Seventeen years after departing from the series, Kali Rocha will return as Dr. Sydney Heron in the upcoming Grey’s Anatomy season. It’s been teased that longtime fans of the show will be very satisfied with her comeback.
Series showrunner Meg Marinis recently confirmed to TVLine that Dr. Heron would return in Season 21 for a three-episode arc. While not the first fan favorite to return in this upcoming season, Rocha’s return is still quite a pleasant surprise to fans. She first joined the series in Season 2, but exited the show during Season 4 in 2007. Rocha has not made so much as a brief cameo in the nearly two decades since her last appearance in Season 4.
Marinis called Sydney’s upcoming arc “delightful and fun, and if you’re a longtime fan of the show, it is going to be a great, great treat. Kali is fantastic. The second we heard her voice at the table read, we all had big smiles on our faces.” She added, “You can think about how our doctors in Season 21 will respond to her. Fans will be very satisfied to see her back.”
You can think about how our doctors in Season 21 will respond to her. Fans will be very satisfied to see her back.
Rocha followed up her initial run on Grey’s Anatomy with a role in Sherri Shepherd’s 2009 sitcom Sherri. She’d go on to have main roles in the TV shows Live and Maddie and Man with a Plan, and she more recently starred in the miniseries Waco: The Aftermath. Rocha could also be seen in several feature films after her Grey’s Anatomy exit, such as Stolen, Space Station 76, and The Loft.
Who is Doctor Heron in Grey’s Anatomy?
First appearing in Season 2, Sydney Heron was Dr. Bailey’s replacement on maternity leave. Her peppy, happy-go-lucky attitude was initially off-putting to the interns. Audiences also found themselves divided, with some seeing her comically upbeat attitude as entertaining and refreshing, while others felt that she was too much. Despite this, Heron was used as inspiration for the Grey’s Anatomy tie-in novel Healing with Love, a self-help book narrated by Heron herself.
For fans, Heron’s exit could be seen as a loose end. There was no on-screen explanation given for her disappearance after she suddenly vanished at the start of Season 4. Before her exit, Heron was hoping to land the job of Chief Resident, which she failed to get. She also had a brief romance with Derek Shepherd, which ended just as quickly as it started. As for why Heron was written out, Rocha has never publicly explained why she left Grey’s Anatomy.
It’s unknown why Rocha left the show, but she’ll soon be back. Additionally, series regulars Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) are all returning for Season 21.
