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Courtesy of ABC<\/p>\n
Have you ever watched “Grey’s Anatomy” and thought the show gets pretty out there at times? The series chronicles some truly bizarre medical cases, suggesting the writers have vivid imaginations. That might be true, but writing episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy”<\/a>\u00a0requires them to follow one simple rule: the medical cases must be based on at least one real-life occurrence.<\/p>\n “ABC said, ‘You can tell whatever medical story you want, but there has to have been at least one recorded case of it,'” producer Harry Werksman told Literary Hub<\/a>, with the sentiment echoed by Eric Buchman in the same interview.<\/p>\n That edict has led to some memorable storylines \u2014 like the one where Nurse Olivia Harper (Sarah Utterback) causes a syphilis outbreak at Seattle Grace Hospital. Werksman, who came up with the idea, said it was inspired by a real-life case that took place in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n Of course, that arguably isn’t the most out-there storyline in NBC’s acclaimed medical drama<\/a>. The doctors have treated patients with tree-like hands, biological males who appear pregnant, and other rare conditions. With that in mind, how do the writers go about finding these cases?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n How the Grey’s Anatomy writers find medical cases that inspire them<\/p>\n
Courtesy of ABC<\/p>\n The creators of “Grey’s Anatomy” take pride in finding the most interesting cases to inspire their storytelling. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly<\/a>, executive producer Zoanne Clack shared some details about the writers’ process, noting that their goal is to find unique cases that are thematically relevant to the issues the show’s characters are dealing with at the time.<\/p>\n “We have a file of strange, mysterious, fun, and interesting cases to draw from, and sometimes we’ll have the episode going and someone will be like, ‘I really love a certain story, now let’s try to frame the personal stories around this medical thing.'”<\/p>\n
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