George O'Malley, M.D., is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on ABC in the United States.

His relationships with his colleagues Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) were a central aspect of the series.

The actor cited a "breakdown in communication" with Rhimes, his character's reduced screen time, and his decision to come out as gay as reasons for his departure.

Knight received positive reviews for his portrayal of O'Malley, garnering him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2007.

George O'Malley is introduced as a fellow surgical intern along with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers); the 5 of them working under resident Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson).

O'Malley and Stevens move in with Meredith, for whom he has unexpressed romantic feelings due to his fear of rejection and the fact that she and attending neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) share mutual interest.

However, Meredith confesses that it was a mistake, leading O'Malley to avoid her and pursue a relationship with orthopedic surgeon Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez).

During a camping trip, O'Malley discovers that Torres had a sexual encounter with the chief of plastic surgery, Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) and also uncovers that Burke is suffering from tremors in his hand.

His father ultimately dies from complications, leading O'Malley to elope with Torres in Las Vegas as a way to cope with his grief.

Stevens confesses her love for him, and O'Malley considers transferring to another hospital to avoid his feelings, though he is ineligible after failing his intern exams.

While his friends at the hospital plan an intervention to convince him to stay, they work on a severely injured John Doe, a victim of a bus accident who saved a woman's life by pushing her out of the way.

T. R. Knight signed on for the pilot of Grey's Anatomy as George O'Malley, expecting that the role might be short-lived because he appreciated the character's multi-faceted nature.

[1] In October 2006, news surfaced that Isaiah Washington had insulted Knight with a homophobic slur during an argument with co-star Patrick Dempsey.

[6][7] In June 2007, it was reported that the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and series creator Shonda Rhimes had decided not to renew Washington's contract for Grey's Anatomy,[8] though they did not immediately specify the reason.

[9] In a subsequent interview, Washington argued that "they fired the wrong guy" (referring to Knight) and revealed that he was considering filing a lawsuit over the incident.

[15] Before his departure was officially announced, there was speculation that the role of O'Malley would be recast,[16] but Rhimes dismissed this idea, calling it a "hilarious, ridiculous rumor".

[16] Upon confirming his exit, Knight expressed his thoughts in an interview with TV Guide, stating: "Leaving Grey's Anatomy was not an easy decision for me to make.

[12] However, in a separate interview, Knight expressed his reasons for leaving, stating: "My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about O'Malley].

"[21] When the characters' sexual encounter occurred on-screen, Knight explained the complexities of the situation in an interview with Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune: "George wasn't really paying full attention.

"[22] Series writer Stacy McKee reflected on the significant impact of the sexual encounter between George and Meredith, stating: "There's no turning back.

[22]Knight also commented on O'Malley's lack of self-appreciation, noting that the character does not fully recognize his own positive traits.

[22] Reflecting on the pivotal moment when O'Malley performed open-heart surgery in an elevator, Knight explained: "It's a slow change, but he's starting to realize, 'The way I have been doing things is not working.'

"[21] Knight shared that he found a parallel between himself and George, particularly in how "confidence isn't always at its absolute highest," though he emphasized that he saw more differences than similarities between them.

"[21] Co-star Heigl was critical of Izzie and George's affair, expressing her disapproval: "They really hurt somebody, and they didn't seem to be taking a lot of responsibility for it.

"[25] When asked about his "favorite George moment", Knight highlighted his relationships with Izzie and Bailey as particularly memorable aspects of his character's journey.

"[30] Christopher Monfette of IGN said O'Malley and Stevens were a "mismatch," adding: "Unfortunately, while it's refreshing to see a plotline driven by activity vs. apathy, the idea of these two ever-affable, best-friend characters suddenly discovering their potential, out-of-nowhere love for each other quickly feels both force-fed and emotionally-incorrect.

[33] Entertainment Weekly's Jennifer Armstrong said that O'Malley's confession to Torres about his affair with Stevens felt overly "melodramatic.

"[37] Reflecting on O'Malley's death, Carina MacKenzie of the Los Angeles Times said: "The time-lapse episode was an interesting choice, and though we sped through six weeks of mourning in two hours, it didn't feel rushed to me.

"[38] Michael Pascua of HuffPost commented that O'Malley's funeral did not meet his expectations, writing that it "wasn't as sad as [he] thought it would be".

[40] His performance in Season 3 earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 2007 ceremony.