Grey’s Anatomy has been around longer than kids who are starting high school in 2019. The show is a juggernaut and might never end, considering Ellen Pompeo has no plans in starring in anything else and makes a hefty sum in the millions as part of her yearly salary. The show, in its heyday, commanded the TV landscape and handed out a spin-off to one of its popular characters, Addison Montgomery. This shaped into a full show of its own and saw Addison leave Seattle Grace in favor of moving to Los Angeles in her show called Private Practice.
It was a success in its own right; running from 2007 to 2013, completing six years on-air. The show only ended because Kate Walsh felt she had given enough to the character starting from the first season of Grey’s Anatomy in 2005. This was justified too because there was hardly anything left for us to see in the happenings of Addison’s life. Private Practice didn’t have half a rich depth of a cast as Grey’s Anatomy does, so it was only a matter of time before it ended.
After the show’s end, Amelia Shepherd crossed over to Grey’s Anatomy and began a full-time tenure there. This opens up the possibility of other characters from Private Practice crossing over to the main show and continuing their stories. We’ve singled out those who would be best suited for the crossover and those who really should stay retired.
Here are 10 Private Practice Characters That Can Crossover To Grey's Anatomy (And 10 That Shouldn't).
Should: Jake Reilly
Addison’s final love interest on the show turned out to be the one who became her husband. She went through a lot of men during the tenure of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, and Jake ended up being the one.
Jake can still appear on Grey’s Anatomy, though. Should the show decide to go this route, we can have a very interesting story with Addison. It’s entirely plausible to show him bringing Addison to the hospital, and losing her there. In order to have a change of scenery, Jake can decide to take up a position at Grey Sloan Memorial.
Shouldn't: Addison Montgomery
There’s no point in bringing Addison back to Grey’s Anatomy. She had as much as she could in Seattle and rightfully left the show to do her own thing. Private Practice centered exclusively on her exploits in Los Angeles, with Addison having some superb storylines to go through.
If she were to return to Grey’s Anatomy, the only plausible scenario would be for her to have separated from her husband, which would just be a U-turn that wouldn’t do her journey justice. It’s better to leave her where she is rather than having her go through more sadness that doesn’t end up anywhere.
Should: Sam Bennett
Maybe it’s us crushing on Taysince Diggs, but we could have more of him on our TV screens. His looks aside, Taye’s character Sam always had uneven storylines on Private Practice. At one point he was just Addison’s friend, only to become her lover; then going back to his original wife.
On Grey’s Anatomy, we could have Sam go through an actual storyline tailor-made for his character. There are several ways he could be introduced; they could have him be recently separated, or for him and Naomi choosing to leave their previous life in favor of a new one in Seattle.
Shouldn't: Violet Turner
Of all the characters from Private Practice, Violet has the most potential to start over in Grey’s Anatomy; however, that’s not what we want from her. She lost her husband Pete before the show ended and was last looking after her young son. Private Practice’s finale saw her writing a book that was aptly titled after series – this is why we believe Violet’s story doesn’t need a full conclusion.
The idea that she’s found contentment with immortalizing her stories through her own account sounds better than finding out what she’s up to. We can happily believe she may have found love again and is now raising her son with no sorrows.
Should: Naomi Bennett
For whatever reason, Naomi exited the show in Season 4, only to return in Season 6 with her previous storyline completely disregarded. After separating with Sam initially, she then remarried him in the series finale.
But all this was too convenient and we get the feeling this was done to give their story a quick happy ending. On Grey’s Anatomy, Naomi and Sam’s marital struggles could be expanded upon, or simply have Naomi living the single life in Seattle instead. It would be interesting either way as to how she copes with the change of scenery.
Shouldn't: Bizzy Forbes
Of course, with Bizzy being gone and all she can’t appear on Grey’s Anatomy during the current chronology, but if another character we’ve chosen (who you can find lower down in this list) should happen to crossover here, then Bizzy might be seen in flashbacks.
However, Addison’s mother already had a weird storyline where she was revealed to be gay for two decades without telling her daughter…for some reason. She took her life when her wife passed away and she saw no reason to live anymore. Because of how she went, there’s no reason to give extra layers to her character by having her show up in any flashbacks.
Should: Sheldon Wallace
The door can easily be open for Sheldon to crossover to Grey’s Anatomy. When we last saw him, his significant other Miranda was in her last days and Sheldon quit his job to spend them with her.
It’s easy to write Miranda out by having her pass away while Sheldon can take up a job in Seattle to be close to his friend Amelia. There’s a lot of potential here to give him a love interest who doesn’t either choose someone else over him or pass away. Grey’s Anatomy can give Sheldon that happy ending he needs.
Shouldn't: Charlotte King
The most brutal storyline thrust onto someone on Private Practice was Charlotte. She was taken advantage of by one of her patients, after which the woman was left severely traumatized. She had facial and mental scars for a significant portion of her tenure and it took a long time for these to heal.
Charlotte signed off by having triplets with her husband and it doesn’t seem fair to thrust her into more hardships. For her the worst has come and gone; it would be a disservice to make her go through further tragedies.
Should: Henry Montgomery
This would make a lot of sense should they go with the earlier mentioned Addison’s passing away storyline. By now Henry should be a little bit older and thus won’t be a liability for show writers to include.
We could have him struggling to cope with the loss of his mother while adjusting to having Jake as his single father. There’s nice potential here to have a father-son story where Jake’s new love interest will find it difficult to win Henry’s affection. The child’s own grief at losing his mother could be an interesting take to explore.
Shouldn't: Cooper Freedman
Like Charlotte, Cooper can’t really go any place else in the storyline. He had a rocky relationship with his now-wife. Their problems always seemed to end with Charlotte getting together with another man while Cooper sulked around over what happened.
Now with three children of their own, and another son he had with someone else, Cooper’s story should remain finished as we saw it in the series finale. There’s nothing for him to find on Grey’s Anatomy; he’s not the kind of character you can picture being with anyone on the show.
Should: Kevin Nelson
Grey’s Anatomy has thrown at us men who are very attractive and working in more hands-on capacities. Kevin fits the bill for this type of character and was the ex-boyfriend of Addison. With a second spin-off called Station 19 focusing on firefighters, Kevin’s occupation as a police officer might fit him better there. However, there’s no reason why he can’t show up on the main show instead.
He could be paired with someone younger; an intern who can’t help but be attracted to an older but rugged police officer. In contrast, he could just be a love interest for Meredith instead.
Shouldn't: Pete Wilder
Like Bizzy before him, it’s not a matter of if rather than how for Pete. He saw his end in the fifth season of Private Practice under bizarre circumstances and now the only way he could be on Grey’s Anatomy is in flashback sequences.
But as we’ve ruled out Charlotte as a potential crossover character, there’s no reason why Pete should be too. His story was done and dusted before Private Practice even ended, and there are no characters he has bonds with that would call for anyone to think of Pete in flashbacks.
Should: Betsey
With our proposal at bringing Naomi and Sam to Seattle, there’s no way Betsey won’t be hitching a ride there as well. She’d left the show with Naomi in Season 4, but now that Naomi is back with Sam it’s clear the family is together.
By now, Betsey will be around 15-16 years old, making her the perfect age for a teenager bringing Naomi and Sam problems. The two could have a storyline that sees them having difficulty handling a teenager who hates moving cities and settling in Seattle. It might not sound great, but Betsey could have a pregnancy story as well, which brings further headaches to Sam and Naomi.
Shouldn't: Mason Warner
Considering Mason is the son of Cooper, and we’ve ruled out Cooper’s chances of being on Grey’s Anatomy, it’ll take a freakish scenario to see this boy on the main show. It could still happen; Mason is in his teenage years now and he might show up in Med school down the line, but that would be so unneeded.
Instead, Mason’s story is better served in our own fantasies over how Cooper and Charlotte are raising their family. It’s far more satisfying to think Mason is happy playing big brother to his triplet baby sisters.
Should: The Captain
The Captain was done wrong by his children, who thought he was being unfaithful to their mother all those years when in actuality their mother was a lesbian the whole time. The man was still quite the hound and had a number of women to himself, even when past his prime.
On Grey’s Anatomy, there aren’t any remnants of characters the Captain can connect with, but he can be a character on his own right. There’s always the chance that a younger intern finds the silver fox attractive and starts dating him. Characters can also acknowledge him as Addison’s father, which would give him more of a reason to stay.
Shouldn't: Gabriel Fife
Gabriel and Naomi seemed to have a fairytale type ending that was ultimately reversed. Their story had to do with Naomi falling for a man who had lost his legs; when this difficulty was amended, they had a rough patch that ended with Naomi giving up life in L.A. to be with Gabriel.
Out of nowhere, the two were separated and Naomi then remarried Sam. Now that everything has been reversed, there’s no point having Gabriel show up in Grey’s Anatomy. It’s better to picture him doing his own thing somewhere else – hopefully not crying over losing Naomi.
Should: Eric Rodriguez
This guy didn’t have much of a role other than repeatedly making the moves on Addison. He was declined on every turn due to Addison’s then-love for Sam. Eric was still fetching to look at and his story can be continued on Grey’s Anatomy where he could switch over to Seattle hoping to find true love.
Considering the alarming rates at which characters find themselves single and in relationships on Grey’s Anatomy, Eric has a large pool of options to choose from. Or maybe we could continue the joke of him being rejected and have Meredith brush off his advances.
Shouldn't: Lee McHenry
We’ve been freaked out enough by McHenry’s story on Private Practice, and don’t need him polluting the screen on Grey’s Anatomy too. McHenry was the man who took advantage of Charlotte and left her crippled. He then had a go at his girlfriend Nancy, with whom he had a son, but Nancy grew a spine and reported McHenry.
This freaky storyline won’t fit well on Grey’s Anatomy. We’ve had intense stories such as the shooter at the hospital, and another story of this magnitude would be too much of a pill to swallow. McHenry should be left to rot in prison where he belongs.
Should: Archer Montgomery
Archer is the kind of guy who could give Mark Sloan a run for his money. He engaged in several pursuits of women on Private Practice, including Charlotte and Naomi. Both these women couldn’t keep their hands off him and this is why it will be interesting to see Archer on Grey’s Anatomy.
He and his father could show up together and give the Montgomery presence to Grey Sloan Memorial once again. There’s room for him to mess up some already established couplings; Jo, Amelia, and Maggie seem to targets who would be willing to mess with him.
Shouldn't: Maya Bennett
Maya was relatively difficult to believe as a daughter of Sam and Naomi – both of them looked far too young to have a child that age – and she followed in her parents’ footsteps to have a teenage pregnancy.
Unusually, though, Maya had a happier ending than most teenage pregnancies tend to have and married the boy who impregnated her. With this, Maya also left the show and didn’t appear again. The fact that she had a happy ending in a storyline that normally doesn’t see that happening makes it a fitting sendoff for her. There’s no reason why Maya should show up on Grey’s Anatomy for whatever reason.
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Which other Private Practice characters should appear on Grey's Anatomy? Let us know in the comments!