“Station 19” star Danielle Savare trained hard before landing her first directing job on the ABC drama series. Still, she admits to having spent sleepless nights working to get the episodes perfect as they read on the page.
“When I read the script, it was challenging at first, because the scope of the script is huge,” Savare told TheWrap. “It’s a big event. Everyone has big feelings, and big story points are being told that are going to run after me in the next two episodes. So if I don’t get it right, I basically install didn’t help [finale]… But I do very well under pressure.”
Thursday’s new episode, titled “Dirty Laundry,” sees the Station 19 crew respond to a tragic pileup accident on a busy street. Meanwhile, Andy (Jaina Lee Ortiz) hopes to convince Natasha (Merle Dandridge) not to give up fighting to keep her job as Seattle fire chief after her secret affair with Robert (Boris Kodjoe) is exposed. does.
To top it all off, disgraced Captain Beckett (Josh Randall) returns from a brief hiatus – brought on after his drinking on the job killed another firefighter – and claims to be all better after some therapy and time. . But Vic (Barrett Doss), who’s training to be a therapist, has trouble hiding what’s beneath him.
For Savare, stepping into the director’s chair has been a goal for years. He credited the support of Shondaland, the Shonda Rhimes-run production company behind “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19,” for encouraging his development as a director. The five-year journey included hiring 12 directors, among them “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Kevin McKidd, a frequent director on the flagship ABC medical drama. He also directed the 2021 short film “HEaRD”.
Savare said, “I know other shows that will refuse to let any actor direct, but I think Shondaland sees value in the actors who direct the show, because we’re in line with the show.” “So, you come on set and you get a better show from a director who’s going to come in and have never been there before — even though we have had some fantastic guest directors.
“But at least from an actor’s point of view, we add a flavor and an aspect to the show that guest directors won’t have because we’re here on set day in and day out.”
With outdoor shooting dependent on proper lighting, overseeing the construction of an exact replica of the hospital room set from “Grey’s Anatomy” and juggling his own acting chops during the episode, Savare said that the previous “Station 19” Director Kelly Park’s advice remained in mind throughout production, “Just be like water.”
“There are so many moving pieces and factors that are out of your control, and all you can do is be as prepared as possible and be as certain as possible,” Savare said. “I really just had to go with the flow and not fight against the change that happened.”
‘Station 19’ airs Thursdays at 8 PM ET/PT on ABC.
