Data Archive: Station 19
Station 19 hopped into the television scene as a spinoff of long-running series, Grey’s Anatomy. The series had a backdoor pilot aired in season 14 of Grey’s Anatomy that featured one of the firefighters who would eventually become part of the large ensemble cast of Station 19. Over the course of its run, the series won nine of the 11 awards it was nominated for across awards shows such as the Imagen Awards, Young Artist Awards and GLAAD Media Awards.
Premise: Station 19 follows the Seattle Fire Department as the station’s firefighters navigate their personal and professional lives.
Genre: Procedural drama
Cast: Jaina Lee Ortiz (Rosewood, Girls Trip) as Andrea "Andy" Herrera, Jason George (Sunset Beach, Breaking In) as Dr. Benjamin "Ben" Warren, Grey Damon (Oldboy, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters) as Jack Gibson, Barrett Doss (The Noel Diary, Marshall) as Victoria "Vic" Hughes, Jay Hayden (SEAL Team, The Catch) as Travis Montgomery, Danielle Savre (Heroes, Found) as Maya Bishop, Boris Kodjoe (Resident Evil: Afterlife, Surrogates) as Robert Sullivan, Stefania Spampinato (Landman, Il Giorno più Bello del Mondo) as Dr. Carina DeLuca, Carlos Miranda (The Bling Ring, Warrior) as Theo Ruiz, Josh Randall (Quarry, Ozark) as Sean Beckett and Merle Dandridge (Half-Life 2, The Last of Us) as Natasha Ross
Network: ABC
Medium: Broadcast
Original Release: March 22, 2018 - May 30, 2024
Seasons: 7
Episodes: 105
Station 19 maintained its viewership throughout the first flour season before slowly starting to decline. Season one averaged 5.27 million viewers per episode, season two averaged 5.29 million, season three averaged 6.46 million and season four averaged 5.18 million. From there, averages dropped: season five (4.47 million), season six (3.86 million) and season seven (2.45 million).
Unlike viewership, the series’ ratingsremained relatively high and consistent among audiences across all seven seasons. The worst rated season was the premiere season with a 7.4 rating average and the best rated was season two with an 8.1 average. Every following season fell between these two: season three (8.0), season four (7.6), season five (7.9), season six (7.8) and season seven (7.9). This indicates that the series regularly delivered content that viewers who tuned in were happy with.
The best-rated episodes of the series come from seasons two (episode 15 and 16) and three (episode 12). Season two’s episode 15 was the only episode to receive above a 9.0, with a 9.2 rating. The worst-rated episodes come from across the series including both the first and final seasons: season seven episode three, season four episode 12, and season one episode four. As demonstrated by the average rating consistency, the spread of the worst episodes shows a fairly even performance and the best episodes being within season two and three coincide with the highest season averages.
Two changes that are typical of long-running ensemble series may have impacted Station 19’s ratings and viewership over time: changes in production leadership (i.e. showrunners) and main and recurring cast member changes. Another change that may have had an influence was the final season’s time slot change. Throughout the series’ run, it has typically been aired on Thursdays at 8:00 P.M. ET/PT or 9:00 P.M. ET/PT, however the final season was moved to 10:00 P.M. While 10:00 P.M. is not considered a death slot, it does regularly decrease viewership due to its late hour for many households.
The series was cancelled by ABC due to a combination of making room for another procedural scripted television series, 9-1-1, and showrunner changes. The announcement was made with enough prior notice for the writers and producers to adjust to a shorter season and create an ending for the series. Limited information has been released about where season eight, if there was a renewal, may have taken the characters.
Station 19 was a series that managed to successfully carry-over audiences from its original inspiration with a completely new setting and cast. The series maintained love from its audiences until it closed out and often finds itself mentioned with and in comparison to other firefighter series: Fire Country and Chicago Fire.
