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Sandra Oh reveals whether she'll return to 'Grey's Anatomy'

She says she gets asked this all the time, and understands and loves it.
/ Source: TODAY
By Randee Dawn

It's been a minute since anyone saw Sandra Oh on "Grey's Anatomy" as the indefatigable Dr. Cristina Yang, but the actor says she still gets asked about when she'll return.

"It's very rare, I would say, to be able to see in such a way the impact of a character," Oh, 49, said on the Los Angeles Times' "Asian Enough" podcast. "In some ways, you do your work as a bubble and you let it go."

Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang on "Grey's Anatomy"
Sandra Oh starred for 10 seasons on "Grey's Anatomy."Karen Neal / Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Being asked about a return, despite a successful run (and a Golden Globe win) for "Killing Eve," is heartening: "I love it, though. This is also why I really appreciate the show, is that I still get asked this."

But brace yourself, "Grey's" fans — Oh will not be returning to the show.

"I left that show, my God, seven years ago almost," she said. "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."

Oh was with the series for its first 10 seasons, from 2005-14, earning a Golden Globe for her work as Yang in 2006. These days, she's starring as an obsessive agent chasing an assassin on "Killing Eve."

What she'd like now, she said on the podcast, is for fans to "please come with me to 'Killing Eve' and on to (her upcoming Netflix show) 'The Chair' and on to the other projects. ... Come see the characters that I'm playing that are much more deeply integrated in our — let's just say one aspect of the Asian American experience."

Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang on "Grey's Anatomy"
Oh with fellow castmates on "Grey's" in 2006.Scott Garfield / Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Oh gave "Grey's" a thumbs-up for being ahead of its time when it first began airing, but noted that it dodged race discussions because that wasn't "the style of the show."

That said, she appreciated the Dr. Yang role, and suggested that during the pandemic the doctor would be looking for ways to deal with a broken health care system that wasn't prepared for something like COVID-19.

"If I could just step back into someone like Cristina, like I imagine all the health care workers, like, wickedly at the front line trying to solve the big problems," she said. "This pandemic has just, the wealth gaps. It's even more obvious and problematic, so probably attacking the systematic problems, not just the day in and day out."

Listen to the full "Asian Enough" podcast from the Los Angeles Times here.

Randee Dawn

Randee Dawn (she/her) is an entertainment journalist and author based in Brooklyn. In addition to writing for TODAY.com, Variety and The Los Angeles Times, her debut novel, Tune in Tomorrow, about a reality TV show run by mythic creatures, published in 2022. She's also the co-author of The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion. When not interviewing the stars or dabbling in speculative fiction, she dreams of the next place she can travel to, or cuddles her Westie. More at RandeeDawn.com.