Kate Walsh has been a fan favorite as Addison Montgomery on Grey’s Anatomy since the shocking Season 1 reveal that Meredith’s boyfriend, McDreamy himself, was actually still married. Walsh was even chosen to lead her own spinoff, Private Practice, which aired on ABC for six seasons, and even now — seven years after Derek Shepherd was killed off and as Ellen Pompeo is on her way out — Addison Montgomery continues to show up in the operating rooms of Grey Sloan Memorial. What’s more, if it were fully up to Shonda Rhimes, she might be expanding the world-class neonatal surgeon’s story even further in a Private Practice revival.
The creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice (and many other series) appeared on Good Morning America, where she was asked which of her completed series she’d most want to see brought back. Shonda Rhimes responded:
I actually feel like we didn’t finish telling our stories on Private Practice. We had so many more stories we could tell. … I just felt like we had so much more to say with those characters and so much further to go, and that also felt like a show that had endless possibility, where you’re learning and seeing things happen at the same time medically.
Grey’s Anatomy has certainly pulled from real-world events to fuel its stories — including Season 17’s tackling of the pandemic and the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in the current season. Private Practice seemingly had that same deep well to pull from, as Shonda Rhimes pointed out.
If a Private Practice revival were to happen, it sure seems like a good time to do it, as Kate Walsh has kept her character's story going Grey’s Anatomy. Addison Montgomery returned to Seattle in “Let’s Talk About Sex,” Episode 3 of Grey’s Anatomy’s 19th season, after making multiple guest appearances in Season 18.
The character hasn't disclosed much about her life back in L.A., but she did tell her former sister-in-law Amelia Shepherd (who was introduced on Private Practice before becoming a Grey's series regular) that she went through a dark time during the pandemic, to the point where she said she “began to truly hate” her husband Jake (played on the spinoff by Benjamin Bratt) and son Henry. I certainly wouldn’t mind finding out what the rest of the cast and characters have been up to since the series ended in 2013.
The characters of the Los Angeles-based spinoff were played by some real heavy hitters, including Audra McDonald, Taye Diggs, Paul Adelstein, KaDee Strickland, Chris Lowell and more. Strickland, Adelstein and Griffin Gluck will be reunited in Season 2 of the Freeform anthology Cruel Summer, which recently wrapped filming.
Shonda Rhimes didn’t make it sound like there were actually any plans to revive the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff, but these days anything seems possible. For now, though, you’ll just have to catch Addison and Amelia on Grey’s Anatomy, which airs at 9 p.m. ET Thursdays on ABC. Also be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what other shows are premiering soon.
