I was looking forward to this series and am ok with the cast being diverse in ethnicity... but not ok with the choice of actress playing the female lead. She is unattractive and looks uncannily like Miss J. Alexander. Her looks really turn me off. Hard to imagine her being the object of love/desire of so many good looking guys on the show.
"What time is sunrise?"
"When I open this door."
The most important thing is: is she a compelling actress? Going by the trailer, I think she's talented and she has what it takes to be a lead. The focus of the storyline isn't about her beauty, it's about a young woman (and man) being used as a pawn to end a family feud. The viewers will be more interested in seeing the female protagonist trying to gain control over her life as she is forced in to a marriage. How beautiful she looks as she is trying to survive a forced marriage is not the main draw.
As for her appearance, I think she looks great-- she has striking features and I'm glad to see a beautiful dark-skinned black woman in the role. I like how Shonda shows are not afraid to cast women like her instead of the typical light or mixed-race black women (who are often considered to be more palatable to audiences used to Eurocentric beauty standards). To me, she looks nothing like Miss J Alexander. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for people to dismiss women with very dark complexions, strong bone structure and athletic bodies as looking unattractive and masculine.