Andy Herrera's Story On 'Station 19' May Seem Familiar

Although the fourth season of How to Get Away With Murder has come to a close, Shonda Rhimes' "Thank God It's Thursday" programming will continue to have a full slate with the new Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Station 19, added to the line-up. The new series stars Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andy Herrera, a firefighter who grew up in the fire house, working alongside her dad. Andy's story may sound familiar to some, begging the question: is Andy from Station 19 based on a real person?

Although there are certainly a number of women who have always known they wanted to be a firefighter, Andy's character doesn't appear to be tied to any one specific person. Instead, she is just a character that many viewers may be able to find relatable, and not just because of her career path. Similar to Meredith, who grew up at the hospital in the shadow of her mother, Ellis Grey, in the backdoor pilot Andy revealed to Meredith that she first learned how to run a hose by her father when she was just 7 years old.

Andy has been under her father's tutelage since she was a kid and being a firefighter is pretty much all she's ever known. However, at the start of this first season of Station 19, Andy's father is hurt on the job and must step down as captain, leading Andy to step up and take charge of things.

For Andy, becoming captain is kind of like taking over the family business, something many people can potentially relate to. Even though Andy's been preparing for this her whole life, it's still a heavy burden to carry. Of course, she wants to do right by everyone, but more importantly, she'll want to make her father proud.

On top of that, Andy also has some personal issues she'll have to contend with as well. First, she's dating one of her coworkers, Jack, and he was partially responsible for why her dad ended up in the hospital. Naturally that causes a fracture in their relationship, leading Andy to hook-up with Ryan, her "best friend since diapers" as one of her other coworkers puts it. So it seems by the end of the pilot episode, fans will already see the show's first love triangle, something Shondaland fans are really into.

Another reason fans may see themselves in Andy is because she's Latina — something that means a lot to Ortiz to see represented on television. "I can count on one hand how many Latinas are the leads on any show right now, besides Gina Rodriguez and Justina Machado and Jennifer Lopez," Ortiz told Variety in an interview. "Growing up I didn’t really see a lot of Latinas on TV and they had the role of the maid or the pregnant teenager or the mistress. [Andy] is someone who I feel like every woman can look up to."

Suffice to say, Andy sounds like a complex and compelling character that I'm sure fans will come to love almost immediately. She's obviously fierce, headstrong, confident, but also vulnerable and, unlike Meredith, seems to have a loving relationship with her father. There's a lot about Andy and her story that fans may find familiar and that's what will make her so relatable and a character they can't help but root for as the series progresses.

You can officially meet Andy when Station 19 premieres on Thursday, March 19 at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. Trust me when I say you aren't going to want to miss it!

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