USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Grey’s Anatomy’ remains compelling, while ‘ Scandal’ wears thin
When series fall into the crazysauce, viewers lose interest
While others fall out of favor, the doctors are still in. In its 13th season, Grey’s Anat
omy stands as ABC’s mostwatched scripted series, which is a devastating comment on ABC’s newseries development, but also a testament to Grey’s ratings stability and artistic consistency. And this long- running doctor show is not just doing well compared with other ABC series. It has more viewers than every NBC drama except This is Us and every Fox scripted series but Empire. And among those younger viewers prized by advertisers, Grey’s ranks in the Top 10 of all scripted series, broadcast and cable.
So how is that Grey’s thrives while its once red- hot Thursday companion Scandal, also from executive producer Shonda Rhimes, has fallen sharply behind? ( Both were renewed for new seasons this month.) Well, in part, what
Scandal has slammed into is the inherent danger of allowing “shocking” and “crazy” to become a show’s watchwords. Draw an audience in on crazy, and your only option is to become ever more crazy — which means by the time your gay vice- presidential candidate is imprisoned for conspiring with his former Secret Service lover to kill the presidentelect, you’ve hit the point of diminishing returns.
Grey’s, of course, also has its share of “OMG Moments,” to use the childish tag ABC attaches to a show that deserves better. But where Scandal hinges on these “go big or go home” swings, Grey’s uses them more sparingly. Surprising, sometimes outrageous medical twists are one of the show’s hooks, but in essence,
Grey’s remains a character drama — and those characters, and fans’ affection for them, have always been the real keys to the show’s success.
Certainly, there are those who love Scan
dal’s “gladiators,” but they occupy a fantasy Washington, and fantasies tend to wear thin with time.
Because Grey’s is not as committed to season- long story arcs as Scandal, it’s also able to shift those characters and their plots around more easily. You don’t like Alex’s threat- of- jail suspension? In this week’s episode ( Thursday, 8 ET/ PT), he returns to the hospital. You don’t like Marika Dominczyk’s Eliza Minnick? That same episode makes her more sympathetic. But if you hate Scandal’s election story? Too bad; you’re stuck with it all season. And stuck in the world of politics, which is the other — and perhaps most important — difference between the two shows. Grey’s hospital setting automatically gives it access to lifeand- death stakes in an arena where new discoveries and procedures continually provide new twists on older stories. Scandal often plays like a crime show set in the political arena, one that substitutes melodrama for real- world stakes — and one that is now asking a weary nation to re- fight a presidential election. If you need a reason why people are opting out, that one will do.