July 2009 News Archive

Welcome to the 169th edition of the Grey's Anatomy Insider Caption Contest!

Who won this week's Caption Contest? It was a tough call with all the quality entries, but we're going with dodo_daniel. Congratulations! The winning entry appears below the photo.

Honorable mentions go out to Bo and April. Thanks to all of you for playing.

Good luck next week ...

Robbie: Look at my Cricket! Going at it all by herself... such a proud mama!
Alex: (thinking) Oh great... Denny's back again!

As the rare, outdoor behind-the-scenes photos from the set proved without a doubt this week, the cast of Grey's Anatomy is giving George O'Malley his official sayonara.

We knew it was coming, but some are having a hard time coming to grips with the prospect of no more O'Malley. He was not just an original character, but a fan favorite.

Spotted on the set were Katherine Heigl, who plays Izzie Stevens, George's best friend, and a very pregnant Ellen Pompeo, who plays the title character, Meredith Grey.

A few of the men were also back to work: Justin Chambers, who plays Alex Karev, and Patrick Dempsey, who plays Derek Shepherd. Others may have been there, too.

The demise of George O'Malley was not scripted this way initially.

It turns out that Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes originally had a different opening sequence planned for the 6th season of Grey's Anatomy.

A flashback was supposed to take viewers to the hours when George was missing, from when he left the hospital to when he returned later on as a disfigured John Doe.

However, Knight reportedly declined to make a brief cameo and instead of seeing George's split-second decision to save the passerby's life that cost him his own, viewers will just have to watch Shonda Rhimes' alternative idea, the funeral scene.

Which brings us to the characters and George's coffin.

Tonight, ABC is airing "Sympathy For the Devil" at Grey's Anatomy's usual time. It's the second time this summer the network has aired this installment from Season 5.

Check out our official recap for a full rundown of this episode, which featured the appearance of Derek's mother Carolyn Shepherd and a whole lot of medical drama.

Our pages of Grey's Anatomy quotes, videos and pictures dedicated to "Sympathy For the Devil" help complete our coverage, as does as our guide to the show's music.

We are now less than two months until Season Six of Grey's Anatomy begins! We are counting down the days until September 24 right along with you ...

Now there's a handsome devil we always have sympathy for.

As the first and finest Grey's Anatomy fan community, we pride ourselves on delivering the most thorough recaps, news, and (especially in the offseason) Grey's Anatomy spoilers.

That said, we're sorry about some of the recent photos that may have given away major plot details fans did not want spoiled for them. In the future, we will "jump" all such pics.

The pressure to get the most up-to-date rumors, photos and information up for your discussion is often great, and we lost track of the fact that at times, we can reveal too much.

So please accept our apology for this, and we will do better in the future!

Even Izzie can't believe what we pulled earlier this week ...

In case there were any doubt that the unusual behind-the-scenes Grey's Anatomy photos we were able to find and post yesterday afternoon showed the cast filming a funeral scene at a cemetery, this image ought to clear it up. May Dr. George O'Malley rest in peace ...

After a cliffhanger left us hanging in May, this clears up doubts. The doctors of Seattle Grace will mourn their fallen colleague George early in the upcoming sixth season.

Here are a few more shots of co-stars Katherine Heigl and a very pregnant Ellen Pompeo on the outdoor set of Grey's Anatomy. Click to enlarge the thumnails below ...

It's not often that we see behind-the-scenes looks at Grey's Anatomy, given the closed-set nature of the series. But this week, the cast filmed an unusual outdoor scene that appears to be at a cemetery - and we can only assume is Dr. George O'Malley's funeral.

Here's Justin Chambers (Dr. Alex Karev) on the set ...

Justin Chambers was on location as Grey's Anatomy filmed outside.

Now that T.R. Knight has confirmed he is not coming back to the show, and Katherine Heigl clearly is back filming, that would be the most logical explanation for what's going on here as Grey's Anatomy begins filming its sixth season: George being laid to rest.

It would be sad, but at this point, seemingly inevitable. Click to enlarge lots more Grey's Anatomy photos from the set and tell us what you think is going on behind the scenes ...

Welcome, Grey's Anatomy fans, to the 168th edition of Grey's Anatomy Insider's weekly Caption Contest! Who won this week's edition of the Caption Contest?

It was a difficult call, but we chose the caption sent in by April. Congratulations! Honorable mentions go out to shred, Kennedy M., and xXxGrey4EvaxXx.

The winning entry appears beneath the photo below ...

Sorry Mark, you asked me to be honest, and to be honest, your hair is just not as perfect as Derek's.

Fans were shocked when T.R. Knight made the decision to leave the cast of Grey’s Anatomy, the hit medical drama that launched him to fame in 2005.

This week, in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor reveals what led him to his decision, and he also candidly discusses the Isaiah Washington situation, coming out of the closet, and leaving his friends at Seattle Grace.

This fall, Knight was surprised to see his character George O’Malley all but vanish from the show - in fact, in the first nine episodes of Season 5, he appeared on screen a total of only 48 minutes, compared to 114 for Sandra Oh’s Cristina Yang.

Still, due to what he calls a “breakdown of communication” between himself and Grey's Anatomy executive producer Shonda Rhimes, the actor chose not to ask his boss what was going on with George O’Malley. Instead, he simply asked to leave.

"My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George]," he explains. "And with respect, I'm going to leave it at that."

Though he was unknown when Grey's Anatomy premiered, Knight emerged as one of the show's breakout stars, earning a supporting actor Emmy nod in 2007. But what came to be known as "Isaiahgate" catapulted him to household-name status.

After Isaiah Washington referred to Knight as a "f----t" during an on-set argument with Patrick Dempsey, the tabloids caught wind of it, Knight came out of the closet, and Washington was ultimately not asked back to the show the following season.

While Knight doesn’t specifically fault Shonda Rhimes for how the situation was handled behind the scenes, he says she tried to discourage him from coming out:

"I think she was concerned about having my statement come out so close to the [initial] incident." Rhimes denies it: "I said, 'If you want to come out, that's awesome.'"

Knight returned to work on Season 4, but the actor struggled with the story line in which George cheated on his wife Callie (Sara Ramirez) with Izzie (Katherine Heigl).

And once George went MIA at the star of Season 5, the star came to the conclusion that his character had “expired.” But Knight is at peace with his choice to leave:

"There comes a time when it’s so clear that moving on is the best decision," he says.

But at first, his castmate and friend Katherine Heigl tried to talk him out of it: "I didn't think it was the right decision," she says. "I felt like some of the problems could be worked out. But by the time it came to fruition, I was [glad] because he was ready to go."

T.R. Knight knows he’s taking a risk walking away from his top 10 show and $14 million contract: "From an outsider's perspective, I get the [impression that] 'Oh, he’s just a spoiled actor ... he doesn’t know how good he has it,'" he says.

"There are a lot of people who would like to be in my position. But in the end, I need to be fulfilled in my work, and I am confident I made the right decision."

With two months to go until the premiere, Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes is opening up about the transitional new season ahead, as well as how Ellen Pompeo's pregnancy fits into the mix going forward.

Here are excerpts from EW's spoiler Q&A today ...

Q: Hey, do you have any Grey's Anatomy news that doesn't involve George or Izzie?

A: Yes - the entire cast will be following T.R. Knight out the door. At least series creator Shonda Rhimes is braced for them to. Eventually. She got to thinking about it both because of Knight's departure and Ellen Pompeo's impending maternity leave.

“It's going to be tricky,” Rhimes says. “Ellen is incredibly optimistic and somehow thinks she will be back and ready to rock 'n' roll. [But] I have a child, so I know that that's not true. [So] we have a lovely story [on deck] that will take us into her maternity leave."

"And we have plans for some really interesting stand-alone episodes for [while she's gone]. But we're heading towards the future of the show and eventually, unless we are extremely lucky, everybody's going to go. That's what the end of Season 5 taught me."

"So we're looking at, How do we mess with that structure now while we have everybody and figure out ways in which, 'What would we do without Ellen? What would we do if we had an episode without Patrick Dempsey?' So Season 6 is important."

"A lot of shows don't make it because they don't know how to transition."

Can Rhimes envision Grey's Anatomy someday going on with Pompeo (and Mer) completely out of the picture?! "I don't know" she hedges. "I clearly want Meredith Grey on the show for as long as Ellen Pompeo wants to be on the show; that's not even a question."

"But I think that there's a possibility of [her leaving the series good at some point]. I haven't even thought that far. That's the one blank spot I have in my head. I can't really picture Mer Grey not appearing on the show. But [at least] we have Lexie Grey."

But would anyone watch Lexie Grey's Anatomy?

Q: Will Ellen Pompeo's pregnancy be written into Grey's Anatomy?

A: No. "Ellen is pregnant, but Meredith is not," Rhimes says. "Meredith wouldn't be pregnant."

Q: Now that Grey's Anatomy has finally started production, you got anything?

A: Look for Owen's PTSD to possibly flare up in the September 24 opener. I say this because a Grey's Anatomy mole says that Seattle Grace's go-to shrink, Amy Madigan, will appear in the second hour of the two-hour premiere.

Last week, we posted a photo of Sara Ramirez that Shonda Rhimes Tweeted as the cast of Grey's Anatomy returned for their first week of filming the upcoming Season Six.

Today, we're happy to provide you with a similarly Twittered image of the show's leading man, Patrick Dempsey, courtesy of writer and executive producer Krista Vernoff.

Krista posted the photo below, with the caption: "Dear Fans, I am sitting here with Patrick. He says he loves you too. :-)" Aww. How nice of him. Here's the man in action:

Patrick Dempsey looks handsome, even in full surgical gear.

Thanks to marriedmymcdreamy for the heads up on this! Here's hoping that as filming progresses we get to see more fun Tweets from Shonda, Krista et al.