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50 Things You Never Knew About the Making of 'Grey's Anatomy'

Country Living

April 30, 2021 at 2:57 PM

50 Things You Never Knew About the Making of 'Grey's Anatomy'

Shonda Rhimes' first inspiration for the show came from the Discovery Channel

And the second stroke of genius came from a doctor shaving her legs

The show's original setting was not Seattle

And the show's original name was not 'Grey's Anatomy'

Meredith Grey's home is a real house

Isaiah Washington originally auditioned for the role of Derek Shepherd

Dr. Karev wasn't in the original script

Sandra Oh was supposed to audition for the role of Miranda Bailey

But she told the directors and producers that she would rather audition for Christina

Ellen Pompeo didn't audition for the part of Meredith Grey

Rhimes was very intentional about including interns

Rhimes didn't have a specific image in mind for each of the characters

...Except for Miranda Bailey

So Chandra Wilson didn't think she could audition for the part

Patrick Dempsey didn't know his character was married until the middle of Season 1

And Pompeo didn't know until the end of Season 1

Real surgeons are brought in for the surgery scenes

The organs used are real

Addison Shepherd was only supposed to be on for a couple of episodes

Patrick Dempsey thought Shonda Rhimes hated him

Katherine Heigl shares a lot in common with her character

Ellen Pompeo said the best thing about kissing Patrick Dempsey is the lack of guilt

At the start of the series, Justin Chambers had five kids and a wife of ten years

Katherine Heigl read one full book every day on set

T.R. Knight was the funny one on set

The cast follows real-life doctors

Kate Walsh thought Derek and Addison should have been together

James Pickens lassos in his free time on set

A lot of the medical stories are adapted from real-life events

Isaiah Washington was fired from the show for using a homophobic slur

A couple years after Katherine Heigl left the show, she expressed interest in returning

T.R. Knight left 'Grey's' after a significant decrease in George's screen time

Chyler Leigh spent two days under a plane filming the last episode

Jessica Capshaw didn't originally audition for the part of Arizona

Kevin McKidd auditioned for 'Grey's' years before he got the part of Owen

When Ellen Pompeo was pregnant in season 6, the writers figured out a way to hide it

Her character may have gone to Harvard, but Chyler Leigh decided not to finish high school

Shonda Rhimes wrote in Bailey's signature phrase after hearing someone use it on set

The writers had to get creative about the check Denny gave Izzy

The Post-it note prop was built on-screen

Red Jell-O is used for blood on the show

Jesse Williams was a teacher before starring on 'Grey's'

Sarah Drew was actually pregnant at the same time as her character

The actors are extremely prepared for their surgery scenes

A double was used in the filming of the musical episode

Sandra Oh was the one who came up with the idea for Christina's can't-stop-crying breakdown

Rhimes didn't want her show to be a melodrama

Every episode is connected by its title

Kevin McKidd and Camilla Luddington both have British accents

Rhimes chooses not to reveal certain aspects of her characters

In the mood to watch it now?

50 Things You Never Knew About the Making of 'Grey's Anatomy'

It's hard to believe that after 17 seasons, there is still so much you don't know about hit Shonda Rhimes series Grey's Anatomy. Here, we've uncovered the most fascinating things that have slipped through the cracks over the years—the stories behind the props, the off-screen drama, and the well-kept secrets you never knew about your favorite characters. Put on your scrubs—this could get messy.

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