It’s been 10 years since Private Practice ended, but with Grey’s Anatomy still going strong 19 seasons in, there is one star from the spinoff who has never appeared on the series. During the six-season run of Private Practice, there were multiple crossovers, but Charlotte King never got the chance to officially appear in a Grey’s Anatomy episode. In the years since the Private Practice finale, Amelia Shepherd has become a main character on Grey’s Anatomy and Addison Montgomery is recurring in season 19, which provides the opportunity for Charlotte to finally make an appearance.
Grey’s Anatomy had 3-spinoffs that connected, with Private Practice being the first one, centered around Addison, who left Seattle in Grey’s season 3 for Los Angeles and Oceanside Wellness Group. This is where viewers first met Charlotte, the hospital’s chief of staff and urologist, and the rival practice’s sexologist. While Private Practice was ultimately Addison’s show, Charlotte and eventually Amelia, who got her start on the spinoff, were major lovable parts of the ensemble series. Amelia’s ties to Derek and Meredith allowed her to make the ultimate crossover when she became a series regular in Grey’s Anatomy season 11, but, unfortunately, Charlotte never did the same.
Grey’s Needs To Honor Amelia’s Time On Private Practice
When Amelia joined Grey’s Anatomy, she was running from her life in LA and her engagement to James. It was a decision that might not have made sense for Amelia, who Grey’s Anatomy made the anti-House, but it was the best way narratively to keep Amelia’s character around in the Grey’s universe following the end of Private Practice. However, Amelia’s decision to leave LA for Seattle also meant leaving behind the family she’d been taken into through the practice, who had been with her through her highs and lows when her biological family, including Derek, weren’t.
Amelia was always the black sheep of the Shepherd family due to her long-term struggles with addiction, which was central to her season 5 storyline on Private Practice. It was Addison, Charlotte, and everyone else at the practice that helped her get her life back on track, but, almost inexplicably, they haven’t played a role in her life since she left Los Angeles. When Amelia and Owen got married on Grey’s Anatomy without her biological family present, her Oceanside family wasn’t even mentioned. Amelia’s time and story on Private Practice are rarely referred to despite their importance to her character, and the relationships she formed have been seemingly forgotten.
Amelia & Charlotte Had A Great Friendship
It took about eight seasons on Grey’s Anatomy before Amelia was reunited with someone from Private Practice when Addison appeared in season 18, and, despite their history, they shared just one scene together. With Addison returning as a recurring character in season 19, she has yet to interact with her former sister-in-law, though, hopefully, that will change when the series returns next month. Amelia is seemingly getting her real happy ending with Kai and has formed a strong sisterhood with Maggie, but the connection she and Charlotte had on Private Practice has been nonexistent in Grey’s.
Charlotte and Amelia’s closeness in Private Practice was forged due to shared experiences with addiction that evolved into them becoming each other’s supportive sober buddies. When Amelia made the move to Grey’s Anatomy, Richard took over Charlotte’s role in Amelia’s life without any acknowledgment of her previous friendship. Amelia was often alone in her early days on Grey’s Anatomy, as she had left behind all of her friends and family in LA, then lost Derek, and struggled to find her footing with Meredith and the other doctors at Grey Sloan. This loneliness was in part due to the show’s refusal to honor Amelia’s time on Private Practice.
Now, Amelia’s in a much better place than she was when she left LA in terms of the community she has built around her. With the main character of Grey’s Anatomy leaving as Meredith heads to Boston, Amelia’s story no longer needs to be so wrapped up in her sister-in-law’s. Bringing Charlotte to Grey’s Anatomy, even just for an episode, could help pay tribute to Amelia’s time on Private Practice, and her friendship with Charlotte, as well as mark a new beginning for her character and the series post-Meredith.
