EXPLORE All The Shades of Grey

In response to your pleas, here are some answers to the questions y'all seem to ask most. They are in random order but 'hope it helps!

When will the Season 2 DVD be released?
The Season 2 DVD will be released on September 12, 2006.

On the DVD, what does "uncut" mean?
There were several episodes that aired in Season 2 that, were it not for the fact that we only have 42 minutes and 30 seconds of air time, would have been longer. And they were good longer - some of them were even better longer. There were also some moments in episodes that we had to delete because of the rules of Broadcast Standards and Practices. Nothing too racy but perhaps more racy than what is usually shown on television. We go to battle with the extremely kind people at BS&P and sometimes, we lose. Those important moments we lost are restored in the DVD versions of the episodes.

Is it possible ever to see the writers breaking story in the writers' room?
Our writers' room is super-secret, incredibly crazy, sacred place. It is Narnia. It is Oz. It is�well, some other place it's really difficult to get into. In that room, we talk, we laugh, we eat a LOT of cupcakes, we jog on the treadmill to burn off those cupcakes and most importantly, we come up with the story lines for the season and for each episode. No one gets in. Not the press, not the actors and -- I'm sorry -- not you. You might have heard that I am obsessive about secrecy. It's true. I am.

When does Season 3 production start? And when is the Season 3 premiere?
Season Three production starts NOW. Like, we're shooting the first episode now. The new season's premiere air date has not yet been officially set by the network. But we air Thursday nights at 9 pm and I'm guessing you'll start seeing promo ads with the air date very soon.

Can you tell us anything about your new show with Jeffrey Dean Morgan?
No. Again, I'm obsessive about secrecy. You'll just have to wait�

Will you be blogging over the summer?
I do love to blog with you all. I really do. But I'm gonna be spending the summer writing episodes and so, until we air again, you probably won't be hearing from me. Wait. Just now, I had an idea. We (the writers) can blog the first season reruns of Grey's Anatomy the same way we blogged the second season.

Will the show ever appear on iTunes?
Honestly, I'm not sure. I'll find out and get back to you.

Why has the show moved to Thursday nights?
Here's what I was told by Steve McPherson, the head of ABC: Grey's is a strong show that can stand on its own in the 9 o'clock hour. Thursday night is a big night for television and the network would like to see Grey's compete on that night. Here's what I say: Thursday nights rock. I love 9 pm because it means I can stay up and watch my own show. And I think it's kinda awesome that Steve and the network have that kind of confidence in our show.

Where do you get the characters' names?
A couple of names were thought up by other writers. Kip Koenig came up with the name Denny Duquette. But, mostly, I make up the character's names. They pop out of my head. And then ABC legal checks the names to make sure that, say, there's no surgical interns named Meredith Grey in Seattle. If they clear the name, we use it. If not, I keep thinking. I can tell you that I came up with the name Finn and when searching for a last name, I glanced up to my wall and saw the movie poster for the movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" which hangs over my sofa - and thus, Finn Dandridge was born.

When is the first year of residency over?
On our show, the first year of residency will be over sometime near the end of Season Three or the beginning of Season Four. Our show is odd in that an episode may air that is actually in real time only moments after the last episode ended. So much less than a year of time has passed on the show since the pilot aired. And I wanted to honor that.

How can we (the posters) write YOU?
I read your responses to the blogs. All of them. Write me here.

Who writes the other blogs?
Joe the Bartender's blog is written by my assistant Chris Van Dusen. Nurse Debbie's blog is written by show writer Stacy McKee. And the medical blog is written by research director Elizabeth Klaviter.

Will there be another podcast?
YES. YES! We love the podcasts. We love podcasting. Podcasting is crazy fun. So absolutely, yes!

How much input do you (Shonda) have on the editing?
I have incredible, smart, funny editors. And they are kind enough to allow me to sit behind them in the editing room and scream and complain and whine and make all kinds of changes. Editing is my favorite place to hang out. To me, the shows are truly shaped in editing and I enjoy being a part of it.

How much of the back story of each character have you already determined? And, have you ever written yourself into a corner where you wish you had done something different with a character's back story?
Back stories for characters have been planned from Day One. And we write ourselves into corners all the time. It's part of what I love about the show. Every season, we paint ourselves into crazy corners and then we sit down and figure out how to get ourselves out.

How do you pick the song titles for the episodes?
Each writer picks his or her own song title. Each writer has their own sensibility and, part of writing an episode, is choosing a song that fits both the show and the personality of the writer writing the episode.

Will there be a Season 2 soundtrack?
Yes. And it's going to have great songs on it. Executive producer Betsy Beers, music supervisor Alex Patsavas and I are busy choosing the song list right now.

Are the character bios going to be updated soon?
Yes. The bios will be updated before the premiere of Season Three.

In your eyes, how long do you see the show lasting?
As long as they'll let me air it. Seriously. I love these characters. I love spending time with them. I can't imagine letting them go.

How long does it take to write an episode versus how long it takes to shoot an episode?
Writing is an interesting process. First there's the time we take planning the season and each episode. That can take weeks. Then there's the time each writer takes to write an episode. Some people write slowly, carefully going over each line and word. Some spend a long time with the episode in their head and then barf it out onto the page quickly. Me? I'm a barf writer. But both ways result in great episodes. We shoot the episodes in 8 days. 8 fast, furious, exhausting days for the crew and the actors.

Can we see a floor plan of Seattle Grace?
I'll ask the production designers if that is possible and get back to you.

Will you or Peter Horton ever make a guest appearance on the show?
I'm not an actor. I don't pretend to be. Acting is serious business and requires this thing called talent. I don't have talent. None. So you're never going to see me in an episode. Now, Horton is a real, honest to God, actor. He's chock full of acting talent. So I'm not ruling him out. But I have tried to cast him in the show before. I tried to get him to play Derek and Addison's marriage counselor. But Peter truly prefers to direct these days and so I have to work on him�

How involved are you in directing each episode?
Wonderful directors come and give their all to directing the episodes. I have what is called a story meeting where I tell them what is in my head, what I imagine. And then I step back and let them do their thing. Directing is a supremely creative process - honoring the vision of the directors is part of the fun of making the show.

Can you give us more information on Jeffrey Dean Morgan?
I can tell you the important stuff -- he's very nice, truly talented and more than a little bit dreamy in real life.

Why are you nervous for Mer and Der?
Because they had sex. And Derek is married. And Finn has plans.

Does Meredith's locker keep changing?
Yes and THANK YOU for noticing. I'm obsessed with it. That locker�it changed and changed and changed. I thought I was crazy but finally Bossy McBossy Rob Corn noticed it too, confirmed I was sane and fixed it.

How is it possible that Callie actually lives in the hospital? Will Callie ever sing on an episode? Is Callie a regular character now? Can we see where Richard or Alex lives? Is McSteamy ever returning to the show? Will we see more of Thatcher next season? Can we have more of Richard's back story? Is Cristina's mom ever coming back? Can we have something on Alex's family situation? Is Izzie really leaving the show? What will happen to Izzie? Why didn't Thatcher ever check up on his daughter?
Wait and see. Wait and see. Wait and see. Okay, at this point, you probably want to throw things at me but I can't tell you about plot that may or may not be coming.

When will we get background information on Addison and Derek's relationship?
Ooooh - really wait and see.

How did you come up with the idea of "McDreamy?"
Here's a question I can answer. Patrick Dempsey was on the set shooting the pilot of our show. Every day for fourteen hours a day, Betsy Beers and I sat on set watching him. And we like to add "Mc" to things. McTired, McBossy, McSilly. And there was one phrase we kept saying when looking at Dempsey - McDreamy. The man is McDreamy. He is. Look at him. Just look at him. There isn't another word for that kind of sexy gorgeousness. McDreamy.

Are we going to be able to read/see Ellis' diary?
I don't know. I've been considering it. But I wouldn't want anyone else to write it and I don't have a lot of time - I have to focus on the show itself, first and foremost.

How long were Thatcher and Ellis married before she began her affair?
Probably about seven years.

At the end of Season 1, how did Addison already know about Meredith sleeping with Derek?
Richard called her up and told her. That's why she came out. Richard brought her out to Seattle because he didn't like the goings-on between Derek and Meredith. And not because it was an attending and an intern. He didn't like it because he likes Addison and he feels a responsibility to look after Meredith.

Why did Bailey seem so angry when Meredith and Derek slept together, but no one seemed to care that much with Cristina and Burke? Or George and Callie?
Because Meredith and Derek were the first. They broke the taboo. And because they kept it a secret. In addition, Burke and Cristina were honest and went to the Chief - Bailey doesn't like it but she can't do anything about it. Also, there is an issue with interns dating attendings. But Callie's not an attending - she's a resident. That's not a big deal.

Did you write Chandra Wilson's pregnancy into the show, or was that an original storyline? If not, what was the original storyline?
Chandra called me and told me she was pregnant. I was thrilled for her. But I knew that hiding a pregnancy on a show almost never works. So I took it as a gift and added it to her character arc. I love the idea of watching a surgeon struggle with how motherhood affects her career. And I love the idea of watching Bailey struggle with managing her tough resident side with her maternal side.

Why was Derek more concerned with operating on Burke than the Chief?
Because the Chief's surgery was a relatively simple, straight-forward surgery that Derek knew he could perform. The outcome of Burke's surgery was a lot more difficult to predict.

Is there really no chance of Denny in Season 3?
Denny, like Dylan, is dead. He's really dead. He's so very, very dead. And it breaks my heart. But he is dead.

Where are the panties?!
Good question. Stick around and find out.

How did you select "Chasing Cars" for the finale?
We had a lot of songs to choose from - A LOT OF SONGS. So many that it made me a little bit panicked at the thought of choosing. Ed Ornelas, the editor for the second hour of the finale, placed the song "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol as a temp song when he was putting together the episode. And it felt so brilliant, so perfect that I left it in. Thank you, Ed!

Where can we get Izzie's prom dress?
I will ask Mimi, our costume designer, and get back to you.

Is Dylan dead?

Dylan is dead. He is not coming back. And he doesn't have a twin brother who is surgeon. Kyle Chandler, who played Dylan, is a very nice guy but he is busy. He is, in fact, making a pilot for a TV version of the movie "Friday Night Lights." Yes, he is cute. Yes, he is as nice as he seems on TV. Yes, we all want to lick him inappropriately. But that does not change the fact that Dylan is dead.

Why did Dylan carry the bomb in his bare hands? Because now he's dead and I'm mad and I don't think that bomb squad guys would carry bombs in their bare hands and you are a stupid-head!!!

Bomb Squad Guys (BSGs as I've decided to call them - and many of them are, in fact, not guys but women) most certainly do carry bombs in their bare hands. We had numerous BSG specialist-type people working on this episode. They emphasized to us that in a true high pressure situation, the most important thing for safety is that they have maximum control. Which means not wearing helmets that could obscure their vision or big heavy glove things that could make them drop the bomb. Having as little between them and the bomb as possible means they have more control over the situation. They also said that all the helmets and gloves in the world would not have kept Dylan from becoming pink mist should that homemade, unstable device he was carrying decide to explode.

FYI, it was the BSGs who said that Dylan would carry the bomb from the OR into the hall where he would then place it into a container. Because picking the bomb up (ie, pulling it out of Mr. Carlson) and putting the bomb down are the two most dangerous moments of bomb removal.

See? Not that much of a stupid-head, am I?

But how come no one talked about Dylan after he exploded?

Because he's dead. And Meredith was in shock. And we only had 42 minutes and 30 seconds for the show. But they grieved. They really did. And, like everything that happens on our show, the death of Dylan will come back up again. Because no way that happens to Meredith without her having some kind of angst. I love angst.

Can I have a job working on your show?

No. We are fully staffed. In order for me to hire anyone else, someone would have to quit. I went around asking people if they wanted to quit. Apparently, people like working on a hit show - despite the painfully long hours and lack of glamour. Not one was willing to give up their job so another person could have it.

Why did you do that with Meredith and George? Why? WHY????!!!

First of all, I told you that characters have to do what the characters have to do. In that one moment, Meredith was weak and George was brave and�it happened. But more importantly, Meredith is the one of only a few women on television who is truly flawed. FLAWED in capital letters. Remember, this is a woman who, in the very first episode of Grey's Anatomy, picked up a guy at a bar, brought him home, slept with him and then tried to throw him out in the morning without even learning his name (his name happened to be Derek Shepherd). Her flawed nature is the thing I love most about the character. It's why I wrote the show. Meredith is all of us on our worst and best days. And, at one time or another, we've all slept with a guy friend when we knew we shouldn't (and Dad, if you are reading this, I mean "we" in an "every single woman on the planet but me" kind of way). You know what I'm talking about, you know you do.

And here's the thing I really would like you to remember on dark nights when you lie in bed hating my guts: In movies and most TV shows, when two friends sleep together, it's a magical start to a wonderful relationship. In life, it's quite often a hideous beginning to a very long awkward nightmare. I wanted to take a leap and keep our characters honest. Come on and leap with me, people.

I've known this was going to happen from the very first day the show started. It's where Meredith and George have been headed from the beginning. They had to have this awful moment so that they could come out the other side. Now, George can see beyond the fantasy to the reality and Meredith can see George as a man more than as a brother.

What's up with the music on the show? How do you choose it?

Our super-cool music supervisor Alex Patsavas sends music she likes to me and the editors and executive producer Betsy Beers. We all listen and Betsy makes suggestions, the editors try out songs for a first cut and then I sit in a room with the editors and try more and more songs until I generally realize that the editors had the right song in the show all along. Many times, I'll have a song I'm obsessed with that I tell the editors about early on and they do all of their cuts to that perfect song. Like the song at the end of "Break On Through" where the old lady dies and Meredith cries in the linen closet with Derek. It's a crazy system but it works. You can find a listing of each song used in the episodes in the MUSIC section of our show website. And check out our music-casts for more info.

Isn't "Grey's Anatomy" the name of a book?

No. The book is called "Gray's Anatomy" and it was written by Henry Gray and first published in England in 1858. It's a textbook that was commonly used to educate doctors on the anatomy of the human body.

When are we going to meet Izzie's birth daughter? When will we see Meredith's dad again? Is Christina Ricci coming back on the show? WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

I can't tell you anything about the future.

Why not?!

Because it is the future and I hate when you already know what is going to happen on a TV show.

But just tell me this: when are Meredith and Derek going to get back together?

Seriously? You think I'm answering that question? Seriously?

Why do you and the characters say "seriously" all the time?

Because Krista Vernoff, one of our valued writers, says it constantly in the Writers' Room. CONSTANTLY. Like, four hundred and fifty times a day. And it is catching. Now we all say it. Seriously. Krista says she caught the "seriously" bug from one of her friends and brought it to work and spread it to all of us. It's an awesome word. Said correctly, it can convey sarcasm, dismay, disbelief, a sense of moral and ethical superiority and gentle chastising punishment all at once. Seriously.

Well, what about "va-jay-jay"? That was totally you, right, Shonda? You made that up? 'Cause you're so cool?

That was Blythe Robe. One of our assistants. She says va-jay-jay. In reference to her vagina. As in, "I've got to get to the gynie and do the va-jay-jay thing." Blythe is very hip and very funny and way cooler than me. But I do take credit for borrowing the phrase and having Bailey say it on national television in front of 25 million people thus bringing "va-jay-jay" to the world.

Where do the scrubs your characters wear come from? Because I'm a doctor and they're scrubs look amazing on them and, in real life, scrubs just hang from the female body like a big ugly sack.

Here's my one big nod to the fact that this show is not reality. Our scrubs are perfectly tailored to each actor's body by our very amazing costume department. They have darts and tucks and, here's the key, LYCRA in them. Because I like it when people look good on TV. I really do. When Chandra Wilson (Bailey to you and me) was pregnant and sweetly ever-expanding, we worked hard to make sure her scrubs kept her looking fabulous.

For those of you who just want scrubs of your own (and I gotta admit they make damn good pajamas), you can order similar scrubs on the ABC website. They say Grey's Anatomy on them and I don't know if they have the all-important lycra in them but I have some and they are very comfy.

I love the blogs but I want to know more and I want to know more RIGHT NOW!

We have podcasts! Yes, podcasts! Different interviews each week with actors, writers, exec producers, editors, etc. They are funny and random and give you a lot of insight into how much fun the actors really are or exactly what the heck the writers are thinking. You can check them out on iTunes. They are FREE!