It’s kind of wild to think about how long Grey’s Anatomy has been on TV. The medical drama premiered as a midseason replacement in 2005 and has since become an integral part of our Thursday nights. Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. will star in their 20th season when the series returns, but even for those like Katherine Heigl, who left the show in 2010, there have been some pretty blunt reminders about how many years have passed since her character Izzie Stevens came into existence. In fact, the actress recalled a hilarious run-in she had with a young fan that left her feeling pretty old.
Katherine Heigl reunited with her former Grey’s Anatomy co-star Ellen Pompeo recently for an “Actors on Actors” interview for Variety, where they talked about how popular the show still is, even with fans who hadn’t been born yet when the ABC drama first aired. Heigl spoke of a particularly memorable exchange she once had with a younger viewer, telling Pompeo:
