The American Broadcasting Company’s (ABC) hit drama series, Grey’s Anatomy, first debuted in March of 2005. Grey’s Anatomy is an American television drama series that, over the course of its past 12 seasons, has accumulated quite the track record. The show has won a plethora of awards for its writing, acting and directing. Grey’s, in its fifth season, reached a record-breaking 15 million viewers and has since been notably marked as one of the most successful television shows to date (Hallam, 2009). The show follows the lives of several surgical interns and residents – both inside and outside of the hospital. The show is cast with multiple celebrities: Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh and more. Grey’s Anatomy and its multiracial cast stand in contrast to the majority of society’s current and comparable all-white casts appearing on famous sitcoms such as Friends or Home Improvement (Long, 2011). In this paper, I will look back at the history and development of the ABC network for context to analyze Shonda Rhimes’ use of mixed-race casting in directing and producing Grey’s Anatomy to determine the following: Do the concepts of identity, gender, and race fit within the realms of Grey’s Anatomy? Is Grey’s Anatomy in favor of neoliberalism? Does Shonda Rhimes portray her social and political positions through her creation of the show?(do you answer this question?) Is today’s television considered to be a post-racial network? This essay will argue yes, to all of the above.
Grey’s Anatomy is broadcasted and distributed by the American Broadcasting Company, ABC. ABC was first founded by Edward J. Noble, a well-respected, conservative, affluent entrepreneur, who purchased the “Blue” radio network from NBC in 1943. In 1946, Noble “moved ABC into television by obtaining federal licenses for the frequency labeled Channel 7 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Detroit – some of the nation’s largest cities” (Mazzocco, 1994, p.**). Once he founded ABC, Noble hired Robert Kintner (another conservative) as its vice president; he went on to become the company’s president in 1950. Kintner’s conservative views advocated for “Republican political figures and also argued for more corporate control over media and less government regulation” (Mazzocco, 1994, p.**).
ABC had the nickname of the “Almost Broadcasting Company” as it met little success until the late 1960s due to the severe financial struggles faced by the company teetering on bankruptcy. In order to “establish a national for-profit television network, “a sizable investment was required” (Mazzocco, 1994, p.**). In search of capital, Noble negotiated with Leonard Goldenson, head of United Paramount Theaters (UPT). Conveniently, Noble requested part of UPT (along with $25 million) while Goldenson was in the process of trying to build UPT into a “media power.” Goldenson paid the requested $25 million to Noble, yielding a merger: American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters (AB-PT). ABC’s board of directors approved this merger. However, the board of Paramount Theater was ambivalent towards the success of the AB-PT, as “Paramount owned a major financial stake in the DuMont networks – America’s third most watched television network behind NBC and CBS. Additionally, despite AB-PT’s influential financial backers and investors, the company faced difficulty in obtaining federal regulatory approval from the FCC. “The American Civil Liberties Union, for example, argued that an AB-PT merger would threaten democracy, as it would put U.S. media control into fewer corporate hands.” However, ABC managed to survive. The FCC voted five to two in favor of the AB-PT merger in February 1953 (Mazzocco, 1994).
Once AB-PT was birthed, Goldenson “revealed his plan to develop new television programming in cooperation with the Hollywood studios” (Mazzocco, 1994, p.**). Despite the majority of television production being done in New York, Goldenson argued that moving production to Los Angeles would substantially increase the industry’s profit. Shifting production from New York to Hollywood would save the Hollywood studios financially, as well. Initial challenges were faced by Goldenson in obtaining “new programming from other Hollywood film moguls” (Mazzocco, 1994, p.**), and ABC was resultantly blamed for Hollywood’s inflated labor costs due to increased competition. ABC ultimately struggled with its network distribution system and number of station affiliates during this time. After various rejections from the Hollywood studios, AB-PT signed an agreement with Walt Disney Studios, one of the most conservative studios at the time. Walt Disney contacted Goldenson in the hopes of having AB-PT sponsor part of the Disneyland project that the Disney brothers were working on at the time. Goldenson complied, in exchange for the right to broadcast a new program, Disneyland. Thus, the AB-PT-Disney deal represented the largest programming agreement, which was signed in 1954 (Mazzocco, 1994).
It was not until the late 1950s that the AB-PT networks became a serious contender to NBC and CBS, and this was in large part due to the diverse range of programming that met the expectations of the public (Mazzocco, 1994). ABC specialized in offbeat programing, which was calculated to set it apart from other networks. Some of the series representing this difference included The Flintstones and Batman during the 1960s. The 1960s, however, marked the rise of “family-oriented” series, and colored broadcasting – which attempted to counter program AB-PT’s competitors. “Always in search for new programs that would help it compete, AB-PT’s management believed that sports could be a major catalyst in improving the network’s market share.” The pressure of competition resulted in in the airing of theatrically released films. It was not until 1965 until AB-PT was renamed ABC. It was during the next year that Goldenson announced an ITT-ABC merger, which was eventually suspended after doubts related to the US Department of Justice were emerged (Wikipedia, 2016).
All three major networks transitioned to color broadcasting by the early 1970s; “the decade as a whole would mark a turning point from ABC, as it began to pass CBS and NBC in the rating to become the first place network” (Mazzocco, 1994, p. **). During that same year, the FCC passed the Financial Interest and Syndication rules, which prevented the major networks from monopolizing the broadcast landscape; ABC was not allowed to own any of the prime time programming that they broadcast. These rules resulted in the divide of ABC Films into two separate companies: Worldvision Enterprises and ABC Circle Films (Mazzocco, 1994). The 1970s were considered AB-PT’s “golden era,” with the arrival of programming executive Fred Silverman in 1975. Despite this split, the 1970s were highlighted by several successful comedy, fantasy, action and superhero-themed television series. ABC began to dominate the American television landscape throughout the ‘70s and into the early ‘80s. The 1980s marked an eventful year for the company, as the Capital Cities-ABC merger was put into effect in 1986. This merger involved the $5.5 billion purchase of ABC and all of its related properties by Capital Cities, which renamed the company Capital Cities/ABC (Wikipedia).
Not too long after the Capital Cities/ABC merger, in 1993, the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules were demolished by the FCC, which allowed Capital Cities/ABC to regain held interest in its own television production studios. In 1995, The Walt Disney Company announced an agreement to merge with Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion. Capital Cities/ABC was renamed ABC Inc. by Disney. The network continued to flourish into the 21st century, with series like Grey’s Anatomy coming on the scene in 2005 (Wikipedia).
Furthermore, ABC Inc. is vertically integrated into the production of Grey’s Anatomy, as ABC Television Productions, LLC (ABC Studios) is one of the main production companies involved with producing Grey’s Anatomy. ABC Studios is the production division of Disney-ABC Television Group. ABC Studios was established as Touchstone Films Television Division in 1985 and given its current name in 2007. Aside from ABC’s own studios, involved with the show’s production are: ShondaLand and The Mark Gordon Production Company (Wikipedia).
ShondaLand, established by the show’s executive writer and producer – Shonda Rhimes, is an American television production company. In fact, Rhimes specifically founded the company to be one of the production companies for Grey’s. All shows that ShondaLand has gone on to produce are co-produced with ABC Studios and air on ABC, including Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. In 2014, ABC programmed its entire Thursday primetime lineup with said ShondaLand dramas, then branded the night as “Thank God It’s Thursday” or “TGIT.” This echoes ABC’s former TGIF branding of its Friday night family sitcoms in the 1990s. Thursday is an especially important night for American television networks because it is the last change for advertisers of weekend purchases like movies and care to reach a large TV audience, and networks schedule highly rated programming for the night to attract those advertising dollars. The Associated Press called Rhimes’ reign of an entire night of network television “unmatched in TV history.” Additionally, some actors appear on more than one “ShondaLand” show, which has become a “Shonda Rhimes signature” to her fans and viewers (Wikipedia).
The Mark Gordon Production company is another production company involved in the production of Grey’s Anatomy. The Mark Gordon Company partnered with Entertainment One to create an independent television and film studio. Mark Gordon himself, an American television and film producer and President of the Producers Guild of America, is CEO of the company. Gordon also currently serves as one of the current producers of Grey’s Anatomy (Wikipedia).
In 2005, The American Broadcasting Company debuted the pilot of Grey’s Anatomy. The show was originally a “mid-season replacement for Boston Legal in the 2005 television season.” EVP of ABC Entertainment, Francie Calfo, explained that ABC was looking for a medical show that was unlike the others airing at the time, like ER for example. Before the series debut on March 27, there were a few early releases to close friends and family of the producers and actors. The show was scheduled to run in the ABC series’ Boston Legal time slot for only four weeks. However, high ratings and strong viewership led to it holding onto the slot for the remainder of the season. ABC’s strategic business decision in airing Grey’s Anatomy was wise, as the company prides itself on its various platforms of entertainment (television, films and even as far as to include Disney’s theme parks) to increase profit maximization (Baughman, 1980). Grey’s Anatomy added just another layer onto the ABC Inc. empire, as the target audience of Grey’s intrigues a wide range of people due to its controversial storyline – specifically: the ethnically diverse, the sexually diverse, doctors, males and females with an age range from 15-50 (Wikipedia).
The myriad of viewers who have tuned into ABC since 2005, just to watch Grey’s, share an interest in the shows’ medical polemics, political messages as well as the drama-inducing lives of the Seattle Grace doctors. The adoption of Grey’s Anatomy to the ABC Inc. family was a huge success, as Grey’s Anatomy has won the 2007 Golden Globe for best television series, been ranked one of the top ten American television series of all time, number one drama series in adults 18-49, and number one drama in key demographics. Aside from ABC Inc.’s distribution of the series, Grey’s Anatomy was syndicated in 2009, during the show’s third airing season. Grey’s was purchased by Buena Vista Television to premiere on cable television. Buena Vista Television struck a deal with Lifetime for cable run rights, with the network paying what is believed to be $1.2 million per episode (Nordyke, 2006). In terms of digital platforms, in 2009, ABC Inc. announced a licensing deal with both Amazon and Netflix, allowing episodes of Grey’s to stream online within 30 days of the episode’s date on air (Lieberman, 2011). Amazon’s library, however, houses 800 episodes of the show. Outside of the United States, most prominently in Europe and Canada, Grey’s Anatomy has been distributed through various television companies, including Canadian Television, Sony Entertainment Television, and many more (Wikipedia).
As opposed to medical dramas of the 1990s, Grey’s offers much more than simply mundane graphics or trauma. On the show, controversial ethics are debated, the surgeons are perceived as heroes, and viewers get a peek into their personal lives. Even more specifically, Grey’s Anatomy can be used as an example to portray the representation of identity in popular culture (Jubas, 2013). The shift from the 1990s “classic” medical shows represents a shift in the neoliberal social class of viewers over the course of a decade. Despite the fictional aspect of the show, Grey’s nonetheless serves as a rich source of learning about oneself (Jubas, 2013). There is a strong connection between the characters’ professional identities to other more personal categories of identity, such as race or gender (Jubas, 2013). Here also lies the neoliberal concept of “high culture,” which relates to the social context in which the characters identify themselves. Grey’s serves as a unique representation of the blurring between education and work. The series, exclusively, focuses on the explicit details of learning and identity. The most important lessons learned by the surgeons arguably does not center around medical procedures, but rather focuses on their respective burgeoning identities. These characters learn how to develop themselves as medical practitioners, but more importantly as young adults. A neoliberal discourse of individual capability exists here: it is evident that professional, gender and racial facets of identity are essential in that learning process, and that identity is intertwined with decision making (Jubas, 2013). Indeed, although every character is portrayed by having worked exceptionally hard for what she or he has earned, racism is virtually nonexistent amongst the staff at Seattle Grace (Long, 2011).
Hand in hand with this neoliberal shift is the increase of mixed race casts seen on television. Shonda Rhimes, who is currently the only African-American female “showrunner” in the American television industry, credits Grey’s success to her “race-blind” methods of casting (Warner, 2014). In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Rhimes stated: “We really read every color actor for every single part. And…I was lucky because the network was like, great, go for it” (Long, 2011). Moreover, Rhimes had to actively point out and work against what has been assumed by American media that casting should be “racially unmarked” (Warner, 2014). Rhimes’ “race-blind” casting is considered to be a “progressive step towards actors’ equality” (Warner, 2014). Additionally, “Race-blind” casting aids the network, as the method helps the show exemplify the notion of a multicultural yet paradoxically post-racial society (Warner, 2014).
Grey’s Anatomy operates differently than other comparable medical series. Rhimes “forwards a smart discursive tactic she deploys throughout her career,” and that tactic is employed on the show (Warner, 2014). Grey’s acts as the first medical drama to depict female doctors in depth and explore how their personal lives intertwine with professional issues (Hallam, 2009). Grey’s features the show’s main character, Meredith Grey, as a narrator. Female narration is a trend that has become quite popular since the voice of Carrie opened each episode of Sex and the City. Meredith’s voice-over offers us the kind of moralizing homilies that we might expect to find in a women’s magazine problem page. These short soliloquies provide a synopsis of what’s to come later on in the episode, as the surgical interns must treat various patients. It has been observed by viewers that, usually, each of these patients serves a plot function: one patient will have an unusual condition, usually providing “black humor;” another patient will have a condition requiring a surgical challenge; and another patient will represent “humanity” (Hallam, 2009).
Identity and gender don’t stand alone in the show’s character development. For example, at the beginning of Episode 2 of Grey’s Anatomy, Season 3, viewers are introduced to African American Dr. Preston Burke’s parents as they visit the hospital to see their son who is recovering from a gunshot wound. Laying in bed next to his girlfriend – Asian American Cristina Yang – a resident of the hospital, Burke is surprised by his parents’ presence. Having not met Mr. and Mrs. Burke before, the audience may be surprised by certain “aesthetic markers” (Warner, 2014), which are indicative of the fact that the Burkes are of high socioeconomic status. Dressed lavishly with perfectly coiffed hair, Jane Burke expresses her opinions about Cristina. Upon meeting Cristina, Jane takes clear issue with Cristina and feels as though she has “loose morals” (Warner, 2014), however does not express to her son any issue with her race. Disapproval of Cristina’s race, however, would have interestingly made sense due to the generational gap between Burke and his Civil-Rights-era-parents. Instead, Jane does not acknowledge Cristina’s strong ambition and socioeconomic status and focuses simply on the fact that she is unilaterally not good enough for Preston. The lack of racial acknowledgment is not accidental (Warner, 2014). Rhimes states: “It’s not about the fact that she’s Asian and he’s Black. It’s about the fact that she’s a slob and he’s a neat freak” (Warner, 2014). Rhimes’ “naturalization of race” (Warner, 2014) of the series is intentional. It is evident to viewers that race has little value within the walls of the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, in comparison with the other racially-neutral aspects of the show, including sex (Warner, 2014). More generally, Rhimes has created a medical drama that seeks to reassure us that in matters of life and death, it really is not important who gives the kiss of life as long as someone does (Hallam, 2009).
Furthermore, Grey’s was one of the first shows to depict Black/Asian interracial relationships. In specific reference to Burke and Yang’s relationship, in an interview with Marie Claire Magazine, Rhimes states: “I think that issues of race are a large conversation that people project on a relationship, but for the two people in it, that’s not the primary thing on their mind” (Washington, 2012). Serving as an additional example, Meredith, Izzie, George, and Alex are not only male or female; they are white. Cristina serves as a unique member of a racialized minority group. Central, successful characters include African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans (Washington, 2012). For example, Cristina’s character bio on the Grey’s Anatomy website describes her as “competitive, ambitious, intelligent” (Jubas, 2013). The minority characters of Grey’s Anatomy may serve to affirm the aspirations of audience members of marginalized groups, as is evidently desired by Shonda Rhimes (Jubas, 2013).
Unequivocally, Grey’s Anatomy serves as an interesting and unique portrayal of modern day television. ABC Inc.’s acquisition of Grey’s truly served its purpose in their business strategy: to expand entertainment horizons. It is indubitable that the concepts of identity, gender and race directly relate to the complex world within the walls of Seattle Grace Hospital. Shonda Rhimes’ use of “race blind” casting for the series advocates for neoliberalism, as well as her social and political opinions. Moreover, “the stripping down of cultural identity in favor of fitting the series within the confines of a racially normative standard is precisely why Grey’s Anatomy has and will continue to succeed” (Jubas, 2013). Lastly, it is evident that the show challenges and confirms social identities and inequalities. Today’s society and television are most certainly part of a post-racial network.