Gray’s Anatomy is one of the world’s most beloved TV series – but it almost never made it onto screens.
The ABC show, written by Shonda Rhimes, is now the longest-running medical drama in history, having piloted back in 2005. However, bosses at the network almost turned it down, believing the show wouldn’t have mass appeal.
“I remember getting called into a room full of old men to tell me that the show was a problem,” Rhimes previously said on The 9-5ish with theSkimm podcast. “They said that nobody was gonna watch a show about a woman who would sleep with a man the night before her first day of work, and they were dead serious.”
Now, however, the show continues to be ever-popular with viewers and Rhimes is a household name, having also penned Scandal and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Explaining her success, a writer and fan took to X to share the simple formula that makes Rhimes’ shows
“From unemployed scriptwriter in Hollywood, she is now worth $240m,” he said of Rhimes. “Her storytelling is why Netflix gave her a $450m deal.”
Speaking of Gray’s Anatomy, he said: “16.25m viewers tuned in for the pilot. This wasn’t luck – it was science.”
The fan went on to explain that Rhimes appears to follow 10 storytelling rules. The first is to “start in the middle of the story.” “Look at the Grey’s pilot: We meet Meredith Grey waking up after a one-night stand, late for her first day as a surgeon,” the fan said. “No backstory. No setup. Just drama. This hooks viewers instantly.”
Next, the fan said Rhimes and her writers “write what [they] want to watch” and use Rhimes’ “character creation framework”, which involves giving the characters secrets, making them flawed, and forcing them to grow through impossible choices.
Fourth and fifth on the list of rules, Rhimes “makes every scene count,” and “focuses on specifics,” according to the X user. He added Rhimes follows a “dialogue principle” that means “characters should never say what they’re actually feeling.”
He added: “Rhimes’s world-building secret: Create a ‘shorthand universe’ – specific phrases that become part of culture.” In Gray’s Anatomy, he said this was the phrase “my person.”
“Every 6-8 episodes, [Rhimes] completely changes the narrative,” he added. Rhimes’ penultimate ‘rule’ was all about casting, with the fan writing that she “[casts] actors who can make viewers feel.”
Finally, the fan outlined Rhimes’ pacing rule, which he said was: “Move 3x faster than you think you should.” “In Scandal, plots that would last a full season on other shows were resolved in single episodes,” he said. “This creates addictive momentum.”
In the comments, people were quick to comment on Rhimes’ success and how much they loved the show. One person wrote: “Watched Grey’s Anatomy of 17 seasons… with 32 episodes each… 1 hour long… in just 5 months. Can confirm her story telling is addicting.”
“Storytelling is the ultimate currency,” commented another.
This post was originally published on here
