Image Credit: Michael Desmond/ABCIt appears Izzie Stevens has cheated death once more.

In an effort to give Alex/Izzie fans some closure in the wake of Katherine Heigl’s abrupt departure last spring, Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes contemplated bringing their love story to a tragic end this season. She stops short of saying cancer survivor Izzie would’ve died off screen, but — keep reading and do the math. READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Wireimage.com; Ron Tom/Seattle Grace is about to experience a Code Noel: Scott Foley has booked a multi-episode arc on Grey’s Anatomy! READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: ABCThe memory of last season’s bloodbath looms large over this week’s Grey’s Anatomy. With a camera crew invading Seattle Grace to shoot a documentary about the hospital’s recovery efforts, the entire episode is shot from the POV of the filmmakers, giving the hour a very voyeuristic vibe.

“You actually feel like you’re getting a behind-the-scenes look at our characters’ lives,” suggests series creator Shonda Rhimes. “You see our characters in a very different way, because we’re approaching them in a very different way.”

Rhimes has long toyed with the notion of doing a docu-style installment, but it was coexecutive producer Stacy McKee — this week’s scribe — who figured out how best to execute it. “Stacy was obsessed with [ABC's summer docuseries] Boston Med,” notes Rhimes. “So she came in one day after watching an episode and said, ‘I think I have it! I figured out how we can do our own version of that.’ And we used the shooting as our jumping-off point.”

However, by ensuring that this season’s story lines also move forward, Rhimes & Co. avoided getting the episode tagged as a mere gimmick. Case in point: It’s during the hour that Alex figures out “what kind of surgeon he really wants to be,” reveals Rhimes. “It seems [pediatrics] is his thing.”

Other highlights: READ FULL STORY »