‘Station 19’ Writers Room Incident Involving Written Racial Slur Sparks Inclusive Workplace Discussion, Leadership Structure Changes
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: In April 2021, ABC’s first responders drama Station 19 aired an episode hailed as one of the most powerful reflections of George Floyd’s murder on television.
It was written by executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff, with contributions from the show’s writing and support staff as well as the cast.More than a year later, an incident involving the depiction of racism on the page has left the writing team of the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff reeling.
According to sources, it had to do with a writer’s recent draft of an outline for an upcoming Season 6 episode that included numerous uses of a racial slur by a racist character.I hear the outline was met with shock and disbelief when shared with the writers room, and tensions grew to a point where the virtual room has been put on pause.
Vernoff on Monday sent an email to the staff, a copy of which was obtained by Deadline, in which she spoke of “recent harm and systemic issues” that would be addressed in a Zoom meeting Tuesday.
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