From the latest issue of EW:
Izzie (Katherine Heigl) beats cancer, but comes down with an even more debilitating malady: survivor's guilt. "She's going to be wrecked by the death of George [T.R. Knight]," reveals exec producer Krista Vernoff. There's also the little matter of her "getting married on her deathbed to Alex [Justin Chambers]," adds Vernoff, who points out that Grey's is entering uncharted territory in its sixth season.
"We started the series with no couples except Bailey [Chandra Wilson]. And now we have everybody coupled except Bailey." Of course, no one said those couples would be happy. An as-yet-uncast skeleton will soon tumble out of Owen's (Kevin McKidd) closet, threatening his romance with Cristina (Sandra Oh), and the age difference will pose a challenge for Mark (Eric Dane) and Lexie (Chyler Leigh).
Meanwhile, Grey's will have to do without both of its leading ladies for a time when Ellen Pompeo goes on maternity leave this fall and Heigl is written out for five episodes beginning in November to accomodate a movie shoot. Despite Pompeo's imminent absence, Vernoff maintains that Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith will continue to be Seattle Grace's core duo. "We believe in the Post-it marriage. And we absolutely have more stories to tell for them."
