Jason George is ready for his return to Grey Sloan Memorial.
The 52-year-old actor told PEOPLE at the Motion Picture and Television Fund NextGen Summer Party on June 23 that coming back to Grey’s Anatomy was bittersweet following the end of Station 19.
George, who plays doctor-turned-firefighter Ben Warren, said the cast of Station 19 was “heartbroken” when they learned the show would conclude with season 7.
“But I mean I just feel blessed that they gave us the opportunity to actually land that plane the right way,” he said of the Station 19 finale. “And also selfishly… Normally you’re not told in time to be able to make the story land the right way, and you’re also not told in time so you can schedule things out.”
“So literally, the last shot we shot of the show ever is the last scene of the show ever,” he added. “And so we got to have that feeling as actors and the crew that the fans have watching the show, and have all our emotions that day. And then the next day we had the wrap party, which was a series wrap party. We just got to party our faces off. We really enjoyed it.”
Following filming of Station 19, George said he heard “whispers” of possible return to Grey’s Anatomy and met with showrunner Meg Marinis, who told him that she felt like there’s “still a Ben story left to tell.”
“I’m excited,” George said at the annual event held by the MPTF, which raises money to help support people in the entertainment industry who are in need through assistance with healthcare, residential living and social services.
“And I love the Ben and Bailey relationship. I mean Ben-ley, as the fans call it, I’m very protective of that, almost more protective of that relationship than I am of Ben. You know what I mean?” he continued. “And I just love that they adopted a 17-year-old kid. They adopted a teenager. They got two teenagers going into college. One just dropped out of college. They got [a] 4-year-old. I forget how old she’s supposed to be in the show now. You know what I mean? So it’s like this little family…”
“But whether it be the nuclear Ben Bailey family or the whole Grey’s family, that’s home,” he added. “You know what I mean? And it just feels good going back home. I just texted Debbie Allen and Megan, and was like, ‘Yo, happy to come back home.’ And Debbie said, ‘You need to get back home where you belong.’ Because Debbie Allen says stuff like that, and you listen.”
George’s comments come after PEOPLE confirmed earlier this month that he is set to return to the hit ABC medical drama as a series regular for the show’s upcoming 21st season.
The actor reacted to the news on social media, writing, “Well…it WAS kind of hush-hush but now it’s official. Where my scrubs at?”
Fans were first introduced to Ben when he was a first surgical resident at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in season 6. He later married Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and made guest appearances on the series while also starring on Station 19 for seven seasons.
In the finale of Station 19, Ben admitted he was ready to head back to the O.R. and finish his surgical residency after mulling his future as firefighter throughout the season.
George also teased the possibility of a return to Grey’s Anatomy last month.
“I like to think that there’s still a Ben-Bailey, or Benley, story to tell,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think that’s a possibility. There may be conversations.”
Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy is now streaming in full on Hulu.