Grey’s Anatomy is currently the #1 television show in the universe. It’s given time slot competitor CSI: a beat down, something that the Vegas-set, formulaic, turd producer has never experienced before. Grey’s Anatomy is a very good show with an extremely attractive cast. EXTREMELY attractive. What makes Grey’s good television is it’s unique humor, it’s ability to balance that huge cast and numerous storylines, and the strangely riveting medical subplots. But, we understand all of that. What I’m interested in are the hot chicks.
Actually, that’s not be entirely true. While I’m not “interested” in the dudes on the show, they’ll need to be added to the discussion. What discussion, you ask? Obviously, TV has always been a medium for the beautiful. But, how important is it, actually? Sure, you always want an alluring cast, but casting directors have always shied away from the total shamelessness of an all-attractive cast. Still, the attractiveness of a shows cast must have some effect on it’s ratings, right?
My thesis is bold: Grey’s Anatomy has the most effectively attractive cast in the history of television and that’s a big factor in making Grey’s Anatomy the top-rated show in America. Obviously, this is an unquantifiable assertion. Yet, it makes perfect sense when you break it down.
Grey’s Anatomy has a humongous cast. This certainly makes things easier. Television comedies can’t compete with a show like Grey’s simply because they have less people to be attractive. The best looking sitcom cast ever is probably “Friends”, and that’s only on the strength of Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, two Hall-of-Famers. However, I’m looking at the whole spectrum here, which means adding the male contingent of the cast to the argument. Friends doesn’t fare as well in that department.
The only shows that can really compete with the Grey’s Anatomy cast are the prime time soap operas, the most formidable one probably being “Beverly Hills 90210″. Now, for sake of the argument, I’m only taking into account casts who were on-the-air together. This means Tiffani Amber-Thiessen cannot be considered in the same cast as Shannen Doherty (although it wouldn’t really matter, considering Doherty was never that hot in the first place). At one point, Thiessen, Jennie Garth, Hilary Swank, Jason Priestly, and Luke Perry were all on the same show. However, their were some other cast members who brought the attractiveness down considerably (mainly Ian Zeiring.)
My point is, there are other shows that may compete with Grey’s hotness; it is, of course, entirely subjective anyway (maybe you find the cast of “The View” aesthetically pleasing). But, what I said was that Grey’s Anatomy had the most effectively attractive cast ever. This isn’t any easier to quantify, but I think it’ll be easier for all of us to agree on. The reason Grey’s Anatomy has the best looking cast ever is because of the diversity of it’s attractiveness. Take a look.
Girl Next Door Who Got Really Hot – Dr. Elizabeth Grey (Ellen Pompeo)
Older Heartthrob – Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)
Younger Heartthrob – Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers)
Voluptuous, Sexy Blonde – Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl)
Proper, Statuesque, Black Man – Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington)
Hot, Older Brunette – Dr. Addison Shepherd (Kate Walsh)
Geeky, Awkward Dude – Dr. George O’Malley (T.R. Knight)
Quirky, Cute Asian – Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)
Uninhibited, Chubby Sex Kitten – Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez)
Do you see why this is the number one show in America? Almost any type of person that anyone could possibly be attracted to is represented on Grey’s Anatomy. Women can choose between the young good-looking guy, the older good-looking guy, the black good-looking guy, or the shy guy. Men get the super-cute brunette, the extremely hot blonde, the pretty older brunette, the sexy Asian, or the attractive plus-sized girl. Nowhere else on TV can you find that diversity.
And that’s not even counting the recurring/guest characters like Chris O’Donnell and Christina Ricci. Also, no one on Grey’s is there only because of their hotness (no models turned actors, no “Jessica Albas”, etc.) which makes their attractiveness even more effective.
Of course, I don’t want to overstate the hotness factor in terms of overall viewership. Grey’s Anatomy certainly benefits from the hotness, but it’s not like it’s a total game breaker. If the cast of Grey’s were, say, 25% less hot, it’d still be a top ten show. But it probably wouldn’t be number one.
-Oscar Dahl BuddyTV
