Izzie is returning to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ for the 300th episode

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 12 years since medical drama juggernaut “Grey’s Anatomy” first premiered—just think about everything that’s happened since 2005!—but the show is coming up on it’s 300th episode. To mark this momentous occasion as part of its 14th season, fans can expect the return (at least in spirit) of one of its most beloved characters—Izzie Stevens, famously played by Katherine Heigl).

Although Izzie was one of the central characters from the beginning of the show, she was was written out after season 6. Rumor has it that Heigl’s departure was due to her ongoing disagreements with series creator Shonda Rhimes.

Heigl became dissatisfied with her character’s storylines, and even went so far to withdraw herself from the 2008 Emmys, saying in a statement, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention.”

Although Heigl herself will not appear in the much-anticipated 300th episode, she will be there in spirit along with two other of the other original cast’s characters as the Grey Sloan Memorial doctors treat patients who remind them of Izzie, George and Cristina.

“Cristina, George, and Izzie we’re thinking about a lot during this episode because our three guest actors on the show actually really look like them and remind the rest of the doctors of those characters,” Sarah Drew, who currently plays Dr. April Kepner on the show, tells Entertainment Weekly. “That causes the original group to really remember those people well and want to fight for these ones to live.”

The 300th episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” will air on Thursday, November 9 at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC. Rhimes previously shared the name of the seminal episode via Instagram: “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.”

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In true “Grey’s Anatomy” fashion, it sounds like super-dramatic, can’t-miss TV! Will you be tuning in?

Grey’s Anatomy Spinoff In The Works

And because we don’t cry enough while watching the original “Grey’s Anatomy,” now there’s going to be a new spinoff of the show. It will follow a group of Seattle firefighters, and we can’t wait to see how they’ll interact with the staff at Grey-Sloan Hospital.

Current “Grey’s” show runner Stacy McKee will take point on the still-unnamed spinoff, and current producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers will be executive producers for the new show, which is expected to launch sometime this winter.

Though there aren’t many details about the show yet, it will depict the lives (and no doubt the dramas and love triangles) of a group of “heroic” firefighters. It will be launched as a planted spinoff, meaning it will air as part of an episode of “Grey’s.”

Jaina Lee Ortiz from “Rosewood” is set to star in the show, but mum’s the word on any more details about her role.

This is the second “Grey’s” spinoff—if you’ll remember, “Private Practice” ran for six seasons and followed Kate Walsh as Addison Montgomery (Derek’s ex) from Seattle to Los Angeles.