The Success of "Grey's Anatomy"

USA Today analyzes the success of GREY'S ANATOMY today, suggesting that it combines some of the best features of previous hit series such as THIRTYSOMETHING and E.R.

The article does a good job summing up the show's appeal. I've only seen Season 1 thus far, but I particularly agree that the characters feel very real because they're flawed -- while on the one hand they have "book smarts," they sometimes make career mistakes and bad "life" decisions, and hopefully will grow and mature personally as they also grow into their careers. I don't agree with some of the choices the characters make (one-night stands and getting drunk are not cool in my book), but I find them worth watching, particularly as the show examines these choices from the prism of a different theme each week. As one of the fans quoted in the article says, "The show always has some underlying theme that makes me stop and think about my own life and how it relates."

In an interesting intersection of old and new media, the writers of GREY'S ANATOMY participate periodically in a blog, Grey Matter, analyzing past episodes.