Grey's Locks Up the Knight Shift

Wed., Jun. 6, 2007 7:23 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Dr. George O'Malley is not one to back down from a challenge.

E! Online has confirmed that T.R. Knight will be back for a fourth season of Grey's Anatomy, signing a new contract after an iffy wait-and-see period further perpetuated by his character's cliffhanger season finale.

While George may have to repeat a year at Seattle Grace as an intern, Knight will be earning approximately $125,000 per episode, plus a sliver of the show's total profits, a deal also added to new contracts negotiated earlier this year for the likes of Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey and Sandra Oh.

Knight's salary roughly equals that of costars Chandra Wilson and Justin Chambers, who, along with Pompeo and her $200,000 per episode, inked new deals in March.

Still up in the air is the fate of Isaiah Washington, whose publicist said that the actor is returning—as far as he knows—to the Emmy-winning drama, but no new contract has been signed yet. Dr. Preston Burke's exit in May—breaking off his engagement to Oh's Dr. Cristina Yang—provided just as many clues to whether he'll return as George's empty locker did for Knight's fans.

It was Washington, of course, who engaged in the famous on-set dustup with Dempsey, reportedly over punctuality, last October, after which Washington was accused of referring to Knight as a "faggot."

Fallout from the alleged incident appeared to be minimal, although it did prompt a somewhat involuntary coming-out party for Knight, who told People at the time that he was speaking out "to quiet any unnecessary rumors" that may have accompanied the report from the Grey's set.

In January, however, a number of people (including journalists) heard Washington say the word while simultaneously denying that he had ever said it in the first place.

Knight, who maintained that Washington did indeed say the word in October, later told Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show that it wasn't usually his style to take his private life public, but that the most recent hullabaloo propelled him to do so.

"I've never been called it, and you know you go through things in life, and you lose friends when you go through the process—whatever your journey is," he said. "But I've never been called that to my face."

The outraged response from gay rights groups, Grey's fans and ABC seemingly spelled curtains for Washington's future on the show, but he has since publicly apologized, received treatment for whatever issue he attributed his verbal slip-up to, and appeared in a public service announcement for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.

Washington also received an NAACP Image Award for his role on Grey's and excused himself from this summer's Emmy race, with his rep saying that the acting was what was important for him. The 43-year-old will be shooting a film this summer, a production that's expected to wrap before the Grey's cast reconvenes in August to start shooting season four.

Back in April, E! Online TV columnist Kristin Veitch debunked farewell rumors surrounding both Knight and Washington. So far, she's 1-for-1. But only time will tell.