Katherine Heigl’s character Izzie Stevens left the medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy during its sixth season, which aired in 2010. The departure of Izzie was met with mixed reactions from fans and critics alike. While there have been varied reasons suggested for her departure, the exact cause remains unknown.
The decision to leave the show was not made by Heigl herself, but rather by mutual agreement between the actress and the show’s producers. Heigl had been vocal in the media about her dissatisfaction with the show, and had expressed a desire to focus more on her film career.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in March 2010, Heigl said, “I started a family and it changed everything for me. It changed my desire to work full-time.” She went on to say that she had been thinking about leaving the show for some time, and that she and show creator Shonda Rhimes had discussed it at length before making the decision.
The circumstances surrounding Izzie’s departure from the show were also a topic of much speculation at the time. In the show’s storyline, Izzie was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, a form of skin cancer that had spread to her liver and brain. She underwent surgery to remove the tumors, but the procedure left her with serious complications that required her to be put into a medically induced coma.
When Izzie woke up from the coma, she had lost most of her memories and struggled to regain her medical skills. She eventually returned to work at the hospital, but her relationship with her fellow doctors and her husband, Alex Karev (played by Justin Chambers), had become strained.
In the show’s 100th episode, which aired in November 2009, Izzie was seen hallucinating and interacting with the ghosts of past patients, including Denny Duquette (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the love interest who had died in an earlier season. This storyline was widely criticized by fans and some critics, who felt that it was too far-fetched and unrealistic.
In the end, Izzie’s departure from the show was handled in a relatively low-key manner. In the season six finale, which aired in May 2010, she was seen leaving the hospital with Alex, who had decided to take her away to receive experimental treatments for her cancer.
Since leaving “Grey’s Anatomy,” Heigl has continued to work in film and television, although her career has not been as high-profile as it was during her time on the show. She has also been involved in a number of controversies, including a public feud with “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes over her character’s storyline and a public apology for making negative comments about the show in interviews.