Biggest ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Returns Over the Years

Throughout its lengthy run, Grey’s Anatomy has said goodbye — and then hello again — to countless popular characters.

As the first series regular to exit from the ABC medical drama, fans were surprised when Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke) returned to Grey’s Anatomy in 2014 — seven years after he was fired for using a homophobic slur during a fight with Patrick Dempsey.

“He was nervous,” creator Shonda Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly about his season 10 return, which helped wrap up Sandra Oh (Cristina Yang)’s story line. “I have to be the keeper of the story and make sure that we’re telling the story we need to tell, regardless of whatever outside factors are involved or whatever history is involved.”

Seven seasons later, Dempsey made a brief cameo as Dr. Derek Shepherd that excited fans as his character was killed off in 2015. The actor wasn’t the beloved character to reprise his role for Grey’s Anatomy, which entered season 20 in 2024.

Scroll through for more on the biggest returns over the years: