Was the ‘Station 19’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Crossover a Mistake? Here’s Why Fans Think So
Crossovers between TV shows are not a new concept and been around for almost 60 years, though in different forms. The earliest examples were crossover cameos of characters from shows produced by the same team. Later, examples existed of one plot bleeding over into one another to create a fuller story.
For the most part, Grey’s Anatomy avoided this until beginning to cross over recently with their counterpart, Station 19.
Their recent, midseason crossover caused a big uproar with Grey’s fans because the styles of these two shows couldn’t be more different. What made this one controversial is some of the plotlines of the Grey’s characters were continued in Station 19, forcing fans to watch a show they didn’t want to see just to catch up with character outcomes.
Fans complained about the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Station 19’ crossover
If one can say Reddit is a typical source of movie and TV rumors, it’s still an interesting place to visit in terms of seeing how fans feel about shows. The barometer there is very transparent and not always pretty.
Response about the recent Grey’s/Station 19 crossover was primarily negative in every regard. What ticked off fans the most is the two shows do seem to have different writing styles. Placing characters into another show with a different vibe can sometimes make characters seem off from how they’re usually depicted.
Beyond that, though, was one simple fact: Fans feel like they’re being manipulated into watching Station 19 when some say it’s not nearly as entertaining as Grey’s still is.
After 16 seasons, Grey’s fans are still passionate about those characters. They’re at the place now where they want to protect the characters from insulting fan intelligence.
Other media analysts agree with the fans
The key to this crossover working was to have one continuous story blend into the other. This involved a car plowing into Joe’s Bar, creating a scenario where some of the characters in Grey’s become injured.
From the outset, this created a compelling scenario, but also problematic in creating a two-hour story. A lot of fans didn’t get word about the crossover, hence many tuning into Grey’s first, leading to audience confusion.
On top of it, the two shows swapped their schedule times, meaning Grey’s fans tuned in late to encounter Station 19. Some Grey’s fans aren’t big fans of Station 19, despite being produced by Shonda Rhimes. They reportedly have two different writing teams, making the rhythm between the shows a bit awkward.
One person on Reddit above noted one thing about a popular character that gives a good argument this crossover maybe should have been thought through longer.
Did the production team manipulate viewers into watching ‘Station 19’?
Insulting the intelligence of audiences is the worst thing to do to loyal viewers. A good chunk of longtime Grey’s fans now feel like Rhimes forced people to watch Station 19 just so it could find a bigger audience.
Such a tactic might have ultimately backfired, especially with some characters not seeming to fit in this other show’s framework. If the two shows take place in the same city, some noted Chandra Wilson’s acting seemed different when playing Miranda Bailey (who loses her unborn child).
There was one mention that her dialogue seemed stiff compared to how she talks on Grey’s.
Having a scenario like this has never happened in any crossovers of the past, most of which have usually worked seamlessly. Having incongruous writing teams might have been the problem here. Not that all fans thought the crossover was bad, and ratings were more than good.
Most of all, audiences don’t want to be forced to watch a show just to see how a story plays out. Perhaps all future Grey’s crossovers with Station 19 will be frozen now until the latter show gains a bigger following on its own.
