Station 19


Station 19 is an American action-drama television series created by Stacy McKee for ABC that premiered on March 22, 2018. It is the second spin-off of Grey's Anatomy. Set in Seattle, the series focuses on the lives of the men and women at Seattle Fire Station 19. It stars Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon, Barrett Doss, Alberto Frezza, Jay Hayden, Okieriete Onaodowan, Danielle Savre, and Miguel Sandoval.
McKee, Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, and Paris Barclay serve as executive producers on the series. It is produced by Shondaland and ABC Studios, with McKee serving as showrunner for its first two seasons, later replaced by Krista Vernoff since season three.
In May 2017, the spin-off received a series order from ABC. Ortiz was cast in July 2017, and the cast was filled out by October. Filming for the series takes place primarily in Los Angeles. In May 2018, ABC renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on October 4, 2018. In May 2019, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on January 23, 2020. In March 2020, ABC renewed the series for a fourth season to air during the 2020–21 television season.

Premise

The series follows a group of heroic firefighters of the Seattle Fire Department at Station 19 from the captain down the ranks to the newest recruit in their personal and professional lives.

Cast and characters

Main

Backdoor pilot (2018)

For the backdoor pilot, "No. overall" and "No. in season" refer to the episode's place in the order of episodes of the parent series Grey's Anatomy.

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2018–19)

Season 3 (2020)

Production

Development

On May 16, 2017, ABC chief Channing Dungey announced at ABC's upfront presentation that the network had given a straight-to-series order for a second Grey's Anatomy spin-off. Stacy McKee, a long-term Grey's writer and executive producer, will serve as showrunner and executive producer, with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers also serving as executive producers. The series, which would be set in a Seattle firehouse, would follow the lives of a group of firefighters. The order consisted of 10 episodes. When announcing the series, Dungey said, "No one can interweave the jeopardy firefighters face in the line of duty with the drama in their personal lives quite like Shonda, and Grey's signature Seattle setting is the perfect backdrop for this exciting spinoff." Patrick Moran, president at ABC Studios, added that "We talked about the elements of Grey's Anatomy that seem to resonate with the audience—emotional storytelling, deep human connection, a high-stakes environment and strong and empowered women—and those elements will carry over to the spinoff." In July 2017, Paris Barclay signed on to the series as producing director and executive producer. In January 2018, it was announced that Ellen Pompeo had renewed her contract to portray Meredith Grey through season 16 of Grey's, in addition to becoming a producer on the show and a co-executive producer on the spin-off. Later that month, ABC announced that the series would be titled Station 19.
An episode of Grey's Anatomy, originally planned to air in fall 2017 but instead set to air in March 2018, will serve as a backdoor pilot for the series. The backdoor pilot episode will feature the introduction of the lead character of the spin-off, Andy Herrera, "as a story within the episode" and "showcase a really lovely story for Ben, where we get to just juxtapose his two worlds and see his reaction as he transitions from one world to the next".
On May 11, 2018, ABC renewed the series for a second season. The second season premiered on October 4, 2018. On October 19, 2018, it was announced that ABC had ordered a full season for the second season. On May 10, 2019, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on January 23, 2020. On March 11, 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season to air during the 2020–21 television season.

Casting

On July 26, 2017, Jaina Lee Ortiz was cast as the female lead, Andrea "Andy" Herrera. In September 2017, it was announced that Jason George, who has played Dr. Ben Warren since season 6 of Grey's Anatomy, would be leaving the series to join the spin-off as a series regular. On October 6, 2017, Grey Damon was cast as Lieutenant Jack Gibson, Jay Hayden as Travis Montgomery, Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller, Danielle Savre as Maya Bishop, and Barrett Doss as Victoria "Vic" Hughes. They were shortly followed by Miguel Sandoval as Captain Pruitt Herrera, and Alberto Frezza as police officer, Ryan Tanner.

Filming

Filming for the first season began on October 18, 2017, and concluded on April 2, 2018. Filming for the series takes place primarily in Los Angeles; additional filming for the series takes place in Seattle. The station in Station 19 is based on Seattle's Station 20, located in its Queen Anne neighborhood.

Release

Broadcast

Station 19 began airing on March 22, 2018, on ABC in the United States. CTV acquired the broadcast rights for Canada. Sky Living acquired the rights to air the series in the UK and Ireland.

Marketing

In early December 2017, Entertainment Weekly released first look images of the series.

Reception

Ratings

Overall

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 65% approval rating with an average rating of 6.0/10 based on 17 reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Accolades