ATX Exclusive Interview with Station 19’s Jason George and Jaina Lee Ortiz

I got the chance to talk with Jason George and Jaina Lee Ortiz from Station 19 on the red carpet for HBO’s Sharp Objects at ATX Television Festival. Keep reading to see what they had to say about the season one cliffhanger, if they know what’s going to happen in season 2, and what they nerd out about!

We’ve got to talk about that finale. I mean, at this point, the only people who are for sure alive are Ryan and Dr. Bailey.

Jaina: Hey, hey, hey!

Jason: We’re alive.

Are you though?

Jason: I don’t have a shard of glass in my chest. 

Jaina: That’s true though. You’re right.

Jason: It could go south real quick for us. Let’s say they’re the only ones safe, assuming Ryan’s a good driver because she’ll [Andi played by Jaina] have a lot to say….yeah.

So do you guys know anything that’s going to happen next season? Have you been told anything?

Jason: We’ve been trying to bribe, we’ve been trying to sneak in to offices, but we got nothing.

Do you guys know if you’re going to be on in the fall for 22 episodes at least?

Jaina: Hopefully, I mean fingers crossed. We have a 13 episode pick up with a back 9 option. But if we’re supposed to be the companion piece to Grey’s Anatomy, then it only makes sense.

Jason: The real part is that’s on the fans. If they show up and they tell friends and the fan base is there, then we’ll keep running. The reason Grey’s has been running for 14 seasons is [the fan base]. There are phenomenal shows that go away because the fan base didn’t find it. 

Jason, since you’re talking about Grey’s, what was the transition for you like going from Grey’s to Station 19?

Jason: It’s been spectacular. There’s so much overlap in the fans, but its been fun to see Station 19 have its own fans as well. It’s been seamless and fantastic and the fact that I get to keep going back and forth is a dream because I didn’t really have to leave home. I have this new family, with my sister here, that I love but I still get to go back and visit my peeps every once in a while.

Jaina: In my opinion, he fits way better on Station 19, because he does. He does.

Last question, our website is called Talk Nerdy With Us, because we all have an inner nerd.

Jaina: Talk Nerdy… I love that!

Yeah. So what is something you both nerd out over?

Jason: Oh, what don’t I nerd out about? I’m a ridiculous sci-fi, action-adventure, fantasy geek.

What’s your favorite universe then?

Jason: Oh, I was raised on Marvel Comics. That’s a real thing. I have thousands of comics.

Of course, that’s a real thing.

Jaina: My thing is, and he actually hooked me on to it, virtual reality. We went and did…

Jason: It was a zombie thing. IMAX does a virtual reality thing.

Jaina: And we were killing zombies and I kind of geeked out. What’s that movie that Steven Spielberg just did?

Jason: Ready Player One?

Jaina: Ready Player One! Ohhhhh my god. I felt like I was in Ready Player One and if I could do that all the time, that would be my escape. So that’s what I geek out about.

The entire first season of Station 19 is available to binge on Hulu. You can follow Jason on Twitter and Instagram and Jaina on Twitter and Instagram.