The Racial Logic of Grey’s Anatomy

Abstract

Shonda Rhimes is one of the most successful and celebrated black female American television producers. With such hits as ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal, Rhimes has established herself as a showrunner with a passion for women’s stories. However, as much as Rhimes is touted for her narratives of strong women, she is equally touted for recirculating a casting practice called blindcasting back into public discourse. Blindcasting, the process of not writing race into the script, is often considered a progressive step toward actors’ equality. However, the pitfalls of blindcasting as well as its larger purpose in the process of reinforcing a colorblind, post-race society need to be unearthed. The aim of this article is to unpack how blindcasting operates in Grey’s as well as in Rhimes’s politics through a discursive analysis of her self-fashioning, interviews with her cast and a close reading of her characters.