Why Katherine Heigl Returning for the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Reunion Is a Big Deal
Shows like Grey’s Anatomy are important for a number of reasons. I remember watching it as it aired way back when it first premiered in 2005: Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) with the bomb, and battles between McSteamy (Eric Dane) and McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey).
Many of us can still quote the show. “Pick me, choose me, love me” is a personal favorite. But all this to say that there has been nearly 20 years of the Shonda Rhimes show and we’ve been through many changes through the years, including the departure of Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl). At the time, rumors swirled about why Heigl was leaving the show, so to see her back for the reunion is a pretty big deal.
Many of those rumors dealt with the tension between her and Rhimes and also connected to a fight she had with Isaiah Washington, who would go on to get fired from the show for homophobic remarks that many believed were towards T.R. Knight, who played George O’Malley. At the time, Washington went on to say the f-slur on set and then again in a press room at an award show, something that did not sit well with Heigl. She talked with Access Hollywood about it, saying, “I’m going to be really honest right now, he needs to just not speak in public. Period,” as well as, “I’m sorry, that did not need to be said, I’m not okay with it.”
The start of problems on set
This, along with Heigl withdrawing her name from Emmy consideration because she didn’t think that season had material worthy of an award, and she and the show were seemingly at odds. She said at the time, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination, and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.”
Since then, Heigl has spoken about the withdrawal and how it “ambushed” the writers on the show, saying in How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy, “I thought I was doing the right thing. And I wanted to be clear that I wasn’t snubbing the Emmys. The night I won was the highlight of my career. I just was afraid that if I said, ‘No comment,’ it was going to come off like I couldn’t be bothered [to enter the race]. I could have more gracefully said that without going into a private work matter. It was between me and the writers. I ambushed them, and it wasn’t very nice or fair.”
This, plus issues with Heigl speaking out about the working hours, as well as Rhimes releasing her from her contract early, has put a dark cloud on our love of Izzie Stevens. So, to see her back on stage with the cast was pretty amazing.
Oh how I’ve missed you, Izzie Stevens!
Izzie’s storyline in the first couple seasons of Grey’s Anatomy made her one of the best characters on the show. Her trauma of losing Denny, her budding relationship with Alex (Justin Chambers), and the friendships she had with Meredith, George, and Cristina (Sandra Oh) made her very relatable and a character we wanted to go and spend time with.
When Alex left the show, it was insinuated that he was going to be with Izzie and their kids that they had from frozen embryos they had made during Izzie’s battle with cancer. Izzie was not in the episode, so Heigl was not back on Grey’s Anatomy for Chambers’ departure, especially since Rhimes was not interested in bringing Izzie back. She said to TV Guide in a 2012 interview, “I think it was really nice to hear her appreciating the show. We are on a track we have been planning, and the idea of changing that track is not something we are interested in right now.”
All of this has led to the excitement of seeing Heigl on stage with Pompeo, Chambers, and the two cast members still on the show: Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr.
(featured image: Monica Schipper/WireImage)
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