

On May 8, 2014, ABC renewed the series for an eleventh season that will air from 20142015.[2]The season premiere will be shown on Thursday September 25, 2014.[3] After four seasons outside the top 25 rated shows, Grey's Anatomy was the number 15 show in the 20132014 season; the show's tenth. The show also re-entered the top five shows in the 1849 viewer demographic.

Shonda Rhimes, the series' creator, wanted to make a show that she would enjoy watching,[4] and thought it would be interesting to create a show about "smart women competing against one another".[5] When asked how she decided to develop a medical drama, Rhimes responded:

I was obsessed with the surgery channels. [...] My sisters and I would call each other up and talk about operations we'd seen on the Discovery Channel. There's something fascinating about the medical worldyou see things you'd never imagine, like the fact that doctors talk about their boyfriends or their day while they're cutting somebody open. So when ABC asked me to write another pilot, the [operating room] seemed like the natural setting.[6]

The series was pitched to the ABC, who gave the green light, and the show was picked up as a mid-season replacement for Boston Legal in the 2005 television season.[7]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."[5]

"ER is high-speed medicine. The camera flies around, adrenaline is rushing. My show is more personal. The idea for the series began when a doctor told me it was incredibly hard to shave her legs in the hospital shower. At first that seemed like a silly detail. But then I thought about the fact that it was the only time and place this woman might have to shave her legs. That's how hard the work is."

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Grey's Anatomy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia