Jo Wilson

Grey's Anatomy is an American television medical drama that debuted on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), as a mid-season replacement for Boston Legal on March 27, 2005. While creating the show, producers put an emphasis on the casting process. The series has aired for twelve 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. 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. It is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California.

The series was created to be racially diverse, utilizing a color-blind casting technique. All roles for the series are cast without the characters' races being pre-specified, in keeping with Rhimes' vision of diversity. The series' protagonist, Meredith Grey, is portrayed by Ellen Pompeo. Pompeo starred as the leading role in Moonlight Mile, which explains the significance of her being cast as Meredith. Meredith is assigned to work under Miranda Bailey the only character developed with a racial description in mind, who is portrayed by Chandra Wilson. On Wilson's addition to the cast Rhimes reported, "[Wilson] is exactly who Miranda is." The other interns working with Meredith under Bailey are along with Cristina Yang, George O'Malley, Izzie Stevens, and Alex Karev played by Sandra Oh, T.R. Knight, Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers respectively. Chambers' character was not originally part of the pilot but was added later as the fifth and final intern. Oh was initially brought to play the character of Bailey, but pressed to read for the role of Cristina instead at the audition. Many actors read for the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd including Isaiah Washington, but when Patrick Dempsey read for the part, "he was just perfect", according to Rhimes. Washington was cast as Burke, because the original actor to play Burke had to withdraw.

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