'Grey's Anatomy' Star Reveals the Show Had Three Terrible Previous Titles
"Grey's Anatomy" is such a perfect, obvious title, you'd almost think they started with that, and then figured out the rest of the show from there. Instead, Kate Walsh (Dr. Addison Montgomery) told Buzzfeed the show cycled through three previous titles, including one that she really thought was "bullsh*t." (She's not wrong.)
The topic came up when "13 Reasons Why," wondering if she expected the Netflix series to take off the way it did. (Short answer: No.) The site also asked if it was similar at all to when "Grey's Anatomy" really took off. Here's her answer to that:
"With 'Grey's,' I remember because I came in at Episode 8, at that time the morale was really low. They kept changing the name of the show. It was 'Doctors' and then 'Surgeons' and then 'Complications' and I was like, 'What a bullsh*t show title!' 'Grey's Anatomy' is the perfect title. To keep our morale up they started showing us episodes at Friday lunches that were already edited. And I was like, 'This is a really good show' and I was so excited to be a part of it. I was supposed to do a pilot for another sitcom on ABC, and it didn't end up getting picked up and then they called me to be a series regular on 'Grey's' and the world changed. It was stunning right? It was really phenomenal. And that Super Bowl episode! That was what put us into the stratosphere."
It's hard to imagine the show with any other title -- or to think of the morale being so low. But it's clear they had no idea "Grey's" would still be around now, going strong into Season 14 this fall.
Walsh had more to say on her role as Addison, saying her character's big entrance at the end of Season 1 changed her life.
"I got more calls and attention from that 60-second scene than anything in my career before. Isn't that funny? Shonda [Rhimes] is a genius. Everyone hated me, but at that time there was no Twitter. There were chat rooms, but I never really went on them. I kind of liked being the Wicked Witch from the East. Or the wicked bitch. Shonda's really gifted at flipping every character that's seemingly awful. It's a great lesson in how to have compassion for people that you initially hate."
Addison ended up leading the first "Grey's" spinoff, "Private Practice," with the second spinoff coming soon, following Seattle firefighters.
FYI, Walsh also said she hasn't kept up with "Grey's," but when she learned they were killing off Addison's ex Derek (Patrick Dempsey), she was so surprised that she tuned in just for that episode.
"Grey's Anatomy" Season 14 premieres this fall on ABC.
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