Fall TV Blog

Her friend T.R. Knight might be leaving Grey’s Anatomy, but Katherine Heigl will still be sporting scrubs come fall.

A rep for ABC confirms to PEOPLE that Heigl, who plays Dr. Izzie Stephens, isn’t leaving the show despite speculation that she was ready to go to focus on her movie career. The rep also confirmed that Jessica Capshaw, who plays Dr. Arizona Robbins, will return to the show as a series regular.

Show writers left Heigl’s character in a precarious position at the end of last season. After surviving surgery for her brain tumor, Izzie took a turn for the worse, and viewers were left with an ambiguous image of Izzie on an elevator in the dress she wore when Denny died. Knight’s character, Dr. George O’Malley, who was a John Doe at Seattle Grace, was waiting when the doors the elevator doors opened.

In announcing his departure from the show, Knight said the decision was not easy. “I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character,” he said in a statement, “and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much.”

Tell us: Are you happy Katherine Heigl will be back on Grey’s? What will happen to Izzie?

Randy Holmes/ABC

After months of speculation surrounding the fate of Grey’s Anatomy’s George O’Malley, T.R. Knight, who plays the lovable doctor, is breaking his silence about his departure from the hit ABC show.

“Leaving Grey’s Anatomy was not an easy decision for me to make,” Knight says in a statement to PEOPLE. “I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much. I continue to wish them the very best, and wholeheartedly thank all of the fans who have supported me and the show with such passion and enthusiasm.”

Producer Shonda Rhimes simultaneously released a statement, saying, “I think I speak for the entire Grey’s Anatomy family when I say we wish T.R. Knight the best in his future endeavors. He is an incredibly talented actor and a person whose strength of character is admired by all of us.”

While Knight may be happy to make a departure from the show following a season of sparse screen time for his character, costar Jim Pickens says the actor will be missed on the set. “He’s a good man, and a great actor,” Pickens tells PEOPLE. “We have lots of laughs. I’m going to miss his sense of humor.”

Melissa George, who was on Grey’s for several episodes in its fifth season, says she is happy for Knight, who has become a close friend.

“He fought for what he wanted, and he got it,” she told PEOPLE Wednesday at the Whitney Contemporaries Art Party in New York. “He’s moving on to amazing things. I love him very much.” –Lisa Ingrassia

ABC

It’s been a long time coming: After years of playing the lovable George O’Malley on Grey’s Anatomy, ABC has granted T.R. Knight his wish to leave the show, Grey’s sources confirm to PEOPLE.

A show source explains that in addition to feeling his character was not getting juicy enough plot lines, the actor was uncomfortable with the spotlight cast on him as a result of show’s success.

“From some people’s point of view, T.R. doesn’t realize how good he has it being on a hit show and making the money he’s making,” a source says. “But I don’t know that he ever wanted that. He might be better off going and doing theater. Money doesn’t matter very much to him, and he likes to lead a private life.”

Reps for ABC and the actor had no comment on the news, which was first reported by EW.com.

Chandra Wilson, who is spending her summer as Mama Morton in Broadway’s production of Chicago, said she understood the tendency for some cast members to want distance from the Grey’s family — even if she doesn’t feel the same way.

“If you’re with your family in the house for ten months, all day every day, you’re going to have something to say about it, because that’s your family,” she tells PEOPLE. “Sometimes you want your cousins over; sometimes you want your cousins to get out the way. And that’s okay.” – Lisa Ingrassia

Tell us: Will you miss George at Seattle Grace?

ABC

After last night’s two-hour, tear-jerking finale, Grey’s Anatmoy fans are still left wondering what will become of Izzie and George.

And that’s the way show creator Shonda Rhimes likes it. “I don’t know that you should be saying ‘Which one of them lives and which one of them dies,’” Rhimes says in an interview with EW. “I know what happens to the characters.”

While viewers are left to wonder until next season, Rhimes admits that even the cast is left in the dark about their characters’ fates. “There was a joke for a while there that if I got hit by a bus [no one would] know how to end the season.”

But rest assured, season 6 will be another “crazy experiment” filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, and — who knows? — possibly even more hallucinations. But don’t call it “ghost sex.”

“We all thought it was really surprising that anybody thought there was a ghost on our show,” Rhimes tells EW. “We’re a medical show. We thought it was surprising that anybody would look at it and go, ‘Gee, that’s a ghost.’”

And as for Meredith and Derek’s Post-It note wedding shocker, “[It] will have big reverberations next season,” Rhimes says.

Another element that will be woven into the storyline will be Ellen Pompeo’s pregnancy. “We’re still talking about what we’re going to do and what that’s going to mean,” admits Rhimes. “Ellen is extraordinarily optimistic about what she’s going to be able to do.” – Amy Keith

Tell us: What are your hopes for season 6 of Grey’s Anatomy?

ABC

Between hook-ups, break-ups, a wedding and two possible deaths, the two-hour Grey’s Anatomy season finale delivered a double dose of strong medicine.

Brain Wash: McDreamy figured out a way get the tumor out of Izzie’s brain but the procedure could possibly turn her into a vegetable. After a memory test went badly, Meredith and Yang favored chemo but Der told Alex to convince his wife to let him cut. When another cancer patient, who had refused surgery, took a turn for the worse, Izzie turned to George for advice and eventually agreed to surgery, but said she wanted a DNR. Izzie survived the surgery and could recall who and where she was, but has little short-term retention. Alex tried to help her remember with Post-its and repetition, but no progress pushed him to the edge. When he said he possibly regretted marrying her, it wound up being the first new memory she retained. Just as he said, “You’re back,” Izzie started to code. The Chief, Bailey, Alex and Yang ignored her wishes and tried to save her. Viewers were left with an image of Izzie in the dress she was wearing when Denny died on an elevator with a puzzled look on her face. (more…)

Every fan will have tissues on hand as they watch the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy tonight to see if Izzie Stevens will win her battle against cancer. But what other surprises could be in store for the two-hour season ender? –Christie LaRusso

Scott Garfield/ABC

With Izzie’s life hanging in the balance, Mer and Der about to tie the knot and a possible Yang-Hunt relationship shocker, Thursday’s Grey’s Anatomy two-hour finale promises to be chock-full of drama. And tears, says Chandra Wilson, who plays the sage Dr. Miranda Bailey on the hit ABC medical series. During a recent photo call for the actress’s upcoming role in Broadway’s Chicago, she sat down to divulge this about the fifth season finale: “Just bring some tissue. Maybe four boxes.” (Watch the clip.)

Tell us: What are your predictions on what will happen on tonight’s Grey’s?

Fans have been waiting for a wedding for weeks, and the big day finally arrived. They’re going to the chapel and they’re gonna get married. Of course, it wasn’t quite the “they” everyone was expecting on the 100th episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

He’s Back: Excited for Deredith’s wedding day, Izzie was determined to fulfill her duties as wedding planner and bridesmaid even though her hair started falling out and Denny was back. When she told Derek she was seeing her dead ex again, he and Bailey rushed her to get a new MRI, but Izzie was sure it was a tumor. When they didn’t find anything, Derek suggested inducing a hallucination in order to pinpoint which part of the brain was responsible. While waiting for him to appear, Izzie admitted that she would always love Denny but she was heart-flutter, planning-the-future in love with Alex. Der found the tiny tumor, but he didn’t think he could get to it to save her. (more…)

Between sickness, abuse, addiction, forbidden love, warring families, homophobia and guilt, there was not a dry eye in the hospital on last night’s Grey’s.

Mother Doesn’t Know Best: Izzie’s mom (Sharon Lawrence) showed up unexpectedly and drove everyone batty with her incessant chitchat and off-color humor. Bailey eventually admitted that she called her, but regretted it when she realized Izzie became her mother’s caretaker. As Izzie needed all of her energy to focus on getting better, Bailey lied and said her scans showed the cancer almost gone. The fake progress report allowed Izzie to send her mom home because they are better at “loving each other from a distance.” Her send-off was quite a touching moment as was Alex sending Izzie off to surgery at the end of the show.

Working the Steps: Meredith and Lexie’s father also made a surprise visit. He was 29 days sober and looking to make amends. All Mer could muster was a “congratulations and good luck,” while Lexie was reduced to tears and hugs. She asked McSteamy to go to dinner to meet him, but he hesitated explaining that he never had luck with dads and didn’t think it’d change now considering that he was closer to her dad’s age than hers. But after an emotional day helping Torres with an environmentalist who almost died for a cause, he realized how important it was to Lexie and how important Lexie was to him, so he joined them at the restaurant after all.
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Meredith Grey may have wanted an intimate and understated wedding, but her pal Izzie is determined to make sure her friend is a beautiful bride in a big white dress. Even though she is going through chemo on Grey’s Anatomy, Izzie is still planning Meredith’s wedding to on-again fiancé, neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd.

To assist, ABC’s marketing department has created a Web site for the couple, built within Theknot.com. The site celebrates Meredith and Derek’s relationship and includes categories labeled “The Couple,” “The Proposal,” and “The Dresses” — complete with pictures and commentary from Izzie.

“I know I know. I secretly never thought it would happen either,” Izzie says on the welcome page. “But it’s real. This is going to be the most magical, romantic, breathtaking wedding you’ve ever seen. I promise.”

The site has been up since last week’s episode aired Thursday and already has more than 42,000 unique views. There’s even a gift registry. Fans of Mer and Der are encouraged to donate money to The American Academy of Neurology Foundation, the American Skin Association, and the Alzheimer’s Association — all charities that have a connection to Grey’s storylines.

But one big question remains: Will Mer and Der actually say “I do?”

“You may be surprised at the way we bring it off,” Grey’s creator and executive producer Shonda Rimes told the AP. “But at the end of the season viewers will be very happy with where Meredith and Derek are.” – Liz Berman

Tell us: What’s going to happen with Mer and Der’s wedding?

Craig Sjodin/ABC