Camilla Luddington Says ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 22 Premiere Was ‘So Traumatic’ to Film (Exclusive)

Camilla Luddington is dropping little hints about the Grey’s Anatomy season 22 premiere.

“There are seasons that I know that I go back [to set] and I know they’re gonna be really fun. We’re doing comedy — I’ve bleached my hair out, and it’s fried and it’s looking crazy, and I’m so excited. And there are seasons that have ended in an explosion and everyone might be dead, and those are not the seasons that I want to return to,” Luddington, 41, told Us Weekly in an exclusive interview. “In fact, I get, like, a version of back-to-school nerves going back to set, and I had that this season.”

Luddington, who spoke to Us while promoting her partnership with Get’ems!, explained that the cast is currently filming episode 3.

“We just had that table read. It was incredible. This season is bananas already. I can’t give any spoilers … it was not my favorite premiere to shoot, because it was just so traumatic for everyone involved,” she said.

Season 21 of Grey’s Anatomy ended with a gas tank explosion in an operating room after a patient’s mother threatened to blow up the hospital. While Luddington seemingly hinted that her character, Jo, is alive (or at least still on the show) with her comment about episode 3, Jo’s husband, Link (Chris Carmack), was in the OR when the explosion went off.

“I should have known,” she told Us of Jo and Link’s short-lived wedded bliss. “It didn’t occur to me — and I’m a vet of 13 years of that show — and I was like, ‘Damn things are going so well,’ like, so naive. And I’m like, ‘Oh, of course. No, no, no, no, there’s gonna be an explosion, and my husband will be in it. I should have known!’”

After more than a decade on the show, Us had to ask what the actress’ dream story line for Jo would be now. “Jo needs to be chief,” she declared. “I think she needs that office. She needs a pair of heels. She needs some cute outfits. I’m just in it for the outfits, to be honest. Chief Jo Wilson has a ring to it.”

Luddington is also always rooting for her costar and “Call It What It Is” podcast cohost Jessica Capshaw (who returns to ABC on 9-1-1: Nashville this fall) to stop by Grey Sloan.

“I’m about to have twins — possibly, we’ll see, maybe — and I need a good pediatrician,” Luddington teased. “And that is Arizona Robbins.”

While things are as crazy as ever at Grey Sloan, Luddington is turning to Get’ems! to help her get her kids — she shares daughter Hayden, 8, and son Lucas, 5, with husband Matthew Alan — ready for the new school year.

“I’m very type B. There’s no packing the night before and getting things ready. I lean into the chaos of the morning, which probably isn’t the best thing, but I think that a lot of moms can probably relate, and packing the lunch is one of my least favorite things to do,” she told Us. “I have very picky eaters at home. I’m picky about what I put into the lunch box. They’re even pickier about what they take out. So what I love about Get’ems! is I know that when I put it in, I’m not gonna see that on the return home when I open it. I might see everything else, but at least that section that has Get’ems! is gone. My kids really, truly, really love them.”

While Lucas loves the Ocean World Crackers — “he’s learning about sharks right now and the other day he came home and was like, ‘The octopuses taste the best,’ and I was like, ‘They all taste the same. But I’m sure that’s true!’” — Hayden is into the Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Roundos Puff Snack.

“My daughter got braces this year. Her favorite thing are chips, and she can’t have chips anymore. And so I introduced her to the Apple Cinnamon puffs. And she was like, ‘I can’t eat those though, right?’ And I was like, ‘No, you can eat these!’ She loves them. They’re in her lunch box,” Luddington explained. “I’m from England and nobody gets braces until they’re, like, 90 or ever. So this is all very new to me. There’s a whole laundry list of stuff you can eat with braces.”

Luddington concluded that Get’ems! aren’t just good for the lunch box.

“They get in the car. They are so hangry. Their mood is like they’ve had the worst day, even when they’ve had the best day. And food is the key,” she said. “They don’t even say hi to me. They’re like, ‘Mom, do you have any snacks?’ I know I have Get’ems! in the car and I literally throw it like a football in the back, hope they catch it, and as long as they do and they end up eating, they are fine. I have a peaceful car ride.”