Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers reunite with former Grey’s Anatomy costars at Emmys
Paging all Grey’s Anatomy fans, because the 2023 Emmys just delivered a mini-reunion!
During Monday’s award ceremony, former Grey’s Anatomy costars Ellen Pompeo, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson, and James Pickens Jr. took the stage in what we like to think of as a season 1 reunion. After all, the reunion’s only missing Sandra Oh and T.R. Knight in order to complete Bailey’s original class of interns.
But the reunion isn’t significant simply because they all helped to launch the highly successful long-running drama. Although Wilson and Pickens are still regulars on Grey’s — and Pompeo shows up from time to time — Heigl and Chambers haven’t been on the show in years. Specifically, Heigl left the show in 2010, and Chambers followed suit in 2020.
Even more notably, Chambers’ exit involved Heigl’s character, though the actress wasn’t in the episode. In his farewell episode, Chambers’ Alex went off to live his dream life with Heigl’s Izzie and their kids. (You know, the ones she secretly had from frozen embryos they made during her battle with cancer.)
Now, it’s safe to say the happy couple isn’t in Kansas anymore as they joined Pompeo, Wilson, and Pickens on stage, where they celebrated the series’ latest achievement. As Pompeo put it, “When the first episode of Grey’s Anatomy aired in March of 2005, I’m not sure Shonda Rhimes knew that she had created a show that would have a lasting imprint on television and create lifelong friendships.”
And although, as Heigl said, “there have been some changes over the years,” the actors thanked the devoted fanbase for keeping them around.
“As we start our 20th season, we are officially the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history,” Wilson said to cheers from the crowd.
It’s a massive moment for the show, and for the actors. As Heigl said during EW and People’s red carpet pre-show, “I haven’t seen Chandra and Jim in like 15 years, I haven’t seen Justin in maybe 10 … We don’t get to see each other much and these are people that mean a lot to me,” she then added, “I have missed them.”
