‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Plans to Talk About Coronavirus in New Season
Medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" will include coronavirus, the biggest medical crisis in recent decades, for its 17th season. It will be added to the many timely social issues the show has faced in previous seasons.
Previously, the "Grey's Anatomy" fictional hospital Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital had talked about social issues like racism, homelessness, rape and deportation. Now, the show's executive producer announced on Tuesday that coronavirus will be added to the list.
Executive producer Krista Vernoff said coronavirus will be addressed "for sure" on the show. She added that it's impossible that "Grey's Anatomy," a long-running medical show, will not talk about the "medical story of our lifetimes," the CBS News reported.
In a Television Academy panel that began streaming on Tuesday, she detailed that Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and her colleagues will face the medical and human impacts of the coronavirus, the USA Today reported. The stream also featured Chandra Wilson (Dr. Miranda Bailey) and Kevin McKidd (Dr. Owen Hunt).
Vernoff said they are planning to build the story, while specifically talking about McKidd's character Dr. Hunt, who is a former U.S. Army trauma surgeon. The character is more trained over the other doctors, so he does play a significant role.
McKidd said it is important to reflect on the status of the virus and the society as it is now through their show. He believed it "puts up a mirror" to the happenings in the United States and the world.
No Filming Yet
Filming for the new season has not started yet due to the pandemic, but Vernoff said they are making sure the show's humor and romance remain despite the need to tell the painful stories.
Writers are now working on the scripts for the new season. Vernoff noted that with the painful stories of the doctors, it made their writing process really different.
Grey's Anatomy
They consult doctors even during earlier seasons. It is in fact an annual tradition for the show writers. But the emotions that come from the actors made the experience different for them.
There haven't been specific stories revealed during the panel, but it's clear that life-and-death decisions will be involved as real doctors were forced to face these kinds of decisions.
Consulting Real Doctors
Vernoff said the show writers are working with real doctors to find out how much coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected health care. She stressed how painful it was to hear the stories straight from the doctors.
"It's really painful to realize what they're going through on a daily basis," Vernoff said.
She noted that unlike their usual consultations with the real doctors in their stories, talking to the doctors about COVID-19 "felt more like therapy," a report from the Entertainment Weekly said.
Vernoff said the doctors come in to talk to them and they are the first people they get to discuss their experiences with.
"They are literally shaking and trying not to cry, they're pale, and they're talking about it as war - a war that they were not trained for," she said.
The producer felt like it was an opportunity and a responsibility to tell the doctors' stories.
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