Guest Stars News

Get ready for Addison's return ... again!

Private Practice star Kate Walsh is heading back to Grey’s Anatomy in early January to play a key role in a top-secret crossover involving Addison, Mark, and guest star Leven Rambin.

The situation as we know it is as follows:

In the Grey’s Anatomy half of the crossover, Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) summons Addison to Seattle Grace to perform surgery on Rambin's character, who was announced last week.

The storyline spills into Private Practice when, according to creator Shonda Rhimes, “complications arise and Mark ends up taking [her] back down to L.A. for more surgery.”

As for Mark’s connection to this new crossover character?

That remains to be seen. As does whether sparks fly between lovers-turned-friends Addison and Mark, and what impact this new crisis has, if any, on the future of Mark and Lexie.

Answers to all those questions will likely be revealed, or at least hinted at, in future spoilers.

For now, it's up to us to debate them right here. What do you think happens, and are you excited for the crossover? Sound off on this Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice news below!

Former All My Children star Leven Rambin has landed a recurring role on both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, according to Soap Opera Digest. She'll appear later this year.

No word on who the 19-year-old will be playing, but presumably it will be the same character on both series. Another crossover in the works, perhaps? Theories and thoughts?

Leven Rambin played Ava Benton on All My Children from 2004-2008.

Now that Mercy West's doctors have invaded and turned Grey's Anatomy upside down, they're staking their territory, which may include some new, intriguing relationships.

Dr. Charles Denman (Robert Baker) is at the center of the drama.

The new guest star opened up to TV Guide this week about what it's like to become the new worst enemy of the fans of one of TV's most popular shows in just one week.

He also discusses which Seattle Gracers will cross over to the dark side, how Thursday's episode unfolds and what Izzie (Katherine Heigl) will pursue when she returns ...

Q: Everyone hates the Mercy Westers. How does that feel?

Robert Baker: I've never been so hated in my life, but I think that it's the way [fans] should feel. We came on to the show and started wreaking havoc. I'm not like Charles in my everyday life. If I step on an ant, I go into mourning over it.

I don't want to ruffle any feathers in real life, so to go up there and do it is actually a blast. The show needs a bad guy. You can't have good drama without [one].

Q: Do any of them have any redeemable qualities? Will fans grow to like them?

Robert Baker: Yeah, people are going to start seeing that when it comes to doing our jobs, we definitely come through for them. I think it's going to take a while for people to be won over by any one of the Mercy Westers in particular.

It's going to be difficult in future episodes for them.

Q: Charles pretty much got Izzie fired. Will everyone in the hospital be upset with him?

Robert Baker: Certain people, definitely. I'm sure you can guess which people will be angrier than others about Izzie departing - not everyone though. They're not happy because she's gone; they're just not mad at [Charles] for what happened to her.

Q: Are Alex (Justin Chambers) and Charles going to come to blows?

Robert Baker: It's funny, this Thursday, Alex and I do have some stuff together. You will see his dislike for me. We don't quite come to blows because that wouldn't be a very fair fight, first of all. Clearly I'm the biggest person to ever set foot on that set.

Basically, it's a little more passive-aggressive what goes on between he and I. He has me under his thumb a little bit and takes advantage of it.

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Despite what last week's Grey's Anatomy episode may have led you to believe as the credits rolled, Izzie Stevens and Katherine Heigl are not leaving Seattle Grace for good.

Heigl's hiatus is temporary, though that doesn't mean the next few weeks are going to be less painful for her husband Alex (Justin Chambers) or the rest of the SGH gang.

Not only are the wounds from George O'Malley's death still fresh, but we get the feeling that the ambitious new kids are going to be fighting tooth and nail to fill Izzie's void.

Asked if the new docs are going to continue moving in on her turf, new guest star Sarah Drew said, "I think that may come out of it, but I have to be a little cagey with that."

Sarah also revealed that her character, Dr. April Kepner, is going to cut back on the nasty, needy All About Eve routine. According to Sarah, "Lexie's (Chyler Leigh) apology that happened at the end of the last episode definitely carries through.

"There isn't as much animosity in the rest [in the rest of the episodes]."

Sarah Drew made her Grey's Anatomy debut last week.

That doesn't mean she's not still desperate to secure herself a permanent position at Seattle Grace: "April is a very, very good doctor. She really knows what she's doing, she's worked really hard, and she certainly wants to do her best and stick around."

So, could that actually happen? Could any of the new kids become a permanent fixture on Grey's Anatomy? Sarah isn't allowed to reveal how many episodes she's signed to do, but she would definitely be interested in staying if given the opportunity.

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Izzie Stevens was fired last night on "Invasion."

But she will be back on Grey's Anatomy at some point next month.

We know this because the (appropriately named) veteran actor Joel Grey, 77, will appear in a November episode as a blast from Izzie’s past - her old high school teacher.

“It’s a pretty amazing episode,” says show creator Shonda Rhimes.

“It turns out he was the teacher who convinced Izzie (Katherine Heigl) she was more than just another girl from the trailer park. And now he’s in need of her help.”

What role will Izzie's former mentor have on her future?

This will be Heigl's only episode in November sweeps, as she is off shooting a movie. Her character's firing last night cleared the way for her to miss five episodes.

Rhimes is also considering bringing back Sharon Lawrence as Izzie’s mama, Robbie Stevens, who was last seen at the end of Season 5 at her ailing daughter’s bedside.

“We love Sharon,” Rhimes says.

With the death of George O'Malley greeting Grey's Anatomy fans at the beginning of this season, Seattle Grace has experienced a void ... or should we say a vacancy?

Thanks to the merger, however, new residents will be abundant soon enough.

And, as we reported yesterday, Kim Raver will is the latest to join the crowded ranks, playing a surgeon and possible love interest for Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd).

Raver's prior credits include 24, Third Watch and most recently Lipstick Jungle, which was canceled after 20 episodes, yet had a surprisingly vocal cult following.

The addition of a known actor like Raver could be seen as a concerted effort to bolster the show's audience, which has shrunk over the last few seasons.

After peaking in Season 3 with an average of 21.3 million viewers per episode, ratings for Grey's Anatomy have tapered off somewhat and now hover in the 13-15 million range (typically depending on who is about to die), though it remains a top 10 show.

** INSIDER NOTE: This website's highest-ever traffic came after the cliffhangers that seemingly left Meredith dead in Season 3, and George and Izzie in peril last May.

It's likely, however, that Raver won't have much screen time with two of the show's biggest leading ladies, as this move is probably also meant to counter the reality that Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl will both be missing a decent chunk of time this season.

With those two literally out of the picture, Raver's task will be to continue the show's tradition of strong female leads ... for better or worse, depending if you like her.

The Raver casting also comes on the heels of the news that Greek star Jesse Williams and veteran actress Martha Plimpton will join the cast for multi-episode arcs.

Is Grey's Anatomy having a resurgence in its sixth season, or are these just preventive measures to try and keep more viewers from being tempted by other shows?

Given the intriguing Owen-Cristina love triangle storyline, will Raver's surgeon serve as an antidote for a show that might be suffering from some character fatigue?

What do you think? Is Grey's Anatomy hitting its stride again? Or are there just too many guest stars and too little time for the regulars we've grown to love?

Grey’s Anatomy has enlisted Jack Bauer’s ex and a former Lipstick Jungle star to throw a monkey wrench into Owen and Cristina’s burgeoning romance, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Sources confirm that Grey’s Anatomy has tapped former 24 heroine Kim Raver to join the cast as a new SGH surgeon and a possible love interest for Kevin McKidd’s Dr. Owen Hunt.

Back in August, Kevin McKidd revealed some Grey's Anatomy spoilers, namely that a major skeleton would tumble out of Owen’s closet in this transitional season of Grey's Anatomy.

“Someone comes to the hospital that he was connected to in his past, not his ex-fiancée, but it’s somebody we didn’t expect,” the actor said in an interview with E! Online.

“I think it could get a little tricky, to say the least, but also exciting and interesting."

"Hopefully it will bring [Owen and Cristina] closer in the long run.”

Raver’s role is recurring and she will debut on November 12. Who do you think she's playing, and are you excited? Or are all these new doctors just making the cast too crowded?

As we learned on last week's rollercoaster Grey's Anatomy season premiere, cash-strapped Seattle Grace is getting ready to merge with its crosstown rival hospital, Mercy West.

The result will be an influx of new characters, as the series aspires to expand its roster of hot doctors and story lines as it enters what is being called a transitional sixth season.

Sarah Drew is the latest to score a recurring role as one of the new faces at the revamped SGH. The actress, who turns 29 tomorrow, will be playing a doctor named April.

The hospital merger takes place on the October 15 episode, "Invasion," when Drew and fellow Mercy West newcomers Robert Baker, Jesse Williams and Nora Zehetner arrive.

The "Invasion" of fresh faces presumably will compete with Seattle Grace regulars.

Interestingly, Sarah Drew was recently cast on Inside the Box, a new pilot developed by Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice creator Shonda Rhimes that was never picked up.

Nora Zehetner (pictured below) and Robert Baker have been cast as two of the recurring residents surfacing in Episode 5 of the upcoming season of Grey's Anatomy.

Zehetner, familiar to TV fans from her runs on Heroes and Everwood, will play a Seattle Grace doctor described by a source as "feisty, very smart and competitive."

She is poised to butt heads with at least one member of Meredith Grey's posse. Which one(s) of the original interns-turned-residents she feuds with is unclear.

Meanwhile, Robert Baker, from The CW's short-lived Valentine, has been cast as the seemingly nicest of the new residents, who may be hiding a nastier side.

The casting of the docs comes as Grey's Anatomy prepares to bid adieu to George O'Malley (in the season premiere) and accomodate Ellen Pompeo's maternity leave.

Krista Vernoff, co-executive producer of the program, recently stated that Mer-Der is still the focus of the show, but Ellen will nevertheless miss some time this year.

Precisely why the new residents' arrive is the big mystery here, and one that Shonda Rhimes isn't willing to reveal. At least until her next Twitter or blog posting.

Scrubbing in alongside Zehetner and Baker will be Jesse Williams (Beyond the Break, the Joss Whedon thriller The Cabin in the Woods) as a charismatic caregiver.

Actress Alexie Gilmore is busy shooting an episode of Private Practice this week.

After that, her character will "cross over" to Grey's Anatomy in the ABC drama's latest joint venture with its successful spinoff. As we know, the hospitals in Seattle and Los Angeles have shared patients and doctors with one another in seasons' past.

On Private Practice, Gilmore plays a dying woman who needs a kidney transplant, and her sister is the only person who can give it to her. According to the L.A. Times, she's already had to undergo the torso mold to prepare for her surgery scene.

No word yet on what will happen to her character on Grey's Anatomy.

The crossover concept is part of the network's multiple-character sweeps plan to boost viewership for both. Judging by last season's, it should be a success. Chandra Wilson's character, Dr. Miranda Bailey, is believed to be crossing over to Private Practice this year.