The series premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The original cast consisted of nine star-billed actors: Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T. R. Knight, James Pickens Jr., Isaiah Washington, and Patrick Dempsey. The show's title is a reference to Gray's Anatomy, a classic human anatomy textbook. It is the longest-running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC.