Station 19 episode 1 review: Does ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy spin-off ignite?

Station 19 episode 1, almost from the start of it to the end, certainly feels more like Grey’s Anatomy than it does Chicago Fire. This is a show that contained within its first hours a couple of steamy hookups, a little bit of narration, a Meredith Grey and Miranda Bailey cameo, and then also in the end the birth of a love triangle. You have Andy Herrera in the middle, and then on the sides fellow firefighter Jack and then on the other police officer Ryan, someone who also happens to be a former high school sweetheart who grew up down the street.

To make matters all the more chaotic for Andy, she’s got a father in Pruitt who just so happens to be the Fire Captain — similar to Meredith Grey, her parent has a huge legacy that she’s trying to live up to. Her father is still alive, but his life was put into danger after an accident out in the field. Even when he did make it out of there alive, it was then made clear that he has cancer and could be dying in the near future.

This is what led to Andy and Ryan hooking back up — an emotional situation that led to her wanting a little bit of comfort from some other place in her life.

We do like Andy a lot as a heroine — she’s likable, she’s tough, and she’s willing to fight for what she wants — that’s why she and Jack are going to be spending some time each competing for the position of Captain in the wake of Pruitt’s absence. We do think that Ryan really should have been angrier for longer about his car being wrecked-up by Andy, but these sort of shows have fairly short attention span.

As for the rest of the cast, there are a few standouts. For example, Dean is a fun, super-likable guy who saved a dog in the opening minutes — while also seemingly taking in both the dog and its owner after the fire. Meanwhile, Ben is still getting accustomed to life in the firehouse after being at the Grey Sloan Hospital for much of the past few years. There was a nice Miranda Bailey cameo thrown in here and that’s hopefully something that will continue.

At the end of the premiere the big win was simply Ben not being called “Rookie” for a minute.

Related – Want to get some other news right now, including a preview for what is coming up on the series next?

CarterMatt Verdict

Station 19 episode 1 proved itself to be a pretty powerful hour of storytelling for a number of different reasons, especially as we got a chance to see and understand some of these characters better. We do think that there needs to be a little more humor and time spent on the supporting cast, but we hope that it will get there in time.

As we’ve said, both it and Chicago Fire an exist at the same time — it really just depends on which characters appeal to you the most.

What did you think about Station 19 episode 1 as a whole? Be sure to share right now in the comments!

Also, you can like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want to get some other news when it comes to the series right now. (Photo: ABC.)