The buzzing of the medical machines, the confusing hallways that feel like a maze and the almost perceptible smell of alcohol and blood through the screen. The medical scenario is not new on television. General Hospital was one of the first TV series to show doctors and their lives as the protagonists of the story, though it was an otherwise traditional soap opera; ER added unfettered, often brutal realism to the proceedings, bringing the audience into the medical drama. Then came House and his impossible diagnosis (no, it is not Lupus) and difficult personality. There are a lot of different TV shows about doctors and their lives. However, one has made television history, partly due to its many years on primetime: Grey’s Anatomy.
Shonda Rhimes is a name attached with success. With her production company Shondaland, she is responsible for hit shows like How To Get Away With Murder, Bridgerton, the new Netflix #1 Inventing Anna, and more. The producer currently has a $100 million deal with Netflix. Shonda Rhimes’ first TV series, Grey’s Anatomy, has been recently renewed for its 19th season. Actress Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey in all 18 seasons, confirmed she will return as the iconic doctor in the new season. With 383 episodes, Grey’s Anatomy is more than just a successful TV show. The medical drama’s ability to stay afloat when new television series are released daily needs to get the recognition it deserves.
There are various reasons why Grey’s Anatomy is still so popular. An iconic soundtrack (that traumatized fans every time Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol starts to play), intriguing medical cases, great writing, and action — the list of why it is successful is not short. The series starts when the medical intern, Meredith Grey, is on her first day working in the hospital. After 18 years, Meredith still has a lot of challenges to face inside (and outside) of the operating room. Here are a few reasons why Grey’s Anatomy is still special for so many people, even in its 18th season.
It’s Not About The Medicine
ABC
Rhimes said in her Masterclass, Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing for Television, that the show was never about medicine. The surgeries and challenges the doctors have to face daily are not the focus of the show. The core narrative element is how the characters will do their jobs while dealing with troubles in their personal lives. This makes the series effortless to watch because the difficult procedures are explained in a way that is easy to understand.
The characters’ arcs and the medicine elements are extremely well-balanced. Because the two elements go hand in hand: the series is more enjoyable to follow. The audience isn’t exhausted with Meredith and Derek’s marital fights because it does not appear for 40 minutes straight; it gets paused by a cancer patient case, for example. The characters’ drama is intertwined with the medical cases so that there is always something new and exciting happening. That doesn’t stop the doctors’ dramatic development, but simply gives the viewer a little time to breathe and (like the characters) think about these issues. It does help that, in most episodes, the cases they are working on somehow challenges the doctor to think or act differently.
Because the characters are the central part, the audience has to fall deeply in love with them to be eager to be a part of their journey. That happened in Grey’s Anatomy. The character development, the relationships, and the successes and failures in their careers and lives make this show extremely personal. The fans want to spend time with them. Television is, by nature, more personal than movies: you can go to the movie theater and watch a movie and then go home. With television, you share your home with these characters (and in the case of Grey’s Anatomy, for 18 years). The viewer spends various hours with them, and the characters have to matter for someone to do that — especially if that entails over 250 hours.
Bold Choices
Grey’s Anatomy has embraced boldness in its narrative since the first season. An active bomb inside a patient that can go off at any minute, a shooter entering the hospital looking for revenge for his lost loved one, an airplane full of doctors crashing in the middle of nowhere, an entire hospital floor getting blown to pieces. The audience never knows what to expect from a new episode, especially if it is the season’s finale.
The show changed the game for what you can expect from a medical show. Committing to these choices, they broke pre-imposed limits of the genre, even if they risked bordering on the ridiculous. The anxiety and the excitement of watching an episode everyone is talking about really helped secure a place on air for what could’ve been ‘just another medical show.’ It breaks the pattern of an episodic series and always surprises the viewer with what the characters have to face.
A History of Diversity
Shonda stamped her mark on her first show: it was, from the get-go, a diverse show. Actors of color on the top of the hospital’s hierarchy and characters with different sexualities are a core part of the show just as much as the surgeries. The show is still groundbreaking and creates storylines for characters that enhance and let diversity shine. In a more recent season, a transgender actor, Alex Blue Davis, was hired to play a transgender surgical resident, Casey Parker. Last year the show cast the first non-binary actor, E.R. Fightmaster, playing a non-binary role, Dr. Kai Bartley, the first ever to be seen in a medical drama.
A Muslim actress, Sophia Ali, is an intern who wears a hijab, Dr. Quadri. In a scene from season 14, there is a 14-year-old patient who suffered an accident and is about to bleed out. Dr. Quadri takes her hijab off and makes a tourniquet. After saving the kid’s life, Dr. Hunt asks her why she took it off. Quadri explains that her hijab is a symbol of her faith, which means compassion and service. She then proceeds to put the hijab on again. The scene went viral on Twitter and received an enormous amount of support due to the positive portrayal of a Muslim woman.
These are only a few examples of how diversity is embedded in the show. Regarding every one of these characters, their storylines don’t revolve around what made them unique: it was just a part of who they are. Grey’s Anatomy consistently broke what the viewer was accustomed to seeing in medical shows, maintaining a fresh feeling in every new season, as well as always trying to make the viewer feel seen and heard.
An Emotional Ride
There is no secret that there are various moments worthy of a good ugly-cry from the show. From patients dying after the audience followed their journey to recovery for a few episodes, to even one of the doctors getting run over by a bus (RIP 007), it is known that viewers should prepare themselves for an emotional rollercoaster every time an episode starts.
Another element that enhances the love for the show is that the characters don’t remain untouched. The audience sees them as normal people who have to face traumatic situations, such as grief, abusive relationships, and sexual assault. It is easier to connect with these characters because they are never portrayed as superheroes or perfect people. Seeing Meredith cry while screaming that she does not have the time to break down after Derek died (because she is a mother and has to be there for her kids) validates a lot of people’s hardships in real life. The characters’ emotions feel real because of the sensibility these storylines have when dealing with burdensome subjects.
Also, the characters make mistakes daily, enhancing the feeling of them being real people that the audience can connect with even if they are not in the medical field. These characters might come and go, but so far, Grey’s Anatomy is still here for us, and we’re here for it.
