Is Addison Montgomery coming back to Grey’s Anatomy for good? Fans want to know

While fans are still getting used to the new batch of Grey's Anatomy interns, an old favorite returned in Kate Walsh's Addison Montgomery. The world-renowned OB/GYN and neonatal surgeon made a surprise visit to Grey Sloan Memorial on Grey's Anatomy season 19 episode 3, "Let's Talk about Sex," and longtime Grey’s fans couldn’t have been more excited to see her. Not only did her arrival remind fans of the golden era of the series, but she also shook things up a bit for a few characters. 

For starters, the reason she popped back on the canvas was to work on a special social media campaign about sexuality with Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) at the hospital. It took Addison coming back to get Dr. Bailey to return to the hospital and actually do some work as a doctor (the latter made an appearance at the hospital in the season 19 premiere, but practiced absolutely no medicine). 

One could say Addison is responsible for reigniting Dr. Bailey’s passion for helping patients again, as the two’s collaboration led to the former chief of surgery reopening her old clinic at the hospital, but this time focusing on reproductive health. 

The OB/GYN’s return also had an effect on one of the new interns, Lucas Adams (Niko Terho). For weeks now, he’s been trying to hide from the rest of his intern class that he is the nephew of both Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), who are pretty much Grey Sloan legends at this point. He’s even gone so far as to let the other young doctors assume he and Amelia are involved in an inappropriate relationship. 

Well, someone didn’t clue Addison in on Lucas’ plans and she made the error of trying to single him out and talk with him, which Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd) saw as strange. Eventually, with the power of intuition and Google, Simone pieced together who Lucas really is, which caused him to agree to a pact of sorts with her to keep his secrets. Although one can assume the other interns would have eventually figured out Lucas’ family tree, Addison’s arrival seems to have sped up this process. 

With Addison’s presence stirring things up for the doctors at the hospital, the question for viewers naturally becomes, how long is she staying? 

Is Addison Montgomery coming back to Grey's Anatomy?

In the world of the show, it seems that Addison is sticking around for a little while until her patient is in a good place in her recovery. But what does that mean for the character appearing in more episodes this season? Is Addison Montgomery back for good on Grey's Anatomy?

Looking to Variety, it appears Walsh's status has been listed by show producers as "recurring." While at the moment that means she won’t be featured in every episode for season 19, it does seem to signal viewers can expect to see more of her in her latest return arch than they did with her season 18 appearance.  

Grey’s Anatomy fans are loving Addison Montgomery’s return

Again, viewers always love when Addison pays a visit to Grey’s. Check out what they’ve been saying on Twitter. 

New episodes of Grey’s Anatomy air in the US on Thursdays on ABC, and become available to stream the next day on Hulu. UK fans can start tuning into the new season on Disney Plus on October 26.