In many ways, Station 19 writers Emily Culver and Alex Fernandez’s journey to working together seemed to be proceeding on separate if parallel paths.
After graduating from Boston University and making her way to Los Angeles for a postgrad program, Culver was juggling an unpaid internship and a barista job at Starbucks. All that changed when one day, her parents, back in Wisconsin, ran into Culver’s elementary school teacher, who just so happens to be the mother of former Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 line producer Sara E. White. The respective daughters were eventually connected, and after hitting it off, Culver and White kept in contact, with White eventually passing Culver’s résumé on to Krista Vernoff, the former longtime showrunner for Grey’s and Station 19. A few weeks later, Vernoff gave Culver a call with an interview offer, and Culver promptly left her internship, “[I] hung up the phone, looked at my boss for my unpaid internship, and said, ‘I have an interview for a paid job, so I’ll see you the next time.’” And just like that, she was in: “[Krista] took a chance on someone who had no experience really in this industry,” Culver says.
Fernandez, a born and bred Angeleno, attended University of California, Riverside, where she studied film production and television. When her professor, film writer and playwright Ken LaZebnik, encouraged her to continue on her path, she wasn’t so confident. She told him, “Maybe that’s not for me, Ken. I feel like I’m more of a grip or something.” They eventually lost touch, and Fernandez took on odd jobs like being a paralegal, “which was so random, and I hated it,” she says. After a while, Fernandez had enough and reconnected with LaZebnik, who inspired her to get her graduate degree. Soon after she graduated Stephen’s College, her mentor, writer Ligiah Villalobos, put her in touch with Shondaland, where she connected with Culver, who went on to hire Fernandez as a production assistant. From there, she worked her way up until she was promoted to staff writer in season six of Station 19.
Years later, Culver and Fernandez would craft an incredible episode of television filled with drama, massive Seattle monuments, and beautiful moments (lest we forget Captain Andy Herrera’s unforgettable speech!). With the 100th episode of Station 19 now in the history books, Shondaland had the chance to talk all about their partnership, crafting the historic episode, their favorite moments from their time on the set, and who from Station 19 they would want to rescue them.
REBECCA SNOW: So, I know partnering together for the 100th episode was all up to chance, but I can only imagine that it was an incredible experience to work together. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
ALEX FERNANDEZ: It was crazy the way it happened. I think we are two of the four oldest members in terms of how long we’ve been on the staff of the show. I remember calling Emily. She was nervous because there was a meeting coming up, and it was basically for our showrunners to tell her that we were writing the episode, but she didn’t know that. Then later on, she calls me on my way home, and she was like, “Oh, my God, we’re going to co-write 100. Holy s–t!” And then, it was so easy to work together too. We came together, and we talked about our ideas and built on each other’s plans. You don’t get that opportunity very often when the process is so easy, because both of us just really cared about the show that much, and we wanted to do something really cool.
I was originally meant to write it with our showrunner, Zoanne [Clack], and then after the news [about Station 19’s cancellation], it was obvious that Zoanne would have to write the finale. So, that left the co-write position open, and they both thought that Emily and I writing the 100th was poetic, symbolic, really — we were [two] of the longest-running members on the show.
EMILY CULVER: It was [also] the day that we found out that we were canceled that I learned that I would be co-writing with Alex. I had already left. I got a text message from either Zoanne’s assistant or Peter’s [Paige] assistant, and they were like, “Hey, they want to talk to you.” And I was like, “I left. Is this something I need to come back for?” Then they go, “Yeah, sorry.” And I got no other information, and I was like, “I don’t really know what could be worse than finding out we’re canceled.” It was a journey that day, for sure. I was so excited, though.
RS: Since you are both long-standing members of the Station 19 writers’ room, what are some lessons that you’re going to take away from that experience?
EC: I think for me, in terms of lessons, it’s just the best idea always wins. Even if you need to step away for a little bit and process everything — all the spaghetti that’s been thrown against the wall in terms of ideas — you have to put your ego aside, and the best storyline wins. Even if it’s something that you don’t necessarily agree with, we’re a team. Even if not everyone’s name is on every episode, we are all participating. We all have a hand in crafting the stories that we’re telling. Your ego [has to get] checked at the door because it’s not about you — it’s about the show, and the characters, and the team that you’re working with, and the fans.
AF: Every single person has brought their own magic to the show, and you’ll see it in the jokes, or in the voices, or in the action. It’s kind of insane. And just really admirable of everybody and what they’ve brought to the room, but seeing and valuing people for what they bring as well. Some people are masters at beautiful monologues that can bring you to tears, and others could punch up a joke, and some, they were able to bring higher stakes to an incident that you didn’t think could get more exciting. And that’s just so valuable. … Like, seeing everybody in the room, not just as a team, but as almost an organism where they each serve a purpose and a part. And without a single person in that room, you could really feel their absence. And that’s what I love about big writers’ rooms like that: You just feed variety and new ideas, and it only works to make the show better.
RS: That’s great. I also feel like the fandom is part of that organism — they really feel like the heart of Station 19. It’s remarkable, the love that they have for all of you. And I’m just curious if there were any fun fan interactions that you have top of mind.
AF: It was during the strike, actually. [Fans] sent their care packages in the forms of food trucks, like ice cream or drinks trucks. And one time, they posted at the Disney lot while we were striking — they posted up right there with a snack bar, essentially. And it was really heartwarming. I hadn’t seen or heard of any other fandoms doing something like that. And they were able to pick out the writers as we were walking. They knew us too, and that was special. I really cheered up that day once I saw them because they were cheering us on, and they were behind us throughout a moment of uncertainty and fear that we were all feeling, especially many months into the strike, and they were there just hanging on along with us.
EC: I wholeheartedly agree. It was incredible. They show up for us every week already, and they’re so engaged, and we’re never going to make a perfect episode of television that satisfies every single fan, but what I appreciate is that everyone still shows up. And for the most part, everyone is so positive, loving, inviting, and supportive — more than anything. And to show up with us in the middle of a strike in Los Angeles when it was 90 degrees and just stand out in the sun with us … it was so beautiful and touching.
I was at a music festival last year, and I was just standing waiting for the next show to start onstage, and all of a sudden someone asks, “Are you Emily Culver?” And I was like, “I don’t know who you are.” I just stared at them for a moment because I was trying to figure out if I knew them and was forgetting their name because I hate when that happens. And I said, “Yes?” And they’re like, “Oh, my gosh, yes, we’re fans of Station 19.” It blew my mind.
RS: Going back to the 100th episode, I’m curious what were each of your favorite moments in that episode?
AF: My favorite is the scene where Vic is talking Riley Jones down [in the elevator]. And it’s right after she blows up and Beckett calls her back to Earth, and she recalibrates, and then she turns to Riley, and she nails it. Barrett Doss is a talent that’s just waiting to explode, for sure. I don’t even know what to say — the music, the way she delivers the lines, everything is perfect in that scene in my opinion.
EC: I mean, I love so much of it, but truly I think the thing that I loved the most is Maya speaking Italian in that scene in the bunk room with Carina because I’ve been pitching that she learns Italian since season four, and I have passionately pitched it every season, in many episodes. Finally, we were presented with an opportunity to do it, and I’ll own it: I was a little obnoxious throughout that whole process. I was like, “I’m getting my Italian. She’s been married to this woman for a few years now. It’s time Maya learns some Italian, or at least shows that she’s trying for her wife.” Honestly, she has been through so much — specifically, they as a couple have been through so much — in the last couple of years that to me, as a fan of them, I needed to see Maya also putting in the work for their relationship. And sometimes putting in the work is if you’re with someone whose native language isn’t English, the bare minimum you can do is at least learn a little bit.“Every single person has brought their own magic to the show, and you’ll see it in the jokes, or in the voices, or in the action.
RS: Was the Space Needle idea something that you two conceptualized, or did you know going in that that was going to be a prominent aspect of the episode?
AF: It was definitely a different location and not set at the Space Needle, but I think the room coalesced around the idea of the Space Needle because it’s a Seattle monument, and we just felt like it was time, and it was right for our show to kind of pay honor to Seattle and what it is, and being a home to the setting of the show. So, the Space Needle was the obvious choice, and it’s a friendly and loving farewell to Seattle for the show, I think.
EC: The room had always sort of talked about “What can we do that’s big and exciting and something that we haven’t necessarily done before in terms of location within Seattle?” And the Space Needle just called our names.
RS: Looking back at your time at Station 19, do you have a favorite memory?
EC: My favorite memory, I think, is from when I was still an assistant on Station 19. I remember Krista and I were sitting in postproduction, and specifically we were in [editor] David Greenspan’s office watching the season premiere for season three, and we were trying to find an opening song for the show, and we were bouncing ideas. All of a sudden, David started to play this song at random, and all of us just went quiet for that entire opening sequence. And I just remember sitting there thinking, “Holy crap.” I had chills. It was the moment for me on the show that really solidified my obsession.
AF: My favorite moment was also when I was an assistant, but it was the very first time I felt like I pitched something that mattered. As an assistant, that’s a really big deal. And you never forget the first time it happens either. But I remember we were kind of struggling with Dean Miller’s story in season four, and we were trying to figure out how to bring together the idea of first responders responding to mental health [crises], but how do we do that? And there was a lot of talk about interventions between mental health patients and the police force.
So, I remember I emailed Krista one night, and I was scared. I was so scared — I’m just this little assistant. And I emailed her this whole pitch of Dean Miller coming up with some program; it’s a crisis-intervention program to reach those people instead of police so that those calls get dispatched to the fire department instead. And I remember Krista loving it, and then that went on to be the famous Crisis One on Station 19.
RS: Let’s say you’re stuck in a fire in an office building. Who do you hope from Station 19 is going to come through those doors and save you?
EC: I would want it to be Andy, Vic, and Maya, the three of them. They are no bulls–t, they show up, and you just know, when those three are responding to anything, you are safe. And as a team, they build each other up so much as well because they’ve been through the same struggles that you also know that each of them is going to have each other’s backs in a fire. So, my bacon is safe with those three, for sure.
AF: Definitely Travis and Vic because they’re my favorite duo of all time. They’re hilarious, both on and off screen. I think on-screen they’d be in the middle of some personal fight. And I would want to know what the [issue] is, though I wouldn’t mind listening to their problems while they’re saving me. [They also] know the hot goss.
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