Sandra Oh Gives Definitive Answer on If She’d Return to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Don’t expect to see Cristina Yang making a return to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital anytime soon. Sandra Oh, who paved the way as the no-nonsense Grey’s Anatomy character from its debut in 2005 until 2014, revealed during the Los Angeles Times’ Asian Enough podcast Tuesday that she had no intention of reappearing on the medical drama in the future.

“No,” Oh answered simply when asked about the possibility of a return. “I love it, though, and this is also why I really appreciate the show … that I still get asked this.” Season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy has been one of nostalgia, as Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) visited with characters past amid a COVID-induced coma, allowing for the return of actors Patrick Dempsey, Chyler Leigh and T. R. Knight, among others. But despite Oh’s warm feelings for the series and the character of Yang, for which she won a Golden Globe in 2005, she’s happy to move on in her career without it.

“It’s very rare, I would say, to be able to see in such a way the impact of a character,” she continued. “In some ways, you do your work as a bubble and you let it go. I left that show, my God, seven years ago almost. 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.”

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have an answer for where Yang would be today, especially amid the pandemic that’s affected doctors in real life and on the ABC drama. “Cristina, like I imagine all the health care workers, [would be] wickedly at the front line trying to solve the big problems,” Oh shared, saying that with the pandemic bringing to light so many “obvious and problematic” systemic problems, Yang would be looking at the bigger picture as opposed to just the day-to-day hospital operations.

Since her time on Grey’s Anatomy, Oh has made a name for herself with other highly-regarded TV shows such as Killing Eve, in which she portrays the titular Eve Polastri. The actress is also taking on the fight for more Asian American representation in her industry. “So please come with me to Killing Eve and on to [new Netflix series] The Chair and on to the other projects,” Oh urged podcast listeners. “Come see the characters that I’m playing that are much more deeply integrated in … the Asian American experience.”