A TV Show Disguised as a Brand: Grey’s Anatomy

The Introduction

In the modern age, lengthy television shows are just as, if not more popular than, movies, yet few shows carry on cinema’s long history of melodrama like Grey’s Anatomy. This series features doctors with soap opera-esque storylines where hearts and lives are on the line. Birthed in 2005 from the great mind of Shonda Rhimes and her production company, Shondaland, this medical drama takes fans on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. While television series are more often viewed as products from a brand, this singular TV show has made over $3 billion for ABC’s parent company, Disney. This astronomical revenue is due to the public’s positive outlook. In other words, Grey’s Anatomy is a cultural icon that has shifted from a product to a brand with a powerful brand image. 

The Trends

Despite the generally positive outlook, outside of the fandom and groundswell, the haters demand that the show be canceled––deeming that it just needs to be over. But Grey’s Anatomy does not bend to the will of the haters or the fans (most of the time); in fact, the show outright ignores them. Yet, Grey’s Anatomy trends consistently higher than Scandal and Bridgerton, two other Shondaland productions that have received critical acclaim. 

Grey’s Anatomy (blue); Scandal (yellow); Bridgerton (red)

Airing between 2012-2018, we can track Scandal’s Google trend data. Only at three points does the show peak over Grey’s Anatomy: December 2013, August and September 2014, and February 2015. Scandal’s “A Door Marked Exit” episode first aired on December 12th, 2013; the episode’s total viewership was 10.5 million people in the vital demographic between 18-49 year-olds. This marked the series 2nd highest-watched episode, which earned 13% more viewers than the prior episode. In August, the minor uptick was mostly likely due to fans’ preparation for the season 4 premiere in September. Lastly, February’s slight uptick seems to have no noticeable cause. Bridgerton has had three clear upticks in January 2021, April 2022, and May 2023. In late December 2020 and late March 2022, seasons one and two of the shows were released, causing the subsequent peaks in the show. In May 2023, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story first aired. Without these peaks, Bridgerton lays low in the trends compared to Grey’s Anatomy. 

Here, this graph discloses Grey’s Anatomy’s quick ascension to fame. But unlike the other series, Grey’s Anatomy's viewership does not correspond to the peaks of the series. Demonstrating that the show has influence outside of airtime. For example, the series most watched episode aired February 2006, “It’s the End of the World,” gained a viewership of 37.88 million people. But the series’ first major peak happened the following year later, corresponding to the second highest-rated episode, “Some Kind of Miracle,” which grossed 27.39 (2.6 times higher than Scandal’s second highest). This delayed peak indicates that Grey’s Anatomy’s popularity isn’t only tied to viewership levels. 

Unlike Bridgerton and Scandal, these early episodes of Grey’s Anatomy had no streaming competition, so having the top 10 highest-viewed episodes in the first three seasons of the show correlates to the times. Nevertheless, Grey’s Anatomy has been able to consistently trend for the past 15 years despite the general decline in broadcast television. The consistency cannot be attributed to the show’s countless character deaths, births, and downright tragedies, as the trend dates do not align with any major events, suggesting that the trends correspond to the brand image.  

With the decline in broadcasting viewership and no correlation between peaks and hit episodes, consistent word-of-mouth marketing must cause the upticks. In the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment industry, “word of mouth is critical for…movies [and] TV shows—these are fashion products;” Grey’s Anatomy has had to continue embracing and energizing the groundswell to not only stay relevant but to thrive. Having successfully done so, their SEO trending has superseded any given episode and has cemented itself with a powerful brand image. 

The Brand Image and Public Image

Shonda Rhimes created Grey’s Anatomy and the image of the show to be uniquely diverse. In an interview with The New York Times, Rhimes explained how her casting calls didn’t specify ethnicities as actors were hired based on their skill set. While the series is composed of predominantly white characters, she has given roles of power to people of color, and as the show progressed, she actively incorporated intersectionality. Audiences of all races and sexualities witnessed characters that mimicked their own identities, like powerful Black men and women, queer Latinos, interracial couples, black adoptees, and patients with illnesses directly tied to their culture. By successfully casting people of color in traditional archetypes, these characters go from traditional to vastly complex and intriguing. Rhimes also features predominately female protagonists, with fewer male characters in these roles––seldomly done when the series was first promoted. This helped spark representation in the entertainment industry and will forever be connected to the show’s brand image. Ultimately, Rhimes filled the groundswell’s need: the need for representation. By centering the series around this concept, Rhimes embraces the groundswell. Now, after Rhimes has left as showrunner, Grey’s Anatomy stays a fan favorite with a positive brand image as the show continues to tap into this source and adapts to the ever-changing definition of diversity. 

The social hegemony Grey’s Anatomy controls delves into meme culture and slang. Most recently, the term “pick-me girl” has been circling pop-culture. Urban Dictionary defines a pick-me girl as a girl who seeks out male validation by (bluntly or indirectly) implying that she is not like other girls. These anti-feminists lead the charge against the patriarchy as their interests focus on pleasing and impressing men has resulted in a TikTok trend. Here, Pick Me Girls are vehemently mocked with point-of-view storylines, with the #pickmegirl (this hashtag has 3.3 billion views on TikTok). The original Pick Me Girl is Meredith Grey, portrayed by Ellen Pompeo. In Variety’s Actors on Actors conversation with Katherine Heigl (an original cast member on Grey’s Anatomy), Pompeo shared that her daughter and daughter’s friend explained the current trend is based on Meredith’s proclamation of love to Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd in the infamous line, “So pick me. Choose me. Love me.” This one line aired 17 years ago in season two, episode 5,  but still has weight and meaning in today’s culture. 

The Socials

While the show develops around the needs of the groundswell, Grey’s Anatomy social media accounts (@Greysabc) communicate and market directly to their fandom. The show engages and energizes the groundswell through their Instagram following of 8.1 million people and 4.8 million followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) to sustain a brand image that directly ties to the heart of the series and their fans. On Instagram, actors participate in takeover events. On May 15th, for example, the series announced that there would be two Instagram takeover guests, and two days later, Camilla Luddington and Kim Raver were introduced as a takeover reveal.

An Instagram takeover is when, in this case, actors make and share original content and engage with a brand’s audience. Grey’s Anatomy utilizes fan-favorite actors throughout the season to promote the series on the company account takeover events. Specifically, when the Luddington and Raver takeover begins, they feature a rivalry, and fans immediately understand that the onscreen drama Grey’s Anatomy is known for will now take place off-screen. Throughout eight posts, the actors play into the rivalry on the set of the series, competing for the title of Takeover winner. After Raver had been voted the winner by fans and actor, director, and executive producer Debbie Allen, Luddington takes Raver’s Takeover memorabilia and throws it in the trash. This social media stunt received hundreds of fans commenting on these posts, totaling over 2,125 comments (likes are hidden). 

While Instagram is dedicated to Grey’s Anatomy content, featuring actors, storylines, and related upcoming events, Twitter adds to their brand image, as it also connects important moments to our world, like wishing parents a Happy Mother’s and Father’s Day, celebrating Pride Month throughout multiple tweets, and honoring Jewish Heritage Month. This also restates the importance of diversity to the series and fans. 

The Twitter account also retweets fans’ live reactions during the show and in the (usually heartbreaking) aftermath of the episode. These tweets embrace the groundswell by incorporating key Grey’s Anatomy traits. For example, one fan says, “THE FLASHBACKS. THE ICONIC MUSIC AAAAAH #GreysAnatomy.” The fandom knows that the song choice can be the difference between tears flooding down your face or just a couple. In 2012, Shonda Rhimes stated, “I knew we wanted it to feel really current and different from anything that had been on television before. Finding new music and laying in interesting songs, for me, has been one of the best parts of doing the show.”

With such meaningful music to the history of the show, with the incorporation of flashbacks from some of the highest, fans are left screaming. Camilla Luddington (the top right photo) also engages with her fans asking, “what’s happeningggg greys fans? Tell me!” As one of the faces of the season finale marketing, Luddington presumably asks about fans’ thoughts and feelings on the season finale. This cements Luddington as a staple character of the series as the majority of actors and characters from the first seasons have left; the upcoming season will be the first season without the star protagonist, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). 

Note: Chasing Cars is one of THE songs in the series

The Conclusion

Created based on the needs of the groundswell, Grey’s Anatomy has become a cultural cornerstone of television and, subsequently, society. With word-of-mouth marketing and supportive media presents, the series has developed into an unstoppable force, or brand, that relies on fueling and embracing the groundswell in order to thrive in the harsh elements of the entertainment industry. There’s no telling what will become of Grey’s Anatomy or when it will end, but after all, “nobody knows where they might end up, nobody knows.”