Pompeo was cast as the program's titular character, described by Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" as "a prickly, independent sort whose ambition, and ambivalence, is fueled by the fact that her mother was a gifted surgeon and now suffers from Alzheimer's." Grey also serves as the show's narrator, and as such was likened in early reviews to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), the narrator and protagonist of "Sex and the City". After her initial contract with "Grey's Anatomy" expired, Pompeo negotiated a new one, in which she would be paid US$200,000 per episode, making her and Dempsey the highest-paid cast members on the show. In 2012, "Forbes" recognized Pompeo as the eighth highest-paid actress on television, with a salary of US$275,000 per episode for her role on "Grey's Anatomy".