“Yesterday, Seattle reported 345 more cases, 29 deaths. Test positivity rate has increased, so we should prepare for more patients… 53 of the 79 ventilators are currently in use…”
That’s not a status report from Seattle’s mayor but part of an opening sequence in last week’s Grey’s Anatomy, as doctors at the fictional Seattle Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital gathered for their morning briefing.
While there are hundreds of reasons people turn to television (fine, make it 101 since Saved the Bell is back these days), no reason is more universal than using TV as an escape.
When we turn on TV, we escape from our troubles and own lives by being transported to a fictional world to hang out with our fictional friends.
Even in 2020, we can escape from this terrible year by sitting back and relaxing on the couch watching the tube (or your giant flat screen) and finding a happy place.
So why visit our “escape” location if it continually reminds us of Covid and heartbreak and loss? Is this just another extension of our doomscrolling culture to watch angst in the few moments we’re not actively seeking it out on the Twittersphere?
The more I heard about how many shows would make Covid an aspect of the storylines this summer, the more nervous I became. I’m not thrilled with the concept of TV shows reminding us about Covid. From Law & Order SVU (where mask mandates are followed about as well as they are in the US Senate) to This is Us, Blackish, New Amsterdam, NCIS: New Orleans, and Shameless, many shows have focused or are expected to continue to focus on Covid within their arcs this season.
But I am happy to admit that, at least when it came to Grey’s Anatomy, I was totally wrong.
Grey’s Anatomy commands a considerable audience (6 million live viewers and a few million more within a week of DVR usage)–as well as millions of fans who continue to watch (and rewatch) previous seasons. So perhaps there is no show more important in our lexicon of medical shows or maybe among current dramas on television to help us confront the horrors of Covid.
But can a show dedicating a season to Coronavirus stories truly be entertaining? And should it be?
The answer is a resounding yes.
Just like any good tragedy (which alleviates some of the darkness by having comedic or inspirational moments), Grey’s is succeeding on the screen this year by following an age-old truism: Give the viewer what they want.
And without even knowing just how much they were needed, Grey’s has brought back old characters for brief visits that are endearing and impactful: Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and George O’Malley (T.R. Knight), whose characters were killed off in dramatic, traumatizing onscreen deaths years ago.
The decision to bring back past stars is no ratings trick: it’s integral to the plot of Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) suffering from Covid. The idea of Covid-induced dreams is an important one (Chris Cuomo referenced his fever-induced dreams on CNN months ago) and it also serves as a perfect place to bring Americans some holiday-time joy. You can practically sing along in your head: On the first day of Christmas, Grey’s Anatomy gave to me: three romantic glances from McDreamy, two friendship pep-talks from O’Malley and a Meredith walking on a fake beach. (Okay, it may not quite be the next Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas is You,” but for TV drama fans it may as well be.)
What else do we need in 2020 when we have Patrick Dempsey and T.R. Knight returning home, even if it’s brief?
Grey’s is not the first show to have characters decide between life and death through interactions with characters who have previously died–but it’s clear they understand the trope and are simply using it to have conversations about life, love, and the past.
Take this example from last week:
George: “You got great kids.”
Meredith: “They’re the best….You didn’t meet them.”
George: “I check in sometimes.”
It’s upbeat and conversational, like two friends talking who haven’t seen each other in a long time. In Meredith’s purgatory-type dreamland, the writing can be soapy and melodramatic at moments. But what aspect of popular television isn’t?
Of course, even though the title character is struggling to survive and is having meaningful dreams that are helping determine her fate, there are many other plots involving Covid. There are doctors learning new safety protocols but agonizing over not being able to truly get close to the patients they care for. We see doctors breaking down over not having equipment or the ability to save Covid patients. We see doctors self-isolating and not being able to see their loved ones. There are moments that mimic reality too much: Meredith knowing if her Covid worsens someone else will have to make end-of-life decisions, as Dr. Weber (James Pickens Jr.) struggles with being her healthcare proxy while her colleagues fight to get her into a clinical trial. Then there’s Dr. Koracik isolating alone with Covid before seemingly becoming critically ill the previews for next week. And in a quietly moving moment, we’ve seen a new crop of medical students being told it’s okay to be afraid. While the burden of these stories are on the viewer–they represent an important reality about the world in 2020.
The Emmys have turned a blind eye when it comes to Grey’s in recent years, but how anyone can say Chandra Wilson, who plays Miranda Bailey, and Pickens Jr.’s Weber don’t deserve accolades for their work. And the Emmys, still struggling with diversity (9 of the 10 supporting actor/actress nominations from dramas last year were white), shouldn’t search for obscure streaming shows to find exceptional African-American actors. Everyone who has watched Grey’s for years knows they grace TV every Thursday at 9pm on ABC.
While critics have been slow to recognize Grey’s importance this year, the viewing public has not: Audiences themselves last month crowned Grey’s Anatomy “Show of the Year, 2020” at the People’s Choice Awards. And Meredith herself? Ellen Pompeo won “Female TV Star of 2020” honors. (Pompeo had last won this in 2016). Not too shabby for a show that’s been on for fifteen years.
But seeing the heartache of patients dying–families grieving–hospitals and doctors struggling to just hold on another day may be resonating with viewers for another reason. In many ways, these images and situations help us grieve–grieve for the real-life doctors who must endure this today, grieve for a nation lost in a pandemic, and grieve for ourselves.
It’s not doomscrolling. It’s something else. In 330 B.C., Aristotle called this catharsis: our need to purge strong or repressed emotions at a tragedy’s end so we could move on.
In Ancient Greece, the audience did this by watching Antigone and Medea and Oedipus Rex. Two thousand years later, we do this by watching Grey’s Anatomy.
“Some grief is heavier than other grief,” George told Meredith last week. While Meredith told him he sounded like a fortune cookie, it may be a successful mantra for 2020. And while pain, loss, and recovery are thematic concepts we have always experienced when watching Grey’s, it’s even more fitting we are quarantined with this show on TV in 2020.
The ending voice over last week featured Meredith telling us, “So find your people. Keep them close. Because when you’re at your lowest, those people get you through.”
America is at its lowest right now. Grey’s Anatomy just may be the best life support we have.
