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Welcome to Remote Controlled, a podcast of Variety featuring the best and the brightest on television, both in front of and behind the camera.
In this week's episode, Variety TV editor Debra Birnbaum talks to Krista Vernoff, the presenter of "Gray's Anatomy", who returned for her 15th season on Thursday.
Listen to this week's podcast for free and on Apple podcasts:
Vernoff was in the writers' room for the first seven seasons of the series, and he returned last season as a showrunner. Taking the reins, she says that she wanted to bring back some of the "comical teeth" that she had refined during her stint on "Shameless" in "Gray's". "The series had become a much darker and more serious drama," she says. "Now it's time to bring back the light. The government has become black, people need help. So I came to bring joy, comedy and light.
She also had to make "complicated and difficult" decisions, including releasing two stars of the series, Jessica Capshaw and April Drew. "We had 14 regulars in the series, and that's an unmanageable number for the playoffs," she says. "Nothing has time to land. This was not manageable.
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The move triggered a reaction on Twitter, which Vernoff admits hit hard, because she really took it personally. But then she spoke to executive producer John Wells ("shamelessly"), whom she credits as a mentor, and Shonda Rhimes, who advised her to stay out of Twitter to "stay healthy." to be a catch-22 because you want to engage with the fans. You want them to support the show. You want to lead the conversation, "she says. "But it is also very difficult to live in this space when the negativity begins to return. I love fans … and I like to engage with them. I think that is one of the joys. "
"None of that was easy, but I think it's good and I have to stand in the middle of the storm," she says.
Vernoff, who also runs "Gray's" for the first time this season, says producer-director-director Debbie Allen has pushed her to take turns behind the camera. "I have a theory that part of the reason she wanted me to lead is to make me a little more of a friendly showrunner for the directors," Vernoff says. "You have a lot of opinions in the village. Why not get on the chair and see what it looks like? "
The cast enjoyed watching her try out a different set of skills on the set, she said. "They all seem very amused and delighted. It's fun, she says. "They give me some lessons over there, but most of all they really support me."
This season, she promises, will be more of a romantic comedy, while Meredith will find a new boyfriend, Karev will become the new Acting Surgical Chief, the Love Triangle between Owen, Amelia and Teddy will become more complicated, and a story of love. The first openly gay male surgeon of the show, Dr. Nico Kim (Alex Landi), is introduced. "It's sexy. It's funny. It moves. It's deep. It's fun, she says. "And I will say delicious."
New episodes of Remote Controlled are available every Friday. Subscribe to iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or wherever you download podcasts. You can find past episodes here and on Apple podcasts.
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