Curious About George: Will He Exit 'Grey's' Too?

As Grey's Anatomy fans are adjusting to the abrupt departure of Dr. Erica Hahn and trying to figure out what the heck is going on with Izzie Stevens, comes the news that George O'Malley may leave too. The scoop-a-licious Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly (he has major Grey's sources) says that actor T. R. Knight wants to leave the hit medical drama:

"Multiple sources confirm that T.R. Knight has asked to be released from his contract, a request that both ABC and Grey's show-runner Shonda Rhimes appear poised to grant. 'They're working out the details now,' whispers an ABC insider."

This would be a shame. I see George's character as an everyman. He doesn't come from wealth (a la Callie Torres) and didn't have highly connected parents (a la Meredith Grey). He had a middle class American family upbringing and overcame the humiliation of failing his intern exam. He's the character whose flaws (the Gizzie debacle notwithstanding) are most relatable.

So if George leaves Seattle Grace, he'll leave a huge hole from which I seriously wonder if Grey's can recover. (One fan call George, as opposed to Meredith, "the heart" of Grey's.) Grey's, after all, is not ER, which, over a decade or so, has seen a cast of thousands go through its hospital doors. Grey's is intrinsically character-based, not really a medical procedural. Characters make or break it.

If George leaves, do you think it'll hurt Grey's irreparably?

Image credit: ABC.

Dr. Hahn Out of 'Grey's'

What a huge bummer.

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that the Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) -- who recently commenced a relationship with Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) on Grey's Anatomy -- will only appear in one more episode of the Thursday night drama. Following on the heels of the intensely moving scene from last week's installment, where Erica said she never realized she was gay (the "you are glasses" monologue), ABC execs apparently got cold feet about the character, according to Michael Ausiello who wrote:

"I'm told this was not [show creator] Shonda Rhimes' decision but rather an order that came down from the network. According to one Grey's source, the suits 'had issues' with both the explicit direction [Erica and Callie were] taking . . . and, more importantly, with the Hahn character in general."

I was fond of Erica's take-no-prisoners attitude in a world inhabited by thin-skinned egomaniacs. She was the only character who didn't seem, in any way, to be flaky or whiny.

Hopefully this doesn't mean that Callie will now be portrayed as someone who's floundering around, unsure of what or who she wants. Callie used to be a strong, maverick character, living and dancing in the hospital basement with abandon, until writers decided to make her rich and living the high life in a hotel, marrying George O'Malley on a whim.

Image credit: ABC.