[ad_1]
“Meredith has a real fight ahead of her. And… she has this beach. Darkness and light. It’s a powerful season,” showrunner Krista Vernoff told THR.
There is a major reason why Patrick Dempsey returned Grey’s Anatomy: This was part of a massive storyline in which iconic ABC medical drama star Meredith Gray of Ellen Pompeo has COVID-19.
As of Thursday, the second episode of the 17th season of the drama Shondaland (titled “My Happy Ending”), Meredith was hospitalized with COVID-19 as she and her fellow doctors debated treatment plans, including antiviral therapy solutions. Coming in and out of consciousness and frightened if she closed her eyes that she risked dying, Meredith had repeated visions of reuniting with her late husband, Derek Shepherd of Dempsey, on a dreamy beach. The character, wearing a mask throughout the episode, also presented her gift upon admission as she has a medical directive from the DNR. A promo for the next episode – which aired on December 3 – revealed that Meredith was alive but not responding – and that another person from her past would return.
Dempsey, who will continue to breed this season, stunned Grey’s viewers with his surprise return in the Season 17 premiere last week after Derek was killed in the Season 11 finale. The dream sequence indicated that his appearance was in the service of the fight for Meredith for her. life. It should be noted that the storyline for Season 17 began in April, as the series reflects the early days of the pandemic.
The decision to see Meredith fight COVID-19 should be seen as a big deal given that Grey’s Anatomy is ABC’s highest rated drama and one of the most watched on all of television. The series has a global audience and is licensed in over 250 territories around the world. It helps send a powerful, global message about the death of COVID-19 at a time when positivity rates across the world are reaching unprecedented highs. Los Angeles, where Grey’s Anatomy is filmed, setting a new record for positive cases as Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a limited stay-at-home order. (Filming will continue, as entertainment productions are exempt from new orders.)
“Last week we felt the pain of Meredith Gray as a doctor treating an early outbreak of covid patients. This week we start to find out what it is for her to be a covid patient herself,” said showrunner Krista Vernoff. The Hollywood Reporter in a statement Thursday night. “More than 1,700 healthcare workers in the United States have died from the disease to date. Several thousand more have been infected. Healthcare workers are on the front lines of this crisis and are living a war they have not been trained for. We saw an opportunity to dramatize and illuminate their plight through the incredibly beloved and well-known character of Meredith Gray. Doctors and nurses fight for us and fall in love with us. less all we can do is wear a mask, socialize and stay at home as much as possible. Meredith has a real fight ahead of her. And … she has this beach. Darkness and light. It’s a powerful season. Stay tuned.”
Grey’s was one of the first scripted TV shows to stop in March when the novel coronavirus changed the world. Its 16th season was among the shows that were interrupted. Pompeo, when the series returned to production in September, devoted Season 17 to healthcare workers. A month later, Vernoff officially dedicated the season to healthcare workers as a trailer promoting the new season featuring real-life heroes battling the pandemic. “This season, our work is dedicated to healthcare workers who put their lives on the line every day to try to save ours,” said Vernoff, who also oversees pandemic-related fallout scenarios. Station 19. “Wear a mask, save someone else’s life.”
Dempsey’s comeback came as the actor voiced the need to wear a mask. In July, the actor saw an Instagram post go viral in July when he posted a masked selfie captioned with an iconic line from his beloved “McDreamy”: “It’s a beautiful day to save money. lives. “
Vernoff, for his part, has already said Top 5 Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcasts that she initially balked at writing the pandemic in Grey’s but ultimately the writers of the veteran drama convinced her otherwise. “It was really a matter of fatigue,” Vernoff said of his initial thought of not integrating the pandemic into Grey’s. “Being the biggest medical fair and ignoring the biggest medical history of the century was irresponsible for the medical community,” she said. “It was just like we had to tell this story. The conversation became: How do we tell this painful and brutal story that hit our medical community so intensely and permanently changed medicine? And create a certain escape? And create romance. , comedy and joy and fun? That’s the challenge this season. “
Thursday’s episode, in which all medical staff were tested for COVID-19, also saw another surgeon, Tom Koracick (Greg Germann) also tested positive. Another doctor, Maggie (Kelly McCreary) broke down as she said she had lost more than 50 patients – many of whom were black women – and told of the pain of seeing people die without their loved ones nearby.
[ad_2]
Source link