50 Fun Facts About Hard Grey's Anatomy

Before broadcast, ABC discussed changing the show's title from Grey's Anatomy to what?

The change never happened. The title puns on Henry Gray's 1858 textbook, which is still in print.

Which is the only Grey's Anatomy episode not titled after a song?

The title is the National Domestic Violence Hotline number, though a song by that name did exist. Every other episode borrows a song title.

Which 2002 film did Shonda Rhimes keep citing when describing the actress she wanted for Meredith Grey?

Rhimes said she kept asking for 'that girl from Moonlight Mile' until the casting team simply got Ellen Pompeo herself.

Bailey was written as 'a tiny blonde'. Which actress made Rhimes declare 'she is exactly who Miranda is'?

The show used colour-blind casting, so Bailey was the only character conceived with a physical description at all.

What hair colour did the actress cast as Izzie Stevens want before being asked to stay blonde?

She won an Emmy for the role in 2007, then left in season six after not returning from maternity leave.

Where are most of Grey's Anatomy's hospital exteriors actually filmed?

Most other scenes use six sound stages at Prospect Studios in Los Feliz. Some outdoor scenes are shot at Seattle's Warren G. Magnuson Park.

How many viewers watched Grey's Anatomy's post-Super Bowl XL episode, still its most-watched?

Guest stars Christina Ricci and Kyle Chandler both earned Emmy nominations for the bomb-in-a-body-cavity two-parter.

In the bomb episode, how did the patient end up with unexploded ammunition inside his chest?

The hospital went to Code Black while Derek and Cristina kept operating on Bailey's husband Tucker in the next OR.

Grey's Anatomy was TV's most expensive show for advertisers in 2007-08. What did 30 seconds cost?

Only Desperate Housewives, Two and a Half Men and American Idol earned more ad revenue that year.

Which British duo's track 'Cosy in the Rocket' provided the main title theme for the first two seasons?

It appears on the first soundtrack album, released by Hollywood Records in September 2005. Five soundtrack volumes had been issued by 2011.

Why did season four have only 17 episodes?

Production stopped from February to April with no writing staff. The season opened with the special 'Come Rain or Shine' to launch Private Practice.

Which original cast member, fired after season 3, guest-starred in season 10?

His contract was terminated after an on-set altercation in which he allegedly used a slur against Knight.

Which two-part season six finale featured a shooting spree by grieving widower Gary Clark?

Michael O'Neill played Clark. Residents Reed Adamson and Charles Percy were killed, and the second hour drew 16.13 million viewers.

Where were the exterior scenes of the season eight plane crash in 'Flight' filmed?

The episode killed Lexie Grey and marked Chyler Leigh's last regular appearance, though she returned as a guest in season 17.

Besides Lexie's death, 'Flight' also saw Miranda Bailey get engaged and Owen Hunt fire whom?

Meanwhile Richard Webber was preparing his annual dinner for the departing residents. The episode drew 11.44 million viewers.

The musical episode 'Song Beneath the Song' was built around which two characters after a car crash?

It was the 144th episode and aired in March 2011. Rhimes had wanted a musical episode since before the show even had a title.

'How to Save a Life', the episode in which Derek dies, was episode number what in the series overall?

It was Rhimes' first script since the season 8 finale. Derek was pronounced brain-dead after an understaffed hospital delayed his CT scan.

Which doctor, introduced in Derek's final episode, was blamed by fans for the delays that killed him?

Samantha Sloyan played her, and the character later turned up as a resident at Grey Sloan, to Meredith's horror.

Who directed the pilot 'A Hard Day's Night' and earned an Emmy nomination for it?

Meredith's first case was Katie Bryce, a teenage pageant contestant with unexplained seizures.

Meredith Grey is a graduate of which college?

Rhimes attended the same college. Meredith left for Europe after graduating and was called home when Ellis developed early-onset Alzheimer's.

Which fertility problem does Meredith learn she has when she and Derek try for a baby?

She later tampered with Derek's Alzheimer's trial to help Adele Webber, endangering the whole study.

Sandra Oh won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for Cristina Yang in which year?

She had originally auditioned for Bailey. Cristina's early arc included an ectopic pregnancy and a burst fallopian tube.

After Preston Burke was shot and left with a tremor, what did Cristina secretly do?

Webber eventually confronted her and she confessed to operating in his place.

Alex Karev graduated from which state's university before Seattle Grace?

Alex was born Alex Evans. He confided in Izzie about his father's heroin addiction and abuse.

Alex Karev served six months as interim Chief of Surgery while Bailey was on what?

That was the season 15 premiere. He left in season 16 to reunite with Izzie and their children in the episode 'Leave a Light On'.

Izzie Stevens left which Washington town at 18 after giving up a daughter for adoption?

She paid for medical school by modelling lingerie, which Alex mocked in the pilot. She had privately named the baby before the adoptive parents chose Hannah.

Which cast member is the only one to have won an individual acting Emmy for the show?

She took Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama at the 2007 ceremony, then famously withdrew from consideration the following year.

Before his death, George O'Malley had surprised everyone by deciding to do what?

Owen Hunt had encouraged his talent for trauma surgery. His friends only realised the disfigured 'John Doe' was George when he traced 007 on Meredith's hand.

Why did T. R. Knight say he left the show after season five?

He had earned an Emmy nomination in 2007. Heigl's non-return from maternity leave was reported directly after his exit.

How large is Addison Montgomery's trust fund?

Her father is nicknamed 'The Captain' and her mother is Bizzy. Addison holds board certifications in OB/GYN and maternal-fetal medicine.

Private Practice's clinic was renamed during the run. What was its original name?

The spin-off ran six seasons from 2007 to 2013; the last was the only one without Tim Daly.

Who created the second spin-off, Station 19?

It premiered in March 2018 and ended after seven seasons in 2024. Jason George's Ben Warren crossed over from the hospital to the firehouse.

Which Shonda Rhimes show, alongside Grey's and Private Practice, was her third drama to reach 100 episodes?

She created and ran Scandal from 2012 to 2018; she executive-produced but did not create How to Get Away with Murder and Bridgerton.

Mark Sloan told Meredith he had been married before. What had happened to his wife?

The reveal came in the episode 'Yesterday'. Sloan died in the season nine premiere after a brief rally known as 'the surge'.

Lexie Grey's nickname 'Lexipedia' came from what trait?

Her secret relationship with the much older Mark Sloan earned her another nickname, 'Little Grey'.

What are Callie Torres's full first and middle names?

Sara Ramirez was originally contracted as a recurring character. Callie lost a custody battle over Sofia before moving to New York.

Callie's storyline with which cardiothoracic surgeon was cut for 'a lack of chemistry'?

Brooke Smith played Hahn. Rhimes was far happier with the chemistry between Callie and Arizona Robbins.

Jessica Capshaw was originally contracted for how many episodes as Arizona Robbins?

She became a regular in season six and stayed ten seasons before she and Sarah Drew were let go in 2018 for 'creative' reasons.

Arizona Robbins is known for wearing wheeled sneakers and a scrub cap featuring which character?

The look was meant to appeal to her young patients as chief of pediatric surgery.

April Kepner and Jackson Avery's son Samuel died of which condition?

Their daughter is Harriet. April was born in Columbus, Ohio, the second of four daughters of a teacher and a farmer.

Which actor plays Jackson's absent father Robert Avery?

Jackson's mother Catherine, played by Debbie Allen, raised him alone; his grandfather Harper Avery gave his name to the award.

In the show's 400th episode, what was revealed about Jackson and April?

The pair had left Seattle to run the Catherine Fox Foundation. Jackson was introduced in the season six episode 'Invasion' from Mercy West.

What military rank did Owen Hunt hold as a US Army trauma surgeon?

Kevin McKidd's character first appeared performing a tracheotomy with a pen, and initially turned down Webber's job offer to finish his tour in Iraq.

Amelia Shepherd was first introduced on Private Practice as a visitor to whom?

Caterina Scorsone joined Grey's as a regular in season 11 after Private Practice ended in January 2013.

Miranda Bailey is a graduate of which college?

She married Tucker Jones ten years before the series began and gave birth to their son during the bomb scare.

Richard Webber married his wife Adele on which day?

Adele, played by Loretta Devine, knew all along about his affair with Ellis Grey but stayed. In season 17 he became Chief of Chiefs of the Catherine Fox Foundation.

Which season 19 intern is revealed to be a nephew of Derek and Amelia Shepherd?

The same season saw Meredith move to Boston to work on an Alzheimer's cure and Maggie Pierce leave for Chicago.

Which original cast members were still with the show by season 19?

The original nine included Heigl, Chambers, Knight, Washington, Oh and Dempsey. Pompeo, Oh and Dempsey were among TV's five highest-earning actors in 2013.

Which season-nine intern is electrocuted in the season-ten premiere while trying to help Webber?

Heather Brooks (Tina Majorino) finds Webber in the hospital basement, steps in a puddle and is electrocuted.

What is the name of the bar across the street from the hospital, owned by Joe?

Joe (Steven W. Bailey) runs the Emerald City Bar and Grill, the doctors' regular hangout.