Photo by Ken McKidd/ABC
Grey’s Anatomy kicked off its 17th season last night in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The show which has been criticized for its lack of diversity earned some points from Asian America.
AsAmNews reader Tony Lee singled out this brief scene in the show.
Older White man at the hospital reception: “I need to see someone for possible COVID 19.”
African American receptionist: “Just follow the purple line down the hall for help.”
White man: “I don’t want to see a Chinese doctor.”
Receptionist: “In that case, follow the green line out the front door and go somewhere else.”
The man reluctantly decided to follow the purple line.
“I don’t know who wrote this dialogue but he or she deserves some recognition,” Lee wrote to AsAmNews.
The double episode was written by Andy Reaser, Lynee E. Litt and Jase Miles-Perez and directed by Debbie Allen.
Based in the city of Seattle, where Asian Americans make up 10 percent of the population, Grey’s features no key Asian American cast members. The departure of Sandra Oh in Season 10 left Grey’s with no AAPI representation.
Last night’s episode addressed at least a timely issue facing the community right now.
On a side note, the season premier included a shocking reunion between Meredith as played by Ellen Pompeo and Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd as played by Patrick Dempsey.
If you’re not a fan of the show, that reunion means little to you. If you are a fan, you need no explanation from me. Dempsey’s return to the show may be as big as a possible return from Sandra Oh. Fans have been down that road before. We’ll wait for Oh to actually return before spending more energy on that one.
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