Jaina Lee Ortiz is about to put out her final fire on Station 19. Since debuting as the firefighting counterpart of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) in a Season 14 episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Ortiz has seen her headstrong protagonist, Andy Herrera, rise the ranks of the firehouse her late father Pruitt (Miguel Sandoval) once ran — all while weathering all kinds of family drama and romantic entanglements over the years.
Now, in the seventh and final season of the ABC firefighter drama, which aired its 100th episode on Thursday, Andy has finally claimed the coveted position that she has worked her entire life to hold: the captaincy of the Seattle Fire Department’s Station 19. It’s a professional milestone that also carries a special significance for Ortiz, who is just days away from wrapping production on the most well-developed character she has ever played.
“Obviously, none of our characters are perfect, but I feel like Andy struggled with balancing her career with her personal relationships and, ultimately, being the captain of her dreams. I think she made a lot of mistakes along the way,” Ortiz told TV Guide on a recent Zoom call. “So to finally be in this leadership position, it really makes everything full circle, I guess. So I just wanted people to really be proud of her.”
Below, Ortiz explains how Andy has adjusted to her new title and position, how she personally reacted to the show’s shocking cancellation and how she has been preparing to say goodbye to her character, and what fans can expect from the bittersweet series finale.
(Come back to TV Guide closer to the series finale for a Station 19 retrospective with Ortiz and some other members of the cast.)
So much of this show has been building up to Andy filling the seat her late father once held as captain of Station 19. What kinds of conversations did you have with showrunners Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige about what this professional milestone would mean for Andy as a character this season?
Jaina Lee Ortiz: Looking back, it brings up so many different emotions, because obviously, we wanted to see Andy step into this role eventually. And with the ending of the series, we didn’t realize how much we needed to wrap up her life in 10 episodes, so that in itself was incredibly challenging. However, I ultimately expressed to Zoanne and Peter that I wanted people to be proud of Andy. I wanted her to fill out her dad’s legacy in a way that people could celebrate and honor her because for six seasons, I think she has been one of the most flawed characters. Obviously, none of our characters are perfect, but I feel like Andy struggled with balancing her career with her personal relationships and, ultimately, being the captain of her dreams. I think she made a lot of mistakes along the way. So to finally be in this leadership position, it really makes everything full circle, I guess. So I just wanted people to really be proud of her, and [I wanted her to] be able to stand up as a woman, as a Latina, and show people, “Hey, I made it outside. I made it out the other end.”
How has Andy’s perspective of being captain changed now that she finds herself in that position and sitting in that office?
Ortiz: Maybe in the beginning, Andy almost assumed she deserved it because of nepotism. Andy, I guess, expected to be captain because her dad was for so many years, and I feel like she realized that she had to earn it herself, and she almost had to separate herself from her dad’s identity and be her own person and listen to her own gut while following his advice and guidance along the way. Ultimately, she had to stand on her own and be her own version of the captain that her dad was. Coming from a place where I’ve personally lost a parent, it’s easier said than done, right? Because when your parent is alive, it’s very convenient. You have their support; they’re a phone call away. And once they’re gone, you’re like, “Oh s—, what do I do now?” And I think that challenge alone, that obstacle alone, really allowed her to truly step in and be the leader that everyone knew she could be.
How do you think Andy has been handling that position this season? Has she managed to strike a balance between being someone’s friend and someone’s boss?
Ortiz: I think Andy had a rough start. It’s hard to root for someone who gets it right all the time and succeeds instantly. And I think for Andy, she had to fail a few times before getting up and realizing, “Oh, it really isn’t this easy. I now have to separate myself as a person in charge and turn the ‘friend Andy’ on and off from ‘boss Andy.'” And that isn’t very fun when you’re working with your family. So I think she had to maybe put up a guard and do things a different way to earn the kind of respect that she wanted, because it’s very uncomfortable to have to tell your friends what to do or to discipline them or something like that. It’s very awkward, and I feel like Andy struggled a lot. She didn’t get it right. And we see that, especially in episode five, which is the 100th episode, I think it brought everything full circle. There were a bunch of callbacks to little Andy and teenage Andy, and then adult Andy ultimately climbing for that spot, and I think it looked a lot easier from the outside in. So we get to see her struggle.
Do you think Andy could have been captain at any other point in the show, or do you think she was exactly where she was supposed to be on that path to leadership?
Ortiz: Of course I think she could have been captain at an earlier point during the show, but we wanted the show to last potentially as long as Grey’s, so I don’t think it would’ve been as big of an impact to do it early on. So maybe it is perfect timing, I don’t know. I also didn’t want Andy’s character to sleep with so many men, but that’s another story. [Laughs.]
I love your candor. Considering that this is a show that has always thrived on romantic drama, can we expect anything on the horizon in Andy’s personal life this season?
Ortiz: That I cannot say, because I will ruin a really beautiful surprise for everyone [in] the finale… [Laughs.]
Let me rephrase the question then: Is Andy looking for love at this point in her life? Or is she more interested in focusing her attention on her job and honoring her father’s legacy for the time being?
Ortiz: I don’t think we see Andy looking for love this season. We don’t even get to see her at home, so I feel like the main focus is her at the job in the captain’s chair, just Andy at work. I think that’s the primary focus and the fact that it doesn’t go smoothly says a lot about, I guess, how difficult the job can be.
A really beautiful episode that I personally loved — Episode 4 [of this season] — was directed by Stefania [Spampinato] and written by Mellow [Brown] and Sybil [Azur]. I actually loved the way that episode focused on women and highlighted their role in a male-dominated job, and I feel like we’ve never really gotten to see that in past seasons. I just wanted to highlight that episode and give that episode a shout out. It was one of my favorites. But yeah, you’re basically seeing Andy at work, and her love life is way at the back at the bottom of the list.
Earlier in this conversation, you touched on how Andy, like the rest of her co-workers, is inherently flawed. I think all characters — but especially ambitious female characters — are often forced into this conversation of how “likable” they are, and they’re not always given the opportunity to be flawed. How do you think Andy both plays into and subverts the archetype of the strong female character?
Ortiz: Wow, you said that so beautifully. Thank you. I love that. I don’t think Andy personally has ever even thought about that because she’s such an impulsive fierce character. She’s this firecracker, right? So I don’t think she even has time to think about: What is my identity? How am I serving my community? How much of a representation can I live up to for women and for Latinas? But I feel like because she’s so unapologetically herself, her drive, her passion and her dedication to being the best version of herself is something naturally that people can look up to as a role model on TV. Beautifully enough, Shondaland has definitely provided that space for all of us.
What do you think you have learned about yourself from playing Andy? Have any of her own character traits rubbed off on you?
Ortiz: I guess the main thing would be a life lesson that you’ve heard before, but it’s definitely been a reminder to take a step back and trust the process because everything will work out the way it’s supposed to, if that makes any sense. You are right where you’re supposed to be, right where you need to be. Surrendering has been the biggest lesson for me because I too can be impulsive. The only similarity to Andy I have is her impulsiveness. [Laughs.]
You’ve spent the last seven seasons cultivating such important friendships between the characters — which have become the lifeblood of this series — and at a certain point, many of those relationships have mirrored the development of your own friendships with your castmates. Are there any friendships for Andy in this final season that stand out in your mind?
Ortiz: Over the seasons, I love her brother-sister relationship with Ben Warren (Jason George). I also love her deeper friendship connection with Jack (Grey Damon), but I also love how close Andy and Vic (Barrett Doss) became. There has been a stronger connection with those two women in particular, and I’m proud to say that offscreen, that friendship has also evolved. I feel extremely close to Andy and Vic’s sisterhood because of their background and also being able to connect with both [Latino and African American] cultures. Growing up, that was all I saw. So the fact that Vic and Andy became closer and also shot scenes that passed the Bechdel test — that’s what makes their relationship extra special to me. We just shot a scene together, which was our last scene — I believe it was in Episode 8 — and we ended up crying afterwards because we realized that was our last Vic and Andy scene.
When I spoke with some of your castmates earlier this season, they said you guys were already shooting the first episode and preparing for the second, so the writers really only had eight of these 10 episodes to wrap up the stories they wanted to tell. How did you react to the news of the cancellation?
Ortiz: I was also very shocked, but at the same time, I understand that this is the business, and I’ve always looked at my projects in a cautiously optimistic way. So when we found out, I think I panicked for the writers because how do you wrap up an entire series in eight episodes? However, that being said, it only forced me to appreciate what we do have, because not too many shows can go past two seasons, let alone seven. So I wanted to just take a moment and not be in the dumps about what we’re losing, but sit in the gratitude of what we did create. I think that in itself is really special because [over] seven seasons, we’ve built this family, we’ve been able to tell these stories, we’ve been able to create a very passionate and dedicated fan base, and I think that in itself is a success.
You’re currently shooting the series finale. What has the vibe been like on set? Has it sunk in that you’re closing such an important chapter of your lives?
Ortiz: You know what? In the beginning, I think we were all down and out, especially the crew, and that was extremely heartbreaking. But towards the end, I think we’re all going to be a ball of mess because shooting the finale has been very emotional. It’s the last of everything. This is the second-to-last week of shooting. I believe we only have seven more days, and I think we’re probably going to be crying every second of every day. I mean, it’s not really goodbye, but ultimately, we won’t be doing this again. So just thinking about it makes me tear up because I’m going to miss everyone. It’ll definitely be an emotional rollercoaster for the next seven days.
What can you tease about the finale?
Ortiz: I think the finale is really beautiful because we get to see a snippet of their lives that we’ve been wanting to see for Seasons 8, 9 and 10, and I think that’s lovely. That’s all I’ll say.
Are you happy with where Andy ends up in the finale?
Ortiz: Yes.
So much of the last six years of your life has been spent working on this show, and I have to assume you like your downtime when you aren’t shooting, but are there any other projects on the horizon for you that you can talk about?
Ortiz: Yes! I have a movie coming out on Friday called The Long Game.
Oh, yes. It’s the one screening at the White House, right?
Ortiz: Yes! I wish I was there, but Station 19 is the priority, and I’m excited to go see it in theaters on Friday because I happen to have the day off, so it worked out. It worked out beautifully. I get to go with a bunch of friends to the theater and check it out. It’s a beautiful, true story, and a lot of talented people are attached to it. I’m really proud of it. And also my podcast, After We Wrap with Gabby Ortiz, we have been inviting a lot of Station 19 guests to come on there and talk about their favorite memories, reminisce about the show, and still keep it alive.
