Archive for the ‘News’ Category
While Grey’s Anatomy fans have been waiting to hear what’s next for the show, creator and head writer Shonda Rhimes took the liberty to give away some juicy spoilers while at the 41st Annual NAACP Awards on Friday, including what’s in store for Katherine Heigl’s character next time around.
“She’s written into the next script,” Shonda reveals to reporters of Katherine’s stint on the drama after she had taken a short break to tend to her adopted baby, Nayleigh, with husband Josh Kelley.
And knowing that Izzie Stevens, who suffered from an almost lethal bout with cancer this season, is definitely returning, the fate of the Chief of Seattle Grace Hospital is another story.
OK! NEWS: KATHERINE HEIGL TAKES MATERNITY LEAVE
“Well, I love James Pickens and I think we’re going to get to see a lot more of him and what happens to his character and explore what happens to a doctor when they go to rehab and come out the other side,” Shonda explains of Grey’s Anatomy character Richard.
But any show needs a bit of change to keep running and Shonda agrees that Jesse Williams, the new kid on the block, is perfect for the job.
“We developed his character a little more and illuminate who he is a little more to give more time to him…I think it was nice to bring in people that the audience would hate and our characters would have to rise against,” Shonda reveals after the awards ceremony in L.A.
Catch ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy on Thursday nights starring Ellen Pompeo, Eric Dane, and Patrick Dempsey.
There’s been plenty of drama to keep us occupied in her absence, but with the second half of the season in full swing, Grey’s Anatomy fans are wondering about Katherine Heigl.
What is her status? Is she ever returning to the show? When she is back, will she just leave at the end of the season? According to EW, she’s due back on set later this month.
That means we probably won’t see Izzie again until late April, and coincidentally, that’s right around the time a new, special patient will check into Seattle Grace: Alex’s brother.
Sources say Grey’s Anatomy is currently casting the role of Karev’s estranged sibling – the first member of the character’s supposedly troubled family we will meet in six seasons.
There’s some ugly family history, from what we’ve gathered, including an abusive dad, and it will be fun to see the character of Alex (one of our recent favorites) further explored.
Speaking of Grey’s Anatomy comings and goings, the Mercy West residents look to be sticking around … well, at least some of them. One will definitely not be back next season.
A source says one of the four newbies introduced earlier in the year has already received his/her walking papers from the show and will exit SGMWH before the end of the season.
Katherine Heigl will be honored by ShoWest as its Female Star of the Year. Variety reports that the Knocked Up actress, who will next appear opposite Ashton Kutcher in Killers, will receive the award at the annual convention of theater owners scheduled for Las Vegas in mid-March.
Actress Katherine Heigl has given 25 Chihuahuas a special early Christmas gift – their lives.
The pooches, all strays, were due to be put to sleep when the Knocked Up star learned of their plight and helped find them a new home.
According to People magazine, Heigl and her mother’s Jason Debus Heigl Foundation donated $25,000 (£15,625) so the pets could be flown from Los Angeles to their new families in Boston, Massachusetts.The dogs will be made available for adoption at the Humane Society for Greater Nashua and Salem Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire.
Humane Society director Karen Bill tells the publication, “All 25 would have been euthanized if we didn’t take them. We’re just so happy to be saving their lives.”
The Grey’s Anatomy cast is whole again! New moms Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl returned to work on the show this week, PEOPLE has learned.“They’re both back at work and everyone’s really happy to see them,” says a show source.
Pompeo, who welcomed Stella Luna Pompeo Ivery on Sept. 15, won’t be absent from any episodes of the show thanks to the production team’s planning ahead for the actress’s maternity leave by pre-taping Meredith’s scenes.
After adopting 10-month-old baby Naleigh on Sept. 10 — and taking five weeks off to film the romantic comedy Life As We Know It — Heigl also returned to the set this week. Heigl’s character Izzie will return to Seattle Grace in the episode airing Nov. 12, the same episode where guest star Kim Raver will begin her stint on the show.
No word on whether or not Stella and Naleigh have come to work with their moms yet, but if Chyler Leigh’s experience with 5-month-old Anniston is any indication, they’re more than welcome on the family-friendly set. “My trailer is overtaken by kid’s stuff. Anniston has a buzzy chair, diapers, wipes, formula, toys,” she told PEOPLE in August. And the cast takes to it well, too. “Justin
[Chambers] crowned [Anniston] baby Elvis because of her mowhawk!”One thing is for sure — soon Anniston, Naleigh and Stella will have a new playmate: Eric Dane and his wife Rebecca Gayheart are expecting their first child together next year.
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Seattle Grace is losing another doctor — at least temporarily. Katherine Heigl, 30, is taking a leave of absence from Grey’s Anatomy to film a new movie, the romantic comedy Life as We Know It.
An ABC rep cannot confirm the exact length of time she will be out of pocket — EW.com is reporting a 5-episode hiatus — but tells PEOPLE, “Katherine is taking time off to film a movie. The producers at Grey’s have accommodated past things like that before. It’s a cast of 13 and it is a true ensemble so the show is mindful [of other commitments].”
Heigl’s departure is set to begin this month, last into November and will be explained on screen, EW reports. Meanwhile, fellow castmate Ellen Pompeo is due to give birth to her first child in October and is expected to take maternity leave around the same time — an overlap that’s “all being worked out,” the rep tells PEOPLE.
The rep also notes that none of these events were surprises for the show. “Shonda [Rhimes] has had plans in place for a very long time.” But don’t expect producers to reveal how they will explain where Izzie is during Katherine’s hiatus.
In related casting news, show producers announced that three new characters will join the cast in recurring roles. They will be played by Nora Zehetner, Robert Baker, and Jesse Williams.
In June, T.R. Knight announced he was leaving the ABC drama after months of speculation.
Katherine Heigl has signed on to star in and produce the big-screen drama Life As We Know It — but Grey’s Anatomy fans needn’t worry about this new gig impacting Heigl’s recently confirmed return to the ABC series.
Heigl — who is currently filming the Lionsgate thriller Five Killers, opposite Ashton Kutcher — is due back on the Grey’s set in late July, now that her option for Season 6 has been picked up. And while a rep for the actress was unable to comment on the anticipated production start for Life As We Know It, it is unlikely the film commitment will affect her Grey’s work. On multiple occasions — and as recently as this spring — Heigl has simultaneously juggled film roles and her portrayal of Dr. Isobel Stevens.
Life As We Know It revolves around a woman and a man whose respective best friends die in a car accident. Following the tragedy, they are left to share in caring for the deceased’s orphaned daughter. Everwood creator Greg Berlanti will direct.
Heigl will next be seen on the big screen opposite Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth, opening July 24.