I recently had the chance to interview Boris Kodjoe, Jaina Lee Oritz, and Stacy McKee to get the inside scoop behind the scenes for Station 19 once of ABC’s most hottest TGIT shows. Check it out!

Stacy McKee the Show runner and Executive Producer wrote on “Grey‘s Anatomy” from season one and moved up the ranks and finished there on season 13.

“Where she create a spin off about firefighters. She described the Station 19 as a natural extension of the Grey‘s universe it still involves medicine and in the background of all the Grey’s episodes you see first responders scooting into the breezeway, dropping off patients.”

Inspiration Behind Station 19

I thought what if we got back in the ambulance and drove away with them and then started to see what their life was like? What if there was a fire station, 3 blocks down from this hospital that we’ve been seeing for 13 years and they have a whole life that’s been going on this whole time too. What if we just shine a light over there so that was really sort of the beginning gestation of the idea and it’s just also just something really appealing to me. Grey’s makes you laugh, it makes you cry it makes you feel things and it was really appealing to me to show those same types of emotions and the same type of humor but to do it in a world of first responders. Especially right now this day in age I feel like the world can be tough. There’s a lot of difficulty when you wake up every morning you turn on the news there’s hard stuff to focus on a group of people whose only job is to help other people. Don’t matter who you are, what color you are, what your religion is, doesn’t matter what your politics are it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that if you are a person who needs help, these characters will help you and to me, that was just remarkable. I wanted to put that little piece of joy out into the world it’s so unifying and universal it seems like this was the right moment to tell stories like these.

Jaina Lee Ortiz Reflects Back On Before The First To Sign On

We’re excited to be a part of Stacy’s vision and creation I mean before the show even started talking to her, I signed onto
the show the second I heard Shonda Rhimes is doing a spin off, I said yes, I don’t care what it is, just put me in. Luckily, I found out it was about firefighters, I went and met 2 female captains and I was like Oh my gosh, these ladies are bad-ass and they could do everything. They could be moms, work, and still have a balance so it’s been dream…Pinch me!

Jaina Lee Ortiz Prepares To Take The Firefighter Exam

Well, you dove in too because you went in and took the firefighter test. I came home and said Mom, how much do you weigh? I told her you needed to be at least 165 pounds so that I can drag you out of a building because that was part of the test. Dragging a dummy that’s 165 is hard but being on the show has forced me to kind of stay in shape just in case she throws a sexy nude scene at us.

Boris Joins The Cast Of Station 19

I wanted to be a part of the show from the first episode as well and unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I had to wait patiently in the wings until it was possible. Code Black was cancelled on a Friday, and I think I met with Stacy on a Monday it was pretty much done Monday night. I was ready to pounce not absolutely Shondaland is a universe that I wanted to be a part of ever since Shonda Rhimes appeared on the horizon. For some reason, it never worked out so that was a huge draw for me as well. Then meeting Stacy and Betsy [Beers, Shonda’s producing partner] just did the trick.

I love great writers to sort of put myself in the hands of someone like Stacy is an absolute pleasure and honor. Every single episode I had that experience once before, but this really tops it where you don’t think it can get any better. Then you open a script and then the script is better than the script that you read before, and that’s always an amazing surprise. It’s so much fun to go to work because not only do you get to speak these words. Also work with people like Jaina and people who have been so embracing of me.

This is such a great atmosphere, and (to Stacy) that speaks to what you bring to this universe because it starts at the top. Then it trickles down all the way to everybody else and I’ve been part of sets. It wasn’t the case where there’s a lot of negativity and people just not happy to be. There and this is just a pleasure to be a part of every single day.

Season 2 Excitement Who’s Excited About The Storylines
Stacy McKee

There are things that we get to do with Season 2 that is so exciting for me that we didn’t really have a huge chance to with Season 1 with only 10 episodes. Just establishing the world and starting to dip into who these characters. This season, we’ve earned the right to really explore who these characters are. We get to learn about their past. We get to see their interactions with one another, the relationships that have formed prior to the show starting and then after. To me, now we get to really dig deeper.I feel like we just barely scratched the surface in Season 1 and now we get to get into some good juicy character stuff which is my wheelhouse. It’s the stuff I love so that’s the stuff I’m most excited about really.

Jaina Lee Otiz

The question that we have, Boris here is Captain Sullivan this season and I don’t know if you noticed he’s shaken things up around the fire station. That’s pretty fun to have that dynamic to have a person that everyone in the station can sort of push up against and have him push right back.

Where Are Some Of The Scenes Filmed

Basically, our main set is a fire station set which is so cool. The interior of it is all on our stages. The exterior is all shot on location in Seattle. So, when you see those exterior scenes, we went to Seattle and shot all of those there on location. As for the incidents with the fires and stuff, it’s sort of a combination. We have both practical fire that we do a lot on our burn stage. We have a stage that we dedicate to burning things up. We also then supplement and add a lot of CG fire as well. So, it’s both a combination of the computer-generated fire and then some practical stuff that we can use that’s still safe for everybody to be around. It’s been a real learning process I’m used to working on a hospital show. Where all we must do is like pretend we’re doing surgery on like a piece of meat or something. The scope of this is so different that it’s being a real learning curve for everybody. Just even the physicality that you guys must go through just even wearing the turnouts. Some of the sweat and the exhaustion that you see on these guys’ faces, oh it’s fully real.

The Inside Scoop On The Firefighters Suits

Boris Kodjoe

It’s the real stuff even the oxygen tanks on our back. We have fake ones and have real ones.

The Experience Of Being The New Guy On The Set

It’s been amazing, and it’s all due to these two ladies and everybody else because they set the tone it just trickles down. It’s contagious everybody’s upbeat and positive we understand what we’re doing here. We’re not brain surgeons, but you put it all this into perspective. We’re very lucky, we’re very blessed to be in this position to tell these stories and to go play make believe every day. I never forget that so every time I step on the stage I feel blessed and I cherish every moment despite her.

What Stacy McKee Really Thinks Of The Cast

We have such an incredibly talented cast. I mean I just feel like I fell into a pot of honey because they’re just like lightning in a bottle. It’s just this transformative group of people who take these words and elevate them every single episode and it shows on screen the sparkle.

“Last Day On Earth” – Just when Ryan agrees to talk it out with his dad, Greg Tanner makes an unexpected visit to Station 19, leaving Ryan and others confused. In an effort to connect with his crew, Captain Sullivan enlists the help of an unlikely source for some bonding tips on ABC’s “Station 19,” THURSDAY, NOV. 8 (9:01–10:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand. “Station 19” stars Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andy Herrera, Jason George as Ben Warren, Boris Kodjoe as Captain Robert Sullivan, Grey Damon as Jack Gibson, Barrett Doss as Victoria Hughes, Alberto Frezza as Ryan Tanner, Jay Hayden as Travis Montgomery, Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller, Danielle Savre as Maya Bishop and Miguel Sandoval as Pruitt Herrera.

Guest starring is Dermot Mulroney as Greg Tanner. “Last Day On Earth” was written by Phillip Iscove and directed by Steve Robin. The drama is produced by ABC Studios. Stacy McKee (“Grey’s Anatomy”) serves as showrunner and executive producer, along with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. Paris Barclay (“Pitch” and “Sons of Anarchy”) serves as the producing director and executive producer of the series.