‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Reportedly Planning Big Return for Beloved Character in Season 16

Grey’s Anatomy is planning a big return from a fan-favorite character in Season 16. The longrunning ABC medical drama is hoping to secure the return of a big name from its 15-season history and we need to know who it’s going to be immediately. Series showrunner Krista Vernoff revealed the scoop to TVLine in an interview in August, with the outlet revealing this week that the returning star will not be Katherine Heigl.

“I’m trying to get someone back,” Vernoff told the outlet at the Television Critics Assoc. summer press tour in August. “There’s someone I’m hoping will make an appearance this year, [but] it’s a real maybe. I’m trying.”

The writer chose not to reveal the name of the character she was pursuing at the time, or how long the actor or actress playing them would be sticking around.

Vernoff spoke candidly about the show’s 16th season with the outlet this week, teasing many of the cliffhangers from the Season 15 finale will lead to major consequences for the characters involved.

Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) will have to deal with “stressors” on their relationship after the season ended with her fired from the hospital and him in jail. Richard (James Pickens Jr.) and Alex (Justin Chambers) will also be dealing with being unemployed after also being fired by Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) in the finale.

See a new photo from the Season 16 premiere, released by TVLine, here.

Jo (Camilla Luddington), who was last seen being committed into the psychiatric wing in the season finale, will return in Season 16 with the tools to “process the multiple traumas she has survived in her life,” Vernoff said.

The mystery surrounding Jackson’s disappearance into the fog will be addressed very early in the premiere, with Vernoff teasing to the outlet that the big fight between Jesse William’s character and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) right before he went MIA will take a big toll in their relationship.

“They are in a pretty difficult place when we pick up. It’s hard to take back the things that were said in those woods,” she told the outlet. “They will have to continue to unpack their feelings about what happened on that trip for some time to come.”

As previously reported, the premiere episode is also set to introduce a new Grey’s Anatomy/Station 19 crossover couple. The shows will be blending further now that Vernoff is also running the firefighter-centered drama series, set to make its Season 3 return in 2020.

Who do you hope to see return in Season 16? Grey’s Anatomy returns with new episodes Thursday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.