Grey’s Anatomy: Katherine Supposedly Didn’t Show Up To Set

Grey’s Anatomy keeps fans talking as the show enters its 17th season (yes, 17 seasons!). The two-hour season premiere of the ever-popular series brought fans back to Grey Sloan Memorial, and this time in the era of COVID-19. To the surprise of the fans, the premiere was marked by a shocking return of Patrick Dempsey as Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd.

The return of McDreamy was all thanks to Ellen Pompeo, whose character Meredith Grey made up the appearance of the character after capturing the coronavirus himself. Dempsey’s character died on the show in 2015, after 11 seasons of catching the hearts of fans.

Showrunner of Grey’s Anatomy, Krista Vernoff, shared with the Los Angeles Times in mid-November 2020 that fans can prepare for a multiple return of Derek throughout the season, but what about Dr. Izzie Stevens?

Following the departure of Katherine as Izzie at Grey’s Anatomy in 2010, fans have been begging for a Katherine Heigl return, especially given that the character never got a farewell episode. In her interview with the Los Angeles Times, Vernoff revealed the real reason why Katherine’s character never got a decent farewell, and it had a lot to do with the actress herself.

Grey’s Anatomy: Katherine Supposedly Didn’t Show Up To Set

Showrunner for Grey’s Anatomy, Krista Vernoff, told the Los Angeles Times that the big reason Heigl’s character Dr. Izzie Stevens never got a decent broadcast was because Katherine apparently didn’t show up. Vernoff told the publication, “We were planning to have her come back for an episode to really tie up Izzie and Alex. I wrote that episode, and it was beautiful. I can’t remember the day before it started preparing or shooting, we got a call that Katie wouldn’t come. It just didn’t come. I wasn’t going to do it.”

The show runner admitted that she wasn’t quite sure why Katherine decided to do her last episode, but the last-minute change caused a sudden departure of Dr. Izzie Stevens. “I don’t know what happened in her life,” said Vernoff. “I don’t know what led to that decision. All I know is that the night before one thing is supposed to start shooting that is completely centered on one character and the completion of her story arc, I got a phone call that she didn’t come to do it”.

According to Entertainment Weekly, a source knew what was happening in Katherine Heigl’s life, noting, “this story is not true. Krista is mistaken. Katherine was back in LA after her parental leave (when she adopted her daughter) and was waiting to be called. Whether the claims are true or not, the fans may just want to focus their energy on McDreamy’s return.