Wishin' and Hopin' (Grey's Anatomy) for their new clinic, Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.) dealing with the repercussions of his upcoming retirement, and Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) facing negative response from colleagues on his unexpected marriage to Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez). Although the episode was fictionally set in Seattle, filming occurred in Los Angeles, California. Burton reprised her role as Dr. Ellis Grey in a guest star capacity, in addition to Sarah Utterback, who portrayed Olivia Harper. The title of the episode refers to the song "Wishin' and Hopin'", by British pop musician Dusty Springfield. The episode received mixed to favorable reviews,
Wishin' and Hopin' (Grey's Anatomy) significant increase in ratings, attracting 2.68 million more viewers than "Great Expectations", which received a 7.6 rating. "Wishin' and Hopin'" was also the leading show in the time slot, with 2.69 more million viewers than CBSs' "", which ranked tenth in weekly viewership with a 7.6 rating. Kate Burton, who portrayed Ellis Grey, received a nomination at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series category, but ultimately lost to "" Leslie Caron. "Variety" listed the episode in its top 10 most bizarre medical maladies encountered in the series. Staci Krause of "IGN" had