Airing this Thursday is the 2nd spin-off from Grey's Anatomy called Station 19. Despite being a firefighter show, the offshoot is quite similar to the mothership, more so than Private Practice in my opinion, the first spinoff which lasted 6 seasons, which like Grey's Anatomy was a medical drama.
Our heroine for Station 19 is Andrea "Andy" Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz). Andy provides the voiceover/monologue at the start and ending episodes, much like Dr. Meredith Grey does for most of the mothership's episodes. Andy, whose father Pruitt (Miguel Sandoval) is the captain fire station, has spent basically her entire life at the station training for a job as a firefighter. However she didn't feel pressured to follow her father's footsteps and genuinely loves her job. Apart from her job as a firefighter, she has also been taking care of her father ever since she was little as her mother passed away when she was 9. And despite being great at both her "jobs", she is often overlooked by her father.
The male lead of the is the show is Jack Gibson (Grey Damon), who is a lieutenant of the fire station and Captain Herrera's second-in-command. While he is a fearless and passionate firefighter, he is often impulsive, which does not sit well with Andy, who has also been hooking up with Jack in secret for many months. However, more than one event occurs during the first episode that severely changes the dynamic of their relationship.
Meanwhile, Ben Warren (Jason George) is having some trouble transitioning from his career as a surgeon to a firefighter. He seems to talk about his days as a surgeon a lot despite leaving that life behind, much to the annoyance of his new coworkers. He is also tired of being treated as the new guy, despite being on the job for several weeks and being older than most of his fellow fire fighters. However, he has yet to learn that the decision made in the field need to be different than those made in an OR, especially when one such decision almost leads to catastrophe.
Other members of the firehouse include Maya Bishop (Danielle Savre), who is an ex-Olympic athlete, who uses her training to become the best fire-fighter possible. She is Andy's best friend and her confidante. Travis Montgomery (Jay Hayden) is the openly gay (and married). He plays by the rules and makes sure that everyone else is in check. Dean Miller (Okieriete Onaodowan) is a charming firefighter who doesn't mind using he job to pick up the ladies. And lastly, Victoria “Vic” Hughes (Barrett Doss) is the youngest member of the team who is the joker of the fire station and wants to prove herself.
Also part of the cast is Alberto Frezza who plays police office Ryan Tanner who often works in conjunction with our Station 19 team. He is Andy's oldest friend, lived right next door to her when they were kids and her high school flame (the went to prom together). But is there still something there between them?
As already revealed, the first episode features guest appearances from Ellen Pompeo and Chandra Wilson, who reprise their roles from Grey's Anatomy. Meredith, who Andy meet earlier in the back-door pilot, provides Andy the support she needs in her time of need. While chief Miranda Bailey is quick to assess a patient brought by our firefighters to Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital.
The shows is quite high-stakes, much like the mothership, only here the lives of our firefighters are also at risk every day, along with the people they are meant to rescue. One split second decision can result in a major catastrophe.
Despite thoroughly enjoying the first episode, which was the only one provided by ABC for review, one major thing I disliked about the show was the scene break indicator which consists of flashes of scenes present after the ad-break. I found that quite distracting and it also spoiled some upcoming scenes for me.
Station 19 begins its journey this Thursday on ABC at 9PM after Grey's Anatomy with a two-hour series premiere. Will you be there to catch the action?
