'Grey's Anatomy': Sex & Death in the Season Premiere

Entertainment Tonight, Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 12:12pm (PDT)

Entertainment Tonight.

When "Grey's Anatomy" returns on Thursday, the staff of Seattle Grace Hospital is dealing with the aftermath of George's (T.R. Knight) death, especially Izzie (Katherine Heigl), who had a near-death experience herself and saw his spirit in the brief moment before she was revived.

"Last season we leave her flatlining," Katherine says. "She has that death-death experience, where she sees George on the other side. It is interesting because when we shot that scene, it was actually Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) on the other side. Then Shonda [Rhimes], our creator, watched it in dailies and felt it would be a more moving moment if it was actually George. So they shot us separately. They shot my reaction to Denny, and they shot T.R.'s reaction when I wasn't there. I was nervous about it. I wasn't sure how it was going to feel. I felt, 'I wasn't there for T.R. and he wasn't on the other side when I shot my stuff. Now it is going to look weird.' When I saw that scene, I just started balling."

Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) reaction to George's death is not an uncommon one: They use sex as their proof of life. However in this case, they are taking it to the extreme, consummating their Post-it note marriage anywhere and everywhere.

That said Ellen, who will have to take some time off this season when her real-life baby is born, says her upcoming storylines are "with my sister and my dad, not so much with Derek. What we have shot right now is more about my family."

And Patrick thinks that is a good thing, explaining, "Richard [James Pickens], the chief, has dropped the ball and management is unhappy and they want to replace him. He is working very hard to keep his job. I maintain a loyalty to him at the expense of advancing my own career. Because of that friction happens.

"I am interested in seeing where Derek is going this year in vying with Richard for control of the hospital. I think that is more interesting for me, because we have done the beat of 'Do we go into this relationship or go out of it?' We have played out everything in that. It is nice to play something different."

"Grey's Anatomy" returns with all-new episodes Thursday night at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Related stories on ETonline.com:A Sneak Peek at the New Season of 'Grey's Anatomy'

'Grey's Anatomy': One Will Live and One Will Die