For all their vaunted knowledge, there will forever be those doctors completely unschooled in matters of the heart. Or at least that is how the medical profession works on television.
To no ones surprise, the lovelorn-medic theme fuels the Greys Anatomy spinoff Private Practice (Wednesdays on ABC, at 9 p.m.), which introduces viewers to a brand-new group of very attractive health professionals. Once again, temperatures are rising in prime-time drama.
Possibly the surest bet on the new fall schedule, Private Practice puts sharp focus on Dr. Addison Montgomery, played by Kate Walsh. Originally brought onto Grey’s as a temporary player, Dr. Addison ended up staying two seasons on the hot medical drama, during which time the character proved herself to be a talented surgeon, and totally luckless at love.
To recap briefly: Addison’s marriage to Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) fell apart in light of his dalliance with the winsome Meredith (Ellen Pompeo). Her follow-up affair with Dr. McSteamy (Eric Dane) also crashed and burned. “Some women simply have bad luck with men,” Walsh says.
In the new show set-up, Addison bids farewell to Seattle, loads up the car and hits the road – “to begin the rest of her life.” Upon reaching her final destination of Santa Monica, Calif., she takes a job at the Oceanside Wellness Centre, a posh medical clinic owned and operated by her old medical school chums Naomi and Sam (Audra McDonald, Taye Diggs), who have just recently divorced.
“Like the other doctors working at the clinic, Addison has peaked professionally, but her personal life is a mess,” Walsh says. “She’s the new arrival and there’s something compelling about taking a character and just plopping her into a new environment – at 39 years old – and watching her flail like a bug on its back.”
As per its Grey’s Anatomy pedigree, everyone on Private Practice is single, and looking. Also worked into the dramatic mix is the randy pediatrician Cooper Freeman (Paul Adelstein), who has had terrible success dating women via the Internet (he has been robbed twice); and the psychiatrist Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman), who talks tough but still pines for her now-married ex-boyfriend.
More notably, the cast includes a handsome alternative-medicine specialist named Pete Wilder (Tim Daly), who at first seems an obvious partner for Addison – until she learns he’s still grieving over the death of his wife eight years earlier. Love never comes easy.
“Private Practice is a little more grown-up than Grey’s, which is sort of like high school with scalpels,” says Shonda Rhimes, who conceived and still executive-produces both network dramas. “On this show, it’s more like a squabbling family than it is a group of competitive interns. And the way a wellness clinic works allows us to tell some very different medical stories.”
Private Practice will also differentiate itself from Grey’s through its setting. Instead of scenes taking place in Seattle Grace Hospital’s grungy cafeteria, the romantically interacting characters will hold their heart-to-heart talks all over Los Angeles. “Grey’s Anatomy takes place mostly in the hospital, or the operating room, whereas the doctors make house calls on this show. They’re out in the field,” Rhimes says.
To be certain, there are medical stories worked into Private Practice, but more time is devoted to young doctors looking for love in all the wrong places. As per the Meredith Grey character on Grey’s Anatomy, the storyline – and romantic spotlight – will fall most often on Addison, which is entirely fine with the woman essaying the role.
“The freedom to take the character in any direction is tremendously liberating for an actress,” says Walsh, who, it should be noted, married for the first time just a few weeks ago. “There’s no indication in the first few scripts where Addison might be going beyond the first few episodes. She has a new start, and she can do anything.”
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