Paging Dr. Yang! Grey’s Anatomy was recently renewed for season 18 and, with the recent departure of Jesse Williams, fans had hoped Sandra Oh would return to reprise her role as the beloved Cristina Yang.
On the LA Times podcast, Asian Enough, Oh revealed that, while she loved portraying the iconic character for 10 seasons, she had moved on from the medical drama.
“I love it, though, and this is also why I really appreciate the show… that I still get asked this,” she said. She further explained that it was rare to see the character’s impact, and added, “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.”
Related: 10 inspirational Asian Canadian women you need to know.
Oh then invited fans to check out her more recent work on the Golden Globe-winning series Killing Eve and her upcoming Netflix dramedy The Chair. “Come see the characters that I’m playing that are much more deeply integrated in… the Asian-American experience,” she said.
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On the podcast, Oh also touched on how the first seasons of Grey’s would not discuss race because it wasn’t “the style of the show.” “It wasn’t the time,” she explained. In more recent seasons the drama has made a complete 180, navigating police brutality and the impact of the pandemic on minorities.
While Oh is busy with her other projects, it’s worth noting that the character of Cristina Yang is still alive. Since Oh’s departure, her character has kept in touch with her on-screen BFF via text, so it’s always possible the show will creatively reunite Meredith with her “person” in other ways.
Related: The richest actresses on television in 2021.
