Shonda Rhimes refused to budge when it came to her vision for Grey’s Anatomy — even if that meant confronting a network president.
While participating in the HBO documentary Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television, the Shondaland mastermind reflected on the casting process for the groundbreaking medical drama, admitting that it didn’t get off to the best start.
“I’d done something, I guess, people didn’t do. I hadn’t written anyone’s race into the script,” Rhimes said, explaining that her omission led to the initial casting call being flooded with white actors.
“They would keep sending us these actors who all look the same, who were white,” she recalled. “I remember standing up in the room and looking at the president of the network at the time and saying, ‘I’m not going to have an all-white show.'”
FRANK OCKENFELS/ABC
Rhimes said everyone in the room was “really startled” by her remarks and insisted that she had nothing to fear: “Of course not, of course not. That’s never been the plan.”
But her outburst had an immediate impact. Once Rhimes voiced her concerns, the studio reached out to agencies to clarify, “We want to see everyone.” Not only was the change visible, it led to the show finding its iconic cast.
“This flood of actors started coming,” she shared. “It was really wonderful. We got to see all these actors who had never been considered for roles other than very small parts.”
Grey’s Anatomy launched with a cast that included Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Chandra Wilson, Katherine Heigl, James Pickens Jr., T.R. Knight, Patrick Dempsey, Isaiah Washington, and Justin Chambers. Atop its many accolades, the show remains the longest-running scripted primetime show as it heads into its 22nd season.
“I just knew I wasn’t going to make a show I’d be embarrassed to put on TV,” Rhimes said of the show’s diversity. “I wasn’t going to turn to my parents and say, ‘Yeah, it has an all-white cast, but that’s just how TV is made.’ How could I say that to my dad?”
Rhimes, who has since brought a similar colorblind casting approach to an empire of shows that includes Bridgerton, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, added, “When you’re trying to be creative in a world in which you are afraid, I think a fearlessness is necessary.”
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Rhimes’ fearlessness paid off: the show about the fictional doctors of Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital quickly grabbed its audience and two decades later, hasn’t let go. Earlier this year, Rhimes spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the early days of creating Grey’s Anatomy, long before she understood what a life-changing project she had embarked on.
“You have to understand, [I had] zero experience in television. I didn’t even realize how it all worked with studios and networks, and who you’re supposed to suck up to,” she said. “I didn’t understand any of that. But I thought the pilot was really good, and I knew that I wanted to see it.”
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Rhimes added, “I wasn’t even thinking about Will the audience think it’s really good? I hadn’t gotten there yet. I think the moment I realized we were special in some way was they were doing audience testing with the pilot. It used to be that they’d bring you in, and there’d be this screen, and the audience would be on the other side, and they’d be turning dials as they watched the show. And so we were there in real time watching it, and the trajectory kept going up, up, up — and it never dipped. Somebody turned to me and said, ‘This has literally never happened in the history of ABC.'”
And the rest is history. Grey’s Anatomy returns with its season 22 premiere on October 9, at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT on ABC.
