Sydney Heron’s Return Never Felt Right Until ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 21, Says Showrunner

Fans can agree there’s a lot to anticipate in Grey’s Anatomy Season 21, which premiered not long ago and has already gotten viewers bonkers with questions. The episode saw Bailey give her boss Catherine the unexpected slap from the promos for calling her “just another doctor.” That’s just one of the many dramatic affairs to come in this new installment which Grey’s Anatomy executive producer and showrunner Meg Marinis recently shared a few details about, including the return of Kali Rocha’s Sydney Heron after seventeen years.

In an interview with Deadline, Marinis, who wrote the premiere episode, said of the decision behind Sydney’s return:

“Sydney Heron has been pitched numerous times over the years to return to Grey Sloan, and it’s never felt right until now. The dynamic between Bailey and Sydney from back in season 2 was so entertaining that it seemed like the perfect fit asking her to come back and take over for Bailey. Especially since these particular interns don’t know her. The first line Kali delivered at the table read got so many laughs. It was great having her back on set.”

Fans who have stuck with this longrunning series will recall that Sydney first got the job at Grey Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy Season 2 as a fill-in for Bailey while she was on maternity leave. Sydney then returned in five episodes of Grey’s Anatomy Season 3 with Rocha as a recurring cast member, and she made a comeback for two additional episodes in Season 4. Now, with her return, the interns she’s in charge of don’t appear to be fans of her extremely sweet manner and “Healing with Love” attitude any more compared to the past interns.Kali Rocha in Grey's Anatomy as Sydney Heron

The Interns Have A Lot Going on in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 21

Elsewhere in the interview, showrunner Marinis was asked if Bailey would possibly take charge of the interns again in Grey’s Anatomy Season 21, given their distaste for Heron’s “Healing with Love” approach. The EP was vague on the matter but said it’s unsafe to assume anything about the medical drama series. She further shared a few details about what’s in store for the interns, saying:

“When it comes to our interns this season, we’re getting to dive deeper into their storylines because we have a full season order vs last season’s 10 episodes post-strike. Lucas may be repeating his intern year, Blue has an ex-fiancee that we’ll learn more about, and we’ll also see romantic relationships continue to form and be challenged by demanding shifts at the hospital. If we know anything about our interns, it’s that they like to get into trouble, so I’m excited for fans to see them make mistakes as they’re learning to try and clean up after previous ones.”

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