PRODUCTION HAS BEGUN ON "GREY'S ANATOMY," A NEW MIDSEASON DRAMA FOR ABC

Production has begun in Los Angeles on "Grey's Anatomy," a new drama series which follows the professional and personal lives of a group of surgical interns who are just beginning their careers at a Seattle hospital. The midseason show will air in January 2005 on the ABC Television Network.

Meredith Grey is a first year surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, the toughest surgical residency program west of Harvard. She and fellow first-year interns Cristina Yang, Izzie Stevens, George O'Malley and Alex Karev were students yesterday. Today they're doctors and, in a world where on the job training can be a matter of life and death, they're all juggling the ups and downs of their own personal lives.

The five interns struggle to form friendships in this most stressful and competitive atmosphere. Meredith's medical ambition is overshadowed by a troubling secret: Her mother, a noted pioneering surgeon, is struggling with a tragic and devastating illness. Cristina is a study in contradiction: Highly competitive and driven, she eschews any favors in order to make it on her own. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens is the small-town girl who grew up dirt poor and, in spite of paying for her medical career by modeling, still struggles with her self-esteem. George O'Malley is the warm but insecure boy next door who always manages to do or say the wrong thing at the wrong time. In spite of his attraction to women, he's treated as "just one of the girls." And Alex Karev, the intern other interns love to hate, masks his working class roots with arrogance and ambition.

The interns are guided by an established team of doctors who are determined to either shape them into skilled surgeons or break them: Miranda Bailey, so tough that she's nicknamed "The Nazi," is the senior resident responsible for training them. Derek Shepherd is the flirtatious but very capable surgeon who shares a forbidden but undeniable sexual attraction with Meredith. Preston Burke's arrogance is second only to his skill with a scalpel. Overseeing them all is Dr. Richard Webber, Seattle Grace's paternal, but no-nonsense chief of surgery.

"Grey's Anatomy" focuses on young people struggling to be doctors and doctors struggling to stay human. It's the drama and intensity of medical training mixed with the funny, sexy, painful lives of interns who are about to discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. Real life only comes in shades of grey.

"Grey's Anatomy" stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd, James Pickens, Jr. as Richard Webber, T.R. Knight as George O'Malley, Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang, Katherine Heigl as Isobel "Izzie" Stevens, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, Isaiah Washington as Preston Burke and Justin Chambers as Alex Karev.

Shonda Rhimes ("Introducing Dorothy Dandridge") is creator and executive producer. Mark Gordon ("Saving Private Ryan"), Betsy Beers ("200 Cigarettes") and Jim Parriott ("The American Embassy") are executive producers. Peter Horton is co-executive producer. "Grey's Anatomy" is a Touchstone Television Production.