14 DAY TRIAL // A big surprise is in store for fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” in season 7, executive producer Shonda Rhimes reveals in an interview with TV Guide: a musical episode. Just don’t call it that, because it will be very different from what other shows have done.
It’s not uncommon for a show with a very solid fanbase to make a special episode, where the entire cast belts out popular tuned. In fact, Rhimes says, it’s the musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” that put the idea in her head.
The “Grey” special won’t be like that, though, in the sense that it will be precisely the opposite. “[Ours] is sort of the opposite of that in a weird way. They did an all-out, show-stopping, Broadway kind of musical. This is very different,” she says.
Rhimes has been thinking about this since she started working on season 1 of the show, so those saying she’s trying to go with the flow (a la “Glee”) would better reconsider. The timing just happens to be right now.
“Now, we’re in that place that we have the space to try it. Also, it’s a period of time in which I finally have the right idea and the right talent to make that happen,” Rhimes explains.
She wouldn’t say which members of the cast would be singing on the special episode, but she did say that the whole thing is meant as a present to fans, offering them the wonderful opportunity of seeing that even those they didn’t suspect could actually carry a tune.
“You will be very surprised to discover that some people sing quite well. That’s sort of a little gift to the fans, to discover that people who are not necessarily known for singing have pretty great voices. Also, some people won’t be singing because it doesn’t go with the story,” Rhimes says.
She also explains that fans shouldn’t expect to see their favorite actors just burst out into song and singing as they dance in the halls of the hospital. This won’t have a Broadway vibe, she stresses again.
“Part of the way I figured out that we could do this was to take the songs that our show has made iconic and have them be sung by our cast members, as opposed to singing Broadway songs or singing some songs by a known artist. We’re simply singing songs that Grey’s Anatomy has made famous,” Rhimes says when pressed for details about the tracks that may be featured.