Station 19 Review
You Don't Need to Be a Grey's Anatomy Fan to Love Its New Spinoff, Station 19
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Stepping aside from the plot and characters for a second, we need to appreciate how good the music is on this show! Shondaland shows don't shy away from using emotional music to highlight important beats. We see it time after time with indie rock music in the earlier seasons of Grey's and soul music all throughout Scandal.
Station 19 goes down a casually edgy pop-rock route that's upbeat and fun without being too sappy. Just at the top of the pilot, we're introduced to the fire with Emily Bell's gravelly, garage rock anthem "Can't Talk Back." It ends with Alex Lahey's celebratory punk-pop song "Every Day's the Weekend" as the firefighters slide down their station pole. Alex Lahey pops up again with the frenetic "I Love You Like a Brother" at the beginning of the second episode. Will Lahey be something to Station 19 like Sleeping at Last is to Grey's? We'll see in the next few episodes, but I'm digging the Australian singer-songwriter's sound already.
Being a spinoff series, Station 19 will inevitably attract reviews that compare it to its parent show. A lot of its emotional weight has been tied to Grey Sloan Memorial, whether it's Meredith telling an overwrought Andy to put her game face on or Miranda giving Ben a pep talk. But the firefighting drama offers a lot on its own, including a whole new cast of unique, emotionally rich characters and interesting relationship dynamics between those characters.
While die-hard Grey's fans will catch the show's hidden Easter eggs, newcomers will be able to enjoy the emotional kick.