Every year, PaleyFest LA hosts a two-week festival at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood where you can screen a new episode and enjoy a question and answer panel with the cast of your favorite popular TV show. On March 19, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Grey’s Anatomy Panel at The Paley Center for Media’s annual PaleyFest TV festival. The entire main cast (with the exception of Camilla Luddington) was present for the event and included Ellen Pompeo, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens, Jr., Kevin McKidd, Jessica Capshaw, Jesse Williams, Sarah Drew, Caterina Scorsone, Jerrika Hinton, Jason George, Giacomo Gianniotti, Debbie Allen, Kelly McCreary, and Martin Henderson. The moderator for the panel was Henry Goldblatt, the Editor In Chief of Entertainment Weekly.
Grey’s Anatomy is one of my favorite TV shows of all-time and despite the fact that the event took place the weekend before my finals (yikes), I could not resist the opportunity to see the cast in real life. After the red carpet was over and everyone was settled into their seats, Goldblatt announced that we were in for a treat because the rough cut episode we were about to watch, Episode 18, was the directorial debut of Ellen Pompeo, the one and only Meredith Grey. We won’t give away any spoilers, but it was definitely an emotionally charged episode and Pompeo did an incredible job as a director. Every detail was perfectly poignant and I realized how hard it is to silently cry and wipe away your tears in the middle of the Dolby Theatre amongst complete strangers.
After the episode was over, Greenblatt introduced the entire cast and they took their place on the stage. I won’t lie, I was a little hopeful that some of the members from the old cast would make a guest appearance (I’m looking at you, Sandra Oh and Patrick Dempsey). I can’t express how surreal it was to see my favorite TV cast interacting with each other onstage, but they were just as goofy and grateful as I had imagined they would be. The cast shared inside jokes with each other and were constantly laughing with (and at) each other. With every chance they got, they would always express how grateful they were for their fans and Ellen Pompeo blew copious amounts of kisses to the audience. A cute moment was shared between Justin Chambers and Pompeo when he took off his coat and gave it to her because she was freezing (cue the “awws” from the audience). Sarah Drew, who plays April Kepner on the show, really stood out to me because she was extremely enthusiastic, always had a smile on her face, and went out of her way to interact with the fans.
When Pompeo was asked by Greenblatt what scene she was the most nervous for as a director, she responded by saying that she was mainly nervous about the technical aspects of the episode, particularly “in respect to emotion and how scenes should feel and look.” In my opinion, the best parts of the episode occurred when no one in the scene was talking and it was up to the viewer to interpret the scene based upon the characteristics of the set and what was communicated without words. However, I’ll leave that up for you to decide once you see the episode!
After the events of Episode 16 where April and Jackson share their first kiss in what seems like decades, it was only natural that a question about their relationship would arise during the panel. In a very typical (and heart wrenching) Grey’s style, Drew answered the question by stating that regardless of whether or not Jackson and April’s relationship turns romantic or stays friendly, this episode solidified the fact that “they will always be each other’s person.” As you would assume, the crowd of Grey’s fans erupted into a chorus of “aww!”
Next up was a quick round of lightning questions which really displayed the different personalities of the cast. When Kevin McKidd, who plays Owen Hunt on the show, was asked who he would like to have more scenes with, he simply replied “any of the men” and got the entire cast and crowd laughing. When Chambers was asked if Alex should be with Jo or Meredith, he responded by saying “anything is possible on Grey’s Anatomy, he might end up with Katherine [Avery].”
When Debbie Allen, who plays Katherine Avery on the show, was asked about what makes the Grey’s cast so special, she said that it is because the “actors are invested in their characters like no other.” She also mentioned how important Grey’s is to the viewers and how “Grey’s Anatomy is saving lives every week.” To sum up her answer and the season itself, she told the crowd that “I’m telling you, this season is hot, honey, hot.”
One fan asked Pompeo what her favorite episode she ever filmed was and she panicked before narrowing it down to her top three choices: “the pilot, the shooter episode, and the one you just watched.”
One of the final questions was asked by a fan and it created the best possible response from Pompeo. When asked where she wanted to see Meredith go on the show, Pompeo stated that “[she] tries not to have expectations. [She] tries not to look down the road too far because we’re going to miss what’s going on today.” She encouraged everyone to enjoy every moment with an open mind and summed up the night by expressing that life will tell her where to go because “[she] wants to enjoy this moment.”
I could have not asked for a better evening spent with the cast of Grey’s and I know that I will never be able to watch another episode the same way. PaleyFest LA was such an amazing experience and I’m looking forward to next year!
Photos courtesy of Michael Bulbenko and Imeh Byrant for the Paley Center