 Rhimes initially conceived Grey 's Anatomy as a statement against racism . She endeavored to create a show that featured a racially diverse cast that allowed viewers to relate to characters regardless of race . While creating characters , as well as writing the first script , the series ' writers had no character descriptions in mind , and hoped to cast the best actor available for each part . Rhimes has explained that if the network did not allow her to create characters this way , she would have been hesitant about moving forward with the series . Female roles in particular were developed as multi @-@ faceted characters . Rhimes offered her insight on this , " I wanted to create a world in which you felt as if you were watching very real women . Most of the women I saw on TV didn 't seem like people I actually knew . They felt like ideas of what women are . They never got to be nasty or competitive or hungry or angry . They were often just the loving wife or the nice friend . But who gets to be the bitch ? Who gets to be the three @-@ dimensional woman ? " 
