Private Practice is an Americanmedical drama television series that aired on theAmerican Broadcasting Company for six seasons from September 26, 2007, to January 22, 2013. Aspin-off ofGrey's Anatomy, the series takes place at Seaside Health & Wellness Center (formerly Oceanside Wellness Group) and chronicles the life ofDr. Addison Montgomery, played byKate Walsh, as she leavesSeattle Grace Hospital in order to join aprivate practice, located in Los Angeles.Private Practice also revolves around Addison's co-workers at Oceanside Wellness Center, and how they deal with patients and the practice while still finding time to live their everyday lives.
On May 11, 2012,Private Practice was renewed for asixth season.[2] The sixth season was the only one not to featureTim Daly[3] and was announced on October 19, 2012, to be the final season.[4] Theseries finale aired on January 22, 2013. Reruns can be seen in syndication on some local ABC stations and can be streamed onHulu.
Thefirst season deals with Addison's move fromSeattle toLos Angeles and her attempts to adjust to a very different type of working environment at Oceanside Wellness Group, a co-op private practice. The first season also deals with her budding relationships with her new co-workers. Among them are her best friendNaomi Bennett, afertility specialist, and Naomi's ex-husbandSam Bennett, who specializes ininternal medicine. Also working within the practice ispsychiatristViolet Turner,pediatricianCooper Freedman,alternative medicine specialistPete Wilder, and receptionistDell Parker. It is revealed early on that the Bennetts established the practice with the rest of the doctors owning a share of it as well.Charlotte King, who serves as chief of staff at St. Ambrose Hospital, works with Oceanside Wellness through her dealings with Sam and her sexual relationship with Cooper.
Thesecond season begins with the practice dealing with financial troubles. Naomi reveals to Addison that they are in danger of losing the practice due to unpaid debt, causing Addison to tell Sam. This in turn causes a shift within the practice, whereby Sam and Naomi decide the new boss will be determined by a vote among the members of the practice, resulting in the highest vote getter, Addison, taking over. More tension is added when a new practice on the fourth floor, Pacific Wellcare, competes for patients. This new practice, run by Charlotte, is causing turmoil for her and Cooper. Also in this season, Sam and Naomi finally realize they can no longer be friends, and the romantic relationship of Cooper and Charlotte deepens. Addison was romantically linked with Kevin Nelson (played byDavid Sutcliffe), a police officer, but later realized their relationship was going nowhere. Towards the end of the season, Addison falls in love with cardiovascular surgeon Noah Barnes, who as it turns out, is married and is expecting his first child. Matters become more complicated when Addison realizes that Noah's wife is one of her patients. Archer Montgomery (Grant Show), Addison's playboy brother, made sporadic appearances causing trouble for her and Naomi. Archer was found to have an aggressive brain tumor which was later diagnosed as parasites. Addison sought the professional help of her ex-husband,neurosurgeonDerek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). After Derek successfully saved Archer, Addison discovered Archer was back to his old tricks by cheating on Naomi. Violet stirred some of her own drama when she began dating Sheldon (Brian Benben), who works for Pacific Wellcare, and Pete. During the latter half of the season, Violet was found to be pregnant although she did not know who the father of her baby was. Furthermore, Violet found herself and her unborn baby at the mercy of a psychotic patient bent on taking Violet's baby by any means necessary in the closing moments of the season finale. Meanwhile, Dell struggled with his own issues caused by his former girlfriend's drug habits. He fights for custody of his daughter Betsey. Some of the medical cases that caused a stir and tension among the doctors atPrivate Practice was the issue of abortion (a first for the practice), thesex reassignment of a newborn, the sexual activity of a 12-year-old, the switching of embryos for two mothers-to-be and a young couple who later discovered they were siblings.
In thethird season, Violet survives thecliffhanger in Season 2 while she gives her baby Lucas to Pete while she recovers from the ordeal. Addison and Sam get even closer but decide not to become a couple because they don't want to hurt Naomi. Charlotte and Cooper break up, and Dell loses Heather in an explosion which nearly kills Betsey. Addison and Pete become a couple, which causes Addison to get close to Lucas until Violet wants Pete back even going as far as taking Pete to court to get joint custody. Sheldon falls for Charlotte after they start to sleep together. Sam and Naomi's daughter, Maya, gets pregnant and marries the father of her baby, Dink. Derek Shepherd's sister, Dr.Amelia Shepherd, arrives in town. In the season finale, Addison and Sam finally get together while Charlotte and Cooper get engaged much to Sheldon's dismay. Pete and Violet work over their issues, while Dell and Maya get involved in a car accident and the severity of Dell's condition is overlooked while Maya was being attended to in the operating room. Dr. Amelia Shepherd, younger sister of Derek Shepherd (Addison's ex-husband), operated on him but was unable to resuscitate following Dell's heart failure. Maya survived her operation to save her spinal cord and prevented paralysis while at the same time she gives birth to a girl, who also survives the ordeal.
In thefourth season,Brian Benben andCaterina Scorsone were upgraded to series regulars. The season begins with the aftermath of Dell's death, and what happens to his daughter Betsey. Violet and Pete get married in the season premiere and begin a new life with their son Lucas. Addison and Sam reveal their romance to the staff of Oceanside Wellness, a development that Naomi accepts, upon which she leaves leave town to learn. Cooper and Charlotte get engaged. Charlotte is raped and badly beaten by one of the patients at her hospital. She tells only Addison about this, and swears her to secrecy. Later everyone finds out but she initially refuses to identify Lee McHenry as her rapist. It is later revealed that Violet was raped when she was in college. Charlotte eventually identifies Lee at the urging of Sheldon. She goes to the police, but since she did not come forward immediately, prosecutors decline to charge Lee. However, when he threatens his girlfriend, she stabs him in self defense, forcing Charlotte to save his life on the operating table. His girlfriend reports this to the authorities, which results in his arrest. In the season finale, it is decided Oceanside Wellness will be closed, and a new practice will be opened. Naomi decides it would be best to move to New York to be with Gabriel.
On January 10, 2011, ABC renewedPrivate Practice for a fifth season.[115]Audra McDonald, who plays the characterNaomi Bennett, did not return as a regular cast member in the fifth season ofPrivate Practice. Following the departure ofAudra McDonald,Benjamin Bratt was added to the series as a regular cast member. He plays Jake Reilly, a fertility specialist "who is quite accomplished and up to speed with cutting-edge technology and procedures." Thefifth season focuses on Amelia and her drug addiction, and the entire practice trying to save her life, ultimately deciding to have an intervention for her, and thus sending her to rehab. After rehab, Amelia finds out that she is pregnant by Ryan, a boyfriend who got her back into drugs and later died of an overdose. She finds out that the baby does not have a brain, but ultimately decides to take the baby to full term and donate the organs to save other children's lives. Later in the season, Cooper was revealed to have had an 8-year-old son from a previous one night stand. The son, who is named Mason, is portrayed by child actorGriffin Gluck. While Gluck initially served as a guest star, he was promoted to series regular later in the season. Gluck is notable for being the first child to be a series regular inPrivate Practice, or in the original seriesGrey's Anatomy. Mason's mother sought out Cooper after discovering that she was stricken with cancer, and she dies later in the season. Season 5 also deals with Addison not being able to have her own children, only to be able to adopt a child, Henry, just as Amelia's tragic news is given.
On May 11, 2012, ABC renewedPrivate Practice for a sixth season, which premiered on September 25, 2012.[2]Tim Daly, who plays Pete Wilder, did not return to the main cast in Season 6.[116] In thesixth season premiere, Violet finds out that Pete hasn't shown up for court and assumes that he ran off only to find out later that he had a heart attack jogging and died. Charlotte finds outs that she's pregnant but is happy because herIUD will most likely destroy the pregnancy, only to find out she's pregnant with triplets. After a difficult pregnancy and even delivering one of the triplets at 26 weeks, Charlotte and Cooper eventually have three healthy daughters. The final episode of the series brings many happy endings: Addison and Jake marry; Sheldon quits the practice to spend time with his love who's dying of cancer; Sam and Naomi remarry and will be having a second baby; Amelia has found the love of her life; Violet finally gets over her issues with Pete's death and announces she's started writing her book.
Shortly after the May renewal, speculation arose that this would be the final season of the series. This appeared to be confirmed whenKate Walsh announced on June 12, 2012 (2012-06-12), that she would leavePrivate Practice after the thirteenth episode of season six.[117]Private Practice creator Shonda Rhimes confirmed on October 19, 2012, that Season 6 and the show would end with the thirteenth episode.[118]
Private Practice:Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) appears in the opening minutes of the first episode convincing Addison to stay in Seattle. She says that she is leaving and he tells her he'll keep her job open for as long as he can and the two part ways.
Grey's Anatomy:Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) returns to Seattle Grace for the first time since she left to perform a risky operation. She is shocked to learn how significantly everyone's lives have changed since she left.
In February,Grey's Anatomy andPrivate Practice did their first extensive crossover storyline. The 3-episode arc started onGrey's Anatomy when Addison andNaomi Bennett (Audra McDonald) bring Archer Montgomery (Grant Show) to Seattle Grace to meet withDerek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey),Mark Sloan (Eric Dane),Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), and Richard to remove the parasites from Archer's brain. At first Derek says it's inoperable untilSam Bennett (Taye Diggs) later comes to Seattle and gives medical advice on how to remove the parasites. Derek and Meredith perform the operation successfully. The episode ends with Derek's patient Jen Harmon (Jennifer Westfeldt) having a complication from the brain surgery Derek performed on her shortly after Archer's surgery. The story continues onPrivate Practice where Sam has a sudden asthma attack and is treated by Naomi andMiranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). Richard wants to publicize Archer's case. Mark convinces Sam that he had an asthma attack because of the stress of Archer being with Naomi, who he still has feelings for. Addison assists Derek andAlex Karev (Justin Chambers) on Jen's case. The episode ends with Jen having another complication. The story concludes onGrey's Anatomy. At this point, Naomi, Sam and Archer have returned to L.A. but Derek asks Addison to stay. Derek and Addison have an argument on their course of action for Jen and Jen dies in surgery.
Private Practice: In the third episode,Miranda Bailey comes to Los Angeles with a patient to meet with the patient's sister about a kidney transplant.
In January, the show did another extensive crossover story withGrey's Anatomy. Addison comes to Seattle to operate on Mark's daughter, Sloan Riley (Leven Rambin). Then Mark and Sloan travel to Los Angeles for more surgery. Addison and Mark have an ongoing tryst during this crossover.
Grey's Anatomy: Addison returns in the musical episode to assist the doctors onCallie Torres (Sara Ramirez), who had gotten into a serious car accident and was 6 months pregnant at the time. This is mentioned to explain Addison's absence in thePrivate Practice episode "The Hardest Part".
Grey's Anatomy andPrivate Practice did their last crossover before the series finale in 2013. OnGrey's Anatomy, Amelia returns to Seattle to convince Derek andLexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) to operate on Erica Warner (A.J. Langer), who has agliosarcoma. Lexie helps Amelia practice and Derek eventually agrees to help as well. Then onPrivate Practice,Cooper Freedman (Paul Adelstein) and Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland) bring Erica to Seattle Grace to meet with Derek, Lexie and Amelia about the operation. Erica's surgery is successful.
Despite no characters crossing over, Addison receives a phone call from Derek about Mark's passing, which happens at the start ofGrey's Anatomy's ninth season.
In April 2014, Amelia returned toGrey's Anatomy for the last four episodes of the tenth season. She became a series regular from the eleventh season onwards.
In October 2021, Addison returned toGrey's Anatomy for two episodes of the eighteenth season. She performs a uterine transplant with the help of Meredith and allows for the surgery to be a teaching moment for Richard's residents. She later also reconnects with Amelia, with whom she discusses life during the COVID-19 pandemic, and meets Meredith and Derek's children.
^Naomi was initially played byMerrin Dungey in the show's backdoor pilot. McDonald assumed the role from the first season onwards.
^Benben is initially credited a guest star in season three before being promoted to also starring in the seventh episode.
Kate Walsh as Addison Montgomery - a double board-certified OB/GYN, subspecializing in maternal-fetal medicine/fetal surgery. She moves to the practice after divorcing Derek Shepherd and leaving Seattle. By the end of the show she marries Jake and adopts Henry.
Tim Daly as Pete Wilder (seasons 1-5) - a naturopathic doctor and licensed herbalist. He practices alternative medicine and is also an ER doctor. He shares a child with Violet Turner and later marries her. He dies at the start of season 6 following an off-screen heart attack.
Audra McDonald as Naomi Bennett (seasons 1-4, guest season 6) - a fertility and IVF doctor, she was married to Sam but they divorce before the first season. They share a daughter, Maya. They reunite at the end of the show after finding out she is pregnant.
Paul Adelstein as Cooper Freedman - a pedetrician at the practice. He marries Charlotte King and they later have girl triplets. He also has his son Mason from a previous relationship, who he meets in season 5.
KaDee Strickland as Charlotte King - chief of staff at St Ambrose Hospital, she practices urology and sexology. She is married to Cooper, with whom she shares triplet girls and Mason.
Chris Lowell as William “Dell” Parker (seasons 1-3) - the receptionist at the practice who is a nurse and training to be a mid-wife. He has a daughter, Betsy. He harbours a crush on Naomi in the first season. He is killed following a car crash.
Taye Diggs as Sam Bennett - a cardiologist and cardiothoracic surgeon. He was married to Naomi prior to the show, whom he shares his daughter Maya with. He dates Addison but they later split up as he cannot commit. He later remarries Naomi in the final episode.
Amy Brenneman as Violet Turner - a psychiatrist at Oceanside Wellness Group (later Seaside Health & Wellness). She shares a child with Pete, whom she later marries.
Brian Benben as Sheldon Wallace (recurring season 2, also starring season 3, main seasons 4-6) - a psychiatrist, initially hired at Pacific Wellcare, the practice upstairs to Oceanside Wellness Group (later Seaside Health & Wellness). He has romantic encounters with both Charlotte and Amelia. In the final season he develops cancer and dates a fellow patient at the hospital.
Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd (recurring season 3, main seasons 4-6) - Addison’s former sister-in-law, Derek Shepherd's youngest sister. A neurosurgeon at Oceanside Wellness Group (later Seaside Health & Wellness) and St Ambrose Hospital. She is a drug addict but later enters rehab, she later discovers she is pregnant by her dead boyfriend, who died of an overdose. The baby is born without a brain and Amelia donates his organs.
Benjamin Bratt as Jake Reilly (guest season 4, main seasons 5-6) - the new fertility specialist at the practice after Naomi leaves. He is a widower. He dates and later marries Addison, and adopts Henry with her. He has a daughter from his previous marriage.
Griffin Gluck as Mason Warner (seasons 5-6) - Cooper’s 8-year-old son, from a previous one-night stand. His mother introduces him after finding out she is dying from a brain tumour. He then moves in with Cooper and Charlotte following his mum's death. He calls Charlotte "mama" to honour her as a mother, whilst keeping his other mother "mum".
On February 21, 2007,The Wall Street Journal reported that theAmerican Broadcasting Company (ABC) was developing a spin-off ofGrey's Anatomy centered onKate Walsh's character,Addison Montgomery.[119] Subsequent reports confirmed that an expanded two-hour episode ofGrey's Anatomy, which aired on May 3, 2007, would serve as abackdoor pilot for the spin-off. The episode features Montgomery taking a leave from Seattle Grace Hospital to visit the Oceanside Wellness Centre in Los Angeles.[120] This backdoor pilot was broadcast as the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the season and was directed by Michael Grossman, as reported byVariety.[121] Gossip columnistsKristin dos Santos andMichael Ausiello also confirmed that the spin-off would be set in Los Angeles.[122][123]
Private Practice filmed many of its exterior shots, as well as some outdoor storylines, inSanta Monica, California. The Oceanside Wellness Group building is located at the corner of 4th and Wilshire in Santa Monica. CharactersAddison Montgomery andSam Bennett are depicted as living in beachfront houses inMalibu, California, which in reality would cost upwards of $4 million each.[citation needed]
The two-hour backdoor pilot forPrivate Practice averaged 21 million viewers, surpassingGrey's Anatomy'sthird season average of 19.1 million viewers per episode. The episode ranked #1 in both the 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM time slots.[128] On May 5, 2007, it was announced onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show thatPrivate Practice would be part of ABC's 2007 fall lineup.[129] The first television promo for the series aired during theGrey's AnatomySeason 3 finale on May 17, 2007, and the series premiere followed on September 26, 2007, averaging 14.41 million viewers, making it the most-watched show in its time slot. The series premiered in the UK on July 15, 2008, onLIVING. In mid-season 2009,Private Practice was moved to Thursdays at 10:00 PM afterGrey's Anatomy to accommodate the return ofLost. In May 16, 2011,Sky Living Loves broadcast repeats of Season 3 at 7:00 PM and 12:00 AM. In September 5, 2011,Sky Living Loves broadcast repeats of Season 2 at 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
Private Practice initially received mixed reviews.Metacritic, which assigns aweighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave the show a score of 45 based on 25 critical reviews.[149] The first episode was criticized by some, withThe New York Times describing the show's characters as "collectively offer[ing] one of the most depressing portrayals of the female condition sinceThe Bell Jar."[150]
^Andreeva, Nellie (February 22, 2007)."Diggs goes for 'Grey' spin".The Hollywood Reporter. The Nielsen Company. Archived fromthe original on February 24, 2007. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2007.
