Behind The Scenes: The Drama Behind the Drama

[pennben]

[bump]

[Catznip]

Whoa... Didn't know about all of this. PD losing his job due to extramarital affairs is kinda personal but it's in line with Shonda not tolerating off screen behavior.  Wasn't the guy from Schandal fired due to domestic charges?  Heck anyone can be fired from their jobs for improper behavior outside of work hours, I've seen it happen. 

[Deanie87]

Quote

There was an on-set dust up.  Hard for people around not to see or hear it. Feel free to ignore me. I have no skin in this game. 

Just out of curiosity, who did the onset dust up involve? And what do you mean by dust up?  I'm not proud of myself but all of this gossip really interests me!

[Greysaddict]

I'm always down for some good gossip if you want to share @allthumbs.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Greysaddict
typos!

[Catznip]

The season ended less than a week ago and there's no gossip, juicy tidbits or worthy notables?  Geez, it's too quiet in here!

Edited May 24, 2016 by Catznip

[allthumbs]

On ‎5‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 4:43 PM, Deanie87 said:

Just out of curiosity, who did the onset dust up involve? And what do you mean by dust up?  I'm not proud of myself but all of this gossip really interests me!

Shonda and Chyler, general dislike on the part of the producer, and arguments. From what I understood, Shonda did not have the latitude back then that she does now - different network boss, not as much clout back then. Like I said, it wasn't in private. I can't add much else in the way of details. I wondered when I was told if it stemmed from Chyler's quote about being willing to step up as the new Grey in "Grey's Anatomy," but that is 100% conjecture on my part.

[BaseOps]

I suppose that could be why Lexi ended up crushed under an airplane engine rather than getting a Preminger grant... 

[Deanie87]

11 minutes ago, BaseOps said:

I suppose that could be why Lexi ended up crushed under an airplane engine rather than getting a Preminger grant... 

Don't forget eaten by wolves!  Let us never forget that she was eaten by wolves.  I swear to god, I laugh out loud every time I type that phrase...I'm a terrible person.

[Joana]

I too think something must have happened between Chyler and Shonda, and not just because Lexie was eaten by wild animals, which is horrible/hilarious enough in its own right, but generally because of the way her death was treated. She died unceremoniously shortly into the episode, Meredith cried a bit, and that was it. Nowadays no one even remembers she existed. And on top of it all, Meredith got a replacement sister. 

It didn't necessarily have to be something overly dramatic, perhaps Shonda had something else planned for Lexie and was annoyed that she had to change it. I don't think she's the devil personified as people sometimes make her out to be, but I also believe stuff like that is not beneath her. To this day I'm convinced that Gizzie must have been her revenge on Knight and Heigl, as literally nothing else makes any sense.

What was the story on Kim Raver's exit? I could be totally imagining things, but wasn't Shonda saying she could come back any time and be welcomed with open arms or something like that? Because in retrospect, there was something off with Teddy's departure. It felt weird. Not quite a plane crash or disappearing in parking lot, but still. 

Edited June 1, 2016 by Joana

[Eolivet]

Bringing over the T.R. Knight on "The Catch" news from the Media thread.

It was a long time ago, but I always felt like George's departure was purely driven by the actor, not Shonda. With this news in perspective, I wonder if she blamed ABC for Isaiah Washington's departure, but still sympathized with and liked Knight. Heigl was the one who seemed to be the troublemaker, and Knight was the one seemingly keeping his head down.

Knowing how the other actors were written out with whom Shonda had personal issues, I feel like Knight was allowed to leave, not with Shonda's blessing exactly, but allowed a gracious exit nonetheless. George was shifted to the background (which I think is actually a kind way to get rid of a character) and given a hero's exit.

It doesn't surprise me at all that he wound up on another Shondaland show (especially since weren't Beers and Heinenberg two of early seasons Grey's executive producers?) I wonder if he and Heigl are still close, heh.

[BaseOps]

3 hours ago, Eolivet said:

Bringing over the T.R. Knight on "The Catch" news from the Media thread.

It was a long time ago, but I always felt like George's departure was purely driven by the actor, not Shonda. With this news in perspective, I wonder if she blamed ABC for Isaiah Washington's departure, but still sympathized with and liked Knight. Heigl was the one who seemed to be the troublemaker, and Knight was the one seemingly keeping his head down.

Knowing how the other actors were written out with whom Shonda had personal issues, I feel like Knight was allowed to leave, not with Shonda's blessing exactly, but allowed a gracious exit nonetheless. George was shifted to the background (which I think is actually a kind way to get rid of a character) and given a hero's exit.

It doesn't surprise me at all that he wound up on another Shondaland show (especially since weren't Beers and Heinenberg two of early seasons Grey's executive producers?) I wonder if he and Heigl are still close, heh.

I think T.R. was probably very unhappy with how everything was handled, but I never sensed bad blood with him and Shonda really. I do wish he had agreed to come back for the two extra episodes in S6 that Shonda wanted him for, but generally I'm happy with George's exit. It seems like he's still close, or at least friendly, with much of the cast (his Instagram has fairly recent photos with James Pickens, Justin Chambers, Kate Walsh, etc.) I don't like The Catch much, but I'm glad that he's part of the Shondaland family again. 

[Marni]

TR did an exit interview with EW and did sound like there was some tension. No big incident but a buildup of frustration from the way the Isaiah incident was handled, the decisions being made about his character (George cheating on Callie, Gizzie) and his dramatically reduced screen time. 

Quote

This fall, Knight was surprised to see his character George O’Malley all but vanish from the show – for the first nine episodes of season 5, he appeared on screen a total of only 48 minutes, compared to 114 for Sandra Oh’s Christina. Still, due to what he calls a gradual “breakdown of communication” between himself and exec producer Shonda Rhimes, the actor chose not to ask his boss what was going on with his character. Instead, he simply asked to leave. “My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George],” he explains. “And with respect, I’m going to leave it at that.”

From this and other interviews, even Shonda herself, it seems with her lack of experience and shy personality Shonda struggled with her showrunner management duties in the early years causing problems. It sounds like she's gotten much better with experience. Good for TR though. George's writing was messy, but I think TR's performance was aways great. He can really pull off physical comedy. 

[Chas411]

Are TR and Heigl still best friends? I remember her being very involved in all the drama with both TR and Isaiah (I swear both her and TR were on Ellen regarding it - am I imagining that??). 

I don't get the impression TR has been inundated with offers since bowing out of Greys so I'd say the publicity of this as well as the role will hopefully do him good.

[apn85]

Oh yes, KH was involved in the TR/Isaiah mess. Honestly, I think if there was drama to be found she was going to be in the middle of it. Grey's isn't the only job she's had "issues" with. Beautiful person, great actress....but damn she likes to stir the pot it seems. Then once she started catching heat for it, she tried to say she shouldn't have said it and blah blah blah. Once you've blown the public's perception of you, no amount of backtracking is going to work. 

Not sure if she and TR are still close as they once were. I've wondered that too!

Edited July 22, 2016 by apn85

[Scatterbrained]

She has some sort of blog where she seems to have a home in Utah.  I came across it and glanced at it, but I do not follow her, so I am not sure how much time she spends there.  Her mother seems to live nearby, I think I remember that her mother was her manager or agent or something like that.

[windsprints]

Quote

 

Are TR and Heigl still best friends? I remember her being very involved in all the drama with both TR and Isaiah (I swear both her and TR were on Ellen regarding it - am I imagining that??). 

I don't get the impression TR has been inundated with offers since bowing out of Greys so I'd say the publicity of this as well as the role will hopefully do him good.

 

Good for TR. I hope its a great role for him. I don't follow him closely but I think he's done quite a bit of theater work and had some guest arcs. I saw him in 11-22-63 in a small role; he was good. I only remember him being on Ellen solo but he could have been on again.

I follow Katherine. She and her husband have had the ranch in Utah since around when they were married. Its to be their primary family home. They have 2 adopted children and Katherine is now pregnant. 

This was very nice; gracious.

Edited July 23, 2016 by windsprints

[apn85]

2 hours ago, windsprints said:

I follow Katherine. She and her husband have had the ranch in Utah since around when they were married. Its to be their primary family home. They have 2 adopted children and Katherine is now pregnant. 

I think KH has probably grown up a lot since all of this happened on the show. She's a decade older now, a Mom, gained more life experience, etc. I'm sure she would have handled those situations better now just as we all would things in our past. It's just unfortunate that the media ran so wild with the stories of her being involved in drama, because that is the only thing a lot of people know about her. Media sucks that way, though.  I wish her all the best! I always enjoyed KH even if I didn't agree with Izzie at whatever point in time. 

 

I have hopes that maybe Sara will return before the end of the series and finish up Callie's story. SR may have felt it was finished, but the exit was abrupt for me. Above all, I hope she is happy and if that means never returning then so be it! :)

[Chairperson Meow]

I just read through this entire thread, as I'm rewatching all the seasons before I start school next week.  (I'm studying nursing lol). I'm mid season 9 and I'm curious about a few things.  Why, after PP, wasn't Kate Walsh brought back to GA?  Especially for Derek's death.  I'm also surprised that there's literally no gossip about anyone but PD and EP.   A cast that big has to have some gossip lol.

[apn85]

17 minutes ago, Chairperson Meow said:

I just read through this entire thread, as I'm rewatching all the seasons before I start school next week.  (I'm studying nursing lol). I'm mid season 9 and I'm curious about a few things.  Why, after PP, wasn't Kate Walsh brought back to GA?  Especially for Derek's death.  I'm also surprised that there's literally no gossip about anyone but PD and EP.   A cast that big has to have some gossip lol.

Good luck to you! I am in the same profession. Although you may feel like it some days, you'll never regret it! :)

I don't think Kate Walsh wanted to come back to Grey's. I think she was ready to close the Addison chapter and move forward. 

As for gossip: The cast honestly seems to get along and behave lol. I'm sure they have their days, as we all do, but they seem to keep a low profile. Which is fine by me, celebrity drama can be so silly!  

[gator12]

7 hours ago, funnygirl said:

And because of this, even female-led Shondaland isn't immune to misogyny. Isaiah Washington was welcomed back years later after being heinous to a fellow cast member with his words and outing said cast member, thus getting fired for it. Katherine Heigl speaks her mind about material she was getting, which I understand in a business full of narcissists from top to bottom was not the smartest move, and she all but gets ex-communicated. Shonda can be very petty, and she clearly holds Heigl more accountable for her situation than she ever did Isaiah. I actually think that the Isaiah firing was more of a call from the network and not Shonda. 

I feel like Meredith won her Harper Avery too soon. I agree with those who've expressed how fast it all happened, and I think this is something that would've been better served towards the end of the series. Now there's not really anywhere for Meredith to go career-wise, she already got the crowning achievement. I just feel like they took away a great professional storyline opportunity to really see Meredith work on something long-term to get her to the grand prize. 

Isaiash did more than say something heinous to a cast member, he tried to choke another cast member.

[txhorns79]

Quote

Its unfortunate, I know Katherine has been very outspoken on the writing for this show, going as far as refusing to put her work in for Emmy consideration, she was certainly bratty and “diva” like back then if I remember, but so much time has passed and Shonda and Katherine have both grown, seems ridiculous to still hold on to this grudge. 

I vaguely recall reading an interview where it was said that they had asked her to come back soon after she left to close out her character, and she declined.  She then wanted to return a few seasons after that to give the character closure and she was told that they had moved on from her character, so no guest spot was forthcoming.  

[Pallas]

9 hours ago, funnygirl said:

Shonda can be very petty, and she clearly holds Heigl more accountable for her situation than she ever did Isaiah.

Knowing no more than common knowledge, I'd say yes: one of the actors in Shonda's stable insulted another of the actors in Shonda's stable; Heigl insulted Shonda as the show-runner.

Or to use an analogy from the equally self-contained and arcane world of pro baseball. During practice, two of the team's big stars get into a fight -- ostensibly over a tardy tole-player, not yet on the field -- and one star refers to the role-player by an epithet. A reporter is present and publishes. The team's General Manager (showrunner) isn't going to want to trade the star, even when pressured by the image-conscious sales and promotion departments; the owner (network) pretends it never happened, because it didn't happen to the owner. Only after the star does something weird during the player introductions at the All-Star Game -- nationally televised, and (more importantly), a big industry PR event for the owner and his peers  -- does the owner say "Enough!," and the GM know he must unload the star. 

Heigl is the popular left fielder who publicly sided with the role player, and spoke out against the star. Shortly after this incident has blown over, the GM orders the field manager (writers) to move the left fielder to DH (designated hysteric). The player considers this role to be demeaning, punitive, and bad for the ballclub. He tells the press, "No, I don't want to be on the All-Star team this year; tell the fans, don't vote for me. Not this year. I haven't earned it. I can't earn it -- I am not allowed to earn it, or help my team, from this position. And the team will pay, the fans will pay, to give management a giggle. They don't give a shit."  

That star would be released by the time he made it home from the ballpark. Not because he was wrong, but because he acted as if he thought he had the right to piss off the wrong people. And didn't care. He insulted the management's power.

[NUguy514]

6 hours ago, Pallas said:

Knowing no more than common knowledge, I'd say yes: one of the actors in Shonda's stable insulted another of the actors in Shonda's stable; Heigl insulted Shonda as the show-runner.

Well, except that Isaiah Washington didn't insult T.R. Knight; he directed a homophobic slur at him in what reports seemed to indicate was a threatening way – not the same thing.  He also physically assaulted Patrick Dempsey, so it was a lot more than just an insult.  Heigl publicly stood up for her friend in the immediate aftermath, which is commendable; interestingly, it was the following September when Heigl won her Emmy for the show.  She didn't complain about the writing team until after the fourth season ended in 2008, a season in which George and Izzie were mired in an abominable storyline, which, in my opinion, was Shonda's shitty way of punishing them for ABC's decision to fire Washington, even though Washington was really the instigator and the bad guy.  The way Heigl complained was entitled and fairly shitty, but I also don't think she was incorrect about it.

[moonorchid]

38 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

Well, except that Isaiah Washington didn't insult T.R. Knight; he directed a homophobic slur at him in what reports seemed to indicate was a threatening way – not the same thing.  He also physically assaulted Patrick Dempsey, so it was a lot more than just an insult.  Heigl publicly stood up for her friend in the immediate aftermath, which is commendable; interestingly, it was the following September when Heigl won her Emmy for the show.  She didn't complain about the writing team until after the fourth season ended in 2008, a season in which George and Izzie were mired in an abominable storyline, which, in my opinion, was Shonda's shitty way of punishing them for ABC's decision to fire Washington, even though Washington was really the instigator and the bad guy.  The way Heigl complained was entitled and fairly shitty, but I also don't think she was incorrect about it.

I second this. Heigl was a brat and a diva at times but what happened behind the scenes with IT and TRK wasn’t trivial. Honestly Isaiah didn’t even get the boot till he said the “F” word a second time at an awards show. So I don’t think Shonda ever really wanted to fire him. 

Regardless, I view assaulting someone and throwing a homophobic slur at another person worst offenses than being critical of someone’s writing.

[Pallas]

1 hour ago, moonorchid said:

Regardless, I view assaulting someone and throwing a homophobic slur at another person worst offenses than being critical of someone’s writing.

I agree, and wasn't clear. I meant that it seems Shonda didn't care if one of her leading men threw down with the other -- her male surgeons like to get physical, a lot -- or used epithets. And the network didn't care until their star took it public at the Golden Globes. But Rhimes and ABC did care when an actor embarrassed them, as Heigl did. Washington took on the show's star and slurred gay men and women; Heigl stood up for her friend, and showed up Rhimes's painful storyline for her character. Power got its ego tweaked, and Heigl had to go. 

It was lovely that Alex liked to imagine that Izzie was well, and fulfilled. His vision was perhaps a little condescending...then again, he's not the first person connected with Grey's Anatomy to fantasize about a surgeon with three kids and no nanny...

[Bort]

7 minutes ago, Pallas said:

Heigl stood up for her friend, and showed up Rhimes's painful storyline for her character. Power got its ego tweaked, and Heigl had to go. 

Also, at the time, Heigl's career was through the roof. She WANTED to go. Grey's was in its 6th season, the usual life of a typical drama was 7 seasons, nobody had any idea the show was going to have the longevity it did.

[tua20782]

Wasnt Heigl scheduled to come back and then just didnt show up? Which meant stopping production, script changes,etc. Washington got fired, finished out his episodes and left.  Im not saying that Isiah Washington isnt a worst person than Heigl but how you leave a job affects whether you can come back

Edited November 11, 2017 by tua20782
Spelling

[moonorchid]

1 minute ago, tua20782 said:

Wasnt Heigl scheduled to come back and then just didnt show up. Which meant stopping production, script changes,etc. Washington got fires, finished oit his episodes and left.  Im not saying that Isiah Washington isnt a worst person than Heigl but how you leave a job affects whether you can come back

I totally get that, but Washington was forgiven enough to be invited back and right now we know Shonda ain’t having KH back for all the money in the world. 

[tua20782]

7 minutes ago, moonorchid said:

I totally get that, but Washington was forgiven enough to be invited back and right now we know Shonda ain’t having KH back for all the money in the world. 

I think Heigl burned her bridges in a way that Isiah didn't. 

[Court]

16 minutes ago, moonorchid said:

I totally get that, but Washington was forgiven enough to be invited back and right now we know Shonda ain’t having KH back for all the money in the world. 

They did invite KH back at some point. She declined. She only opened up to it once her career fell off and her movies kept bombing. It's been reported that she was also bratty on her movie sets. 

None of that excuses what Washington did but I get why the show isn't having her back.

Also, I don't want her back. Alex's imagining of her life was perfect and great closure.

Edited November 12, 2017 by Court

[moonorchid]

41 minutes ago, Court said:

They did invite KH back at some point. She declined. She only opened up to it once her career fell off and her movies kept bombing. It's been reported that she was also bratty on her movie sets. 

None of that excuses what Washington did but I get why the show isn't having her back.

Also, I don't want her back. Alex's imagining of her life was perfect and great closure.

When was she invited back after her exit?

[Chas411]

Im sorry but Heigl sticking up for a friend is one thing - how she actually ended her contract is another. She didn't like Gizzie - that's fine. Im sure Capshaw could have hated Arozona cheating but to publicly slam writing just because it's not to your preference is obnoxious. There was no higher purpose. Greys is going on the bones of 15 years they've all done embarrassing stuff. Heigls issue was she thought she was above it when she wasn't. It was a terrible storyline but it happens, her publicly dismissing it as though it was a personal attack and she deserved better was obnoxious. 

 

Ps I didn't think it was ooc. She was that possessive of Geoorge it doesn't surprise me she thought it was love.

[WhosThatGirl]

I feel like KH all kinds of behind the scenes issues from her issues with the writing when she pulled herself out of Emmy consideration because the writing wasn’t good enough she thought and Her contract issues from my understanding, KH signed a contract after Knocked Up but then because of that movie she started getting more movie offers and Grey's was preventing her from doing more and she started to think she was a movie star and was causing issues on set and complaining about it. She really started to believe her own hype. And there wasn’t that much hype. 

[lorbeer]

8 hours ago, Chas411 said:

Im sorry but Heigl sticking up for a friend is one thing

I've never heard that before? Who is the friend and what happend?

[pennben]

Ah yes, the backstage drama of the early years, I just googled to find an Ellen Pompeo quote that I thought summed up the Heigl exit perfectly:  

Quote

"You could understand why she wanted to go — when you're offered $12 million a movie and you're only 26," she said. "But Katie's problem is that she should not have renewed her contract. She re-upped, took a big raise and then tried to get off the show. And then her movie career did not take off."

That's what I recall the problem being at the end.....they had made it through prior Heigl-related issues, then she renewed her contract and then went back on that and insisted on getting out of the contract early in the middle of the season.

As someone else noted, Alex gave the Izzy story the perfect sendoff in the 300th episode.  There's just really no reason for her to come back now.

[WhosThatGirl]

1 hour ago, pennben said:

Ah yes, the backstage drama of the early years, I just googled to find an Ellen Pompeo quote that I thought summed up the Heigl exit perfectly:  

That's what I recall the problem being at the end.....they had made it through prior Heigl-related issues, then she renewed her contract and then went back on that and insisted on getting out of the contract early in the middle of the season.

As someone else noted, Alex gave the Izzy story the perfect sendoff in the 300th episode.  There's just really no reason for her to come back now.

That was what I was talking about with Kh renewing her contract and then getting offered movies. And then like I said started to believe her own hype and creating issues on set, didn’t she complain about being on set for eight hours with nothing to do and being annoyed about it? She made the environment uncomfortable because she wanted to leave and no one would let her. 

And I’m a person who thinks she did bite the head that feeds her with this show and Shonda. With PD, I’m unsure. I think there’s stuff that went down but I don’t think it was all him, same with TRK- at the point when they killed George off, they weren’t doing anything with the character. He was sadly getting shoved into the background, so I get why the actor was getting frustrated. Plus it’s obvious there’s no bad blood witH him and Shonda, he was a guest star on that short lived show she had last year about the con man romance.

[pennben]

On 11/11/2017 at 6:52 PM, moonorchid said:

When was she invited back after her exit?

I'm mostly doing this from memory (and quick google searches to refresh), so I could be wrong:  She signed a new contract which gave her time off to shoot a movie, after which, she was scheduled to come back to the show, but that was delayed when she took maternity leave and then she came back and that's when the final straw was broken and she insisted on getting out of the contract and was abruptly written out to accommodate that in a "fine, get the hell out" fashion (or maybe she agreed to come back for 1 episode after she decided she wasn't going to come back from maternity leave and they agreed to that?).  

So, I don't think she actually was ever invited back after that final exit, but they had accommodated her being gone for a movie/maternity leave and coming back, so she was there, then gone for quite awhile and then ultimately gone after she was back for, I want to say 1 episode?, which may be some of the confusion.

Hopefully that clears this all up!!!

Curses that TWOP forum archives aren't still around, because you can be damn well sure this was all well-documented in the forums back then!!!

Edited November 13, 2017 by pennben

[pennben]

39 minutes ago, Catznip said:

Odd, thought Sara said she wanted a break from TV. So why would she sign on to another TV show on a different network? Shondaland cant be happy about. 

Moved from episode thread because I'm in a gossipy mood tonight!:)  I think one reason Sara wanted a break was that she wanted to move back to New York.  Madam Secretary films there, so I can see it making sense she would do that show while not wanting to return to Grey's.

Edited November 13, 2017 by pennben

[Chas411]

I vaguely remember at the time reading on all the gossip sites that Heigl didn't turn up to set on the day she was due back and that's what kicked off her crappy ending write off from the show. Her statement about spending more time with her family was he greatest load of bull given how family friendly the Shonda set seems to be and the fact that she was making the movies as soon as she managed to get out of contract. She was just such a brat about everything. That's why I roll my eyes at her saying she'd love to get closure from the character, it's her fault there was no closure to begin with. Suddenly she has the time now so it's time to explore where Izzie went? Not to mention she says this stuff publicly knowing the fan reaction she'll get. She knows what she's doing. Hence I don't blame Shonda for not jumping to the bait. 

Did something happen with Jerrika and her costars? I noticed she unfollowed them all as soon as she left the show.

[DearEvette]

On 11/11/2017 at 10:09 AM, Pallas said:

Knowing no more than common knowledge, I'd say yes: one of the actors in Shonda's stable insulted another of the actors in Shonda's stable; Heigl insulted Shonda as the show-runner.

I think this sums up things pretty well.  With Isiah & TR it was a personnel matter between two employees of ABC.  No matter how heinous the nature of the altercation, it was still something that was happening between two employees.  Also given that this happened fairly early in the shows run where they were just at the height of real popularity and before Shonda really had the power and clout she has now.  ABC was dealing with the fallout mostly.

with Heigl it was a case of her insulting her boss.  And, given her history since Roswell, probably being an all around asshole behind the scenes.  But she popped off in public about the writing being subpar.  So she was shadng her boss, In public.  To top it off, this came on the heels of her winning an emmy. where she is still the only major cast member on the show to win an emmy. 

No matter what industry you are in, two co-workers having an altercation, no matter how dreadful, is not going to have the same sort of consequences as a worker going public on record and saying something negative or defamatory about the boss.  Also it is worth noting that Shonda was the only black female showrunner on a major network and didn't have the luxury of bouncing back after failure like so many white male showrunners do or being perceived as not being able to control her people.   Public perception and sympathy is a tricky thing Heigl could have very easily done some Shonda some real career damage if what she said had gained some real traction.

Edited November 13, 2017 by DearEvette

[BaseOps]

For all those claiming that there was behind-the-scenes drama with Henderson and Shonda, that was clearly not the case. He went to an event celebrating her and praised her endlessly in the interview, mentioning that he's open to returning in the future for a guest spot and saying again that they've discussed other work together. 

[moonorchid]

Martin says his contract was for only three years, what I think happened was that third year was originally supposed to last longer but when Krista came and took over she revamped the story and wanted to tell a different Meredith story so she shortened martins stay on the show, neither of which prob had anything to do with him. I hope he comes back in the future and look forward to his future works.

[Chas411]

To be fair there was nothing to really do only end the storyline once whatever her name was came back from the dead. A longer stint and it would have just been boring triangle crap that nobody would be interested in.

I really liked him in the role and am sad to see him go.

[WhosThatGirl]

On 11/13/2017 at 8:18 AM, DearEvette said:

I think this sums up things pretty well.  With Isiah & TR it was a personnel matter between two employees of ABC.  No matter how heinous the nature of the altercation, it was still something that was happening between two employees.  Also given that this happened fairly early in the shows run where they were just at the height of real popularity and before Shonda really had the power and clout she has now.  ABC was dealing with the fallout mostly.

with Heigl it was a case of her insulting her boss.  And, given her history since Roswell, probably being an all around asshole behind the scenes.  But she popped off in public about the writing being subpar.  So she was shadng her boss, In public.  To top it off, this came on the heels of her winning an emmy. where she is still the only major cast member on the show to win an emmy. 

No matter what industry you are in, two co-workers having an altercation, no matter how dreadful, is not going to have the same sort of consequences as a worker going public on record and saying something negative or defamatory about the boss.  Also it is worth noting that Shonda was the only black female showrunner on a major network and didn't have the luxury of bouncing back after failure like so many white male showrunners do or being perceived as not being able to control her people.   Public perception and sympathy is a tricky thing Heigl could have very easily done some Shonda some real career damage if what she said had gained some real traction.

This is everything I always want to say but I can’t. Heigl really bit the hand that fed her. And I get that it stinks that another woman is labeled as “difficult “ as a woman I hate that, but I think it’s true here. Especially given that many on other situations with KH have said as much about her.

[Joana]

I never thought there was any behind the scenes drama with Henderson. They had simply written his character into a corner and letting him go was the best solution for everyone invloved.

[OtterMommy]

6 hours ago, Joana said:

I never thought there was any behind the scenes drama with Henderson. They had simply written his character into a corner and letting him go was the best solution for everyone invloved.

That's what I thought as well.  Honestly, Nathan Riggs was never a well-conceived character.  He seemed to exist only to resurrect old story lines.  He was introduced into what looked like Derek Shepherd/Mark Sloane 2.0, although that didn't work because dead sister =/= unfaithful wife AND the fact that Kevin McKidd is not Patrick Dempsey and Martin Henderson is not Eric Dane.  Then, they tried their darndest to sell him as some great love of Meredith's and that...fell flat.  (I'm not saying that Meredith will never find love again, but I think any attempt for her to fall in love with Derek knock off will always fail).

It's a shame because I actually liked Henderson as an actor, it's just that they never seemed to be able to give his character "legs," so to speak.

[Chas411]

I think the main point of Nathan was to get the audience to see Meredith move on and have a serious relationship and strong feelings for someone after Derek. As soon as the relationship properly began it was over. Megan's resurrection was obvious and inevitable from the moment she was conceived as a character. I don't think there was ever a plan to keep Riggs long term - I think the writers recognised that he had served his purpose once he and Meredith started dating and she was ready to introduce him to her kids and hence he was written out with a happy ending.

[kdm07]

On 13/11/2017 at 2:04 AM, pennben said:

Moved from episode thread because I'm in a gossipy mood tonight!:)  I think one reason Sara wanted a break was that she wanted to move back to New York.  Madam Secretary films there, so I can see it making sense she would do that show while not wanting to return to Grey's.

She wanted more money than ABC wanted to give her. Shondaland used the whole break excuse so Sara could save face and potentially come back in the future.

[Joana]

I have no idea what happened there, but there's simply no chance in hell that her departure "caught them by surprise" or whatever they were saying. Everything about the way her character had been written for months beforehand indicated that she'd probably be leaving.

[funnygirl]

12 minutes ago, Joana said:

I have no idea what happened there, but there's simply no chance in hell that her departure "caught them by surprise" or whatever they were saying. Everything about the way her character had been written for months beforehand indicated that she'd probably be leaving.

I agree, Sara's departure wasn't a last minute decision. If it were, there wouldn't have been the unnecessary custody battle that all but ruined Callie's character. Shonda and the cast played it like it was last minute as way for the show to save face that yet another major actor was leaving (Sandra, Patrick and Sara in consecutive seasons). Sara said "taking a break" to mean that she was literally taking a break from acting, which she did for over a year.