Caterina Scorsone | Grey's Anatomy Fever

As TV Guide reports, Shonda Rhimes and ABC are promoting Caterina Scorsone to series regular for Grey’s Anatomy Season 11, meaning Derek’s sister Amelia is putting down roots in Seattle.

Caterina’s new full-time status is the first substantial news we’ve heard about Season 11, with three months or so to go before the show returns and begins its second decade on TV.

And it’s a development we predicted (and started hoping for) back in April, especially since Caterina was totally game to stay on.

“I think [Shonda is] such a remarkable woman and showrunner and creative genius,” the 32-year-old enthused to TV Fanatic at the time. “And I think if she wanted me to do one episode, I would do one episode, and if she wanted me to do 500 episodes, I’d do 500 episodes.”

Fans of Private Practice got a special treat on the episode of Grey’s Anatomy last night, April 24, when Caterina Scorsone reprised her Private role as Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) sister Amelia Shepherd.

Even better, the 32-year-old actress will stick around for the rest of Season 10. But should we get used to seeing Amelia every week? Could Caterina become a Grey’s Anatomy series regular in the all-but-confirmed Season 11?

TV Fanatic floats the idea past her, and she sounds totally game!

“I think that I would do anything for [creator] Shonda [Rhimes]!” she enthuses. “I think she’s such a remarkable woman and showrunner and creative genius, and I think if she wanted me to do one episode, I would do one episode, and if she wanted me to do 500 episodes, I’d do 500 episodes. We’ll see what she has planned for you and then we’ll go from there!”

And our second-favorite neurologist named Shepherd will get out of the McDreamhouse and into the hospital in next week’s episode — Season 10, Episode 22: “We Are Never Getting Back Together” — as she and Derek operate on conjoined twins. Not only that, but she’s slowly but surely bonding with her sister-in-law.

“Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Amelia do start to forge a bit of a relationship, which they never really had before,” Caterina tells the site. “They didn’t really have an opportunity to get close until now … and it turns out that Derek has pretty good taste in women!”