‘There’s All That History’: The Grey’s Anatomy Return That Would Thrill One Character — and Disappoint Another

In the new season of Grey’s Anatomy, viewers will see the return of Meredith Grey, Arizona Robbins, and Alex Landi. But will another fan-favorite O.G. star come back in the near future? Is Cristina Yang coming back to Grey’s Anatomy? Kevin McKidd recently said that a return from Cristina Yang was long overdue.

Grey’s Anatomy is ABC’s medical drama, which follows the personal and professional lives of interns, residents, and attending surgeons at the fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Created by Shonda Rhimes, the show debuted in 2005 and inspired the spin-off Station 19. It has received over 38 Primetime Emmy nominations and is currently on its 20th season. 

Sandra Oh played Meredith’s best friend, Dr. Cristina Yang, from Seasons 1 to Season 10 of Grey’s Anatomy. Her character left the hospital to accept a cardiothoracic job in Switzerland. In May 2022, Oh told Deadline in a video series, The Actor’s Side, that she left the medical drama for creative reasons. 

“It must have been at the end of maybe Season 8 or 9… I just remember having this walk and Shonda [Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy], we were just walking and she was like, ‘What do you want to do?’” she said. “I think we must have just fallen into a time of when you have to renegotiate, so what’s the timing of what you want to renegotiate?”

Oh continued, “And I’ve always been very respectful and very grateful for my relationship with Shonda, because we were able to have this kind of conversation. And she was open to say, ‘What would you like to do?’, so to be included in that way, I’m always grateful for,” the actress said. “And I think it was just all creative. All creative.”

The former Grey’s star added that she felt like she did “absolutely all I could creatively in creating this character.” She went on, “In the way that I think it was an amazing opportunity as an actor and a challenge as an artist. Because how do you stay in the game still creating when there are similar situations that repeat over and over again?”

Now, Oh’s former co-star is pushing for the actress to reprise her role in future seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. Here’s what to know.

Is Cristina Yang coming back to Grey’s Anatomy?

Is Cristina Yang coming back to Grey’s Anatomy? As of 2024, Grey’s Anatomy has not announced the return of Sandra Oh’s beloved character Cristina Yang. However, in a new interview with People, her on-screen ex, Kevin McKidd (aka Owen Hunt), said that his character and Cristina Yang have unfinished business.

“I was just talking about it the other night, I was like, ‘I feel like we should try and get Cristina to come back,’” the actor, who has directed numerous episodes of Grey’s, explained. “And maybe it’s something to do with some heart transplant or something that she has to show up or I don’t know.”

McKidd added that a conversation between the former couple would be “complicated because there’s such a love between Cristina and Owen, and when they said goodbye to each other, they didn’t really get a proper goodbye with each other. It was kind of left hanging.”

The 50-year-old star continued, “Cristina was up there in the gallery and Owen was stuck in the OR, they literally just nodded at each other and she had to leave,” he explained. “So I think there’s a lot of history there they would have to talk about.”

In the interview, McKidd also questioned what Cristina would be up to since last appearing in Season 10. “I wonder, is she married now? Does she have a husband?” he asked. “I don’t think so. I think she’s still on this single-minded track and Owen’s happily married with Teddy now but there’s all that history between him and Cristina.”

“I think it would be an amazing episode, maybe Owen has to travel somewhere, and here’s Cristina at some conference,” he suggested. “I don’t know, but I think it would be really great television.” The actor also revealed that he and Sandra are still good friends. “Sandra, I’m coming for you,” he joked.

This isn’t the first time McKidd has pushed for Oh to reprise her role as Cristina. In 2022, the Grey’s star told People that he was encouraging Oh to return to the series. “I would love — and I always say it — I would love Sandra Oh to come back,” he said at the time. “I don’t think she will. She keeps saying she won’t. Every time I see her, I’m always needling her, going, ‘Come on, come on. Just one.’ Maybe one day she’ll say yes. I’m always working on her.”

Stay tuned to learn more about Cristina Yang’s future on Grey’s Anatomy and if she’ll finally say yes to a cameo.

For more on Grey’s Anatomy, check out our gallery below of the Season 20 cast photos.