The ABC medical
drama fromGrey's Anatomy creatorShonda Rhimes will wrap its six seasons on
Jan. 22 with Addison Montgomery's (Kate
Walsh) dream wedding to Jake Reilly (Benjamin Bratt), The
Hollywood Reporter has
learned.
"Shonda had hinted and indicated that that's
probably where it would go and I knew that she'd deliver and make it an amazing
episode," star Walsh told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was
clear she wanted to give Addison her happy
ending. After all Addison has suffered and struggled with throughout the series
-- all the heartache and hardship -- Shonda really wanted to have her find a
meaningful relationship and she got to have her child and find a guy that was
her match."
After opening the season with a decision to
pick Jake over Sam (Taye Diggs),
Addison -- who adopted son Henry in season five -- moved closer to having the
fairy tale life she's dreamed of for more than eight and a half years, dating
back to the character's origin onGrey's
Anatomy.
"The show is about Addison Montgomery's
life and it's kind of a fairy tale so it's certainly an appropriate ending that
she gets the baby and the marriage -- she gets the guy and she gets the
happiness," co-star Bratt told THR. "Audiences
have not only been rooting for that but they'll be gratified to see that's
finally what she does receive."
Showrunner Rhimes told THR in
August ahead of what would become the final season ofPrivate that the character deserved
"some semblance of a happy ending."
"We're not going to end the show and
the 13 episodes with Addison dead; that's not
going to happen," she said ahead of the season six premiere. "That
character has been on such a journey and started out so hated by audiences and
became so beloved by audiences that I feel like she's been on an emotional
journey to change who she is from being this woman who cheated on her husband
to a different person. You're just going to see what happens. I don't think
it's going to be a dark ending."
Meanwhile, Walsh -- who's working hard on
the NBC
comedy she's
developing with boyfriend Chris Case -- says the series finale won't
be entirely about Addison and Jake.
"It can't just be viewed as Addison getting married off and getting the fairy
tale," she said, noting there are some "juciy" surprises coming.
"It's a holistic thing; it's a wrap up of the entire series. That's
certainly part of it but it's very profound and meaningful the way Shonda wraps
up all the characters and story lines and that's certainly a part of it. It
will be very emotional for fans and very satisfying." The series finale, fittingly titled "In
Which We Say Goodbye," airs Jan. 22 at 10 p.m. on ABC.