‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Sandra Oh Reveals if She’ll Make a Cameo on the Show Now That It’s Renewed for Season 18
It seems that everyone is leaving Grey’s Anatomy. With Jesse Williams’ announcement of his exit, there are only three original cast members left, Ellen Pompeo, James Pickens Jr., and Chandra Wilson. One of the first big exits of the show came in 2014 when Grey’s Anatomy lost Sandra Oh as she decided she didn’t want to continue her role as Cristina Yang. Since then, Oh has been very resolute in not returning to the show. But as several characters came back for cameos in season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy, would Oh be willing to do the same next season?
Sandra Oh on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
For the first 10 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, the name Cristina Yang was synonymous with Grey’s. Her and Meredith’s friendship was one of the pinnacles of the show. The “twisted sisters” as they called themselves went through everything together from getting left at the altar to plane crashes and hospital shootings. For a brief period, Yang even left Seattle Grace to work at a hospital in Minnesota before realizing she needed to go back to working with Meredith. In the end, Cristina took a job in Switzerland which sent her away from Seattle for good. The character didn’t even return when Meredith’s husband, Derek Shepherd, died.
Will Sandra rejoin the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ cast?
Meredith has spent much of season 17 in a coma due to contracting COVID-19. During that time, several old Grey’s Anatomy cast members, who had been killed off of the show, returned for brief appearances. Now that the show has been renewed for an 18th season, fans have been wondering if Cristina might also make a short appearance. Sadly, the answer is a resounding no.
In an interview with LA Times podcast Asian Enough, Oh said she would not return to the show.
“No,” she said. “I love it, though, and this is also why I really appreciate the show… that I still get asked this.”
“It’s very rare, I would say, to be able to see in such a way the impact of a character,” she continued.
For Oh, Grey’s Anatomy is in the past.
“In some ways, you do your work as a bubble and you let it go,” she said. “I left that show, my god, seven years ago almost. So in my mind, it’s gone. But for a lot of people, it’s still very much alive. And while I understand and I love it, I have moved on.”
This isn’t the first time that Oh has denied a return to Grey’s. She gave a similar answer when asked at the Killing Eve premiere in 2019.
“I just got to tell you, creatively you have moved on and while I know, and I deeply appreciate it, because I can feel it from the fans how much they love Cristina and that the show also still keeps Cristina alive, for me, [Killing Eve] is my home now,” she told Extra. “This is where I am.”
Who else has left ‘Grey’s’
There have been some shocking exits over the years of Grey’s Anatomy. Besides main characters being killed off, there have been some actors and actresses who simply wanted to leave the show and had to be written off. OG cast member, Justin Chambers, decided not to return to the show during Grey’s Anatomy Season 16, meaning Alex Karev had to be written off. Now, Williams, who plays Jackson Avery, has announced that he is not returning and will have to be written off as well.
