<P> The show's premise originated with creator Shonda Rhimes, who serves as an executive producer, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg . Although it is set in Seattle (at the fictional Grey - Sloan Memorial Hospital, formerly Seattle Grace), it is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California . The show was originally titled Complications, a reference to the complicated medical procedures and personal lives of the characters . </P> <P> The series was designed to be racially diverse and used a color - blind casting technique . It revolves around the title character, Dr. Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo . The original cast consisted of nine star - billed actors: Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T.R. Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey . The cast has undergone major changes through the show's run, with many members leaving and being replaced by others . In its twelfth season, the show had a large ensemble of sixteen actors, including four characters from the original cast (Meredith Grey, Alex Karev, Miranda Bailey, and Richard Webber). </P> <P> On February 10, 2017, ABC renewed Grey's Anatomy for a fourteenth season, which premiered on September 28, 2017 . The series' success catapulted such long - running cast members as Pompeo, Dempsey, and Oh to worldwide recognition; they were among the top five highest - earning television actors in 2013 . </P> <P> Grey's Anatomy, even in its fourteenth season, is ABC's highest - rated drama . While its ratings have fallen over the course of its run (it was once among the overall top 10 shows in the United States), it is still one of the highest - rated shows among the 18--49 demographic, and the No. 3 drama on all of broadcast television . </P>

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