How Cristina, Izzie & 7 More ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Characters Could Return
Some Grey’s Anatomy alums have leapt at the chance to reprise their roles on the ABC medical drama, and the rest have a standing invitation.
“We have an open-door policy here,” Meg Marinis told TVLine recently. “We always want to see old characters come back and interact with the new characters.”
For example, fans saw Patrick Dempsey, T.R. Knight, Chyler Leigh, and Eric Dane again in Season 17 as the actors made surprise appearances after years away — and more than a decade, in Knight’s case. Kate Walsh recurred in Seasons 18 and 19 in another decade-in-the-making return. And now Jessica Capshaw is bringing Dr. Arizona Robbins back in this current 20th season, gracing the show for the first time since Season 14.
There are other former stars fans would love to see on the show, though, and we have ideas for bringing nine onetime Grey’s characters back into the fold.
Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC
Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)
We imagine Cristina is living her best life in Switzerland as the Klausman Institute’s cardio god. But when a complicated heart surgery comes in while Winston (Anthony Hill) is visiting Maggie (Kelly McCreary) in Chicago and Cristina is visiting Mer in Boston, Teddy (Kim Raver) sends a Fox Foundation jet for her former student (turned romantic rival). And as a bonus, Cristina’s hookup-turned-employee Shane Ross (Gaius Charles) could come with.
Izzie Stevens & Alex Karev (Katherine Heigl & Justin Chambers)
Izzie and Alex both made frustrating exits from Grey’s for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear, years later. Alex’s “Dear Jo” letter in Season 16 explained that he left to be with Izzie and her family after discovering that she used her frozen embryos to have his children. Story-wise, it would be easy enough to bring Alex and Izzie back to Seattle. Izzie develops a gynecological condition for which Alex trusts only Jo (Camilla Luddington), an OB/GYN resident, and thus Jo and Izzie meet for the first time.
Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke)
Washington has retired from acting, and it seems there’s no love lost between him and Grey’s. But should he want to play Burke again, we have an idea for how: Burke invites the current Grey Sloan interns to a cardiothoracic surgery symposium in Milan, where he now lives. But then the interns must save his life when he suffers a stress-related cardiac event.
Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton)
When Stephanie left Grey Sloan — after nearly blowing herself up to fend off an attacker— she told Richard that she needed “to travel and explore and hike and … breathe real air.” Of course, traveling and exploring and hiking comes with the occasional risk to life and limb, so perhaps Stephanie comes back to the hospital not as a doctor but as a patient. In fact, that storyline could even intersect with the return of…
Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez)
We fully expect to get an update on Callie when Arizona shows up at Grey Sloan this season, but there’s no word on Ramirez guest-starring on the show, even though they’ve said they’re open to the prospect. So how about this for a set-up: Callie flies back to Seattle for the ribbon-cutting of the hospital’s newly renamed George O’Malley Memorial Intensive Care Unit. And when a patient with complicated ortho injuries comes into Grey Sloan — perhaps that patient could be Stephanie! — Callie and Link (Chris Carmack) disagree about surgical tactics.
Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith)
After her abrupt disappearance in Season 5, a malnourished and dehydrated Erica stumbles into the hospital from the parking lot where she was last seen, explaining that she never actually quit her job and has simply spent the last 15 years looking for her car. No, we’re kidding. Instead, the show’s former “McHardcore” could reemerge as a new sponsor for Richard (James Pickens Jr.), who recently went back to day one in his alcoholism recovery. That kind of dynamic would provide a conciliatory coda to their oft-contentious working relationship.
Jackson Avery & April Kepner (Jesse Williams & Sarah Drew)
After breaking up with Jackson again, April ties the knot with paramedic Matthew Taylor again. No, we’re just kidding again. After so many ups and downs, April and Jackson had better be happily together in Boston still. And as for their next reappearance on Grey’s, let it be a big, happy wedding with all of their Grey Sloan friends invited. We’ve never gotten a full-fledged Japril wedding ceremony, so that would be a happy day indeed.
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