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Brooke Smith, and a gay relationship, out at 'Grey's Anatomy'
Brooke Smith's last appearance on Grey's Anatomy will come this week in a surprise shakeup that will put an end to the show's first prominent gay relationship.
Reports indicate that the decision came from ABC and not Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes. Smith's character, Dr. Erica Hahn, was in the midst of a developing relationship with Sara Ramirez's Callie Torres.
"I really hoped we were going to show what happens when two women fall in love and that they were going to treat it like any heterosexual couple on TV," Smith tells Entertainment Weekly, which broke the story. "And so I was surprised and disappointed when they just suddenly told me that they couldn't write for my character anymore."
The actress also tells EW that when Rhimes informed her of the decision to get rid of Hahn, "it definitely seemed like her hands were tied."
In a statement, Rhimes says that "Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian. Clearly it's not an issue as we have a lesbian character on the show -- Calliope Torres. Sara Ramirez is an incredible comedic and dramatic actress and we wanted to be able to play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run.
"The impact of the Callie/Erica relationship will be felt and played out in a story for Callie. I believe it belittles the relationship to simply replace Erica with 'another lesbian.' If you'll remember, Cristina mourned the loss of Burke for a full season."
Callie and Erica weren't the show's first gay couple -- recurring character Joe the bartender (Steven W. Bailey) is in a committed relationship with another man -- but they were the first to be a regular part of the show's story. And it's looking like Smith's departure will quash any other same-sex relationships for a while.
E! Online is reporting that Melissa George's character, who will first appear on the show Nov. 13, was originally written as bisexual but has now been "de-gayed." A source tells the site that George's character, an old friend of Meredith's (Ellen Pompeo) named Sadie, "starts off flirting with Callie but it never goes anywhere."
I have never thought Callie and Erica had any chemistry. I have also never bought the "Let's try out being gay" story. Callie always had a lot of fire when she was with her two male lovers on the show (especially Sloan, but how could someone not). Erica was just so much better as your general a** kicking surgeon. Too bad that like so many other things on Grey's that direction got mucked up with a bogus romance.
rockstarmom | Nov 4, 2008 6:33:19 AM | #The Callie/Erica storyline was a bad business decision for ABC. The target audience for Grey's is women, and by and large, women don't go for woman on woman storylines. I think ABC saw viewers and therefore sponsor dollars going away.
L. | Nov 4, 2008 8:04:11 AM | #I agree with "L." 100%. The storyline was not good for me as a female viewer. The chemistry was also not there. Glad they are making the change.
"J" | Nov 4, 2008 8:25:02 AM | #Actually Greys viewership was up this year. I didn't really like Hahn but the character and the actress deserved a better send off. And it doesn't bode well for ABC that as soon as they fired her news broke that they were de-gaying one of the characters that just makes ABC look homophobic what I want to know is why Greys cant have a lesbian storyline but Brothers and Sisters can have a married gay couple doesn't make sense to me.
Katie | Nov 4, 2008 8:26:02 AM | #ABC, I'm gone! Brooke Smith is a very gifted actress who deserved better, and her character was very interesting. Her strong, introvert, professional character made a nice contrast, and was a welcomed addition to the show. The chemistry was there, between Callie and Erica. And even if it hadn't been there, it was no reason to fire Ms. Smith. The lack of chemistry between George and Izzie, in the past, didn't result in firing the actors!!! It is clear that ABC decided to get rid of the gay character. More to the point: they fastly de-gayed a new character to come. What other proof is needed! That is disgusting! Nearly all characters on tv are straight, but still, you can't have one - ONE! - lesbian on a tv show. And, on top of that, they flat out lie to viewers, saying that it is not because the character's gay...yeah... I get that Ms. Rhimes is protecting her job, but it's beyong me that, in 2008, the close-minded people still win. I was watching multiple shows on ABC, but I won't anymore.
Sam | Nov 4, 2008 8:56:41 AM | #Katie,
It works for Brothers & Sisters because it is at 10PM on a Sunday, where as Thursday primetime is when sponsors shell out all their money.
David | Nov 4, 2008 9:01:51 AM | #Hi Katie,
"what I want to know is why Greys cant have a lesbian storyline but Brothers and Sisters can have a married gay couple doesn't make sense to me."
I guess it is because we barely see Kevin's husband. They don't kiss much often and, more important, I never saw them in bed together. The show is also at 10 o'clock on a sunday, so it is fair to say that there are less viewers to offend than at 9 on a Thursday, on a popular show like Grey. I guess it depends also on the advertisers that put their money during GA's airing. If they're homophobe, they will threaten to keep their $$$, and ABC won't allow that, hence the modifications that happent to Grey that didn't seem to be Shonsa Rhimes's decisions.
Sam | Nov 4, 2008 9:03:51 AM | #I meant "Shonda" (sorry for bad typing!).
Sam | Nov 4, 2008 9:05:06 AM | #I never bought the Callie/Erica storyline--it felt too contrived. I've always like George and Callie together. Maybe the writers can put them back together.
tupperkenn | Nov 4, 2008 9:24:13 AM | #Hmm i guess your right. I just find it strange that ABC has the first lesbian daytime couple and has gay story lines but not lesbian ones it doesn't make much sense. I read that its because the actress that plays Hahn wasn't pretty enough to be a lesbian on network tv i'll look around for the link.
Katie | Nov 4, 2008 9:25:52 AM | #Sam
I love Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters but for me the storyline between Erica and Callie didn't have anything to do with the fact that they were lesbians in itself but the fact that the storyline AND the relashionship seemed forced (to me anyway). It just didn't work. Frankly working for ABC and seeing EVERY WEEK the complaints of the viewers about the lack of chemistry between them and the fact that Callie seemed way better suited with Sloane(we wrote them here but I'm sure people wrote to them also) I would have taken the same decision. The difference between Grey's and Brothers & Sisters is not because it airs later or that they only kiss a little...it's because Kevin's character is believable, genuine and that we care about his relationship with Scotty. Grey's never got viewers to care about Callie/Erica's relationship. It doesn't have anything to do with having gay storylines on tv. We should never put a "gay character" on tv just to have one. It has to fit with the character and the storyline foremost.
M | Nov 4, 2008 9:29:44 AM | #Personally, I think that the issues that ABC may have had were not with a lesbian character or lesbian relationship being forefront, etc. I think that probably a lot of it had to do with the WAY the portrayal was done. After the latest episode I had seen, I was thinking they were going in a direction that would have the show move to HBO or something else on cable because the talk between them was becoming raunchy and rather disgusting, rather than it being a decent story-line about two people falling in love.
I don't know why ABC made the decision, but I do hope they keep the raunchiness out.. whether it is homosexual or heterosexual. Grey's is a really good show, but needs to not become ridiculous.
:)
Agree with rockstarmom....I like Callie with SLoan, better chemistry between teh CHARACTERS all around. I just didn't see it with Hahn & Torres. But the Chemistry between Kevin & Scotty works...
And NOT A FAN of the chemistry between House & Cuddy - ugh....no thanks there too.
Jana | Nov 4, 2008 9:34:17 AM | #Glad to see that storyline go away! I do NOT want to see same sex things on TV. I topped watching ER a long long time ago over this issue and I would hate to have to quit greys but I would if this continued. I want Callie & sloan heating things up
JulieW. | Nov 4, 2008 9:59:25 AM | #M,
Of course, some people complained about the "lack" of chemistry between Callie and Erica. To very vocal people who don't want a lesbian on "their" show certainly did. Some fans of Sloane/Callie did too. I, in the other hand, think the chemistry existed, just as I think there is chemistry between Callie and Sloane. And, it is Grey. I never expected Callie and Erica to last. That didn't mean they had to get rid of Erica. She could have gotten a girlfriend who wasn't Callie. But that would mean having a another lesbian character on the show (and they didn't want that! Especially since they de-gayed the upcoming friend of Meredith).
"We should never put a "gay character" on tv just to have one. It has to fit with the character and the storyline foremost." I can answer to that: We should never put a straight character on tv to have one.
As for Kevin and Scotty: sure, they are cute! Sure, it's easy to care about them! But still, at 10 p.m. on sundays, while you blink the eyes and miss all the 5 seconds of Scotty's screentime, it's easier to feature gay characters than it is the case with Grey.
If I had to guess, I would say that: Dr Hahn is a strong, outspoken, ambitious female character, and some viewers don't like that. The fact that, in top of that, she didn't need men in her life, I guess, the last straw for some vocal people, including ABC's power that be.
So no, I guess it is fair to say that Hahn was discharched because she was gay.
Sam
As far as can remember...Rebecca/Justin in the last weeks was the first real "makeout" scene I've seen on Brothers & Sisters so it doesn't have anything to do with Kevin being gay but with the show not being about that. Also, I never said that they had to kick out Brooke Smith out of the show altogether...but did it ever occur to you that maybe they didn't have another storyline in store for her? When shows have gay characters that are too stereotyped people complain that gay people are like everyone else with jobs, partners, etc. When they put them with those said jobs, life, partners and everyday struggles like it's supposed to be...people still complain that it's too boring or they should makeout more, etc. I say it still has to go with the storylines, the truthfulness of the characters and the purpose of the show.
And to answer you...no they shouldn't put "straight" people on shows just to put straight people on shows. Unless it has something to do with the storyline itself or the development of a character...the sexual orientation of a character shouldn't even have to come up until we see them in a relationship/dating scene if it doesn't add to the storyline and for Callie/Erica didn't add anything good to the storyline like Izzy/George didn't do it for me.
M | Nov 4, 2008 10:25:27 AM | #Sketchy! That was very no notice. And I like Erica, so this is sort of lame.
Mandy | Nov 4, 2008 10:38:37 AM | #Grey's was dealing with the lack of chemistry/forced storyline of Callie and Hahn adequately by introducing the idea that while Hahn realised that she was gay, and Callie realised that she wasn't. If Callie continued sleeping with Sloane on the side, the relationship would have eventually broken up, leaving Hahn open to more realistic lesbian storylines and Callie dealing with finding herself and the fallout.
I think Hahn was an interesting character who had many layers. As with Karev, the writers have been big on showing her reactionary behaviours, while slow to dole out the reasons behind their actions. Obviously the writers were going somewhere - it's a shame that ABC won’t allow them to develop her further.
Thank God!! I hated Hahn with a fiery passion! The lesbian sl was stupid, and came out of nowhere. You don't put a lesbian sl between a fat and ugly chick on tv. I'm a straight woman, and the only reason my boyfriend would watch this show was if I made him, that all ended when he saw who the lesbians were. Sorry ABC, but this went on way too long!
C | Nov 4, 2008 12:20:51 PM | #I blame the writers! Not just ABC. Better writing could have saved Brooke Smith and the character of Dr. Erica Hahn. Brooke Smith and Sara Ramirez did the best they could with the scripts and story lines they had. There was chemistry between the two. At least there was last season. I also believe Brooke was fired because people believe that she isn't "Hot" enough. It's not how smart you are it's how you look! To me both actresses are stunning and deserve better! We as viewers deserve better! At least give us closure.
Thumper | Nov 4, 2008 1:33:40 PM | #I'm really upset by this, not because of the lesbian storyline, but because Brooke Smith is a great actress and deserves better. Her abrasive character was a good contrast to the other characters. Shame on ABC.
Susan | Nov 4, 2008 2:14:12 PM | #The Callie/Erica storyline was the only thing causing me to pay attention to Grey's. It could have been handled better, but I thought both actresses did a good job.
Comments like "You don't put a lesbian sl between a fat and ugly chick on tv" prove there is still a lot of prejudice out there, unfortunately. I wasn't aware TV characters could be lesbians only if they're hot enough to turn on the guys watching. That's more than a little bit ridiculous. Besides, I think both actresses are beautiful.
CC | Nov 4, 2008 2:16:21 PM | #Why can't they just skip the gau thing altogether. Every other show on TV has the same type of story line. I would like for one evening watch TV with all guys.
Autum | Nov 4, 2008 2:26:09 PM | #Come on people. ABC is doing this purely for the ratings. Keeping them, that is.
While I agree there wasn’t much chemistry between the characters, as soon as the relationship between Callie & Erica began to get serious and receive more screen time, the weekly numbers for Grey’s began to drop. Check it out for yourself. Most likely, the viewers in the bible-belt and other ultra-conservative areas of the country were put off by the 'lesbian' storyline and ABC decided to play it safe.
It’s purely a business decision and the latest in a long line of writing failures and other various missteps (Isaiah Washington and Katherine Heigl’s off-screen behavior and comments) by Shonda, her staff and cast. The show’s best years – creatively speaking – are in the past and ABC is just attempting to retain as many viewers as possible while it continues to milk the show for advertising dollars before Grey’s fades out completely.
It's very hard to be openly gay, lesbian or bisexual. They usually got harassed, beaten up, pushed around and called all kinds of slurs. They would say all sorts of horrible things for the wrong reasons.
So I think for GLBT, they'd better find some online community or something like that, to come out first, where they may feel support, happy, free, just like the one **BiLoves dotcom**. Also members there are very active. Hope you are the one.Ifyou come here frequently, you may find what you are looking easily and quickly.
Offina | Nov 4, 2008 5:40:56 PM | #
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